In the News, November 10-11, 2014

November 10, 2015

Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: a Berkley Center symposium examines religion and climate change, the revival of ancient religious tension in Kosovo, Christianity and Ukrainian integration into the European Union, and the role of American religious leaders in mediating racial tensions.

BERKLEY CENTER IN THE NEWS
Berkley Center Symposium Panel Examines Relationship Between Religion and Climate Change
by Justin Plumb
Georgetown Voice
http://georgetownvoice.com/2015/11/10/berkeley-center-symposium-panel-examines-relationship-between-religion-and-climate-change/
On Nov. 9, the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs in conjunction with the U.S. Department of State held a symposium on religion and climate change in the Healey Family Student Center. A major theme of the panel was placing climate concerns in the context of the different world religions. Tucker emphasized that Catholicism’s attention to the environment didn’t start with the recent concerns posed by Pope Francis.

related | Georgetown and State Department Cohost Religion and Climate Change Symposium
Georgetown.edu
https://www.georgetown.edu/berkley-center-state-department-climate-religion-symposium

AROUND THE WORLD
Ukraine Chooses Homophobia Over Europe
by Lev Golinkin
Foreign Policy
https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/11/10/ukraine-homophobia-over-europe-eu-visa-free-travel-rada/
Ukrainians had a revolution to move closer to Europe. But they’re not ready to embrace European values. The Ukrainian parliament recently refused to pass a law that would have allowed Ukrainian citizen visa-free travel within the EU because of a clause in the law prohibiting workplace discrimination, including gay and lesbian persons. “As a country with a thousand-year-old Christian history, we simply cannot allow this.”

Euro Court Rejects French Comic’s Plea Over Fine for Anti-Semitism
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2015/11/11/euro-court-rejects-french-comics-plea-over-fine-for-anti-semitism/
The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday rejected claims by a French comedian that his right to speak freely was denied when he was convicted and fined in France for insulting Jews.

A Setback for Kosovo Amid Bitter Rows over its Ancient Churches
Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2015/11/kosovo-and-unesco
In recent days the Kosovo abbot, Sava Janjic, has been combining his liturgical duties as a Serbian Orthodox priest with another activity: using social media to explain why his community has opposed Kosovo's admission to UNESCO, the UN's cultural arm. For example, he has been posting pictures on Facebook, including a recent baptism, and a shot of a desecrated Serbian cemetery. 

Communist Party in Tibet Aims to Punish Dalai Lama Followers
by Edward Wong
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/12/world/asia/communist-party-in-tibet-aims-to-punish-dalai-lama-followers.html?ref=world&_r=0
The Chinese Communist Party in central Tibet is aiming to peer into the hearts of its members to hunt down secret worshipers of the Dalai Lama or people who secretly hold religious beliefs. 

Hindu Nationalist Killed in Clashes at Indian Celebration of Muslim Ruler
by David Barstow and Hari Kumar
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/11/world/asia/hindu-nationalist-killed-in-clashes-at-indian-celebration-of-muslim-ruler.html?ref=world
Tension between Hindus and Muslims flared anew in India on Tuesday when a Hindu nationalist in the southern state of Karnataka died from injuries he suffered while protesting a celebration honoring an 18th-century Muslim ruler.

Defining Welcome to Refugees by Religion, Race, or Ethnicity Aids Haters & Conflict
by Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ambassador-muhamed-sacirbey/defining-welcome-to-refugees_b_8511746.html
If we cannot show the same brotherly love for the strangers in our midst as we do our kindred, then what good is our goodwill? It is no altruistic feat to accept and abide those ones familiar who are like us, those integrated into our local social and economic realities and in whom we thereby have a vested self-interest. By turning away the innocent in need, we are unwittingly espousing an exclusionary ideology of our own, thus ironically becoming that which we imagine we're rejecting.

Afghan Slayings Linked to Islamic State Touch off Huge Protests in Kabul
By Sayed Salahuddin
Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghan-slayings-linked-to-islamic-state-touch-off-huge-protests-in-kabul/2015/11/11/d09ab265-8fd0-4879-b8d8-d63e4515b35f_story.html
Afghan security forces fired warning shots outside the presidential palace Wednesday to drive thousands of protesters angered over slayings believed carried out by militants linked to the Islamic State. The demonstration highlighted growing discontent over the inability to quell groups such as the Taliban and Islamic State-inspired factions. 

NATIONAL
Pastors Say it's Time to Talk about Racial Injustice
by Ronnie Floyd and Jerry Young
CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/09/living/racial-pastors/index.htmlBecause the Bible teaches that all men and women are created equal, we know that the sin of racism is not simply a violation against one but a crime against humanity. As religious leaders charged with shepherding the faithful, we are resolved to address this tragedy together. Now, as ever, pastors across America must stand before their congregations and call racism for what it is: ugly, unwarranted and un-Christian in all its forms.

The High Court Gets Religion
by William McGurn
Wall Street Journal op-ed
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-high-court-gets-religion-1447115906
This past Friday, the justices agreed to hear the Little Sisters’ argument that not only would ObamaCare’s contraceptive mandate force them to violate their beliefs, the Obama administration’s “accommodation”—to have them sign a paper that would empower the sisters’ insurer to provide the birth control—is just an accounting gimmick.
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