Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and
around the globe: what to expect from the Pope's address to Congress, reclaiming the word jihad, and a shakeup in the Saudi royal family.
AROUND THE WORLD
6 Things to Expect in the Pope’s Address to Congress
by David Gibson
Religion News Service
http://www.religionnews.com/2015/04/30/6-things-expect-popes-address-congress/
Everyone wants Congress to stop fighting and get working, and that includes Pope Francis, a top adviser said Wednesday (April 29) in a preview of the pope’s upcoming U.S. trip. The Argentine-born pontiff has never been to the U.S., but he will make history in September as the first pope to address a joint meeting of the House and Senate on Capitol Hill. “The pope will come humbly but will talk clearly,” Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, a top adviser to Francis, told an audience at Georgetown University.
Freedom's Foes
Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2015/05/america-religion-and-anarchy
There are states that purport to control what happens within their borders but hardly have any real existence. And there are forces that really do affect people's lives (from warlords and terrorist groups to drug syndicates) and are quick to step into that void, even though they will never be legally recognized as states. Yesterday the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), one of the bodies created by the 1998 law, took a big step towards recognizing that reality.
A Jihad to Reclaim the Word Jihad
National editorial
http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/editorial/a-jihad-to-reclaim--the-word-jihad
Real jihad is about striving to make the world a better place. It is a concept that can and should appeal to all of humanity. But in recent years, it has been hijacked by extremists hell-bent on twisting its meaning to serve their ends.
The Guardian View on the Future of War: Critical Questions Need to Be Asked
Guardian editorial
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/30/guardian-view-future-war-critical-questions-need-asked
The slashing of defence budgets has gone too far, but that does not mean that the principal response to these new developments in war should always be military. We need to react more intelligently. The principal response should be to pay attention to underlying causes, to global warming, over-population, failures of governance, resource shortages and to extremes of inequality.
The Saudi Royal Family Shakeup
by Robin Wright
New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-saudi-royal-family-shakeup
The shakeup, which concentrates power in a conservative wing of the vast royal family, could shape policy in the world’s largest oil exporter for decades. The apparent goal was to signal renewed vigor amid deepening turmoil in and around the country.
Attacks on U.N. Force Add to Unrest in Mali
by Adam Nossiter
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/01/world/africa/attacks-on-un-force-add-to-unrest-in-mali.html?ref=todayspaper
Armed groups in the north of Mali have, over the last week, attacked each other as well as United Nations peacekeepers and Malian soldiers—underscoring the country’s fragility as it tries to emerge from several years of political instability and jihadist revolt.
Thai Buddhist Monk Wants to Clean up His Country’s Religious Institutions
by Anna Fifield
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/sex-drugs-and-embezzlement-no-big-deal-for-thailands-buddhist-monks/2015/04/28/9df1934e-dd2a-11e4-b6d7-b9bc8acf16f7_story.html
Think Buddhist monk, and bodyguards and bomb threats probably don’t spring to mind. But that’s exactly what Phra Buddha Issara is dealing with as he mounts a campaign to overhaul Thailand’s religious institutions. Thai Buddhism, much like Thai democracy, is in a state of upheaval.
DOMESTIC
A Pastor’s Faith in Baltimore
by Michael Gerson
Washington Post op-ed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-pastors-faith-in-a-brighter-future-for-baltimore/2015/04/30/ab6ad0e8-ef64-11e4-a55f-38924fca94f9_story.html
This is one of the most distinctive contributions of faith-based institutions to discussions on poverty and crime. Their vision of social healing is required to include the victimizers as well, who will remain in communities, or return from prison, after the cameras leave. “Everyone should have a second chance, even a third chance,” says Reid.
Baltimore’s Storied Churches See a Chance for Revival amid Civil Unrest
by Michelle Boorstein
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/baltimores-storied-churches-see-a-chance-for-revival-amid-civil-unrest/2015/04/30/c4911e96-ef42-11e4-8abc-d6aa3bad79dd_story.html
The night embodied a painful truth about one of American Christianity’s most historically rich cities: To some residents, Baltimore’s churches have lost their place. But with agonizing poverty, crime and hopelessness in parts of Baltimore broadcast to the world in recent weeks through protests and violent riots after the April 19 death of Freddie Gray, who had been injured in police custody, some see fuel for rebirth in the city’s faith foundation.
Want Millennials Back in the Pews? Stop Trying to Make Church ‘Cool.’
by Rachel Held Evans
Washington Post op-ed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/jesus-doesnt-tweet/2015/04/30/fb07ef1a-ed01-11e4-8666-a1d756d0218e_story.html?tid=pm_opinions_pop_b
Many churches have sought to lure millennials back by focusing on style points: cooler bands, hipper worship, edgier programming, and impressive technology. Yet while these aren’t inherently bad ideas and might in some cases be effective, they are not the key to drawing millennials back to God in a lasting and meaningful way. Young people don’t simply want a better show. And trying to be cool might be making things worse.
