Monthly Archives: May 2007
Civil Unions Fight Is Proxy for Larger Church-State Battle in Italy
By Frances X. Rocca — May 9, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ Hundreds of thousands of Italians are expected in Rome on Saturday (May 12) for an event that is officially neither religious nor political, yet clearly intended to promote the legislative agenda of the Roman Catholic Church. More broadly, Saturday’s demonstration will help define Pope Benedict XVI’s vision […]
Web Site Will Deliver Letters to Those Left Behind
By John Boyle — May 8, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Neither snow, nor rain, nor fire and brimstone will keep Joshua Witter from the swift completion of his appointed rounds come the end of the world. Witter, a 24-year-old self-described atheist living in Orlando, Fla., is the creator of the Post-Rapture Post (http://postrapturepost.com), which bills itself as “the postal […]
Pope’s First Book Reflects `Personal Search’ for Jesus
By Frances X. Rocca — May 8, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ A new book by Pope Benedict XVI arriving in American stores next Tuesday (May 15) is already an international best-seller. “Jesus of Nazareth” has sold more than 1 million copies since it was released in Italian, German and Polish versions last month. The book will eventually be […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — May 8, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Conservatives Praise Bush’s Veto Threat Regarding Abortion Changes (RNS) Conservative religious leaders are applauding President Bush for threatening to veto any legislation that “weakens” current federal laws regarding abortion. “I am concerned that this year the Congress may consider legislation that could substantially change federal policies and laws on abortion, […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — May 5, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service School OKs Long Hair After Boy Cites Faith MONTGOMERY, Ala. (RNS) A high school student who was sent home for having long hair was allowed back into school Wednesday (May 2) wearing a headdress after telling school officials he was a Sikh. The Sikh religion requires that followers do not […]
Giving Hope _ and Cash _ to Clergy Abuse Victims
By Jeff Diamant — May 5, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service NEWARK, N.J. _ In 1964, at age 13, Kevin Waldrip was molested by a Catholic priest in Newark. Two decades later the perpetrator, the Rev. Richard Galdon, was sentenced to 25 years’ in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing several boys. He died in 2000. But Waldrip says he […]
E.O. Wilson issues altar call to evangelicals on the environment
By Greg Garrison — May 5, 2007
(RNS) — Harvard University biologist Edward O. Wilson, perhaps the world's most famous insect expert, was baptized by immersion as a Southern Baptist long ago.
House Extends Hate Crimes Law to Cover Gays
By Laura Turner — May 4, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ The House voted Thursday (May 3) to extend hate crimes legislation to add protections for homosexuals, bisexuals and those with gender identity issues in the same way that people are protected because of race or creed. Democratic leaders called it a civil rights victory, but conservatives and some […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — May 4, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Nigerian Bishop to Install U.S. Missionary Bishop in Virginia (RNS) Against the wishes of the Episcopal Church’s top bishop, the Anglican Church of Nigeria will install a missionary bishop in Virginia on Saturday (May 5) to oversee conservatives who’ve broken with the American church. Bishop Martyn Minns will be formally […]
Catching Up With Jim Bakker, 20 Years Later
By RNS Blog Editor — May 4, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Twenty years ago, Jim Bakker was a man in exile. Banished from the televangelism empire he founded near Charlotte, N.C. Toppled from power by moral indiscretion and accusations of financial improprieties. Hounded by reporters, day and night. Abandoned by fellow preachers, followers and even friends from his childhood growing […]
COMMENTARY: When in Doubt, Love
By Dick Staub — May 4, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) I’ve been getting some complaints lately about a podcast interview I did with Sara Miles, author of an amazing new book, “Take This Bread.” Miles describes her story as an unexpected and terribly inconvenient Christian conversion. She describes herself as a blue-state, secular-intellectual, left-wing journalist with a habit of […]
Consoler in Chief
By RNS Blog Editor — May 3, 2007
In Times of Tragedy, Americans Turn to St. Paul for Answers RNS’ Daniel Burke explores the role of Paul in Christian responses to tragic events-and some changing views on Paul himself-in this week’s full text article, linked above. Quote: “We turn to Job for the questions, we turn to Paul for the answers,” said the […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — May 3, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Watchdog Panel Urges Monitoring Iraq on Religious Freedom WASHINGTON (RNS) For the first time since the fall of Saddam Hussein, ongoing sectarian violence has earned Iraq a place among the world’s worst violators of religious freedoms, a federal watchdog panel said Wednesday (May 2). Iraq was included with seven other […]
Church Magazines Feel the Pinch With Higher Postal Rates
By Laura Turner — May 3, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ This month, the cost of mailing a letter goes up 3 cents, to 42 cents for first-class. That’s an increase of about 7.6 percent, a cost many Americans chalk up to the price of doing business. But on July 15, faith-based publications will face increases of at least […]
Pope Faces Growth of Pentecostals, Unbelief in Trip to Brazil
By Frances X. Rocca — May 3, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ When Pope John Paul II visited Brazil in 1980, one of his gravest concerns was the rise throughout Latin America of liberation theology, a movement that sought to fuse Roman Catholic social doctrine with the teachings of Karl Marx. Today liberation theology’s proponents are aging and their […]
