3D bishop by SSCREATIONS via Shutterstock
Hello from Religion News Service. Here’s your Roundup, much of it grim but we hope you find some of it enlightening.
‘Yes’ to women bishops
When: Monday * Where: York, England * Synod Vote: 351-72 And now the Church of England will have women bishops, a feat accomplished by the Episcopal Church in 1988, when it ordained its first female bishop.
Anglican Bonus Track: Former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey supports assisted suicide bill.
Fasting for peace
Jews, Muslims and others are fasting for peace today as Israel and Gaza continue to exchange rocket fire. The movement on Twitter is #hungryforpeace. Today, in Judaism — the 17th of the month of Tammuz on the Hebrew calendar, is a fast day. This is also the month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.
Crisis update: Egypt proposed a ceasefire which was briefly accepted by the Israeli government Tuesday but rejected by Hamas.
Baghdad massacre of prostitutes
A Shi’ite extremist group called the League of the Righteous is accused of slaughtering 29 prostitutes and two men in a Baghdad brothel, but many worry that the Iraqi government is loathe to bring those responsible to justice. Warning: this story includes a graphic photo.
Pope: Pedophiles = 2 percent of clergy
Francis supposedly told the Italian Daily La Repubblica that one in 50 Catholic clerics is a pedophile, including the very highest rankings ones. The Vatican is questioning the accuracy of the quotes as reported by a 90-year-old journalist.
Urban Outfitters out to lunch
The caterer to the hip has managed to offend again, this time with a Lord Ganesh duvet cover. Heather Adams reports on how the chain store’s merchandise has ticked off Hindus, but also Christians and Jews.
Atheists who doesn’t take himself overly seriously
The tweet of the day, spotted by our own Tweetmeister Sarah Pulliam Bailey, was penned by prominent secularist Sam Harris.
My 6-month-old daughter’s first word appears to be “Allah.” #MixedEmotions
— Sam Harris (@SamHarrisOrg) July 15, 2014
Secularist celebrants win big in Indiana
The law in Indiana: only a religious or government official can officiate at a wedding. Secularists: That’s not fair. Federal court: You’re right and we’re overturning the law. Kimberly Winston explains it all.
Russell Moore on the border crisis
Michel Martin interviews the president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. The story will be one of the last on “Tell Me More.” Over my dissenting wails, NPR is canceling her show.
Worth your time
– South African Nobel Laureate and anti-apartheid activist Nadine Gordimer has died at 90. Here’s The Forward’s piece on how the author’s Judaism informed her politics and literature.
– Violence in Iraq means overcrowding in the Shi’ite cemetery outside the holy city of Najaf.
– Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI: I hope Argentina recovers quickly from its World Cup loss.
– Lauren Markoe
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