World

A former Liberian military commander who supervised the slaughter of hundreds of unarmed civilians at a church during that country’s civil war in 1990 is liable under U.S. law for participating in extrajudicial killings and torture, a federal judge in Philadelphia has ruled.

Pope Francis said Wednesday he didn’t understand why people refuse to take COVID-19 vaccines, saying “humanity has a history of friendship with vaccines,” and that serene discussion about the shots was necessary to help them.

Pope Francis traveled to the far east of Slovakia on Tuesday to meet with the country’s Roma in a gesture of inclusion for the most socially excluded minority group in Slovakia, who have long suffered discrimination, marginalization, and poverty.

The International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention announced Wednesday (Sept. 8) it will require “IMB missionaries and their children ages 16 and older to be vaccinated against COVID-19.”

The world’s top Christian leaders — Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians — on Tuesday issued a joint appeal for delegates at the upcoming U.N. climate summit to “listen to the cry of the Earth” and make sacrifices to save the planet.

With a new coalition government in power in Israel, descendants of the residents of Iqrit and Biram have hopes of rebuilding the towns 73 years after Israeli soldiers forced the residents to leave.

As the U.S. continues its evacuations of American citizens and Afghans who have worked for the U.S. over the past 20 years, faith-based refugee resettlement organizations are leading efforts to help Afghans settle into the country.

Sri Lanka’s Christian community hoisted black flags at churches and homes on Saturday to express anger over the government’s investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attacks, which killed 269 people.

Pope Francis issued a message on Wednesday encouraging Catholics to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, calling it “an act of love,” as part of a global effort to reduce the onslaught of the pandemic and convince vaccine skeptics.

In this issue of A Public Witness, we consider the failure of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan amid the unfolding humanitarian crisis. And we offer some lessons we hope Christians will consider from this war miscast as a crusade.