Monthly Archives: June 2009
Trial opens in infant’s faith-healing death
By Tracy Gordon — June 30, 2009
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 deputy district attorney. Yet John […]
Would you like fries with that?
By RNS Blog Editor — June 30, 2009
The place that first brought you Frostys and square burgers will now be home to a local Catholic charity. The original Wendy’s restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, has been sold to the Catholic Foundation, reports Meredith Heagney at The Columbus Dispatch. Founder Dave Thomas opened the landmark location in 1969; Thomas died in 2002 and the […]
Remembering Michael
By Daniel Burke — June 30, 2009
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, a friend of Michael Jackson, takes a warts-and-all look at the late popstar in this Beliefnet piece. Moneyquote: “He threw away his life. He had lived recklessly and orphaned his children. He had medicated away the afflictions of the soul as if they were ailments of the body until his body could […]
White House: Church choice still pending
By Adelle M. Banks — June 30, 2009
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs weighed in Monday on the Time magazine report about President Obama’s church attending plans. No, said Gibbs, it’s not correct that Obama has chosen the chapel at the Camp David presidential retreat and won’t look for a church in Washington. But it is true that the president doesn’t like […]
Church-state divide looms for Episcopalians on gay marriage
By Tracy Gordon — June 30, 2009
(UNDATED) Episcopal bishops from the six states that have legalized gay 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 of homosexuality. The request […]
COMMENTARY: Free to disagree
By Tom Ehrich — June 30, 2009
(UNDATED) When I skated past Michael Jackson’s sudden death while millions of other Americans were caught up in a wave of grief and remembrance, I realized that America’s birthday on July 4 had taken on yet another layer of complexity. Now, in addition to the multitude of other divisions, we are split between those who […]
Mazel Tov, Al!
By Mark Silk — June 30, 2009
Thought for the day
By Mark Silk — June 30, 2009
For religious conservatives, “common ground” means we agree to talk and you agree to compromise.
Madoff, frozen
By Mark Silk — June 30, 2009
Throwing the book at Bernard Madoff, Judge Denny Chin pronounced his crimes as “extraordinarily evil.” Indeed, one of his victims noted that Dante defined fraud as the worst of all sins, reserving the lowest circle of Hell for those who betray those with whom they share particular bonds of love and trust. That certainly works […]
White House denies report that Obama won’t pick D.C. church
By Tracy Gordon — June 30, 2009
WASHINGTON (RNS) The White House on Monday (June 29) denied a report that President Obama has decided to make the Camp David presidential retreat hischurch home. “The President and First Family continue to look for a church home,” a White House spokesman said Monday. “They have enjoyed worshipping at Camp David and several other congregations […]
Eastern Orthodox leader to visit U.S. this fall
By Tracy Gordon — June 30, 2009
(RNS) Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world’s 300-million Orthodox Christians, will travel to the U.S. in October and lead a symposium on the environment in Memphis, Tenn., the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America announced on Friday (June 26). Bartholomew, often called the “Green Patriarch” for his environmental advocacy, will also visit New […]
Pope says relics are those of St. Paul
By Tracy Gordon — June 30, 2009
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Catholic Church’s Year of St. Paul ended with a flourish on Sunday (June 28), as Pope Benedict XVI announced that scientists had authenticated the first-century saint’s earthly remains under a church in Rome. Carbon testing of bone fragments in a sarcophagus beneath the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, along […]
Unitarians, UCC elect minorities as presidents
By Tracy Gordon — June 30, 2009
(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, as its next general minister […]
New York’s new archbishop, back in Rome, looks to future
By Tracy Gordon — June 29, 2009
VATICAN CITY — In a ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica on Monday (June 29), Pope Benedict XVI placed a thin strip of white lamb’s wool around the necks of 34 recently appointed archbishops from around the world, including five from the United States. The band of wool, known as a “pallium,” symbolizes the responsibilities that […]
LAPD’s first Islamic chaplain
By RNS Blog Editor — June 29, 2009
The Los Angeles Police Department will soon be spiritually guided by its first Islamic chaplain. Sheik Qazi Asad will spend eight hours a month infusing culture and faith into the SoCal officers and community members. But, turns out not everyone was too happy about the Pakistani-born chaplain: “Some Muslim religious and civic leaders who belong […]
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