In Ohio, a Catholic-run school, Mt. Saint Joseph University (MSJU) confirmed that they would be hosting CNN’s town hall meeting where President Joe Biden will attend. The university confirmed the meeting on Tuesday, July 20; the town hall meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 21.
In a press release posted on the Ex-Muslims of North America's website, the group's director, Sarah Haider, responded to a letter from the Director of Content Policy Stakeholder Engagement for Facebook, Peter Stern. In her response, Haider explained how and why Facebook's new Content Policy is facilitating harm for marginalized groups such as atheists and other non-religious communities.
On July 15, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (US) signed an executive order that effectively bans the practice of conversion therapy to minors. A win for the LGBTQIA+ community in the state, and yet a divisive move in the politically mixed state. Many on the religious right-wing have expressed their outrage on the executive order with bad-faith arguments that go beyond the first amendment.
On the weekend of June 26, the St. Anne's Church in Upper Similkameen Indian Band was set on fire. This was one of the four incidents in the last month in which a catholic church was caught on fire in a First Nation territory in Canada. Made of wood and over a century old, the local fire department couldn't do anything to save the structure.
Rome, Italy - Amidst escalating call for the Roman Catholic Church for an apology, the current pontiff has agreed to meet with representatives from Canada's indigenous people. Pope Francis is expected to meet the delegation of representatives in Rome. The meetings are scheduled from December 17 to 20, with the Pope meeting the representatives individually at first.
On June 17, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has pushed ahead a draft in a majority vote that would deny President Joe Biden the Holy Communion because of his stance on abortion laws. Approval of this new statement will authorize individual bishops to deny Catholic politicians, who support abortion, the sacred rite of the Eucharist. Never has tensions between church divisions and the legislation been prevalent since the Trump administration. This new step has further reinstated the debate on the church's interference in politics.
In Mitzitón, Mexico, local authorities and traditionalist Catholics burned down five indigenous Tzotzil evangelical houses. The properties belonged to pastor Alejandro Jiménez Jiménez and his sons. In January 2021, they had been expelled from Mitzitón after being accused of building an evangelical temple.
