RNS Morning Report: Life in Lviv: Ukrainian priest on funerals and more for victory

Top Stories Life in Lviv: Ukrainian priest on funerals, food aid and prayers for victory (RNS) — The Rev. Oleksiy Zavada, a Ukrainian Catholic priest, describes how life in western Ukraine carries constant reminders of the realities of war on the front lines.    First known depictions of biblical heroines Jael and Deborah uncovered in Israel (RNS) — A rendering of one figure driving a peg through the head of another initially led the team to identify the figures.   Israel’s new policy on ‘kosher cellphones’ is an abomination for Haredi rabbis JERUSALEM (RNS) — The country’s governing coalition has so far ended ultra-Orthodox control over adherents’ phones.   Saddleback elders say no ‘pattern of abuse’ found in investigation of new pastor (RNS) — Saddleback’s elders mentioned there had been conflict at the church previously run by their new pastor but said ‘disappointment and hurt are not the same as abuse.’   Vatican names 3 women to office that vets bishop nominations ROME (AP) — The dicastery's members, who include cardinals, bishops and now women, meet periodically to evaluate proposed new bishops whose names are forwarded by Vatican ambassadors. RNS Opinion Religious right groups’ tax-status changes demean both church and state (RNS) — No honest person would call the political organization a church.   Abortion is not a ‘Jewish value’ for all Jews (RNS) — The media has deposited in the public sphere that all of Judaism embraces ‘abortion rights.’   Cannabis prohibition in France has disproportionately punished its Muslim minority (The Conversation) — France may be getting closer to legalizing cannabis. Still, arrests are rising quickly and often target Arab Muslim men. ICYMI What does it mean to be a ‘person’? Different cultures have different answers (The Conversation) — The fundamental issue at stake in abortion debates is personhood, which is viewed differently around the world, an anthropologist writes.   500-year-old icon looted from divided Cyprus repatriated NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The Cyprus Church has for decades been trying to track down numerous religious artifacts stolen from hundreds of abandoned churches and monasteries in the north and sold abroad. In Other News I believed I was destined to be a nun. But when I moved into a convent, things changed. Sudan woman faces death by stoning for adultery in first case for a decade   Talk to Us We want your feedback on the RNS Morning Report — what you think we're doing right and what we should be doing differently. Send us an email at Comments@ReligionNews.com Subscribe to other RNS Newsletters. Forward this email to a friend. View the archive of past newsletters. Religion News Service is free to read, but it's not free to produce. If you value our reporting, please consider making a donation today. Yes, I support the work you're doing! Forward this email to a friend