Monthly Archives: July 2007
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — July 20, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service U.S. Bishops Agree to Meet With Catholic Lawmakers on Iraq War WASHINGTON _(RNS) U.S. Catholic bishops have agreed to meet with Catholic House Democrats to discuss a “responsible transition” to end the war in Iraq,the bishops announced Wednesday (July 18). “The current situation in Iraq is unacceptable and unsustainable, as […]
Post-Virginia Tech, mental health commitments remain a difficult issue
By Lucky Severson — July 20, 2007
c. 2007 Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly (UNDATED) The April shooting at Virginia Tech University was the deadliest in modern American history _ 33 people, including the shooter, were killed. And there are still more questions than answers about what went so wrong. How was it, for example, that Seung-Hui Cho slipped through the mental health […]
Serenading and Soothing Patients in Portland
By RNS Blog Editor — July 20, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service PORTLAND, Ore. _ A wedge of hallway light falls into the hospital room. The night tastes like sheets and pills. Day is night, night is day, and the chirps and wheeze of cardiac gear mark the crawl of time. Now comes a human tone, maybe a voice in song _ […]
Scholars Trace a Lifetime of Faith
By Marcia Z. Nelson — July 20, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Michele Dillon and Paul Wink have interviewed scores of septuagenarians about their faith _ or lack thereof _ and compared their answers to those they gave during their teens and middle age. Their discovery? People really don’t change much over time _ religiosity in early adulthood is comparable to […]
COMMENTARY: Lessons Learned From Military Chaplaincy
By James Rudin — July 20, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Like everyone else, I remember significant dates in my life: family birthdays, graduations, weddings, the deaths of relatives and friends. But there’s an important date of another variety: 9 Aug. That is the unique “militaryspeak” the U.S. Air Force used when it ordered me to report for active duty […]
Make Peace, Not Fear
By RNS Blog Editor — July 19, 2007
One Church Has Lessons on a House (of God) Divided RNS’ David Briggs looks at one church’s response to the liberal-conservative divide in American politics, in this week’s full-text article, linked above. Quote: The groupâÂ?¦found that amid differences in politics and beliefs, “when we seek and share God’s values our differences can lead to creative […]
Heavy Metal Guitarist Plays a New Tune
By RNS Blog Editor — July 19, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Most of Brian “Head” Welch’s tattoos are new. It seems like the multicolored ink sleeves and matted brown dreadlocks would be remnants of the “old” Brian, the one who spent a decade pounding out power chords to lyrics like “Right now / I feel it scratch inside / I […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — July 19, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Interfaith Leaders Commend North Korean Nuclear Pact (RNS) An interfaith coalition of religious leaders is congratulating the Bush administration for reaching an agreement with North Korea to shutdown its nuclear weapons facilities. “The agreement with North Korea demonstrates the value of diplomacy in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons,” the […]
Talking God and Baseball with Mike Piazzan
By RNS Blog Editor — July 19, 2007
c. 2007 Beliefnet (UNDATED) After starting his career as the 1,390th player chosen in baseball’s 1988 amateur draft, Mike Piazza has gone on to defy expectations and become one of the top major-league catchers of all time. Piazza won the 1993 Rookie of the Year Award, has been chosen for a dozen All-Star games, and […]
Little Movement Thinks Its Big Moment Has Arrived
By Bridget MacDonald — July 19, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Alan Cecil is one spiritual leader who actually gets excited when people lose their faith. That’s because his little-known Noahide (pronounced No-AH-HIDE) movement specializes in ministering to serious God-seekers who no longer trust their religious authorities. And in an age marked by clergy scandals and hot-selling books that skewer […]
COMMENTARY: How Did Abusive Priests Get in the Church?
By Phyllis Zagano — July 19, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Another day, another multimillion-dollar Catholic sex scandal settlement. This time the script plays out in Los Angeles. There are victims and lawyers, the accused and the convicted, one cardinal archbishop and one judge. Who are they? Who has cost the Roman Catholic Church _ all 1 billion of us […]
Talking God and Baseball with Mike Piazza
By RNS Blog Editor — July 19, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) After starting his career as the 1,390th player chosen in baseball’s 1988 amateur draft, Mike Piazza has gone on to defy expectations and become one of the top major-league catchers of all time. Piazza won the 1993 Rookie of the Year Award, has been chosen for a dozen All-Star […]
Christian Craftsman Jigsaws for Jesus
By Greg Garrison — July 19, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Paul Porter likes to jigsaw for Jesus and carve Scripture with a scroll saw. Cutting tiny, intricate patterns into blocks of olive wood imported from Bethlehem, he has shaped startling icons reflecting sacred themes. Many of the pieces have been given to clergy, missionaries, the sick and shut-ins. “I […]
ident: Q9438: selector: qsg-z: priority: r: category: c: format: bx: BC-RNS-WEEKLY-DIGEST: RNS Weekl
By RNS Blog Editor — July 18, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Cathedral Says Sony Apology Doesn’t Go Far Enough (RNS) After releasing a video game depicting a bloody shootout in England’s Manchester Cathedral, Sony’s public apology is too little, too late, according to church officials. “We asked them to apologize. … This they have done. We asked them to withdraw the […]
Vatican Moves Downplay 1960s Church Reforms, Observers Say
By Frances X. Rocca — July 18, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ In making two controversial decisions earlier this month _ opening the door to wider celebration of the “Latin Mass” and asserting the Roman Catholic Church as the one true “Church of Christ” _ the Vatican insisted that no essential Catholic belief or practice had been changed. In […]
