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Thursday July 2, 2009
New Patriot's Bible: God Bless America Indeed
Americans looking to combine love of God with love of country this July 4th can quote the new "American Patriot's Bible," which says God has influenced America though godly Founding Fathers, presidents and soldiers. "This Bible is designed for the decent, hardworking core of America, the ordinary man or woman...
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Add to StumbleUponThursday July 2, 2009
Parents in Faith-Healing Case Never Considered Calling a Doctor
Oregon City, Oregon - Carl and Raylene Worthington told detectives that they never considered calling a doctor, even as their 15-month-old daughter deteriorated and died. "I don't believe in them," Carl Worthington said of doctors. "I believe in faith healing." Raylene Worthington said that her religious beliefs do not encompass...
Thursday July 2, 2009
Church-State Divide Looms for Episcopalians on Gay Marriage
Episcopal bishops from the six states that have legalized same-sex marriage are requesting permission to adapt their church's venerable prayer book for use at same-sex weddings. The proposal presents a new challenge to the Episcopal Church as it seeks to balance respect for gay rights with fellow Anglicans' widespread condemnation...
Wednesday July 1, 2009
Unitarians, UCC Elect Minorities as Presidents
(RNS) The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the United Church of Christ (UCC) both made history this week by selecting minority presidents at their annual meetings. The Boston-based UUA elected its first Latino president, the Rev. Peter Morales; the Cleveland-based UCC nominated its first African-American president, the Rev. Geoffrey Black,...
Wednesday July 1, 2009
Pastor Rick Warren to Address American Muslims
NEW YORK - Sayyid Syeed remembers an interfaith event several years ago when a Jewish leader went to embrace him, saw someone snapping a photo, then suddenly pulled back. "He said to the man, `Stop,'" Syeed recalled, "`I'll lose my job.'" Times have changed for the Islamic Society of North...
Wednesday July 1, 2009
Conservatives Launch New 'Freedom Federation'
WASHINGTON (RNS) A new federation of two dozen conservative Christian groups announced plans Tuesday (June 30) to work together to strategize around moral values they feel are under attack across the country. "We are not wed to a particular partisan candidate or party," said Mathew Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel...
Tuesday June 30, 2009
Mormon-Affiliated University Lifts YouTube Ban
Provo, Utah - Brigham Young University, the Mormon church school where students agree to live a chaste and virtuous life, has lifted its almost three-year policy of blocking access to YouTube. Administrators lifted the ban on Friday, citing an increasing amount of educational material on the popular video-sharing site, university...
Tuesday June 30, 2009
Trial Opens in Infant's Faith-Healing Death
OREGON CITY, Ore. -- Prosecution and defense attorneys differed sharply Monday (June 29) on what led to the death of 15-month-old Ava Worthington. Ava, malnourished and in obvious distress, "died a needless death" because her parents, Raylene and Carl Worthington, failed to provide adequate medical care, said Greg Horner, chief...
Tuesday June 30, 2009
Pastor Quits Riverside Church After Only Two Months
The Rev. Brad Braxton, senior minister of New York City's famed Riverside Church, has resigned just two months after his installation after a nasty fight with his new flock landed the church in court. Braxton's abrupt departure comes amidst congregational discord over the church's mission and the pastor's compensation package,...
Monday June 29, 2009
Holocaust Meeting Wants Better Care of Survivors
PRAGUE - An international conference assessing efforts to return property and possessions stolen by the Nazis to their rightful owners or heirs said Monday that caring for Holocaust survivors is a matter of the "utmost urgency." The five-day meeting attended by Holocaust survivors, Jewish groups and government officials was a...
Monday June 29, 2009
Pope: Scientific Tests Confirm Ancient Remains Are St Paul's
Rome (dpa) - In a surprise announcement Pope Benedict XVI has said scientific tests carried out on an ancient Roman tomb confirm the long-held Roman Catholic belief that it contains the remains of Saint Paul. Benedict on Sunday evening told the faithful gathered at the Basilica of St Paul Outside-the-Wall,...
Friday June 26, 2009
Designer Labels Give the Abaya a Makeover
PARIS - A redheaded horsewoman in a flowing, made-to-measure Islamic gown atop a snorting steed opened what can only be deemed Paris' most unusual fashion show of late. The display, a sumptuous affair held Thursday at the French capital's George V Hotel, showcased haute couture abayas, the body-covering black robes...
Friday June 26, 2009
Holocaust Assets Conference Opens in Prague
PRAGUE - Holocaust survivors, Jewish groups and experts gathered in Prague on Friday to assess efforts to return property and possessions stolen by the Nazis to their rightful owners or heirs. The five-day conference, which brings together delegates from 49 countries, is a follow-up to a 1998 meeting in Washington...
Friday June 26, 2009
Questions and Answers on Celebrity Worship
When sex symbol Rudolph Valentino died at the age of 31 in 1926, riots broke out as tens of thousands of mourners tried to cram themselves into a public viewing in New York. It was, says Emory University's Gary Laderman, "a new kind of sacred attachment, one based on fame...
Thursday June 25, 2009
Lawyer Disbarred Over Missing Holocaust Victim Funds
Trenton, N.J. - Only a few years ago, Edward Fagan was a world-renowned lawyer for the underdog, brash and audacious enough to take on Swiss banks and even whole countries to win judgments for Holocaust survivors and victims of South African apartheid. Now, the state Supreme Court has barred him...
Thursday June 25, 2009
Christian Publisher Still Plans Kate Gosselin Book
Should a Christian publisher still release a $30 book from one of the namesake stars of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" promising "an inside look at one of America's most close-knit families" after the couple has filed for divorce amid allegations of adultery and neglectful parenting? Publishing giant Zondervan is...
Thursday June 25, 2009
No Longer Episcopalians, Anglicans Launch Own Church
Plano, Texas -- Conservative Anglicans disenchanted with the liberal drift in their U.S. and Canadian churches say they are confident that a new church body launched this week will one day gain a seat in the worldwide Anglican Communion. The new Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) has been organized,...
Wednesday June 24, 2009
France to Consider Banning Burqas
PARIS (RNS) Five years after France banned Muslim girls from wearing headscarves in public schools, the government has launched a probe into another Muslim garment -- all-covering burqas or niqabs -- that may lead to a similar injunction in public spaces. In July, a 32-member parliamentary commission will begin a...
Wednesday June 24, 2009
Obama to Meet the Pope While in Italy for G-8
VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI and President Barack Obama will meet on July 10, a much-anticipated Vatican audience with a president under attack by some American bishops for his support of abortion rights. Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said Wednesday the Vatican had informed the White House that...
Wednesday June 24, 2009
Evangelicals Tap New Top Lobbyist
WASHINGTON -- The nation's largest evangelical umbrella group has tapped a veteran expert on refugee settlement and international relief efforts as its new top lobbyist in the nation's capital. Galen Carey was announced Wednesday (June 24) as director of government affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals. Carey, 53, has...
Tuesday June 23, 2009
'Stoning' Film Sends Message About Islam, But Which Message?
While chaotic post-election demonstrations threaten to tarnish the image of Iran and its hard-line Islamic government, Hollywood filmmakers are releasing a drama they hope will send an opposite message about Islam itself. Centered around the stoning of a woman unjustly accused of adultery, the graphic and stomach-turning violence in "The...
Tuesday June 23, 2009
Southern Baptists Meet to Combat Membership Malaise
Southern Baptists opened their annual meeting Tuesday (June 23) with calls to turn around plummeting baptism rates, even as researchers warned that the nation's largest Protestant body could lose half its size by mid-century. "I really do believe that we need revival in the Southern Baptist Convention," said SBC President...
