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Pope Francis leads Angelus prayer at the library of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican March 21, 2021. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS
In a seven-point preface to the decree explaining why action was needed now, Francis said the pandemic "has negatively affected all the sources of income of the Holy See and the State of Vatican City."
If legislation they have introduced passes, future elections in Texas will look something like this: Voters with disabilities will be required to prove they can't make it to the polls before they can get mail-in ballots. County election officials won’t be able to keep polling places open late to give voters like shift workers more time to cast their ballots. Partisan poll watchers will be allowed to record voters who receive help filling out their ballots at a polling place. Drive-thru voting would be outlawed. And local election officials may be forbidden from encouraging Texans to fill out applications to vote by mail, even if they meet the state’s strict eligibility rules.
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In Shakespeare's plays as in real life: When evil makes itself known, pay attention.
A view of the Gold Spa after deadly shootings at three day spas, in Atlanta, Ga., on March 17, 2021. REUTERS/Dustin Chambers
Eight people, six of them women of Asian descent, were shot dead in a string of attacks at day spas in and around Atlanta, and a man suspected of carrying out the shootings was arrested in southern Georgia, police said.
Pope Francis listens during Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on March 14, 2021. Tiziana Fabi/Pool via REUTERS
The ruling was a response to practices in some countries where parishes and ministers have begun blessing same-sex unions.
A year ago, I thought it’d be a stretch to get most folks to take abolition seriously. Then the pandemic hit.
For Christians who reject Dave Ramsey’s financial advice and the theology that supports it, it’s not always clear where to find alternatives.
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) speaks with reporters as he arrives for a vote in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 8, 2021. REUTERS/Al Drago
For the last decade, Black Lives Matter organizers and other activists have cultivated a renewed energy toward addressing racism in America. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) hopes to channel that energy through legislation that would overhaul the U.S. Department of Agriculture, known colloquially as “the last plantation.”
Stories for all of us who’ve had the courage to admit that nope, we’re not okay, and this is hard.
Numbers like 500,000, hard as they are to grasp, are necessary for grieving.
Semler's EP, Preacher's Kid (unholy demos), topped iTunes Christian charts after its release in February. Photo by Molly Adams, courtesy of Semler.
The contemporary Christian music industry has been adamantly opposed to affirming LGBTQ+ people. But Semler's EP Preacher's dares to include songs about queer sexuality, lesbian weddings, and Christian faith.
Sr. Dianna Ortiz. Photo: Johnny Zokovitch
On Feb. 19, Sr. Dianna Ortiz, OSU died of cancer at age 62. Ortiz is known for her international anti-torture activism following her own kidnapping and torture in Guatemala in 1989.
Photo by Thomas Park on Unsplash
It’s hard to be far away when tragedy hits close to home. (Well, maybe not for Ted Cruz.)
Marleny Almendarez, 38, with her niece Madelyne Hernandez, 3, and two boys, Aaron Hall, 11, and Matthew Hall, 14, outside their home in Dallas on Feb. 18, 2021. The family spent two nights at a mobile warming station to avoid the cold temperatures. Photo: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune
Neighborhoods across the state — some lined with million dollar homes, others by more modest dwellings — went cold and dark for days as Texas struggled to keep the power on during a dangerous winter storm. But while the catastrophe wrought by unprecedented weather was shared by millions left shivering in their own homes, the suffering was not equally spread.
The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song airs on PBS on Feb. 16 & 17. Image via screengrab.
On Feb. 16, PBS will air the first episode of a new, four-hour, two-part series, The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song. Hosted and written by Henry Louis Gates Jr., who is also the documentary’s executive producer, the series traces the 400-year-old story of the Black church in America, beginning with the trans-Atlantic slave trade and culminating in the present day.
Photo by Jacob Bentzinger on Unsplash
Lent is always a solemn period of penance, reflection, and prayer, but this year that reflection is different. Though vaccinations are on the rise, the virus has killed nearly 500,000 people in America and forced many more into isolation. For many Christians, Lent in 2021 has also taken on a new significance beyond the requirements of social distancing.
The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., on May 8, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
“The law guarantees Smith the right to practice his faith free from unnecessary interference, including at the moment the State puts him to death,” wrote Justice Elena Kagan.
Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church in Southeast Washington is the first faith-based vaccination partner in DC Health’s “Faith in the Vaccine” initiative. Photo by Madison Muller for Sojourners.
Senior citizens braved the winter weather on Thursday morning for their COVID-19 vaccine appointments at Pennsylvania Baptist Church in Southeast Washington, D.C. By the end of the day, 100 Washingtonians would be vaccinated at the church.
On Wednesday night, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed a district court’s decision and ruled that the state of Alabama must allow Willie B. Smith III’s pastor to be in the execution chamber during Smith’s execution.