RNS Morning Report: In Chicago, ‘Little Palestine’ adds its voice to roar of the Democratic convention

Top Stories In Chicago, ‘Little Palestine’ adds its voice to roar of the Democratic convention CHICAGO (RNS) — With the DNC happening in their backyard, many residents came straight from work or school to participate in the protests.   Orthodox churches boomed during pandemic, study finds, but calls growth ‘mixed bag’ (RNS) — Almost half of US Orthodox churches remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to only 12% of all religious congregations.   Carlos Whittaker spent seven weeks screen-free. Here’s how his idea of God changed. (RNS) — The former worship pastor emphasizes that ‘Reconnected’ isn’t another book about why phones are bad. Instead, it’s about the beautiful things on the other side of the phone.   Photos of the Week: Shiite pilgrims; DNC protests (RNS) — This week’s photo gallery includes Shiite pilgrims in Iraq, pro-Palestinian activists protesting the Democratic National Convention and more.   How much does forgiveness cost? $7 million for one Christian college. (RNS) — A dispute over how to count employees may cost Gordon College, a Christian school in Boston, millions after its request to have a COVID-era loan forgiven was turned down. RNS Opinion Italian teenager Carlo Acutis’ upcoming canonization reflects the Vatican’s desire to appeal to a new generation of Catholics (The Conversation) — Italian priest Padre Pio was one of the world’s most prayed-to saints in recent times. As Pio’s generation ages, the Catholic Church is turning to Carlo Acutis to appeal to a new demographic.   The war comes home — to a Brooklyn bookstore (RNS) — It is the antisemitism of the cool, the chic, the beautiful people. We need to call it out. ICYMI As AME Church meets for General Conference, retirement plan questions continue (RNS) — Some 2,900 people have joined an ‘AMEs for Reform’ Facebook group and others have issued open letters as part of ‘AMEs for Justice and Accountability.’   A quarter of US Catholic parishes have a Spanish Mass, bishops’ survey says (RNS) — The survey, conducted between April and August 2024, will be used by the conference as Catholic leaders work locally and nationally to implement the National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry. In Other News Nicaragua taxes tithes after closing 1,500 churches and nonprofits How JD Vance found his way to the Catholic Church   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. RNS is free to read, but it's not free to produce. If you value our reporting, please consider making a donation today at religionnews.com/donate. If you prefer to mail a donation, please address to: Religion News Foundation, PO Box 1808, Columbia, MO 65205. Yes, I support the work you're doing! Forward this email to a friend