Common Good News 2/6/17

In Common Good News by Anna Golladay

Should I die as a result of a violent crime, I request that the person or persons found guilty of homicide for my killing not be subject to or put in jeopardy of the death penalty under any circumstance, no matter how heinous their crime or how much I have suffered.

— Father Rene Robert’s 1995 Declaration of Life. Fr. Roberts was murdered in April of 2016, his alleged killer is awaiting trial, his family and fellow priests are urging that his wishes be respected. (Daily Beast)

Prayer breakfast: Why Christian conservatives are happy with Trump

By Linda Feldmann, Christian Science Monitor

Donald Trump has never been known primarily as a man of faith. But in his first appearance Thursday at the National Prayer Breakfast, President Trump reaffirmed that he will be a strong advocate for the priorities of conservative Christians – a key part of his political base.

 

Trump vows to let churches engage in politics

By Kimberly Winston and Jerome Socolovsky, Religion News Service

President Trump vowed in his first National Prayer Breakfast as chief executive to make good on a campaign promise to repeal the law that restricts political speech from the pulpit.

 

On becoming a sanctuary: Five points for Catholic institutions to consider

By Jim McDermott, National Catholic Reporter  

As President Donald Trump announces measures targeting the undocumented, refugees and those with green cards from certain countries, the possibility of offering some kind of sanctuary has leapt to the fore in many cities and among local groups.

 

A Resettlement Mission Upended by the Sweep of a President’s Pen

By Dan Barry, New York Times

The Church World Service has guided many immigrants to Lancaster, Pa. How

can it function, though, after an executive order closing the nation to refugees?

 

Trump has inspired a growing opposition

Editorial, National Catholic Reporter

President Donald Trump is forcing us — Americans, conservatives, liberals, people of all parties and no party, believers, unbelievers — to consider ourselves in ways and at levels unprecedented in modern U.S. politics.

 

Few see Christianity as very important to be ‘truly American’

By Emily McFarlan Miller, Religion News Service

Americans may pledge allegiance to “one nation under God,” but they are divided on whether religion is essential to national identity.

 

Pope Francis releases his own Super Bowl commercial, for peace

By Crux Staff

For the first time, Pope Francis has released a message specifically directed at the American Super Bowl, speaking in Spanish and saying the event should be “a sign of peace, friendship and solidarity for the world.”

 

Swastika scrawlings unnerve three US cities

By Andreas Preuss and Joe Sutton, CNN

Police are investigating a flurry of swastika vandalism over the weekend in three major US cities.