Monthly Archives: April 2007
Chilling E-mail Trail Leads to Ohio Professor, a Muslim Convert
By Linda Garrett — April 13, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The retired U.S. Navy man never intended to leave his e-mail address behind when he posted a message about his Christianity two years ago on a jihadist’s blog. Yet, when the jihadist _ using a Kent State University e-mail address _ wrote back citing a Bible verse, the Navy […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — April 13, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Senate OKs Stem Cell Bill, Bush Promises Veto WASHINGTON (RNS) Conservative Christian groups joined President Bush in lamenting the Senate’s passage of a bill Wednesday (April 11) that would use federal tax dollars to support embryonic stem cell research. The bill, similar to one that Bush vetoed last July, would […]
COMMENTARY: Rudy Giuliani’s Dark Side
By James Rudin — April 13, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) On Sept. 10, 2001, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was at a low point in both his personal and professional lives. He was prohibited by law from seeking a third term, and Republican and Democratic primaries the next day would select candidates to succeed him. Giuliani was recovering from […]
COMMENTARY: Women’s Ordination May Be Here Sooner Than You Think
By Phyllis Zagano — April 13, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Yes, I know all about the chances of snowballs surviving in the netherworld, but I still think Pope Benedict XVI is moving toward ordaining Catholic women. Three times in the last year or so, the pope’s comments leaned in that direction. The telltale words are “governance” and “ministry.” Each […]
Coming Out of the Broom Closet
By RNS Blog Editor — April 12, 2007
‘Hail Persephone’: Pagans Retool the Rosary Kimberly Winston looks at “Christo-Pagans” and other neo-pagans who are adapting the Rosary for prayer to Celtic, Norse, Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, in this week’s full-text RNS article, linked above. Quote: “It has been very common for contemporary pagans to regard Mary in some of her manifestations […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — April 12, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Muslims Urge `Code of Honor’ to Heal Sunni-Shiite Rift (RNS) Muslim leaders from California are urging fellow Muslim Americans to sign an “Intra-faith Code of Honor” to help prevent sectarian violence in Iraq from souring relations between Sunnis and Shiites in the United States. Iraq’s Sunni-Shiite strife “magnifies the limited […]
10 Minutes With … Ron Jeremy
By Dena Ross — April 12, 2007
c. 2007 Beliefnet (UNDATED) Ron Jeremy, 54, isn’t exactly known as the most faithful Jew on the block. His fame comes from being the most legendary porn star in the adult film industry. He has starred in at least 1,750 porn films _ a world record _ and claims to have slept with more than […]
Melendez Carries on John Paul’s Wish for `Hope’
By RNS Blog Editor — April 12, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service BAY VILLAGE, Ohio _ It started with a kiss. Tony Melendez, a musician born without arms, had just finished singing “Never Be the Same” while playing the guitar with his feet at a 1987 youth rally in Los Angeles before Pope John Paul II. The pontiff leapt off the 4-foot-high […]
Catholic Church Says Reported Sexual Abuse Was Down in 2006
By Daniel Burke — April 12, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ The number of allegations of sexual abuse against Roman Catholic clergy dropped 9 percent in 2006, according to a survey of U.S. dioceses and religious orders released Wednesday (April 11). While 70 percent of the 714 allegations reported last year occurred between 1960 and 1984, at least 17 […]
COMMENTARY: Women’s Ordination May Be Here Sooner Than You Think
By Phyllis Zagano — April 12, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Yes, I know all about the chances of snowballs surviving in the netherworld, but I still think Pope Benedict XVI is moving toward ordaining Catholic women. Three times in the last year or so, the pope’s comments leaned in that direction. The telltale words are “governance” and “ministry.” Each […]
Muslims Confront Their Own Holier-Than-Thou Debate
By Omar Sacirbey — April 12, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) When the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America convenes its annual convention later this year, the few dozen Islamic scholars will try to hammer out an answer to a question vexing the North American Muslim community: How do Muslims reconcile the mandates of their faith with jobs that may […]
RNS Weekly Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — April 11, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Gay Man at Center of Court Case Joins Virginia Church (RNS) The openly gay Virginia man who was at the center of a high-profile court case after he was denied membership in a United Methodist church has been accepted into membership under the church’s new pastor. The Rev. Barry Burkholder, […]
Traditionalists Still Hopeful on Access to Latin Mass
By Daniel Burke — April 11, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Catholic traditionalists say they’ve abided a biblical amount of time hoping the Vatican will permit widespread celebration of the “Latin Mass,” and a few more days, months, or even years won’t dim their desire. “We’ve been waiting for this for 40 years,” said Britt Wheeler, co-chairman of the Saint […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — April 11, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Google, Holocaust Museum Offer Close View of Darfur Violence WASHINGTON (RNS) An unprecedented look at the devastating crisis in Darfur is a free download away under a new partnership between the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and Google. Using the mapping technology of Google Earth, people can _ with a single […]
`Hail Persephone’: Pagans Retool the Rosary
By Kimberly Winston — April 11, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Picking up her Catholic rosary, Meg, a 24-year-old from Maine, begins her prayers like this: “Hail Persephone, full of strength and beauty. … Blessed are you and blessed is the cycle of your life. Holy Persephone, queen of life and death, pray for your children now, and in the […]
