A Pakistani court sentenced five American Muslims to ten years of hard labor for conspiring to carry out terrorist attacks. The Illinois State Police revoked the appointment of its first Muslim chaplain, citing links to a Muslim charity with ties to Hamas, the militant Palestinian group. Muslims are criticizing the Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday that upheld a ban on providing “material support” including advice, to terrorist groups.
Spain’s Senate voted to ban the burqa. Kyrgyzstan’s security agency claims that the Taliban and other Islamic militants provoked the ethnic violence that has wracked the Central Asian nation. China said it has crushed a gang of Muslim terrorists, presumably after holding the country’s first “Religious Games,” which saw Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jews, etc., battle it out at ping-pong, badminton, chess, and other games.
Conservatives have stepped up their criticism of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, and church-state watchdogs want to know whether she thinks religious liberty claims outweigh civil rights. Hmmm, gay marriage anyone? Alabama’s governor has turned to God to stop the BP oil spill.
Police in Brussels raided the home and office of a retired Roman Catholic bishop as part of a sex-abuse investigation. A California man is suing the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for fraud after he discovered that a priest who he claims abused him is still in ministry in Mexico. The head of the U.S. bishops’ child-protection office wants dioceses in Kansas to release the names of accused priests.
The president of the U.S. bishops conference is in Cuba consulting with local priests. The Catholic Health Association says it still backs the health-care bill, no matter what the bishops say. USA Today says the Vatican’s secret archives are kinda boring – less Dan Brown than diplomatic dispatches. Washington’s former archbishop, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, celebrated his 80th birthday in style. Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff is working at a kosher pizza joint near Baltimore. I hear the schadenfreude special is excellent.
A Minneapolis-based gay magazine outed a Lutheran pastor who is ardently against allowing gay pastors to serve in the ELCA. Church officials say he’ll likely keep his job. New York passed an anti-bullying bill that prohibits harassment based on religion, sexual orientation, etc.
Homeowners are weighing the morality of walking out on their mortgages. Adult stem cells can heal blindness. Forty percent of evangelical leaders like the hooch. The Raelians want a World Swastika Rehabilitation Day.
