The Pulpit Takes On a Plague

The pews were packed in Bethel Cathedral of Hope on Sunday, as some 600 well-dressed Liberians prayed for an end to the Ebola crisis. The Rev. Wolo Belleh beseeched his charismatic congregation: "Look back, look back at all our country has suffered. Look back at those who have been taken from us. Praise God!"

Religious leaders here in Ebola-hit Liberia have offered controversial solace to their flocks, with some providing genuine health protection information from the pulpit, and others blaming immorality — saying that the epidemic is God’s way of exacting punishment on the African nation.