RELIGION HEADLINES MON 7-21

Audio By Carbonatix

(SRN NEWS  )  A Japanese church has blessed the final piece of its restoration nearly 80 years after being destroyed by the second U.S. atomic bomb dropped on Japan: a reproduction of its lost bell restored by a group of Americans.  The new bell was blessed by Peter Nakamura, archbishop of Nagasaki, at the Urakami Cathedral in a ceremony attended by more than 100 followers this month.  The bell is scheduled to be hung inside the cathedral, filling the empty bell tower for the first time in August.  The restoration project was led by James Nolan Jr., who was inspired after hearing about the lost bell during a 2023 trip to Nagasaki.

(  )  French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou (fran-SWAH  bay-ROO) wants to eliminate two public holidays from the country’s annual calendar in order to save money.  One of the dates he has targeted is important to French Christians — Easter Monday.  Bayrou questions the religious importance of Easter Monday, suggesting that Christians already have enough holidays.  He is also proposing to kill a holiday marking the Allied victory over the Nazis in World War Two.  President Emmanuel Macron tasked Bayrou with crafting a budget that shaves costs to bring down France’s staggering debt and deficit.

(  )  Hip-hop and R&B remain the most popular genres in terms of on-demand music streaming volume, but Christian and gospel music is catching up.  Though streams of new music — songs released in the last 18 months — are slightly down from the same time last year, new Christian music has defied that trend.  Jaime Marconette of Luminate Music attributes the genre’s growth to a “younger, streaming-forward fanbase,” which is 60 percent female and 30 percent millennial.  He also points to the growing popularity of singers such as Forrest Frank, Brandon Lake and the group Elevation Worship.

(  )  Muslim terrorists are stepping up their attacks on Christians in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  International Christian Concern says the main problem is a group called the Allied Democratic Forces, which has been killing and terrorizing believers for years.  The ADF is actually based in neighboring Uganda, but lately it has invaded the DRC and is seeking to destabilize it.  ICC reports that “Survivors say the recent attacks are not random acts of violence, but part of a broader strategy to suppress Christian communities, undermining their right to worship and live in peace.”  Muslim terror is a growing problem all across Africa.