Former Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Resigns Amid Abuse Scandal

Cardinal Ranjith Excludes Girls from Serving as Altar Servers in Sri Lanka

ZENIT Staff

According to the Prelate, the decision, formalized in a Letter dated October 22, 2024, responds to the need to protect priestly vocations, which depend exclusively on men.

Paris Foreign Missions Society Publishes Its Report on Sexual Abuses

Covadonga Asturias

The Superior General of the Foreign Missions expressed “graveness, sadness and indignation” when receiving the Report. However, this exercise of self-evaluation not only intends to acknowledge past errors, but also to establish solid bases for the future.The Report is not just a diagnostic but gives recommendations to implement a culture of protection, which encompasses all levels of the organization.

A Legacy in Shambles: Former Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Resigns Amid Abuse Scandal

Elizabeth Owens

The controversy centers on Carey’s advocacy for David Tudor, an Anglican priest suspended in the 1980s for sexually abusing multiple teenagers. In 1993, Carey, then Archbishop of Canterbury, supported Tudor’s return to ministry under supervision—a decision the Church now admits was a grave mistake.

From Saddam to Assad, the collapse of regimes and the danger of an ‘Iraqisation’ in Syria

ZENIT Staff

In an exclusive sit down with AsiaNews, Prof. Saad Salloum draws a parallel between the overthrow of the Rais in Iraq and the flight of the Syrian dictator. In both cases it took 13 years for their ouster to ‘drain’ the resources around the leader. Baghdad must ‘take tangible measures to ensure the recovery of the new Syria’ starting with the fight against drugs. Limit the role of Turkey and Iran, set up a reconstruction fund.

Most celebrate Christmas, few know what they celebrate

Most celebrate Christmas, few know what they celebrate: surprising revelations from a study

Tim Daniels

While the majority of Americans celebrate Christmas, understanding of its biblical roots is lacking. According to a 2018 Lifeway study, only 22% of U.S. adults believe they could accurately and entirely retell the Nativity story from memory. Another 31% say they could recount it but might miss some details or get others wrong. About 25% could only provide a general summary, while 17% admit they couldn’t recount the story at all.

Did enslaved people write the New Testament?

Palestinian Christians call on western churches to ‘humanize’ the children of Gaza
The Conversation: In a recent message for the first Sunday of Advent, the Rev. Munther Isaac, one of the foremost Palestinian Christian theologians, issued a letter pleading for the world to “humanize the children of Gaza, the children of Palestine.”

Why composers of any (or no) faith are drawn to sacred music*
The New York Times: Many Christmas standards were not written by Christians. David Lang explains the appeal for him, a Jewish composer of a modern holiday classic.

Meet the young women joining the ranks of Catholic nuns, a journey that can take up to ten years
The Associated Press: Less than 1% of nuns in the United States today are 30 or younger. That number has remained steady in the past decade but shows little signs of increasing.
The Associated Press: Takeaways from AP’s reporting on young nuns

Did enslaved people write the New Testament?*
The Christian Century: Candida Moss argues that when early Christian texts were written, unpaid laborers were in the room where it happened.

A Shiite and a Catholic find refuge — and friendship — at Baptist Seminary Shelter*
Christianity Today: From war to ceasefire, two Lebanese men bond during a traumatic three months.

Christian Olivet University loses its license to operate in California but says it will remain open
Religion News Service: Olivet blames its woes on a long-running feud with the owners of Newsweek, former members of a sect led by David Jang, a controversial Korean minister and founder of the college.

Oldest known stone tablet inscribed with the Ten Commandments sells for over $5M
Associated Press: The tablet dates from 300 to 800 A.D. and is inscribed with the commandments in Paleo-Hebrew script — the only complete example of its kind from antiquity, according to Sotheby’s.

Churches are making room for grief and loss at Christmas
NPR: More and more clergy and congregations find a need to give voice to the less-than-joyful emotions people experience during the winter holidays.

Sure, “Paradise Lost” is radical, but did you know it was sexy?*
The New Yorker: A new study charts John Milton’s influence on revolutionary thinkers but misses the sheer seductiveness of his masterwork.

Why does religion journalism matter to democracy? Ask a Texas reporter
Sojourners: To report on abuse in the SBC, Robert Downen had to earn the trust of everyone from powerful, complementarian pastors to radical, queer exvangelicals.

Fourth Sunday of Advent

 

The 10 Commandments to go to auction in New York

The 10 Commandments to go to auction in New York: up to $2 million expected in the fight

Tim Daniels

The pre-auction exhibition, which began on December 5, has already drawn international interest from collectors, historians, and institutions. While Sotheby’s has set an opening bid of $1 million, experts anticipate that the final price could soar beyond $2 million as the tablet’s unique provenance and cultural significance drive competitive bidding.

Cardinal of Chicago asks not to kneel at communion

This is the priest (and the story) in which a miracle was worked that will make Pier Giorgio Frassati a saint

ZENIT Staff

But this odd combination of circumstances would eventually prove providential, confounding medical authorities, changing the life of this anonymous seminarian, and forever tying him to another young man who had been dead for almost 100 years: Pier Giorgio Frassati, who in August will be declared a saint of the Catholic Church on account of the miracle of Juan Gutierrez’s ankle. 

