LGBTQ youth of faith pray, bond at 'Beloved Arise' group
Jessika Sessoms grew up in a conservative Black evangelical family, attended Christian schools, and often heard that being gay was an abomination, until she understood that she was queer when she was studying to become a missionary at Liberty University.
Vatican bars gay union blessing, says God 'can't bless sin'
(Tiziana Fabi/Pool photo via AP)ROME โ The Vatican declared Monday that the Catholic Church won't bless same-sex unions since God โcannot bless sin.โThe Vaticanโs orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a formal response to a question about whether Catholic clergy have the authority to bless gay unions. Since gay unions aren't intended to be part of that plan, they can't be blessed by the church, the document said. Francis has endorsed providing gay couples with legal protections in same-sex unions, but that was in reference to the civil sphere, not within the church. At the time, Argentine lawmakers were considering approving gay marriage, which the Catholic Church opposes. AdSpeaking of families with gay children, he said: โYou canโt kick someone out of a family, nor make their life miserable for this.
International evangelical pastor Luis Palau dies at 86
(AP Photo/Marianne Armshaw, File)PORTLAND, Ore. โ Luis Palau, an evangelical pastor who was born in Argentina and went on to work with Billy Graham before establishing his own powerhouse international ministry, died Thursday. The Luis Palau Association said he died at his home in Portland, Oregon. โThis is hard news, but Luis is experiencing the beauty of the Lord face to face.โBorn to an affluent family in Buenos Aires, Palau rose from obscurity to become one of the most well-known international Christian evangelists. How many people weโve reached with the Gospel.โHis radio programs, including the international Spanish-language โLuis Palau Responde,โ are broadcast on 3,500 stations in 48 countries, and his Portland-based Luis Palau Association organizes dozens of events each year on five continents. โLuis Palau was the Apostle Paul to the Spanish-speaking world.
The Latest: Pope honors massacre victims at Baghdad church
Pope Francis delivers his speech during a meeting with bishops and priests, at the Sayidat al-Nejat (Our Lady of Salvation) Cathedral, in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, March 5, 2021. The pontiffโs landmark visit has been months in the making and is the first papal visit to Iraq, one that eluded his predecessors. The Alitalia flight, with both Vatican and Iraqi flags, carrying the pope and his delegation landed just before 2 p.m. (1100GMT). Dozens of Christians are gathering at the Church of the Virgin Mary in Baghdad hours before Pope Francis was due to land in Iraq for a first papal visit to the war-weary country. The papal visit has raised alarm among public health experts, who fear large crowds will inevitably gather to see the pope.
Iraq's struggling Christians hope for boost from pope visit
Iraqi Christians place a cross on a church in Qaraqosh, Iraq, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Iraq's Christians are hoping that a historic visit by Pope Francis in March will help boost their community's struggle to survive. Iraqโs Christian communities in the area were dealt a severe blow when they were scattered by the IS onslaught in 2014, further shrinking the country's already dwindling Christian population. Many hope their struggle to endure will get a boost from a historic visit by Pope Francis planned in March. The Chaldean Catholic Patriarch, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, estimated that 1 million Christians have left Iraq since 2003 and about 500,000 remained.
Election turmoil splits West Virginia city's evangelicals
Travis Lowe, second from right, pastor of Crossroads Church in Bluefield, W.Va., raises his arm during services Sunday Jan. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)BLUEFIELD, W.Va. โ If youโre Christian in Bluefield โ and most everyone is, in this small city tucked into the Appalachian Mountains โ you have your choice. Or you can venture up East River Mountain to Crossroads Church, where Pastor Travis Lowe eschews Bradfordโs fiery political rhetoric, seeking paths to Christian unity. AdJoe Biden carried parts of Bluefield itself, small splotches of blue in the sea of red that is West Virginia. But Mercer County gave more than three-quarters of its votes to Trump, and Bradford and his pronouncements are very much in line with that.
Christianity on display at Capitol riot sparks new debate
The Christian imagery and rhetoric on view during this months Capitol insurrection are sparking renewed debate about the societal effects of melding Christian faith with an exclusionary breed of nationalism. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)WASHINGTON โ The Christian imagery and rhetoric on view during this monthโs Capitol insurrection are sparking renewed debate about the societal effects of melding Christian faith with an exclusionary breed of nationalism. The rise of whatโs often called Christian nationalism has long prompted pushback from leaders in multiple denominations, with the Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty forming the Christians Against Christian Nationalism coalition in 2019. โBut as a Christian, my highest allegiance is to Christ.โYet some supporters of former President Donald Trump say that denunciations of Christian nationalism are a way of attacking them politically. AdโThe fact that we saw QAnon, white supremacy and white Christianity all carried together in a violent attack on the Capitol means that particularly white Christians have got some real soul-searching to do,โ said Jones, author of two books on white Christianity in America.
Bipartisan Christian group forms super PAC to oppose Trump
Dubbed Not Our Faith, the new super PAC plans to roll out six-figure TV and digital ads focused on Christian voters โ particularly the evangelical and Catholic voters who helped power Trump to victory in 2016. Urging Christians to break from Trump, the ad states that they โdonโt need Trump to save them. โTrump eked out 2016 with unprecedented support from white evangelicals and, important to note, a really strong showing among Catholics. Whether Biden backersโ bid to peel away evangelical support from Trump is making headway remains to be seen. But the new PAC sees room for a wide-ranging connection with Christian voters beyond Trumpโs white evangelical base.
Evangelist Franklin Graham visits Jacksonville Beach
We live in a very dangerous period of history right now," said Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham, one of the most famous voices in modern Christianity. Franklin Graham came to the First Coast with a message of peace and salvation. The late Billy Graham was one of those men for the Christian faith, and his children are continuing with their mission. And that's through faith in Christ," Franklin Graham said. Praying during a time of conflict in the world and domestically, Franklin Graham believes the world needs spiritual healing through faith.
Pope Francis loves nouns but is 'allergic' to adjectives
CNN, Vatican TVVATICAN CITY - The Pope wants us to stop using so many adjectives. In a speech on Monday to the Dicastery for Communications, the Vatican's communications authority, Pope Francis urged people not to describe Christianity with qualifiers and adjectives. "We have fallen into the culture of adjectives and adverbs, and we have forgotten the strength of nouns," he said. The term "Christian" is strong and authentic enough as it is, without the need for adjectives, he said. He's also active on Twitter, and even tweeted out a reminder on Wednesday to "call people by their name, as the Lord does with us, and to give up using adjectives."
Why Ben Higgins Is 'Jealous' of Hannah Brown's 'Bachelorette' Season
Ben Higgins wishes his faith would have been featured more on his season of The Bachelor. ET's Lauren Zima spoke with the Generous Coffee co-founder on Tuesday's episode of Roses and Rose Live, where he revealed he's "jealous" of the amount of airtime religion is receiving on Hannah Brown's season of The Bachelorette. That being said, Higgins isn't too pleased with how Parker is portraying Christianity on Brown's season. I'm really pissed off that I didn't get to talk about it as much as this season is, and I'm just jealous," Higgins confessed. RELATED CONTENT:'The Bachelorette': Jed Wyatt Blows Up Over Hannah Brown's Fantasy Suite Decision'The Bachelorette': Jed Wyatt's Family Questions His Love for Hannah Brown'Bachelorette' Hannah Brown's Final 4: Everything We Know About Jed, Tyler, Peter and Luke