Wednesday's News & Ideas - 9/15/2021

Blocked from serving their church, Catholic women push for female deacons
Religion News Service: There is growing momentum to restore women to the diaconate, which would allow women to serve as Catholic chaplains in prisons, hospitals and other settings.

Broad support for helping Afghan refugees does not uniformly extend to all refugees
Baptist News Global: Nearly 70% of Americans favor allowing certain categories of Afghan refugees, including those who worked for coalition forces in Afghanistan, into the United States because “we owe them,” according to a survey released this month.
The Conversation: Perilous situation for Afghan allies left behind shows a refugee system that’s not up to the job

Right-wing pastor Greg Locke says Twitter permanently suspended him for being ‘a danger’
Newsweek: Controversial right-wing pastor Greg Locke’s verified Twitter account was permanently banned on Tuesday, following what the platform says was a violation of the Twitter rules.
Religion News Service: Twitter permanently bans Greg Locke, pro-Trump, anti-vax pastor

Sometimes it’s hard to remember what life as a Muslim was like before 9/11
The Guardian: We used to have a multidimensional identity based on a rich cultural history. Now we’re just seen as good or bad Muslims.

This pastor will sign a religious exemption for vaccines if you donate to his church*
The Washington Post: A pastor is encouraging people to donate to his Tulsa church so they can become an online member and get his signature on a religious exemption from coronavirus vaccine mandates.

The Spark

Martin Luther King knew that fighting racism meant fighting police brutality
Critics of Black Lives Matter have held up King as a foil to the movement’s criticisms of law enforcement, but those are views that King himself shared,* says The Atlantic.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers