Friday's News & Ideas - 4/14/2023

James MacDonald, former Harvest Bible pastor, charged with felony assault and battery
Religion News Service: MacDonald, a once popular radio preacher who helped found what was one of Chicago’s largest churches, was fired in 2019 and deemed unfit for ministry. He has continued to guest preach at churches and run an online ministry.

Among U.S. Latinos, Catholicism continues to decline but is still the largest faith
Pew Research Center: The share of Latinos who are religiously unaffiliated continues to grow.

A New Jersey imam was stabbed during prayer, with the attacker subdued by congregants
NPR: An imam was stabbed while leading his congregation in prayer on Sunday at a mosque in Paterson, New Jersey. The assailant was quickly subdued by worshippers, according to local authorities.

Christians are in danger under Israeli government, says Holy Land patriarch
Associated Press: Benjamin Netanyahu’s rightwing policies are emboldening attacks on 2,000-year-old community, says one regional leader.

How Major League Soccer is supporting Muslim players who fast
Deseret News: After years of seeking more support from Major League Soccer during the holy month of Ramadan, Muslim players finally have something big to celebrate.

The Spark

Members of a gaming chat detail how documents leaked from closed chat group
The online group that received hundreds of pages of classified material* included foreigners, members tell The Washington Post

*access is limited for nonsubscribers