Monthly Archives: December 2010
Obama, in shadow of worrisome polls, embraces `Christian’ label
By Tracy Gordon — December 15, 2010
WASHINGTON (RNS) When President Obama lit the National Christmas Tree behind the White House last year, he spoke of a “child born far from home” and said “while this story may be a Christian one, its lesson is universal.” This year, Obama referenced that same “child born far from home,” but added a more personal […]
Muslims not laughing at businessman’s attempt at humor
By Tracy Gordon — December 15, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (RNS) It was all a joke, says Chuck Biddinger, a small business owner in Roebuck, Ala., whose outdoor sign last week sported the phrase “BBQ Pork Restaurant Is Safest No Muslims Inside.” Muslims, however, didn’t find it funny. “I still can’t get over it,” said Biddinger, who owns Electronic Repair Co., said of […]
Muslim women at center of suits over hajj, headscarves
By Tracy Gordon — December 15, 2010
(RNS) The federal government has filed suit against an Illinois school district for not allowing a Muslim teacher to make the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, and the ACLU has filed suit on behalf of a Georgia woman who was thrown in jail after refusing to remove her headscarf. U.S. officials on Monday (Dec. 13) sued […]
Bulgarian priests join union over late paychecks
By Tracy Gordon — December 15, 2010
SOFIA, Bulgaria (RNS/ENInews) The decision by Bulgarian Orthodox priests to join a trade union because they haven’t been paid on time has angered at least one church hierarch, saying it goes against the church’s internal canon law. According to Bulgarian-language media reports, the new union will be part of Podkrepa, one of Bulgaria’s two national […]
WikiLeaks presents unflattering image of Vatican operations
By Tracy Gordon — December 15, 2010
VATICAN CITY (RNS) A U.S. diplomat’s confidential analysis of Vatican communication failures, recently published as part of the latest WikiLeaks release, highlights the unique challenges facing an ancient and traditionally secretive institution in the age of the Internet. The cable was written amid heated controversy over Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to readmit an ultra-traditionalist bishop […]
Eerie similarities in Portland, Baltimore bombing suspects
By Tracy Gordon — December 15, 2010
PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS) On Nov. 27, a young Muslim named Antonio Martinez phoned a friend in a panic. The two men had spent weeks planning to bomb a military recruiting office in suburban Baltimore, the government alleges. And now there was news that the FBI — using undercover operatives — had arrested a teenager in […]
Tuesday’s Religion News Roundup
By Daniel Burke — December 14, 2010
The man behind Sweden’s first suicide bombing was born in Iraq and may have had ties to the insurgent group al-Qaida in Iraq, according to the NYT. German officials raided Muslim networks in three states, an action that signals the country’s growing concern over radical Islamic groups, the NYT reports. A group of U.S. senators […]
COMMENTARY: I wonder as I wander through Advent
By Tom Ehrich — December 14, 2010
(RNS) This year we bought a small Christmas tree. We couldn’t afford $90 for a larger tree, or maybe we chose not to afford it. I wonder if our family Christmas will be diminished by a small tree. We will be giving fewer and simpler gifts this year, too. Same reasons: can’t, or won’t. I […]
Mary appeared in Wisconsin, but who can say for sure?
By Tracy Gordon — December 14, 2010
Richard Holbrooke, alav hashalom
By Mark Silk — December 14, 2010
Nice reflections (complete with shiv for Henry Kissinger) by Jim Besser, over at his Jewish Week Political Insider blog. I met Holbrooke once, when we gave him an honorary degree. One big tough Jew.
Lesser evilology
By Mark Silk — December 14, 2010
The AP report on Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi’s clarification of Pope Benedict’s notorious condom-and-AIDS remark concluded with the following portentous penultimate graph: Lombardi said the pope didn’t use the technical terminology “lesser evil” in his comments because he wanted his words to be understood by the general public. Vatican officials, however, said that was what […]
“Messiah” of drug cartel killed
By Adelle M. Banks — December 14, 2010
The so-called “Messiah” of a brutal Mexican drug cartel was killed Thursday during shootouts with federal police, The Associated Press reported. RNS wrote about Nazario Moreno Gonzalez in July after it was discovered that the La Familia Michoacana cartel included evangelical author John Eldredge’s best-seller on its required reading list. Eldredge, whose photo is to […]
Holder denies `entrapment’ of Muslim suspects
By Tracy Gordon — December 14, 2010
WASHINGTON (RNS) Attorney General Eric Holder defended the FBI’s recent undercover investigation of an Oregon Muslim terror suspect, saying Friday (Dec. 10) that critics who think it was “entrapment” are wrong. “Those who characterize the FBI’s activities in this case as `entrapment’ simply do not have their facts straight — or do not have a […]
Controversial Fla. pastor may be banned from Britain
By Tracy Gordon — December 14, 2010
LONDON (RNS) A Florida preacher who threatened to burn copies of the Quran may be barred by the British government from a planned speaking engagement to a far-right political group because of his track record as a religious firebrand. Home Secretary Theresa May said Pastor Terry Jones “has been on my radar for a few […]
U.S. Jews, evangelicals help Israel rebuild after fires
By Tracy Gordon — December 14, 2010
JERUSALEM (RNS) American Jews and evangelical Christians are taking a central role in rebuilding the Carmel region in northern Israel after a deadly fire decimated large swaths of the Carmel forest and left many people homeless. Several Jewish and evangelical Christian organizations have launched fund-raising drives to assist the region after a massive wildfire in […]
