Wednesday's News & Ideas - 3/17/2021

Jesuits pledge $100 million for descendants of people their order enslaved
Religion News Service: The initiative also has a longer-term goal of raising $1 billion.

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk leaves Liberty University think tank*
The New York Times: The Falkirk Center, named for its founders, Jerry Falwell Jr. and Charlie Kirk, was the center of evangelical Trumpism. Now, both are gone.

Dead Sea scroll fragments and ‘world’s oldest basket’ found in desert cave
The Guardian: Israeli archaeologists have unearthed two dozen Dead Sea scroll fragments from a remote cave in the Judean Desert, the first discovery of such Jewish religious texts in more than half a century.

LGBTQ Catholics stung by Vatican rebuff of same-sex unions
Associated Press: The Vatican’s declaration that same-sex unions are a sin the Roman Catholic Church cannot bless was no surprise for LGBTQ Catholics in the United States -- yet it stung deeply nonetheless.

Beth Moore’s departure could hurt Southern Baptists and move them further right
Religion Dispatches: It’s too early to tell if the shockwaves will last, or if they will spread across denominations or into the world of politics.

The Spark

Behind the scenes at a five-star hotel
For years, employees of the Pierre* enjoyed some of the most enviable union jobs in New York City. How much of that will survive the pandemic? The New Yorker asks.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers

Want to get News & Ideas in your inbox every weekday?
Subscribe to our News & Ideas newsletter or receive our RSS feed in your RSS reader.