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Editor's note:
This week started with a double dose of major news that tested the skills of AP’s Vatican correspondent, Nicole Winfield. Pope Francis named Sister Simona Brambilla of Italy as the first-ever woman to head a Vatican dicastery. She’ll oversee the department responsible for Catholic religious orders worldwide. Francis also named Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego as the archbishop of Washington. That puts one of the pope’s most progressively like-minded allies at the head of the Catholic Church in the U.S. capital at the start of Donald Trump's second administration. At a news conference, McElroy identified Trump's threats of mass deportations of immigrants as a point of potential conflict, saying such policies were “incompatible with Catholic doctrine.” McElroy also has questioned why the U.S. bishops’ conference consistently identifies abortion as its “preeminent” priority. He asks why greater prominence is not given to issues such as racism, poverty, immigration and climate change.
Religion News
Who is Charlie Kirk, the new faith-focused enforcer of Trumpism?
Kirk is positioning himself as not only Trump’s fiercest backer in the religious right but an enforcer of Trumpian dogma. By Jack Jenkins/Religion News Service
Archbishop of Canterbury's tenure ends after resigning over failures in handling abuse scandal
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby ’s tenure officially ends, two months after he resigned following an inquiry that found he failed to tell police about serial abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps as soon as he became aware of it. By Danica Kirka/The Associated Press
The nation’s largest freethought organization published, then removed, an article by honorary board member Jerry Coyne, who argued that transgender women are more sexually predatory than other women. By Yonat Shimron/Religion News Service
What would Bonhoeffer do? Anti-Nazi pastor's legacy claimed, debated across political spectrum
German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed by the Nazis in 1945 for his role in a resistance movement. Ever since, he's been viewed as a martyr to that cause. Remarkably, the battle over his legacy is fiercer than ever these days — with people across the ideological spectrum claiming he would support their side on various issues. By Peter Smith/The Associated Press
Scarves over headscarves, Muslim women’s outdoors group tackles snow tubing in Minnesota
Three years ago, a Somali-American mom in Minneapolis founded a group for Muslim women who want to enjoy the great outdoors. On a recent frigid winter morning, two dozen members of the group went snow tubing in a suburban park, their hijabs tucked under wool caps and the hoods of their jackets. By Giovanna Dell’Orto/The Associated Press
Commentary and Analysis
Historians may not know much about Silvester’s life, but the era he lived in was pivotal for Christianity. By Cavan W. Concannon for The Conversation
The continued bombardment of Gaza that has killed and maimed civilians almost every day since early October 2023 has long ago ceased to be a war of self-defense. By Ron Kronish/Religion News Service
The phrase ‘so help me God’ is believed to be a part of the presidential oath ever since George Washington is said to have used it 236 years ago. Except, says a historian − there is no evidence of it. By David B. Parker for The Conversation
The point of mindfulness is not to be more productive at work or just to relax − it is inner transformation. By Jeremy David Engels for The Conversation
Israeli soldiers light a candle on the seventh night of Hanukkah before being deployed to the Gaza Strip near the Israeli-Gaza border in southern Israel, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
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