Common Good News 1/31/17

In Common Good News by Anna Golladay

This weekend proved to be a dark moment in U.S. history. The executive order to turn away refugees and to close our nation to those, particularly Muslims, fleeing violence, oppression and persecution is contrary to both Catholic and American values.

— Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, Statement on the Executive Order on Refugees and Migrants

With immigration in spotlight, congregations hear messages of inclusion

By Julie Zauzmer and Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Washington Post

After Trump issued an order Friday temporarily barring refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, clergy across the nation scrapped earlier sermons to build on the lesson and urge parishioners to stand up for what they see as a biblical call to care for “the stranger.”

 

Trump Bars Refugees and Citizens of 7 Muslim Countries

By Michael D. Shear and Helene Cooper, New York Times

President Trump on Friday closed the nation’s borders to refugees from around the world, ordering that families fleeing the slaughter in Syria be indefinitely blocked from entering the United States, and temporarily suspending immigration from several predominantly Muslim countries.

 

Christian Leaders Denounce Trump’s Plan to Favor Christian Immigrants

By Laurie Goodstein, New York Times

A broad array of clergy members has strongly denounced Mr. Trump’s order as discriminatory, misguided and inhumane. Outrage has also come from some of the evangelical, Roman Catholic and mainline Protestant leaders who represent the churches most active in trying to aid persecuted Christians.

 

550 attend Mass outside White House in solidarity with refugees

By Teresa Donnellan, America

More than 550 people gathered to attend a Mass organized by young Catholics and celebrated by Father Quinn Conners in Washington, D.C., to express their solidarity with refugees and immigrants.

 

Trump signs order limiting refugee entry, says he will prioritize Christian refugees

By Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Washington Post

President Trump signed an executive order Friday instituting “extreme vetting” of refugees, aimed at keeping out “radical Islamic terrorists.”

 

Trump Refugee Ban Clashes With Faith-Based Groups’ Religious Missions

By Tom Gjelten, NPR

President Trump’s temporary ban on the admission of refugees is not going over well with the churches and religious organizations that handle most refugee resettlements in the United States.

 

‘Sanctuary City’ Mayors Vow to Defy Trump’s Immigration Order

By Liz Robbins, New York Times

The mayors of American cities large and small reacted with outrage on Wednesday as President Trump signed an executive order saying he would halt funding to municipalities that did not cooperate with federal immigration officials.

 

Trump is creating a new form of Christian nationalism centered on himself

By Jack Jenkins, Think Progress

Rather, the president’s inauguration—especially his inaugural address—ushered in a revival of an old but controversial American theological tradition, amended for a new era: Christian nationalism, Trump style.

 

Why Evangelicals Are Speaking Out Against Betsy DeVos

By Laura Turner, Politico

But it’s not just left-leaning groups like the American Federation of Teachers or Democrats in Congress who have greeted DeVos with some of the strongest opposition seen by any of Trump’s Cabinet nominees. A surprising number of voices are speaking out against DeVos from within her own camp: evangelical Christianity.