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Pope Francis

Acts of Mercy and Saving the Environment

Acts of Mercy and Saving the Environment

by James Kurzynski

On September 1, 2016, Pope Francis introduced two new works of mercy pertaining to the environment...Why did Pope Francis add these works of mercy? What does this mean for the Church?  In answering these, it is important to reflect on why popes make these kinds of changes in the first place.

Interfaith Collaboration in the Wake of Global Climate Change

Interfaith Collaboration in the Wake of Global Climate Change

by Justin Catanoso

On May 24, 2017 a grim-faced Pope Francis handed a signed copy of Laudato Si to President Trump during his visit to Rome. The U.S. president, who has called climate change “a hoax,” promised to read the papal encyclical, a spiritual and secular plea to save the Earth from environmental destruction. A week later, Trump announced plans to pull the United States out of the 2015 Paris Agreement

Katy Perry's Not the Only One Who Wants to Live in a Convent

Katy Perry's Not the Only One Who Wants to Live in a Convent

by Megan Sweas

I moved into a convent 10 years ago this summer. My roommates were not Catholic sisters, but other recent college graduates, who sometimes acted a little too much as if we were still living in a college dorm. But most of our time was dedicated to service of our community.

Pope Fancis’s New Interreligious Dialogue of Action

The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), in collaboration with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India and Religions for Peace, held the Vatican’s fifth Buddhist-Christian Colloquium February 12-13, 2015 at Bodh Gaya in India. Bodh Gaya is the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment and was chosen for a dialogue since it has temples and monasteries from many different types of Buddhists.

Freedom to Proselytize Associated with Lower Religious Hostilities

Last March the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion, Development, and World Affairs published a series of short papers about proselytism in their publication Cornerstone. Each author was invited to respond to the following statement:

The Jewish Command to Pursue Justice is the Jewish Obligation to Act on Climate Change

My Jewish values tell me that I must pursue justice, of course, but they also tell me so much more. In Deuteronomy 16:18 we read “Justice, justice, you shall pursue.” As a Jew, I am not only commanded to fight for justice, but for “justice, justice.” Jews are given a double commandment – an un-stuttering repetition in our text that tells us that justice alone is not enough.

Climate Key to Sustainable Development

Pope Francis told world leaders on Friday that in order to address poverty, hunger, war and inequality, they must first tackle climate change.

Exploding the Myths

Exploding the Myths

by Victoria Furio

Using common sense to halt our perilous drift, Pope Francis snaps us back to our senses with a stunning reality check. His pointed comments in the encyclical Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home, pierce the bubbles of…

Religion in the News

As the one who compiles the “Interfaith News Roundup” (the stories of note found in TIO’s monthly aggregation), my sense is that mid-year 2015 is actually a relief, better than we have any right to expect. Bad news still abounds, particularly religiously related conflict and severely constricted religious freedom for millions. But a new cascade of nightmare stories didn’t show up again this month. The tragic exception was the terrible murder of nine people attending Bible study at Charleston’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, casting the shadow of racist terrorism across the year. A silver lining was how it evoked one of Barrack Obama’s most powerful speeches, one that will go down in American history. (You’ll find text and video links in the Roundup.)

A Green Pope? And Why Not?

Rush Limbaugh, conservative American radio star, cries: “This Pope is a Marxist!” Peggy Noonan, a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, claims: “The Church is making the same mistake now that it made with Galileo 400 years ago.” Greg Gutfeld, of Fox News, calls the Pope “the most dangerous man on the planet.”

Global Religion – A Perfect Storm, by the Numbers

Religiously related beheadings broadcast this summer over the internet snapped the world to attention, initiating a dark new chapter in global religious relationships. We might call this a tragic aberration if the madness were confined to Iraq/Syria, or if religious freedom was not diminishing globally even as religiously related conflict is accelerating. But this new level of violence could push us to a tipping point. Humankind’s best hope may be the willingness of peacemakers, religious and secular, to join hands strategically to end absolutist violence, wherever it’s found.

Fifty Countries in 300 Days Searching for Interfaith

France’s Coexister Sends Young People into the World

The Stunning Resurgence of Progressive Christianity

The Swinging Pendulum in American Religion

An Interview with Cardinal Jean Louis Tauran

Interfaith at the Vatican

Leaders Confronting the Shadow in Religion and the World

A Different kind of power

When a King and a Pope Sit Down to Talk Religion…

Celebrate World Interfaith Harmony Week – February 1-7

The Toughest Goal of All

Editorial

Exploring Prayer, and an Answer to Prayer Named Pope Francis

Editorial