In the News, February 12-16, 2016

February 16, 2016

Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the world: Pope Francis in Mexico, a meeting between a pope and a patriarch, Chinese nationals at Christian American universities, and Bernie Sanders' Judaism. 

POPE FRANCIS IN LATIN AMERICA
The Pope Just Had a Meeting 1,000 Years in the Making. Here’s Why.
by Carol Kuruvilla
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pope-francis-patriarch-kiril_us_56bcd4d1e4b08ffac1244887
The encounter between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill, of the Russian Orthodox Church, was a symbolic step towards healing a nearly 1,000-year-old schism within Christianity -- but the full effects that this meeting will have on the relations between the two churches remain to be seen.

In Mexican Slum, Pope Francis Laments Economic Gap

by Azam Ahmed and Jim Yardley
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/15/world/americas/in-mexican-slum-pope-francis-laments-economic-gap.html?_r=0
By coming to Ecatepec, one of the country’s largest, poorest and most violent cities, the Latin American pope placed himself at the center of Mexico’s identity crisis. Nagging economic disparity has left nearly half of the country living in poverty while a mere sliver of society controls the rest — even as drug traffickers terrorize large parts of the nation.

At Mass, Pope Francis Embraces “Misunderstood” of Mexico
by Jim Yardley and Paulina Villegas
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/16/world/americas/at-mass-pope-francis-embraces-misunderstood-of-mexico.html?ref=world
“On many occasions, in a systematic and organized way, your people have been misunderstood and excluded from society,” Francis said. “Some have considered your values, culture and traditions to be inferior. Others, intoxicated by power, money and market trends, have stolen your lands or contaminated them.” 

AROUND THE WORLD
Why Some Brits Choose Islamic Prayer Over Partying
Economist Erasmus blog
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2016/02/conversion-islam
Every year, thousands of British people convert to Islam. Estimates of how many vary a lot, but in 2011 a study concluded that the total number of converts in the United Kingdom might exceed 100,000 and that about 5,000 had made that choice the previous year, with women exceeding men and the “white British” share of fresh converts amounting to around half.

As Pope and Russian Patriarch Meet, Ukraine Fears a ‘Shaky’ Vatican
by Rev. Andriy Chirovsky
Crux
http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2016/02/11/as-pope-and-russian-patriarch-meet-ukraine-fears-shaky-vatican/
In much of the world, Friday’s historic meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in Havana, Cuba, will be hailed as a breakthrough. Attitudes are more mixed, however, in Ukraine, long the front line of tensions between Catholics and the Russian Orthodox. 

Catholic Leaders Say Zika Doesn’t Change Ban on Contraception
by Laurie Goodstein
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/14/world/americas/catholic-leaders-say-zika-doesnt-change-ban-on-contraception.html
Catholic leaders are warning women against using contraceptives or having abortions, even as health officials in some countries are advising women not to get pregnant because of the risk of birth defects. 

Leave China, Study in America, Find Jesus
by Han Zhang
Foreign Policy
https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/02/11/leave-china-study-in-america-find-jesus-chinese-christian-converts-at-american-universities/
Why a growing number of Chinese students at U.S. universities are coming home with Christian beliefs. 

Province in Muslim Pakistan Passes Landmark Hindu Marriage Bill
Reuters
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2016/02/16/province-in-muslim-pakistan-passes-landmark-hindu-marriage-bill/
Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh on Monday became the country’s first region to give its small Hindu minority the right to register their marriages officially. Non-Muslims make up only about three percent of the 190 million population of Pakistan, which was founded as a haven for the sub-continent’s Muslims on independence from the British in 1947 with a promise of religious freedom to minorities.

Sunni Resentment Muddles Prospects of Reunifying Iraq after ISIS
by Tim Arango
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/13/world/middleeast/sunni-resentment-muddles-prospect-of-reunifying-iraq-after-isis.html?ref=world&_r=0
The retaking of Ramadi, the provincial capital, has been held out as a vital victory by Iraqi officials and their American allies, and one of the most crucial first steps in the government’s reclaiming Anbar Province and other Sunni Arab places. But even as military goals are being met, Sunni families are still voicing their fear and resentment of the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad, highlighting that the broader goal of political reconciliation is not yet being served. 

Uganda’s Least Equal Voters: The L.G.B.T.I.

by Nicholas Opiyo
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/17/opinion/ugandas-least-equal-voters-the-lgbti.html?ref=world
Uganda’s L.G.B.T.I. groups and human rights allies still look to international voices, minds and hearts to help snuff out the spark of hatred that is being lit again and again by the American Pentecostal movement.

NATIONAL
Bernie Sanders Embodies Trend of the “Spiritual but not Religious’ American
by Antonia Blumberg
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-spirituality_us_56bcda51e4b0b40245c5b5bf?cps=gravity_2677_289084110382693900
If elected, he would become the first Jewish president in U.S. history. But that fact, alone, doesn't tell the whole story. The presidential hopeful was raised Jewish, believes in God, says he doesn't participate in organized religion, and he has a substantial following among atheists. 

Related | Why Bernie Sanders’ Judaism is so Important
by Matthew Rozsa
Salon
http://www.salon.com/2016/02/11/why_bernie_sanders_judaism_is_so_important/
Sanders considers himself secular, yet his overwhelming sense of empathy is profoundly Jewish.
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