Today's religion and world affairs from the United States and around the globe: Pope Francis calls for a day of environmental prayer, a Nagasaki cathedral mourns lives lost to the atomic bomb, and US lawmakers prepare for the Pope's visit.
AROUND THE WORLD
Pope Sets Day Aside to Pray for the Care of the Environment
Washington Post/AP
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/pope-sets-day-aside-to-pray-for-the-care-of-the-environment/2015/08/10/e7097d0e-3f58-11e5-b2c4-af4c6183b8b4_story.html
The Vatican announced that Pope Francis, taking up a suggestion from Orthodox leaders, has instituted for Catholics a “world day of prayer for the care of Creation” to be marked every September 1. The day of environmental prayer will fall on the same date as that of the Orthodox Church, which Francis hopes will emphasize the "growing communion" of the two institutions.
Iraqi Christians Who Fled IS Living in Limbo While in Exile
by Karin Laub
Washington Post/AP
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iraqi-christians-who-fled-is-living-in-limbo-while-in-exile/2015/08/09/9c7d3430-3e9d-11e5-9e4b-c754289ab62f_story.html
A year after tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians fled communities overtaken by the Islamic State, their lives are on hold in exile. They cannot go back to Iraq, saying it is not safe for Christians, but as refugees they are banned from working in temporary asylum countries.
Nagasaki Cathedral Mourns Devastating Atomic Bomb 70 Years Later
by Paul Brandeis Raushenbush
Huffington Post Religion
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nagasaki-cathedral-mourns-atomic-bomb-70-years-later_55c785cde4b0f73b20b9ad27?utm_hp_ref=religion&kvcommref=mostpopular
Seventy years ago, a U.S.-dropped atomic bomb detonated about 550 yards from the Urakami Cathedral in Japan's Nagasaki, taking over 70,000 lives and killing 8,500 of the cathedral's 12,000 parishioners--decimating Japan's largest Christian community. This Sunday, the rebuilt church drew large crowds for a memorial service, which was held to commemorate the anniversary of the bombing and pay homage to the thousands of lives lost.
French, British Bishops Urge Solution to Migrant Crisis in Channel Port
by Jonathon Luxmoore
National Catholic Reporter/Catholic News Service
http://ncronline.org/blogs/immigration-and-church/french-british-bishops-urge-solution-migrant-crisis-channel-port
French and British Catholic bishops urged their governments to settle a growing refugee crisis around the port of Calais, where highways have been blocked and migrants from Africa and the Middle East have died attempting illegal crossings of the Channel Tunnel.
Story of Lost, Mute Hindu Girl Searching for Home Unites India, Pakistan
by Reuters Staff
Reuters FaithWorld
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2015/08/10/story-of-lost-mute-hindu-girl-searching-for-home-unites-india-pakistan/
The story of a deaf-mute woman who lost her family when, as a child, she wandered over one of the world’s most militarized borders has sparked a rare moment of warmth between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan--where hostilities have kept apart many families who were separated when majority-Hindu India and majority-Muslim Pakistan became two separate countries in 1947.
With God on Whose Side?
Economist
http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21660573-indonesias-guarantee-religious-freedom-looks-hollow-god-whose-side
Though Indonesia's constitution forbids atheism, it enshrines the right of Indonesians “to worship according to their own religion or belief.” Despite this right, Ahmadi Muslims, who are often viewed by other Muslims as heretics or non-Muslims, have been threatened and attacked in recent years--seeing their mosques forcibly closed and facing powerful bureaucratic opposition.
The Right to Rancor
Economist
Erasmus blog
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2015/08/islam-and-northern-ireland
A pastor in Belfast appeared in court last week to hear charges that he was guilty of disseminating a "grossly offensive" message, after he referred to Islam in one of his sermons as a "satanic" belief which had been "spawned in hell." The incident has spurred considerable debate concerning the delicate balance between the right to free speech and the prohibition of hate speech in the city.
DOMESTIC
Pope and Congress: Francis is Certain to Challenge Lawmakers
by Andrew Taylor
Washington Post/AP
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congress/pope-and-congress-francis-is-certain-to-challenge-lawmakers/2015/08/10/96d45b66-3f39-11e5-b2c4-af4c6183b8b4_story.html
A political pope is sure to seize his opportunity when he addresses a political body. So both Democrats and Republicans are looking forward to Pope Francis’ remarks to Congress next month—and bracing for them, too.
