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News you hate to hear

29 Nov 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The reading from 1 Thessalonians this Sunday begins with a prayerful wish: "May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all." If hate crime statistics are any indication, that wish has yet to be fully realized. Reports of hate crimes against gay people and religious groups increased sharply in 2008, according to FBI data released Monday. The overall number of reported hate crimes increased about 2 percent. These same figures show a nearly 11 percent increase in hate crimes based on sexual orientation, and a nearly 9 percent increase in hate crimes based on religion. The largest category, racially motivated hate crimes, fell less than 1 percent. Among all categories of hate crimes, roughly a third take the form of vandalism or property damage. About 30 percent involve intimidation of some kind, and another 30 percent include physical attacks against people. The FBI does not compare year-to-year trends in hate crimes, saying the number of agencies reporting changes too much. And in fact the bureau cautioned that the increase reported Monday might well be due to more agencies tracking such incidents. In total there were 7,783 hate crimes reported to the FBI last year, and seven murders were categorized as hate crimes. Half of all hate crimes are motivated by race, according to the FBI. One out of every five is driven by religious bias, and one out of every six is based on sexual orientation bias. Source: An article by Devlin Barrett for the Associated Press

religion hate crimes fbi sexual orientation racism
Wide condemnation follows spate of anti-Semitic attacks

05 Mar 2017 - Preaching the News for the First Sunday of Lent, Cycle A

This Sunday’s reading from the Book of Genesis speaks of the Garden of Eden as a tranquil first home for humanity—until evil entered the picture. Cemeteries are to be tranquil final resting places for beloved ancestors, but a recent wave of anti-Semitic attacks around the country has included the desecration of at least two Jewish cemeteries, as well as countless bomb threats against Jewish community centers around the nation. Police were trying to identify the vandals who knocked over or damaged at least 100 headstones at a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia early Monday as the nation grappled with the wave of anti-Semitic incidents. Meanwhile, bomb threats forced the evacuations of Jewish Community Centers in New York and in 10 other states. “When we got there, I saw the degree of desecration,” Rabbi Yosef Goldman of Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel in Philadelphia told NBC News after viewing the damage at Mount Carmel Cemetery. “Seeing it in person was heartbreaking and devastating. . . . You feel the violation.” “This is not just a random act,” Rabbi Shawn Zevit of the Mishkan Shalom synagogue in Philadelphia told the local NBC affiliate. “To topple so many headstones clearly is a concerted effort with intent.” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney agreed, noting that there are four cemeteries in the area “and the only one that was vandalized is a Jewish cemetery.” He said what happened at the cemetery was a sad sign of the times when bigots feel “empowered, emboldened to act out. If we let this go on and on and on, we're gonna spiral down this slope of bigotry and hatred and we can't go there.” No injuries were reported in the latest bomb threats to crash over the country, a wave that also hit Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, according to local police and media reports. The U.S. bishops are responding with solidarity and concern for the Jewish community following the surge in anti-Semitic actions in recent weeks. “On behalf of the bishops and people of the Catholic Church, as the chairman of the Bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, I want to express our deep sympathy, solidarity, and support to our Jewish brothers and sisters,” said Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of Springfield, Massachusetts in a press release. "I wish to offer our deepest concern, as well as our unequivocal rejection of these hateful actions.” Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia was “deeply saddened” by the vandalism at Mount Carmel Cemetery, and called for “prayerful solidarity with the families of those whose final resting places have been disturbed. As a community, we must speak out to condemn inflammatory messages and actions that serve only to divide, stigmatize, and incite prejudice,” Chaput said. “We must continually and loudly reject attempts to alienate and persecute the members of any religious tradition. Rather, as members of diverse faith and ethnic communities throughout the region, we must stand up for one another and improve the quality of life for everyone by building bridges of trust and understanding.” On February 20, more than 150 headstones were damaged in University City, Missouri, at the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery. According to the Anti-Defamation League, violent anti-Semitic actions soared in 2015 and continued into 2016 with increased online anti-Semitic harassment. “While we may be a nation divided by politics, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all of its very ugly forms,” President Donald Trump said at the top of his address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night in condemning the recent wave of anti-Semitic and other hate crimes convulsing the nation. Lessons drawn from the readings The story of the garden suggests that when humanity falls under the spell of the influence of evil, peace and tranquility is disrupted and suffering will ensue. We must all resist the temptation to treat those who are different from us with suspicion, disdain, hostility, or violence. Final thought in light of the news This Sunday’s gospel account of Jesus countering the temptations of the evil one offers us an inspiring role model for resisting hatred in all its guises. Even at his weakest, after 40 days of fasting in the desert, Jesus rebuffed the temptation toward self aggrandizement, instead placing his trust and devotion in God. We should do the same whenever tempted to build ourselves up by putting others down.

anti-semitism hate crimes desecration of graves Bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs
Quote of the week

05 Mar 2017 - Preaching the News for the First Sunday of Lent, Cycle A

“This is not normal, when pre-schoolers are evacuated from schools, when relatives have to wonder whether the graves of their loved ones are destroyed.” —Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League

anti-semitism desecration of graves hate crimes anti-defamation league
Fact of the week

05 Mar 2017 - Preaching the News for the First Sunday of Lent, Cycle A

The number of violent anti-Semitic assaults taking place in the U.S. is steadily rising, according to the Anti Defamation League's latest Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents. Anti-Semitic Assaults Rise Dramatically Across the U.S.

anti-semitism hate crimes anti-defamation league