Lead story

Pope apologizes for ‘catastrophic’ school policy in Canada

Editor's note:

Pope Francis delivered a historic apology this week to Indigenous peoples for the abuses suffered at the hands of Catholic missionaries in Canada’s church-run residential schools. The Associated Press provided wall-to-wall coverage of this consequential papal trip on Canadian soil. Alongside top notch visual crews and an assist from Canadian bureau chief Rob Gillies, the religion team’s Peter Smith and AP Vatican expert, Nicole Winfield, were on the ground to document the pope’s arrival in Edmonton, Alberta, and his monumental request for forgiveness at the site of a former residential school. But the religion team’s work began before the papal plane touched down on Sunday. In anticipation of the pope’s arrival, Smith and Jessie Wardarski documented the hopes and concerns of Indigenous Canadians ahead of Francis’ apology. Smith and Religion News Editor Holly Meyer added critical context by explaining further the modern phenomenon of churches apologizing for past sins. 

Religion News

These adoptees refuse to be Christian pro-life poster kids

They're challenging the often-religious argument that adoption is a simple, sacred and mutually beneficial solution to abortion. By Kathryn Post/Religion News Service

UN court rejects Myanmar claims, will hear Rohingya case

Judges at the United Nations’ highest court dismissed preliminary objections by Myanmar to a case alleging the Southeast Asian nation is responsible for genocide against the Rohingya ethnic minority. By Mike Corder/The Associated Press

Bart Barber wants the Southern Baptist Convention to regain its rural soul

The struggle to pull the SBC’s 13.7 million members ‘back from the brink’ has fallen squarely on the shoulders of Barber, a pastor from rural Texas. By Riley Farrell/Religion News Service

Vatican says they’re gifts; Indigenous groups want them back 

Restitution of Indigenous and colonial-era artifacts was one of the many agenda items awaiting Pope Francis on his trip to Canada. It's a debate facing museums across Europe about what to do with their colonial and Indigenous collections. By Nicole Winfield/The Associated Press

Catholic hospitals’ growth impacts reproductive health care 

Even as numerous Republican-governed states push for sweeping bans on abortion, there is a coinciding surge of concern in some Democratic-led states that options for reproductive health care are dwindling due to expansion of Catholic hospital networks. By Susan Haigh and David Crary/The Associated Press

Commentary and Analysis

There is a lot of antisemitic hate speech on social media – and algorithms are partly to blame

Antisemitism today does not always appear in the form of traditional hate speech. It manifests  in GIFs, memes, vlogs, comments and reactions on social media platforms. By Sabine von Mering and Monika Hübscher for The Conversation

Most Americans today are choosing cremation – here's why burials are becoming less common

As late as 1970, only about 5% of Americans chose to be cremated.  In 2020, more than 56% Americans opted for it. By David Sloane for The Conversation

Mormon founder Joseph Smith’s photo discovered by descendant after nearly 180 years

A great-great-grandson of Joseph Smith Jr. found the Mormon prophet’s photo tucked inside a locket passed down for generations. By Jana Riess/Religion News Service

Proclaim debt amnesty throughout all the land? A biblical solution to a present-day problem

A scholar of the ancient Near East explains how loan forgiveness was handled thousands of years ago in the Bible and royal decrees. By Eva von Dassow for The Conversation

Photos of the Week: Indian Harvest Festival; Mourning in Ukraine and more

People lit candles in memory of people killed by Russian shelling last Thursday, in the Orthodox church in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, Sunday, July 17, 2022. Russian missiles struck the city of Vinnytsia in central Ukraine on Thursday, killing at least 23 people and injuring more than 100 others, Ukrainian officials said. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

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• This Week in Religion is a publication of the Global Religion Journalism Initiative, a collaboration among the Religion News Service, The Associated Press and The Conversation U.S.
• The three news organizations work to improve general understanding and analyze the significance of developments in the world of faith.