A new Pew poll finds an estimated 1.57 billion Muslims living in 200 some countries, representing 23 percent of the world’s 6.8 billion people. Meanwhile, Washington state has hired a Muslim consultant to help direct the foster care of seven children removed from the home of Ethiopian refugees. Meanwhile, Reuters’ FaithWorld blog wonders whether ongoing Christian-Muslim talks (this time at Georgetown, led by former British PM Tony Blair) will lead to concrete solutions. A California Muslim is trying to use scenes from American life to illustrate the universal values of the Quran.
The never-ending Episcopal divorce in Pittsburgh reached a new juncture when the remaining Episcopalians told priests who formed an alternate diocese that they won’t be defrocked; they simply have to leave gracefully. Cathy Grossman over at USA Today looks at the no-good-answers job of hospital ethics panels while Adam Liptak sums up Wednesday’s SCOTUS arguments over a religious symbol by saying the case largely steered clear of religion. The LAPD won’t charge the officer who leaked the arrest report about Mel Gibson’s anti-Semitic tirade during a DUI stop.
Another set of parents (this time in Philadelphia) will face trial in the faith-healing death of their 2-year-old son, and our pal Doug Todd at the Vancouver Sun wonders whether it’s a good idea for religious parents to send their kids to independent religious schools. Pope Benedict XVI has bestowed the highest papal honor of EWTN’s Mother Angelica. Convicted sex offeders are going to court to petition for the right to go to church.