Today's religion and world affairs from the United States and across the globe: Secretary John Kerry labels ISIS violence "genocide," Catholic voters divide over Trump, and the arrest of a Somali imam in Italy over alleged attack plans.
BERKLEY CENTER IN THE NEWS
Can a Catholic in Good Conscience Vote for Trump?
Catholic News Agency
http://www.angelusnews.com/entertainment/culture/can-a-catholic-in-good-conscience-vote-for-trump-10...
On March 7, dozens of prominent Catholic leaders, including Thomas Farr, director of the Religious Freedom Project at Georgetown University, released an appeal calling Trump “manifestly unfit to be president of the United States.” The statement continues “His appeals to racial and ethnic fears and prejudice are offensive to any genuinely Catholic sensibility. He promised to order U.S. military personnel to torture terrorist suspects and to kill terrorists’ families – actions condemned by the Church and policies that would bring shame upon our country.”
STATE DEPARTMENT CALLS ISIS ATTACKS GENOCIDE
Citing Atrocities, John Kerry Calls ISIS Actions Genocide
by Matthew Rosenberg
New York Times
http://nyti.ms/1UE5ywE
On Thursday, Mr. Kerry made it clear that accusations of genocide, crimes against humanity or ethnic cleansing against specific people “must be brought to light by an independent investigation and through formal legal determinations made by a competent court or tribunal.”
As Kerry Condemns ISIS Genocide, Calls to Recognize Something Else: Femicide
by Adam Taylor
Washington Post WorldViews
http://wpo.st/qhsM1The term "femicide" has been used for centuries to refer to the killing of women, but it was reclaimed during the feminist movement of the 1970s to refer more specifically to the systematic violence against women because of their sex. Diana Russell, the South African-born writer and activist who was an early proponent of the term, came to define it as "the killing of females by males because they are female."
State Department Declares ISIS Attacks On Christians Constitute Genocide
by Tom Gjelten
NPR
http://www.npr.org/2016/03/17/470861310/state-department-declares-isis-attacks-on-christians-constit...
The State Department says ISIS has committed "genocide" against Christians in Syria and Iraq, but the declaration may add up to more in U.S. domestic politics than in new action against the militants.
AROUND THE WORLD
Italy Arrests Somali Cleric over Alleged Plans for Rome Attack
by Crispian Balmer
Reuters FaithWorld
http://reut.rs/1pLqlmz
Police said he had used his role as an imam to promote the militant groups Islamic State and Somali Islamist group al Shabaab and encourage Muslims to take up jihad, or holy war.
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