Weekly religion news roundup (June 13-19, 2025)
Photograph by Utsav Srestha via Unsplash
Rev. Dr. Anna Piela
Suspect in killing of Minnesota legislator is a minister who evangelized in Africa. Vance Boelter claimed to be educated at Christ for the Nations, a Bible school in Dallas, and preached in DR Congo in recent years. (RNS)
At least 51 Palestinians killed while waiting for aid trucks in Gaza, health officials say. At least 51 Palestinians were killed and more than 200 wounded in the Gaza Strip while waiting for U.N. and commercial trucks to enter the territory with desperately needed food, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry and a local hospital. (Associated Press)
Death toll from Israeli attacks in Iran rises to 639 since Friday: Rights group. Since attacks began in early hours of June 13, at least 639 people have been killed and 1,329 others wounded, bringing total number of casualties to 1,968, says Human Rights Activists News Agency. (Anadolu Ajansi)
Rebuilding one of the nation’s oldest Black churches begins at Juneteenth ceremony. The rebuilding of one of the nation’s oldest Black churches, whose congregants first gathered outdoors in secret before constructing a wooden meetinghouse in Virginia, started Thursday with a ceremonial groundbreaking. (Associated Press)
Vote to bar churches with women pastors fails again at SBC meeting. The issue of women staffers who have the title of pastor in SBC churches has been up for debate repeatedly in recent years. (RNS)
Each Friday in The Christian Citizen, we publish a Religion News Roundup with summaries of religion news stories and links for those who want to read more.
Pope Leo XIV flags AI impact on kids’ intellectual and spiritual development. Pope Leo XIV warned Friday that artificial intelligence could negatively impact the intellectual, neurological and spiritual development of young people as he pressed one of the priorities of his young pontificate. (Associated Press)
International student visa ban threatens bilingual mission school. The Trump administration has alleged the measure is for national security reasons, but the move is affecting students with no apparent history of anti-American sentiments or actions. (Baptist News Global)
Supreme Court ruling on transgender care called partisan and flawed. The U.S. Supreme Court abandoned science, fairness and common sense in its June 18 decision upholding a state’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, civil rights and legal experts said. (Baptist News Global)
A Hindu’s Heroism In A Muslim School: When Having Faith Means Saving Lives. Thirteen civilians died within hours. Among the dead were schoolchildren, a daily wage worker, a Sikh Granthi and an imam. Several homes were reduced to rubble. Amid the chaos, stories emerged (and not just of grief), but unimaginable courage, of friendships that withstood fire and of faith that refused to yield to fear. (Religion Unplugged)
Pope Leo’s first US bishop takes action against Trump migrant crackdown. The first U.S. bishop appointed by Pope Leo XIV has called for priests, deacons and parish leaders to accompany migrants to court and stand in solidarity with them. (Newsweek)
Rev. Dr. Anna Piela is senior writer at American Baptist Home Mission Societies and assistant editor of The Christian Citizen.
The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of American Baptist Home Mission Societies.
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