Pope Sets Day Aside to Pray for the Care of the Environment
Washington Post/AP
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/pope-sets-day-aside-to-pray-for-the-care-of-the-environment/2015/08/10/e7097d0e-3f58-11e5-b2c4-af4c6183b8b4_story.html
The Vatican announced that Pope Francis, taking up a suggestion from Orthodox leaders, has instituted for Catholics a “world day of prayer for the care of Creation” to be marked every September 1. The day of environmental prayer will fall on the same date as that of the Orthodox Church, which Francis hopes will emphasize the "growing communion" of the two institutions.
Iraqi Christians Who Fled IS Living in Limbo While in Exile
by Karin Laub
Washington Post/AP
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iraqi-christians-who-fled-is-living-in-limbo-while-in-exile/2015/08/09/9c7d3430-3e9d-11e5-9e4b-c754289ab62f_story.html
A year after tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians fled communities overtaken by the Islamic State, their lives are on hold in exile. They cannot go back to Iraq, saying it is not safe for Christians, but as refugees they are banned from working in temporary asylum countries.
Nagasaki Cathedral Mourns Devastating Atomic Bomb 70 Years Later
by Paul Brandeis Raushenbush
Huffington Post Religion
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nagasaki-cathedral-mourns-atomic-bomb-70-years-later_55c785cde4b0f73b20b9ad27?utm_hp_ref=religion&kvcommref=mostpopular
Seventy years ago, a U.S.-dropped atomic bomb detonated about 550 yards from the Urakami Cathedral in Japan's Nagasaki, taking over 70,000 lives and killing 8,500 of the cathedral's 12,000 parishioners--decimating Japan's largest Christian community. This Sunday, the rebuilt church drew large crowds for a memorial service, which was held to commemorate the anniversary of the bombing and pay homage to the thousands of lives lost.
French, British Bishops Urge Solution to Migrant Crisis in Channel Port
by Jonathon Luxmoore
National Catholic Reporter/Catholic News Service
http://ncronline.org/blogs/immigration-and-church/french-british-bishops-urge-solution-migrant-crisis-channel-port
French and British Catholic bishops urged their governments to settle a growing refugee crisis around the port of Calais, where highways have been blocked and migrants from Africa and the Middle East have died attempting illegal crossings of the Channel Tunnel.
Story of Lost, Mute Hindu Girl Searching for Home Unites India, Pakistan
by Reuters Staff
Reuters FaithWorld
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2015/08/10/story-of-lost-mute-hindu-girl-searching-for-home-unites-india-pakistan/
The story of a deaf-mute woman who lost her family when, as a child, she wandered over one of the world’s most militarized borders has sparked a rare moment of warmth between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan--where hostilities have kept apart many families who were separated when majority-Hindu India and majority-Muslim Pakistan became two separate countries in 1947.
With God on Whose Side?
Economist
http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21660573-indonesias-guarantee-religious-freedom-looks-hollow-god-whose-side
Though Indonesia's constitution forbids atheism, it enshrines the right of Indonesians “to worship according to their own religion or belief.” Despite this right, Ahmadi Muslims, who are often viewed by other Muslims as heretics or non-Muslims, have been threatened and attacked in recent years--seeing their mosques forcibly closed and facing powerful bureaucratic opposition.
The Right to Rancor
Economist
Erasmus blog
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2015/08/islam-and-northern-ireland
A pastor in Belfast appeared in court last week to hear charges that he was guilty of disseminating a "grossly offensive" message, after he referred to Islam in one of his sermons as a "satanic" belief which had been "spawned in hell." The incident has spurred considerable debate concerning the delicate balance between the right to free speech and the prohibition of hate speech in the city.
DOMESTIC
Pope and Congress: Francis is Certain to Challenge Lawmakers
by Andrew Taylor
Washington Post/AP
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congress/pope-and-congress-francis-is-certain-to-challenge-lawmakers/2015/08/10/96d45b66-3f39-11e5-b2c4-af4c6183b8b4_story.html
A political pope is sure to seize his opportunity when he addresses a political body. So both Democrats and Republicans are looking forward to Pope Francis’ remarks to Congress next month—and bracing for them, too.
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