đ Launching the new and improved Weekend Plug-in đ
The best roundup of religion news you'll find anywhere
By Bobby Ross Jr.
(ANALYSIS) Iâm your Weekend Plug-in columnist, and Iâm excited to launch the fourth year of this popular newsletter.
Each Friday, Plug-in aims to highlight the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith. In 2023, weâre tweaking our format to make it even smarter and more concise.
Letâs jump right in!
What to know: The big story
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died Saturday at age 95.
ReligionUnplugged.comâs own Clementi Lisi recounts the life of the first pope in 600 years to resign.
Pope Francis presided Thursday over the funeral Mass for his predecessor, as Lisi reports. But some found fault with Francisâ homily for Benedict, according to the New York Timesâ Jason Horowitz and Ruth Graham.
For more coverage from the Vatican, follow The Associated Pressâ Nicole Winfield, the National Catholic Reporterâs Christopher White, Religion News Serviceâs Claire GiangravĂ© and the Wall Street Journalâs Francis X. Rocca.
Looking ahead: Francis may have a freer hand after Benedictâs death, Rocca reports. But U.S. bishopsâ rift with Francis is unlikely to ease, according to APâs David Crary. At Crux, Elise Ann Allen explores whether Benedictâs death might open the door to new rules for retired popes.
More: Lisi presents â5 Catholic storylines you need to follow closely in 2023.â
Power up: The weekâs best reads
1. Football and prayer: In America, the phrase âthoughts and prayersâ is uttered frequently at painful times, as Poynter.orgâs Al Tompkins notes.
But what happens when people actually pray?
That happened this week after Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field in Cincinnati. New York Times religion writer Ruth Graham delves into how the prayers for Hamlin show the bond between football and faith.
In an insightful piece here at ReligionUnplugged.com, Leocciano Callao notes: âThe expression of emotion, spiritual care and request for prayer rippled across Twitter and other platforms, igniting debate and intrigue.â
Howâs this for an answered prayer? Doctors report Hamlin woke up and even asked, âDid we win?â
2. Faith on the Hill: With a new Congress starting work (well, eventually maybe?), the Pew Research Centerâs Jeff Diamant details the religious composition of the House and Senate.
Bottom line, as explained by Associated Press religion writer Peter Smith:
Congress is far more Christian, and religious overall, than todayâs general population.
Even though nearly three in 10 Americans claim no religious affiliation â a rate that has steadily risen in recent years â only two of the 534 incoming members of Congress publicly identify as such.
3. When does life begin?: âThe question at the heart of Americaâs abortion debate is the most elemental â and the most complicated.â
For this must-read story, New York Times religion writer Elizabeth Dias âspoke with scientists, philosophers and spiritual leaders over several months.â
More top reads
The Los Angeles Timesâ Deborah Netburn interviews Joe Ferullo, the new publisher of the National Catholic Reporter. ⊠Religion News Serviceâs Yonat Shimron delves into the academic storm caused by a Minnesota professorâs showing of an image of the Prophet Muhammad. ⊠Viceâs Sarah Stankorb tells the #ChurchToo story of Baptist sex abuse victim Christa Brown. ⊠Curious how much money Christian ministry CEOs make? The Washington Timesâ Mark Kellner shares the findings of a new study. ⊠The Wall Street Journalâs Joe Barrett profiles a Minneapolis pastor who got fed up with a crime hotspot and decided to buy it. ⊠Bob Smietana of RNS reports that as the pandemicâs third anniversary nears, church attendance still hasnât returned to previous levels. ⊠Finally, some U.S. Jews are wondering about their place in America, as the Washington Postâs Michelle Boorstein explains.
Inside the Godbeat
Victor L. Simpson, who covered the Vatican for The Associated Press from 1972 to 2013, remembers his final reporting trip aboard the papal plane:
Because I was planning to retire, Benedictâs trip to Beirut was to be my last, and Vatican officials thought I should share the moment with him.
What I didnât know at the time was that it was to be his last trip, too. In a few months, he would become the first pope to resign in 600 years.
Simpson âalways wondered whether our encounter led him to think about any plans of his own that he had not yet revealed to the world.â
Charging station: ICYMI
Here is where you can catch up on top ReligionUnplugged.com content.
âFor all those who have loved and lost a pet, this @ReligionMag story by Andrea Cooper is for you,â suggests ReligionUnplugged.comâs executive editor, Paul Glader.
Animal chaplaincy has become a growing profession, Cooper reports.
The final plug
As I type this, Iâm in snowy Colorado working on a few stories.
In the Denver area, I snapped a picture of my Christian Chronicle colleague Audrey Jackson photographing minister Rex Cox.
Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.
Bobby Ross Jr. is a columnist for ReligionUnplugged.com and editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 15 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.