Monthly Archives: May 2005
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — May 17, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service White House Questions Newsweek’s Handling of Quran Story (RNS) The White House is questioning Newsweek’s handling of a report that the Muslim holy book was desecrated by interrogators at a U.S. military base in Cuba. The magazine’s editor has issued an apology to readers. Newsweek reported in its May 9 […]
Father of Ohio Priest Canonized by Orthodox Church
By RNS Blog Editor — May 17, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service ZITOMISLICI, Bosnia-Herzegovina _ Orthodox faithful in at least one slice of America can feel a little closer to heaven today. The Serbian Orthodox Church, led by Patriarch Pavle, canonized the father of a Cleveland-area priest in an elaborate ceremony Sunday that elevated 30 martyrs of the Second World War to […]
Anglicans, Catholics Find Common Ground on Virgin Mary
By Kein Eckstrom — May 17, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Roman Catholic and Anglican leaders on Monday (May 16) announced newfound agreement on the Virgin Mary, putting to rest disagreements on her role in salvation that had simmered for almost 500 years. The 81-page booklet, released in Seattle by the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), said the churches now […]
Christian Fiction Pioneer Tackles New `Monster’: Evolution
By Greg Garrison — May 17, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service PELHAM, Ala. _ Frank Peretti sat in the Amen Corner, a banjo on his lap, playing the theme song from “The Beverly Hillbillies.” He was at the Christian bookstore here promoting his latest horror novel, “Monster.” His first novel, “This Present Darkness,” has sold more than 2.5 million copies since […]
COMMENTARY: N.C. Political Pastor Is Just the Start
By RNS Blog Editor — May 17, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) It seems the mixing of conservative politics and religion reached its breaking point in the person of 33-year-old Chan Chandler, the North Carolina Baptist pastor who resigned last week (May 10) after apparently attempting to force out some members who voted Democratic in the last election. The fact of […]
COMMENTARY: Health Insurance Is Great _ When You Have It
By RNS Blog Editor — May 14, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) “How much do you think this bottle of pills costs?” asked my wife, several days after I had returned home from a month in the hospital for the treatment of acute leukemia. I was stunned when she told me the price for a 30-day prescription was more than $4,000. […]
Pope Puts John Paul II on Fast Track to Sainthood
By RNS Blog Editor — May 14, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service ROME _ Pope Benedict XVI announced Friday (May 13) that the Vatican will give John Paul II _ the pope who created more blesseds and saints than all his predecessors combined _ a head start on the road to sainthood by allowing the process to begin immediately. Responding to unprecedented […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — May 14, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service Knights of Columbus, Students Want to Intervene in Pledge Case (RNS) The Knights of Columbus and almost a dozen California public school students have asked a federal court to allow them to intervene in the renewed lawsuit by an atheist who seeks to have “under God” removed from the Pledge […]
Congregation is Ultimate Guardian of Catholic Orthodoxy
By RNS Blog Editor — May 14, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has a long and, some would say, infamous history. Once known as the Office of the Holy Inquisition and later the Holy Office, it has served for almost five centuries as the ultimate guardian of Catholic orthodoxy. From the […]
Pope Names San Francisco Archbishop as Guardian of Catholic Doctrine
By Kein Eckstrom — May 14, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Pope Benedict XVI on Friday (May 13) named the archbishop of San Francisco, William Levada, to the pope’s old job as guardian of the Catholic faith, making Levada the highest-ranking American ever to serve at the Vatican. Levada, 68, was named prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of […]
Exhibits to Honor John Paul II’s 85th Birthday
By RNS Blog Editor — May 13, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ If he were still alive, Pope John Paul II would turn 85 on Wednesday (May 18). Two museums are celebrating his birthday with new exhibits including a display of a gift from President Bush, a pair of the pope’s skis and a tribute to his enduring love for […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — May 13, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service Christian Groups Join in Global Day of Prayer on Sunday (RNS) Christian organizations around the country are gearing up for a worldwide prayer event to be celebrated Sunday (May 15) on Pentecost. The Global Day of Prayer, scheduled on the day that Christians celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit, […]
COMMENTARY: Jews and Maybe Catholics Return to Ancient Languages
By James Rudin — May 13, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) I vividly remember a unique meeting a few years ago at the seminary for the Archdiocese of New York in Yonkers when a dozen rabbinical students spent the day studying together with a group of candidates for the Roman Catholic priesthood. The two sets of future clergy quickly discovered […]
German-Born Pope, `Particularly Sensitive’ to War, Urges Peace
By RNS Blog Editor — May 13, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ Pope Benedict XVI said Thursday (May 12) that living through the “devastating and inhuman ideologies” of Nazism and communism in his native Germany has made him “particularly sensitive” to the need to seek peace through dialogue. Benedict made the unusually personal statement in his first address on […]
COMMENTARY: Vatican Sends Message to American Catholics With Ouster of Jesuit Editor
By RNS Blog Editor — May 12, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Many observers are puzzled that the Vatican would force the mild and moderate Thomas Reese, a Jesuit priest, to resign as editor of America, one of the nation’s oldest and most respected Catholic magazines. Reese is not a theologian but a political scientist, and he and his associate editors […]
