News & Ideas - June 22, 2015

June 22, 2015

Defiant show of unity in Charleston church that lost 9 to racist violence
The New York Times: In a display of unity, resolve and defiance, Emanuel A.M.E. Church opened its doors for its regular Sunday service, just four days after three men and six women were left in a bloody pile in its basement.

Charleston and the politics of evasion
The Washington Post: We Americans are exceptionally good at evasion when we want to be, particularly on the matter of race and the subject of guns, says E.J. Dionne Jr.

For faithful, social justice goals demand action on environment
The New York Times: Pope's encyclical is an exclamation mark on a broad shift in thinking that has been underway for decades and extends far beyond the Roman Catholic Church.

Pope Francis is a bit like Naomi Klein in a cassock
The (London) Guardian: The call in Pope Francis' letter is simple, says Giles Fraser: there is no alternative but for us to make do with less. We need to develop a proper respect for limits.

Billy Graham's grandson steps down from Florida megachurch after admitting an affair
The Washington Post: Billy Graham's grandson Tullian Tchividjian has resigned from his pulpit at Coral Ridge Presbyterian, a high-profile church in south Florida, after admitting he had an affair.