Monthly Archives: January 1997
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service British Methodists, Anglicans look to re-start theological talks (RNS) Against the backdrop of two traumatic failures to heal the 18th-century breach between British Methodists and Anglicans, the Church of England’s general synod will be asked later this month to approve new, formal conversations with the Methodist Church of Great Britain. […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service Lawyer says Kevorkian helped woman die in Catholic church (RNS) The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit has rejected as untrue a claim by the lawyer for Dr. Jack Kevorkian who said the assisted suicide-advocate had helped a woman die at an archdiocesan church led by a”sympathetic priest.” Attorney Geoffrey Fieger […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service Study: Russian church exerts minimal influence on believers (RNS) Although the Russian Orthodox Church remains the dominate faith among Russians, it exerts minimal influence on the values and behavior of young believers, according to new research by a Columbia University professor. According to sociologist Susan Goodrich Lehmann, while half of […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service Alabama official seeks to block enforcement of prayer ban (RNS) Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor has filed papers seeking to block enforcement of a portion of a federal court order banning state-sanctioned prayer in public schools. Pryor said he took the action so the state can appeal parts of U.S. […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service Bishops hit Oregon assisted-suicide vote (RNS) Cardinal Bernard Law, head of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Pro-life Activities said Wednesday (Nov. 5) the decision by Oregon voters to retain their state law authorizing physician-assisted suicide was”a tragedy for all Americans.” The Oregon vote was the most closely […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service Mennonite church expelled for accepting gays (RNS) Germantown Mennonite Church, a congregation which dates back to 1683 and is the oldest continuous Mennonite church in the country, has been thrown out of its regional conference for its policy of accepting homosexuals. In a 178-40 vote, members of the Franconia Conference […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service Nobel Peace Prize goes to effort to ban land mines (RNS) The International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which under the direction of its U.S. leader and co-winner Jody Williams turned the quixotic vision of a handful of activists into a powerful movement on the brink of political success, has been […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1997
c. 1996 Religion News Service Burma bars religious leaders from meeting Nobel laureate (RNS) An international delegation of church leaders was blocked by Burma’s military regime from meeting with Burmese democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. The Rev. Larry Tankersley, director of the National Council of Churches […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service Clinton criticized for plans to speak at gay fund-raiser (RNS) President Clinton, scheduled to address a Saturday (Nov. 8) fund-raiser for the Human Rights Campaign, a gay civil rights organization, is being sharply criticized by social conservative for agreeing to speak at the event.”The president’s action is an unfortunate misuse […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service Clinton urged to raise Russian religion bill with Yeltsin (RNS) Sen. Richard G. Lugar, R-Ind., has urged President Clinton to discuss the Russian parliament’s preliminary passage of a bill protecting that nation’s historical faiths at the expense of missionaries and non-traditional religions with Boris Yeltsin during the G-7 meeting this […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service Interfaith delegation to bring medical supplies to North Korea (RNS) A high-level interfaith delegation from the United States will travel to North Korea in early November to bring sorely needed medical supplies to the famine-stricken country and to express solidarity with its people. The delegation represents members of the Interfaith […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service Gore criticized for defense of”Ellen”TV show (RNS) In a speech to the Hollywood Radio and Television Society, Vice President Al Gore supported the controversial television show”Ellen,”saying it forces America to look at sexual orientation more openly. On Thursday (Oct. 16) Gore said the lesbian character on ABC’s sitcom teaches the […]
NEWS STORY: Supreme Court rejects Religious Freedom Restoration Act
By Adelle M. Banks — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ To the dismay of many of the country’s religious leaders, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) Wednesday (June 25), saying Congress unconstitutionally usurped power belonging to federal courts and the states when it passed the measure. The 4-year-old law _ supported by a […]
NEWS STORY: Court strikes down clinic `floating bubble zone’
By Kim Lawton — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday (Feb. 19) that abortion protesters may be kept outside a 15-foot”bubble zone”protecting clinic entrances and driveways, but may approach clients and workers on public property outside the zone. In a split opinion, the justices upheld two of three provisions in a federal […]
NEWS FEATURE: Conservative Christians split on China trade status
By Kim Lawton — January 1, 1997
c. 1997 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Their goal is the same: ending the religious repression suffered by millions of evangelical Protestants and Catholics in China. But as Congress gears up for its annual debate over granting trade privileges to China, conservative Christians are discovering that moving from principle to policy remedies can be a […]
