Tuesday's News & Ideas - 6/20/2023

William Barber departs pulpit of Greenleaf Church with an ode to the power of disability
Religion News Service: The sermon, which capped his 30-year tenure as pastor of the Disciples of Christ church in Goldsboro, North Carolina, was unusually personal.

Why every generation thinks people were nicer in the past
Vox: Reports that we’re becoming crappier humans over time are greatly exaggerated.

Black Catholics celebrate Juneteenth, reckon with church’s history of slavery*
The Washington Post: Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the first African American cardinal, presided over a special Mass at Mt. Calvary Catholic Church in Maryland.

A New Orleans priest confessed to abusing children. He returned to work and was never charged
The Guardian: It wasn’t until similar abuse allegations came to light in Boston that Lawrence Hecker was quietly retired in 2002.

The Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, defender of church-state divide, dies at 81*
The New York Times: He started out in the Southern Baptist Convention, but when that group took a sharp conservative turn he became a voice for tolerance and diversity.

The Spark

Freedom is a horse
From Harper’s Bazaar, a celebration of the liberation and escape that Black Americans found on horses.*

*access is limited for nonsubscribers