Monthly Archives: July 2009
Update: Voice of the Faithful raises cash, but questions remain
By Tracy Gordon — July 21, 2009
(RNS) Voice of the Faithful, the cash-strapped lay Catholic reform group that was formed in the wake of the Catholic sex abuse scandal, said a last-ditch appeal for funds has brought in enough money to keep it running through Sept. 1. The Boston-based group had issued an appeal for “immediate help” from donors to raise […]
Fashionista priest
By Adelle M. Banks — July 21, 2009
Priests are known more for faith than fashion, but the New Haven Register has highlighted one who is known for both. The Rev. Andrew O’Connor, who the paper dubs “a man of the cloth on multiple levels,” created a New York company called Goods of Conscience to produce clothes that “look good, feel good and […]
Tricky Baptists
By RNS Blog Editor — July 21, 2009
The people at the Baptist Messenger apparently have been using Photoshop for evil, superimposing Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry’s signature to a morality proclamation. The proclamation states the U.S. is forsaking its Christian heritage to become a world leader in various forms of debauchery. Their mistake: “In the July 16 Messenger, the graphic representation of the […]
Nice try, Sister
By Francis X. Rocca — July 21, 2009
Here’s a novel excuse to try the next time the cops stop you for speeding.
Birth control puts Catholics in tight spot on abortion
By Tracy Gordon — July 21, 2009
WASHINGTON — While the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has taken a cool response to many of President Obama’s policies, the one area where the two sides seem to be finding fragile common ground is on the need to reduce the number of abortions. Just how to do that, however, has gotten tricky. Obama and […]
COMMENTARY: Conventional wisdom
By Tom Ehrich — July 21, 2009
(UNDATED) After reading reports from the Episcopal Church’s recent General Convention in Anaheim, Calif., I was reminded that church conventions aren’t “the church,” any more than Congress is “the nation.” At church conventions, a handful gather to conduct institutional business, tackle two or three hot-button issues, vote on budgets, hold elections, and pass a few […]
The OU Booklet
By Mark Silk — July 21, 2009
A couple of days ago, the Israeli daily Haaretz broke a story about a booklet being distributed to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers asserting, among other things, that the pope and the cardinals of the Vatican “help organize tours of Auschwitz for Hezbollah members to teach them how to wipe out Jews.” Purporting to tell […]
Jimmy Carter’s old news
By Mark Silk — July 21, 2009
By writing about his decade-old departure from the Southern Baptist Convention in an Australian paper, Jimmy Carter has caught the attention of people who may have missed the news the first time. What’s a little curious is that, the first time around, Carter gave as his reason his sense that the SBC’s ”increasingly rigid” doctrines […]
Mormon leaders give Obama genealogical history
By Tracy Gordon — July 21, 2009
WASHINGTON (RNS) President Obama met with Mormon leaders Monday (July 20) and received genealogical information about his family. The president met with President Thomas Monson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Elder Dallin Oaks, who oversees the church’s genealogical program, along with Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. Reid, a Mormon, set up […]
And that’s the way he was
By RNS Blog Editor — July 21, 2009
Walter Cronkite, who died Friday at age 92, was an American anchor in more ways than one. But in 1994, the Episcopalian gave a wide-ranging interview to The Christian Century on the faith that anchored him. It seems the man who pioneered broadcast news once pondered the Episcopal priesthood, while working as a newspaper church […]
Christian retail convention sees drop in attendance
By Tracy Gordon — July 20, 2009
(RNS) Attendance dropped by one-fifth at this year’s CBA convention of Christian retailers, the organization reported, as overall Christian retail sales plunged by more than 10 percent. Attendance of Christian retail professionals totaled 1,903, a drop of 20 percent from 2008 figures. International visitors at the Denver convention also dropped by 28 percent, to 534 […]
Israeli rabbi promotes `virtual’ kosher certification
By Tracy Gordon — July 20, 2009
JERUSALEM (RNS) An Israeli rabbi is encouraging the owners of kosher restaurants, event halls and institutions to install video cameras as a way to cut down on the number of on-site supervisors needed to oversee strict Jewish dietary laws. Rabbi Yehuda Deri, the spiritual leader of Beersheva, the largest city in southern Israel, conceived the […]
The pursuit of happiness
By Kevin Eckstrom — July 20, 2009
David Boies (you remember him as Al Gore’s lawyer during the disputed 2000 Florida recount) explains his work with Ted Olson (you remember him as George W. Bush’s top lawyer before the U.S. Supreme Court) to overturn the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act with a federal lawsuit in today’s Wall Street Journal: “There are those […]
Deconstructing TMatt
By Kevin Eckstrom — July 20, 2009
Readers of Terry Mattingly’s Get Religion blog may be wondering about the man behind the blog. The Baltimore Sun offers a peak this weekend: From the Sun: “If you think the fact that 95 percent of American journalists are pro-abortion rights doesn’t affect abortion coverage, I’ve got some land in Louisiana to sell you dirt […]
Atheists choose `de-baptism’ to renounce childhood faith
By Tracy Gordon — July 20, 2009
(UNDATED) Up until last summer, Jennifer Gray of Columbus, Ohio, considered herself “a weak Christian” whose baptism at age 11 in a Kentucky church came to mean less and less to her as she gradually lost faith in God. Then the 32-year-old medical transcriptionist took a decisive step, one that previously hadn’t been available. She […]
