The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the disputed Mojave Cross in California should be allowed to stay, and that the government went too far in ordering it taken down.
The top American at the Vatican, Cardinal William Levada, said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Pope Benedict XVI issues a more formal apology for sex abuse in June, when the church concludes its Year of the Priest. Our guy at the Vatican, Frank Rocca, says that’s equivalent to “all but confirmed.” (Full transcript here). The abuse scandal spreading through Chile has now resulted, apparently, in a bombing at a church. An accused Italian priest denounced the “mud” being thrown at both him and the pope.
The NYT profiles victims’ lawyer Jeffrey Anderson (we compared Anderson and Vatican lawyer Jeff Lena yesterday). U.S. Catholic bishops call Arizona‘s new get-tough immigration law “draconian.” (In a delicious bit of irony, Mexico has issued a travel advisory for its citizens to avoid Arizona). A New York lawmaker wants to make his the first state to have a “presumed consent” law on organ donations unless people opt out.
The only man to ever admit involvement in the shooting death of Malcolm X is free on parole. The Haitian judge who dropped charges against nine U.S. missionaries said the children they allegedly tried to smuggle out of Haiti were freely given by their parents, but ringleader Laura Silsby will still face charges because she knew the operation was illegal. Six former U.S. attorneys general say the life sentence threatened for former kosher slaughterhouse chief Shalom Rubashkin is too harsh.The Florida Supreme Court has been asked to decide if state aid to religious groups violates the state’s constitution.
Former first lady Laura Bush said she lost her faith for “many, many years” after the 1963 car crash in which she killed a fellow student. Mormon officials have rolled out a prototype for a “green” meeting house design that includes, among other things, parking spaces for electric cars. Anglican Bishop N.T. Wright of Durham, England (a favorite of evangelicals) is retiring early to take a teaching spot at St. Andrews.
Just when you thought things couldn’t get more tense between Israel and the U.S., Israeli forces dismantled several illegal structures in the West Bank, including one named “Obama’s Shack.” Republicans, meanwhile, see an opening to drive a wedge between Obama and his strongly Democratic Jewish supporters. Nepal‘s on-again off-again status as an official secular (or officially Hindu) kingdom is feeling pressure from Hindu nationalists in neighboring India. Controversy over who’s actually buried in the “Jesus Shrine” in India’s disputed Kashmir region has led caretakers to close off access to tourists.
The Seattle artist who unintentionally sparked a national campaign with her idea for “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” on May 20 has apparently backed out, saying in a statement, “I did not intend to be the focus of any ‘group’. This particular cartoon has struck a gigantic nerve, something I was totally unprepared for.”
And finally this, from WaPo columnist Kathleen Parker, reminding everyone that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword, especially when it comes to free speech rights to mock religion: “The degree to which one can tolerate ribbing about one’s most deeply held convictions is the degree to which a society can remain free. We honor that notion through our laws and our sense of humor. We may not all laugh at the same things, but most understand that it ain’t personal.”
