Monthly Archives: February 2010
Books pulled for image of smoking, drinking Jesus
By Tracy Gordon — February 23, 2010
CHENNAI, India (RNS) Authorities in India’s majority-Christian Meghalaya state have confiscated all copies of a text book that contains a picture of Jesus holding a can of beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. The controversial picture was discovered in a cursive writing book that was being used at a private school […]
Nuns, priests in Third World lead growth as West falters
By Tracy Gordon — February 23, 2010
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The proportion of Catholic priests and nuns in Africa and Asia rose markedly over the last decade, while Europe’s share continued to diminish, according to official Vatican statistics released Saturday (Feb. 20). Among the figures in the 2010 Pontifical Yearbook: — Over a nine-year period from 2000 to 2008, the number of […]
Divorcees need not apply?
By Kevin Eckstrom — February 22, 2010
I’d like to propose a discussion on the merits of the following idea, regardless of whether you agree with the general subject one way or the other. Let me explain: Andrew Sullivan raises a provocative point by lambasting the Archdiocese of Washington over its decision to suspend its foster care services rather than comply with […]
Monday’s roundup
By Daniel Burke — February 22, 2010
The Dalai Lama says he doesn’t care that the White House took a low-key approach to his meeting with President Obama last week. He also commented, obliquely, on Tiger Woods, saying that all religions have a negative view of adultery, and that self-discipline with an awareness of consequences can help manage unruly desires. Kultilda Woods, […]
The economy’s immoral and people are angry, but then what?
By Tracy Gordon — February 22, 2010
NEW YORK (RNS) Ever since the Great Recession began in the fall of 2008, Christians and other faith leaders have criticized the speculative excess and greed that led to the crisis. A consensus on what to do about it, however, has yet to emerge. The parameters of the critique were recently staked out at the […]
With the pope on your side…or not
By Mark Silk — February 22, 2010
One of the crosses Catholic intellectuals bear is having an occasionally infallible leader with whom you sometimes agree and sometimes, well, not so much. So John Gehring of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good today gladly uses the pope’s recent encyclical embrace of environmental concerns as a club with which to beat anti-environmentalist conservatives. […]
Catholic Charities: the benefits issue
By Mark Silk — February 21, 2010
So the Archdiocese of Washington has gotten out of the foster care/adoption business, for which they’ve been receiving $2 million annually from the public purse. D.C.’s new same-sex marriage law requires all married couples to be treated equally, and because the Catholic church regards same-sex marriage as a crime against nature, it won’t be involved […]
Don’t do that Voodoo
By Mark Silk — February 20, 2010
Sam Freedman, now the sole NYT Saturday religion columnist, has a nice piece today slamming Haiti coverage for lack of attention, except negative, to what is commonly known in Anglophone countries as Voodoo. Pointing out that this is one of Haiti’s official religions, practiced by at least half its citizens, Freedman notes that reporters and […]
Not out of the Woods yet
By Kevin Eckstrom — February 20, 2010
Tiger Woods says he’s “deeply sorry” for straying from his marriage vows — “deeply irresponsible and foolish behavior,” he says, and the jury’s still out on whether or not people believe him. You can read his statement, or watch it, for yourself. He spoke openly and honestly about his Buddhist roots (and we all remember […]
Court suspends airport expansion through church cemetery
By Tracy Gordon — February 20, 2010
(RNS) The families of relatives buried in a cemetery near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport welcomed a temporary court decision that bars the immediate removal of graves to make way for a new runway. The latest juncture in a long-running battle came Thursday (Feb. 18), when the Illinois Appellate Court granted the families a temporary stay […]
Court rules body should be exhumed, cremated to honor deceased’s will
By Tracy Gordon — February 20, 2010
SOUTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. (RNS) The body of a Jewish man should be exhumed from a cemetery where his Orthodox brother had him buried, so that it can be cremated according to the dead man’s wishes, an appellate court panel has ruled. Shortly before his death in 2007, Irving Gottesman expressed in his will and in […]
Hungary intervenes in bid to save shuttered church
By Tracy Gordon — February 20, 2010
CLEVELAND (RNS) Former presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich, joining a battle to save a Hungarian Catholic church from closure, has brought out a big gun: the Hungarian government. Kucinich met with an aide to Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai to discuss St. Emeric church, a 105-year-old parish that has been ordered closed as part of […]
Dissidents unveil rival Lutheran Church in North America
By Tracy Gordon — February 20, 2010
(RNS) Saying they’re done with efforts to reform the nation’s largest Lutheran body, dissidents unveiled blueprints Thursday (Feb. 18) for a rival denomination, the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). The new body, which will hew to a more traditional line on issues of human sexuality, is expected to be formally launched in August as a […]
Pentecostal chaplain available to all at Vancouver Olympics
By Tracy Gordon — February 19, 2010
VANCOUVER, B.C. (RNS) David Wells readily admits that Pentecostal Christians are not exactly well-known for leading multi-faith efforts. After all, Wells’ church, the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, has close ties to the Assemblies of God in the U.S., which has produced polarizing figures like evangelists Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker and Benny Hinn, and even former […]
Friday’s roundup
By Kevin Eckstrom — February 19, 2010
Just because it’s Friday: Throw away those Cheetos and cinnamon buns and grilled-cheese sandwiches. Jesus is now appearing in fireplaces, one British man says. China isn’t happy after President Obama met with the Dalai Lama yesterday, but most analysts don’t expect long-term damage to ties between Washington and Beijing. As expected, Pope Benedict XVI has […]
