After the elevation of 24 new cardinals, including two American archbishops, an Italian is the odds-on favorite to succeed Pope Benedict XVI if and when he shuffles off this mortal coil, according to Irish bookmaker Paddy Power.

The NYT looks at why their local guy, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, didn’t make the cardinal cut this time around. A Roman (secular) court upheld the seizure of $33 million from a Vatican bank account, which left a church spokesman astonished.

Islam has gone on trial in Tennessee (where’s Darrow when you need him?) NPR fired commentator Juan Williams for saying Muslims make him nervous. Nearly half of Americans say following Christianity is a very important part of being “truly American.” The exodus of Christians has turned churches in the Middle East into museums, according to Reuters.

The ACLU is nervous about Iowa churches hosting absentee voting during services, especially since some Christians are determined to unseat the state Supreme Court justices responsible for legalizing same-sex marriage. A Republican state senate candidate in Idaho denies sending mailers to voters urging them to become true believers or be “struck down.” Missionaries in Alabama are learning to evangelize with mud and leaves.

All 110 diocese in the Episcopal Church now ordain female priests, after the last holdout in Illinois ordained its first on Saturday. Women of every income level donated significantly more to charity than men, nearly twice as much in some cases, according to a new study. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said he deplores Europe’s burqa bans.

A Catholic priest in Cleveland has to pay almost $4 million in restitution after his conviction of tax fraud. Crystal Cathedral fell into deep debt because it couldn’t keep up with the times and attempted a “disastrous” father-son leadership transition, the AP reports.

Christians and Pagans are competing for souls in Salem, the crucible of the occult. Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell regrets telling people she is not a witch.

A Chicago father was acquitted of contempt charges for taking his daughter to Mass. A shareholder of Bible.com sued the company because it isn’t more profitable. CNN asks whether white preachers should whoop. The New Yorker asks when the Berenstain Bears converted to Christianity.