Tuesday June 23, 2009
Catholic Nun, Evangelical to Lead Presbyterian Seminaries
Two seminaries in the Presbyterian Church (USA) have branched out to find new leaders, with one appointing a Catholic nun as dean and the other naming a prominent evangelical as president. When Sister Elizabeth Liebert takes over as dean of San Francisco Theological Seminary on June 30, she will become...
Monday June 22, 2009
Oregon Parents to Stand Trial in Daughter's Faith-Healing Death
OREGON CITY, Ore. -- Ava Worthington died surrounded by loved ones who believed their prayers would heal the young child. As the 15-month-old girl struggled to breathe, church members anointed her with oil and pleaded with God to provide a cure. But Ava died March 2, 2008, of bronchial pneumonia...
Monday June 22, 2009
New Mormon Library Will Preserve History of the Church
The Salt Lake Tribune - June 22, 2009 Jun. 22--Standing in the new LDS Church History Library behind a large wooden pulpit, LDS President Thomas S. Monson relived his past. "This pulpit, in part, tells the story of my own faith," Monson said to a crowd of hundreds before reciting...
Monday June 22, 2009
Unitarians Say They're 'Standing on the Side of Love'
(RNS) Members of Unitarian Universalist churches are unveiling a campaign against hate crimes at their General Assembly this week (June 24-29), calling on their congregations and those of other faiths to advocate for equality and to curb violence. The Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA) will include the grassroots campaign...
Friday June 19, 2009
U.S. Religious Freedom Panel Denied Visas to Visit India
WASHINGTON (RNS) Indian government officials have denied visas to commissioners of a U.S. religious freedom watchdog panel for the second time since 2001. Members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) were forced to cancel their plans to assess religious freedom in India. Panelists were scheduled to leave...
Friday June 19, 2009
Revised Catholic Statement on Conversion Worries Jews
(UNDATED) U.S. Catholic bishops tried Thursday (June 18) to clarify the Catholic Church's relationship with Judaism, saying Jews will not be targets of evangelism, but the church reserves the right to share its faith and welcome Jewish converts. The bishops resurrected a 2002 statement that they called "insufficiently precise and...
Friday June 19, 2009
Obama Talks Immigration at Hispanic Prayer Breakfast
Religion News Service WASHINGTON -- President Obama committed to comprehensive immigration reform Friday (June 19) at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in a speech that was laden with religious language but short on policy specifics. "We know there is much more work to be done to extend the promise of...
Thursday June 18, 2009
Faith-Based Beliefs About Modesty Create Challenges for Swimming Pools
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- When Zahra Khan arrived at Massachusetts Institute of Technology from her native Ottawa, Canada, in 2005, she looked for a swimming pool where she wouldn't have to worry about showing too much skin. The only options were mixed-gender pools, which Khan felt would violate beliefs about modesty...
Thursday June 18, 2009
Pope Deplores Priests' Infidelities to Their Vows
VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI deplored priests who were unfaithful to their vows and called Thursday for a "frank and complete acknowledgment" of the Catholic Church's weakness in a letter to priests around the globe. The letter was the first public statement from Benedict since an independent commission in...
Thursday June 18, 2009
Conservatives Criticize Obama Move on Gay Federal Benefits
WASHINGTON (RNS) President Obama signed an executive order Wednesday (June 17) expanding benefits available to same-sex partners of federal employees, a move that was not unexpected but nonetheless criticized by social conservative groups. "Many of our government's hard-working, dedicated, and patriotic public servants have long been denied basic rights that...
Wednesday June 17, 2009
Annual Hindu Pilgrimage Begins in Indian Kashmir
SRINAGAR, India - Thousands of Hindu devotees began an annual pilgrimage Tuesday to an icy cave in Indian-controlled Kashmir amid tight security in the Muslim-majority region, officials said. At least half a million devotees are expected to make the pilgrimage to the Amarnath shrine over the next two months. Thousands...
Wednesday June 17, 2009
Israeli Company Launches Kosher Search Engine
JERUSALEM (RNS) A new Internet search engine is making it possible for ultra-Orthodox Jews who use computers to obtain information online-- but not on the Sabbath, when the site shuts down. Dubbed Koogle (a cross between Google and kugel, the name of a Jewish noodle pudding), the Hebrew-language search engine...
Wednesday June 17, 2009
Celebrity Priest Marries Former Girlfriend in Fla.
(RNS) A hugely popular Miami priest, who left the Catholic Church when he could no longer abide by his vow of celibacy and his romantic relationship became tabloid fodder, married his girlfriend of two years Tuesday (June 16). The Rev. Alberto Cutie, 40, and Ruhama Canellis, 35, took their vows...
Tuesday June 16, 2009
Report Says Terrorism Finance Laws Hurt Muslim Charities
DALLAS - Federal laws targeting the financing of terrorism are vague and have given the government unchecked power over American Muslim charities, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a new report. The rules have made American Muslims fearful that giving to charity, as required by their faith, could get...
Tuesday June 16, 2009
Mormon Missionaries Go Online in Search of New Converts
c. 2009 Salt Lake Tribune PROVO, Utah -- Tyson Boardman sits before the computer screen at the LDS Missionary Training Center, discussing Mormonism with Jason and Travis in two Internet conversations at the same time. Why do people say Mormons aren't Christian? What does it mean to be baptized for...
Tuesday June 16, 2009
Vatican China Envoy to Get Tough with Beijing
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican's top envoy for China says the time has come for the Holy See to get tough with Beijing and not compromise over religious freedom, saying relations are taking a "worrisome slide" for the worse. Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen also said the Vatican shouldn't give...
Monday June 15, 2009
Doctor Who Served Popes for Over 30 years, Retires
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) - June 15, 2009 Vatican City (dpa) - The Vatican announced Monday the retirement of long-time papal personal physician, Renato Buzzonetti, who assisted Pope John Paul II following the failed 1981 assassination attempt and at his deathbed in 2005, before going on to serve the current pontiff,...
Monday June 15, 2009
Prosecutor in French Scientology Trial Seeks Ban
PARIS - The prosecutor in a French trial involving the Church of Scientology has asked that the group be banned in France and handed a hefty fine if convicted on fraud and other charges. The persecutor's office has asked that fines of €2 million ($2.77 million) be levied against the...
Monday June 15, 2009
Shy Bishop's Career Buffeted by Abuse Scandal, Katrina
NEW ORLEANS -- Conventional wisdom holds that history requires years to render judgment on leaders, but this much is sure of New Orleans Archbishop Alfred Hughes: The two greatest catastrophes ever to befall the Catholic Church in New Orleans both detonated on his short watch. Hughes' seven-year tenure opened with...
Friday June 12, 2009
Jehovah's Witnesses More Likely to Die in Childbirth, Study Finds
(RNS) Pregnant women who are Jehovah's Witnesses are six times more likely to die during childbirth and three times more likely to have serious complications than the general population, according to a new study by Dutch researchers. All of the cases of death examined by the researchers were caused by...
Friday June 12, 2009
DOJ Moves to Dismiss First Fed Gay Marriage Case
LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Justice Department has moved to dismiss the first gay marriage case filed in federal court, saying it is not the right venue to tackle legal questions raised by a couple already married in California. The motion, filed late Thursday, argued that the case of Arthur...
Friday June 12, 2009
Woman Defends Book on Friendship with John Paul II
WARSAW, Poland - To him, she was "My Dear Dusia" and he signed his letters "Br" - short for brother. She was one of a handful of people by his bedside when he died, and visited him in the hospital when he survived an assassination attempt. In the cloistered universe...
Thursday June 11, 2009
Study: Megachurch Attenders Tend to Be Younger
Despite their reputation as symbols of baby-boomer America, Protestant megachurches attract a younger crowd and more singles than the average Protestant church, according to large-scale study released Tuesday. The survey also found distressing news for a movement that took off in the 1980s and remains influential in evangelical Christianity: megachurch-goers...
