One fruit of this Sino-Vatican agreement, which neither side has confirmed, will be that “from now on, there will be no more the crisis of a division between the open and underground communities in the church in China,” wrote Cardinal Tong.
Religious Freedom
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Boy Scouts’ gender identity policy will not change Catholic Scouting policies
The Boy Scouts change in policy “has no impact on the operation and program delivery of Scouting program(s) in Catholic-chartered units,” said the Catholic Scouting committee.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Should churches be able to endorse politicians? Clergy aren’t so certain.
President Trump wants to repeal the code banning all federally recognized nonprofit organizations—including religious organizations—from endorsing political candidates.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Trump says he will roll back political limits on churches
The president made no mention of steps he may take on religious freedom, saying only that it is a “sacred right.”
Posted inFaith, News
No future for Christians in Mosul, says Iraqi Christian leader
“Christians aren’t going to come back to stay. The churches I saw were not destroyed with bombs, but by the everyday business operations of the community.”
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
How rabbis are responding to white supremacist threats
Students will visit the Auschwitz concentration camp and a Torah is being mailed every Jewish family in the state.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Why one U.S. bishop will advocate differently for Iraqi religious minorities
The Iraqi Catholic clergy do not want to see a safe corridor set up for Christians.
Posted inIn All Things, Politics & Society
Five Stories You May Have Missed in 2016
Here are a few pieces America editors wish had made it on to those top-ten lists but didn’t:
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
‘Catholics must be patriots’ in China to end divide with Vatican
The ruling Communist Party has long feared that opposition to its rule could be spread by religious and other civic groups outside its control.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
In Christmas messages, Middle East patriarchs call for peace amid Christian persecution
Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of Maronite Catholics, appealed to the international community to work to end terrorism “that is killing and displacing families and depriving them of their rights and dignities.”