Up to 100 Syrian refugees have arrived in the state this year, with more expected in coming months.
Source: Syrian refugees eager to build new lives in Michigan
Lutheran Social Services of Michigan and Catholic Charities are settling Syrian refugees in Michigan, where the largest concentration of Muslims are located in the U.S. The Lutheran agency is settling the majority of immigrants.
PARIS — Pépite is still in shock. “It’s hard to deal with it,” repeats this mother, whose youngest daughter converted to Islam. Pépite comes from a Catholic family, and never expected this to happen. She didn’t worry when her daughter, Alexandra, became infatuated with a boy who
Source: A Close-Up Look At French Converts To Islam
The article describes several Roman Catholic families whose children, in their teen and young adult years, have converted to Islam. It also explains that the percentage of converts who get involved with radical, jihadist Islam is quite high.
The pope’s American sojourn casts a spotlight on the fact that funding issues are close to the surface even at the most successful Catholic schools in the U.S.
Source: Pope Visit 2015: Catholic Schools’ Enrollment Trends Paint Bleak Picture
The article reports the nearly constant decline of Catholic schools since the 1970s, from 5.2 million to 1.9 million students. No doubt, this is caused in part by the downward trend in births since the Baby Boom. Yet the decline is sharper than demographic changes would indicate.
Is there a ‘war on women’? Yes – but not in the US, the Republican candidate told supporters, promising that immigrants are ‘welcome to come to America, but they don’t get to change who we are.’
Source: Ben Carson: By keeping out Islam, we protect women (+video) – CSMonitor.com
Carson’s comments stirred controversy since he noted how the views of many Muslims currently conflict with democratic and American ideals. Carson is a vocal, practicing Christian.
Urban construction in Milwaukee uncovers the graves of dozens of residents, the remains of whom archaeologists are now studying.
Source: Archaeologists Discover Graves From Milwaukee’s Boom Time
The article describes how Protestant burials and Roman Catholic burials tend to differ due to the absence or presence of grave goods. Also, the graves were oriented to emphasize the people’s faith in the return of Christ and the resurrection.
Source: Review of Biblical Literature
Frans van Liere’s introduction covers canon, interpretation, and use of the Bible from Jerome’s translation (c. 405) to publication of the Gutenberg Bible in 1455.
Pope Francis will use the lesson of the newly elevated 18th century saint Junipero Serra to exhort the church to be bold missionaries in the modern world.
Source: ‘Keep moving forward,’ Pope exhorts church at Mass for new saint
In Pope Francis’s first mass in the U. S., he canonized Franciscan missionary, Junipero Serra, who established schools for Indians in California. Serra is controversial since he was also known for using corporal punishment on the Indian students.
Three, including a 1-month-old, are injured.
Source: Parishioners’ quick action praised in Ala. church shooting
Services at Oasis Tabernacle Church in Alabama were disrupted when an angry father drew a gun and shot his estranged girl friend. The pastor and congregation rallied to the woman’s aid and subdued the shooter. Thanks be to God, no one was killed. As congregations minister to victims of domestic violence, they too may face such violence. Lord, have mercy.
Don Justo Gallego Martinez, an ex-monk, builds his own cathedral in Spain with volunteer help. He has worked on it for fifty years. Some regard his work as crazy, others as an example of faith.
ISIS’ stranglehold on the Middle East continues to get tighter and tighter after it was revealed that their members had murdered Christians by crucifying.
Patrick Sookhdeo, a Barnabus Fund representative, relays reports of ISIS atrocities in Syria, which now include crucifixions. The article claims that graphic photographs of atrocities have been taken but that they are too graphic to share in their publication.
church history review 