Monday's News & Ideas - 2/17/2020

Poverty is a winning issue for 2020
CNN: In the more than 20 debates leading up to the 2016 elections, there was not a single hour dedicated to poverty or economic insecurity.

After abuse scandals, seminarians pledge to ‘get it right’
Associated Press: The 156 young men who call St. Charles Borromeo Seminary home appear unflinchingly optimistic, reverent and committed.

Amish farmers have a ‘complicated relationship’ with nature, are skeptical of climate change
Religion News Service: Most Amish households aren’t headed by farmers anymore. And their relationship to the earth depends heavily on the assumption that God gave it to human beings to use, not to preserve.

George Coyne, 87, Vatican astronomer and Galileo defender, dies*
New York Times: While seeking to reconcile science and religion, Father Coyne also vigorously supported Darwin and challenged believers in intelligent design.

Why witchcraft is on the rise*
The Atlantic: Americans’ interest in spell-casting tends to wax as instability rises and trust in establishment ideas plummets.

The Spark

How Obama’s reading shaped his writing
Obama-the-writer came before Obama-the-candidate. But Obama-the-reader came first, Literary Hub says.

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