Berkley Center

Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: the Vatican, Kurds, Pakistan, Malala Yousafzai, ISIS, and the Central African Republic.  

BERKLEY CENTER IN THE NEWS
What Can the Church Do for the Middle East?
by Drew Christiansen, S.J.
National Catholic Reporter
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/what-can-church-do-middle-east
Although he failed to receive the Nobel Peace Prize last week, Pope Francis continues his efforts at Middle East peacemaking in what is truly an epochal conflict across the region. 

AROUND THE WORLD
At the Vatican, a Shift in Tone Toward Gays and Divorce
by Elisabetta Povoledo and Laurie Goodstein 
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/world/europe/vatican-signals-more-tolerance-toward-gays-and-remarr...
In a marked shift in tone likely to be discussed in parishes around the world, an assembly of Roman Catholic bishops convened by Pope Francis at the Vatican released a preliminary document on Monday calling for the church to welcome and accept gay people, unmarried couples and those who have divorced, as well as the children of these less traditional families.

A Sea of Change
Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2014/10/vatican-gays-and-family
Something important changed in the Vatican on October 13th. Not a core doctrinal point or an administrative rule, but the tone with which the Roman Catholic church addresses gays and other people whose way of life differs from the classic ideal of a lifelong, heterosexual bond, sealed by a Christian ceremony.

For Syrian Kurds, a Refuge in Turkey but Not a Home
by Kareem Fahim
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/world/middleeast/for-syrian-kurds-a-refuge-but-not-a-home.html?ref...
The Islamic State’s assault last month on Kobani, a majority Kurdish town, drove out a huge number of the area’s roughly 400,000 residents, flooding Suruc with families and their belongings, anger and tales of hardship. The refugees have settled in storefronts, unfinished buildings and tent camps that fill as soon as they are erected, roughly doubling the size of the town, according to aid workers. Now, with the battle for Kobani settling into a stalemate, the squares and streets of Suruc feel more like a purgatory for the refugees than a haven.

U.N. Denounces ‘Provocations’ at Holy Sites in Jerusalem
by Jodi Rudoren
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/world/middleeast/al-aksa-mosque-israel-palestinians.html?ref=today...
The secretary general of the United Nations on Monday condemned what he called “provocations” at Jerusalem’s holy sites, hours after the Israeli police said officers had locked Palestinians inside Al Aksa Mosque to thwart a riot as Jews visited for the holiday of Sukkot.

Holding the Jihadist Puppet Masters Accountable 
by Jamsheed and Carol Choksy
Real Clear World 
http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2014/10/14/holding_the_jihadist_puppetmasters_accountable_110...
US Vice President Joseph Biden acknowledged at Harvard’s Kennedy School what had already been a widespread belief: that Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia fueled a proxy Sunni-Shia war by funneling hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of tons of weapons to Islamic State and other Sunni jihadist groups.

How Malala Can Help Defeat the Islamic State
by David Rothkopf
Foreign Policy
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/10/13/how_malala_can_help_defeat_the_islamic_state
Empowering women undoes centuries of injustice and enriches societies. But it also can play a vital role in helping to defeat some of the most dangerous ideologies and organizations found anywhere on the Earth today. It is for this reason that those groups are so scared by a teenage girl like Malala or by the progress represented by the likes of the women currently fighting extremism in the Middle East. 

Pakistan’s Original Sin
by Usman Ahmad
Foreign Policy
http://southasia.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/10/13/pakistans_original_sin
If the international community and liberal Pakistanis are serious in their desire to curb extremism in Pakistan and bring stability to the country then, the Ahmadi question is one which they will eventually have to confront. For too long it has been overlooked and ignored by experts, scholars, and policy makers as a key destabilizing factor in the country.

The Mission
by Jon Lee Anderson
New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/20/mission-3
Father Bernard’s persistent efforts have created a small area of safety in the Central African Republic. “At the hospital, we don’t get bothered by the antibalaka anymore, because they realize we also treat them,” Bernard said. A few Muslims remain in his care: the traumatized teen-age boy, the Peul girls with polio. The imam, too, is still there. 

The Nun and the Imam
by Céline Schmitt
UNHCR
http://tracks.unhcr.org/2014/10/the-nun-and-the-imam/
Since end of 2012, nearly 67,000 refugees from the Central African Republic have arrived in the DRC. Half of them live in four refugee camps and the others live with host families. Despite the heartache and fear, Sister Maria and the Imam are determined to cultivate the seeds of forgiveness and peace. Hopefully one day, their vision will prevail.