Monthly Archives: July 2004
NEWS STORY: Doctors Concerned by International Organ Trafficking
By Timothy C. Morgan — July 9, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ If Dr. Thomas Diflo hears his patients talk about going abroad to buy a kidney, heart or lung, he advises against it. If they do travel out of the country to purchase an organ, he will refuse to provide them follow-up treatment. Diflo and others in the medical […]
NEWS STORY: Both Sides Prepare for Gay Marriage Showdown in Senate
By Daniel Burke — July 9, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ As the U.S. Senate prepares to take up the Federal Marriage Amendment next week (July 12), religious leaders from across the spectrum are mobilizing their congregations to ensure that Washington is inundated with opinions. James Dobson, president of the Colorado-based Focus on the Family, told listeners of his […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — July 9, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service Vatican Reports Deficit for Third Straight Year VATICAN CITY (RNS) Hard hit by the continuing worldwide economic slump and a weak American dollar, the Vatican finished 2003 in the red for the third straight year, Vatican officials reported Thursday (July 8). But the deficit of 9,569,456 euros, or $7.7 million, […]
NEWS FEATURE: Editor Swapped News Stories for Sermons
By RNS Blog Editor — July 9, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service HUNTSVILLE, Ala. _ If the Rev. Timothy Rainey had his druthers, he would probably still be working as an editor at The Huntsville Times. But when God called six years ago, he knew he didn’t have any choice in the matter. “I never wanted to be a minister. I just […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — July 9, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service Poll: Catholics Ambivalent on Stem Cells, Presidential Candidates (RNS) Most American Catholics don’t approve of President Bush but they are even less convinced that his opponent, Sen. John Kerry, would make a good president, according to a new poll. The poll by Le Moyne College and Zogby International shows Catholics […]
COMMENTARY: It’s Not Easy Being Purple
By Frances Kennedy — July 9, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (Eugene Cullen Kennedy, a longtime observer of the Roman Catholic Church, is professor emeritus of psychology at Loyola University in Chicago and author of “Cardinal Bernardin’s Stations of the Cross,” published by St. Martin’s Press.) (UNDATED) If, as the old Kermit the Frog song reminds us, “it’s not easy being […]
NEWS STORY: Parliament of the World’s Religions Opens in Spain
By Jason Anthony — July 8, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service BARCELONA, Spain _ In 1893, in a Chicago hall crowded with mostly American and Protestant clergymen, a young swami from India stood in traditional dress and captured the imagination of the delegates with a dream of religious unity. “If the Parliament of Religions has shown anything to the world, it […]
NEWS FEATURE: Rabbis’ Human Rights Group Agitates for Peace
By Michele Chabin — July 8, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service SHEIKH SAYID, West Bank _ Towering concrete slabs separate this hilly neighborhood from the rest of Jebel Mukaber, a Palestinian village on the outskirts of Jerusalem. The divider meanders down the dusty brown hillside like a menacing beige snake. Israel says the barrier _ part metal fence, part concrete wall […]
COMMENTARY: Yes, the AIDS Crisis Really Is That Bad
By Dale Hanson Bourke — July 8, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (Dale Hanson Bourke is a consultant to humanitarian organizations and the author of the forthcoming book “The Skeptics Guide to Dealing With the AIDS Pandemic.”) (UNDATED) When thousands of AIDS experts gather in Bangkok, Thailand, next week (July 11-16) for the XV International AIDS Conference, they will share new discoveries, […]
NEWS STORY: Presbyterians Narrowly Uphold Standards on Gay Clergy
By Kein Eckstrom — July 7, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service RICHMOND, Va. _ The Presbyterian Church (USA) narrowly voted Friday (July 2) to maintain its sexuality standards for church officers, a significant defeat for gays and lesbians who want to serve as pastors and elders. Delegates to the church’s General Assembly decided by just four votes _ 259-255 _ to […]
NEWS FEATURE: Good v. Evil Comes to the Multiplex
By Kristen Campbell — July 7, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Stories of epic struggles between right and wrong are coming _ and not just to a pulpit near you. From “Spider-Man 2” and “King Arthur” to “Troy” and “Fahrenheit 9/11,” themes of good and evil abound at the multiplex this summer. “Movies are modern parables,” said David DiCerto, media […]
NEWS STORY: Portland Archdiocese Is First in Nation to Declare Bankruptcy
By Ashbel S. (Tony) Green — July 7, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service PORTLAND, Ore. _ The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland announced Tuesday (July 6) it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection rather than proceed with a priest-abuse trial scheduled to begin the same day. It is the first time an American Catholic archdiocese has ever sought bankruptcy protection. Archbishop John […]
NEWS STORY: AME Church Adds to Number of Women Bishops
By Adelle M. Banks — July 7, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service UNDATED _ The African Methodist Episcopal Church has made history twice in its election of eight new bishops at its quadrennial meeting in Indianapolis. Following the election of its first woman bishop four years ago, delegates elected two more women to the highest leadership rank in balloting that ended in […]
NEWS STORY: Ontario Muslims Tussle Over Sharia Courts
By Ron Csillag — July 7, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service TORONTO _ It may be a long, hot summer for Muslims in Ontario as activists make arguments for and against proposed tribunals that would use Islamic law to settle family, marriage and business disputes in the province. Detractors fear the panels _ legal under the province’s 1991 Arbitration Act _ […]
COMMENTARY: When Religious Demagogues Threaten Our `Home Sweet Home’
By Tom Ehrich — July 7, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (Tom Ehrich is a writer and computer consultant, managing large-scale database implementations. An Episcopal priest, he lives in Durham, N.C. Visit his Web site at http://www.onajourney.org.) (UNDATED) After an hourlong thunderstorm, spirits at the ballpark were damp but resilient. I wondered how they would handle the national anthem on the […]
