Monthly Archives: May 2009
COMMENTARY: One love, one heart
By Cathleen Falsani — May 27, 2009
CHICAGO — The morning we drove to O’Hare International Airport to meet Vasco after his 30-plus-hour flight from Malawi, my husband and I turned on the car stereo and hit play on the CD in the six-disc changer. What came up was Paul Simon’s album, “Graceland.” “These are the days of miracle and wonder, This […]
Sonia from the ‘hood
By Mark Silk — May 27, 2009
Barring some unlikely unforeseen revelation, the Sotomayor nomination will go through as smoothly as these things can these days. Like Roberts and Alito on the other team, she’s been a Supreme Court possibility for a long time, has known it, and has proceeded with the caution that such wannabes must. Nowhere is identity politics more […]
How Catholic is she?
By Kevin Eckstrom — May 27, 2009
About the only thing we’ve been able to discern about Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor’s faith is that she’s Catholic and attended a Catholic high school. The White House says she attends Catholic Church for “important events, including family celebrations,” which doesn’t sound like she’s a daily-Mass-kind-of-Catholic. If confirmed, Sotomayor would be the sixth Catholic […]
Indian gay marriage law takes effect in Oregon
By Tracy Gordon — May 27, 2009
PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS) A Coquille Indian Tribe law allowing same-sex marriage took effect this week, and two women married Sunday (May 24) on the tribe’s reservation in Coos Bay, Ore. Kitzen Branting, 26, and her partner, Jeni Branting, 28, who now live in Edmonds, Wash., became the first same-sex couple to legally marry in Oregon, […]
Evangelical angst over Jon and Kate
By Kevin Eckstrom — May 27, 2009
I updated my Facebook status last night to say that I “can’t watch Jon & Kate’s marriage fall apart any longer. It’s too depressing.” I had actually stopped watching TLC’s “Jon & Kate Plus 8” several months ago because of all the sickening giveaways that the family was getting — it wasn’t enough for them […]
Church of Scotland OKs gay minister
By Tracy Gordon — May 26, 2009
LONDON (RNS) The Church of Scotland has approved a two-year moratorium on all issues related to openly gay clergy, but only after approving a gay man to serve as pastor of Queen’s Cross Church in Aberdeen. The church’s General Assembly approved the appointment of the Rev. Stuart Rennie, a divorced father whose ex-wife has been […]
Christianity Today to close four publications, lay off 31
By Tracy Gordon — May 26, 2009
(RNS) Publishing powerhouse Christianity Today International, citing hard times in its industry, is shutting down four publications and laying off 31 workers. According to a plan announced Friday (May 22), two magazines will fold: Today’s Christian Woman and the Campus Life College Guide, which targets Christian undergrads. CTI will also cease to publish Glimpses, a […]
Vatican raises retirement age to make ends meet
By Tracy Gordon — May 26, 2009
VATICAN CITY (RNS) In a sign the credit crunch is sparing no one, the Vatican is set to raise its staff retirement age by two years to help make ends meet. From January 1, 2010, newly hired lay staff will retire at 67 instead of 65, while newly hired members of religious orders and priests […]
COMMENTARY: A mighty wind
By Tom Ehrich — May 26, 2009
INDIANAPOLIS — We parked on West 16th Street and walked the final half-mile to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In the company of some 400,000 people, we found our seats. Race cars sat in rows of three on the track, as quiet as worshippers waiting for permission to sing. The pre-race ceremonies were a moving display […]
Hispanic Christians divided on Obama’s Supreme Court pick
By Tracy Gordon — May 26, 2009
WASHINGTON — For the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, Tuesday’s (May 26) announcement of the first Latina nominee to the nation’s highest court was cause for equal parts celebration and caution. “I’m caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place,” said Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. “As a Puerto Rican American, as […]
California Supreme Court upholds gay marriage ban
By Tracy Gordon — May 26, 2009
(UNDATED) The California Supreme Court upheld a statewide ban on gay marriage on Tuesday (May 26) but preserved the estimated 18,000 gay marriages that were performed before voters approved the ban last November. By a 6-to-1 majority, the court said that by approving Proposition 8 last fall, California voters had spoken clearly that marriage should […]
Is Mary the ‘Coredemptrix’ of humanity?
By Tracy Gordon — May 26, 2009
VATICAN CITY — When Pope Benedict XVI told a crowd in St. Peter’s Square in April that the Virgin Mary “silently followed her son Jesus to Calvary, taking part with great suffering in his sacrifice, thus cooperating in the mystery of redemption and becoming mother of all believers,” most listeners probably heard nothing remarkable in […]
Give me Liberty or … ah, forget it
By Daniel Burke — May 26, 2009
Liberty University, the Lynchburg, Va., school founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell and now run by his son, has stripped the local College Democrats’ chapter from its list of official clubs because it “stands against” the school’s moral principles. According to the Washington Times:”It’s a symbolic thing,” said Liberty President Jerry Falwell Jr. “These are […]
Prepping for Prop 8
By Daniel Burke — May 26, 2009
In anticipation of the California Supreme Court’s ruling today on Prop 8, the LA Times has a useful Q&A on what it all means. Here’s an e.g.: “What do legal experts expect the court to do? Based on comments the justices made at a hearing earlier this year, most legal experts expect the court to […]
Teen who shunned chemo returns home
By Adelle M. Banks — May 26, 2009
Daniel Hauser, the Minnesota teen with cancer whose family cited religious reasons for shunning chemotherapy, has returned home after disappearing with his mother. The Brown County Sheriff’s Office announced the development on Monday. The Star Tribune of Minneapolis reports that the 13-year-old will be returning to court as soon as Tuesday to clarify his custodial […]
