Monthly Archives: January 2011
A rush toward sainthood for John Paul II?
By Tracy Gordon — January 14, 2011
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI has recognized a miracle attributed to Pope John Paul II, bringing the late pontiff one step from sainthood a mere six years after his death, the Vatican announced on Friday (Jan. 14). By signing a decree accepting the miracle, Benedict completed one of most rapid beatifications in the modern […]
Friday’s Religion News Roundup
By Daniel Burke — January 14, 2011
Pope Benedict XVI approved a miracle attributed to Pope John Paul II, clearing the way for the late pontiff’s beatification, the final step before sainthood. A day after mourning a 9-year-old slain during the attempted assassination of a congresswoman, residents will gather Friday at the same Tucson Roman Catholic church to remember the life of […]
Pastor who prayed for Obama’s death turns to Westboro Baptist Church
By Tracy Gordon — January 14, 2011
(RNS) A Southern Baptist pastor who called for prayers for the death of President Obama is now planning prayers against anti-gay protesters from Westboro Baptist Church. The Topeka, Kan., church led by Pastor Fred Phelps protests prominent funerals, and was planning to protest services for victims of Saturday’s massacre in Tucson, Ariz., until it opted […]
Clergy urge Congress to unite behind push for civility
By Tracy Gordon — January 14, 2011
(RNS) A coalition of more than 50 Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders sent an open letter to Congress urging a “time of soul searching” and national dialogue about “violent and vitriolic political rhetoric.” The letter was released Thursday (Jan. 13), a day after President Obama led a memorial service for the six people killed and […]
Pakistani churches criticize government’s refusal to amend blasphemy law
By Tracy Gordon — January 14, 2011
BANGALORE, India (RNS/ENInews) Pakistani churches say they’re frustrated by the government’s refusal to amend a controversial blasphemy law that makes it a capital crime to insult Islam or the Prophet Muhammad. Human rights groups have urged for the law to be repealed or amended to protect the rights of minority faiths in a nation that […]
Obama’s eulogy invokes spirit of black church, Reinhold Niebuhr
By Tracy Gordon — January 14, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) Expecting a speech, Americans instead heard a sermon. Drawing on Scripture, theology, and the rising rhythms of black preaching, President Obama was more pastor than politician at Wednesday’s (Jan. 12) memorial service for the victims of last week’s shooting in Arizona. It was an aspect of Obama that galvanized his 2008 campaign, but […]
King’s early white ally still fights for `beloved community’
By Kim Lawton — January 13, 2011
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (RNS) The social revolution led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was forged in and grew out of the black church. But from the earliest days of the movement, there were also white foot soldiers. King initially came to national prominence leading the bus boycott in Montgomery, where he was serving his […]
COMMENTARY: Debbie Friedman: An Appreciation
By Tracy Gordon — January 13, 2011
(RNS) Worship inside many American synagogues used to be, in a word, boring. Until a generation ago, the congregation had little to no participation in the service, trapped between a professional choir that smothered worshippers with unsingable musical selections and a rabbi who read nearly all the prayers. Calling it a passive experience would be […]
Thursday’s Religion News Roundup
By Kevin Eckstrom — January 13, 2011
Funeral services will be held today for 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green, the precocious aspiring politician who died in Saturday’s massacre in Tucson; she’ll be buried in a custom-made casket crafted by Trappist monks in Iowa. From the Dept. of Thank God for Small Miracles, protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka agreed not to […]
Separating church and state in Rhode Island
By Mark Silk — January 13, 2011
Lincoln Chafee, whose forebears moved to Rhode Island in Roger Williams’ day, made returning to the ideals of the Ocean State’s famous founder the keystone of his gubernatorial inaugural address Jan. 4. Today, I ask all Rhode Islanders to join me in boldly reaffirming Roger Williams’ vision of a “civil state,” a vibrant, diverse community […]
How Obama will use the Bible tonight
By Daniel Burke — January 13, 2011
Charlie Rose had an interesting discussion last night about what President Obama should say at the Arizona memorial service tonight. On hand were David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker, New York Times columnist David Brooks, and Atlantic correspondent James Fallows. Brooks begins talking about Obama’s theology and how that might play into the speech […]
Pope appoints new Haiti archbishop one year after quake
By Tracy Gordon — January 13, 2011
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI marked the first anniversary of the Haiti earthquake on Wednesday (Jan. 12) by naming a new archbishop for the country’s capital city. Archbishop-elect Guire Poulard will lead the Catholic Church in Port-au-Prince, succeeding Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot, who was killed in last year’s quake. Recalling the disaster, which killed […]
VFW sues Obama administration over disputed cross memorial
By Tracy Gordon — January 13, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Veterans of Foreign Wars has sued the Obama administration, saying it is dragging its feet on transferring ownership of land under a controversial California war memorial. The Supreme Court ruled last April that a congressionally approved land swap involving a five-foot memorial cross in the Mojave Desert Preserve was constitutional, but legal […]
Behind a mighty civil rights icon, a public and private prayer life
By Tracy Gordon — January 13, 2011
(RNS) The late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. has long been hailed as a civil rights leader, but religious studies professor Lewis Baldwin said one aspect of his life has often been overlooked: the role of prayer. “In order to understand him, you must begin, I think, with this idea of King as a spiritual […]
Jews troubled by Palin’s use of `blood libel’
By Tracy Gordon — January 13, 2011
(RNS) Four days after an assassination attempt critically wounded a Jewish congresswoman and killed six others, Sarah Palin on Wednesday (Jan. 12) accused “journalists and pundits” of manufacturing a “blood libel” that seeks to link her and other conservatives to the massacre. The “blood libel” language unsettled many Jewish groups, who say the term has […]