Thursday June 11, 2009
Religious Charities Gain in a Down Year
(RNS) Religious organizations reported a 5.5 increase in donations last year, a marked contrast from the nationwide 2-percent decline in charitable giving, according to a study by Giving USA Foundation. Religious congregations, which accounted for 35 percent of the total $307 billion in charitable contributions, exceeded $100 billion in donations...
Thursday June 11, 2009
NIV Translator John Stek Dies at 84
(RNS) The Rev. John Stek considered Bible translation a never-ending work, once noting, "Even the most durable words take on different nuances as culture changes." Stek attended diligently to those nuances, serving for nearly 45 years on the translation committee for the New International Version -- the most popular modern...
Wednesday June 10, 2009
Gunman Shoots, Kills, Guard at Holocaust Museum
WASHINGTON - An elderly gunman opened fire with a rifle inside the crowded U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday, killing a security guard before being shot. Authorities said they were investigating a white supremacist as the suspect. The 89-year-old assailant was hospitalized in critical condition, Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian Fenty...
Wednesday June 10, 2009
Christian Leaders Push for Immigration Law
WASHINGTON (RNS) Christian leaders, including three members of President Obama's faith advisory council, on Wednesday (June 10) pushed the president to make good on his promise of comprehensive immigration reform. The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, Noel Castellanos, the Rev. Vashti McKenzie and the Rev. Jim Wallis of the group Christians for...
Wednesday June 10, 2009
Appeals Court Declares Ten Commandments Monument Unconstitutional
(RNS) A federal appeals court has declared the erection of a Ten Commandments monument unconstitutional, citing the "unusual" circumstances of its placement on the courthouse grounds in a small Oklahoma county. In its Monday (June 8) ruling, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals noted statements by county commissioners about...
Monday June 8, 2009
'Mindfulness' Meditation Gaining Medical Acceptance
Challenges are landing fast and furious on Capitol Hill. So Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, feels he has to arrive at the top of his game every day. And Ryan says he has found a way to do that: He meditates for at least 45 minutes before leaving home. Ryan, 35,...
Monday June 8, 2009
Study Finds No Similar Abortion Rates Among Religious Students
(RNS) Unwed young women who attend or have attended religious schools are more likely to have abortions than their public school peers, according to a new study. The study also found "no significant link" between abortion and personal religiosity -- defined by perception of religion's importance, frequency of prayer and...
Monday June 8, 2009
ADL Reports Fourth Annual Decrease in Anti-Semitic Attacks
(RNS) The volume of physical assaults, vandalism and harassment against Jews decreased for the fourth consecutive year in 2008, according to a recent audit that tracks anti-Semitic incidents. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), whose aim is to counteract prejudice against Jews, reported a 7 percent decline in criminal acts that target...
Friday June 5, 2009
Pope Meets with Irish Churchmen After Abuse Report
VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI expressed solidarity with victims abused by clergy in Ireland in a meeting with the country's top churchmen Friday, following a report detailing decades of rapes, humiliation and beatings at church-run reform schools, the Vatican said. Benedict held a long meeting with Cardinal Sean Brady...
Friday June 5, 2009
At Death Camp, Obama Says Evil Must be Confronted
WEIMAR, Germany - President Barack Obama witnessed the Nazi ovens of the Buchenwald concentration camp Friday, its clock tower frozen at the time of liberation, and said the leaders of today must not rest against the spread of evil. The president called the camp where an estimated 56,000 people died...
Friday June 5, 2009
Episcopal 'Buddhist Bishop' Appears Headed for Defeat
(RNS) The election of an Episcopal bishop in Michigan who has practiced Buddhist meditation and changed traditional church prayers appears headed for defeat, according to an unofficial tally kept by a newspaper reporter. The Rev. Kevin Thew Forrester was elected bishop of the sparsely populated Diocese of Northern Michigan in...
Thursday June 4, 2009
Pastor: Kan. Church Begins Healing After Shooting
Wichita, Kan. - The church where late-term abortion provider George Tiller was killed is bringing in counselors to help members and has received supportive messages from around the world, the senior pastor said. The Rev. Lowell Michelson of Reformation Lutheran Church said crisis intervention experts will help people through group...
Thursday June 4, 2009
Obama, Once Fearful of Muslim Ties, Now Embraces Them
Washington -- Dogged by persistent but untrue rumors that he was a closet Muslim, Barack Obama's presidential campaign carefully sidestepped questions about his Muslim ancestry and asked two Muslim women in headscarves to take seats away from the cameras. But on Thursday (June 4), Obama quoted the "Holy Quran," greeted...
Thursday June 4, 2009
Gay Bishop Says Faith Groups Key to N.H. Gay Marriage Vote
New Hampshire became the sixth state to legalize gay marriage on Wednesday (June 3) in part because faith leaders testified that the measure would not impinge on religious rights, according to V. Gene Robinson, the state's openly gay Episcopal bishop. When credible Christians, Muslims and Jews advocated for same-sex marriage,...
Wednesday June 3, 2009
Asra Nomani Promotes Moderate Islam
WASHINGTON -- Not long after 9/11, Wall Street Journal reporter Asra Nomani was working in Pakistan when her friend and housemate, Daniel Pearl, was abducted and killed by Islamic extremists. His death -- and the version of Islam that seemed to sanction it -- has haunted her ever since. When...
Wednesday June 3, 2009
Eco-Theologian Thomas Berry Dies at 94
(RNS) The Rev. Thomas Berry, a Passionist monk who made it his life's work to explore the connection between humans and the earth, died at a retirement community in his native Greensboro, N.C., on Monday (June 1). He was 94. The self-described "geologian" was on the forefront of eco-theological thinking,...
Wednesday June 3, 2009
First Orthodox Rabbis Ordained in Germany Since Holocaust
(RNS) Germany saw the ordination of its own Orthodox rabbis on Tuesday (June 2), a first in the more than six decades since the Nazi Holocaust and World War II. Broadcast live on German television, the historic ordination of Zsolt Balla, 30, and Avraham Radbill, 25, signals a slowly reviving...
Tuesday June 2, 2009
Church-Going 'Martyr' Changes Dynamics of Abortion Debate
Dr. George Tiller's murder on Sunday (May 31) morning in the lobby of his Lutheran church counters the secular image of a late-term abortion provider, pinning him more as a churchgoing "martyr" than a godless murderer. Shot and killed while passing out bulletins in the lobby of his Wichita, Kan.,...
Tuesday June 2, 2009
RCA to Consider Belhar Confession, More Talk on Gay Issues
Holland, Mich. - For the first time in 390 years, the Reformed Church in America has a confession to make. The Belhar Confession, a declaration of human unity, justice and reconciliation that was drafted in 1982 by Reformed churches in apartheid-era South Africa, will be up for approval at the...
Tuesday June 2, 2009
Religious Academics Award Religion Reporters
Religion writers for The New York Times and the Waterbury (Conn.) Republican-American are among the top winners of the American Academy of Religion's prizes for in-depth religion reporting. Laurie Goodstein of the Times won the 2009 contest for journalists at news outlets with circulations of more than 100,000 or on...
Monday June 1, 2009
With Abortion Doctor Dead, Do Conservatives Share Blame?
(UNDATED) With the murder Sunday (May 31) of Dr. George Tiller, one of the nation's few late-term abortion doctors, supporters of abortion rights are questioning whether there is a connection between his death and the rhetoric of the anti-abortion movement. More to the point, would Tiller have been a victim...
Monday June 1, 2009
Sotomayor Would Be 6th Catholic on Supreme Court
NEW YORK - If Judge Sonia Sotomayor is confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, she will be the sixth Roman Catholic of the nine justices. But far from forming any unified bloc, the justices would represent the vast diversity of American Catholics, from weekly churchgoers to the occasional attendee. Sotomayor,...
