guillaumeb
guillaumeb's JournalUpdate: U.S. bishops say Senate health care bill will wreak havoc on families
From the article:
"On Thursday, Senate Republicans released their version of a bill aimed at repealing the Affordable Care Act, drawing swift condemnation from one prominent Catholic health group, which said it is “strongly opposed” to the measure. Catholic bishops took a more nuanced view, strongly condemning portions of the bill that they say harm the social safety net but praising language that would restrict funding for abortion providers."
To read more:
https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2017/06/22/update-us-bishops-say-senate-health-care-bill-will-wreak-havoc-families
Can an evangelical, progressive Democrat succeed in Florida?
From the article:
"A few days after the Pulse nightclub shootings, in which most of the 49 patrons who were killed were gay and Latino, a local businessman and active Christian layman contributed a guest column to the Orlando Sentinel titled “Christian to LGBTs: We are sorry.”
"King’s sentiments were not unique, even for straight white believers like himself. What is unique is that they came from a candidate for governor of Florida who is running as both an evangelical Christian and a progressive Democrat."
To read more:
http://religionnews.com/2017/06/12/can-an-evangelical-progressive-democrat-succeed-in-florida/
Religious Liberals Sat Out of Politics for 40 Years. Now They Want in the Game. (Xposted)
This was also posted in the Editorials section)
From the article:
"...........Across the country, religious leaders whose politics fall to the left of center, and who used to shun the political arena, are getting involved — and even recruiting political candidates — to fight back against President Trump’s policies on immigration, health care, poverty and the environment."
To read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/10/us/politics/politics-religion-liberal-william-barber.html?ribbon-ad-idx=2&rref=politics&module=Ribbon&version=context&_r=2
China Is Forcing Muslim Children To Abandon Overly Religious Names
From the article:
"Muslim children in China’s Xinjiang region must drop names deemed to be “overly religious” under a new policy in the atheist Communist country.
The order, announced during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, applies to children younger than 16, according to Radio Free Asia. Officials said the measure is part of an effort “to curb religious fervor” in the region......
China is home to some 23 million Muslims, less than 2 percent of the overall population. Many Chinese Muslims face daily Islamophobia in the officially atheist country."
To read more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/china-muslim-names_us_5936e1a8e4b0cfcda91824d0?section=us_religion
Classic intolerance in action.
The bigots behind the "anti-Sharia" marches
From the article:
"ON JUNE 10, demonstrations are slated to take place in more than two dozen cities across the U.S. against the supposed threat of Islamic "Sharia law."
Why, exactly, are protests needed against something the majority of Americans don't know anything about, that doesn't exist in the U.S. on any institutional level, and that isn't actually a threat to anyone?
Because it's an easy opportunity for the right wing to whip up anti-Muslim sentiment--and capitalize on the racist rhetoric of the bigot-in-chief occupying the White House."
To read more:
http://socialistworker.org/2017/06/08/the-bigots-behind-the-anti-sharia-marches
Interfaith coalition launches Know Your Neighbor campaign (good news)
From the article:
"At a time of growing assaults and intimidation of Muslim Americans, the Islamic Networks Group has partnered with 70 interfaith organizations to launch a “Know Your Neighbor” campaign.
The effort is intended to encourage individuals and groups to encounter people of faith different from their own."
To read more excellent news:
http://religionnews.com/2017/06/08/interfaith-coalition-launches-know-your-neighbor-campaign/
Scottish Episcopal Church votes to back same-sex marriage (religious good news)
From the article:
"The Scottish Episcopal Church has voted to back same-sex marriage, making it the first Anglican church in the UK to do so. The vote, described as a "momentous step" by the head of the church, means gay Christians from any Anglican Church can now ask to be married in a Scottish Anglican Church."
To read more:
http://www.independent.co.uk/News/uk/home-news/scottish-church-same-sex-marriage-support-vote-episcopal-a7779691.html
Using terror as an excuse for more terror
From the article:
"THE HORRIFIC terrorist attack on tourists and Londoners on the night of June 3 led to a one-day pause in campaigning for Britain's general election on June 8. But Theresa May never paused in her attempts to take maximum advantage of a nightmare to boost her chances of victory...........
While criticizing Corbyn for being "soft on terrorism" and two years ago expressing doubts about shoot-to-kill tactics used by police during terrorist attacks, May also let loose with a tirade that fused the supposed superiority of Western civilization with calls for suspending civil liberties and other draconian measures:
[Extremism] will only be defeated when we turn people's minds away from this violence and make them understand that our values, pluralistic British values, are superior to anything offered by the preachers and supporters of hate. There is, to be frank, far too much tolerance of extremism in our country. So we need to become far more robust in identifying it and stamping it out across the public sector and across society."
To read more:
https://socialistworker.org/2017/06/07/using-terror-as-an-excuse-for-more-terror
Trump's policies have turned some Mormon women in Utah into political activists
From the article:
"Sharlee Mullins Glenn, a 56-year-old children’s book author, says she never imagined she would be standing outside a Homeland Security office in Utah with a bullhorn. But that’s exactly what she did in May..........
Mullins Glenn is the founder of Mormon Women for Ethical Government, which started as a private Facebook group just days after Donald Trump’s inauguration. It began with a small group of women in Utah, upset over the president’s travel ban. Since then, it’s branched out to other issues, including the administration’s ramped-up policy on deportation."
To read more:
https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-06-07/trumps-policies-have-turned-some-mormon-women-utah-political-activists
The United Methodist Church has appointed a transgender deacon
From the article:
"The bishop spoke the traditional words as she placed her hands on the new deacon named M with just a slight difference from the way those words have always been spoken before.
“Pour out your Holy Spirit upon M,” the bishop said. “Send them now to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, to announce the reign of God and to equip the church for ministry.”
To read more:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/06/07/the-united-methodist-church-just-appointed-a-transgender-deacon/?utm_term=.543ac6def0bb
Small steps, but every journey is composed of many small steps.
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