Today's religious and world affairs news from the United States and around the world: Pope Francis' visit to Latin America makes waves in the United States, the Zika virus complicates questions of contraception, and modern Islamists challenge norms of "Islamic governance."
BERKLEY CENTER IN THE NEWS
Over 100 NGOs, Leaders to Obama: ISIS Atrocities Against Christians, Other Minorities, Are Genocide
by Anugrah Kumar
Christian Post
"There is a growing chorus of political and faith leaders, genocide scholars, human rights experts and numerous Iraqi and Syrian, Christian and Yazidi firsthand testimonies recognizing that the most accurate description for the atrocities unfolding at the initiative of the Islamic State is genocide," reads the letter sent Wednesday by International Religious Freedom Roundtable to President Obama. The letter is signed by numerous groups and individuals, including Nina Shea and Paul Marshall, Russell Moore, and Thomas Farr.
POPE FRANCIS IN LATIN AMERICA
Pope Francis at the Border
New York Times editorial
Pope Francis’ trip to Mexico ended on Wednesday in Ciudad Juárez, a city once made hellish by drug violence and still gripped by poverty and crime. He did not seem afraid, and brought with him only smiles and hugs, and words of solace and encouragement.
Pope’s Presence Crosses Border Into U.S., Even if He Doesn’t
by Manny Fernandez
New York Times
In Mexico, Ciudad Juárez was naturally consumed with the visit by Pope Francis on Wednesday. But across the border here in West Texas, its sister city, El Paso, was equally swept up. The city seemed to both come alive and grind to a halt. Downtown, businesses shut down and sidewalks were largely empty. City administrative offices were also closed, as were many schools and stretches of highways and streets.
Pope Francis Suggests Donald Trump Is 'Not Christian'
by Jim Yardley
New York Times
Inserting himself into the Republican presidential race, Pope Francis on Wednesday suggested that Donald J. Trump “is not Christian” because of the harshness of his campaign promises to deport more immigrants and force Mexico to pay for a wall along the border.
Donald Trump Calls Pope’s Criticism ‘Disgraceful’
by Alan Rappeport
New York Times
Donald J. Trump said it was “disgraceful” that Pope Francis questioned his faith on Thursday and suggested that his presidency would be the answer to the Vatican’s prayers because he would protect it from terrorists if elected.
AROUND THE WORLD
Pope Francis Suggests Contraception Could Be Permissible in Zika Fight
by Sarah Pulliam Bailey and Michelle Boorstein
Washington Post
Francis cited the decision taken by Pope Paul VI in the 1960s, the AP reported, approving nuns in Belgian Congo using artificial contraception to prevent pregnancies because they were being systematically raped. Abortion “is an evil in and of itself, but it is not a religious evil at its root, no? It’s a human evil,” he said. “On the other hand, avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil. In certain cases, as in this one (Zika), such as the one I mentioned of Blessed Paul VI, it was clear.”
Saudi Arabia's Modern Islamists
by Madawi al-Rasheed
Foreign Affairs
In many ways, these Islamist intellectuals offer a “third way” of thinking about Islamic governance, which lies somewhere between Salafi Wahhabism, in which clerics are loyal to Saudi monarchy, and the jihadist goal of using violence to overthrow regimes. This third way represents an attempt to commit to Islam while combining it with democratic principles. It remains to be seen whether its advocates move toward adopting Western-style democracy.
For Russia’s Church Leader, A Trip to Antarctica Is Not Just a Photo Op
by Brian Murphy
Washington Post
"Antarctica is the only place free from weapons, military activity or research into new means of human destruction,” Patriarch Kirill told a handful of Russian scientists, explorers and others at the Bellingshausen Station research outpost, according to the Interfax news agency. “This is an example of ideal humankind and proof that people can live so, without borders or arms or hostile competition, that they can cooperate and feel like members of one family," he added.
The So-Called ‘Islamic rape of Europe’ Is Part of a Long and Racist History
by Ishaan Tharoor
Washington Post
A popular right-wing Polish newsweekly, wSieci or "The Network," published a deeply provocative magazine cover this week. It shows a young blonde woman, garbed loosely in the flag of the European Union, being groped by three men. Only the six swarthy arms and hands of the assailants are in view, but the message is clear and barely needs the brutal cover line: "The Islamic rape of Europe."
Why This Woman Started A Mosque Run Entirely By Women
by Antonia Blumberg
Huffington Post
A new mosque in Copenhagen, Denmark, features all the trappings of a traditional Muslim house of worship except Mariam Mosque will be led entirely by women imams, or worship leaders. Founder Sherin Khankan, a well-known author and political commentator in Denmark, told Danish newspaper Politiken she started Mariam in February because she "never felt at home in the existing mosques."
DOMESTIC
Finding Jesus at Work
by Emma Green
Atlantic
Pastors have long hung out with workers. During the Industrial Revolution, they would preach from factory floors. Nineteenth-century Catholic teachings declared it the Church’s duty to support the working poor. And in the Great Depression, industry titans hired chaplains to visit workers on the Hoover Dam. But in recent years, a number of companies have gone one step further: They’ve hired spiritual leaders to serve on their staffs.
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