Monthly Archives: August 2009
N.J. pastor named to head Progressive National Baptists
By Tracy Gordon — August 31, 2009
(RNS) A New Jersey pastor has been elected the next general secretary of the Progressive National Baptist Convention. The Rev. Walter Parrish III, senior pastor of Union Baptist Church in Montclair, N.J., was chosen for the position during the historically black denomination’s annual meeting, which concluded Aug. 8 in Louisville, Ky. Parrish, 50, will succeed […]
N.J. pastor named to head Progressive National Baptists
By Tracy Gordon — August 31, 2009
(RNS) A New Jersey pastor has been elected the next general secretary of the Progressive National Baptist Convention. The Rev. Walter Parrish III, senior pastor of Union Baptist Church in Montclair, N.J., was chosen for the position during the historically black denomination’s annual meeting, which concluded Aug. 8 in Louisville, Ky. Parrish, 50, will succeed […]
Outspoken Catholic bishop steps down after stormy tenure
By Tracy Gordon — August 31, 2009
(RNS) A Pennsylvania Catholic bishop whose public scoldings of politicians — including Vice President Joe Biden — created a stir nationwide resigned on Monday (Aug. 31), citing stress and lack of confidence in his leadership. Bishop Joseph Martino was appointed in 2003 to head the Diocese of Scranton, a heavily Catholic corner of northeastern Pennsylvania. […]
Muslims to pray in D.C. for `soul of America’
By Tracy Gordon — August 31, 2009
(UNDATED) Tens of thousands of Muslims plan to pray “for the soul of America” outside the U.S. Capitol in September in what is being described as a first-of-its-kind event. The event, spearheaded by the Dar-ul-Islam mosque in Elizabeth, N.J., will not include political speeches or placards, just prayer, said Hassen Abdellah, president of Dar-ul-Islam and […]
The blinking cursor
By Kevin Eckstrom — August 31, 2009
William Wan, the new religion reporter over at WaPo, had an intriguing story over the weekend about a seemingly trivial part of the Facebook phenomenon: Religious views. I suppose theologians and Ph.D. candidates could spend endless hours chewing over the difference between “religion” and “religious views,” but for now, let’s just say that Wan has […]
After `Da Vinci,’ Opus Dei cautiously optimistic about new film
By Tracy Gordon — August 31, 2009
(UNDATED) Three years after “The Da Vinci Code” sent Opus Dei scrambling to counter the film’s depiction of a masochistic, murderous cabal, members of the Catholic organization have cautious hopes for a biopic of their founding father, St. Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer. “There Be Dragons,” which is currently filming in Argentina, is helmed by Oscar-nominated […]
Ciao, Martino
By Mark Silk — August 31, 2009
David Gibson sees today’s abrupt resignation of Scranton Bishop Joseph Martino as a heave out the door by the powers-that-be that portends a significant blow to the take-no-prisoners wing of the American hierarchy. Of course, as Gibson’s rehearsal of the prelate’s run of controversies makes clear, Martino often seemed out of control, if not off […]
Health Reform, voucherized
By Mark Silk — August 31, 2009
Not so long ago, religious conservatives were vigorously making the case that the way to respect the Establishment Clause (i.e. separation of church and state) while permitting government funding of religious primary and secondary schools was through vouchers. Sure, the government should not directly fund educational institutions that did religious indoctrination, but by subsidizing education […]
You don’t have to be Jewish…
By Mark Silk — August 31, 2009
…to join the Messianic Jews. According to today’s Kansas City Star, the FBI is investigating a study group of them that included Scott Roeder, the accused murder of abortion doctor George Tiller. Said Roeder of his 1992 conversion: “I converted, born again to Christianity,” he said. “I guess you could say Messianic, or turned to […]
Kennedy’s Catholic send-off
By Mark Silk — August 30, 2009
Unsurprisingly (to me, anyway), the Catholic church got it together to give Ted Kennedy the big good-bye, with Cardinal Sean O’Malley showing up to preside at the funeral and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick doing the same at the graveside. There can be no doubt that there was something hesitant and withholding in this. O’Malley’s participation was […]
Jews blasts WCC leader on Israel comments
By Tracy Gordon — August 29, 2009
GENEVA (RNS/ENI) The American Jewish Committee on Friday (Aug. 28) denounced the World Council of Churches’ outgoing general secretary, the Rev. Samuel Kobia, for his declaration that Israel’s “occupation” of Palestinian territories is “a sin against God”. “Rev. Kobia parrots the same hypocritical statements regarding Israel that the WCC regularly issues, ignoring the root causes […]
Exit, stage right, for Martino?
By Kevin Eckstrom — August 29, 2009
Speculation is at a fever pitch that Catholic Bishop Joseph Martino of Scranton, Pa., will step down on Monday. Who cares? Well, Vice President Joe Biden for one, I’d suspect, and probably Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey for another. Martino, 63, has become one of the most outspoken Catholic bishops in the U.S. on the issue […]
Metropolitan Kirill I, the new patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, says a former gulag in nort
By Tracy Gordon — August 28, 2009
N.J. bishops begin campaign against gay marriage
By Tracy Gordon — August 28, 2009
(RNS) Catholic bishops in New Jersey have begun a campaign against same-sex marriage in anticipation of a possible vote on the issue by state legislators after November’s gubernatorial election. The bishops directed Catholic priests throughout the state to distribute in parish bulletins a 2,300-word letter opposing same-sex marriage. The priests are also expected to speak […]
Episcopal presiding bishop tries to clarify `salvation’ speech
By Tracy Gordon — August 28, 2009
(RNS) Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori on Thursday (Aug. 27) tried to tamp criticism she received last month after she denounced the “heresy” of individual salvation. In a statement issued by church headquarters in New York, Jefferts Schori tried to clarify her remarks at the church’s General Convention in Anaheim, Calif., saying that individualism […]
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