Haiti Quake Destroyed Many Churches, Shredding a Mainstay of Support
The 7.2 magnitude earthquake left 1,400 people dead and several buildings in ruins. For many Haitians, the destruction of churches was particularly devastating. Read full piece
Gina Stewart Becomes First Woman Elected to Lead U.S. Black Baptist Organization
In a pathbreaking decision, the Rev. Gina Stewart has been elected as the first woman president of the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Society, marking the first time a female has been chosen for the highest post of a Black Baptist organization.
A Conservative Cardinal Who Criticized the Vaccine Caught COVID. Days Later, He was Put on a Ventilator.
Most days during the coronavirus pandemic, Cardinal Raymond L. Burke could be found strolling down the streets of Rome maskless and carrying rosary beads. The 73-year-old conservative cardinal was an early critic of social distancing and, later, an unabashed skeptic of the vaccine. Read full piece
Refugee Aid Groups Criticize Biden for Stumbles in Evacuating ‘Desperate’ Afghans
As most Americans absorbed the shock of the Taliban’s full takeover of Afghanistan over the weekend, officials at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service followed the rapidly deteriorating situation with resignation, knowing it could have gone differently.
Many Bible Belt Preachers Silent on Shots as COVID-19 Surges
Across the nation’s deeply-religious Bible Belt, a region beset by soaring infection rates from the fast-spreading delta variant of the virus, churches and pastors are both helping and hurting in the campaign to get people vaccinated against COVID-19.
Death-Row Inmate Sues for Pastor’s Touch During Execution
A Texas death-row inmate has sued state prison officials to allow his pastor to lay hands on him as he dies from a lethal injection. John Henry Ramirez, 37, is scheduled to be put to death in the Texas death chamber on Sept. 8.
Archbishop Says Berlin Wall was a Good Friday in German History
Catholics and Protestants gathered Aug. 13 to remember the day in 1961 when their city was divided, becoming a symbol of the Cold War. Read full piece
Bless the Children: What Jesus Would Say About Getting a COVID-19 Vaccination
Michael B. Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church: We who can receive the COVID-19 vaccine are being asked not just to protect ourselves, but also to protect children. So even if you don’t want to get the vaccine for yourself, do it for the children. Read
National Group Deems SBU as School Without Academic Freedom Protections
A national nonprofit group of professors devoted to academic freedom, shared governance, and quality higher education, recently argued that Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri, is not an institution where academic freedom can be expected.
About Time
In this issue of A Public Witness, we borrow a principle from economics to help Christians consider the cost of our attention being absorbed by scandals that must be addressed or frivolous issues that should be ignored.