Tuesday’s RNS report begins with an article about the danger of stampedes at large Islamic religious rites. Andrea Useem looks at the Aug. 31 stampede during a Shiite pilgrimage in Baghdad, as well as the stampede deaths in recent years of pilgrims during the annual Muslim hajj. She asks, Is there something inherently dangerous about Islamic religious rites? and talks to experts about cause and ways to prevent future tragedies.

We continue our reporting on Hurricane Katrina with a story out of Thibodaux, La., where a church has welcomed pets that evacuated New Orleans with their owners. Millie Ball reports that Petco and PetSmart have donated cages to the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center on the Nicholls State University campus. Said the Rev. Jim Morris of this Noah’s Ark: “Our altar has never been adorned more beautifully than it is with these people seeking the sanctuary of God.”