A New Jersey synagogue is crediting recent safety improvements after a Molotov cocktail thrown at its door overnight caused little damage, the JTA website reports.
Still, Temple Ner Temidin in Bloomdfield canceled activities on Jan. 29, 2023 as police investigated.
According to security camera footage, a man approached the synagogue around 3 a.m. on Jan. 29 and threw a Molotov cocktail at the door before fleeing. The building suffered little damage, as it underwent recent safety changes.
Pope Francis will further cement his legacy as an advocate for the suffering and marginalized of the world this week, as he heads to sub-Saharan Africa for the third time, visiting the war-ravaged nations of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, the Crux website reports today (Jan. 30, 2023).
Plagued by conflicts that have torn them apart over years -- even decades -- these nations have been priorities for the pope.
In what will be his 40th trip abroad, Pope Francis will visit Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from Jan. 31-- Feb. 3, and then he'll make an ecumenical visit to Juba in South Sudan from Feb.3 --5.
A group of Republicans in Congress has claimed that American taxpayers are footing the bill for the Ukraine conflict, while domestic issues are being neglected, the RT website reports today (Jan. 29, 2023).
Several Republican lawmakers have raised red flags about the decision by the Biden administration to send M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
The move comes at a time when the U.S. is struggling with domestic problems, while the delivery itself is bound to face numerous challenges, they claim.
Israeli soldiers killed nine Palestinians yesterday (Jan. 27, 2023), including a 61-year-old woman, during a raid on Jenin refugee camp in the Occupied West Bank, according to the Independent Catholic News website.
At least 20 more people were seriously injured in the attack.
Meanwhile, in Jerusalem a large group of Israeli settlers entered the Christian Quarter, vandalizing shops and cafes and terrifying residents.
The 6-year-old boy who shot and wounded his teacher in Virginia this month had repeatedly threatened other students earlier that day but school administrators "paralyzed by apathy" refused to intervene, the teacher's lawyer said yesterday (Jan. 26.2023), according to the USA Today website.
The bullet remains lodged in teacher Abigail Zwerner's chest, her attorney said. and she faces a lifetime of physical and psychological recovery. Zwerner, 25, yesterday filed notice of intent to sue the Newport News School District for failing to respond to repeated threats reported on Jan. 6, according to her lawyer.
"Abby Zwerner was shot in front of those horrified kids and the school and community are living the nightmare, all because the school administration failed to act," attorney Diane Toscano said. "This should have never happened. It was preventable. And thank God Abby is alive."
Pope Francis said laws criminalizing homosexuality are "unjust," calling homosexuality a sin for Catholic worshippers, but not a crime, the Yahoo News website reports today (Jan. 26, 2023).
"Being homosexual isn't a crime," Francis said in an interview this week with The Associated Press.
He noted that Catholic bishops around the world support laws criminalizing homosexuality and discriminating against LGBTQ individuals. He said the leaders should "have to have a process of conversion" and opt for "tenderness, please, as God has for each one of us."
The late Pope Benedict XVI wrote a book, titled "What Is Christianity?" which he ordered not be published until after his death, because of its criticism of Catholicism and himself, the Catholic News Service website reports today (Jan. 25, 2023).
In the book, Benedict says the Vatican "did not face the fundamental question" of the difference between Catholic and Protestant understandings of ordained ministry.
"I do not want to publish anything else in my life," Benedict told Elio Guerriero, who helped him write the book. Benedict had added, "The fury of the circles opposed to me in Germany is so strong that the appearance of any word from me immediately provokes a murderous clamor on their part. I want to spare myself and Christendom this."
A top papal aide and one of the main organizers of Pope Francis's synodal reform process, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, said he's not worried about conflicts among different Catholic camps, the Crux website reports today (Jan. 24, 2023).
Speaking at the presentation of a major ecumenical event aimed at strengthening intra-Christian ties as part of Pope Francis's synodal reform process, Cardinal Hollerich said he's not worried about conflicts among different Catholic camps.
