Monthly Archives: May 2010
Bishops defend opposition to health care reform, urge changes
By Tiffany McCallen — May 21, 2010
WASHINGTON (RNS) Saying their opposition to health care reform was “misinterpreted, misunderstood and misused,” U.S. Catholic bishops want Congress to address the law’s “defects” but signaled they do not favor total repeal. In a lengthy statement hoping to “set the record straight,” leading members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Friday (May 21) […]
Jews for Jesus founder dies at 78
By Tiffany McCallen — May 21, 2010
(RNS) Moishe Rosen, a controversial Baptist minister, writer and founder of the group Jews for Jesus, died in San Francisco Wednesday (May 19) at the age of 78. He had prostate cancer. Rosen was born in Kansas City, Mo., to a family of Orthodox Jews. At the age of 21, Rosen met his wife Ceil […]
Evangelicals push `Theology of Sex,’ abortion reduction
By Tiffany McCallen — May 21, 2010
(RNS) The National Association of Evangelicals on Thursday (May 20) launched an initiative to reduce abortions by promoting a “Theology of Sex” for churches and pledging to find common ground with opponents on abortion. “There’s a sense that, whatever our laws are, abortion is a problem because of the underlying issues of how we treat […]
Vatican, courts wrestle over who controls bishops
By Tiffany McCallen — May 21, 2010
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Is Pope Benedict XVI legally responsible for the actions of U.S. Catholic bishops who mishandled cases of pedophile priests, allowing them to sexually abuse more children? Some plaintiffs’ lawyers are arguing that victims of clerical sex abuse should be able to sue the Vatican itself for damages, in large part because they […]
Dalai Lama, in New York, preaches a sunny gospel
By Tiffany McCallen — May 21, 2010
NEW YORK (RNS) In a city tired and edgy from a sagging economy, terrorist threats and a cold and wet spring, comes the Dalai Lama with a sunny message of hope. Despite a seeming endless supply of disasters and global woe, humanity is generally doing a better job of things that it used to, the […]
Friday morning roundup
By Kevin Eckstrom — May 21, 2010
First Tinky Winky was made a foot soldier in the culture war over gay rights — now Dora the Explorer is bloodied and bruised (quite literally) in the tussle over Arizona’s get-tough immigration law. Also in the desert, the controversial cross in the Mojave National Preserve that disappeared is back — or at least a […]
Abortion v. Common Ground
By Mark Silk — May 21, 2010
Daniel Schultz, Streetprophets’ quondam Pastordan now blogging under his own name at Religion Dispatches, makes a strong if slightly musty case against the “common ground” initiatives embraced by a number of centrist religious operations to garner support for Obamaite domestic policy over the past year. It’s slightly musty because, in the current Tea Party moment, […]
Catholic bishops leave civil rights group after Kagan endorsement
By Tracy Gordon — May 21, 2010
WASHINGTON (RNS) The U.S. Catholic bishops withdrew from a national civil rights coalition on Wednesday (May 19) after the group advocated on behalf of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. The Washington-based Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCR) was founded in 1950 by African American and Jewish leaders to press for the passage of […]
After banning Facebook, Pakistan bans YouTube
By Tracy Gordon — May 21, 2010
CHENNAI, India (RNS) For the second time in two days, Pakistani officials have restricted access to a popular Internet site that it deems offensive to the country’s majority Muslim population. The government Thursday (May 20) blocked access to YouTube because of what it considers sacrilegious content on the video-sharing website. The country’s Telecommunications Authority did […]
O’Malley supports pastor in gay parents school dispute
By Tracy Gordon — May 21, 2010
(RNS) Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley said the pastor who turned a boy away from Catholic school because he has two lesbian mothers has “my full confidence and support.” In his first public comments on the controversy, O’Malley said Catholic schools exist for the “good of the children,” and confirmed his support for the Rev. James […]
Scientologist may provide child care, with conditions
By Tracy Gordon — May 21, 2010
BERLIN (RNS) A Scientologist may offer child care services so long as she does not mix religion with work, a German court ruled Wednesday (May 19). An unnamed 38-year-old Munich woman had been providing day care for five children, earning about 1,600 euros ($1,982) a month, reported the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung. City regulators ruled she […]
For clergy, losing faith an occupational hazard
By Tracy Gordon — May 21, 2010
Pastor debuts a clergy collar with a more feminine touch
By Tracy Gordon — May 21, 2010
SAGINAW, Mich. (RNS) Tired of wearing an uncomfortable, plastic clergy collar designed for men, the Rev. Beverly A. Smith had a moment of divine inspiration. Smith, pastor of Kingdom Life Ministries International in Saginaw, came up with a new clerical collar with a feminine twist: the “clergette.” The clergette is a feminine version of the […]
N.Y. icon takes dim view of Mother Teresa’s birthday
By Tracy Gordon — May 21, 2010
(RNS) In a bid to honor what would have been Mother Teresa’s 100th birthday on Aug. 26, the New York-based Catholic League has gathered more than 24,000 signatures to light the iconic spire of the Empire State Building in blue and white. The answer from the building’s management, so far, has been no, which has […]
M*A*S*H* Ups
By Daniel Burke — May 20, 2010
Multi-faith families have officially hit the mainstream this week, in the form of a Doonesbury comic strip. At the center of cartoonist Gary Trudeau’s strip this week is “Chap,” a white-haired woman and Protestant military chaplain who’s visiting wounded soldiers. One soldier, who wonders if a woman is allowed to give last rites, is the […]
