Pope Francis: “I want to insist as firmly as I can that abortion is a grave sin because it puts an end to an innocent life.”
CHR Comment: The story also includes the closing of the cathedral doors that were symbolically opened for a year of jubilee mercy. The pope’s statement also includes a good example of the Roman Catholic views on repentance in distinction from that traditionally proclaimed by Protestant denominations.
Source: Pope Francis allows priests to absolve ‘grave sin’ of abortion
Seeds in the excrement indicate it came from someone eating an upper-class diet with fruit, nuts and spices, most likely Jens Bircherod, the Bishop of Aalborg.
CHR Comment: The interview describes how archaeologists studied a latrine, discovering the differences between the life of a leading church figure and a typical Dane. This is a physical illustration of how church hierarchy enjoyed a privileged position in European society.
Source: Danes match 300-year-old poop with bishop who made it – Home | As It Happens | CBC Radio
A US city renames Good Friday and Columbus Day “Spring” and “Fall” holidays to be more “inclusive”.
Source: Good Friday and Columbus Day renamed by ‘inclusive’ US city of Bloomington – BBC News
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The pontiff’s exhortation, at a ceremony to elevate 17 new cardinals, seemed to take aim at nationalist anger roiling countries around the world, including the U.S.
CHR Comment: The reporter interprets statements of Francis and applies them to Donald Trump and to conservative Catholics. None of the quotations mention Trump or the conservatives so the writer’s applications to them seem odd and inappropriate. The pope’s comments seem clearly international rather than directed against persons in the United States. The article feels less like reporting and more like editorializing.
Source: Pope Francis denounces growing ‘demonization’ of enemies and outsiders | Religion News Service
A
New Zealand preacher comes under fire over claim earthquakes are caused by homosexuality and sin.
Source: New Zealand quake: Preacher under fire over homosexuals claim – BBC News
Archaeologists uncovered an Anglo-Saxon cemetery in England with dozens of rare wooden coffins arranged in rows.
CHR Comment: This find dates to the early years of Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons and proves to be Christian as the burials do not contain grave goods and they are oriented East/West as is typical of Christian grave yards. A wooden chapel may have stool on the site.
Source: Surprise Find: More Than 80 Anglo-Saxon Coffins Uncovered in England
CHR Comment: New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary participated in this dig and discovery, which illustrates the Egyptian cultural influence upon Canaan.
Source: Canaanite Offering Unearthed at Tel Gezer – Archaeology Magazine
On the border of Estonia and Russia, the Setos struggle to create a modern identity from ancient beliefs
CHR Comment: The photo essay shows that the Setos, a culturally and linguistically distinct group, hold Christian Orthodox beliefs but also retain elements of their earlier beliefs. Their traditional deity is said to reside under an Orthodox monastery.
More than 500 graves of Cistercian monks and lay brothers have been discovered at one of the largest monastic ruins in the country.
CHR Comment: The persons buried were carefully separated from one another, a practice which the archaeologists attribute to belief in the bodily resurrection of the dead.
Source: 500 graves discovered in Monastic ruins at world heritage site (From HeraldScotland)
Their members weren’t allowed to have sex. No meat, no alcohol, no tobacco and no personal property, either. Yet to this day, people talk about how fun they were.
Source: Town remembers, fondly, celibate commune destroyed by sex scandal
church history review 