Monthly Archives: January 2010
Obama, DADT, and The Family
By Mark Silk — January 30, 2010
In his State of the Union address, President Obama repeated his pledge to get rid of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. On Tuesday, the Pentagon will present Congress with recommendations on how to enable gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. On Thursday, according to the White House, the president will deliver remarks at […]
Pope tells church judges to limit marriage annulments
By Tracy Gordon — January 30, 2010
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI on Friday (Jan. 29) urged church judges to limit the number of marriage annulments they grant by encouraging couples to stay together if possible. Benedict made his remarks to members of the Roman Rota, the church panel with the highest authority in marriage cases, at a ceremony marking the […]
Air Force builds worship space for Wiccans
By Tracy Gordon — January 30, 2010
(RNS) The U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado will set aside a worship space for followers of “Earth-centered” religions such as Wicca and Druidism, according to an Air Force news release. A stone circle atop a hill on the base in Colorado Springs will likely be dedicated in a ceremony March 10, according to the […]
Canadian Supreme Court declines Jehovah’s Witness death case
By Tracy Gordon — January 30, 2010
OTTAWA (RNS) The Supreme Court of Canada has declined to hear a wrongful death lawsuit brought by a man whose daughter was a Jehovah’s Witness. Lawrence Hughes filed the action in 2004 against the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Canada and others alleging the Witnesses’ policy against blood transfusions caused the death of his […]
Mother defends choice in Ore. faith-healing case
By Tracy Gordon — January 30, 2010
OREGON CITY (RNS) Marci Beagley acknowledged Thursday (Jan. 28) that her son took a serious downturn about 12 hours before he died, and defended her family’s decision to “wait it out” rather than seek medical treatment. Nearly two weeks of testimony ended Thursday in the trial of Jeffrey and Marci Beagley, who are charged with […]
Faiths unite behind health care reform, even as details are vague
By Tracy Gordon — January 29, 2010
WASHINGTON (RNS) As Capitol Hill appears politically paralyzed over health care reform, the prescription from many faith leaders is firm: don’t abandon ship. “The faith community has worked for decades for comprehensive health care reform and this last year … many of them have put aside other policy priorities to take this over the finish […]
Friday’s roundup
By Kevin Eckstrom — January 29, 2010
The man accused of killing Kansas abortionist George Tiller said he did it to save unborn babies. “I did what I thought was needed to be done to protect the children,” Scott Roeder said. “I shot him.” The judge also ruled out allowing Roeder to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter. [UPDATE: Jurors found Roeder guilty […]
Southerners love the government!
By Mark Silk — January 29, 2010
Well, government jobs anyway. According to a new Gallup poll, the South leads all other regions of the country in the proportion of people who would prefer working for the government than for a business. Nationwide, the number is 35 percent; in the South, it’s 42 percent. (The East comes in second, at 37 percent.) […]
Premeditated Murder
By Mark Silk — January 29, 2010
If ever anyone planned and carried out the killing of another human being, Scott Roeder’s testimony at his trial yesterday made clear that he did. He described taking his pistol to George Tiller’s church two times prior to when he actually got to the doctor, pressing the muzzle against his head and pulling the trigger. […]
After quake, Haiti’s missionaries ask: ‘Why (not) me?’
By Tracy Gordon — January 29, 2010
(RNS) Having survived a devastating earthquake during a 10-day mission trip to Haiti, Freedom Gassoway now savors every minute she spends at home with her family in Beaverton, Ore. But for this 33-year-old mother of two, some of life has also lost its sweetness. Meals no longer taste good, she said, since she’s always thinking […]
Mennonite college opts to play national anthem
By Tracy Gordon — January 29, 2010
(RNS) In a break with the past, a Mennonite college in Indiana will play an instrumental version of the national anthem before athletic events despite the song’s “militaristic” lyrics. Goshen College in Goshen, Ind., is owned by Mennonite Church USA, an historic peace church that advocates nonviolence. But in deference to its increasingly diverse student […]
Judge grants political asylum to German home-schoolers
By Tracy Gordon — January 29, 2010
(RNS) A U.S. immigration judge has granted political asylum to a Christian family from Germany that wants to home-school its children. The Home School Legal Defense Association, which defended the family, announced the Tuesday (Jan. 26) decision by Judge Lawrence Burman in Memphis, Tenn. “This decision finally recognizes that German home-schoolers are a specific social […]
Church says three accused Irish priests served in Boston
By Tracy Gordon — January 29, 2010
BOSTON (RNS) The Archdiocese of Boston, under mounting pressure to address alleged ties to Irish priests accused of sexual abuse, acknowledged that three clerics on a list of 70 alleged abusers had in fact served in the Boston area. One of the accused, the Rev. Dennis P. Murphy received permission to celebrate Mass at St. […]
Author worries online communities are hurting real ones
By Tracy Gordon — January 29, 2010
PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS) When it comes to Facebook, Jesse Rice sees an immensely popular social networking site that’s great for sharing photos and keeping in touch with friends. He also sees something that encourages attitudes and behaviors that don’t work as well in real life. Rice, 37, is the author of “The Church of Facebook: […]
As future looks uncertain, exhibit celebrates nuns’ colorful past
By Tracy Gordon — January 28, 2010
WASHINGTON (RNS) Ever since the first Catholic nuns set out for America nearly 300 years ago, their sisterhood has been besieged by pirates, attacked by Nativists, bullied by lumberjacks, swarmed by mosquitoes, harangued by bishops, robbed by bandits, hemmed in by black habits and laden with headgear the size of small birds. As a new […]
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