Tuesday's News & Ideas - 1/7/2025

The church fixer*
The New York Times: Thousands of churches around the country close every year. In Brooklyn, one pastor is trying to help struggling parishes keep their doors open.

Pope Francis picks an advocate for church reform for Washington, DC
National Catholic Reporter: To the capital of a deeply polarized nation, the pope has sent the only U.S. bishop who could be considered a scholar of American political history and its intersection with Catholic theology.

Trump Bible gets new ‘Inauguration Day Edition’ just in time for Jan. 6
Religion News Service: A new ad urges supporters to buy a Bible commemorating Trump’s return to the White House. The new edition of the God Bless the USA Bible features Trump’s name on the cover and will be on sale until Jan. 19.

War crimes and rebel bishops: Christmas celebrations marred by bitter split in Ethiopia’s ancient church
The Guardian: As millions of Orthodox Christians in the country prepare to celebrate on 7 January, the legacy of a brutal conflict is tearing apart its 1,700-year-old church.

Johnson attributes prayer to Thomas Jefferson, but there’s no proof he said it*
The Washington Post: According to the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, there’s no evidence that the third president of the United States ever recited a prayer for the nation, as Mike Johnson suggested.

The Spark

Do insects feel pain?
Insects* make up about 40 percent of living species, and we tend to kill them without pause. New research explores the possibility that they are sentient, The New Yorker says.

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