Monthly Archives: January 2007
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 13, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Advisers Resign, Rabbis Cancel Visit Over Carter’s `Palestine’ Book (RNS) Fourteen members of an advisory group to the Atlanta-based Carter Center have resigned in protest over former President Jimmy Carter’s recent book and statements on the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate. At the same time, the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), a […]
House Votes to Lift Stem-cell Ban but Bush Veto Certain
By Rachel Cohen — January 13, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ The House on Thursday (Jan. 11) again voted to lift restrictions on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, sending the measure to the Senate and laying the groundwork for a second veto from President Bush. The 253-174 vote came after an emotional debate in which proponents […]
Scientists Say Placenta May Ease Stem Cell Debate
By James MacPherson — January 13, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service CEDAR KNOLLS, N.J. _ It’s early afternoon in the labor and delivery room at Morristown Memorial Hospital, where Didi Bogert, 36, is sprawled in bed. She’s exhausted and pale, and her voice is a whisper. Her obstetrician, Craig Bissinger, is starting to think C-section. Her equally exhausted husband, Greg, is […]
Film Takes a Fresh Look at Lives of Sudan’s `Lost Boys’
By Stephen Whitty — January 13, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) They are called the “Lost Boys,” and like Peter Pan’s crew, it has been years since they last saw their homes or families. But while Peter’s cohorts lived in perpetual childhood, these children have been stripped of theirs. While Peter’s friends played at pirates and Indians, these are trying […]
Defiant Navy Chaplain to Be Discharged
By Adelle M. Banks — January 12, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ A Navy chaplain who was involved in a controversial protest of prayer policies in front of the White House has received orders to be honorably discharged at the end of the month (January). Lt. Gordon James Klingenschmitt said his removal from the Navy is imminent after a federal […]
Polish Scandal Has Echoes of U.S. Clergy Sex Abuse
By RNS Blog Editor — January 12, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ The abrupt resignation of a top Polish prelate, amid allegations that he collaborated with Poland’s Soviet-era secret police, has once again shined a spotlight on the reluctance among Roman Catholic officials to confront scandal within their ranks. Five years after the clerical sex abuse scandal rocked the […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 12, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Israeli Judge Allows Cremation as Lawmakers Protest JERUSALEM (RNS) Orthodox Israeli legislators say they are examining a recent landmark decision by a judge that allows cremation, a process banned by Jewish law. Jerusalem District Court Judge Moshe Sobol issued the ruling in response to a suit filed by a distant […]
Groups Say Wage Hike Is First Step Toward `Living Wage’
By John Boyle — January 12, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Religious leaders rallied behind the House vote on Wednesday (Jan. 10) to raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, but say more needs to be done to create a “living wage” for working families. “The raise asked for (by the House) is modest but quite significant,” […]
New Campaign Revives Push for Debt Relief
By John Boyle — January 12, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ A coalition of religious and secular groups is working to ensure that January marks not only the beginning of a new year but also a fresh push to eliminate the debts owed by impoverished nations. Jubilee USA is using 2007 to advocate multilateral debt relief for poor nations, […]
COMMENTARY: My Own First Draft of History
By James Rudin — January 12, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Americans have recently witnessed some historical events, but we frequently fail to recognize their importance. It’s only looking back years later when we realize, “Hey, that was significant, but we didn’t know it at the time.” For that reason, I want to fast-forward the lengthy recognition process called history […]
As Kabbalah Goes Mainstream, Not Everyone’s Happy
By Ira Rifkin — January 12, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service SAN DIEGO _ Madonna may be Kabbalah’s most visible non-Jewish exponent, but she’s hardly the only one. Globally, more non-Jews than Jews are studying Judaism’s once-secret mystical tradition, experts say, prompting a growing debate among Jewish scholars and religious leaders over the appropriateness of the rapidly spreading phenomenon. Some worry […]
A New Baptist Covenant
By RNS Blog Editor — January 11, 2007
Carter, Clinton Meet With Baptists to Plan for New `Covenant’ RNS’ Adelle M. Banks reports on the “celebration of a new Baptist covenant,” a gathering to be held next January at the Carter Center in Atlanta which will bring together 40 Baptist organizations, as well as former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, to “emphasize […]
Five Years Later, Do Lay Catholics Still Have a Voice?
By Daniel Burke — January 11, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) In 2003, Jim Post, co-founder of Voice of the Faithful, asked a scholar whether the Catholic reform group might merit a footnote in the 2,000-year history of the church. “Maybe even a paragraph,” Post recalls the scholar telling him with a smile. Five years after Voice of the Faithful […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 11, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Judge: Veterans Affairs’ Spiritual Assessments Constitutional (RNS) A federal judge has upheld aspects of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ chaplaincy program, saying its use of “spiritual assessments” of patients is constitutional. The Freedom From Religion Foundation sued VA officials last April, charging that they violated the First Amendment with an […]
Muslims Say GOP Rhetoric Is Eroding Once Solid Support
By Omar Sacirbey — January 11, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Raise a million dollars and get Rep. Virgil Goode voted out office. That was the challenge Salman Tajuddin, an investment manager from Arlington, Va., issued recently to fellow Muslims and the Democratic Party, posting it on Naseeb.com, a Muslim networking Web site. “Virgil Goode has it out for Muslims. […]