Monday June 1, 2009
Wikipedia Bans Scientology from Editing Entries
(RNS) Wikipedia, the user-edited Internet encyclopedia, has banned the Church of Scientology from editing entries about the controversial religion. Internet addresses known to be "owned or operated by the Church of Scientology and its associates, broadly interpreted, are to be blocked," according to the decision. While the ban applies to...
Friday May 29, 2009
Is Mary the `Coredemptrix' of Humanity?
Religion News Service VATICAN CITY -- When Pope Benedict XVI told a crowd in St. Peter's Square in April that the Virgin Mary "silently followed her son Jesus to Calvary, taking part with great suffering in his sacrifice, thus cooperating in the mystery of redemption and becoming mother of all...
Friday May 29, 2009
Celebrity Priest's Conversion Strains Ecumenical Ties
(UNDATED) In the nearly 500 years since the Church of England split with the Roman Catholic Church, a fair number of converts have crossed from one church to the other. Still, the path is fraught with stumbling blocks, as the Rev. Alberto Cutie -- the most recent, and high-profile convert...
Friday May 29, 2009
1st Black Female Rabbi to be Ordained in US
CINCINNATI - A woman will be ordained as what is believed to be mainstream Judaism's first black female rabbi next month. Alysa Stanton is to lead a predominantly white congregation of about 60 families in Greenville, North Carolina, after her June 6 ordination. Stanton was living in a Jewish neighborhood...
Thursday May 28, 2009
Hispanic Theologian Chosen for Vatican Ambassador
A Hispanic Roman Catholic theologian who was an adviser to Barack Obama's presidential campaign will be nominated to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, the White House announced Wednesday. Miguel H. Diaz, 45, an associate professor of theology at St. John's University and the College of Saint...
Thursday May 28, 2009
Fla.'s 'Father Oprah' Joins Episcopal Church
Miami - A popular Miami priest and media personality known as "Father Oprah" has left the Catholic Church and joined the Episcopal Church after he was photographed cavorting on the beach with his girlfriend. The Rev. Alberto Cutie (KOO'-tee-ay) was removed from his Miami Beach church after photos of him...
Thursday May 28, 2009
For Muslims, A Final Act of Dignity from the Living for the Dead
Portland, Ore. - Judy Nikukar was in her 40s and had been a Muslim for 15 years before someone invited her to help wash a body before burial. Nikukar considered whether she wanted to do it. She had seen only two dead bodies before -- she was 6 when her...
Wednesday May 27, 2009
Vatican Radio to Accept Advertising to Help Pay Bills
VATICAN CITY (RNS) After 78 years of broadcasting the pope's message around the world, Vatican Radio is to break with tradition and take paid commercials for the first time. The move to mix jingles and advertising with religious programming will help balance the books at the station, which employs 500...
Wednesday May 27, 2009
Muslim Charity Member Gets 65 Years in US Prison
DALLAS - A founding member of what was once the largest Muslim charity in the United States was sentenced to 65 years in prison Wednesday for funneling millions of dollars to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Shukri Abu Baker, 50, of Garland, Texas, was the first of five members of...
Wednesday May 27, 2009
Southwest Families Discover Hidden Jewish Roots
(UNDATED) Growing up in Wyoming to Catholic and Protestant parents, Isabelle Medina-Sandoval watched the women in her family practice strange customs -- washing off babies' baptismal water and setting aside some dough when they made tortillas. "As a teenager, I always had so many questions about spirituality, I always wanted...
Tuesday May 26, 2009
Christianity Today to Close Four Publications, Lay Off 31
Publishing powerhouse Christianity Today International, citing hard times in its industry, is shutting down four publications and laying off 31 workers. According to a plan announced Friday (May 22), two magazines will fold: Today's Christian Woman and the Campus Life College Guide, which targets Christian undergrads. CTI will also cease...
Tuesday May 26, 2009
Dalai Lama Helps Save Fla. University
Miami -- Florida International University Tuesday accepted a gift from the Dalai Lama to save its Religious Studies Department scheduled to close due to budget cuts. The Miami Herald reported the $100,000 gift alone will not rescue the department, the closure of which would save the university $600,000 per year....
Tuesday May 26, 2009
Vatican Raises Retirement Age to Make Ends Meet
Vatican City - In a sign the credit crunch is sparing no one, the Vatican is set to raise its staff retirement age by two years to help make ends meet. From January 1, 2010, newly hired lay staff will retire at 67 instead of 65, while newly hired members...
Friday May 22, 2009
Church Pays Little of Ireland's Child-Abuse Bill
DUBLIN - Ireland's Roman Catholic religious orders resisted growing demands Friday for them to pay more for the abuse of thousands of children behind the closed doors of state-funded schools. The Irish government expects to dole out more than euro1.1 billion ($1.6 billion) in legal costs and compensation to 14,000...
Friday May 22, 2009
Krumping Gives Movement to the Spirit's Call
CHESAPEAKE, Va. -- On a peaceful afternoon in a suburban home garage, Demetrus Leslie, 17, jerked like he was dosed with strychnine. His arms lashed menacingly, then he dropped to the floor, only to rear up smoothly. His chest popped in and out, convulsing as if an alien larva heaved...
Friday May 22, 2009
Israel Ready for Peace Talks: Netanyahu
TEL AVIV/RAMALLAH -- Israel is ready to open peace talks with Syria immediately and without preconditions, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday after talks with US President Barack Obama. The offer followed Obama's first White House meeting with the Israeli leader, who said he agreed on the need to widen...
Thursday May 21, 2009
Experts Say Case of Missing Teen Reflects Larger Problem
As authorities search for a missing 13-year-old cancer patient whose mother shunned chemotherapy, an expert on faith healing said the case demonstrates just how these cases can get out of hand -- and the need to prevent them in the future. On Tuesday (May 19), Daniel Hauser of Sleepy Eye,...
Thursday May 21, 2009
Victims' Group Urges Church Action After Irish Abuse Report
U.S. victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy say the Vatican should publicly rebuke the religious order that fought to keep abusers' names out of a damning report that details thousands of crimes against minors in Ireland. The 2,600-page report, released on Wednesday (May 20), describes sexual and violent crimes...
Thursday May 21, 2009
Synagogues Assessing Security After Foiled N.Y. Plot
Synagogues in New York and throughout the country were unaware of a plot to bomb two temples in New York City until it was foiled late Wednesday (May 20). New York City police arrested four men who allegedly believed they were planting bombs near two synagogues in the Bronx. The...
Wednesday May 20, 2009
Indian Yoga Guru Krishna Pattabhi Jois Dies at 93
NEW DELHI - Krishna Pattabhi Jois, a yoga teacher and practitioner famous for popularizing Ashtanga yoga in the West, has died. He was 93. Jois died in the southern Indian city of Mysore on Monday, a press statement from the K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute said. He was born...
Wednesday May 20, 2009
Police Look for Mother and Son Who Fled Chemo for Religious Reasons
SLEEPY EYE, Minn. - A courtroom clash between medicine and faith took a criminal turn, with police around the country on the lookout Wednesday for a Minnesota mother who fled with her cancer-stricken 13-year-old son rather than consent to chemotherapy. A court-ordered X-ray on Monday showed a tumor growing in...
Wednesday May 20, 2009
Study: Mainline Clergy OK with Gay Rights, Cautious on Gay Marriage
(RNS) Mainline Protestant clergy are generally more likely than most Americans to endorse gay rights, but only one in three supports same-sex marriage, according to a new study. About one-third of mainline clergy support civil unions and one-third oppose any legal recognition for gay couples, found Public Religion Research, a...