6 Things to Expect in the Pope’s Address to Congress
by David Gibson
Religion News Service
http://www.religionnews.com/2015/04/30/6-things-expect-popes-address-congress/
Everyone wants Congress to stop fighting and get working, and that includes Pope Francis, a top adviser said Wednesday (April 29) in a preview of the pope’s upcoming U.S. trip. The Argentine-born pontiff has never been to the U.S., but he will make history in September as the first pope to address a joint meeting of the House and Senate on Capitol Hill. “The pope will come humbly but will talk clearly,” Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, a top adviser to Francis, told an audience at Georgetown University.
Freedom's Foes
Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2015/05/america-religion-and-anarchy
There are states that purport to control what happens within their borders but hardly have any real existence. And there are forces that really do affect people's lives (from warlords and terrorist groups to drug syndicates) and are quick to step into that void, even though they will never be legally recognized as states. Yesterday the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), one of the bodies created by the 1998 law, took a big step towards recognizing that reality.
A Jihad to Reclaim the Word Jihad
National editorial
http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/editorial/a-jihad-to-reclaim--the-word-jihad
Real jihad is about striving to make the world a better place. It is a concept that can and should appeal to all of humanity. But in recent years, it has been hijacked by extremists hell-bent on twisting its meaning to serve their ends.
The Guardian View on the Future of War: Critical Questions Need to Be Asked
Guardian editorial
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/30/guardian-view-future-war-critical-questions-need-asked
The slashing of defence budgets has gone too far, but that does not mean that the principal response to these new developments in war should always be military. We need to react more intelligently. The principal response should be to pay attention to underlying causes, to global warming, over-population, failures of governance, resource shortages and to extremes of inequality.
The Saudi Royal Family Shakeup
by Robin Wright
New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-saudi-royal-family-shakeup
The shakeup, which concentrates power in a conservative wing of the vast royal family, could shape policy in the world’s largest oil exporter for decades. The apparent goal was to signal renewed vigor amid deepening turmoil in and around the country.
Attacks on U.N. Force Add to Unrest in Mali
by Adam Nossiter
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/01/world/africa/attacks-on-un-force-add-to-unrest-in-mali.html?ref=todayspaper
Armed groups in the north of Mali have, over the last week, attacked each other as well as United Nations peacekeepers and Malian soldiers—underscoring the country’s fragility as it tries to emerge from several years of political instability and jihadist revolt.
Thai Buddhist Monk Wants to Clean up His Country’s Religious Institutions
by Anna Fifield
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/sex-drugs-and-embezzlement-no-big-deal-for-thailands-buddhist-monks/2015/04/28/9df1934e-dd2a-11e4-b6d7-b9bc8acf16f7_story.html
Think Buddhist monk, and bodyguards and bomb threats probably don’t spring to mind. But that’s exactly what Phra Buddha Issara is dealing with as he mounts a campaign to overhaul Thailand’s religious institutions. Thai Buddhism, much like Thai democracy, is in a state of upheaval.
DOMESTIC
A Pastor’s Faith in Baltimore
by Michael Gerson
Washington Post op-ed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-pastors-faith-in-a-brighter-future-for-baltimore/2015/04/30/ab6ad0e8-ef64-11e4-a55f-38924fca94f9_story.html
This is one of the most distinctive contributions of faith-based institutions to discussions on poverty and crime. Their vision of social healing is required to include the victimizers as well, who will remain in communities, or return from prison, after the cameras leave. “Everyone should have a second chance, even a third chance,” says Reid.
Baltimore’s Storied Churches See a Chance for Revival amid Civil Unrest
by Michelle Boorstein
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/baltimores-storied-churches-see-a-chance-for-revival-amid-civil-unrest/2015/04/30/c4911e96-ef42-11e4-8abc-d6aa3bad79dd_story.html
The night embodied a painful truth about one of American Christianity’s most historically rich cities: To some residents, Baltimore’s churches have lost their place. But with agonizing poverty, crime and hopelessness in parts of Baltimore broadcast to the world in recent weeks through protests and violent riots after the April 19 death of Freddie Gray, who had been injured in police custody, some see fuel for rebirth in the city’s faith foundation.
Want Millennials Back in the Pews? Stop Trying to Make Church ‘Cool.’
by Rachel Held Evans
Washington Post op-ed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/jesus-doesnt-tweet/2015/04/30/fb07ef1a-ed01-11e4-8666-a1d756d0218e_story.html?tid=pm_opinions_pop_b
Many churches have sought to lure millennials back by focusing on style points: cooler bands, hipper worship, edgier programming, and impressive technology. Yet while these aren’t inherently bad ideas and might in some cases be effective, they are not the key to drawing millennials back to God in a lasting and meaningful way. Young people don’t simply want a better show. And trying to be cool might be making things worse.
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