Hello, Monday. Here’s a summary of what happened over the weekend:
Pope Francis led a Mideast prayer summit Sunday, welcoming Israeli and Palestinian presidents to the Vatican. Here’s what it looked like:
The #Pope, two presidents & the patriarch enter the #Vatican gardens to invoke peace #prayforpeace pic.twitter.com/B5PqfwGnaW
— Alan Holdren (@AlanHoldren) June 8, 2014
Meanwhile, a high-level group of Catholic and Orthodox officials is endorsing marriage for Eastern Catholic priests serving in North America.
Pope Francis may be a huge soccer fan, but the Catholic church has given Brazil’s World Cup organizers a “red card” for spending billions on stadiums while failing to improve the country’s public services for the poor.
Justin Bieber performing on “Believe Tour” in October 20, 2012. Photo by Joe Bielawa.
In celebrity news, Justin Bieber was reportedly baptized over the weekend by New York City Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz. The singer, who has been in recent hot water over videos where he appears to be racist, sought baptism after a DUI arrest earlier this year.
Two employees who handled the Secular Coalition’s finances embezzled $78,805, according to an internal audit.
The Rev. Amy Butler, who was chosen to become the first female pastor of the historic Riverside Church, was officially voted in on Sunday. Meanwhile, mainline Protestant preachers have a star lineup of preachers.
The 1.76 million-member Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) could become the largest religious group to divest millions of dollars from a some major corporations that pro-Palestinian activists have said contribute to violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama and former President Bill Clinton led a memorial service Saturday for the late poet and American civil rights icon Maya Angelou at Wake Forest University. “God loaned her her voice and he decided he wanted it back for a while,” Clinton said.
Wisconsin became the latest state where federal judges have struck down same-sex marriage bans. Same-sex marriage is causing some interesting issues overseas. As Britain now allows same-sex marriage, Hong Kong is refusing to allow the marriages to be performed in its British Consulate despite countries like China, Russia and Azerbaijian giving their consent.
In Pakistan, terrorists attacked the country’s largest airport.
Members of a hardline Sikh group fought with swords against guards of the Sikhs’ holiest shrine, the Golden Temple, in Amritsar, India, Friday, wounding about a dozen.
Spain has approved a bill allowing descendants of Jews forced into exile centuries ago the right to dual citizenship.
Meanwhile, a skill Pope Francis has acquired that you can work on this week:
Pope Francis revealed yet another talent at the weekend: http://t.co/81i33bddWB pic.twitter.com/ZfGyIteAEz
— Luke Coppen (@LukeCoppen) June 9, 2014
Here’s the video if you want to watch for a minute at the 38 mark.
And here’s a bit from the Tony awards last night:
See @jamesminglehart praise shout after Tony win for Aladdin Genie role after thanks God, others. http://t.co/skGVxyzJCO #Tonys2014 @RNS
— Adelle Banks (@AMBankstw) June 9, 2014
With that, have a great week.