Tuesday May 19, 2009
Muslims Struggle To Erect Minarets Next To Steeples
Montreuil, France -- The dusty patch of weeds and litter may not look like much now, but the site nonetheless carries the hopes and a sense of sweet victory for Muslims in this hardscrabble Paris suburb. The short story of the construction site is of a years-long legal battle for...
Tuesday May 19, 2009
Gallup: Only Churchgoers Remain Reliably Republican
Washington - A new Gallup Poll shows that Republicans have lost support across every major demographic group with one exception: regular churchgoers. Since the beginning of the Bush administration in 2001, the GOP has lost self-identified Republicans across the board. Only regular churchgoers, followed closely by self-identified conservatives and older...
Tuesday May 19, 2009
Pentagon Reports No Longer Quote Bible
Washington - The Pentagon said Monday it no longer includes a Bible quote on the cover page of daily intelligence briefings it sends to the White House as was practice during the Bush administration. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said he did not know how long the Worldwide Intelligence Update cover...
Monday May 18, 2009
Supreme Court: Lawsuit by Sept. 11 Detainee Who Said He Was Abused Because of Religion Cannot Proceed
WASHINGTON - FBI Director Robert Mueller and former Attorney General John Ashcroft cannot be sued by a former Sept. 11 detainee who claimed he was abused because of his religion and ethnicity, a sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court said Monday in a decision that could make it harder to sue...
Monday May 18, 2009
Vatican to Unveil Pope's Profile on Facebook
Vatican City (dpa) - In the latest bid to broaden Pope Benedict XVI's appeal among computer savvy, younger generations, the Vatican is to post the pontiff's profile on popular online social networking site, Facebook, officials said Monday. "The pope has a great interest in these things," Archbishop Claudio Celli said...
Monday May 18, 2009
How Do You Spell Lust? M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I
(UNDATED) Las Vegas may be known as "Sin City," but when it comes to transgressions per capita, parts of the Bible Belt may burn much hotter, suggests a new study by Kansas State University geographers. The project, conducted by four graduate students in the university's department of geography, maps out...
Friday May 15, 2009
Pope Ends Holy Land Pilgrimage with Call for Peace
JERUSALEM - Pope Benedict XVI ended his pilgrimage to the Holy Land Friday with a stirring call for peace at the site of Jesus' crucifixion and then made an emotional appeal to Israel and the Palestinians: "No more bloodshed. No more fighting. No more terrorism. No more war." After a...
Friday May 15, 2009
N.H. Governor OKs Gay Marriage, with Religious Exemptions
(RNS) New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch said Thursday (May 14) that he would sign legislation legalizing same-sex marriage as long as religious groups would be not be forced to "violate their deeply held religious principles." State lawmakers said a bill with those protections could reach Lynch's desk within weeks, thus...
Friday May 15, 2009
Judge Rules Teen Must Be Treated for Cancer Despite Religious Objections
MINNEAPOLIS - A 13-year-old Minnesota boy with cancer must resume medical treatment to save his life, despite religious and other objections by his family - unless it already is too late, a Brown County District Court judge ruled Friday. Daniel Hauser must have a chest X-ray by next Tuesday, when...
Thursday May 14, 2009
Noted Catholic Theologian Dies at 68
Tallahassee, Fla. - Monsignor William A. Kerr, a leading human rights figure whom serial killer Ted Bundy sought out to be his spiritual counselor on death row, died Wednesday. He was 68. Kerr was hospitalized May 3 after suffering a stroke as he concluded celebrating a Mass. "Monsignor Kerr traveled...
Thursday May 14, 2009
Debate Brews Over Proposed Hebrew Charter School
East Brunswick, N.J. - A proposed Hebrew charter school has ignited a debate over the separation of church and state. The school, which would require Hebrew classes, has divided the local Jewish community and raised arguments about whether the school should run on taxpayer money. The founders argue their school...
Thursday May 14, 2009
Pope Urges Peace Between Muslims, Christians in Nazareth
Nazareth, Israel -- Pope Benedict XVI spent the last full day of his week-long pilgrimage on Wednesday (May 14) urging reconciliation in the town where Jesus spent his youth but which is now beset by uneasy relations between Christians and Muslims. At a festive Mass in this hilly city in...
Wednesday May 13, 2009
Priest Apologizes to Molestation Victims
SEATTLE - Father Patrick O'Donnell said in King County Superior Court he is sorry he molested at least 30 boys while part of the Seattle Catholic Archdiocese. While testifying Monday in court, the 66-year-old priest offered an apology to the two men who have accused him of molesting them during...
Wednesday May 13, 2009
Religious People Make Better Citizens, Study Says
First, the silver lining: people of faith are better citizens and better neighbors, and America is "amazingly" religious compared to other countries, says Harvard University professor Robert Putnam. Now, the cloud: young Americans are "vastly more secular" than their older counterparts, according to Putnam. "That is a stunning development," Putnam...
Wednesday May 13, 2009
Pope, in Bethlehem, Sides with Palestinian Statehood
Bethlehem, West Bank - Standing in the city of Jesus' birth that's now under Palestinian control, Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday (May 13) forcefully endorsed the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state. "Mr. President, the Holy See supports the right of your people to a sovereign Palestinian homeland in the...
Tuesday May 12, 2009
Pope Visits Jerusalem's Western Wall, Dome of the Rock
JERUSALEM -- Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday (May 12) prayed at the Western Wall and visited the nearby Dome of the Rock, two disputed pieces of holy ground that are sacred to both Muslims and Jews, as controversy continued to overshadow the pope's weeklong pilgrimage. Benedict paused in prayer after...
Tuesday May 12, 2009
Methodist Bishops Agree to Pay Cut
(RNS) Bishops in the United Methodist Church have voted themselves a pay cut after "recognizing the financial challenges facing the church." The UMC's 50 active U.S. bishops voted to give up their planned pay raises for next year and instead reduce their salaries to the 2008 level, dropping their annual...
Tuesday May 12, 2009
Former Milwaukee Archbishop Comes Out as Gay
(RNS) The former Catholic archbishop of Milwaukee, who resigned amid a sex scandal in 2002, reveals his struggles with homosexuality and the church in a forthcoming memoir, according to Publishers Weekly. Archbishop Rembert Weakland headed the archdiocese of Milwaukee from 1977 until 2002, when a former Marquette University theology student...
Monday May 11, 2009
Churches to Press Solidarity with Palestinians
JERUSALEM (RNS) Churches in at least 20 countries plan to participate in the World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel organized by the World Council of Churches and leaders in Jerusalem. The fourth annual week of action, scheduled for June 4-10, encourages Christians from different denominations to work toward peace...
Monday May 11, 2009
European Muslims More Loyal to Nations than General Public Thinks, Poll Says
(RNS) While majorities of European Muslims say fellow Muslims are loyal to their country, significantly fewer members of the general public believe that, a new survey shows. More than 70 percent of Muslims in France, Germany and Britain say that Muslims living in their countries are loyal; less than 45...
Monday May 11, 2009
Pope, in Israel, Confronts Dark History of Germany
JERUSALEM - Pope Benedict XVI confronted the dark history of his native Germany on the first day of his visit to Israel on Monday, shaking the hands of six Holocaust survivors and saying victims of the genocide "lost their lives but they will never lose their names." Benedict's attempts to...
Friday May 8, 2009
Leading American Catholic Bishop Slams Obama
WASHINGTON -- The American bishop who heads the Vatican's supreme court slammed President Obama Friday (May 8) for pursuing an "anti-life and anti-family agenda" and called the University of Notre Dame's plans to honor him this month "the greatest scandal." Archbishop Raymond Burke, who led the archdiocese of St. Louis...
