Friday, December 31, 2021

US Catholic church recruits from Africa to ease clergy shortage

Lead story

The Rev. Athanasius Abanulo waves to his parishioners after Mass on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Wedowee, Ala. Originally from Nigeria, Abanulo is one of numerous international clergy helping ease a U.S. priest shortage by serving in Catholic dioceses across the country. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

Editor's note:

The Roman Catholic church in the United States faces a clergy shortage: the number of priests and nuns has declined sharply in recent decades. To help ease the shortage, priests and nuns have been recruited from abroad – including many from Africa. On behalf of AP’s Religion Team, reporter Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu and video-journalist Jessie Wardarski traveled to rural Alabama to profile one such priest – Nigerian-born Athanasius Chidi Abanulo. Since arriving in the U.S. 18 years ago, he has served in California and Tennessee and now pastors in two small towns in Alabama. He’s popular with parishioners, most of whom are white or Hispanic. Says one longtime churchgoer: “He just breaks out in song and a lot of his lectures, he ties in his boyhood, and I just love hearing those stories.” 

A picture of David Crary, Religion Team Leader for The Associated Press.
 

Religion News

1st U.S. gay bishop remembers Tutu’s generosity, kindness

The first openly gay bishop in the U.S. Episcopal Church is remembering when the late Desmond Tutu stood up for him. The Right Rev. Gene Robinson became bishop of New Hampshire in 2003 and five years later, was excluded from a global Anglican gathering because of his sexuality. By Holly Ramer/The Associated Press

For New Year’s resolutions, better health ranks higher than God, family or money

About a quarter of Americans say they want to work on their finances and relationship with God, according to a new Lifeway Research survey. By Bob Smietana/Religion News Service

During the holidays, some faith groups and congregations across the United States work to bring some Christmas cheer—and connection—to prisoners and their children. Among them: the Angel Tree program of the nonprofit Prison Fellowship. By Luis Andres Henao and Mariam Fam/The Associated Press

Pastor asks federal court to sanction immigration officials

The request is part of an ongoing lawsuit in which the pastor accuses federal officials of violating her religious freedom by surveilling her after she officiated at immigrant weddings. By Jack Jenkins/Religion News Service

Ruben Munoz, an evangelical pastor from the church Puerta del Cielo, or "Heaven's Door," who served two years in prison for robbery, baptizes an inmate in a kiddie pool, at an evangelical cellblock inside Penal Unit N11 in Pinero, Santa Fe province, Argentina, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021. Over the past 20 years, Argentine prison authorities have encouraged the creation of units effectively run by evangelical inmates. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Evangelicals a rising force inside Argentine prisons 

Evangelical pastors have become increasingly influential inside Argentine prisons, especially in Santa Fe province. Officials there say about 40% of inmates live in cellblocks run on evangelical rules. By German de los Santos and Rodrigo Abd/The Associated Press

 

Commentary and Analysis

Today most societies take the A.D. time system for granted. That wasn't always the case. By Miriamne Ara Krummel for The Conversation

A letter from the archbishop resolved an impasse over who is invited to take a seat at the table of justice. By Dwight Lee Wolter/Religion News Service

People stay up all night, telling stories and eating dried fruits, in addition to watermelon and pomegranate, to celebrate the sunrise soon after the longest night of the year. By Pardis Mahdavi for The Conversation

A scholar of Islam explains how Muslim religious leaders, starting around the year 1050, worked with political rulers to challenge what they considered to be sacrilegious influence on society. By Ahmet T. Kuru for The Conversation

 
Workers finish an oversized Nativity scene at the P'esko Ujyana Ecological Park in Oruro, Bolivia, Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Workers finish an oversized Nativity scene at the P'esko Ujyana Ecological Park in Oruro, Bolivia, Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

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  • This Week in Religion is a publication of the Global Religion Journalism Initiative, a collaboration among the Religion News Service, The Associated Press and The Conversation U.S.
  • The three news organizations work to improve general understanding and analyze the significance of developments in the world of faith.
 
 

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