Pope Francis reveals two attacks against him that ended with the death of perpetrators

Valentina di Giorgio

Francis recounts the chilling intelligence received by the Vatican Gendarmerie upon his arrival in Baghdad. British intelligence had flagged two potential attacks: a young woman carrying explosives was reportedly heading to Mosul as a suicide bomber, while a van laden with explosives sped toward an undisclosed target.

Syria: Muslim Jihadists Assure They Will Not Go Against Christians

Rafael Llanes

Given the former relations with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, there is mistrust of the leaders now governing Syria. After a meeting with some of them, Monsignor Audo concluded: “We were all present: Bishops, Priests and Religious. The meeting was very positive.”

The “Mystery” of the LGBT Pilgrimage in the Jubilee 2025: A Polemic Between Inclusivity and Controversy

Valentina di Giorgio

The presence of these associations poses fundamental questions about how the Vatican addresses the questions of sexual identity and orientation within the faith. Is it a gesture of pastoral openness to people that seek to reconcile their faith with their identity? Or is it a concession that could be interpreted as an implicit doctrinal change?

Cautious Hope Emerges Among Christians in Syria Amid Transition

ZENIT Staff

Although ACN’s research indicates no evidence of systemic persecution against Christians, occasional reports of discrimination and religiously motivated aggression persist. These incidents serve as reminders of the precarious position of Syria’s Christian minority, even as the broader situation improves.

Pope Francis Emphasizes Unity and Shared Mission During Meeting with Methodists

ZENIT Staff

Pope to World Methodist Council delegation

Cardinal of Chicago asks not to kneel at communion: these are “his” reasons

Tim Daniels

“Our ritual for receiving Holy Communion holds profound meaning,” Cupich wrote. “It reminds us that receiving the Eucharist is not a private act but a communal one. As such, the established norm—approved by the Holy See and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops—is for the faithful to process together and receive the Sacred Host standing.”

Deadly violence in Nigeria tied to United Methodist Church schism over LGBTQ policies

Religious traditions can help with holiday blues, mental health experts say
Religion News Service: Both faith leaders and mental health experts say religious traditions and faith communities can play a key role in helping people get through the winter holidays, when rates of depression and anxiety are proven to increase.

What verses anxious Bible readers turned to in 2024*
Christianity Today: Bible platforms see Philippians and the Psalms rise in popularity as stressed-out readers look for comfort during an economically and politically turbulent year.

What if our democracy can’t survive without Christianity?*
The New York Times: In a conversation with David French, atheist and public policy fellow Jonathan Rauch suggests that what really needs to happen to get our country on a better track is for Christianity not to become more secular or more liberal, but to become more like itself, to become more truly Christian.

A new Supreme Court case about religion has a hidden trap for workers
Vox: Catholic Charities v. Wisconsin has a sympathetic plaintiff, and alarmingly high stakes for workers.

Deadly violence in Nigeria tied to United Methodist Church schism over LGBTQ policies
The Associated Press: A United Methodist church member was shot and killed and homes were set ablaze in a confrontation between Global Methodists and United Methodists in Taraba, a state in northeast Nigeria.

These Nuns Were Excommunicated but Won’t Leave Their Convents

 

Sister Belén and several other nuns are now effectively squatters — they are cloistered inside the two convents, known as the Orduña and the Belorado. The Derio convent has been empty since the sisters moved out following years of what they describe as persecution by “the devil.”

The unusual dispute, now tangled in a Spanish court, has involved a search warrant for a mysterious gun — plus demons, debts, a mortgage and a manifesto in which the nuns denounced the Catholic Church. The saga has gripped local residents and called into question who actually controls the convents: the sisters or the Vatican?

“They have taken our bank accounts and want to take our properties, land and donations, too,” said Sister Belén, who entered the order of the Poor Clares at Belorado in 1999. “It’s very hard. But we have to fight.”

As he turns 88, 8 + 8 interesting things about Pope Francis

As he turns 88, 8 + 8 interesting things about Pope Francis

On the occasion of his 88th birthday, CNA highlights some interesting facts about Pope Francis.

Pope Francis appoints new auxiliary bishop for Jordan and the titular see of Siminia

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, expressed his gratitude to Pope Francis for Father Iyad Twal’s appointments.

Pope Francis at 88: Age-old wisdom, intergenerational dialogue at heart of evangelization

Having instituted the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly in 2019, the Holy Father is keeping true to his inaugural message dedicated to older Catholics.

Pope Francis reveals he survived two threats to his life in Iraq

Pope Francis has revealed in a new book, “Spera,” that he narrowly escaped two attempts on his life during his visit to Iraq in March 2021 in the city of Mosul.

Pope Francis pens essay on humor: ‘Irony is a medicine’

“The Gospel, which urges us to become like little children for our own salvation (Matthew 18:3), reminds us to regain their ability to smile,” Francis wrote.

When God Spoke English (BBC Documentary)

 

Dec 8, 2024 "When God Spoke English: The Making of the King James Bible" 

(reposted by Lombardy Productions) explores the creation of the King James Bible. This BBC documentary, presented by Adam Nicolson, examines the translators' efforts, historical significance, and the cultural impact of this masterpiece that shaped English prose and unified a kingdom.