Friday May 8, 2009
Recession Prompts Jewish Schools to Cut Costs
(RNS) Orthodox Jewish officials have come up with a plan to rescue struggling religious day schools through shared cost-cutting strategies, while devising plans for a cheaper yeshiva model. While the economic downturn has caused headaches for all private schools, given their dependence on tuition, donations and investment income, the 800...
Friday May 8, 2009
Pope Lands in Jordan, Praises Peace Efforts
JERUSALEM (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI praised Jordan's peace and interfaith efforts when he touched down in the Muslim country on Friday (May 8), the first day of his week-long Holy Land pilgrimage. King Abdullah II of Jordan and his wife, Queen Rania, greeted the Catholic leader at the airport, where...
Thursday May 7, 2009
For Cizik, It's Suddenly A Lot Easier Being Green
Washington - Richard Cizik, who resigned in December under pressure from the National Association of Evangelicals, has long been criticized by fellow evangelicals for being a little too green. Emerging from a self-imposed media blackout, Cizik is back, and he's wearing the label of converted conservationist even more comfortably now....
Thursday May 7, 2009
Church Officials Say Alberto Cutie's Future Is Up to Him
Caught by paparazzi in the tender embrace of a woman on a Florida beach -- is this how celebrity Catholic priest Alberto Cutie's meteoric religious and multimedia career crashes down to earth? Or does he emerge from a period of prayer and contemplation, humbled and chastened, renewing a vow of...
Thursday May 7, 2009
National Day of Prayer Gets a Political Makeover
Washington -- Evangelical leaders gathered for the annual observance of the National Day of Prayer on Thursday (May 7) prayed for President Obama but criticized his decisions to not mark the day with a White House event or send a representative to their annual gathering on Capitol Hill. Observers say...
Wednesday May 6, 2009
Maine Becomes Fifth State to Allow Gay Marriage
(RNS) Gov. John Baldacci signed legislation on Wednesday (May 6) that makes Maine the fifth U.S. state to allow same-sex marriages, and only the second to approve the unions without the threat of a court order. Maine now joins Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa in allowing same-sex marriage. Lawmakers in...
Wednesday May 6, 2009
Vatican Paper: 'Angels & Demons' Film is Harmless
VATICAN CITY - Reviewers at the Vatican's newspaper have passed judgment on "Angels & Demons," finding the religious thriller commercial and inaccurate, but concluding it is "harmless" entertainment and not a danger to the church. L'Osservatore Romano ran a review and an editorial in Wednesday's edition, critiquing the movie based...
Wednesday May 6, 2009
Israel Says It Won't Apologize for Gaza War
UNITED NATIONS - Israeli President Shimon Peres on Wednesday called a U.N. investigation accusing Israel of recklessness during the war in Gaza "outrageous" and said the Jewish state will not apologize for defending its citizens against Hamas missile attacks. He conceded that the Israeli military made some mistakes - as...
Tuesday May 5, 2009
Vatican's P.R. strategy against `Angels and Demons' is to not have one
Los Angeles -- Controversy, if nothing else, sells newspapers and movie tickets. It worked with Ron Howard's first film adaptation of a Dan Brown novel, 2006's "The Da Vinci Code," and Hollywood is hoping it will work again for their second collaboration, "Angels and Demons," which opens nationwide on May...
Tuesday May 5, 2009
Southern Baptists' Top Ethicist Calls Waterboarding 'Torture'
Southern Baptist ethicist Richard Land, a leading Christian conservative who helped advance the Bush administration's agenda on a range of social issues, said Monday (May 4) that the formerly sanctioned practice of waterboarding of suspected terrorists is torture and "violates everything we stand for." Land, who is president of the...
Tuesday May 5, 2009
New Accusations Surface Against U.S. Military Proselytizing
A watchdog group that monitors inappropriate proselytizing in the military has renewed calls for a Pentagon probe after a recent Al Jazeera English news segment showed U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan preparing to distribute Bibles printed in the Pashto and Dari languages. "These inciteful actions are grossly offensive to not only...
Monday May 4, 2009
Bill to Allow Jesus License Plates in Fla. Dies
(RNS) Moves to create two Florida license plates with images of a crucified Jesus on one, and a stained glass window and cross on another, have died in the Florida legislature. Both plates had come under blistering criticism from Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American...
Monday May 4, 2009
Obama Plans Proclamation, Not Event, for National Day of Prayer
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Obama administration says it will issue a proclamation marking the National Day of Prayer on Thursday (May 7), but appears to be moving away from the White House ceremonies hosted by former President George W. Bush. "President Obama is a committed Christian and believes that we should...
Monday May 4, 2009
Vatican Plays Down Differences Before Israel Trip
JERUSALEM - The Vatican's representative to the Holy Land on Monday played down the controversies that could mar next week's visit by Pope Benedict XVI: the conduct of a wartime predecessor and the church's perceived lenience toward a Holocaust-denying priest. Benedict's remarks about Muslims have stirred anger in the Arab...
Friday May 1, 2009
FDR Pushed to Get Jews to Safety in 1930s
Newly uncovered documents reveal that President Franklin D. Roosevelt worked quietly in the late 1930s to find havens for European Jews, contradicting the view that he ignored their plight in the years leading up to the Holocaust. Roosevelt was "a master politician who tried to carry out some humanitarian steps...
Friday May 1, 2009
Pope to Confront Myriad Challenges in Holy Land Trip
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI departs next Friday (May 8) for what promises to be one of the most eventful and memorable events in his reign: a week-long visit to the Holy Land, with stops in Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. Benedict has presented the trip as first...
Friday May 1, 2009
Poll Shows 'Nuanced' Views on Homosexuality
(RNS) A large survey on American attitudes toward homosexuality reveals a "nuanced and at times inconsistent" view on gay rights, with Americans saying states should not be forced to recognize same-sex unions, but also saying gay couples should have access to federal spousal benefits like Social Security. The poll of...
Thursday April 30, 2009
Dalai Lama Opens New Center at MIT
Cambridge, Mass. -- On the campus of the country's premier scientific university, the world's best-known Buddhist leader on Thursday (April 30) called on educators to teach ethics and compassion without a basis in religious belief. Hundreds gathered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as the Dalai Lama, speaking from the...
Thursday April 30, 2009
Can Common Communion Chalice Transmit Swine Flu?
Religious groups across the country are urging houses of worship to take special precautions this weekend, including changing sacred practices, as the swine flu outbreak threatens to grow into a global pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 109 confirmed cases of the virus in 11 states on...
Thursday April 30, 2009
Conservatives Nervous as Hate Crimes Bill Advances
WASHINGTON -- As the House took up a hate crimes bill that would add sexual orientation to a list of federally protected classes, Andrea Lafferty of the Traditional Values Coalition stood outside the Capitol and warned of dire consequences for clergy. "They know the purpose of this bill is to...
Wednesday April 29, 2009
Pope Expresses 'Sorrow' to Victims of Canadian Schools
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI met aboriginal survivors of Canada's residential school system on Wednesday (Apr. 29) and voiced his "sorrow" over "deplorable" abuses in the church-run schools. "Given the sufferings that some indigenous children experienced in the Canadian Residential School system, the Holy Father expressed his sorrow at...
Wednesday April 29, 2009
Methodist Court Rejects Moves to Support Gay Marriage, OKs Bush Library
(RNS) The United Methodist Church's highest court has ruled that clergy may not officiate at same-sex unions, even in states where such marriages are legal, and gave the final OK for the George W. Bush Library to be built at Southern Methodist University. The church's nine-member Judicial Council rejected separate...
Wednesday April 29, 2009
27 Suspected in Death of French Jew Go on Trial
PARIS - The presumed leader of a group of 27 young people charged with participating in the torture and killing of a young French Jew took his seat in juvenile court Wednesday with the defiant declaration, "Allah will be victorious." The 23-year-old victim, Ilan Halimi, was found naked, handcuffed and...
