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A law that provides the poor with free access to contraceptives in the Philippines is at the center of a national debate about Catholic Church teaching, sexuality, and poverty; a community of Benedictine nuns in Colorado live a life of prayer and work on a 300-acre cattle ranch; and Muslim hip-hop group Native Deen describes what it’s like to observe Ramadan when they’re far away from home. More
“Give people job opportunities, give children education, and then you bring them out of poverty. Just giving them condoms and contraceptives will not automatically draw them out of poverty,” says Rev. Joel Jason of the Archdiocese of Manila. But some women say lack of access to family planning and free birth control makes it harder for them to improve their lives. More
“All of the experiences that I have during Ramadan when we’re on tour fasting have always been a blessing,” says Native Deen group member Abdul-Malik Ahmad. “So during the month of Ramadan, I feel that it’s my time to say thank you to God, basically, for all these opportunities.” More
The growing number of Latino converts to Islam face challenges inside and outside their communities; West Virginia state senator John Unger is a legislator and the pastor of three mainline Protestant churches of different denominations; and a Buddhist ritual held in New York City honors people who have dedicated their lives to the cause of peace. More
“I just felt that the minute I put my head down to the ground I was really talking to God,” says Nadia Echevrria. More than half of all Latino converts to Islam are women. More
John Unger is simultaneously the pastor for three churches of three different mainline Protestant denominations, and a state senator in West Virginia. “I’ll tell you that I can’t do it, not alone,” says Unger. “I recognize my limitations, but I believe that with God all things are possible.” More
More than 2,200 candle-lit paper lanterns with individually written messages of peace were set afloat onto a large reflecting pool in New York City in honor of people who have dedicated their lives to the cause of peace. More
“The lure of the political” changed Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a pastor and theologian. He prayed with the conspirators to assassinate Hitler, and he conferred blessings on the various coup attempts. Watch our interview with Charles Marsh, author of “Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.” More
Medical technology allows premature and critically ill newborns to survive, but it also confronts parents and doctors with difficult bioethical decisions; seminary students face uncertain job futures at churches; and new archaeological discoveries at the Jordan River have renewed interest in a pilgrimage site revered by Muslims, Jews, and Christians. More
Modern medicine now allows premature infants to survive, but at what cost? “The big question today,” observes Dr. John Lantos, a pediatric bioethicist at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, is how many survive without devastating neurologic impairments or other chronic medical problems?” More