Monthly Archives: February 2011
Jesuits sued over sex abuse bankruptcy
By Tracy Gordon — February 19, 2011
PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS) Lawyers representing a group of people who accuse Jesuit priests of sexual abuse filed 37 lawsuits Thursday in bankruptcy court, asking for about $3 million. The lawsuits claim that the Roman Catholic order paid money to various entities before declaring bankruptcy two years ago, and that that money should actually be part […]
In Italian sex scandal, Vatican caught in a bind
By Tracy Gordon — February 19, 2011
VATICAN CITY (RNS) No major Western European leader in recent years has been a more stalwart ally of the Roman Catholic Church than Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Berlusconi’s stands against euthanasia, living wills, in-vitro fertilization and domestic partnerships have put his country in line with Catholic teaching, and out of sync with all other […]
In Italian sex scandal, Vatican caught in a bind
By Tracy Gordon — February 18, 2011
Marriage seminar sparks Chick-fil-A boycott
By Tracy Gordon — February 18, 2011
HARRISBURG, Pa. (RNS) Amy Goropoulos’ stomach and her ethics do not agree on Chick-fil-A. She used to visit the restaurant with her husband and coworkers, but she recently quit the chicken cold turkey. The Christian-owned fast-food chain has become the center of a national maelstrom for supporting a recent (Feb. 11-12) marriage seminar in central […]
Friday’s Religion News Roundup
By Kevin Eckstrom — February 18, 2011
Here’s how it’s looking out there as we slide into the weekend … From the Dept. of Oops They Did It Again, the Archdiocese of Louisville says a defrocked priest who was on probation for abuse shouldn’t have held a seat on a parish council. Up in Boston, Cardinal Sean O’Malley is launching a month-long […]
Quebec mayor vows to fight order to remove crucifix
By Tracy Gordon — February 18, 2011
TORONTO (RNS) The mayor of a Quebec town says he will appeal a decision by a human rights tribunal that bans prayer at city council and ordered him to remove a crucifix from the council’s chambers. Saguenay Mayor Jean Tremblay said he will refuse to heed the judgment from the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal that […]
Grassroots group pressure King on Muslim hearings
By Tracy Gordon — February 18, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King is facing grassroots pressure to cancel his planned hearings on the “radicalization” of U.S. Muslims. “He is doing precisely what President George Washington promised would not happen: he is sanctioning bigotry and assisting persecution toward the Muslim community,” said Rabbi Arthur Waskow, director of the Philadelphia-based […]
Thursday’s Religion News Roundup
By Kevin Eckstrom — February 17, 2011
NCR’s John Allen reports that dissatisfaction is growing among U.S. Catholic leaders over the church’s zero-tolerance approach to accused priests; victims’ advocates slap down New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan‘s perception that most new accusations turn out to be false. Meanwhile, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is reopening the cases of 37 accused priests at the center […]
At 89, civil rights icon reflects on faith, activism
By Adelle M. Banks — February 17, 2011
(RNS) The Rev. Joseph Lowery, the civil rights activist who worked alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., has always combined his work on secular causes with a sacred message. At age 89, the retired United Methodist pastor has written his first book, “Singing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land,” in which he shares […]
Egypt’s Christians keep wary eye on Muslim Brotherhood
By Tracy Gordon — February 17, 2011
CAIRO (RNS) In Magdi Shnouda’s cafe in Cairo, pictures of Jesus and the saints hang on the shabby walls, and the men playing backgammon and dominoes are a mixture of Christians and Muslims. Sucking down glasses of sweet tea and strong coffee, they drape arms around one another and talk of how well they get […]
Bill would codify `mother’ and `father’ on documents
By Tracy Gordon — February 17, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) A proposed House bill will require the use of “mother” and “father” by all federal agencies and contractors when describing parents, pushing back on a move by the State Department to use “parent” instead. The Parental Title Protection Act of 2011, sponsored by Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., would mandate the use of these […]
Vatican allows three Mass. churches to stay open
By Tracy Gordon — February 17, 2011
CHICOPEE, Mass. (RNS) In what one expert is calling a landmark decision, three closed Catholic churches in the Diocese of Springfield, Mass., have been given at least a partial reprieve. St. Patrick’s and St. George churches in Chicopee and St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in Adams each received decisions from the Congregation for the Clergy in […]
India woos Sri Lanka with Buddha’s bones
By Tracy Gordon — February 17, 2011
NEW DELHI (RNS) India plans to lend rare fragments of the Buddha’s bones to Sri Lanka for the 2600th anniversary of Buddha’s Enlightenment in May, and some see it as part of India’s strategy to gain a regional edge over neighboring China. Indranil Banerjie, head of New Delhi-based think tank Security and Political Risk Analysis, […]
Marching down J Street
By Mark Silk — February 16, 2011
What to make of J Street, the Israel Lobby of the Left that has created such heartburn in the American Jewish Establishment? Jim Besser, the Jewish Week‘s veteran Washington correspondent, offers a fine, well-balanced guide for the perplexed in advance of the organization’s upcoming national conference. That J-Street has sometimes been its own worst enemy […]
Wednesday’s Religion News Roundup
By Daniel Burke — February 16, 2011
As our friend Nicole mentioned, yesterday marked an interesting calendrical convergence. Feb. 15 is both the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday and Nirvana Day, which commemorates the Awakened One’s escape from the surly bonds of earth. Must have been an especially auspicious day for all you MuBus out there. The National Council of Church’s 2011 church stats […]
