Saturday, January 7, 2023

This Week in Religion - Pope Benedict's complex legacy

Lead story

Pope Benedict XVI wearing white priestly robe.

Editor's note:

Pope Francis earlier today presided over the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, joining tens of thousands of mourners at St Peter’s Square to say farewell to a person considered one of the 20th century’s greatest theologians.

During his eight-year-long tenure, Benedict produced three important encyclicals, or papal writings, that attempted to defend Christianity. But he also had to confront several controversies and leaves behind a conflicted legacy on his handling of the Catholic Church’s clerical sexual abuse scandal.

Scholar of global Catholicism Mathew Schmalz acknowledges that Benedict’s pontificate “will inevitably be associated with controversies,” but he also cautions against any “simple characterizations,” as Benedict’s theology will influence the Catholic Church for generations to come.

A portrait of Kalpana Jain, Senior Religion and Ethics Editor at The Conversation U.S.
 

Religion News

An image of the Prophet Muhammad ignites an academic storm

An instructor at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, showed a 14th-century painting of Muhammad. A Muslim student objected. The instructor was let go. By Yonat Shimron/Religion News Service

Congress’ new class has much higher percentage of Christians than American public

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent from Arizona, remains the only member of the new Congress who uses the description of religiously unaffiliated. By Adelle M. Banks/Religion News Service

Houses of worship have made progress on accessibility but there is room for improvement. For some, the rise of online services amid the pandemic revealed the holes in existing accommodations. By Holly Meyer/The Associated Press

Migrants try to stay warm while camping outside the Sacred Heart Church in El Paso, Texas.

Migrant shelters try to help traumatized assault survivors

Growing numbers of migrants suffer violence on their journeys. Resources are scarce for this kind of specialized care, and the network of charity-run shelters is overwhelmed by stuck migrants and new arrivals. By Giovanna Dell’Orto/The Associated Press

Benedict XVI, first pope to resign in 600 years, dies at 95

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the shy German theologian who tried to reawaken Christianity in a secularized Europe but will forever be remembered as the first pontiff in 600 years to resign from the job, died at 95. By Nicole Winfield/The Associated Press

 

Commentary and Analysis

Mindfulness can teach us to be more present – not just for ourselves, but also for our colleagues, friends and loved ones. By Jeremy David Engels for The Conversation

Fitness and religion make a potent combination, one people have explored for centuries. By Cody Musselman for The Conversation

Despite a growing number of non-religious Americans, self-declared atheists are few and far between in the halls of power – putting the US at odds with other global democracies. By Phil Zuckerman for The Conversation

The game made me examine my own culpability in treating players like disposable commodities. By Sean Samuel O'Neil/Religion News Service

 
Muslims offer an Eid al-Fitr prayer.

Muslims offer an Eid al-Fitr prayer, making on the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, May 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

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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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