Troubling the Water in Switzerland
This issue of A Public Witness takes you inside the modern debate about public baptisms in Switzerland to consider what this can teach us about balancing church and state.
Biden To Meet With Pope’s Ukraine Peace Envoy, With the Plight of Children Top of Cardinal’s Agenda
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed Biden would meet with Zuppi on Tuesday to “discuss the widespread suffering caused by Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine."
After Quran Burnings, UN Rights Body Calls for More Action to Combat Religious Hatred
After the vote, Ambassador Khalil Hashmi of Pakistan insisted the measure “does not seek to curtail the right to free speech,” but tries to strike a “prudent balance” between it and “special duties and responsibilities.”
Father Martin Hopes To Bring LGBTQ Voices in Synodal Discussions
The Rev. James Martin, an advocate for LGBTQ inclusion in the church, has been tapped by Pope Francis to attend the synod.
Faith in the Land of the Midnight Sun
This issue of A Public Witness travels to Norway to hear from Christians who are wrestling with what it means to live and witness as a Christian in a post-Christendom society.
BWA Presents 2023 Human Rights Award
Mona Khauli of Lebanon is the 2023 recipient of the Baptist World Alliance’s Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award. Presented at the BWA Annual Gathering in Stavanger, Norway, on July 4, the award honors significant and effective activities to secure, protect, restore, or preserve
The ‘Problem’ of Where Ancient Jerusalem Was Built Gets Thornier
A new find near the Temple Mount suggests that the ‘City of David’ was more likely a suburb of ancient Jerusalem.
Global Baptists Pass Resolution Denouncing Doctrine of Discovery
During the annual gathering of the Baptist World Alliance in Stavanger, Norway, members of the body’s general council on Tuesday (July 4) passed a resolution on repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery.
France’s Highest Administrative Court Says the Soccer Federation Can Ban Headscarves in Matches
The ruling is likely to refuel the lingering debate on secularism — still volatile more than a century after the 1905 law on separation of church and state that established it as a principle of the French Republic.
In Europe’s Empty Churches, Prayer and Confessions Make Way for Drinking and Dancing
Across Europe, the continent that nurtured Christianity for most of two millennia, churches, convents, and chapels stand empty and increasingly derelict as faith and church attendance shriveled over the past half century.