RELIGION HEADLINES
Written by on November 21, 2024
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(SRN NEWS) – The five-year campaign to rebuild Notre Dame cathedral has never been short of cash. Nearly one billion euros in donations were pledged within days of the 2019 fire that ravaged the most famous church in France and now there’s a surplus. Officials say 140 million euros still remain from the unprecedented outpouring of funds. That extra, given by both billionaires and small donors, will support future preservation work on the 861-year-old cathedral. Notre Dame is set to re-open to the public next month — just in time for Christmas celebrations.
International Christian Concern is hoping that President Trump’s State Department will place Nigeria and India on its Countries of Particular Concern list. Nations on that list are accused of gross human rights violations — in particular, persecution of Christians and other minorities. ICC spokesman McKenna Wendt says, “The U.S. has an opportunity to help end the mass genocide of Christians in Nigeria and pressure India to eradicate its blasphemy laws — and that starts with holding countries accountable for their poor religious freedom conditions.”
Pro-life advocates hope that President Trump will again invoke the so-called global gag rule, a policy that cuts off U.S. government funding for groups that perform abortions in foreign countries. The gag rule has been imposed by all Republican presidents since 1984. In 2017, Mr. Trump expanded it, cutting foreign NGOs off not only from family planning money, but from broader U.S global health assistance. The policy stipulates that foreign NGOs that receive U.S government funding must agree to stop abortion-related activities, including discussing it with women.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is signaling support for a Republican effort to keep men out of women’s restrooms and locker rooms at the Capitol. The effort has been triggered by the fact that a man who is living as a woman has won a seat in Congress. Democrat Sarah McBride will represent Delaware and be sworn in next year. Speaker Johnson says, “we’re not going to have men in women’s bathrooms.” His comments were in response to a resolution proposed by GOP Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina, who is a survivor of rape.
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