Religion In The Public Square - Pope Francis advocates for peace building not war

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Concern about the growing tensions between the United States and Iran has been bubbling within the Vatican, as Pope Francis and high-ranking prelates urge global leaders to employ self-restraint and dialogue.

“Dear brothers and sisters, in many parts of the world there is a terrible feeling of tension in the air,” Pope Francis told the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square after his Angelus prayer on Sunday (Jan. 5).

“War brings only death and destruction,” he continued. “I call upon all parties involved to fan the flame of dialogue and self-control, and to banish the shadow of enmity.”

Though Francis did not refer directly to Iran or the United States, the timing of his words coincided with the rising hostility between the two countries, which led Vatican observers to view the pope’s words as a direct appeal to the two parties in question.

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Editor's note:

Here at UU A Way Of Life, we remind Unitarian Univeralists that we covenant together to affirm and promote the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all. We at UU A Way Of Life will do everything we can to prevent escalation of war and work for peaceful resolutions to internation conflicts and disagreements. A focus of these efforts is supporting political candidates who are peace builders and not war hawks.

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Religion in the public square - Future for religion in the coming decade of the 20s

What will become of religion in the coming decade? For a sweeping consideration click here.

What will happen to Unitarian Universalism in the next decade? Here are some guesses:

1. It's membership will remain stagnant if not decline further as its older congregants die off.
2. If Unitarian Universalism is to survive it must rejuvenate its theology and focus more on its convenantal model and its seven principles. However, this is unlikely to happen because it's governance structure is too weak to provide clear, decisive, and effective leadership.
3. The recognition of Universalism will grow, but its main growth will occur outside the denomination.
4. The liberal ethos of Unitarian Universalism will continue to grow and spead with an inclination towards more, not less, inclusivity in the broader society.
5. There will be an increase in "nones" on surveys of denominational identification with the further trend of people saying they are "spiritual" but not "religious."
6. There will be a need for a greater focus on helping people develop a spiritual life instead of social justice, but Unitarian Universalism will miss this opportunity and people searching for this assistance will find it elsewhere.
7. While there will be a decrease in quanity of people who say they are UU, there will be an increase in quality of the membership with remaining members taking the faith more seriously and making it a daily part of their lives.