POTUS will sign the landmark health-care bill at the White House today. The U.S. bishops have quietly voiced their disappointment and are praying that the president will keep his promise on not funding abortions (except in cases of rape, incest, and mother’s health). Less quietly, a GOP congressman has admitted that he shouted “baby-killer” at anti-abortion Dem Bart Stupak on Sunday during the floor debate on the bill. But he says he was talking about the bill, not Stupak.
SCOTUS said a student can’t sue after her school refused to let her play an a capella version of “Ave Maria” at her graduation. The high court also rejected a challenge to Massachussetts’ buffer zone around abortion clinic. A federal judge said groups that campaigned against Prop 8 in California must turn over internal memos to lawyers for the other side.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops released their annual sex abuse study, which found that the number of allegations, abuse victims and accused clergy dropped to their lowest numbers since data collection began in 2004. The GOP candidate for gov of Rhode Island says he was raped as a child by a priest.
Immigration advocates are targeting evangelicals, a new survey says a majority of white evangelicals, mainline Protestants, and Catholics favor comprehensive reform that includes a path to citizenship.
Twelve active and retired Episcopal bishops have “disassociated” themselves from the confirmation of the church’s second openly gay bishop this month. Fred Phelps’ son is talking about growing up in “the most hated family in America.” A Sikh man has become the first member of his faith in a generation to complete basic officer training in the U.S. Army. The AP takes a look at Tiger Woods’ new Buddhist bracelet. The food portions in depictions of the Last Supper have grown larger through the years, according to a study. Super-size me, Jesus.
The leading Italian bishop said the media is unfairly criticizing the Catholic Church for the sex abuse scandal. The Archbishop of Dublin said his colleagues must take responsibility for the decades of rapes, beatings, and molestations of children by Catholic clergy. Pssst… Brady, he’s talking to you. In Ukraine, Catholic priests are married — with the Vatican’s blessing, the NYT has found.
A Saudi woman lashed out at hard-line Muslim clerics’ religious edicts on live TV at a popular Arabic version of “American Idol.” Simon Cowell thought she was lovely. Influential Muslim clerics in Yemen say people promoting a ban on child brides are apostates.