Welcome to another edition of the Friday Five.
Usually, I offer a bit of extra information or at least a little wit before getting to the point.
But this week I’ll confess that I’ve got nothing, so let’s dive right in:
I dug into the history of the LeBarons, the large Mormon clan of dual U.S.-Mexican citizens whose members were killed in Sonora. The extended family has a fascinating story and has unfortunately experienced violence before — as victims and perpetrators https://t.co/Z1mmAnS9gy
— Jaweed Kaleem 🦅 (@jaweedkaleem) November 6, 2019
1. Religion story of the week: The Los Angeles Times’ Jaweed Kaleem was among those who reported on the massacre of a large Mormon clan in Mexico.
Also on the story: New York Times religion writer Elizabeth Dias, who contributed to coverage here and here.
Elsewhere, The Associated Press noted that the slayings highlighted confusion over Mormon groups. The Washington Post explained “How Mexico’s cartel wars shattered American Mormons’ wary peace,” and the Wall Street Journal reported on Mormon families gathering to mourn those killed.
Here’s one more: A stunning New York Times feature on the details of the attack itself and on-the-scene reporting about the families wrestling with grief and the details of how to respond. The reporting is deep and detailed — except that there’s no real sense of why these believers are in Mexico and what separates them from mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints life.
That seems like a rather important subject, in this case.
Washington Post: Catholics should follow Germany’s gospel when seeking future growth https://t.co/OGyxF9vAAn
— Terry Mattingly (@tweetmattingly) November 5, 2019
2. Most popular GetReligion post: Editor Terry Mattingly has our No. 1 commentary of the week, headlined “Washington Post: Catholics should follow Germany’s gospel when seeking future growth.”
No, tmatt was not a fan of the Post’s very one-sided story:
That headline says it all. The German bishops are the good guys, but it appears that they may be moving too fast and, thus, are hurting the “reform” efforts of the ultimate good guy. The story notes that the German bishops are plunging forward on four topics — church authority, the “priestly way of life,” the role of women in the church and various sexual morality issues.
The overture is a masterpiece of semi-editorial writing:
Go ahead and read all of tmatt’s analysis.
👀On today’s front page: A new chain of Christian pregnancy centers will provide a controversial service: Contraception
These groups hope to compete for federal funds Planned Parenthood recently relinquished.https://t.co/3cv3T3HWQ4
photos by @IlanaPL— Sarah Pulliam Bailey (@spulliam) November 8, 2019
3. Guilt folder fodder (and more): Washington Post religion writer (and former GetReligion contributor) Sarah Pulliam Bailey has a must-read story on today’s front page.
Bailey traveled to Dallas to report on how some anti-abortion groups are changing their approach in hopes of competing for federal funds that used to go to Planned Parenthood.
Yes, there’s a real strong religion angle.
Charisma magazine lands surprise scoop on comedian John Crist scandal (and prints it) https://t.co/2yT0spmnOH
— GetReligion (@GetReligion) November 8, 2019
4. Shameless plug: In case you missed it this morning, GetReligion’s Julia Duin delves into another big religion story this week: the sexual harassment allegations that caused evangelical comedian John Crist to cancel his tour.
“Juuuuuust a bit high!” 😂 #SCNotTop10 pic.twitter.com/JaZkZtKO4r
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 7, 2019
5. Final thought: A half-court shot at Abilene Christian University in Texas this week missed the basket by … that much.
Happy Friday, everybody! Enjoy the weekend!
ybvdadminuser
