Politics
NEWS ANALYSIS: After films and concerts, Tibetan issue faces uncertain future
By Ira Rifkin — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ In a city where a plethora of issues struggle for attention, Tibet stands out to a degree matched by few others, thanks to a potent combination of celebrity glitter and a charismatic standardbearer _ the Dalai Lama _ whose become an icon of spiritual and political purity. Last […]
NEWS STORY: Religious leaders step up criticism of threatened attack on Iraq
By Ira Rifkin — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Sister Kathy Thornton _ standing on a portable wood platform and with the White House as a back drop _ faced a half-dozen TV news cameras Wednesday (Feb. 11) and urged the United States not to launch a military strike against Iraq.”Is it not possible that the United […]
NEWS STORY: Pope begins trip to Croatia hailing its era of peace and freedom
By Chris Smith — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service ZAGREB, Croatia _ Tens of thousands of people greeted Pope John Paul II as he arrived in the capital of this largely Catholic nation Friday (Oct. 2), a nation still recovering from its war for independence from the former Yugoslavia.”After the violent and brutal war in which it found itself […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service Arkansas clergy criticize Starr, Congress for releasing testimony (RNS) A dozen Christian and Jewish leaders have called on Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr and Congress to admit that it was wrong to release President Clinton’s grand jury testimony. The Rev. Jeanie Burton, senior pastor of the Arkansas Methodist church where first […]
NEWS STORY: Attorneys argue `landmark’ church political ads tax case
By Ira Rifkin — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ In a possible landmark case, attorneys for a Vestal, N.Y., church argued Thursday (Oct. 29) that the Internal Revenue Service wrongly lifted the conservative congregation’s tax-free status after it sponsored 1992 newspaper ads urging Christians not to vote for then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton. Appearing in U.S. District Court […]
NEWS STORY: Last year, world saw fewest refugees in a decade
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Some 13.6 million people worldwide sought refuge or asylum in foreign lands in 1997, the lowest number in a decade, according to a recently released report. However, another 17 million were internally displaced by war and persecution. And for the fourth consecutive year, Palestinians comprised the largest displaced […]
NEWS STORY: Pope faces controversy in weekend trip to Croatia
By Chris Smith — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service ZAGREB, Croatia _ The Croatian government, preparing for the second trip of Pope John Paul II to the war-scarred country, is portraying the weekend visit as an endorsement of the young nation and its nationalist policies, but the pontiff will be arriving at a time when Croatia’s new Catholic leadership […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service Baptist leader pleads innocent to federal charges (RNS) The Rev. Henry Lyons, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, pleaded innocent Monday (July 6) to federal charges that he used his office to cheat corporations out of money to augment his lavish lifestyle. Lyons was indicted Thursday (July 2) on […]
NEWS STORY: Attorneys argue `landmark’ church political ads tax case
By Ira Rifkin — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ In a possible landmark case, attorneys for a Vestel, N.Y., church argued Thursday (Oct. 29) that the Internal Revenue Service wrongly lifted the conservative congregation’s tax-free status after it sponsored 1992 newspaper ads urging Christians not to vote for then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton. Appearing in U.S. District Court […]
NEWS STORY: Religious leaders say Clinton’s misdeeds short of impeachment grounds
By Ira Rifkin — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Some 30 religious leaders _ saying President Clinton’s alleged sexual misdeeds do not meet the Constitution’s standard for impeachment _ Wednesday (Oct. 7) urged Congress to end its inquiry and focus instead on”the larger moral imperatives that urgently demand our attention.” One day before the Republican-controlled House was […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service Catholic bishop kills himself to protest Pakistani blasphemy case (RNS) A leading Pakistani Roman Catholic bishop fatally shot himself to protest a death sentence given a Christian accused of blaspheming Islam by speaking favorably of author Salman Rushdie. Bishop John Joseph shot himself in the head Wednesday (May 6) in […]
NEWS STORY: Prayer for president kicks off National Day of Prayer
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ In a small park across the street from the White House, Shirley Dobson, the wife of James Dobson, one of the nation’s leading conservative advocacy groups and a staunch critic of President Clinton, rallied a group of some 200 Wednesday neither to protest nor praise, but to pray […]
NEWS STORY: Compromise offered in effort to pass religious persecution bill
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Supporters unveiled a new compromise proposal Friday (Oct. 2) in a last-ditch effort to pass legislation to make opposition to religious persecution abroad a focal point of U.S. foreign policy. The latest effort is the third legislative attempt to address the issue, which has been a running theme […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service Spanish Jews hold first public Hanukkah ritual in five centuries (RNS) The Jewish community of Spain held a public celebration of Hanukkah Sunday (Dec. 20) for the first time in more than five centuries. Members of the small community lit candles at the same location in Girona, Spain, where their […]
NEWS FEATURE: Author traces Christianity’s early spread
By Ira Rifkin — January 1, 1998
c. 1998 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ In the two decades following the crucifixion of Jesus, the nascent Christian community spread from Jerusalem and the Galilee region of biblical Palestine to Damascus and Rome. John Dominic Crossan thinks he knows why: timing and the promise of a good meal. Crossan, a 64-year-old, ex-Roman Catholic priest, […]
