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“If Thanksgivukkah can be a spark that allows us to bring a little bit of the Hanukkah light into a Jewish person’s Thanksgiving table, then that’s a gift.” More
As cities grapple with the problem of homelessness, some believe the solution is to move them to “retreats” outside the city. But critics say such proposals are cases of “out of sight, out of mind” that will actually result in more homelessness. More
Dogs, says Tim Hetzner of Lutheran Church Charities, are “a very gifted part of God’s creation.” In disaster situations they sense when someone is hurting, and together with their handlers they minister compassionately to the needs of victims. More
A conversation on the agenda of the US Catholic bishops and the anniversary of JFK’s assassination; the debate over gun control in communities of faith; and a movement to identify the unmarked graves of mentally disabled patients More
For American Catholics, “the election of Kennedy was an important moment in history, where they were recognized and accepted by American society as true Americans,” says Rev. Thomas Reese, S.J. But anti-Catholicism continued to linger until JFK’s assassination, when the 34th president became an American martyr, and it was no longer acceptable to be anti-Catholic. More
This senior analyst for the National Catholic Reporter says new US Conference of Catholic Bishops president Archbishop Kurtz is “not going to be just a simple culture warrior, I think he’s going to have more complexity to him.” More
Rights groups are working to identify the unmarked graves of mentally disabled patients in Minnesota to give them the respect and dignity in death that they didn’t receive in life. More
A Supreme Court case tests the limits of public prayer and the First Amendment; income inequality threatens to put an end to the American Dream; its 75th anniversary recalls a violent anti-Semitic pogrom known as the “night of broken glass”; and the destruction of a historic British cathedral during World War II leads to a ministry of peace and reconciliation. More
“This case is about Christians aggressively imposing themselves upon their fellow citizens with the power of government,” says plaintiff lawyer Douglas Laycock. But defense attorney Tom Hungar warned that the case could lead to “government regulating the theological content of prayers, prescribing what is orthodox and what is not in religion.” More
“One of my goals is to get pastors and congregations to feel emboldened to ask questions about the economy,” says Serene Jones, president of Union Theological Seminary in New York City. More