President Obama, who is hosting a summit in Washington devoted to building economic ties with international Muslim entrepreneurs, announced a new exchange program with Muslim countries.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations wants evangelist Franklin Graham booted from the National Day of Prayer event on Capitol Hill because he has called Islam a “very evil and wicked religion.” Graham, Billy’s outspoken son, was earlier dis-invited from the Pentagon’s prayer day shindig. Speaking of Congress, the House Chaplain just celebrated his tenth anniversary at the job.
A video has emerged of the Underwear Bomber training with al-Qaida in Yemen. A Muslim Frenchman says that his multiple wives are really mistresses, and aren’t mistresses a French birthright?
The AP has obtained court papers documenting that an Italian bishop knew of allegations against a politically connected priest but allowed him to continue working with children for two years. A NYT op-ed wants the Catholic Church to stop fighting state bills that would lift the statute of limitations on the sexual abuse of children. The Dutch Catholic Church says it was “shocked” that a volunteer in a Rotterdam church turned out to be Oliver O’Grady, an Irish priest who molested 25 children, mainly in California, and was the subject of a 2006 documentary “Deliver Us From Evil.”
Religious leaders — including the Catholic bishop of Tucson, are considering suing to stop Arizona’s new immigration law. A Haitian judge dismissed kidnapping charges against 10 American missionaries, but one still faces charges of organizing “irregular trips.”
USA Today says the newest church-state battleground could be over whether high-school graduations should be held in churches. If they are, many students may appear confused by their surroundings – according to a new survey most young adults don’t pray, worship, or read the Bible. Another poll of American adults has 46 percent saying the Supreme Court has been too hostile toward religion.
A Christian stock index based on Christian values and screened by Vatican reps launched in London. The former director of the science program for Texas public schools says she was fired for opposing creationism and would like to sue, please. Oklahoma’s House overrode vetoes of two bills that restrict abortions. California’s House modified a law that classifies gays as sexual deviants and calls for research into the causes of homosexuality.
The WSJ asks whether Buddhism can make you a better golfer. A Purdue University student has unleashed an, um, campaign, to, ah, poke fun at the Islamic clerics who blamed earthquakes on women who wear revealing clothes. A team of archaeologists say they found evidence of Noah’s ark in Turkey.
