At the start of Pride month, a small rainbow flag spotted on the set of “The Chosen,” the wildly popular TV series on Jesus’ life, has triggered a dust-up among fans of the show on social media. The hand-size flag, usually symbolizing support for LGBTQ rights, appears in the corner of the screen for approximately four seconds of a 6:49 minute promotional video “The Chosen” producers released Sunday (May 28). (Post, Religion News Service)
Read MoreStill clutching the rosary beads buried with her four years ago, the body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster lies in the corner of a rural monastery in Missouri. While the bones in some of her fingers are visible, her black and white habit still fits and her ribbon and crucifix are intact. Amid the scent of incense and freshly cut lilies, worshippers wait to pay their respects to the founder of the Benedictine Sisters of Mary, Queen of the Apostles. (Coen, The Telegraph)
Read MoreEvent organizers and business owners in Florida say recent legislation signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has made their LGBT customers wary of traveling there. One bill bans people from entering public bathrooms other than ones designated for their sex assigned at birth. Another bans children from what it calls “adult performances”—the state Senate cited drag shows as an example. (Pohle & Passy, The Wall Street Journal)
Read MoreThe pace of teen births in the United States has been falling since 2007, according to the CDC, reflecting long-running efforts to increase sex education and access to contraception. The 2022 numbers continue that course, paired with a record low among women in their early 20s and a consistent rise in the birthrate for women 35 and older — all trends that reflect ongoing cultural shifts, experts said. (McDaniel, The Washington Post)
Read Morehe Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled two bills banning abortions unconstitutional on Wednesday. Justices ruled in a 6-3 decision that the state’s abortion bans passed last year are too restrictive and vague for doctors. Those laws made abortion illegal, except in a “medical emergency.” (Dodd, KOSU)
Read MoreAlabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill into law Tuesday that would make it illegal for public higher education institutions to allow transgender people to participate in sports that do not correspond with the gender they were given at birth.(Archie, NPR)
Read More