Monday's News & Ideas - 12/6/2021

Pope comforts migrants at Lesbos refugee camp while urging action
Associated Press: “Let us stop ignoring reality, stop constantly shifting responsibility, stop passing off the issue of migration to others,” Pope Francis said during a visit to the Greek island.

New York religious schools face a vaccine mandate. Will they fight it?*
The New York Times: Mayor Bill de Blasio set a vaccine mandate for religious and private schools. Jewish and Catholic leaders are frustrated, and some have predicted legal challenges.

New Truett Seminary master’s program combines agriculture, theology, social justice
Waco Tribune-Herald: Students pursuing a master’s in theology, ecology and food justice will spend most of their time at World Hunger Relief, a Christian nonprofit founded in 1979 where interns and volunteers gather to learn about agriculture and fight world hunger on a 40-acre demonstration farm.

Why India is witnessing spike in attacks on Christians, churches
Al Jazeera: Rights groups record more than 300 attacks on Christians and their religious places in the first nine months of this year.

Plumber reportedly finds cash and checks in walls of Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church
Religion News Service: Did a plumber just discover a new clue in a seven-year-old burglary case at the Houston-area megachurch?

The Spark

These moms overcame homelessness. But the fight for a better life is far from over
There are more homeless families in the United States than in any other industrialized country, NPR says. The main cause is the lack of affordable housing. (trigger warning: description of domestic violence)

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