Monthly Archives: January 2005
NEWS FEATURE: Cycling Through: Buddhist Beliefs Help Tsunami Survivors Cope
By RNS Blog Editor — January 13, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service KHAO LAK, Thailand _ A Buddhist monk garbed in bright orange came to Yan Yao temple to look for his missing father days after tsunamis battered the coastline here. He gave a DNA sample and was told his father was dead _ engulfed by a giant wave. The monk calmly […]
NEWS STORY: Diocesan Priest Inherits $2.4 Million From Former Parishioner
By RNS Blog Editor — January 13, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service SPRINGFIELD, Mass. _ For most Catholics, there’s practically no difference between diocesan priests and religious order priests such as Franciscans or Stigmatines. Whether diocesan or holy order, all parish priests are dedicated to enhancing parishioners’ relationship with God. But for the Rev. Thomas R. Champigny of Easthampton, Mass., the difference […]
NEWS ANALYSIS: Diverse Religious Effort Made Sudan Peace Accord Possible
By RNS Blog Editor — January 13, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) On July 14, 2004, the Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the mainline National Council of Churches, was arrested with a number of other protesters at the embassy of Sudan, a gesture aimed at drawing attention to conflicts in that African country. At about the same time, a group […]
COMMENTARY: Beginning Second Term, Bush Defends Values From the Crimson Center
By RNS Blog Editor — January 13, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) As President Bush takes the podium next Thursday (Jan. 20) to deliver his second inaugural address, the chattering classes will be listening for a conciliatory tone, muted religious references and signs that he is willing to “govern from the center.” Though Bush is the first presidential candidate to exceed […]
COMMENTARY: Beginning Second Term, Bush Defends Values From the Crimson Center
By RNS Blog Editor — January 13, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) As President Bush takes the podium next Thursday (Jan. 20) to deliver his second inaugural address, the chattering classes will be listening for a conciliatory tone, muted religious references and signs that he is willing to “govern from the center.” Though Bush is the first presidential candidate to exceed […]
NEWS STORY: Cardinal Says Tsunami Victims Need Spiritual as Well as Physical Aid
By Kein Eckstrom — January 13, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The spiritual devastation in the wake of the south Asia tsunami is as much a challenge for victims as their physical needs, a high-ranking American cardinal said Wednesday (Jan. 12). Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C., speaking by phone during a visit to Colombo, Sri Lanka, asked Americans of […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 13, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service Presbyterian Church in America Drops Health Plan for Employees (RNS) Citing rising costs for premiums, the Presbyterian Church in America _ the second-largest Presbyterian denomination with about 400,000 members in the United States and Canada _ will discontinue its health plan, which provides benefits for 858 of its employees. The […]
RNS Weekly Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 13, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service Atheists Mull Appeal of Decision Allowing Ten Commandments Monument (RNS) An atheist group is considering an appeal after a federal appeals court ruled that a Ten Commandments monument may remain in a La Crosse, Wis., park. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday (Jan. 3) that the city […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 12, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service Cardinal’s Death Increases Likelihood of New Conclave VATICAN CITY (RNS) The death of Belgian Cardinal Jan Schotte has reduced the number of cardinals eligible to vote for the next pope to 120 _ increasing the likelihood that Pope John Paul II will create new cardinals in the coming months. Schotte, […]
NEWS FEATURE: If You Look, Mainline Protestant Success Stories Abound
By RNS Blog Editor — January 12, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) It was a prayer meeting that looked like a needlework class. The 19 women who met to knit and crochet prayer shawls at a Presbyterian church in Pennsylvania are part of a little-heralded movement that may reverse the declining fortunes of mainline Protestant Christianity. Calvin Presbyterian Church in Zelienople, […]
NEWS FEATURE: Tsunami Leaves Lingering Question: Why?
By RNS Blog Editor — January 12, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service PALAMEEN MADU, Sri Lanka _ Over and over, Iruthayanathan Justin replays what might be the most horrible predicament a parent could face. Running desperately to save two of his children from roaring tsunami waves, he had to let a third child fall behind. His two youngest daughters looked back to […]
COMMENTARY: Idols-in-Waiting in Our Everyday Lives
By Tom Ehrich — January 12, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Today will be idol-worship day for many people, myself included unless I am careful. My plans, for example, are to do six things, each of which could become an idol, that is, a substitute for God, a tangible thing or pursuit to which I give the devotion, yearning and […]
NEWS STORY: Pope Outlines What He Sees as Humanity’s Greatest Challenges
By RNS Blog Editor — January 11, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ Pope John Paul II said Monday (Jan. 10) that the greatest challenges facing humanity today are respect for life, the fight against hunger, and the quests for peace and freedom. In a New Year’s address to ambassadors of 175 countries, considered his major statement on international relations […]
NEWS STORY: Pope Outlines What He Sees as Humanity’s Greatest Challenges
By RNS Blog Editor — January 11, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ Pope John Paul II said Monday (Jan. 10) that the greatest challenges facing humanity today are respect for life, the fight against hunger, and the quests for peace and freedom. In a New Year’s address to ambassadors of 175 countries, considered his major statement on international relations […]
COMMENTARY: The Tough Choices Facing a Liberal Muslim Woman in New York City
By RNS Blog Editor — January 11, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service NEW YORK _ Sometimes a city can decide your norms. I went into a shop on Broadway and bought a black knit top, cut slightly low in the front. It wasn’t risque enough to be on the television series “Sex and the City,” but it made me blush. I wouldn’t […]
