RELIGION HEADLINES THR 9-25-25

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(SRN NEWS)-(  )  Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has delivered a wide-ranging speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in which he applauded the United States’ constitutional system of checks and balances.  But he also warned against excluding faith from the public square, citing George Washington’s statement that “religion and morality are indispensable” to good government. Bartholomew, who has been visiting the U.S. this month, is considered first among equals among Orthodox patriarchs, but he lacks the power of a Catholic pope. Each Orthodox jurisdiction, organized largely along national lines, governs itself while sharing such things as creeds and sacraments.

(  )  An Alabama man, who was 11 years old when his mother was murdered, is seeking clemency for the man who did it.  Will Berry cites scripture in his reasoning, saying “I forgive this guy, and I don’t want him to die.  Vengeance isn’t for the state. It’s for the Lord.”  Geoffrey West was 21 when he killed Margaret Berry and her son is asking Governor Kay Ivey to commute his sentence.  Ivey has told Berry that she appreciates his belief, but says Alabama law “imposes a death sentence for the most egregious form of murder.”  She adds that as the chief executive of the state it is her duty to carry out the law.

(  )  The Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago’s plan to honor Democratic Senator Dick Durbin despite the powerful politician’s support of abortion has stirred controversy.  Cardinal Blase Cupich says the archdiocese will present a lifetime achievement award to the high-ranking Catholic Democrat for his work helping immigrants.  Many pro-life Catholics are outraged, including Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Durbin’s hometown.  He says he is shocked at the idea of honoring the Senate’s number two Democrat, adding “This decision risks confusing the faithful about the Church’s unequivocal teaching on the sanctity of human life.”

(  )  A friend of President Trump who represents a broad swath of Wisconsin’s rural north woods in Congress has entered the governor’s race in the battleground state, shaking up the Republican primary.  Congressman Tom Tiffany becomes the front-runner over the two other announced GOP candidates who have less name recognition and support from key conservative donors.  Tiffany is a strong pro-life advocate and is promising to freeze property taxes, lower income taxes, improve schools, bolster job creation, overhaul the state Department of Natural Resources and protect farmland from foreign ownership.