Klansman-turned-Senator-for life Robert Byrd died early Monday at age 92.
SCOTUS nominee Elena Kagan begins her Senate hearings today. Not in attendance will be Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin, who was scheduled to testify against Kagan’s attempts to bar military recruiters from Harvard as dean of the law school. Boykin, you may remember, got into trouble during the Bush administration for saying Muslims pray to an “idol” and framing the pursuit of terrorists as a religious war.
A NYT op-ed says it’s a “cause for celebration” that no one cares about Kagan’s religion (she’s Jewish). Speaking of SCOTUS, you can expect a decision on Christian Legal Society v. Martinez today.
**UPDATE: In a 5-4 decision this morning, SCOTUS ruled that a California law school can require a Christian groups that wants university recognition to remain open to all students, including gays and others who may disagree with the group’s beliefs.
***UPDATE: SCOTUS declined Monday to hear an appeal by the Vatican in a landmark case that opens the way for priests in the United States to stand trial for pedophilia
The Vatican has admonished a leading cleric (and friend of Pope Benedict XVI) for criticizing former Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano’s handling of clergy sexual abuse. Only the pope can make such accusations, the Vatican said.
Benedict also lashed out at Belgian authorities for raiding a retired archbishop’s home and opening another’s tomb as part of a sex abuse investigation. A Catholic panel in Belgium investigating abuse claims shut down in protest of the raids. The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, however, called the raids <!–[if !mso]>
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A defense lawyer has appealed the conviction of five Americans on charges of plotting terrorist attacks in Pakistan. Nearly half of the 600 murders reported this year in Karachi have been carried out by religious groups and political goon squads. According to Salon, Pakistan is monitoring seven major websites for sacrilegious content: Yahoo, Google, MSN, Hotmail, YouTube, Amazon and Bing.
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Three men were arrested by Indian police this week for “honor killings,” in which men murder daughters for marrying below their caste. A Colorado man on a mission to hunt down Osama bin Laden says he wanted to capture him alive and bring him to justice.
The push to take Zionism out of Judaism is “back in style” according to the NYT. Dutch authorities are considering using “decoy Jews” – undercover police officers wearing yarmulkes to combat anit-Semitism. The Archbishop of New York told a parish to leave its name out of banners when it marched in the city’s gay pride parade.
Seventh-day Adventists elected a new president. Liberty University demoted Ergun Caner from dean of its seminary after an investigation into reports that he falsified some of his Muslim background. Rep. Joseph Cao, R-La., apologized to New Orleans’ Catholic archbishop for strongly implying the church endorsed him in campaign mailers. England may name its first female Vatican ambassador. Malaysia is holding an American-Idol like contest to find a nice, young imam.
Prayer sellers are seeing boom times in Iran. Americans’ weekly church attendance inched up to nearly 43 percent, according to Gallup. A Southern Baptist leader says original sin is a good argument for government regulations. Brooklyn wants its first Catholic saint. Latino gangs are using a Christian book to encourage masculinity.
