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Articles by Peter Smith
Rejecting church and state separation ion the wish list for liberty commission
Another calls for court interventions by the Department of Justice on behalf of Amish parents fighting New York vaccine requirements and Catholic nuns challenging that state’s requirement that they accommodate hospice patients’ gender identities.
Abraham: Don't be surprised if this biblical figure comes up in Middle East push for peace
Associated Press (AP) — President Donald Trump repeatedly touted the “Abraham Accords” in his Middle East trip on Monday, seeking to build on 2020 agreements that expanded the number of Arab states with diplomatic ties with Israel. The term is filled with religious and cultural meaning, citing a biblical patriarch revered as a founding figure in three major religions whose adherents encompass more than half the world's population — Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
What it takes to clean industrial soot and grime from a Pittsburgh church
MILLVALE, Pa. — How do you conserve 80-year-old murals that have accumulated decades’ worth of soot, salt and other deterioration? Slowly and carefully, using everything from scientific analysis to seaweed extract to everyday tools — like cosmetic sponges and shish kebab sticks. That was the approach taken by a conservation team as they labored on a section of murals at St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church near Pittsburgh.
Who are the US cardinals voting for the next pope?
The United States is the home country of 10 of the 133 cardinals eligible to vote for the next pope of the Catholic Church. That’s more than any nation except Italy, home to 17 of the electors who gather today at the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel for the conclave that will choose a successor to Pope Francis.
US Catholic bishops sue Trump administration for halt in funding
Catholic bishops sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its abrupt halt to funding of refugee resettlement, calling the action unlawful and harmful to newly arrived refugees and to the nation’s largest private resettlement program.
Given Christianity's dominance in US, Trump raises eyebrows with anti-Christian bias initiative
Christianity is by far the largest faith in America, and Christian conservatives have a strong grip on the levers of government. That dominance is leaving many to question why President Donald Trump's new task force on eradicating anti-Christian bias is needed. Critics see the task force initiative as unnecessary and pandering to Trump's base. But some Christian supporters said it is overdue, claiming the Biden administration had discriminated against them through actions and inactions.
Wildfires in Los Angeles destroy numerous houses of worship
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Southern Baptists oust one church for having woman pastor, two others over sexual-abuse policy (copy)
The Southern Baptist Convention's top administrative body voted Tuesday to oust four congregations — one for having a woman as senior minister, two for what it said were failures related to the denomination's sexual-abuse policy and one for lack of financial participation. The convention's Executive Committee announced the decision after a closed-door session at the end of its two-day meeting in Nashville, Tenn.
St. Brigid still inspires many 1,500 years after her death
Devotees of St. Brigid commemorated the 1,500th anniversary of her death on Thursday, the feast day of the so-called matron saint of Ireland, who’s been gaining a modern following. Many of the festivities took place in and around the town of Kildare, where Brigid founded a prestigious abbey and inspired a host of colorful, miracle-filled legends. Other commemorations took place across Ireland and around the world. kAmx? 2 D6?D6[ qC:8:5 :D @? 2 C@==] %96 4@>>6>@C2E:@?D 4@>6 2 J62C 27E6C xC6=2?5 3682?
U.S. pastors struggle with postpandemic burnout
Postpandemic burnout is at worrying levels among Christian clergy in the U.S., prompting many to think about abandoning their jobs, according to a new nationwide survey. More than 4 in 10 of clergy surveyed in fall 2023 had seriously considered leaving their congregations at least once since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, and more than half had thought seriously of leaving the ministry, according to the survey released Thursday by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research.
Ousted bishop rallies outside U.S. bishops meeting
BALTIMORE - Soon after U.S. bishops inside a Baltimore hotel approved materials on how Catholics should vote in 2024 elections, their recently ousted colleague and dozens of his supporters rallied outside the annual fall business meeting. Bishop Joseph Strickland, a conservative cleric recently removed by Pope Francis as head of the diocese of Tyler, Texas, following his increasingly severe criticisms of the pontiff, prayed the rosary with dozens of supporters along the waterfront.
AP-NORC poll about religiously unaffiliated in U.S.
