Monthly Archives: February 2011
Monday’s Religion News Roundup
By Daniel Burke — February 14, 2011
Happy St. Valentine’s Day, folks. Did you know there were actually more than a dozen early Christian martyrs named Valentine? Not much is known about the man whose feast day falls on Feb. 14. We can blame Chaucer for many of the legends surrounding the mystery man and for weaving romance into the holiday. Of […]
States caught in crossfire over guns in churches
By Adelle M. Banks — February 14, 2011
(RNS) The way Rev. Jonathan Wilkins sees it, members of his Baptist church in Thomaston, Ga., should have the right to carry guns into worship services to protect the congregation. Wilkins’ Baptist Tabernacle and a Georgia gun-rights association are challenging a new state law that prohibits weapons in houses of worship. A lower court ruled […]
American Catholic Exceptionalism
By Mark Silk — February 14, 2011
“Will it never end?” Michael Sean Winters asked last week in contemplating the indictment handed up by a Philadelphia grand jury for sexual abuse against three priests, a lay teacher, and–most importantly–the high archdiocesan official who managed the cover-up. The answer I’d give is no, not as long as the Catholic church in America is […]
The challenge for Egypt
By Mark Silk — February 12, 2011
From Anthony Shadid’s report in today’s NYT: “I think the most important challenge for Egypt the next few years is how to build a new civil culture,” said Hanna Grace, an opposition leader. “Not military, not religious, but a civil culture. How do you build a secular modern state for religious people?” As the United […]
Towey named president of Ave Maria University
By Tracy Gordon — February 12, 2011
(RNS) Domino’s Pizza magnate Tom Monaghan has stepped down from leading the conservative Catholic university he founded near Naples, Fla., and named the former director of the White House faith-based office as president. Monaghan’s Ave Maria University on the edge of the Everglades will be headed by Jim Towey, who once served as Mother Teresa’s […]
In soggy Netherlands, a modern Noah builds his ark
By Tracy Gordon — February 12, 2011
UTRECHT, Netherlands (RNS/ENInews) If there was ever a country that understands floods, it is the Netherlands, where one-quarter of the land is below sea level, and it is here that a modern Noah is constructing an ark. Dutch building contractor Johan Huibers is close to completing a full-sized replica of the legendary boat in Dordrecht, […]
Friday’s Religion News Roundup
By Daniel Burke — February 11, 2011
There’s word that soon-to-be former Egyptian President Hosni Mubark has fled Cairo, where angry protesters have surrounded his palace. American Jewish groups are pushing the White House and Congress to be more vocal in preventing Islamic fundamentalists from filling the power vacuum along the Nile. Big case in Philly, where a grand jury accused the […]
Will Romney, Huntsman help or hurt Mormons?
By Tracy Gordon — February 11, 2011
SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) Amid the prospect of presidential runs by Jon Huntsman Jr. and Mitt Romney, reporters are bombarding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with calls about the potential candidates and their Mormon faith. So much so, in fact, that the Utah-based LDS Church decided it needed to reiterate its longstanding […]
At 102, George Beverly Shea to receive lifetime Grammy award
By Tracy Gordon — February 11, 2011
(RNS) Prominent Gospel singer and longtime Billy Graham associate George Beverly Shea will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards this weekend (Feb. 12) in Los Angeles. Shea will be honored along with several other Lifetime Achievement Award recipients including Julie Andrews, Dolly Parton and the Ramones. At 102, Shea is […]
Catholic birth control decree remains controversial
By RNS Blog Editor — February 11, 2011
c. 2008 Religion News Service (RNS) Some say Pope Paul VI predicted the dangers of loosening sexual morals: widespread divorce, disease and promiscuity. Others say he cracked open a culture of dissent that has seeped into every corner of the church. Either way, 40 years after Paul VI released “Humanae Vitae'' on July 25, 1968, […]
Oaks on Religious Freedom
By Mark Silk — February 11, 2011
Dallin Oaks, one of the LDS Church’s dozen Apostles, spoke last week on “Preserving Religious Freedom” at the Chapman University School of Law, and an interesting speech it was. Not least interesting was the way Oaks surrounded what he had to say with statements from non-Mormon religious authorities like Cardinal Francis George and Rabbi Harold […]
Buddhist Bhutan wrestles with `shocking’ abuse study
By Tracy Gordon — February 11, 2011
NEW DELHI (RNS) The government commissioner charged with promoting “Gross National Happiness” in the tiny Buddhist nation of Bhutan said he was deeply dismayed by a recent study that found a majority of Bhutanese women think their husbands have the right to beat them. Karma Tshiteem, head of Bhutan’s Commission for Gross National Happiness, called […]
New pipe in Israel aims to halt worship water shortage
By Tracy Gordon — February 11, 2011
JERUSALEM (RNS) Israeli officials have installed an $11 million pipe to ease a weekly water shortage on Fridays as observant Jews prepare for the Sabbath and Muslims ritually wash themselves before weekly prayers. Until now, water pressure has been low in some parts of Jerusalem during the hours leading up to Shabbat, which begins at […]
Quebec bans Sikh daggers from capitol
By Tracy Gordon — February 11, 2011
TORONTO (RNS) Lawmakers in the province of Quebec voted unanimously on Wednesday (Feb. 9) to ban the kirpan, a Sikh ceremonial dagger, from the legislature building. The opposition Parti Quebecois said it was acting to underscore Quebec’s neutrality in dealing with religious groups, while the governing Liberal Party argued that the ban is needed for […]
Thursday’s Religion News Roundup
By Kevin Eckstrom — February 10, 2011
A Catholic hospital in Chicago is the first in the nation to offer services to stop an abortion already in progress for women who change their mind. Iowa’s Catholic bishops are pushing for a voter referendum to upend the unanimous 2009 decision by the state Supreme Court that legalized gay marriage; they also want “whatever […]
