Monthly Archives: February 2011
Catholics spar with federal officials over unions, Catholic identity
By Tracy Gordon — February 10, 2011
(RNS) A small Catholic college in Riverdale, N.Y., last month got some news that sent shivers across religious higher education: part-time faculty have a right to form a union on campus. But that wasn’t the worst of it. The National Labor Relations Board also isn’t convinced that the Catholic school is actually Catholic. According to […]
COMMENTARY: Six days, 26 films and one big story
By Tracy Gordon — February 10, 2011
(RNS) At the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, I saw 26 films in six days. If this festival is about storytelling, this year’s big story is about our universal spiritual quest. Here are a few snapshots. “Higher Ground” tells the true story of Carolyn Briggs, who became disillusioned with and left the Jesus movement, only to […]
Muslim TV executive found guilty in wife’s beheading
By Tracy Gordon — February 10, 2011
(RNS) A former banking executive who helped launch the nation’s first Muslim television station faces 15 years to life in prison after a jury convicted him on Tuesday (Feb. 8) of murdering and decapitating his wife nearly two years ago. Muzzammil “Mo” Hassan, 46, never denied killing Aasiya Zubair Hassan, who he met while visiting […]
Report says crime up at U.S. churches
By Tracy Gordon — February 10, 2011
(RNS) Each week brings an average of two arsons, seven thefts, and 19 burglaries at U.S. churches, according to Christian Security Network’s second annual year-end report of church crimes. The report, which uses news articles, police blogs, and verified personal reports to compile its data, showed a slight increase in most church crimes in 2010 […]
Vatican says iPhone apps won’t forgive sins
By Tracy Gordon — February 10, 2011
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Just in case Catholics are wondering if a new iPhone app might be able to forgive their sins, the Vatican has issued a clarification: No. “One may not speak in any sense of confessing via iPhone,” the Rev. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office, said in a statement on […]
Court: Jehovah’s Witnesses need better access to homes
By Tracy Gordon — February 10, 2011
(RNS) A federal appeals court ruled Monday (Feb. 7) that a Puerto Rican law intended to keep neighborhoods safe from crime has been used unfairly to breach the free speech rights of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The law allows homeowners’ associations to control pedestrian and vehicular traffic on residential streets. But Jehovah’s Witnesses, who consider it a […]
Presbyterian court clears minister in gay marriage case
By Tracy Gordon — February 10, 2011
(RNS) The top court of the nation’s largest Presbyterian denomination has found a Boston minister not guilty of violating church rules against performing gay marriages in a narrow ruling that keeps the church-wide ban in place. The Permanent Judicial Commission of the Presbyterian Church (USA) on Saturday (Feb. 2) cleared the Rev. Jean Southard on […]
Baha’is press case of imprisoned relatives
By Tracy Gordon — February 10, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) A delegation of Baha’is is making the rounds in Washington in an effort to raise awareness of the treatment and imprisonment of more than 50 Baha’is in Iran, including seven top leaders of the Iranian Baha’i community. Iraj Kamalabadi, a Southern California engineer whose younger sister is one of the Baha’is in Iranian […]
There’s a good reason why Benedict’s not an organ donor
By Tracy Gordon — February 9, 2011
VATICAN CITY (RNS) When Vatican officials announced last week that Pope Benedict XVI’s 2005 election rendered his organ donor card null and void, they offered no specific reason for the change. The curious history of papal body parts, however, offers some clues. “A decision of a personal character made when (Benedict) was a private citizen […]
Justin Bieber: Tween evangelist?
By Tracy Gordon — February 9, 2011
CHICAGO (RNS) With a smooth voice, a signature mop of hair and a string of hits, Justin Bieber has accumulated millions of fans and sold 3.7 million albums in the United States last year. Now Bieber’s handlers are showcasing another side of the 16-year-old pop sensation: Christian icon for the tween set. Bieber’s faith is […]
No experience necessary
By Mark Silk — February 9, 2011
seems to be the philosophy of the Obama administration when it comes to its top religion jobs. Joshua DuBois, head of the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, had no background in social service provision. The ambassador to the Holy See, Miguel Diaz, came to his position with a background in academic theology, not diplomacy. […]
Wednesday’s Religion News Roundup
By Kevin Eckstrom — February 9, 2011
So that new iPhone confession app is getting lots of chatter around the Interwebs, from MoDo and WaPo and NPR and TIME and elsewhere, but the Catholic League is incensed that too many media reports imply that the gizmo replaces the need to actually seek out a priest for Confession. The Vatican agrees. A federal […]
Consumer protection chief seeks allies in faith leaders
By Tracy Gordon — February 9, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) The architect of the Obama administration’s new consumer protection bureau met with faith-based groups Tuesday (Feb. 8) in a bid to shape the agency’s work as a moral crusade. “The most recent financial crisis caused many to question the moral underpinnings of our financial dealings with each other,” Elizabeth Warren, a former Harvard […]
Canadian bishops urge Catholics to live chastely
By Tracy Gordon — February 9, 2011
TORONTO (RNS/ENInews) Decrying the “sex-saturated world of contemporary Western culture,” Canada’s Roman Catholic bishops are urging church members — married and single — to live chastely. In an eight-page pastoral letter released last month, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops urged young Canadians to dress modestly, to choose uplifting entertainment and to seek the Sacrament […]
Tuesday’s Religion News Roundup
By Daniel Burke — February 8, 2011
If you’re like me, you’ve been getting a lot of e-mails from the Church of Scientology in recent weeks inviting folks to “Meet a Scientologist!” or learn about the churches and facilities they’re planting around the world. Looks like their PR shop will be even busier this week, as the St. Pete Times is reporting […]
