Ethics
NEWS STORY: Catholic editor stunned by reaction to controversial abortion editorial
By Douglas Todd — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service VANCOUVER, British Columbia _ The editor of Roman Catholic archdiocese of Vancouver’s newspaper says he felt like he was hit by a truck when he ignited a continent-wide furor over an editorial in which he admitted part of him was”pleased”about the murder of a New York doctor who performs abortions. […]
NEWS FEATURE: Doing good while shopping online
By Shaun Casey — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service UNDATED _ In search of books, sweaters, toys, and a nearly infinite variety of whatevers, Americans are spending billions of dollars out there in the Internet universe. Online shoppers spent some $3.5 billion in the last quarter of 1998 alone. With all that money surging around the electronic ether, a […]
NEWS FEATURE: Corporate philanthropy turns from check writing to sweat equity
By Stephanie Simon — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service UNDATED _ Nothing in Jim Shippey’s career at United Parcel Service suggested he would spend the end of a hot summer day crouched under a bridge in New York’s South Bronx section, grilling surplus prison food with a nun. The nun, Sister Lauria, was his favorite part of a four-week […]
NEWS STORY: Assisted suicide opponents go on the attack
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Congressional opponents, joined by Roman Catholic religious leaders, have launched the first volley of an attack on physician-assisted suicide in what could become a lengthy legislative battle over the same issues of morality and personal choice involved in the abortion debate. The immediate target is the new state […]
NEWS STORY: Bullish stock market gave charities boost; future uncertain
By Shaun Casey — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Most U.S. charities had a bumper year in 1997, according to new figures, but the rosy glow may already be evaporating as fund-raisers agonize over whether the erratic stock market will discourage donors. In 1997, with the stock market still soaring, donations to religious and other charities rose […]
EASTER FEATURE: The evangelist, the president and the `craft’ of forgiveness
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service UNDATED _ They were words whispered in one final, tortured breath:”Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Even as Jesus hung on the cross, badly beaten and nearly dead, he mustered the strength to petition God on behalf of his murderers. Indeed, extending forgiveness _ to the […]
COMMENTARY: Legal abortion faces a tougher future
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service (David Sarasohn is an associate editor at The Oregonian of Portland, Ore.) UNDATED _ If there were a poster girl for this week’s 25th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision, it would be the woman interviewed by The New York Times who declared firmly that she was pro-life and […]
NEWS ANALYSIS: Political nuns face more than physical danger
By Julia Lieblich — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service UNDATED _ The admission was a long time coming: Four former Salvadoran guardsmen said they had not acted alone in the killing of three North American nuns and a church worker 17 years ago. They took their orders from higher military authorities, they said. At the time of the murders, […]
COMMENTARY: Resurrecting the legacy of Mother Teresa
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 MSNBC (Joan Connell is editor of the Opinions section of MSNBC on the Internet.) UNDATED _ The mounds of ready-made, cellophane-wrapped bouquets that have come to symbolize popular sentiment over the death of Princess Diana are piling up again to mark the first anniversary of her death. But in war-torn Kosovo, a rough […]
NEWS STORY: Italian Waldensians support assisted suicide, euthanasia
By Christiane Gruber — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service ROME _ Italy’s small Waldensian Protestant Church has adopted a statement supporting euthanasia and assisted suicide, while urging discussion on the issue with an eye toward legislative approval of the practices, which are strongly condemned by the the Roman Catholic Church. The controversial move came during the joint weeklong annual […]
NEWS STORY: Big companies increasing their charitable giving
By Shaun Casey — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service UNDATED _ Bouyed by the booming economy and public expectations, the nation’s richest companies say their charitable giving will grow 11 percent this year, according to a new survey by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. The new figures reflect a continuing trend among large corporations. Previous surveys by the Chronicle found […]
NEWS FEATURE: For the modern Thanksgiving meal, gratitude is not on the menu
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service UNDATED _ From the first Thanksgiving _ a day set aside in 1621 by the first Pilgrim settlers to be mindful of God’s blessings _ to the football-rooting food-binge typical of the holiday today, the thoughts of Americans about the fourth Thursday of November have undergone a dramatic metamorphoses. How […]
NEWS FEATURE: Ethicist: Jews should be `tad nervous’ over genetic testing
By Julie Wolfe — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service PHILADELPHIA _ Specters of genetic and biological blame _ from the 14th-century bubonic plague to the 20th-century Holocaust _ should make Jews”a tad nervous”about the increasing popularity of genetic testing, says Laurie Zolath-Dorfman, an associated professor of social ethics and Jewish studies at San Francisco State University.”In the 14th century, […]
NEWS FEATURE: FROG bracelets have answer for WWJD question
By Ed White — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. _ So you’re familiar with WWJD, the spiritual and marketing phenomenon that has teenagers asking,”What would Jesus do?”But are you ready to leap to FROG? An Indiana company says it has the answer: Fully Rely On God, or FROG. Like the WWJD phenomenon, which got its start […]
NEWS FEATURE: Buddhist hospital chaplain breaks new ground
By Ira Rifkin — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service HERSHEY, Pa. _ The hospital bedside conversation was routine _ small talk meant to break the ice. It consisted of little more than chaplain J. Anthony Stultz asking patient Jeremy Bentley how his recovery from being struck by a car was going (well, Bentley replied), followed by a few words […]
