Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: Pope Francis in Turkey, Christians in the Middle East, and churches' efforts in Ferguson.
BERKLEY CENTER IN THE NEWS
Trust Underlies World Economy, Says Jesuit
Catholic News Service
http://americamagazine.org/issue/trust-underlies-world-economy-says-jesuit
Fr. Drew Christiansen, S.J., spoke about charity, justice, and the economy in a lecture at Villanova University.
AROUND THE WORLD
Pope, in Turkey, Issues Call to Protect Middle Eastern Christians
by Sebnem Arsu
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/01/world/europe/pope-in-turkey-issues-call-to-protect-middle-eastern-christians.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0
Pope Francis and his counterpart in the Orthodox Church on Sunday vowed to work together to prevent an exodus of Christians from the Middle East, and they called for “constructive dialogue” with Muslims to resolve conflicts in the embattled region and around the world.
Pope Francis Says It Is Wrong to Equate Islam With Violence
by Philip Pullella
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2014/12/01/pope-francis-says-it-is-wrong-to-equate-islam-with-violence/
Pope Francis said on Sunday that equating Islam with violence was wrong and called on Muslim leaders to issue a global condemnation of terrorism to help dispel the stereotype.
Catholic Geopolitics: The Pope, Erdogan, Syria, and Ukraine
by Victor Gaeatan
Foreign Affairs
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/142400/victor-gaetan/catholic-geopolitics
In the last few days of November, Pope Francis will use a visit to Turkey to advance two goals: winning greater protection for Christians in the Middle East and drawing the Catholic and Orthodox Churches closer together. Neither is new; Pope Benedict XVI was in Istanbul eight years ago with a similar agenda and near identical itinerary. But the wars in Iraq, Syria, and Ukraine have make Francis’ mission more urgent than ever.
Pope Francis as Reformer, Evangelizer—and Doctrinal Conservative
NPR
http://www.npr.org/2014/11/30/366368633/pope-francis-as-reformer-evangelizer-and-doctrinal-conservative
Author Austen Ivereigh was interviewed by Eric Westervelt on his new book, The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope.
Empty Promises: Why France Won't Deliver for the Palestinians
by Rory Miller
Foreign Affairs
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/142402/rory-miller/empty-promises
How the National Assembly votes on a resolution recognizing Palestinian statehood and how the government of French President François Hollande responds does matter in other ways—although not so much for Israel or Palestine as for France, which has significant Jewish and Muslim populations.
The Jihad Cult: Why Young Germans Are Answering Call to Holy War
Der Spiegel
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/why-young-germany-are-answering-call-to-war-in-syria-a-1003468.html
Hundreds of young German Islamists have traveled to Syria to fight with the terrorist group Islamic State. Spiegel explored the extremist scene in Germany and the fascination with jihad in order to find answers about what drives people to join the murderous cult.
Carthage, Rome and Beyond
Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2014/11/europe-islamism-and-tunisia
What should European governments do about militant groups that are attacking their interests and recruiting their citizens? One of the most prominent academic observers of European Islam, Jonathan Laurence, has a suggestion. Those governments should watch closely what happens in Tunisia—to see whether an Islamist movement can become a law-abiding player in the affairs of a multi-party democracy.
Malaysia to Prop up Sedition Act to Protect ‘Sanctity of Islam’
by Al-Zaquan Amer Hamzah and Ebrahim Harris
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2014/11/27/malaysia-to-prop-up-sedition-act-to-protect-sanctity-of-islam/
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Thursday bolstered a law protecting the sanctity of Islam and the country’s traditional rulers, the sultans, in an about-turn to scrap a law banning criticism of the government.
Is Atheism a Specifically Western Phenomenon?
by Peter Berger
American Interest
http://www.the-american-interest.com/2014/11/26/is-atheism-a-specifically-western-phenomenon/
The dichotomy is not western/non-Western. It is Abrahamic/non-Abrahamic. It is a rebellion against the monotheistic faiths that originated in the Middle East—Judaism, Christianity, Islam. It makes much less sense in a non-monotheistic environment.
DOMESTIC
Churches Urge Healing, but Also Activism, After Stormy Week in Ferguson
by Monica Davey, Mitch Smith, and John Eligon
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/01/us/ferguson.html?ref=todayspaper
At worship services around this region, clergy on Sunday called for recovery and healing, yet in many of the messages, there were also calls to continue a movement raising questions about race and police behavior that followed the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown. That momentum and those concerns, some clergy members said, should not be allowed to fade away or be forgotten.
In Religious Order, Texas Women Find a Place to Call Home
by Robyn Ross
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/30/us/in-religious-order-texas-women-find-a-place-to-call-home.html?ref=todayspaper
Through its growth and youth, the Dominican Sisters of Mary, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan but with a Texas contingent, run counter to the national trends among Roman Catholic religious orders.
