Religion

The Roys Report reports: Despite having total revenues exceeding $933 million in 2019, the Texas affiliate of Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) — the world’s largest religious television network — received more than $3.3 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans last year. According to The Trinity Foundation, TBN transferred more than $860 million in assets to its Texas affiliate, …

The BBC reports: Nigerian preacher TB Joshua, one of Africa’s most influential evangelists, has died at the age of 57. A post on his Facebook page, which has more than five million followers, said: “God has taken His servant”. He was said to have died on Saturday shortly after conducting a live broadcast, but the cause of his death has …

Salt Lake City’s NBC News affiliate reports: With hot, dry weather in the immediate and long-term forecasts, Gov. Spencer Cox on Thursday called on Utahns to pray for rain this weekend as Utah’s drought conditions continue to worsen. In a pre-recorded video, the governor called on Utahns of all faiths to join him in a “weekend of humble prayer” from …

Reuters reports: One of Roman Catholicism’s most influential liberal figures, Germany’s Cardinal Reinhard Marx, has offered to resign as archbishop of Munich, saying he had to share responsibility for the “catastrophe” of sexual abuse by clerics over past decades. His offer, which Pope Francis has yet to accept, follows an uproar among the German faithful over abuse. Last week, the …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis has changed church law to explicitly criminalize the sexual abuse of adults by priests who abuse their authority and to say that laypeople who hold church office can be sanctioned for similar sex crimes. The new provisions, released Tuesday after 14 years of study, were contained in the revised criminal law section of the …

Morgantown, West Virginia’s ABC News affiliate reports: On Apr. 28, members of the Church of God on River Road in Morgantown reported to deputies with the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department that “a smart phone had been placed upon a ledge above a urinal,” according to a criminal complaint. The phone, which was recovered from the men’s restroom at the church, …

The Christian Post reports: A year after reporting the largest single-year membership decline in more than 100 years, churches in the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, lost more than 400,000 members in 2020 and set a new record for the single-year decline amid the coronavirus pandemic and a bitter culture war. The Annual Church Profile report shows …

The Associated Press reports: An archbishop of Newark groomed a 5-year-old girl by delivering food to her struggling family and regularly babysitting her, then sexually abusing her on multiple occasions in the 1970s, a lawsuit alleges. The suit filed in March is believed to be the first to level sexual abuse charges against the late Peter Gerety, who died in …

The Christian Post reports: Just 26% of Gen X and 16% of millennials believe that when they die, they will go to Heaven only because they confessed their sins and accepted Jesus as their savior, compared to nearly half of the generation before them, a new study has found. The American Worldview Inventory 2021, a survey of the philosophy of …

Deutsche Presse-Agentur reports: The Holy See has accepted the resignation of the bishop of the Polish city of Bydgoszcz, Jan Tyrawa, over alleged negligence in the face of sex abuse accusations against priests subordinate to him, a Vatican diplomat said on Wednesday. Tyrawa tendered his resignation after the end of a Vatican investigation, which looked into accusations of the sexual …

The Christian Post reports: J.D. Greear, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said the California-based Saddleback Church’s decision to ordain three women was “disappointing,” and urged the denomination to “stand on the bedrock of God’s Word — whether the issue is the role of pastor or any other issue.” In a development described by Saddleback as “historic,” the church, founded …

The Associated Press reports: The head of the Vatican’s doctrine office is warning U.S. bishops to deliberate carefully and minimize divisions before proceeding with a possible plan to rebuke Roman Catholic politicians such as President Joe Biden for receiving Communion even though they support abortion rights. The strong words of caution came in a letter from Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect …

The Associated Press reports: Germany’s powerful Catholic progressives are openly defying a recent Holy See pronouncement that priests cannot bless same-sex unions by offering such blessings at services in about 100 different churches all over the country this week. The blessings at open worship services are the latest pushback from German Catholics against a document released in March by the …

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports: The Rev. Ernest W. Angley, a faith-healing Pentecostal televangelist who claimed a lifetime of personal visits from God, has died at age 99, according to an announcement Friday on the website of his Cuyahoga Falls-based ministry. The preacher rose over the decades from tent revivalist to running a world-wide ministry with his namesake from what …

The Christian Post reports: President Joe Biden announced Monday that he is raising the United States refugee resettlement ceiling in a move that contrasts with the Trump administration’s immigration policies, drawing praise from faith-based refugee advocacy organizations. World Relief, the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals and one of nine agencies authorized by the State Department to resettle …

Via press release from Christian Newswire: “Saint Joseph: Model of Courageous Love” is the theme of Courage International’s 34th Annual Conference, which will take place at Benedictine College, Atchison, Kansas, from July 15 to 18, 2021. The annual conference draws members of Courage – adults who experience same-sex attractions and desire to live a chaste life – and EnCourage – …

The National Catholic Reporter reports: Amid the growing calls among conservative Catholics to deny President Joe Biden Communion, San Francisco’s Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has released a new letter calling for public figures who support abortion to be barred from the sacrament. “Because we are dealing with public figures and public examples of cooperation in moral evil, this correction can also …

The BBC reports: At least 44 people have been killed in a crush at a crowded religious festival in the north-east of Israel. Dozens more were injured at the Lag B’Omer celebration, which takes place annually at the foot of Mount Meron. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelled to the scene and said Sunday would be a day of national mourning. …

Religion News Service reports: When the unfamiliar pop-up touting a new feature appeared on Robert P. Jones’ Facebook, the CEO and founder of PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute) posted a screen grab to Twitter. “Wondering what fb algorithm thinks it knows about me?” Jones mused. The new Facebook feature? Prayer posts. The function will allow members of Facebook groups to …

From the Vatican’s official news outlet: Catholics across the globe are encouraged to dedicate the Marian month of May to praying for an end to the pandemic. The initiative, behind which the Pope has thrown his support, involves 30 Marian Shrines from various parts of the world. The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization announced the news with a …