The Christian Century

Civil court cases are putting the governance structures of the United Methodist Church to the test, according to The Christian Century. The disputes raise questions about how far civil courts can go in reviewing decisions made by church bodies, a long-sensitive issue for denominations that guard internal authority over doctrine, property and clergy discipline.

The Christian Century has published a commentary titled 'The Inclusivity Trap', arguing that inclusivity can function as a trap within religious communities. No further details are available beyond the headline, so the piece's specific arguments and the reaction to it remain unclear. The article appears as part of ongoing debate about how faith communities handle questions of inclusion.

Lorenzo Ruiz, a Chinese-Filipino Catholic missionary, was executed on this day in 1637 under Japan's Tokugawa Shogunate, which persecuted Christians at the time. Ruiz is honoured as the first Filipino saint, and the anniversary is being marked in history and travel discussions about Japan's persecution of Christians in the seventeenth century.

A large American megachurch has dedicated a 62-foot statue of Jesus, one of the events highlighted in a weekly roundup of Christian history. The same feature notes the anniversary of Damasus becoming pope in the fourth century, a pontiff remembered for his ties to Rome's early Christian legacy.