"That there are different opinions in the Catholic Church is quite normal," he said, adding, " We live in a moment of change, a change of the era. We are in the year zero of digitalization, and this means that we have to see together how we can proclaim Christ in this new world emerging."
Poland said on Jan. 23 that it would deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine as part of a coalition of countries, even without Berlin's approval, for the re-export of the German-made tank as Ukrainian forces staved off fresh waves of Russian attacks in the east, the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty website reports.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, whose country is pushing for allies who have Leopards to send them to Ukraine, said Berlin's agreement is of "secondary importance" as Warsaw is more interested in building a consensus about the issue.
Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania have also made a joint appeal to Germany to step up its leadership and send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, putting further pressure on Berlin to speed up its military aid for Kyiv.
In his homily for the Jan. 22 Mass, Pope Francis noted that Jesus in the scriptures is "always on the move, on His way to others," the Crux website reports.
"On no occasion in His public life does He give us the idea that He is a stationary teacher, a professor seated on a chair; on the contrary, we see Him as an itinerant and a pilgrim, travelling through towns and villages, encountering faces and their stories," he said.
In the Gospels, Jesus uses the Word of God to heal and lift people out of darkness, Francis said, insisting that the Word of God is not only destined "for the righteous of Israel, but for all."
In his homily for today (Jan. 22, 2023), Pope Francis noted that Jesus in the scriptures is "always on the move, on His way to others," the Crux website reports.
"On no occasion in His public life does He give the idea that He is a stationary teacher. a professor seated on a chair; on the contrary, we see Him as an itinerant and a pilgrim , travelling through towns and villages, encountering faces and their stories," the pope said.
In the Gospels, Jesus uses the Word of God to heal and lift people out of darkness, Francis said, insisting that the Word of God is not only destined "for the righteous of Israel, but for all."
Prosecutors announced on January 19, 2023 that actor and producer Alec Baldwin will face involuntary manslaughter charges in the fatal shooting on the set of the movie "Rust," the Christian Post website reports.
Armorer Hannah Gutierrez and Baldwin will each be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Helyna Hutchins in th film's Santa Fe County set in Oct. 2021.
"After a thorough review of the evidence and the laws of the state of New Mexico, I have determined that there is sufficient evidence to the criminal charges against Alec Baldwin and other members of the 'Rust' film crew," said New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies.
A Texas National Guard soldier patrolling the Texas-Mexico border shot a migrant on Jan. 15, 2023 just west of McAllen, according to the Army Times website.
It's the first known incident since the mission began in which a soldier has shot and injured a migrant. There is no indication that the migrant had a firearm or any other weapon during the incident. The injury is not life-threatening.
The soldier who fired, Spec. Angel Gallegos, is an infantryman assigned to the border as part of Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star, a multibillion-dollar mission intended to curb the number of migrants entering Texas. Around 5,500 members of the Texas National Guard remain posted along the Rio Grande manning observation posts, building fences and in some cases apprehending migrants for the mission, which began in March 2021.
Street preacher Paul Shoro was asked to remove his "Jesus Saves" T-shirt or leave the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. on January 7, the Christian Post website reports.
A mall security guard told the preacher that "Jesus is associated with religion and it's offending people."
A police officer intervened , and Shoro was told that he was "good to go" in the mall with his shirt intact.
A study from Credit Karma shows that about 30% of Americans are relying on their tax refund checks to make ends meet, the Scripps News website reports today (Jan. 18, 2023).
However, a change in tax rules pertaining to charitable contributions coupled with the end of stimulus programs will likely result in smaller refunds this year.
The average refund issued to taxpayers in 2022 was $3,039, up from $2,827 in 2021, according to figures from the Internal Revenue Service.
Italy's most-wanted mobster, Sicilian Matteo Messina Denaro, has ben arrested , according to Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, the Euro News website reports.
