Nepal’s government lifted a sweeping social-media ban late Monday after the days-old prohibition sparked clashes between protesters and police that left at least 19 people dead, according to two state-run news outlets. (Pokharel, The Wall Street Journal)
Read MoreThis week, the world’s best-known living religious composer, the reclusive Estonian Arvo Pärt, turns 90. The fact that he’s also the most-performed classical composer in the world after John Williams is surprising. After all, we live in a Godless age. It’s a fair bet nearly all those people who love Pärt’s music never go to church. So what is it about his music that has touched a nerve? (Hewett, Telegraph)
Read MoreIn Moscow, Idaho, conservative evangelical pastor Doug Wilson last year praised the nomination of now-U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for his opposition to women in combat. Then, in an interview broadcast last month, Wilson told CNN that in his vision of a Christian America, women would hold few leadership positions beyond being "chief executive" of the home and raising children. (Ramirez, USA Today)
Read MoreCarlo Acutis, who died in 2006 from leukemia at the age of 15, was officially recognized as a saint by Pope Leo XIV on Sunday, bestowing the Catholic Church’s highest honor on a millennial for the first time. Sometimes also dubbed “God’s influencer,” St. Carlo’s emerging iconography often depicts him holding a laptop. (Stancatti, The Wall Street Journal)
Read MoreThe AI Bible is run by Pray.com, a for-profit company that claims to have "the world's #1 app for faith and prayer." The new AI videos are being warmly received online, according to Ryan Beck, Pray's Chief Technology Officer. The viewers are mostly under 30 and skew male, though not too heavily. (Brumfiel, NPR)
Read MoreThe study found that 21 per cent of the public affirmed four or more anti-Semitic statements, compared to 16 percent last year. In 2021, the figure was just 11 percent. Researchers said the findings showed that the number of people holding what would be considered entrenched anti-Semitic views has doubled in less than five years to more than a fifth of the population. (Sawer, The Telegraph)
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