Monthly Archives: July 2011
Norway’s churches try to foster healing after attacks
By Tracy Gordon — July 30, 2011
TRONDHEIM (RNS/ENInews) A Norwegian bishop addressing the recent bombing and shooting attacks in Norway said his country has “countered this insane terrorism by demonstrating love and solidarity.” “We have brought out a social capital we maybe even did not know was there. We must rebuild our trust in human beings as fellow human beings,” said […]
Head of Southern Christian Leadership Conference dies
By Tracy Gordon — July 30, 2011
(RNS) The Rev. Howard Creecy Jr., a Baptist preacher chosen early this year as the new president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, died suddenly Thursday (July 28) at the age of 57. His death means the civil rights organization founded by the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. will go through another unexpected transition. […]
Vatican unveils new JPII iPhone app for World Youth Day
By Tracy Gordon — July 30, 2011
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pilgrims at next month’s Catholic World Youth Day in Madrid will have some high-tech help in their devotions, thanks to a new iPhone app unveiled at the Vatican on Friday (July 29). World Youth Day (WYD), an international gathering held every three years in a different city, will take place August 16-21, […]
Friday Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — July 29, 2011
America Magazine’s “In All Things” blog traces the history of the belief that the pope is the Antichrist – an idea that recently made news as the stance of Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann’s former church. Apparently, it’s nothing new: “While the president of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (better known as ‘Michelle Bachman’s church’) […]
`Debtpocalypse’ and America’s fascination with The End
By Tracy Gordon — July 29, 2011
(RNS) For many Americans, nothing is as exciting as an impending apocalypse, except perhaps for the thrill of waking up the next day and discovering that Armageddon did not arrive and we have been spared. And that has generally been the result, whether it was the “Great Disappointment” of the 1840s when Jesus did not […]
Friday’s Religion News Roundup
By Jack Jenkins — July 29, 2011
Eleven faith leaders were arrested in the Capitol rotunda yesterday after they sang and prayed for Congress to pass a budget deal that didn’t include cuts that could hurt America’s poor. Rev. Howard Creecy Jr, civil rights leader and president of the Southern Christian Leadership conference, died yesterday. He was 57. U.S. soldier Naser Adbo […]
Thursday’s Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — July 29, 2011
Various blogs are mourning the recent loss of Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Vatican’s diplomat to the U.S.: “Had he lived, Pietro Sambi would have surely received a cardinal’s red hat. But he will be laid to rest with the love and respect due a true churchman. May he be received into the company of Christ […]
Vatican’s U.S. envoy, who helped shape stateside church, dies
By Tracy Gordon — July 28, 2011
(RNS) The Vatican’s highest-ranking official in the United States, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, died Wednesday (July 27) night at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, succumbing to complications from lung surgery performed a few weeks earlier. Sambi, who was 73, spent five years representing the Holy See’s interests in Washington, helping Pope Benedict XVI reshape the […]
Stott, called `evangelical pope,’ dies at age 90
By Tracy Gordon — July 28, 2011
(RNS) The Rev. John Stott, a renowned and prolific author credited with shaping 20th-century evangelical Christianity, died Wednesday (July 27) in England at age 90. While not a household name like evangelist Billy Graham, Stott was considered nearly as influential. He wrote more than 50 books, crafted the Lausanne Covenant — a definitive statement that […]
Judge tosses out San Fran’s circumcision referendum
By Tracy Gordon — July 28, 2011
(RNS) A proposed circumcision ban will not appear on San Francisco’s citywide ballot in November, a Superior Court judge tentatively ruled Wednesday (July 27). Judge Loretta Giorgi has determined that as “a widely practiced medical procedure,” circumcision cannot be banned by the city, since California law forbids municipalities from regulating medical procedures allowed by the […]
Thursday’s Religion News Roundup
By Lauren Markoe — July 28, 2011
Two major religious figures left this earthly realm on Wednesday. The Rev. John Stott, who helped write the Lausanne Covenant and was often called the “evangelical pope,” died in England. Stott, who was 90, leaves behind more than 50 books acclaimed for their accessible theology. And the papal ambassador to the United States, Archbishop Pietro […]
Wednesday’s Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — July 28, 2011
Get Religion wonders about recent stories on the ordination of female Catholic priests, and whether the media shields the male priests who may be involved in the ordination rites: “To what degree did editors and other members of the Sun team intentionally participate in the hiding of a national or even global news story by […]
HBO film follows Muslim children competing to memorize the Quran
By Jack Jenkins — July 27, 2011
(RNS) A new documentary follows three Muslim children as they travel to Egypt to compete in a tournament that requires young contestants to recite whole passages of the Quran, Islam’s 600-page holy book, from memory. Each year during Ramadan — a Muslim holy month when believers fast, pray and read from the Quran — 100 […]
Christians divided on Belgium’s burqa ban
By Tracy Gordon — July 27, 2011
(RNS/ENInews) Belgian Christians expressed mixed reactions to the country’s new “burqa ban,” as Belgium joined France in criminalizing the Islamic veil. “We’re against this ruling, since it violates basic human rights,” said Kristine Jansone, general secretary of the Brussels-based Ecumenical Youth Council in Europe. “Although I can’t speak on behalf of all our member-groups, I […]
Catholic bishops urge House against steep budget cuts
By Tracy Gordon — July 27, 2011
(RNS) The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops are urging the GOP-led House to reject a cuts-only approach to the budget as Washington tries to avert an unprecedented government default on its multi-trillion-dollar debts. “A just framework for future budgets cannot rely on disproportionate cuts in essential services to poor persons,” wrote Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, […]
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