Denaro, who has been on the run for 30 years, was nabbed in Palermo, Sicily. He is considered the successor of the leader of the Cosa Nostra.
"This is a great day for Italy and serves as a warning to the mafia: the institutions and our heroes in uniform never give up," Salvini said.
As a crowd of thousands chanted "Long live the king" and "Constantine, Constantine," the casket carrying the former and last monarch of Greece emerged from Athens' metropolitan cathedral today (Jan. 16, 2023) after a funeral service attended by royalty from across Europe, the Huff Post website reports.
Constantine's wife, Anne-Marie, the sister of Denmark's Queen Margrethe II, and his oldest son, Pavlos, followed at the head of the funeral procession.
The casket, draped with the Greek flag, was loaded into a hearse for the trip to Tatoi, a former royal estate north of Athens where Constantine , 82, was to be buried near his parents and ancestors. A referendum abolished Greece's monarchy in 1974.
Russia's close ally, Belarus, could formally join the war in Ukraine in the coming days if Moscow concludes that Ukraine has "used force" against Russia or Belarus. the Daily Beast website website reports today (Jan. 15, 2023).
"Any use of force by the Kyiv regime or a Ukrainian military invasion of either Belarus or Russia would be enough to trigger a collective response," Aleksey Polishchuk, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Tass
"The republic has the sovereign right to defend its territory through all means available and Minsk can count on Russia's full support here," Polishchuk addded.
Parts of the southeastern U.S. were reeling yesterday after extreme weather and tornadoes left a path of destruction across the region, killing at least nine people in Alabama and Georgia , the USA Today website reports today (Jan. 14, 2023).
The National Weather Service issued dozens of tornado watches and warnings across several states including Alabama and Georgia which received the brunt of the severe storms.
An EF2 -- a tornado with winds between 113 and 157 mph -- was confirmed in Winston County, Alabama, weather service forecasters in Birmingham said yesterday.
Inflation continued to cool in December 2022, the latest sign that high consumer prices are finally beginning to lose their stranglehold on the U.S. economy, the Fox Business website reports today (Jan. 13, 2023).
The Labor Dept. said that the consumer price index , a broad measure of the price for everyday goods including gasoline , groceries and rents, fell 0.1% in December from the previous month. Prices climbed 6.5% on an annual basis.
It marked the slowest annual inflation rate since October 2021and the slowest monthly rate since April 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns.
One of the Catholic Church's most towering figures, Australian Cardinal George Pell, who was acquitted of historical child sexual abuse and was once a top aide to Pope Francis's financial reform efforts, died yesterday (January 11, 2023)in Rome due to a complication after a routine surgery, the Crux website reports.
Sources told Crux that Pell suffered complications following a minor procedure at Salvator Mundi hospital in Rome, and passed away shortly after 9 p.m. local time. He was 81years old.
Pell will be flown back to Australia following his Vatican funeral, and will be buried in St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, where he served as archbishop for 13 years before moving to the Vatican.
The Los Angeles Board of Supervisors has approved a motion declaring a countywide state of emergency on homelessness, the Los Angeles Times website reports today (Jan. 11, 2023).
The declaration aims to speed up the time it takes to provide services to the tens of thousands of people sleeping on the streets.
The move follows similar declarations approved last month by the cities of Los Angeles and Long Beach, as officials step up efforts to address the crisis. Some 69,000 homeless people are believed to be living in Los Angeles County.
A six-year-old boy, who shot a first-grade teacher in an elementary school in Newport News, Virginia on January 6, took the 9mm handgun from his home, according to police, the Scripps News website reports.
The gun was legally purchased by the boy's mother, police said. The fired bullet went through the teacher's hand and entered her chest.
Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said Abby Zwerner, the teacher who had been shot, "is a hero." Drew added that surveillance video showed Zwerner's students running out of the classroom into other classrooms after the shooting took place . Zwerner was the last to leave the first-grade classroom.
