(RNS) House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan argues that GOP proposals to cut programs for the needy while sparing the Defense Department and taxes on the wealthy is in line with Catholic social teaching, but experts across the Catholic spectrum say Ryan gets it wrong. By David Gibson.

Evangelicals prefer Narnia, Catholics have a wanderlust for Wonderland, and mainline Protestants are split between hitching a ride to Hogwarts, Narnia or Neverland. By Daniel Burke.

CHICAGO (RNS) When the Vatican ordered a crackdown on the largest group of U.S. sisters, accusing them of spending too much time "promoting issues of social justice," I was stunned, though perhaps I shouldn't have been, given Rome's historic failure to support its best and brightest. By Julia Lieblich.

WASHINGTON (RNS) House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan largely ducked questions and scrutiny about whether the GOP budget is rooted in Catholic social teaching during a speech at Georgetown University. By Lauren Markoe.

Sikh civil rights activists will unveil a mobile phone application next week that they say allows air travelers who believe they have been profiled by TSA airport screeners to file complaints directly from their phones. By Omar Sacirbey.

Does Mitt Romney still have an evangelical problem? Will United Methodists finally approve gay clergy and same-sex marriage? Why can't mainline Protestants decide which fantasy world they want to live in?

PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS) A satellite church affiliated with controversial Seattle pastor Mark Driscoll was vandalized Tuesday, and a group calling itself the "Angry Queers" has reportedly taken responsibility. By Stephen Beaven.

(RNS) As nearly 1,000 delegates from across the world gather in Tampa, Fla., for the United Methodist Church's General Conference, gay and lesbian activists have printed pamphlets promoting their cause in five languages, including Portuguese and Swahili. By Daniel Burke.

CLEVELAND (RNS) When Bishop Richard Lennon began closing 50 Catholic churches three years ago, the bulk of the faithful quietly moved on. But Patricia Schulte-Singleton was not intimidated by a Roman collar, a bishop's edict or the raised eyebrows of the obedient. By Michael O'Malley.

WASHINGTON (RNS) The campaign to abolish the death penalty has been freshly invigorated this month in a series of actions that supporters say represents increasing evidence that America may be losing its taste for capital punishment. By Kevin Johnson/USA Today.

(RNS) House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan is headed to Georgetown University to deliver a lecture on Thursday, and already faculty are lining up to join the Catholic bishops in rejecting any suggestion that his cost-cutting budget reflects Catholic principles. By David Gibson.

(RNS) Prison Fellowship founder and Watergate figure Chuck Colson will be buried privately with full military honors at Quantico National Cemetery and a public service is expected later at Washington National Cathedral. By Adelle M. Banks.

(RNS) Growing up as a gay man, I felt my relationship with the Catholic Church was over, for it would not love me as I loved it, or as God made me.  I left feeling that I was no longer a part of this community, that I would never experience true communion again. By Nic Arnzen.

NEW YORK (RNS) In Topeka, Kan., I saw the future of America, and it worried me. I don't want to overstate. I also see much that is good, encouraging, and fresh. I just sense a balance shifting, like a herd that is getting restless and might signal a storm coming. By Tom Ehrich.