Tuesday April 28, 2009
Southern Baptists' Baptisms Dip to Lowest in Two Decades
(RNS) The number of baptisms by Southern Baptists -- who consider the rite a gauge of their evangelism success and a key element of their faith -- has dropped to the lowest rate in two decades. The denomination, which also saw a slight decrease in membership numbers, recorded 342,198 baptisms...
Tuesday April 28, 2009
Pat Robertson to Retire from US College Post
RICHMOND, Virginia - Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson plans to retire next summer as president of Regent University, the private Christian college he founded in 1978, the school said Tuesday. The 79-year-old, who became the university's sixth president in 2000, will retire from the position effective July 1, 2010. He will...
Tuesday April 28, 2009
Israel Marks Independence Day Without Peace
JERUSALEM - In a jarring contrast, Israel switched moods Tuesday evening from a somber Memorial Day for fallen soldiers to a joyous Independence Day celebrating 61 years since the Jewish state was created, but the absence of Mideast peace weighed on the festivities. Israeli army units marched at a ceremony...
Monday April 27, 2009
Foxman Says Middle East, Economy Fueling Anti-Semitism
CLEVELAND (RNS) Violence in the Middle East and worldwide economic distress have combined to produce "the biggest explosion of anti-Semitism globally that we have witnessed since World War II," according to the national director of the Anti-Defamation League. Abraham Foxman, who has led the New York-based ADL since 1987, told...
Monday April 27, 2009
Presbyterians Defeat Move to Allow Gay Clergy
(UNDATED) The Presbyterian Church (USA) has defeated a move -- for the third time in 12 years -- that would have allowed partnered gay and lesbian clergy, but gay rights groups cheered what they called a ``historic shift" in the number of Presbyterians who supported the measure. Sixty-nine of the...
Monday April 27, 2009
Survey: Americans Switch Faiths Early, Often
DENVER - The United States is a nation of religious drifters, with about half of adults switching faith affiliation at least once during their lives, according to a new survey. The reasons behind the swap depend greatly on whether one grows up kneeling at Roman Catholic Mass, praying in a...
Friday April 24, 2009
New Orleans Archbishop Boycotts Commencement Over Abortion Issue
NEW ORLEANS (RNS) New Orleans Catholic Archbishop Alfred Hughes has told Xavier University of Louisiana he will not attend its upcoming graduation ceremonies because he objects to the university's decision to award an honorary degree to Donna Brazile, a veteran Democratic political strategist who supports abortion rights. Hughes told Xavier...
Friday April 24, 2009
Italians, Israelis, Palestinians Run Together in 'Peace Marathon'
JERUSALEM (RNS/ENI) Former Italian volleyball world champion Andrea Zorzi was one of 50 Italian runners who joined about 100 Israelis and Palestinians in the sixth annual Pope John Paul II Peace Marathon on Thursday (April 23) that concluded in Jerusalem. Some of those watching noted the structure of the run...
Friday April 24, 2009
For Financial Guru Dave Ramsey, Sour Economy Has an Upside
EDMOND, Okla. -- In a gloom-and-doom economy, Christian financial guru Dave Ramsey fashions himself as a prophet of hope. Part stand-up comedian, part economics professor, Ramsey built a multimillion-dollar business by dispensing simple financial advice: Live on a budget. Don't spend more than you make. Start an emergency fund. Get...
Wednesday April 22, 2009
Blair Names 30 Interfaith Fellows to Tackle Malaria
(RNS) The foundation started by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has named 30 interfaith fellows, including 12 Americans, to raise awareness about efforts to fight malaria in Africa. The fellows are expected to receive training in London and Chicago, to travel to Mali, Malawi and Tanzania in Africa to...
Wednesday April 22, 2009
Study: Evangelicals Trail Other Faiths on Global Warming
(RNS) While a majority of white evangelicals believe there is solid evidence that the earth is warming, only one in three says human activity is the cause, according to a recent survey. As the world celebrates Earth Day, a survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life...
Wednesday April 22, 2009
Dalai Lama: China Riot Ruling Political
NARITA, Japan - The Dalai Lama on Wednesday criticized lengthy prison terms given a day earlier by China to three people for arson attacks during rioting last year in the Tibetan capital, calling the rulings politically motivated. The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader said the court decision reflected the Chinese Communist...
Tuesday April 21, 2009
Africa's 'Mormon Superstar' Is First Black African LDS General Authority
Joseph Sitati grew up as a Quaker in Nairobi, Kenya, but felt no great affection for the faith. Its sermons were too political, he felt, leaving him thirsty for spiritual satisfaction. When Sitati attended his first Mormon service in 1985, something new stirred in his soul. "There was a very...
Tuesday April 21, 2009
Catholic Coalition Unveils Environmental 'Covenant'
On the eve of Earth Day, a coalition of Catholic groups launched a broad initiative Tuesday (April 21) to encourage Catholic churches, institutions and families to combat climate change and advocate for the poor in the debate over the environment. The Catholic Climate Covenant asks the nation's 65 million Catholics...
Tuesday April 21, 2009
Reform Seminary May Cut Two of Three U.S. Campuses
The Reform Jewish movement's central seminary is considering closing two of its three U.S. campuses amid what the school's president calls "the most challenging financial position (the school) has faced in its history." Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, with campuses in New York, Los Angeles, Cincinnati and Jerusalem, is...
Monday April 20, 2009
Netanyahu Vows Not to Allow Second Holocaust
JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Monday not to allow Holocaust deniers to carry out a second Holocaust against the Jewish people. Speaking at the ceremony marking Israel's annual memorial day for the 6 million Jews killed by Nazis and their collaborators during World War II, Netanyahu also...
Monday April 20, 2009
National Day of Prayer Events Overshadowed by Politics
WASHINGTON -- Every year between 2001 and 2008, former President Bush's calendar was cleared on the first Thursday in May to mark the National Day of Prayer in the White House East Room with prominent evangelicals. Now the Obama White House is facing questions of inside-the-Beltway etiquette: Should Obama maintain...
Monday April 20, 2009
Advocates Say NIH Stem Cell Guidelines Are Sensible Middle Ground
WASHINGTON (RNS) Some anti-abortion religious leaders are welcoming new draft guidelines from the National Institutes of Health on embryonic stem cell research as a balanced approach to the controversial procedure. The guidelines, issued Friday (April 17), permit federally funded research on stem cells derived from embryos that are no longer...
Friday April 17, 2009
Interview with a Physicist Theologian
Christian thinkers have long employed insights from sociology, literature, and other fields to augment their ideas of how God works in the world. Yet despite the world-changing insights of science, very few theologians have drawn on physics, biology or geology in the same way. Renowned Anglican physicist-theologian John Polkinghorne wants...
Friday April 17, 2009
N.Y. Gay Marriage Bill Faces Tough Political Road
Syracuse, N.Y. - Despite support from all statewide elected leaders, prospects for a same-sex marriage bill passing the state Legislature this year appear shaky at best. Political observers say its fate will hinge on the votes of a handful of state senators -- particularly Republicans who are willing to make...
Friday April 17, 2009
Vatican Decries Reaction to Pope's Condom Remarks
Vatican City - Critics of the Catholic Church's social teachings are trying to intimidate Pope Benedict XVI into silence, the Vatican charged Friday in responding to attacks on the pontiff's remarks about AIDS and condom use. In a strongly worded statement, the Vatican defended the pope's view that condoms aren't...
Thursday April 16, 2009
Pope Thanks N.M. Governor for Death Penalty Repeal
Vatican City - New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson met Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Wednesday (Apr. 15), hours before a Catholic group lit up Rome's Coliseum to honor New Mexico's recent abolition of the death penalty. Richardson, a former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, led a state...