A new study on how the COVID -19 pandemic lockdowns impacted church attendance in the U.S. has found that roughly one in three Americans now say they've stopped attending religious services, the Christian Post website reports today (Jan. 9, 2023).
The pandemic lockdowns disrupted religious participation for millions of Americans, notes the study, titled "Faith After the Pandemic: How COVID -19 Changed American Religion."
In the summer of 2020, only 13% of Americans reported attending in-person worship services, which increased to 27% by the spring of 2022, but the rates of worship attendance were still lower than before the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.
Greek Minist4r of Citizen Protection Takis Theodorikakos announced yesterday that Greece is planning to build a new 140-km fence to cover its entire European border with Turkey, in an efftheologyandsociety.blogspot.comflow of illegal migrants, the RT website reports today (Jan. 8, 2023).
Construction of the first 35-km span of the new fence is set to begin "immediately," an official said.
Greece and Turkey share about a 200-km common border in Europe that runs primarily along the Evros River.
Pew Research Center's latest report has revealed that an overwhelming majority of the incoming members of Congress identify as Christians.
The report shows that Christians comprise 88% of voting members of t he lower chamber of the U.S. Congress.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed his country's defense minister to order a temporary cease-fire in Ukraine over Orthodox Christmas , the NPR website reports today (Jan. 6, 2023).
The cease-fire will begin for 36 Hours at noon on Jan.6. Orthodox Christmas is traditionally celebrated by many in Europe on Jan.6 and 7.
According to the Kremlin press service, Putin made the announcement in response to a call by the leader of t he Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, for guns to go silent over the Orthodox holiday.
Abortion again is the leading cause of death worldwide, the Christian Post website reports today (Jan. 5, 2023).
Research shows that more than 44 million abortions took place in 2022 making abortion the leading cause of death worldwide for the fourth year in a row.
Communicable diseases were the second leading cause of death in 2022, resulting in nearly 13 million casualties. The deaths attributed infectious diseases as well as more than 8 million deaths caused by cancer, about 5 million fatalities triggered by smoking, roughly 2.5 million alcohol-related deaths, and nearly 2 million deaths caused by AIDS.
The body of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is lying in state in St. Peter's Basilica, where the faithful are paying their final respects and offering prayers, the Independent Catholic News website reports today (Jan. 4, 2023).
The Pope Emeritus' remains were moved from the Monastery Chapel in a private ceremony presided over by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, Archpriest of St. Peter's on January 2.
A long line of pilgrims had already formed early in the morning before the viewing officially began at 9 a.m. Rome time.
Ukrainian forces fired rockets at a facility in the eastern Donetsk region where Russian soldiers were stationed, killing 63 of them, Russia's defense ministry said on Jan. 2, in what is believed to be the deadliest attack on the Kremlin's forces since the war began over 10 months ago , the Newsy website reports.
The strike -- using a U.S.-supplied weapon -- delivered a new setback for Russia which in recent months has reeled from a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Russian military bloggers said ammunition close to the facility had exploded in the attack and contributed to the high number of casualties.
Filling your car or truck probably will cost less in early 2023 than it did in 2022, the USA Today website reports.
The lowest expected prices for gas will come in February , with a national average of $2.99 for a gallon of regular unleaded, fuel-savings app GasBuddy forecasts.
But prices could hit $4 for a gallon of gas during the peak of travel season next summer, the company said in a forecast released last week.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's passing at the age of 95 has prompted condolences and remembrances from leaders the world over, the Yahoo News website reports today (Jan. 1, 2023).
President Joe Biden called him a "renowned theologian, with a lifetime of devotion to the Church, guided by his principles of faith."
"I had the privilege of spending time with Pope Benedict at the Vatican in 2011 and will always remember his generosity and welcome as well as our meaningful conversation," Biden said in a statement.
