A shout out this Veteran’s Day to all veterans and to my father, who served aboard the USS Enterprise, the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and to this day the longest naval vessel ever built. Thank you for your service.
Catholic bishop rendering.
Baltimore Bishops
Our own David Gibson is a veteran of many an annual fall meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which this year takes place in Charm City, an actual nickname for Baltimore. Gibson writes of the bishops’ efforts to adapt their agendas to that set out by Pope Francis. And speaking of Francis’ agenda, Vatican correspondent Jo McKenna explains how the pope’s stunning demotion of Cardinal Raymond Burke may have made him into St. Raymond the Martyr, the patron saint of Catholic conservatives.
National Cathedral to host Muslim prayer service
Michelle Boorstein at the WaPo reports that the landmark Washington National Cathedral, part of the Episcopal Church, will host a Muslim prayer service for the first time Friday. An organizer, Rizwan Jaka, says he wants people to see how “the Christian community is partnering with us and is supporting our religious freedom in the same way that we are calling for religious freedom for all minorities in Muslim countries.”
Gay marriage roundup within the roundup
The day before same-sex marriage was to proceed in Kansas, Justice Sonia Sotomayer issued a temporary stay. The full court will likely privately consider the matter Friday. And in South Carolina, the attorney general asks a federal judge to dismiss a challenge to the state’s gay marriage ban brought by a Charleston couple. The AG cited last week’s Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that found that states have a right to set marriage rules within their borders.
Obama and the Rohingya
The president heads to Myanmar Wednesday, a nation that seemed well on its way to democracy. But the New York Times has made Myanmar and its minority Rohingya Muslims the subject of an editorial on the eve of Obama’s trip, questioning the East Asian nation’s democratic resolve and encouraging it to deal justly with the persecuted Rohingya. Myanmar, the Times’ ed board writes:
. . . has done little to prosecute the perpetrators of a campaign that human rights activists say amounted to ethnic cleansing.
Lost and Found
A week before Germany commemorated the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, someone stole 14 crosses near the parliament building that commemorated people who lost their lives trying to get over the divide. The thieves — a group called the Center for Political Beauty — replanted the crosses under police supervision, and explained they took them to call attention to the ongoing plight of immigrants.
A helicopter rescued 15 hikers who belong to a Seventh-day Adventist church Monday after the group did not return from what was supposed to be a day hike in the San Gabriel mountains outside Los Angeles. The group reported feeling wet and uncomfortable during their unplanned overnight, but sustained no serious injuries.
Ferguson in the Galilee?
A view from the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
The latest escalation of violence between Jews and Muslims is captured on video. The scene was a clash between Palestinian clans. Israeli security forces intervene. An Israeli Arab attacks a police car. Police inside — who said he was trying to kill them — shoot him. He dies. This after days of suicide attacks and street violence after an attempted assassination at the Temple Mount.
The Zion Curtain . . .
is in Utah. If you spend time in the most Mormon state in the nation, you would know that every newly-licensed restaurant with a bar has to have one of these screens to separate diners from folks at the bar. The idea is that minors won’t have to see the pouring, mixing and serving of alcoholic beverages. A new poll from UtahPolicy.com says that Utahns — that’s people from Utah — by a 2:1 margin want to see the Zion screens torn down.
The screens are more than 7 feet tall — big enough to show the movie “Cocktail” on them. Loophole?
The RNS op-ed page
We have a deep bench of bloggers and commentators here at RNS. Don’t miss:
Tobin Grant on the religious diversity Mormon Mia Love will add to Congress.
Jeffrey Salkin on the real sins of Sodom and Gomorrah.
James Croft on why atheists should follow Carl Sagan’s lead.
Bonus Tracks
Israel has granted a sect of Arab Christians within its borders the right to call themselves “Aramaic,” as opposed to Arab.
The Rev. Aundreia Alexander joins the National Council of Churches with an exceptionally long title: associate general secretary for action and advocacy for justice and peace.
The daughter of the man known as the British Oskar Schindler meets one of the 669 Czech Jewish children that he saved.
A Texas television reporter was reportedly assaulted for broadcasting while someone nearby was praying.
This roundup is over. I hope it did not interrupt your prayers.
– Lauren Markoe
The Religion News Roundup is yours each weekday. Gratis and spamless. Please sign up below.
