Texas Gov. Rick Perry says the earth is “pretty old,” but isn’t sure just how old, and thinks creationism should be taught alongside evolution, because Darwin’s theory “got some gaps in it.”
And news flash: there’s now a Jewish candidate for president, at least according to Vogue, which calls Jon Huntsman closer to a Reform Jew than a Mitt Romney-style Mormon, the kind of believer “who honors the spirit rather than the letter of his faith.”
Out in Illinois, the long-running drama over adoptions and foster care between the state and the Catholic Church took another turn: a judge said the state is within its rights to sever those contracts if the church won’t abide by the state’s new civil unions law.
Up in Philadelphia, Catholic priests are organizing against the hierarchy as officials begin to address the status (and future) of 26 priests who were suspended earlier this year for possible sexual abuse.
Over in Staten Island, remember the Muslim group that wanted to open a mosque in a shuttered convent, only to see the deal go south? They’ve now found a new home, in a former Hindu temple, and the most remarkable thing is that there’s been practically zero opposition (or notice) from neighbors.
The Forward marks the 20th anniversary of the Crown Heights riots between Jews and blacks in Brooklyn (photo, top left).
The fight is back on over gay marriage in Maine. Aging veterans of the civil rights movement are looking forward to the dedication of the new Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in D.C. next weekend.
Over in Spain for World Youth Day, B16 chastised society for “amnesia” when it comes to the guy upstairs (full text here). Spanish police managed to foil a massive same-sex kiss-in that a gay rights group had planned to welcome B16 to town.
Down in Nicaragua, Catholic officials aren’t thrilled with President Daniel Ortega‘s faith-based re-election campaign. Says the former rebel leader: “”It’s legal, legal, legal. No one can ban us from using the word Christian.”
British officials are trying to figure out how to handle the case of two Indian ex-pats who are claiming workplace discrimination after they got married; apparently their co-workers disapproved of a marriage between two members of different castes.
— Kevin Eckstrom