POLL
DO YOU THINK YOUR COUNTRY’S ECONOMY IS DOING BADLY?
Pew Research Center put the question to people in 44 countries. Below, a sampling of how many said yes:
[The following text appears within 5 charts. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual charts.]
88% France
79% Thailand
67% Brazil
60% Mexico
46% Turkey
Pope Francis Hints At Reform With Mass Wedding in Rome
Popes, as a rule, rarely preside over public marriage ceremonies, but when they do, it’s usually because the church wants to make a point. So when Francis married 20 couples at St. Peter’s Basilica on Sept. 14, it had the force of a papal seal.
The participants ranged in age from 25 to 56 and were from the diocese of Rome. But the real story was in the details: one bride was already a mother, some of the couples had already been living together, and others had previously been married.
In October, Francis will convene an Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the first big-ticket item he put on the agenda when he became Pope last year. More than 250 Cardinals and church representatives from around the world are due to attend what will be only the third such meeting at the Vatican since 1965. The topic: “The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization,” which really means the Pope wants priests to consider new ways to apply church teachings as social mores and sexual practices evolve.
Officially, the Vatican allows remarriage only if a past marriage is annulled, or declared in the church’s eyes to never have truly existed. The annulment process is far from user-friendly, and cohabitation is frowned upon. But with the group wedding, Francis has signaled mercy and an openness to change as a top priority.
Since local churches tend to make their own decisions about serving Communion to Catholics who are divorced and remarried, or cohabiting, new guidance from the Holy Father in October could herald a significant shift. There will, however, be a limit to how far the Vatican might go.
For example, Francis did not preside over the weddings of any gay couples. And while the ceremony in Rome was striking, he affirmed the church’s traditional teaching: “This is what marriage is all about,” he preached, “man and woman walking together, wherein the husband helps his wife to become ever more a woman, and wherein the woman has the task of helping her husband to become ever more a man.”
Nonetheless, by celebrating the marriages that he did, Pope Francis offered a sacramental blessing that will not go unremembered when the world’s bishops meet next month.
ROUNDUP
The Fallout From Russia’s Food-Import Ban
Russia retaliated against U.S. and European sanctions by blocking Western food imports in August. Here’s how the ban is taking a toll on foreign farmers and consumers alike.
Excess Apples
Leading figures in Poland–which exported some 770,000 tons of apples to Russia last year–are calling on locals to drink more cider to make up for the lost demand
Tomato War
Hundreds of people held a tomato fight in central Amsterdam to protest Moscow’s action–but, crucially, also to raise money for local producers hurt by the Russian ban
Salad Shortage
Without Western imports, the Russian arm of McDonald’s has taken some salads off its menu while it looks for local suppliers to plug a sudden gap in the supply of quality ingredients
Illegal Cheese
Russian chefs who want Italian cheese have reportedly been forced to smuggle it in via Belarus, which imports freely from Europe–and has a trade agreement with Russia
UNITED KINGDOM
97% Percentage of eligible voters in Scotland who registered to have their say in an independence referendum on Sept. 18
THE WORST EBOLA OUTBREAK ON RECORD
Cumulative number of Ebola cases in the current outbreak in West Africa: 4,985
Deaths: 2,461
Additional funding the U.S. Defense Department is seeking to combat Ebola: $500 million
U.S. troops being sent to the region to support the global response: 3,000
Estimated cost to contain the disease: $1 billion
[The following text appears within a map. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual map.]
Ebola cases and deaths as of Sept. 16
GUINEA
Cases: 936
Deaths: 595
SENEGAL
Cases: 1
Deaths: 0
SIERRA LEONE
Cases: 1,620
Deaths: 562
LIBERIA
Cases: 2,407
Deaths: 1,296
NIGERIA
Cases: 21
Deaths: 8
[The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.]
Total cases
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
Projected range of cases if the current growth rate is not curbed
July 6
July 26
Aug. 25
Sept. 24
Oct. 24
Sources: WHO; Northeastern University; University of Florida; Fred Hutchinson Center
Trending In
+
JUSTICE
Pakistani security forces arrested 10 people allegedly connected to the shooting of teen activist Malala Yousafzai in 2012
MEMORIALS
A life-size statue of the late R&B singer Amy Winehouse was erected in her hometown of London
SCANDAL
A South African TV station mistakenly booked two of South African President Jacob Zuma’s four current wives for the same interview
VIOLENCE
A shell fired from Gaza hit Israel on Sept. 16 in the first such attack since an August cease-fire deal between Hamas and Israel
–
More Must-Reads from TIME
- How Donald Trump Won
- The Best Inventions of 2024
- Why Sleep Is the Key to Living Longer
- Robert Zemeckis Just Wants to Move You
- How to Break 8 Toxic Communication Habits
- Nicola Coughlan Bet on Herself—And Won
- Why Vinegar Is So Good for You
- Meet TIME's Newest Class of Next Generation Leaders
Contact us at letters@time.com