Salt Lake City
A Utah researcher last week accused the Mormon church of posthumously baptizing hundreds of Jewish Holocaust victims without their relatives’ consent. The church says the ritual, in which church members stand in to be baptized in the names of the deceased, is the only way for non-Mormons to reach heaven. Jewish leaders threatened a lawsuit if the baptisms continued. “It’s ridiculous for people to pretend they have the key to heaven,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The practice first came to light more than a decade ago, but church officials promised to stop it in 1995. A Mormon spokesman said the church hoped “to resolve amicably the concerns expressed by some of our Jewish friends.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
What does the Le Pen verdict mean for the future of French politics?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Convicted of embezzlement and slapped with a five year ban on running for public office, where does arch-conservative Marine Le Pen go from here — and will the movement she leads follow?
-
Discount stores were thriving. How did they stumble?The Explainer Blame Walmart — and inflation
-
Kaja Kallas: the EU's new chief diplomat shaping the future of European defenseIn the Spotlight Former Estonian Prime Minister's status as an uncompromising Russia hawk has gone from liability to strength
