The AP profiles the Massachusetts man who credits prayers to the late Cardinal John Henry Newman for healing from debilitating back pain; Newman will be beatified by the pope this weekend. Jesuit Jim Martin asks whether Newman belongs to the Anglicans (Newman is one of Rome’s most celebrated converts) or the Catholics.
In other papal trip news, ticket sales for the pope’s visit are apparently down, and the Raelians have filed suit against B16, accusing him of genocide for opposing condoms to fight AIDS in Africa. Ailing Brit Christopher Hitchens, no fan of the pope, takes a dim view of both the visit and Newman’s sanctity. Scotland’s Cardinal Keith O’Brien said the moral benefits of the visit will outweigh its substantial pricetag.
At least one set of parents at a Catholic high school on Long Island are suing to prevent their son from being required to get immunization shots because they believe the state-mandated shots violate “God’s supreme authority.” Outgoing Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., on Monday introduced a bill to legalize embryonic stem cell research after a federal judge ruled against it and threw funding and research into disarray.
A retired Pennsylvania pastor has been charged with staging a car accident to cover up his wife’s murder, prompting police to reopen the case of his first wife’s suspicious death 11 years ago.
A research lawyer in Australia has been suspended, and could likely be fired, for making a video of himself smoking two joints — one rolled in a page from the Bible, one in a page from the Quran (photo, above left). The Portland (Maine) Press-Herald apologized for giving A1 treatment to the end of Ramadan but not mentioning the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
The imam behind the controversial Park51 Islamic center near Ground Zero says the site is not “hallowed ground” (he points to a betting parlor in strip club nearby), even though a majority of Americans say it is, according to a recent PRRI/RNS Religion News Poll. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf also says “every option is on the table” in relation to his mosque, but would prefer to keep it near Ground Zero. A suit filed in Union City, N.J., accuses Rauf of being a slumlord.
The Hartford (Conn.) City Council‘s decision to implement a moment of silence, rather than invite Muslim leaders to offer a prayer, sends the wrong message, Muslim activists say. The attorney for the drunk guy who stabbed a NYC cab driver because he was Muslim says the man is suffering from PTSD after witnessing the war in Afghanistan up-close.
The French Senate will debate today whether to ban face-covering veils and burqas (in public settings) for Muslim women; Reuters examines the anti-immigrant wave sweeping across Europe.
