NEWS OF THE WEEK
A new report from the State Department highlights concerns over blasphemy and apostasy laws that limit religious freedom and often impose death sentences for the accused. The report noted particular problems with blasphemy laws in Muslim countries, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, … More
In Syria, a gas believed to be chlorine was dropped in a barrel bomb on a neighborhood in Aleppo, killing four people and injuring dozens of others. The Syrian government has denied using chemical weapons during the six-year civil war, … More
Pakistanis are mourning the deaths of dozens of lawyers and others in a suicide bombing at a hospital in the southwestern city of Quetta. The victims had gathered there after the president of the bar association was gunned down. The … More
The Justice Department this week issued a scathing indictment of Baltimore’s Police Department (BPD) for bias against African Americans: Vanita Gupta, Deputy Assistant US Attorney General: We conclude that there is reasonable cause to believe that BPD engages in a … More
In Ferguson, Missouri, hundreds of people gathered this week to mark the two-year anniversary of the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, by a white police officer. Brown’s death sparked protests all over the country, and led to … More
A coalition of more than 60 organizations affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement has issued its first official list of demands. In addition to criminal justice reform and reparations for descendants of slaves, the group called for ending federal … More
According to a new report by the Pew Research Center, black Protestants are much more likely than other Christians to hear their clergy speak for or against a presidential candidate. In a survey of more than 4,000 adults, researchers found … More
Donald Trump has said he wants to repeal an IRS rule that prohibits clergy from using the pulpit to promote political candidates. Meeting with hundreds of evangelical leaders in Florida this week, he promised that if he is elected president, … More
At the Vatican, Pope Francis had lunch with a group of 21 Syrian refugees, including the 12 he brought to Rome from the Greek island of Lesbos earlier this year. Both the adults and children told the pope about the … More
August 15 is the Feast of the Assumption, when Roman Catholics and some other Christians commemorate the belief that the Virgin Mary was bodily taken into heaven at the end of her earthly life. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, it’s … More
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