My mum the nun: why my socialite mother joined a monastery aged 61

Vivacious, wealthy and charismatic, my mother threw an extravagant party for her 61st birthday. She then left her friends and 10 children and spent the rest of her life as a cloistered nun

It was like a beehive. A buzzing mass of 800 guests gathered around the queen, their larder of honey replaced by shrimp croquettes and caviar. It was 32 years ago when my mother, Ann Russell Miller, threw a combination 61st birthday and bon voyage party in the grand ballroom of a San Francisco hotel. Above her floated a balloon, tied to her wrist and emblazoned with the phrase: “Here I am.” She manoeuvred about, dressed elegantly in sparkling black. Her makeup was flawlessly applied, her hair expertly coiffed, her shoes chosen from hundreds of exquisite pairs. But this was her last formal outfit. She would never wear makeup again. The following day her hair would be shorn close to her scalp and forever hidden under a veil. For the next three decades she would wear the simple brown habit, with sandals or work shoes, befitting her new life as a cloistered nun.

As the orchestra played the familiar strains of Happy Birthday, she could doubtless hear the echoes of birthdays past. The song played in Oregon and California during her youth. It was sung by her classmates at the Spence School on East 91st Street in New York. Her 21st birthday was spent newly married and five months pregnant. She would be in that condition more than 90 months of her life. By her 41st birthday she had completed her collection of five daughters and five sons. My father, who died when my mother was 55, was fond of saying that he had wanted 12 children and my mother wanted 10, so they compromised and had 10. She talked nearly nonstop on the telephone and in person. She had the exceedingly irritating ability to nap almost at will and wake up in such a manner as to make one doubt that she had been asleep at all. With charm and eccentricities to spare, she fairly skated through life with the benighted ease of the fabulously wealthy.

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Religious exemptions threaten to undermine US Covid vaccine mandates

In California hundreds of public employees, including police and firefighters, are claiming ‘sincerely held’ objections to the vaccine

This month, California became the first state to require Covid-19 vaccines for all schoolchildren but the provision came with a loophole: students will be granted religious exemptions.

California, which currently has the lowest coronavirus case rate in the US, has been issuing a series of sweeping mandates, requiring that healthcare workers, state employees, care workers and schoolteachers staff all get the vaccine. But in each case, Californians are able to ask for personal belief exemptions – and they are doing so in droves.

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Six dead after violence erupts during Hindu festival in Bangladesh

Dozens of temples attacked over claims a Qur’an was desecrated

Deadly communal violence has broken out in Bangladesh after allegations of the desecration of an Islamic holy book led to dozens of Hindu temples being attacked and police opening fire on a crowd, leaving at least six people dead.

The government deployed paramilitary troops to 22 districts after religious tensions and violence broke out in the city of Cumilla on Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of four Hindus. On Friday, further communal violence erupted in the capital, Dhaka, as well as the southern town of Begumganj, with two more Hindus killed in the unrest.

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Inside America’s last whites-only church – video

In rural Minnesota, a fringe Heathen group known as the Asatru Folk Assembly has purchased a local church – and membership is strictly whites-only. They worship Nordic, pre-Christian gods and they call themselves a 'folk religion' that only accepts those with northern European ancestry. Their racially exclusive ideology is protected by the first amendment. 

Amudalat Ajasa visits the church to understand how it is gaining influence across the country and to meet the anti-racist Heathens fighting back to reclaim their religion

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Yazidis visit holiest temple during Autumn Assembly – in pictures

Autumn Assembly is the highest and most important Yazidi holiday. It takes place in the holy city of Lalish, which is believed to be the place where creation began and where the seat of God descended to rule the earth. It also houses the tombs of Sheikh Adi and other holy figures. The town is considered so sacred that you are not allowed to enter while wearing shoes, especially during the assembly

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Estimated 216,000 children abused by French Catholic priests, report finds

Abuses committed by priests as well as non-religious people, says independent commission

An investigation into sexual abuse in the French Catholic church has found that an estimated 216,000 children were victims of abuse by clergy since 1950.

The revelations in France are the latest to rock the Roman Catholic church after a series of sexual abuse scandals around the world, often involving children, over the past 20 years.

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Hillsong founder Brian Houston to plead not guilty to concealing sexual abuse charge

Police allege megachurch founder was aware of information relating to the abuse of a young man in the 1970s by his late father

The Hillsong founder Brian Houston will plead not guilty to charges alleging he concealed child sexual abuse by his late father in the 1970s.

The megachurch founder did not appear during a first mention of the case at Sydney’s Downing Centre local court on Tuesday morning.

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3,000 paedophiles in French Catholic church since 1950s – inquiry head

Figure from head of commission investigating sexual abuse comes days before publication of report

The head of an independent commission investigating child sexual abuse in the French Catholic church has said about 3,000 paedophiles have operated inside the institution since 1950.

Days before publication of its report, Jean-Marc Sauvé said the commission’s investigations had uncovered between 2,900 and 3,200 paedophile priests or other church members, adding that this was “a minimum estimate”.

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Huge domes of dust drift across my floor. Where do they come from – and why do I feel so afraid? | Brigid Delaney

I spend all day at home in lockdown in a state of revulsion. When I’m not cleaning, I’m sneezing

Is it Covid or is it dust? Since I moved into this apartment, I frequently wake up with a runny nose, an inflamed throat and watery eyes.

I’ve never lived in a place that’s so dusty. The amount of dust I must deal with each day is confounding. I am constantly dusting, only for it to return an hour later. Where does it come from? Why is it here? Can we cohabitate or will I inhale so much of it that I’ll eventually choke?

