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Current Events

The Pope Is Ashamed

The Pope Is Ashamed

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Pope Benedict XVI has arrived in the U.S. for his first visit as Pope. And there is some good news here. Ironically, “good news” and the Church don’t often appear in the same sentence these days. So I am always on the lookout for this occurrence.

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“Whatever Became of Sin? Indeed.”

“Whatever Became of Sin? Indeed.”

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Whatever Became of Sin? This was the provocative title of a book by psychiatrist Karl Menninger in 1974 written out of his concern that in the beginning of the culture wars, we were losing our sense of moral focus and jettisoning the notion of “sin.”

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The Hate Crime You May Have Missed

The Hate Crime You May Have Missed

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Among the numerous school shootings in the past several weeks, one stands out for me: the killing of Lawrence King, 15, allegedly by Brandon McInerney, 14, in Oxnard, California. However, it got the least media coverage.

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Bhutto’s Assassination: Violence Against a Woman Leader

Bhutto’s Assassination: Violence Against a Woman Leader

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Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on Dec. 27, 2007, while campaigning to once again become Prime Minister. She had returned from exile in the fall to lead the efforts of the Pakistani Peoples Party and had been under threat of death ever since.

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Politics, Religion and Rape

Politics, Religion and Rape

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As presidential politics play out, Republican candidate Mike Huckabee has been challenged to answer questions about his involvement in the release of convicted rapist Wayne DuMond after DuMond’s religious “conversion.”

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Evangelicals Rethink Divorce?

Evangelicals Rethink Divorce?

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A recent article in TIME Magazine highlighted an article in Christianity Today describing a shift among some evangelicals to more openness about divorce. This would be welcome news to many evangelical Christian battered women who often feel that they are forced to choose between their church and their safety when it comes to divorce.

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Memorial Gathering for Feminist Theologian Letty M. Russell at Yale Divinity School

Memorial Gathering for Feminist Theologian Letty M. Russell at Yale Divinity School

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We at FaithTrust Institute lost a friend and colleague, mentor and leader this past summer. “Letty Mandeville Russell, one of the world's foremost feminist theologians and longtime member of the Yale Divinity School faculty, died Thursday, July 12 at her home in Guilford, CT. She was 77.” She was honored at a memorial service at Yale Divinity School on Oct. 23 when her portrait was hung in the Common Room.

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A Celebration and an Update

A Celebration and an Update

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This month, there was a celebration in Malicounda Bambara, Senegal, of the 10th anniversary of the village’s public declaration to abandon female genital cutting (FGC).

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A Measure of Justice for Survivors in Australia

A Measure of Justice for Survivors in Australia

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In Queensland, Australia, the government has formally made restitution to individuals and families who suffered abuse as children in government- and church-sponsored institutions. It only took ten years.

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Where Are These Men? Part 2

Where Are These Men? Part 2

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The Fathers’ Day Poll released by the Family Violence Prevention Fund that I discussed in last week’s blog suggests that the majority of men are aware and concerned about sexual and domestic violence.

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“We Have to Talk about the War. Everyday.”

“We Have to Talk about the War. Everyday.”

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The news from Iraq is everyday the same. Suicide bombers, “insurgents,” “terrorists,” Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, casualties and millions of dollars. The “normalcy” of it all deadens our sensibilities. A tragic, failed policy playing itself out with only more tragedy and bloodshed ahead and no end in sight. Yet last week’s story in our local paper stopped me for a moment.

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Some Christian Leaders Oppose Condemning Hate Crimes

Some Christian Leaders Oppose Condemning Hate Crimes

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This is one of those headlines I never thought I’d see. The Hate Crimes Bill just approved by the House of Representatives adds gender, sexual orientation, and disability to race, religion, and

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Don Imus' Privilege: Violence Against Women of Color

Don Imus' Privilege: Violence Against Women of Color

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Violence against women takes many forms. Radio personality Don Imus made his contribution last week when he referred to the mostly African American Rutgers University basketball team as “nappy headed hos.”

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Custom of Female Genital Cutting Is No More

Custom of Female Genital Cutting Is No More

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The 2,000-year-old, nearly universal practice of female genital cutting (FGC) in Guinea, West Africa, has been abandoned by the village of Lalya and 149 other connected villages. No longer will young girls have their clitorises removed nor will they be forced into early marriage.

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Do Any Sacred Texts Excuse Wifebeating?

Do Any Sacred Texts Excuse Wifebeating?

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In only the most recent report of Western “cultural sensitivity,” a judge in Germany cited the Quran as she turned down a battered Muslim woman’s request for a speedy divorce from her abuser.

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Do We Know Domestic Violence When We See It?

Do We Know Domestic Violence When We See It?

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Sadly, last week was a busy week for nationally publicized domestic violence fatalities. Sensational headlines informed us about a plane intentionally crashed into a house and another school shooting. But did we really understand that these deaths were domestic violence?

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Pope’s Preacher Urges Repentance for Clergy Sexual Abuse

Pope’s Preacher Urges Repentance for Clergy Sexual Abuse

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The Pope has his own preacher, Reverend Raniero Cantalamessa, who, in a recent sermon, underscored the “abomination” of the sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests and urged a day of fasting and penance for the Church. The Pope was listening but the Vatican had no comment after the service.

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