Archives For Pope Francis

Briefing: Patterson removed, Planned Parenthood funds cut, ERA vote delayed, medical cannabis in schools

Lisa Misner —  May 22, 2018

The Briefing

Patterson removed, interim president named
In a meeting that began at 1:30 p.m. May 22 and ended just after 3 a.m. May 23, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s trustees removed Paige Patterson as president and appointed him president emeritus effective immediately. They also named as interim president of the seminary Jeffrey Bingham, dean of Southwestern’s School of Theology, pending his acceptance.

New rule cuts Title X Planned Parenthood funds
The Department of Health and Human Services announced a regulation that would bar Planned Parenthood and other organizations that perform or refer for abortions from receiving federal money through Title X family planning program. The Protect Life Rule is a step toward a longtime goal of the pro-life movement — the public defunding of the country’s No. 1 abortion provider.

ERA clears committee, but full Illinois House vote delayed
Despite passing committee, Illinois’s official endorsement of the federal Equal Rights Amendment didn’t get a final vote in the Illinois House since some legislators who intend to vote “yes” were out of town and a partisan divide remains.

Illinois Senate OKs plan to allow cannabis-based medicines in school
Some students in Illinois could soon get to use cannabis-based medicines in public schools. Gov. Bruce Rauner will decide if kids in Illinois public schools who suffer from seizures and other serious medical conditions will get to use cannabidiol and THC-based medicines in school. Cannabidiol oil is a non-intoxicating cannabis extract.

Pope reportedly told gay man: ‘God made you like this’
Roman Catholic Church leader, Pope Francis, has reportedly told a gay man who is a victim of clerical sex abuse that God made him gay and loves him the way he is. When CNN asked Vatican spokesman Greg Burke to comment, he responded: “We do not normally comment on the Pope’s private conversations.”

Jimmy Carter urges unity at Liberty graduation
Former United States President Jimmy Carter challenged Liberty University graduates to “work as much as [they] can to unify Christians in the world,” and noted Baptists should “come together as friends and not be alienated one from another.”

Sources: Baptist Press, State Journal-Register, Illinois News Network, Christian Post, Baptist Press

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The Briefing: ‘Ridiculous’ travel bans, abortion stories, unwelcome student groups

ib2newseditor —  April 12, 2016

The BriefingBans on travel to Miss., N.C., called ‘ridiculous’
At least nine U.S. cities and five states have banned non-essential travel by government employees to North Carolina, Mississippi or both, claiming religious liberty bills adopted there discriminate against homosexual and transgendered persons. Pastors and other Christian leaders call the bans “ridiculous.”

Women share abortion stories with the Supreme Court
Twenty-five years ago, two women found themselves in the same position: freshmen in college, pregnant and scared of derailing all they had worked toward. Both women walked into a Dallas abortion clinic. It’s what happened when they walked out, and in the weeks and decades that followed, that places them on opposite ends of the most significant abortion case to be heard by the Supreme Court in a quarter of a century. These and other women are sharing their abortion stories through friend-of-the-court briefs in the case of Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt.

Colleges welcome diversity, except evangelical Christians
San Diego State University recently withdrew official on-campus recognition from an evangelical sorority and an evangelical fraternity, stripping them of the privileges that all other on-campus student organizations possess. The problem according to the university was that these Christian student organizations were engaging in discrimination because they restricted their members to Christians in agreement with their statements of faith.

The footnote that could split the Catholic church
Some believe a footnote in Pope Francis’ new exhortation on marriage and the family, Amoris Laetitia could cause fractures in the Catholic church. There is an ongoing debate in the church about admitting remarried couples to the Eucharist. The footnote could further inflame that debate. Francis wrote, “In certain cases, this can include the help of the sacraments. Hence, ‘I want to remind priests that the confessional must not be a torture chamber, but rather an encounter with the Lord’s mercy’.”

Bible makes list of books most challenged
On the latest list of books most objected to at public schools and libraries, one title has been targeted nationwide, at times for the sex and violence it contains, but mostly for the legal issues it raises. The Bible.

