Monthly Archives: March 2005
NEWS FEATURE: CSI Jerusalem: Death on an Old Rugged Cross
By Bruce Nolan — March 26, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) More than 2 billion Christians commemorate the most famous public execution in history Friday (March 25). Most believers choose to reflect on the lessons their faith draws from the death of Jesus Christ. But a very few with a curious bent have for years sought a more clinical enlightenment. […]
NEWS FEATURE: Easter Hope: Monks in Northern Ireland Pray, Work for Reconciliation
By Kim Lawton — March 26, 2005
c. 2005 Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly ROSTREVOR, Northern Ireland _ In the tranquil foothills of the Mourne Mountains south of Belfast, spring’s signs of new life can be seen at every turn _ signs that can belie the deep-seated bitterness of “the Troubles,” as locals call the sectarian strife that has wracked the six counties […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — March 26, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service Progressive Religious Groups to Go on Tour Against Bush Policies (RNS) Progressive religious leaders and lay people will embark next month on a 27-city bus tour to spread a message of what they call “beloved community” in opposition to President Bush’s policies. A coalition of 30 religious organizations said they […]
COMMENTARY: In Terri’s Eyes, We See Ourselves
By Frances Kennedy — March 25, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Terri Schiavo is our spring moon, silent and pale, fragile but not barren, circling us as we circle around her bedside. Her eyes hold us even when we want to lower our heads and look away. Do they disturb us because they are glossily vacant, or do they arrest […]
NEWS FEATURE: Armageddon Is Bad for the Earth, Good for Publishing
By RNS Blog Editor — March 25, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Tim LaHaye believes it is yet to come. Hank Hanegraaff thinks some of it may have already happened during Christianity’s first century. Their ongoing debate over the proper understanding of the fearsome prophecies in the biblical Book of Revelation is fueling interest in the end times at a moment […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — March 25, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service Ailing Pope Watches Holy Thursday Masses on Television VATICAN CITY (RNS) Unable to preside over the Vatican’s Holy Thursday (March 24) Masses himself, an ailing Pope John Paul II watched them on television and sent written messages saying he was “spiritually” present. The 84-year-old Roman Catholic pontiff, who was hospitalized […]
NEWS FEATURE: Orthodox Jews Create Music and Comedy by Women, for Women
By Michele Chabin — March 25, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service JERUSALEM _ “Welcome to Glatt Kosher Airways,” says the tall, dark-haired female comedian, standing in a corner of an intimate Jerusalem cafe. “Our pilot and co-pilot will be taking time to pray Mincha and Ma’ariv,” the afternoon and evening prayers. “You’re asked to pray with extra devotion at this time […]
COMMENTARY: Big Answers to the Big Questions of Our Time
By James Rudin — March 25, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Irving “Yitz” Greenberg is one of America’s most prominent religious thinkers. His recently published book, “For the Sake of Heaven and Earth: The New Encounter Between Judaism and Christianity,” represents the mature culmination of more than 40 years of intense grappling with the big theological questions of our generation: […]
NEWS STORY: Middle Ground Elusive on Gun-Control Issue
By RNS Blog Editor — March 24, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ In the wake of another spate of gun mayhem _ this time in Red Lake, Minn., just nine days after a church shooting in Brookfield, Wis. _ the question resurfaces: Why can’t a gun-control compromise be found to prevent such incidents? The answer is complex, both politically and […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — March 24, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service California Bishop Apologizes for Denying Funeral to Gay Man (RNS) Gay rights groups thanked the Roman Catholic bishop of San Diego for his apology to the family of a gay man who was barred from having a Catholic funeral because he owned two gay nightclubs. Bishop Robert Brom said he […]
NEWS FEATURE: There’s No Brass Pole in this Strip Club-Turned-Church
By RNS Blog Editor — March 24, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service TORONTO _ One of the first questions the Rev. Ken Davis has had to fend off, mainly from prurient reporters, is what his new church would do with the brass stripper’s pole and the nine disco balls that came with the building. Finally, he can answer. “Well, I’m happy to […]
RNS Weekly Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — March 23, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service Cardinal Urges Catholics to Boycott “The Da Vinci Code” VATICAN CITY (RNS) Denouncing “The Da Vinci Code” as a “castle of lies” that play on anti-Catholic sentiment, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone of Genoa has urged Catholics to boycott the best-selling thriller about the life of Jesus. “Don’t read it and don’t […]
COMMENTARY: Helping Others Is What It’s All About
By Tom Ehrich — March 23, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Goodwill Industries, it turns out, will be happy to accept the free-standing basketball goal that my son no longer needs. Three of us _ neighbor, son and self _ load it into a pickup truck and carry it to Goodwill. This is what “help” is about. Something I cannot […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — March 23, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service Pope Cancels General Audience Amid Rising Fears for His Health VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope John Paul II has canceled his weekly general audience scheduled for Wednesday (March 23) amid rising fears that his health, undermined by severe breathing problems and the progress of Parkinson’s disease, is not improving as expected. […]
NEWS FEATURE
By RNS Blog Editor — March 23, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (RNS) John Paul II’s 27-year tenure is studded with firsts: the first pope to enter a mosque, the first to visit Rome’s main synagogue, the first to emphasize his personal past as a foundation for his present vision, and the first to not only utilize but fully embrace popular books […]
