Monthly Archives: November 2010
Pope writes to Iranian leader
By Kevin Eckstrom — November 16, 2010
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (RNS): Pope Benedict XVI replied in diplomatic and general terms to a provocative letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, pledging to find common efforts for “peace and reconciliation” with the Islamic republic. Read more.
Bishops, in surprise move, elect New York’s Dolan to lead U.S. church
By Tracy Gordon — November 16, 2010
BALTIMORE (RNS) In a dramatic break with tradition, U.S. Catholic bishops on Tuesday (Nov. 16) elected New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan as their next president, choosing a friendly but assertive leader over the more conciliatory front-runner. Dolan defeated Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz., 128 to 111 in the third and final round of voting. […]
COMMENTARY: Yearning for a do-over
By Tom Ehrich — November 16, 2010
CAMBRIDGE, Ohio (RNS) I’m sure someone had a good reason for building the handsome Pritchard Laughlin Civic Center on an isolated stretch of U.S. 40, with not a single restaurant or modern motel nearby. In a driving culture, it probably made sense to sprawl onto empty land two miles from the city that provides its […]
Tuesday’s Religion News Roundup
By Kevin Eckstrom — November 16, 2010
The Twitterverse is abuzz this morning with tweets that New York’s charismatic Archbishop Timothy Dolan (left) is the surprise pick as the new president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, beating out current V.P. Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, who considered a shoo-in to ascend to the big chair. Louisville Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, the bishops’ […]
Who’s covering Antioch?
By Mark Silk — November 16, 2010
Of all the stories in American religion today, none may be more fascinating than the meltdown of the Antiochian Orthodox Church, the Levantine branch of Eastern Orthodoxy in America that has been led since 1966 by Metropolitan Philip Saliba. The denomination has done well under Philip’s leadership, multiplying parishes and expanding its membership not least […]
Rural church leaves ELCA over gay clergy, genetics proposal
By Tracy Gordon — November 16, 2010
(RNS) A rural North Dakota church has voted to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, not only to protest its recent policies to allow gay clergy but also its proposed statement on genetically modified foods. Members of the Anselm Trinity Lutheran Church near Sheldon, N.D., interpreted the ELCA’s draft statement as saying farmers who […]
Pope warns athletes on doping
By Tracy Gordon — November 16, 2010
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI on Monday (Nov. 15) warned against doping in athletic competition, a practice he called incompatible with “human and Christian values.” The pope made his remarks at a meeting with Italian ski instructors at the Vatican. “A balance between the physical and the spiritual dimensions ensures we do not idolize […]
U.S. activists lobby against U.N. defamation resolution
By Tracy Gordon — November 15, 2010
WASHINGTON (RNS) Religious freedom advocates are urging members of the United Nations to vote against the latest proposal from Islamic countries to combat “defamation of religions.” For the last decade, the Organization of Islamic Conference has successfully sponsored similar resolutions as a way to address religious persecution. But U.S. religious liberty activists increasingly say the […]
Bishops defend opposition to health care reform
By Tracy Gordon — November 15, 2010
BALTIMORE (RNS) The outgoing head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops vigorously defended the bishops’ opposition to the health care reform bill, asserting that only bishops can speak for the church on matters of faith and morals. “All the rest is opinion,” Cardinal Francis George of Chicago said on Monday (Nov. 15), “often well-considered […]
Monday’s Religion News Roundup
By Kevin Eckstrom — November 15, 2010
U.S. Catholic bishops open their annual meeting in Baltimore today, and topping the agenda is the election of a new president, likely Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tuscon. Kicanas answers his critics here, and Jesuit Tom Reese breaks it all down here; victims’ advocates, perhaps not surprisingly, are opposed. The Detroit Free Press reports on the […]
Religious Testing
By Mark Silk — November 15, 2010
If we take seriously Damon Linker’s call for giving political candidates a religious test, what should the test look like? Unfortunately, this whole testing thing seems to have been a bit of a marketing afterthought to his new book, The Religious Test: Why We Must Question the Religious Beliefs of Our Leaders. As a result, […]
Pope outlines scope of Irish abuse probe
By Tracy Gordon — November 13, 2010
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Catholic archbishops of New York and Boston will meet personally with victims of abusive priests as part of a Vatican investigation of the Catholic Church in Ireland, the Vatican announced on Friday (Nov. 12). Pope Benedict XVI called for the investigation, called an Apostolic Visitation, last March in an open letter […]
Mormons soften language on gays
By Tracy Gordon — November 13, 2010
(RNS) A newly published compilation of guidelines used worldwide by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has softened the language about gay Mormons. The book, known as the Church Handbook of Instructions, lays out Mormon policies on everything from baptism to running a worship service to counseling troubled marriages. The updated […]
Friday’s Religion News Roundup
By Kevin Eckstrom — November 12, 2010
There’s been an uptick in blog chatter over next week’s likely election of Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tuscon (left) as the next head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; conservative critics are shedding light on a few abuse skeletons in his closet, and Commonweal breaks it down here. Other blog chatter: Jews are incensed […]
Actress pushes churches to reach out to prisoners
By Tracy Gordon — November 12, 2010
(RNS) Jesus left his followers with precious few commands: love thy neighbor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit the prisoner among them. So why do so many churches have such a hard time with that last one? Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank, for one, is waiting for a good answer. In her recent film, […]
