Egyptian Christians fear repeat attacks of the New Year’s day bombing on Coptic Christmas Eve this Thursday, according to the AP. Christian Copts in Europe are also under police protection following Internet threats.
The Obama administration said Tuesday it was “deeply concerned” by the attacks on Christians in the Middle East and Africa. Weeks before the New Year’s Day suicide bombing of the Egyptian church, al-Qaida-linked websites carried videos on how to build a bomb and the locations of churches to target – including the one that was attacked, the AP reports.
As the House switches hands, some Democrats are concerned that Republicans see the Constitution as the immutable word of God, according to WaPo.”You are not supposed to worship your constitution. You are supposed to govern your government by it,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y.
A war memorial cross in a California public park is unconstitutional because it conveys the message that the government endorses Christianity, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday. The 9th Circuit also said Tuesday that it can’t decide if California’s gay marriage ban is constitutional until the state’s Supreme Court decides whether Proposition 8 sponsors have standing to defend it.
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee said it will file for bankruptcy because of sexual abuse lawsuits, making it the eighth U.S. diocese to flip to Chapter 11. Victims groups say the filing is intended to avoid opening church records to public scrutiny.
Pope Benedict XVI rejected an appeal from Boston parishioners who asked him to reverse a seven-year-old decision to close their churches. A Vatican cardinal backed off the Holy See’s approval of biotech crops, saying farmers shouldn’t be dependent on corporations for their seeds.
More than 500 Muslim scholars are praising the man suspected of killing a Pakistani governor because he opposed blasphemy laws that mandate death for insulting Islam, the AP reports. The killing of Salman Taseer marks the rising power of Islamic extremists in Pakistan, according to WaPo.
A Ugandan trial court awarded monetary damages to three men outed as gay by a tabloid, which called for the men to be hanged. The leader of Mexico’s Death Saint cult, which is popular among drug dealers, has been detained on suspicion of participating in a kidnapping ring.
Finally, some good matrimonial news for the Archbishop of Canterbury: Palace officials said he will preside at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.