Sources: Baptist Press, Washington Post, World Magazine, Gospel Coalition, Fox News

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Year-end lists tell the stories of 2013

Meredith Flynn —  December 31, 2013

calendar_blog copyThe web is bursting today with lists that highlight the year’s biggest stories, like this one compiled by the Religion Newswriters Association. The group chose the selection of Pope Francis as the top religion news story of 2013, followed by Pope Benedict’s resignation as #2.

Also on the list: The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act (#3), the death of Nelson Mandela (#6), and controversial action taken by the Boy Scouts of America (#9). Rounding out the top 10: Muslims and other people of faith react to the Boston Marathon bombings.

And check out these lists:

NEWS

  • The staff of the Illinois Baptist has published our list of the year’s biggest stories, led by the debate over same-sex marriage in Illinois. For the full list, go to ibonline.IBSA.org, click on Archives and search for December 16.
  • The Christian Post introduced its list of most-read stories with a sad disclaimer: “A year of heartbreaking personal tragedies suffered by Christian leaders appeared all too often as the main news at The Christian Post and the Church & Ministry section in 2013.” The website’s most read story was about the suicide of Matthew Warren, son of Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren.

MINISTRY

CULTURE

What are your favorite year-end lists so far? What stories and trends would you add to these?

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SBC President Luter visits Springfield this week

Meredith Flynn —  April 16, 2013

Luter_blogTHE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

Southern Baptist Convention President Fred Luter is in Springfield today to meet with Illinois Baptist pastors and leaders at the Illinois Baptist State Association building. Luter also is preaching a three-day “Festival of Hope” at Union Baptist Church, a congregation affiliated with National Baptists. David Howard, director of missions for the Capital City Baptist Association invited Luter to Springfield in an effort to build bridges with African American churches in the city. The SBC president will engage in a Q&A time later today, and speak in the IBSA chapel service tomorrow morning. Check back here and on Facebook.com/IllinoisBaptist for more throughout the day.

Warren shares grief, faith on Twitter
In the days following his son’s death, Rick Warren’s personal Twitter feed told at least part of the story of how he and his family dealt with their grief. “Kay and I are overwhelmed by your love, prayers, and kind words. You are all encouraging our #brokenhearts,” Warren tweeted April 7, two days after Matthew Warren, 27, committed suicide.

He also responded to comments from Christians and non-Christians alike who took to social media to criticize and speculate about the Warren family. “Grieving is hard. Grieving as public figures, harder. Grieving while haters celebrate your pain, hardest. Your notes sustained us,” Warren wrote April 8.

He also offered forgiveness to the person who sold his son an unregistered gun, citing Matthew 6:15, and wrote about God’s faithfulness in trouble. Citing Psalm 34:1, Warren wrote, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in spirit.”

Read more about Warren’s Twitter reflections on BPNews.net.

Pro-life advocates use tweets to force media’s hand on Gosnell trial
U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, and actress Patricia Heaton were among those who participated in a TweetFest last week to force the media to cover the trial of Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortionist charged with killing seven babies after delivery. He also is charged in the death of Karnamaya Monger, who died after she was given a Demerol overdose at Gosnell’s West Philadelphia Women’s Medical Society.

The trial has received virtually no media coverage from many major outlets, so pro-life activists Bryan Kemper and Andy Moore decided to use social media to get the word out. Read the full story at ChristianPost.com.

Pope Francis speaks out against church’s hypocrisy
A month into his papacy, Pope Francis called out the Catholic Church on the inconsistencies between what is taught and what is lived. “Let us all remember this: one cannot proclaim the Gospel of Jesus without the intangible witness of one’s life,” he said at a Mass at St. Paul’s Basilica in Rome on April 14. “Those who listen to us and observe us must be able to see in our actions what they from our lips, and so give glory to God!” Read more at ChristianPost.com.

‘Not Today’ movie sheds light on human trafficking
A new feature film, released Friday, April 12, tells the tragic story of human trafficking. “Not Today,” produced by Friends Church in Yorba Linda, Ca., chronicles a young man’s struggle to rescue a girl sold into slavery, and to overcome his own apathy. The movie was filmed on location in India, but producer Brent Martz told Baptist Press that human trafficking is an issue everywhere. “I wish we could say that it didn’t exist here. It is easy maybe to put our head in the sand and say, that’s a problem that is halfway around the world, but it is happening here.” Read more about the movie at BPNews.net, and check the film’s website to find out where it’s showing near you.

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