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Madrid leader takes issue with pope’s apology for ‘painful errors’ in Mexico

Spain brought Catholicism, civilisation and freedom to Americas, says Isabel Díaz Ayuso

The rightwing president of the Madrid region has taken issue with the pope’s recent apology for the church’s “very painful errors” in Mexico, and said Spanish conquistadors brought Catholicism, civilisation and freedom to Latin America.

Isabel Díaz Ayuso, touted as a possible future leader of Spain’s conservative People’s party, has a history of provocative pronouncements.

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Homecoming show hails artistry and endurance of Sarajevo Haggadah

Vibrantly illustrated Sephardic Jewish book is believed to have been made in Spain in the 14th century

Seven centuries after it was created, a priceless Sephardic Jewish book whose wine-stained pages have somehow survived exile, the Inquisition, the rise and fall of an empire, two world wars and the Bosnian conflict, is making a homecoming. Of sorts.

The codex, known as the Sarajevo Haggadah after the city where it has been kept since at least 1894, is thought to have been made in north-east Spain in about 1350, possibly as a wedding present to mark the union of two prominent Jewish families.

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Canada’s Catholic bishops apologise for abuses in residential schools

Church leaders express ‘profound remorse’ for suffering caused to indigenous children amid silence from the Vatican

High-ranking Catholic bishops in Canada have officially apologised for their role in the country’s notorious residential school system for the first time, after refusing to do so for years despite public pressure.

The organisation expressed “profound remorse” and apologised unequivocally along with all Catholic entities that were directly involved in the operation of the schools, according to a statement issued on Friday by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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Texas anti-abortion law shows ‘terrifying’ fragility of women’s rights, say activists

Campaigners fear ban emboldens anti-choice governments as more aggressive opposition, better organised and funded, spreads from US

The new anti-abortion law in Texas is a “terrifying” reminder of the fragility of hard-won rights, pro-choice activists have said, as they warn of a “more aggressive, much better organised [and] better funded” global opposition movement.

Pro-choice campaigners have seen several victories in recent years, including in Ireland, Argentina and, most recently, Mexico, where the supreme court ruled last week that criminalising abortion was unconstitutional. Another is hoped for later this month when the tiny enclave of San Marino, landlocked within Italy, holds a highly charged referendum.

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‘Don’t pass Catholic churches’: protests as Glasgow braces for Orange walks

Campaigners call for parades to be re-routed as up to 13,000 people expected to converge in city centre

Campaigners against anti-Catholic bigotry and anti-Irish discrimination will gather in protest around vulnerable churches on Saturday, as Glasgow braces itself for the largest gathering of Orange marchers since the pandemic.

More than 30 of the controversial Protestant parades will converge in the city centre to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the first Battle of the Boyne parade, with potential turnout estimated from 5,000 to 13,000. Hundreds of police officers are expected to be deployed on the day, with 32 streets closed until mid-afternoon to facilitate the marchers.

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‘Despicable’: Sydney police stop Muslim mourners from watching funerals from cars

NSW police say people were in breach of public health orders as four men arrested at Rookwood cemetery

In Islam, it is essential that the dead are buried as soon as possible. The body is washed, prayed over, taken to the cemetery and buried, with some small prayer or invocation said by the grave.

It is usually a quick process, sometimes drawn out by lingering family, but one that can be shortened in times of difficulty, such as in a pandemic.

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#DoNotTouchMyClothes: Afghan women’s social media protest against Taliban

Women around the world are sharing pictures of themselves in traditional colourful clothes in a campaign against the new strict dress code for female students

After street demonstrations across major cities in Afghanistan, women have now taken to social media to protest against the Taliban’s hardline policies towards them.

An online campaign has seen Afghan women around the world share photos of themselves wearing traditional colourful clothes, using the hashtag #DoNotTouchMyClothes.

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Taliban takeover of Afghanistan will reshape Middle East, official warns

Gulf states are having to reconsider their alliances and especially whether they can still trust the US, says senior source

The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan is a shattering earthquake that will shape the Middle East for many years, a senior Gulf official has said, warning that – despite the group’s promises of moderation – the militant group is “essentially the same” as last time it was in power.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the official also said that the rapid and chaotic US withdrawal also raises serious questions for Gulf states about the value of US promises of security over the next 20 years.

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Pope urges Hungary to ‘extend its arms to everyone’ in veiled Orbán critique

Pontiff’s statement at start of four-day central Europe tour at odds with far-right PM’s anti-migrant stance

Pope Francis has urged Hungary to “extend its arms towards everyone” in an apparent veiled critique of Viktor Orbán’s anti-migrant policies, as the pontiff began a four-day visit to central Europe in his first big international outing since undergoing intestinal surgery in July.

Francis, 84, appeared in good form during his visit to Budapest, presiding over a lengthy mass and standing as he waved to crowds from his open-sided popemobile. He used a golf cart to avoid walking long distances indoors and confessed at one point that he had to sit because “I’m not 15 any more”. But otherwise he kept up the typical gruelling pace of a papal trip.

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US Evangelical Lutheran Church installs first openly transgender bishop

The Rev Megan Rohrer will lead nearly 200 congregations of one of the largest Christian denominations in the US

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America has installed its first openly transgender bishop in a service held in San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral on Saturday.

The Rev Megan Rohrer will lead one of the church’s 65 synods, overseeing nearly 200 congregations in northern California and northern Nevada.

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Israel to prosecute Hasidic pilgrims who faked negative Covid tests to fly home

Dozens of Hasidic Breslov pilgrims boarded planes in Ukraine with bogus paperwork, border officers say

Israel says it will prosecute dozens of pilgrims returning from Ukraine who flew back into the country with fake negative Covid test results.

The pilgrims had been attending the annual celebration of the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah, in the Ukrainian city of Uman, where Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, who founded the Hasidic Breslov sect in the early 19th century, is buried. He was a great-grandson of the founder of Hasidism.

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