Pandemic parties rage on across South Florida despite growing coronavirus crisis

According to police reports, when officers first arrived at a large house in village of Royal Palm Beach on May 22 and knocked on the door, they were met by a drunken, belligerent man who claimed to be of legal age. Inside the house, the reports state, officers could see some 10 teens drinking. After backup arrived and the man who answered the door was arrested, officers allowed the 40 to 50 teenagers who had been in the backyard — “consuming what appeared to be alcoholic beverages and... Read More

Anglican Property Wins Don’t Put an End to Legal Disputes

Breakaway congregations in South Carolina and Texas continue protracted fight with the Episcopal Church. Last month, a South Carolina circuit court judge ruled that 36 Anglican churches in that state don’t have to turn over their property to the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina. It was the latest decision in the long legal struggle between the Episcopal Church in South Carolina and the more conservative Anglican congregations, which officially broke away in 2012. “I’m... Read More

Persecuted Christians Resettled in US Drop Dramatically Under Trump

More Christian refugees were welcomed from 50 worst persecutors in 2016 than in President Trump’s first three years combined, according to Open Doors and World Relief report. The United States is on track to welcome the fewest refugees since its resettlement policy was formalized in 1980, by a substantial margin. Capped at 18,000 people for 2020—the lowest ceiling on record—the US has resettled 7,600 refugees, with only three months left in the fiscal year. According to a... Read More

Hagia Sophia Converted Back to Mosque by Turkey’s President

Orthodox leaders and UNESCO object to famous former church no longer being a museum. As Christians feared and many expected, the Hagia Sophia is now—again—a mosque. The Turkish Council of State ruled today that the original 1934 decision to convert the sixth-century Byzantine basilica into a museum was illegal. When Ottoman sultan Mehmet II conquered then-Constantinople, he placed the iconic church in a waqf—an Islamic endowment administering personal property, usually... Read More

The Long Obedience of Racial Justice

To bear the image of God is a declaration of dignity that challenges power. “This is not Charlottesville” was the refrain that I heard many times. Our neighbors sought to assure us of this. We had moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, just days after white supremacists’ Unite the Right Rallies shattered the town’s charm. As blatant outside emissaries of racial hatred, they were vehemently opposed by people of faith and of goodwill. On the other hand, I recall a ride... Read More

U.S. Supreme Court asked to allow former felons to vote, despite fines and fees, while case continues

The United States Supreme Court, from front left, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice Samuel Alito, Jr.; from back left, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Elena Kagan and Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh pose for their official portrait at the in the East Conference Room at the Supreme Court building Nov. 30, 2018 in... Read More

DeSantis wants to speed up COVID testing in Broward, Miami-Dade, and says schools need to open

“We spent months saying that there were certain things that were essential, and that included fast food restaurants, it included Walmart, it included Home Depot,” the governor said at a news conference in Jacksonville with U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia. “But if all that is essential, than educating our kids is absolutely essential. … If you can do these things, we absolutely can do the schools.” ... Read More