By PETER SMITH Associated Press Thirty percent of Americans don't identify with a religious group - but not all of them are atheists or agnostics. In fact, 43% of the group known as the "nones" say they believe in God, even if they largely dislike organized religion. Those are among the findings of a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Southern Baptists expel Oklahoma church
By PETER SMITH Associated Press The Southern Baptist Convention has ousted an Oklahoma church whose pastor defended his blackface performance at one church event and his impersonation of a Native American woman at another. The Executive Committee of the nation's largest Protestant denomination voted Tuesday that Matoaka Baptist Church of Ochelata "be deemed not in friendly cooperation with the convention" - the official terminology for an expulsion.
Some switching congregations amid United Methodist split
The Rev. Bill Farmer reached the point where he couldn't stay in the United Methodist Church anymore - but the congregation he attended was staying. Michael Hahn always wanted to stay in the UMC - but his congregation was leaving it.
Saddleback doubles down on support for female pastors
The female pastor at the center of the Southern Baptist Convention's decision to oust Saddleback Church - the California megachurch founded by pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren - said she will continue to serve as a ministry leader despite her longstanding ties to the nation's largest Protestant denomination. Saddleback has yet to say if it will appeal its expulsion.
Southern Baptists oust Saddleback Church over female pastor
The Southern Baptist Convention this week ousted its second-largest congregation - Saddleback Church, the renowned California megachurch founded by pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren - for having a female pastor. The vote by the convention's Executive Committee culminates growing tension between the nation's largest Protestant denomination - which officially opposes women as pastors - and a congregation whose story has been one of the biggest church-growth successes of modern times.
By PETER SMITH - Associated Press PITTSBURGH (AP) - In what has become an annual ritual, Pittsburgh's Jewish community Thursday honored the memory of the 11 Jews who were murdered on this date in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. For many community leaders, their grief is mixed with dismay over the continued and growing incidents of antisemitism in the United States and beyond. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Pope in Canada prays for healing for 'terrible' colonization
LAC SAINTE ANNE, Alberta (AP) — Pope Francis prayed for healing Tuesday from the “terrible effects of colonization” as he led a pilgrimage to a Canadian lake that has been known to Native peoples for centuries as a sacred place of healing.
Pope in Canada prays for healing for 'terrible' colonization
LAC SAINTE ANNE, Alberta (AP) — Pope Francis prayed for healing Tuesday from the “terrible effects of colonization” as he led a pilgrimage to a Canadian lake that has been known to Native peoples for centuries as a sacred place of healing.
Pope in Canada prays for healing for 'terrible' colonization
LAC SAINTE ANNE, Alberta (AP) - Pope Francis prayed for healing Tuesday from the "terrible effects of colonization" as he led a pilgrimage to a Canadian lake that has been known to Native peoples for centuries as a sacred place of healing.
Pope set for historic apology for school abuses in Canada
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) - Thousands of Indigenous people converged Monday on the small Alberta prairie community of Maskwacis to hear a long-awaited apology from Pope Francis for generations of abuse and cultural suppression at Catholic residential schools across Canada. Francis was scheduled to arrive in mid-morning at the site of the former Ermineskin Indian Residential School, now largely torn down.
A viral video in which a woman confronts her pastor at an independent Christian church for sexually preying on her when she was a teen. A TV documentary exposing sex abuse of children in Amish and Mennonite communities. You might call it #ChurchToo 2.0. Survivors of sexual assault in church settings and their advocates have been calling on churches for years to admit the extent of abuse in their midst and to implement reforms.
PITTSBURGH (AP) - The victory party took on the feel of an evangelical worship service after Doug Mastriano won Pennsylvania's Republican gubernatorial primary this month. As a Christian singer led the crowd in song, some raised their arms toward the heavens in praise.
1 of 8 People pray during the annual Southern Baptist Convention meeting Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. People vote on the first ballot for president of the Southern Baptist Convention during the denomination's annual meeting Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. Pastor Ed Litton, of Saraland, Ala., answers questions after being elected as president of the Southern Baptist Convention Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn.
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