Midday Roundup: Un-celebrating Columbus Day

Holiday revision. While much of the nation commemorates Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the New World today, the city of Seattle will celebrate its first Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The city follows others such as Minneapolis and Berkeley, Calif., whose city councils voted to de-emphasize Columbus because of the death and destruction to Native Americans that followed the explorer’s discovery. While some in Seattle applaud the move, others say it goes too far for the sake of political correctness. Italian-Americans, in particular, say the change insults the contributions of their culture to the development of Western society. With only 23 states still recognizing the holiday, Columbus Day could be sailing into oblivion in the coming years.

Missions compromised. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has some Christian groups rethinking their mission efforts. Real Impact Missions takes 400 high school students a year on short-term mission trips to five countries. Its founder and director, Scott Boss, told the Tulsa World that a trip scheduled for next spring to Burkina Faso in Africa will likely be rerouted to India. David Rogers with Youth Vision International said he’s directed his leaders to stop holding Christian youth meetings in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. He said one of his leaders died when he couldn’t get medical attention for an asthma attack because of the Ebola outbreak.

Winds of change. Halfway through a two-week meeting of Catholic bishops, the Vatican has released a report that hints at a major shift in the church’s approach to family issues. With regard to homosexuality, the bishops asked whether the church was ready to take a position of “accepting and valuing their sexual orientation without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony.” The report also questions whether the church should recognize “positive elements even in imperfect forms,” such as cohabitation outside marriage.

Back on track. A Chicago air traffic control center reopened today, 17 days after a worker set fire to it in a violent suicide attempt. The incident caused travel headaches across the country for days after it happened. Federal prosecutors have charged the man with felony destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities. They say he cut cables and set fire to a basement telecommunications room before trying to commit suicide by slitting his throat.

The Associated Press and WORLD Radio’s Steve Coleman contributed to this report.