Trust Underlies World Economy, Says Jesuit
Catholic News Service
http://americamagazine.org/issue/trust-underlies-world-economy-says-jesuit
Fr. Drew Christiansen, S.J., spoke about charity, justice, and the economy in a lecture at Villanova University.
AROUND THE WORLD
Pope, in Turkey, Issues Call to Protect Middle Eastern Christians
by Sebnem Arsu
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/01/world/europe/pope-in-turkey-issues-call-to-protect-middle-eastern-christians.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0
Pope Francis and his counterpart in the Orthodox Church on Sunday vowed to work together to prevent an exodus of Christians from the Middle East, and they called for “constructive dialogue” with Muslims to resolve conflicts in the embattled region and around the world.
Pope Francis Says It Is Wrong to Equate Islam With Violence
by Philip Pullella
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2014/12/01/pope-francis-says-it-is-wrong-to-equate-islam-with-violence/
Pope Francis said on Sunday that equating Islam with violence was wrong and called on Muslim leaders to issue a global condemnation of terrorism to help dispel the stereotype.
Catholic Geopolitics: The Pope, Erdogan, Syria, and Ukraine
by Victor Gaeatan
Foreign Affairs
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/142400/victor-gaetan/catholic-geopolitics
In the last few days of November, Pope Francis will use a visit to Turkey to advance two goals: winning greater protection for Christians in the Middle East and drawing the Catholic and Orthodox Churches closer together. Neither is new; Pope Benedict XVI was in Istanbul eight years ago with a similar agenda and near identical itinerary. But the wars in Iraq, Syria, and Ukraine have make Francis’ mission more urgent than ever.
Pope Francis as Reformer, Evangelizer—and Doctrinal Conservative
NPR
http://www.npr.org/2014/11/30/366368633/pope-francis-as-reformer-evangelizer-and-doctrinal-conservative
Author Austen Ivereigh was interviewed by Eric Westervelt on his new book, The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope.
Empty Promises: Why France Won't Deliver for the Palestinians
by Rory Miller
Foreign Affairs
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/142402/rory-miller/empty-promises
How the National Assembly votes on a resolution recognizing Palestinian statehood and how the government of French President François Hollande responds does matter in other ways—although not so much for Israel or Palestine as for France, which has significant Jewish and Muslim populations.
The Jihad Cult: Why Young Germans Are Answering Call to Holy War
Der Spiegel
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/why-young-germany-are-answering-call-to-war-in-syria-a-1003468.html
Hundreds of young German Islamists have traveled to Syria to fight with the terrorist group Islamic State. Spiegel explored the extremist scene in Germany and the fascination with jihad in order to find answers about what drives people to join the murderous cult.
Carthage, Rome and Beyond
Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2014/11/europe-islamism-and-tunisia
What should European governments do about militant groups that are attacking their interests and recruiting their citizens? One of the most prominent academic observers of European Islam, Jonathan Laurence, has a suggestion. Those governments should watch closely what happens in Tunisia—to see whether an Islamist movement can become a law-abiding player in the affairs of a multi-party democracy.
Malaysia to Prop up Sedition Act to Protect ‘Sanctity of Islam’
by Al-Zaquan Amer Hamzah and Ebrahim Harris
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2014/11/27/malaysia-to-prop-up-sedition-act-to-protect-sanctity-of-islam/
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Thursday bolstered a law protecting the sanctity of Islam and the country’s traditional rulers, the sultans, in an about-turn to scrap a law banning criticism of the government.
Is Atheism a Specifically Western Phenomenon?
by Peter Berger
American Interest
http://www.the-american-interest.com/2014/11/26/is-atheism-a-specifically-western-phenomenon/
The dichotomy is not western/non-Western. It is Abrahamic/non-Abrahamic. It is a rebellion against the monotheistic faiths that originated in the Middle East—Judaism, Christianity, Islam. It makes much less sense in a non-monotheistic environment.
DOMESTIC
Churches Urge Healing, but Also Activism, After Stormy Week in Ferguson
by Monica Davey, Mitch Smith, and John Eligon
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/01/us/ferguson.html?ref=todayspaper
At worship services around this region, clergy on Sunday called for recovery and healing, yet in many of the messages, there were also calls to continue a movement raising questions about race and police behavior that followed the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown. That momentum and those concerns, some clergy members said, should not be allowed to fade away or be forgotten.
In Religious Order, Texas Women Find a Place to Call Home
by Robyn Ross
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/30/us/in-religious-order-texas-women-find-a-place-to-call-home.html?ref=todayspaper
Through its growth and youth, the Dominican Sisters of Mary, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan but with a Texas contingent, run counter to the national trends among Roman Catholic religious orders.
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