Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: the Vatican's finances, Arab Israelis, China, Hong Kong, Russia, Egypt, Nigeria, and female bishops in the Anglican church.
AROUND THE WORLD
Vatican Finds Stash of Money ‘Tucked Away’
by Gaia Pianigiani
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/world/europe/vatican-finds-hundreds-of-millions-of-euros-tucked-away.html?ref=todayspaper
Cardinal George Pell, who took over as the Vatican’s chief financial official in February, said Thursday that his staff had turned up hundreds of millions of euros that the Vatican did not know it had. The funds were “tucked away” in various accounts, he said, and had not been tallied on the Vatican’s main balance sheets.
Will the Druze Relatives of an Israeli Hero Be Sidelined by the ‘Jewish State?’
by Ruth Eglash
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/will-the-druze-relatives-of-an-israeli-hero-be-sidelined-by-the-jewish-state/2014/12/04/edd21e3c-33af-4ab3-9df6-fa76e6bcf11a_story.html
The proposed legislation, critics say, could undermine Israel’s democracy and leave its Arab minority—more than 20 percent of the country’s population of 8 million—feeling like second-class citizens. The Druze, who make up about 8 percent of the Arab population, also worry their rights will be eroded.
China Accuses the West of Spreading Extremism in the Middle East
by Ishaan Tharoor
Washington Post World Views
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/12/04/china-accuses-the-west-of-spreading-extremism-in-the-middle-east/
An editorial in the People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's Communist Party, argued that the United States and its allies were fanning the flames of extremism in the Middle East.
Vladimir Putin’s Religious, Ethnic Rhetoric Gets a Little Scary in Russian State-of-the-Union Address
by Lucian Kim
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/12/04/vladimir-putins-religious-ethnic-rhetoric-gets-a-little-scary-in-russian-state-of-the-union-address/
The most troubling change in Putin’s rhetoric are ethno-religious references that have crept into his speech since the annexation of Crimea in March. The Crimean peninsula’s strategic value as the base for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is understandable to anybody who consults a map. But Putin’s focus on Crimea as the “spiritual source” for Russians because Grand Prince Vladimir converted to Christianity there 1,000 years ago opens a Pandora’s box of competing historical claims not only in Europe but across Russia.
Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, Hong Kong Cardinal, Arrested in Occupy Central Protests
by Antonia Blumberg
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/04/joseph-zen-ze-kiun-arrested_n_6263844.html?utm_hp_ref=religion
A former bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Zen has been a vocal proponent of the Occupy Central demonstrations initiated more than two months ago and even led a three-day pro-democracy march through the city in June. In September, the octogenarian spent a night outside in the public square with student protesters.
ISIS Enters Egypt
By Khalil al-AnaniForeign Affairs
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/142423/khalil-al-anani/isis-enters-egypt
The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has officially entered Egypt. On November 10, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, a militant movement that operates out of the northern Sinai Peninsula, pledged allegiance to ISIS and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Thank God for Female Bishops
by Jane Kramer
New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/thank-god-female-bishops
If you’re a believer, thank God. If you’re not, thank Her anyway, because it’s now official that Henry VIII’s Church of England will be getting its first female bishop. The news came after an overwhelming show of hands at the church’s General Synod, in November, and provided the one bright spot in an otherwise dismal month for women’s rights.
Nigeria’s Double Edged Front-Line
by Georgia Holmer
Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/12/05/nigerias-double-edged-front-line-boko-haram-vigilante/
This past May, the Nigerian city of Jos, which lies along the country’s “middle belt,” where the majority-Muslim north meets the largely Christian south, was rocked by back-to-back car bombings that killed at least 118 people. Though it had long been the site of inter-religious violence, Jos, a city of almost 1 million people, had recently fallen into sights of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which carried out the bombings.
Vatican Finds Stash of Money ‘Tucked Away’
by Gaia Pianigiani
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/world/europe/vatican-finds-hundreds-of-millions-of-euros-tucked-away.html?ref=todayspaper
Cardinal George Pell, who took over as the Vatican’s chief financial official in February, said Thursday that his staff had turned up hundreds of millions of euros that the Vatican did not know it had. The funds were “tucked away” in various accounts, he said, and had not been tallied on the Vatican’s main balance sheets.
Will the Druze Relatives of an Israeli Hero Be Sidelined by the ‘Jewish State?’
by Ruth Eglash
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/will-the-druze-relatives-of-an-israeli-hero-be-sidelined-by-the-jewish-state/2014/12/04/edd21e3c-33af-4ab3-9df6-fa76e6bcf11a_story.html
The proposed legislation, critics say, could undermine Israel’s democracy and leave its Arab minority—more than 20 percent of the country’s population of 8 million—feeling like second-class citizens. The Druze, who make up about 8 percent of the Arab population, also worry their rights will be eroded.
China Accuses the West of Spreading Extremism in the Middle East
by Ishaan Tharoor
Washington Post World Views
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/12/04/china-accuses-the-west-of-spreading-extremism-in-the-middle-east/
An editorial in the People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's Communist Party, argued that the United States and its allies were fanning the flames of extremism in the Middle East.
Vladimir Putin’s Religious, Ethnic Rhetoric Gets a Little Scary in Russian State-of-the-Union Address
by Lucian Kim
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/12/04/vladimir-putins-religious-ethnic-rhetoric-gets-a-little-scary-in-russian-state-of-the-union-address/
The most troubling change in Putin’s rhetoric are ethno-religious references that have crept into his speech since the annexation of Crimea in March. The Crimean peninsula’s strategic value as the base for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is understandable to anybody who consults a map. But Putin’s focus on Crimea as the “spiritual source” for Russians because Grand Prince Vladimir converted to Christianity there 1,000 years ago opens a Pandora’s box of competing historical claims not only in Europe but across Russia.
Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, Hong Kong Cardinal, Arrested in Occupy Central Protests
by Antonia Blumberg
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/04/joseph-zen-ze-kiun-arrested_n_6263844.html?utm_hp_ref=religion
A former bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Zen has been a vocal proponent of the Occupy Central demonstrations initiated more than two months ago and even led a three-day pro-democracy march through the city in June. In September, the octogenarian spent a night outside in the public square with student protesters.
ISIS Enters Egypt
By Khalil al-AnaniForeign Affairs
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/142423/khalil-al-anani/isis-enters-egypt
The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has officially entered Egypt. On November 10, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, a militant movement that operates out of the northern Sinai Peninsula, pledged allegiance to ISIS and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Thank God for Female Bishops
by Jane Kramer
New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/thank-god-female-bishops
If you’re a believer, thank God. If you’re not, thank Her anyway, because it’s now official that Henry VIII’s Church of England will be getting its first female bishop. The news came after an overwhelming show of hands at the church’s General Synod, in November, and provided the one bright spot in an otherwise dismal month for women’s rights.
Nigeria’s Double Edged Front-Line
by Georgia Holmer
Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/12/05/nigerias-double-edged-front-line-boko-haram-vigilante/
This past May, the Nigerian city of Jos, which lies along the country’s “middle belt,” where the majority-Muslim north meets the largely Christian south, was rocked by back-to-back car bombings that killed at least 118 people. Though it had long been the site of inter-religious violence, Jos, a city of almost 1 million people, had recently fallen into sights of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which carried out the bombings.
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