Monthly Archives: January 2010
Bishops nix move to force hiring of gays in churches
By Tracy Gordon — January 27, 2010
LONDON (RNS) Anglican bishops and other members of the House of Lords have nixed an attempt by the British government to force churches and other religious institutions to hire gays, lesbians and transgender people. The upper chamber of Parliament, which includes 26 Anglican bishops as members, rejected the proposed law change Monday (Jan 25) after […]
Book traces the long strange trip of drug-induced spirituality
By Tracy Gordon — January 27, 2010
(RNS) If the word “psychedelic” conjures up images of San Francisco or Woodstock, there’s much more to learn from journalist Don Lattin’s mind-blowing guided tour of the colorful people who gave birth to America’s psychedelic era in an unlikely place: Harvard University. In his new book,”The Harvard Psychedelic Club,” which has received enthusiastic reviews and […]
Tuesday’s roundup
By Daniel Burke — January 26, 2010
With expected government cuts to abstinence education funds, evangelical Christians are picking up the slack. By the way, teenage pregnancy and abortion rates rose from 2005-2006, according to a report released Tuesday. Pro-gay religious leaders, including Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson are planning a multi-city event called “The American Prayer Hour” to counter the National […]
Official: John Paul briefed on shooting plot, mulled resigning
By Tracy Gordon — January 26, 2010
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Italian left-wing terrorist group the Red Brigades plotted to kidnap Pope John Paul II, according to a new book released Tuesday (Jan. 26) by the Vatican-appointed advocate for John Paul’s canonization. The book, “Why He Is a Saint,” also reveals that the late pope personally confronted Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev about […]
COMMENTARY: Score one for thinking
By Tom Ehrich — January 26, 2010
(RNS) As a New York Jets fan, I was both frustrated and fascinated as I watched the Indianapolis Colts dismantle the Jets’ Super Bowl hopes in a conference title game on Sunday (Jan. 24). In losing 30-17, our Jets weren’t out-hustled, out-skilled or out-coached. What I saw from the vantage point of HDTV and endless […]
Campioning Rowan Williams
By Mark Silk — January 26, 2010
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams wowed members of the Society of Jesus & friends with his elegant, eloquent, and moving acceptance of America‘s Campion Award for achievement in letters last evening. Even though there’s been a fair amount of honor paid by the Catholic and Anglican churches to each others’ martyrs in recent years, it […]
Court says French cathedral belongs to Russia
By Tracy Gordon — January 26, 2010
(RNS/ENI) A French court has ruled that the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Nice, France, built with funding from Czar Nicholas II and completed just before Russia’s Soviet revolution, belongs to Russia and must be handed over. The victory is Russia’s latest in a series of battles for church property around the world — attempts by […]
Landmarking battle between city, church heats up
By Tracy Gordon — January 26, 2010
CLEVELAND (RNS) Rebuffing the concerns of church leaders over the fate of shuttered church buildings, the city’s Landmarks Commission is recommending that six more Catholic churches be designated as historical city landmarks. The designation, which would give the buildings some protection against demolition or structural changes, is opposed by the Diocese of Cleveland, which is […]
Mother found guilty in starvation case
By Tracy Gordon — January 26, 2010
NEWTON, N.J. (RNS) A woman who made no effort to feed her four starving children, telling them God would provide for them as they grew weaker and hungrier, was found guilty of child endangerment charges on Friday (Jan. 22). Jurors took just 30 minutes to reach a verdict in the case against Estelle Walker, 50, […]
Monday’s roundup
By Daniel Burke — January 25, 2010
As intellectuals stroke their chins over God’s role (or absence) in the Haitian earthquake, the American people at large have responded by opening their pocket books and donating more than $380 million _ much of it through the Interwebs _ for Haiti, a record for a foreign disaster, the Baltimore Sun reports. “It’s clear that […]
At 88, nun keeps pushing for controversial pope’s sainthood
By Tracy Gordon — January 25, 2010
MORRISTOWN, N.J. (RNS) Nearly 20 portraits of Pope Pius XII line the walls of Sister Margherita Marchione’s office, and dozens of smaller likenesses fill shelves. There are also a pair of his shoes, his white zucchetto (or skullcap), and a gold reliquary containing two handkerchiefs and a strand of his hair. It is a veritable […]
Jewish Bankers and Obama
By Mark Silk — January 25, 2010
OK, so this story is a little long in the tooth, but given the cast of characters it’s hard to resist. Last week, discussing Norman Podhoretz’s book, Why Are Jews Liberals? in the wake of the Massachusetts election and Obama’s pivot against Wall Street, Rush Limbaugh delivered himself of the following speculation: To some people, […]
Pope to priests: Blog!
By Mark Silk — January 24, 2010
In his message for the 44th World Day of Communications yesterday, Pope Benedict urges Catholic priests to join the digital world and start spreading the Word by blog, tweet, and video. To be sure, the message suggests that the pontiff is himself a bit of a stranger to this world, referring as he does to […]
Chabad Excommunications
By Mark Silk — January 23, 2010
Over on FailedMessiah, the indispensable site for tracking the dark side of Orthodox Judaism, Shmarya Rosenberg has a new post up on one Israeli Chabad rabbi’s excommunication of some colleagues for violating certain halachic ordinances as an element of their belief in the messianic status of Chabad-Lubavitch’s late rebbe, Menachem Schneerson. This is not the […]
Online archive opens the Reformers’ works
By Tracy Gordon — January 23, 2010
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (RNS) Some surprises started unfolding when a team of Calvin Theological Seminary professors and graduate students recently launched the Post-Reformation Digital Library. Chief eye-openers included successfully tracking down rare Reformed theologians’ manuscripts once thought lost. Another revelation: 16th-18th century theologians and philosophers were brutally honest about their doctrinal positions and emotions, including […]
