RELIGION HEADLINES FRI 5-9-25

Audio By Carbonatix

( SRN NEWS )  Pennsylvania’s state Senate has approved a bill to ban males from competing in women’s and girls’ sports at the collegiate and K-through-12 levels.  The legislation passed 32-to-18, with five Democrats crossing party lines to join with all 27 Republicans in voting “yes.”  However, the measure is unlikely to get a vote in Pennsylvania’s Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.  The vote marks the second time the GOP-controlled Senate has passed it.  An earlier attempt, in concert with a Republican-controlled House, was vetoed in 2022.

(  )  The Democratic controlled cities of Salt Lake City, Utah and Boise, Idaho have adopted new city flags that incorporate LGBT symbols.  It’s an effort to get around their state’s bans on flying Gay Pride flags in front of government buildings and public schools.  Salt Lake City created new flag designs while Boise, the capital of Idaho, made the Gay Pride flag one of its official city flags. The move in Utah came hours before a ban on unsanctioned flags took effect.  More than a dozen other states are considering similar bans on LGBT flags.

(  )  As the Catholic Church transitions from one pope to another, new research indicates the faith is a dying one — especially here in the U.S.  A Pew Research Center study reveals that for every American who converts to Catholicism, more than eight others quit.  In fact, the only reason that Catholicism is able to maintain a relatively steady share of the U.S. population — about 20 percent — is due to the high percentage of illegal immigrants from Latin America who are largely Catholic.  Membership in the church is also declining around the world.

(  )  Israel’s offensive in Gaza, following the deadly attack by Hamas on October 7th, 2023, has been criticized for the suffering it has imposed on civilians.  But a new poll released by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research finds that 50 percent of Gaza residents support the October 7th attack.  The report also indicates that 75 percent of civilians do not want Hamas to disarm or be disbanded.  The terror attack killed more than 1,200 Israelis, wounded thousands more, and resulted in the taking of 251 civilian hostages.