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University of Southern California

Archive

Archive

Father Greg Boyle: A Modern-Day Mystic — The Priest Behind Homeboy Industries

This article was originally published on Religion Unplugged, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality.  The founder of the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation and prison reentry program in the world is a …

Donald Miller at a podium with sign saying

Donald E. Miller Retires from the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture

The USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture celebrates the long and productive career of its co-founder Donald E. Miller upon his retirement from the center. The Leonard K. Firestone Professor of …

Women of Integrity: Celebrating 175 Years of the Immaculate Heart Community

On Tuesday, September 26, 2023, the exhibition “Women of Integrity: Celebrating 175 Years of the Immaculate Heart Community” opened in USC’s Doheny Memorial Library. It tells the remarkable story of the Immaculate …

Parveena Ahanger: A Grieving Mother’s Fight for the Disappeared of Kashmir

Parveena Ahanger, a well-known Kashmiri activist, exuded her characteristic warmth as she sat cross-legged in the kitchen on a freezing January afternoon in Srinagar, the region’s largest city. The warmest corner of …

Spotlight shines on spiritually engaged humanitarians in ‘Stories of Social Change’ exhibit

This story was originally published by USC News. After being immersed in the material for five years, Megan Sweas didn’t need a script as she led small groups on tours of the …

Washington Post: Richard Flory on Saddleback’s Rick Warren Ordaining Women

Rick Warren, founder and pastor of Saddleback Church, is challenging the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) belief that women should not be pastors in their church. Saddleback was disfellowshipped by SBC officials after …

David Raimundo dos Santos: Without this Black Catholic Priest, Affirmative Action Wouldn’t Be Alive and Thriving in Brazil.

This article was originally published on Black Catholic Messenger, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality.  Sometimes the truth hits so hard that it changes your life forever. For the …

Sonia Tinoco García: Responding to Muslim Asylum Seekers at the US-Mexico Border

This article was originally published on New Lines Magazine, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality.  It’s late afternoon in Tijuana, and the air is hot and thick. Hamza — …

Marguerite Brankitse: Forgiveness Is Key to Overcoming Genocide

This article was originally published on National Catholic Reporter, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality.  This year marks 30 years since violence exploded between Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups …

John Orr: Religion professor’s long career at USC helped launch some of the university’s most distinctive programs

Professor Emeritus of Religion John Orr was a continuous presence on the USC campus for nearly 30 years. He helped usher in a number of programs that define the university’s commitment to …

L.A. Times: Najuma Smith on the LAPD Civilian Review Process

The Los Angeles Times interviewed CRCC’s Najuma Smith about her decision to volunteer for Los Angeles Police Department civilian review process. The Times investigation found that some reviewers have been chosen repeatedly …

Thriving (or Just Surviving): 2023 Trends to Watch in Religion and Society

If CRCC’s annual trends to watch have been growing more ominous in recent years, then 2023 feels like a pivotal year for many of the issues we’ve been tracking:  Like our final …

Huda Abu Arqoub: Building the Land Her Grandfather Knew

Peacebuilder Huda Abu Arqoub has a spiritual vision for Israel/Palestine rooted in the past. A truly holy land, she says, is one in which all can live together. When Huda Abu Arqoub …

Jenifer Colpas Fernández: Young Colombian activist brings light to the displaced communities

This article was originally published on Religion News Service, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality.  CARTAGENA, Colombia (RNS) — In Isla de León, an hour’s drive through traffic-choked streets …

Remembering Edmund Kaszibuloh Koroma: A Savior and Peace Builder

He was many things rolled into one: A committed community peace builder, a passionate promoter of religious tolerance and a tireless advocate of free education for children. Above all, Edmund Kaszibuloh Koroma …

Why They Cross the Mediterranean: Italy’s ‘Guardian Angel of Refugees’ in Conversation with a Survivor of the 2013 Lampedusa Shipwreck

For nearly 20 years, Eritrean Catholic Priest Mussie Zerai has fielded thousands of distress calls from refugees and migrants on shipwrecked vessels in the Mediterranean Sea. “I’ve heard the voices. I’ve heard …

Father Mussie Zerai: The Migrant Priest

Father Mussie Zerai (born in Asmara, 1975) is an Eritrean Roman Catholic priest and refugees’ rights advocate. Referred to as “the migrant priest,” “guardian angel of the refugees,” and “refugees’ first responder,” …

Stones that Have Weathered Many Storms: A Reporter’s Notebook from a Human Rights Defender’s Place of Solace

In the rugged landscape of the Kotayk Province of Armenia, Geghard Monastery rises from an amphitheater of steep cliffs like a revelation. Even the long trek to the monastery complex, surrounded by …

Lara Aharonian: Advocating for Armenia’s Vulnerable Women

This article was originally published by Religion News Service, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality.  YEREVAN, Armenia (RNS) — Home for Lara Aharonian is this capital city whose architecture …

RNS: Gajaweera on Buddhism and Sri Lanka’s Recent Protest Movement

Protests that led to Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resignation have raised questions about the role of Buddhism in the country’s politics. Religion News Service interviewed CRCC’s Nalika Gajaweera about the Buddhist …