Thursday April 16, 2009
Study: Religious Donors Don't Plan to Cut Back
Despite the economic downturn, more than half of actively religious donors plan to give the same or more to charitable causes in 2009 as they did last year, a new survey shows. Cygnus Applied Research, a Chicago-based international research firm, completed a survey of more than 17,000 U.S. donors to...
Thursday April 16, 2009
In an Online World, All (Church) Politics Is Global
Internet columns and chain e-mails question the candidate's Christian bona fides. Old sermons are dredged up and dissected. Supporters, meanwhile, post documents online to combat perceived smears. In short: a campaign for high office delivers some low blows. The candidate in question? No, it's not Barack Obama, but rather Bishop-elect...
Wednesday April 15, 2009
NYC's New Archbishop Aims to Renew Church
New York - Archbishop Timothy Dolan was installed Wednesday as the leader of Roman Catholic New York, taking the most prominent American pulpit in the church during an elaborate ceremony that drew thousands of parishioners and civic leaders to St. Patrick's Cathedral. Known for his wit and warmth, Dolan beamed...
Wednesday April 15, 2009
Conservatives Decry Homeland Security 'Extremism' Report
Conservative Christian groups blasted a new report from the Department of Homeland Security on "rightwing extremism," calling it an example of "guilt by association" for linking anti-abortion activists with hate groups. The 10-page "assessment" from the department stresses that the report is not based on specific threats. "The HDS/Office of...
Wednesday April 15, 2009
Vatican Launches Second Probe of U.S. Nuns
Vatican City -- The Vatican plans to investigate leaders of women's religious congregations in the U.S. to ensure their fidelity to Catholic teaching on controversial questions of ecumenism, homosexuality and an all-male priesthood. Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, informed officials at...
Tuesday April 14, 2009
Ceremonies for New NY Archbishop Begin Tuesday
New York - The installation of New York Archbishop-designate Timothy Dolan is stretching over two days in St. Patrick's Cathedral, in services before thousands of well-wishers ranging from his elementary school teacher to the Vatican's U.S. ambassador. Dolan, 59, the former Milwaukee archbishop, is taking over the most visible American...
Tuesday April 14, 2009
Sikhs Ask to Serve in Army Despite Rules on Attire
Arlington, Va. - Two Sikh men say they want to report for active duty in July even as they refuse to comply with the Army's demands to cut their unshorn beards and hair and remove their turbans. "I am willing to lay down my life for America," said 2nd Lt....
Tuesday April 14, 2009
Commission: Cuba Withholds Visas from Religious Freedom Delegation
Washington - The same day President Obama lifted some U.S. travel and monetary restrictions against Cuba, a federal religious freedom panel said Havana is withholding visas ahead of a scheduled visit to the island nation. Members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom were planning to visit Cuba to...
Monday April 13, 2009
Where Obama Turns for Spiritual Advice: Rev. Joel Hunter
Apr. 12--He doesn't thunder from the pulpit in righteous rage. He'd rather relay stories that make a moral point. He has no catchphrases, fussy handlers or televised religious talk shows. What the soft-spoken Rev. Joel Hunter of Longwood does have is an evangelical church of 12,000, a talent for building...
Monday April 13, 2009
Suit Says Student Dismissed Over Gay Views
(RNS) A conservative legal group has filed suit against Eastern Michigan University on behalf of a graduate student who claims she was dismissed from counseling studies for her religious beliefs regarding homosexuality. The suit was filed with the U.S. District Court in Detroit by the Alliance Defense Fund Center for...
Monday April 13, 2009
AP Exclusive: Dolan to Fight Anti-Catholic Bias
NEW YORK - New York Archbishop-designate Timothy Dolan said Monday, on the eve of his installation, that he will challenge the idea that the Roman Catholic Church is unenlightened because it opposes gay marriage and abortion. In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Dolan said he wants to restore...
Thursday April 9, 2009
Spiritual Seekers Drawn to Egyptian Sacred Sites
GIZA, Egypt - The Great Pyramid of Giza was one of the ancient wonders of the world, and even most travelers today would not consider a trip to Egypt complete without seeing the pyramids. But for some tourists, the pyramids and other sites are much more than stops on a...
Thursday April 9, 2009
Obama Invites Friends, Aides to Seder Dinner
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama is inviting close friends and staff to a private White House meal Thursday to mark Passover, part of the new president's effort to reach out to Jewish voters. Among the invited is Valerie Jarrett, one of Obama's closest advisers, and family friend Eric Whitaker, who is...
Thursday April 9, 2009
In Pilate's Wife, Some See An Unlikely Saint
(UNDATED) For all of Pontius Pilate's faults, one was distinctly damning: he didn't listen to his wife. According to the Gospel of Matthew, the Roman governor of Judea received a note from his spouse during the trial of Jesus. "Have nothing to do with that just man," she writes, "for...
Wednesday April 8, 2009
Obama Meets with Eastern Orthodox Leader
(RNS) President Obama met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians, on Tuesday (April 7) in Turkey, where they discussed religious freedom and the opening of an historic seminary closed by Turkish authorities. Bartholomew "made a convincing and passionate argument" for re-opening the Theological School of...
Wednesday April 8, 2009
Easter Hats Fall Victim to Economic Downturn
SILVER SPRING, Md. -- There are many things that Paula Settles is willing to forgo in these budget-conscious times, but an Easter hat isn't one of them. "I wouldn't consider going to church without a hat on," said Settles, an African-American retiree of a certain age who's planning her outfit...
Wednesday April 8, 2009
Non-Jews take Temporary Custody of Food During Passover
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- At 9 a.m. on Wednesday (April 8) morning, Jose Mendez, a non-Jew, became owner of a huge amount of food he'll never eat. For the entire length of Passover, which runs April 8-16, Mendez will legally possess hundreds of bags and boxes of bread, pasta and...
Tuesday April 7, 2009
Manischewitz: The Family Behind the Matzo
New York -- For many Jews, the thought of Passover conjures up images of families feasting on matzo, kosher wine and for a few brave souls perhaps, Gefilte fish. Chances are, the name on the packaging is always the same: Manischewitz. For the family that traces its lineage back to...
Tuesday April 7, 2009
Two Conservative Methodist Groups Name New Leaders
Two conservative groups that are active in the United Methodist Church have announced leadership shifts, with the Rev. James Heidinger retiring from Kentucky-based Good News, and Mark Tooley moving up to president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy in Washington. Heidinger, 67, has headed Good News for 28 years...
Tuesday April 7, 2009
Vermont Legalizes Gay Marriage with Veto Override
Montpelier, Vt. - Vermont on Tuesday became the fourth state to legalize gay marriage - and the first to do so with a legislature's vote. The House recorded a dramatic 100-49 vote, the minimum needed, to override Gov. Jim Douglas' veto. Its vote followed a much easier override vote in...
Monday April 6, 2009
White House Expands Faith-Based Advisory Panel
A Pentecostal bishop who has challenged Democrats on abortion and a representative of a national gay rights group are among nine new members of a White House advisory council. President Barack Obama announced the appointments of Bishop Charles E. Blake and Harry Knox on Monday, filling out a 25-person roster...
Monday April 6, 2009
Newsweek Names Nation's Top 50 Rabbis
(RNS) There's a new top rabbi in town, according to Newsweek's list of the 50 most influential Jewish clergy in America: Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington and a member of President Obama's Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Saperstein took the...
Monday April 6, 2009
Obama Tells Turks that US is Not at War with Islam
ANKARA, Turkey - Barack Obama, making his first visit to a Muslim nation as president, declared Monday the United States "is not and will never be at war with Islam." Urging a greater partnership with the Islamic world in an address to the Turkish parliament, Obama called the country an...
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