RELIGION HEADLINES TUE 6-10-25

(SRN NEWS  )  Giving to the Catholic Church has fallen sharply in recent years as the full extent of the global priest sex abuse scandal has come into focus.  After hitting a high of 101 million dollars in 2006, tithes to the Catholic Church hovered around 75 million during the 2010’s then fell to 47 million during the first year of the pandemic. The Vatican is still immensely wealthy, with a value of as much as 15 billion dollars.  It owns lots of stocks and thousands of tracts of real estate in the world’s major cities.  It may soon have to tap that money as it pays survivors of abuse.

(  )  Germany is resurrecting the medieval practice of religious pilgrimages.  Around Berlin, Christians and non-believers alike are invited to take short walks led by various ministries.  The suburb of Spandau (SPAN-daow) has launched its own loop connecting two dozen Protestant churches and two Catholic ones. Berliners and tourists can walk, bike or canoe along color-coded routes linking the houses of worship.  Pilgrims can also collect stamps at each church they visit.  Some faith leaders see the walks as a way of reaching out with the gospel to an increasingly secular nation.

(  )  A contractor digging in northern Syria this month has stumbled upon further proof of the vibrant Christian community that once inhabited the country.  The construction teams unearthed the remains of an underground Byzantine tomb complex believed to be more than 1,500 years old.  There are two burial chambers, each containing six stone tombs.  The sign of the cross is etched into the top of one stone column.  Some experts call Syria a cradle of early Christianity though believers are now a persecuted minority in the country, making up just 10 percent of the population.

(  )  The Southern Baptist Convention is holding its annual meeting in Dallas this week at a time when America’s largest Protestant denomination sees its political influence growing.  A Southern Baptist, Mike Johnson, is speaker of the House of Representatives and third in line to the presidency.  Pro-life legislation is spreading across the country and many states are beginning to reject the most extreme aspects of the LGBT agenda.  The Supreme Court has also been dealing a number of victories to churches and ministries in religious freedom cases.