Pope Benedict XVI told representatives of the world’s religions – as well as non-believers – gathered today in Assisi that all faiths must continue to “purify” themselves of any tendency to violence and terrorism, and that goes for his own Catholic Church as well:

“It is the task of all who bear responsibility for the Christian faith to purify the religion of Christians again and again from its very heart, so that it truly serves as an instrument of God’s peace in the world, despite the fallibility of humans.”

The pontiff also pointed to the “denial of God” as a cause of “violence that knows no bounds,” but perhaps his most interesting comments were in his welcome to agnostics, who he said “ask questions of both sides” and are “pilgrims of truth, pilgrims of peace.”

The interfaith gathering with some 300 other believers and a few agnostics comes 25 years after the late John Paul II launched the first international prayer meeting for peace in the birthplace of St. Francis.

Benedict was not a fan of the way that first encounter unfolded, and its interreligious optics, and he made sure there would be no joint prayer at this event. He pledged to “do everything I can to make a syncretistic or relativistic interpretation of the event impossible,” and to make sure everyone knows that the Catholic Church is the only true path to salvation.

In other Catholic news, Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, a devotee of Ayn Rand and the pope (go figure), was asked about the Vatican document calling for global financial authority and more equitable distribution of the world’s riches – a call that echoed Benedict’s earlier proposal in an encyclical, which Ryan addressed.

Ryan shrugged: “You could interpret these in different ways. If you read the totality of these encyclicals – that one in particular – I think you could derive different lessons from it,” he said, according to CNN.

The World Series could end tonight, and if the Texas Rangers, who hold a 3-2 lead in games over the St. Louis Cardinals, win, then St. Louis Archbishop Robert J. Carlson will send his Texas counterpart, Bishop Kevin W. Vann of Fort Worth, a sampler of St. Louis favorites. That would include toasted ravioli, pretzels, locally-brewed beer and root beer, as well as a Cardinals baseball cap.

If the Cardinals win two straight and the series, the archbishop gets authentic Texas BBQ along with a Stetson cowboy hat from Bishop Vann.

Hard to know who to root for.

Story of the Day: In a victory for, well, something, the Freedom From Religion Foundation has succeeded in forcing the town of Whiteville, Tennessee to remove one arm from from a cross that adorned the city water tower, thereby causing pain and suffering to non-believers. Jesus clearly could not have done all that stuff with just one arm, so all is cool now.

The bankrupt Crystal Cathedral will remain under the aegis of the Schuller dynasty (and out of the hands of Roman Catholics!) under a complex deal worked out with Chapman University.

Is Mormonism “Abrahamic or Judeo-Christian?” Mark Silk parses the difference, such as it is. And the New York Times discovers a new species, “hipster” Mormons.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has defended public displays of Confederate symbols in the past, but the GOP presidential candidate now opposes a proposed Texas license plate featuring the Confederate flag. “We don’t need to be opening old wounds,” he says.

PETA, aka “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals,” has no such qualms. The animal rights organization is accusing SeaWorld of keeping killer whales in servitude, which violates the 13th Amendment ban on slavery. That’s slavery of human beings, in most interpretations.

Is the Arab Spring spreading to Tibetan Buddhists? We may find out on next week’s Global Day of Action for Tibet, says a writer at Religion Dispatches.

David Ignatius outlines a tantalizing Holy Land peace deal “that almost was” back in 2008 – but wasn’t, alas.

Oprah Winfrey is looking for her “Next Chapter” and visited Hasidic Jewish communities in Brooklyn on her quest.

“Winfrey sat down with two families as part of her visit, enjoying a traditional meal as well,” according to a Lubavitch blog post. “She also discussed communal affairs with five women and toured a Chabad-Lubavitch run Jewish ritual bath, known as a mikvah.”

Further evidence that the living dead are out in force, the Zombie Apocalypse is to begin October 29 in more than 400 cities, and is already taking over popular culture. “Viva Zombies!” writes Jessica DeCou in a “Sightings” column on the theology of the undead and related issues.

And the FBI is making a federal case out of the Amish beard-cutting attacks in Ohio.

– David Gibson