More than four decades after sexual abuse claims against a Catholic priest first made national headlines, spurring accusations, lawsuits, a series of newspaper investigations and billions in settlements, the DOJ is investigating a religious group’s handling of sexual crimes by clergy and church staff. This
In this issue of A Public Witness, we look at what’s known about the new DOJ investigation, how people are responding in divergent ways, and what these responses illuminate about how Christians are thinking about issues of politics and legal accountability.
The Wesleyan Covenant Association is calling for churches to stop paying dues to regional annual conferences it believes are making disaffiliation for churches difficult to impossible amid the United Methodist Church’s slow-moving schism, largely over the ordination and marriage of LGBTQ members. Those apportionments fund
Last year, the U.S. branch of the Jesuits pledged to raise $100 million for a reconciliation initiative in partnership with descendants of people once enslaved by the Catholic order. On Tuesday, a leader of those descendants expressed deep dissatisfaction with the order’s lack of progress
Frederick Buechner's theme “listen to your life” was constant across more than six decades in his career as an ordained evangelist in the Presbyterian Church (USA) who inspired Christians across conservative and progressive divides with his books and sermons. Buechner died peacefully in his sleep
Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention said Friday that several of the denomination’s major entities are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice in the wake of its multiple problems related to clergy sex abuse.
A predominantly Black denomination and prominent union have joined forces in a new voter mobilization initiative ahead of the midterm elections. Reviving a partnership they had in the 1960s, the laborlab Convention and the AFL-CIO are launching a faith and labor alliance focused on battleground
When the Rev. Megan Rohrer was elected bishop of the ELCA’s Sierra Pacific Synod in 2021, the election was celebrated as a revolution in and outside of the denomination. But what followed is a "perfect storm" of charismatic personalities and a heightened awareness of racism,
Perkins, as much an organizer as a clergyman, was often one of the few Black leaders in predominantly white evangelical settings. Throughout his life, Perkins has overcome the deaths of loved ones and his onetime hatred of white people, who included police who took the
The conference, meeting for the first time in 14 years, was supposed to be an attempt to bring the Anglican Communion together — to pray, listen and discuss issues that affect the church and the world. More than 650 bishops registered to attend, including more