A team of experts has begun a historic renovation at the spot where Christians believe Jesus was buried, overcoming longstanding religious rivalries to carry out the first repairs at the site in over 200 years.
The project, which began Monday, will focus on repairing, reinforcing and preserving the Edicule — the ancient chamber housing Jesus’ tomb in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is the first such work at the tomb since 1810, when the shrine was restored and given its current shape following a fire. MORE
A huge low pressure system that brought flooding and strong winds to New South Wales over the weekend has combined with a king tide to bring widespread coastal destruction, forcing people to flee homes.
As towns from Lismore in the state’s north to Wollongong and south-west Sydney dealt with flooding, on Sydney’s northern beaches, a number of houses and a unit block were evacuated when the wild weather battered the coast.
This past weekend, over 200,000 people gathered in Tel Aviv for the city’s annual Gay Pride Parade. The eighteenth year of festivities took off on Friday, June 3, after a moment of silence honoring the memory of those who have been victims of anti-LGBT violence.
“We’re slowly walking toward a more equal, more respectful society that allows all human beings to express themselves as they see fit,” said Ron Huldai, mayor of Tel Aviv. The parade’s theme this year was “Women for a change,” focusing on women’s empowerment. MORE
Parishioners visiting a church in Italy were told they must “pray in silence” so as not to disturb African migrants being housed there.
Some of the faithful hoping to practice their Christianity at the church of St. Anthony in Ventimiglia were surprised when they were told by Caritas volunteers they couldn’t recite the rosary and would instead have to pray in silence out of respect to migrants who are living there. MORE
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has proclaimed two new saints: a Lutheran convert who hid Jews during World War II and the Polish founder of the first men’s religious order dedicated to the immaculate conception.
Francis called Swedish-born Elizabeth Hesselblad and Stanislaus Papczynski “exemplary witnesses to this mystery of resurrection” during the canonization Mass on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square. Continue reading →
In a recent essay in Salon Magazine, the Reverend Elizabeth M. Edman argues for the power of “queer virtue” to combat “heteronormativity” and revitalize a Christianity that is too wedded to traditional ideas of human sexuality and marriage.
An Episcopal priest and a political strategist, Edman attempts to redeem the concept of “Pride” as central to the LGBT movement and integral to an authentically Christian life. MORE
Also they call him the G.O.A.T. which is an acronym for Greatest Of All Times. The devil is the same as the goat. They know what they are saying when they refer to him as a G.O.A.T.
Watchers of contemporary Arab politics will quickly notice one thing: the Arabmonarchies—Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait—have proven to be the most politically resilient Arab states. Not a single monarchy fell during the Arab Spring.
Attempts elsewhere in the Arab world at democracy, military regimes and one-party states have all proven unstable and bloody in the long run. Moreover, in addition to stability, monarchies in the Arab world have been able to provide some semblance of the institutional stability and rule of law necessary for economic, and eventually social development while still being rooted in tradition. This is the golden mean between an excess of fundamentalism and an excess of Westernization. MORE
In a new Bloomberg report, Chile Has So Much Solar Energy It’s Giving It Away for Free, solar capacity from the country’s central grid has increased four fold to 770 megawatts since 2013. Another 1.4 gigawatts will be added this year with many solar power projects under development.
Thanks to an economic boost from increased mining production, Chile now has 29 solar farms and another 15 in the pipeline. Enel Green Power Chile Ltda. recently commissioned Chile’s largest solar PV project connected to the grid. The 160-megawatt facility will be located in the northern part of the country in the municipality of María Elena, about 1,300 kilometers north of Santiago. MORE
As France prepare to host millions of visitors at the Euro 2016 Football Championships, a state of emergency has been extended in the country as it faces its largest protests in recent history. MORE
Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum has confirmed that ring legend Muhammad Ali has passed away in a Phoenix hospital. He was 74.
“A true great has left us. Muhammad Ali transformed this country and impacted the world with his spirit. His legacy will be part of our history for all time,” said Arum via Twitter. FIGHTNEWS.COM MORE
A Church of England vicar shouted: ‘I’m from the Vatican, you’re f*****’ as he lashed out at police following a nightclub vodka binge.
Parish priest Gareth Jones, 36, screamed: ‘I have diplomatic immunity’ as he punched, kicked, bit and spat at a police officer and a paramedic who found him passed out in his clerical frock in Covent Garden, central London. MORE