Convicted killer Ronnie Lee Gardner, the Utah man who wanted to die by firing squad — in part to meet the “blood atonement” for sins that’s part of Mormon lore — was shot and killed last night by five trained marksmen.
A top church lawyer in Milwaukee went public and said the standards used to evaluate abuse claims in the neighboring Diocese of La Crosse are too lenient and put children at risk; the diocese responds that it follows both the “letter and the spirit” of the law. President Obama‘s nominee for Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom is raising some eyebrows.
Amma, the Indian guru widely known as the “Hugging Saint,” is in LA and spreading the love. Nunsense is marking its 25th year off Broadway. 8: The Mormon Proposition, about the Mormons’ role in killing gay marriage in California, opens in theaters today. The Vatican‘s newspaper gave Blues Brothers two thumbs up.
Over in Brooklyn, there’s a battle of the bands brewing between outdoor summer concerts and a Jewish synagogue; NYC law prohibits loud noise within 500 feet of a house of worship, and the synagogue that’s 300 feet away holds services until 10 p.m. every night. Up in White Plains, Jews won a court battle to build a “Shabbos House” that allows them to stay near a hospital and not violate Sabbath rules against driving to visit sick relatives.
A teacher at a Florida Christian school says she was canned when she became pregnant before her wedding. The coach of a woman’s softball team in Memphis says she was kicked off the team of a prominent Baptist church because she’s a lesbian.
A new poll of 22 countries finds President Obama‘s popularity slipping abroad, including in predominantly Muslim nations (blame his handling of Israel-Palestine, researchers said). Orthodox Jews rallied in Jerusalem against a court ruling that integrated Ashkenazi and Sephardic girls at a religious school. Cuban Catholic leaders want Pope Benedict XVI to visit in 2012.
The Washington Times reports from the Dalai Lama‘s Indian exile: what happens after he dies? A South African man was apparently beaten to death by family members for wanting to watch the World Cup instead of a religious program.
Abortion is straining the delicate alliance between secular and faith-based development groups. One of the rabbis at the center of a massive federal anti-corruption sting in New Jersey pleaded guilty to money laundering. Louisiana lawmakers are asking state residents to stop and pray on Sunday for relief from the BP oil spill.
In the category of Take What You Read on Blogs for What They’re Worth, the minister who apparently signed Rush Limbaugh‘s fourth marriage license is a pastor who has said gays and lesbians are the real threat to marriage.
And as we slide in the weekend, I’ll let David Gibson‘s headline over at Politics Daily speak for itself: “Sarah Palin‘s Breasts Are Real; Not So With Growing Number of Faithful.”
