Monthly Archives: November 2010
Polish church ready to unveil world’s largest Christ statue
By Tracy Gordon — November 18, 2010
WARSAW (RNS/ENInews) A Polish bishop has invited fellow Catholics from around the world to attend an unveiling on Sunday (Nov. 21) of the world’s largest statue of Christ. The statue, located about 20 miles from Poland’s western border with Germany, rises 213 feet and is visible for at least 10 miles in any direction. “This […]
Williams, in Rome, says women priests shouldn’t be stumbling block
By Tracy Gordon — November 18, 2010
VATICAN CITY (RNS) A week and a half after losing five Anglican bishops to the Catholic Church, the leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion reaffirmed his dedication to ecumenical relations between the two churches — and his belief that female Anglican priests should not be an impediment to union. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams spoke […]
Catholic bishops approve baptism accord with Reformed churches
By Tracy Gordon — November 18, 2010
BALTIMORE (RNS) The U.S. Roman Catholic bishops on Tuesday (Nov. 16) approved a mutual agreement with four Reformed Protestant denominations to recognize each other’s baptisms as valid, a pact that was six years in the making. Gathered here for their annual fall meeting, the bishops voted 204-11 to approve the baptism agreement with the Presbyterian […]
Obama signs order to reform faith-based office
By Tracy Gordon — November 17, 2010
WASHINGTON (RNS) President Obama signed an executive order Wednesday (Nov. 17) that reforms the White House’s faith-based office in a bid to improve transparency and clarify rules for religious groups that receive federal grants. The nine-page order reflects numerous recommendations made more than six months ago by a blue-ribbon advisory council charged with streamlining and […]
Clinton details religious freedom, nominee faces senators
By Tracy Gordon — November 17, 2010
WASHINGTON (RNS) Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday (Nov. 17) called for continued vigilance to protect religious minorities as her department released its annual report on international religious freedom. On the same day, the Obama administration’s nominee to be the next roving ambassador for international religious freedom addressed similar issues at her confirmation […]
Israel finds common cause with evangelicals
By Tracy Gordon — November 17, 2010
JERUSALEM (RNS) When Texas megachurch pastor John Hagee wrapped up a visit to Israel on Monday (Nov. 15) with 40 pastors in tow, he sought out the places where Jesus walked, preached and prayed some 2,000 years ago. But there was another meeting on the itinerary that was a must-not-miss event for Hagee and his […]
10 minutes with … Deepak Chopra
By Tracy Gordon — November 17, 2010
(RNS) Spiritual and alternative-medicine guru Deepak Chopra, 64, has written dozens of books about faith. His latest, “Muhammad: A Story of the Last Prophet,” is a fictionalized biography narrated by the people around him, including a Christian hermit, a Jewish scribe, two of his daughters, a convert, and an enemy. Chopra spoke about his experience […]
COMMENTARY: Your smartphone is ringing … God’s on the line
By Cathleen Falsani — November 17, 2010
(RNS) Looking for a little old-time religion? There’s an app for that. Many of us use our smart phones for much more than making a traditional phone call. They have become tools for living, and they can also be tools for living faithfully. I have dozens of spiritual applications loaded onto my iPhone and have […]
Wednesday’s Religion News Roundup
By Daniel Burke — November 17, 2010
Everyone is trying to read the tea leaves from Archbishop Timothy Dolan’s surprise election as prez of the USCCB on Tuesday. Does it mean that the American hierarchy is lurching right? That the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin’s Amazing Technicolor Seamless Garment is in tatters? Or, just that the bishops wanted a big personality to face […]
The Dolan Ascension
By Mark Silk — November 17, 2010
By choosing New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan as their new president, the Catholic bishops opted to keep speaking loudly whatever the size of the stick they carry. Dolan is a glad-hander who, post-election, signaled that he’d be treading in the footsteps of his predecessor, Cardinal Francis George. George’s valedictory address was a paean to episcopal […]
German church allows gay pastors to live with partners
By Tracy Gordon — November 17, 2010
BERLIN (RNS) Gay and lesbian Lutheran ministers in the conservative German state of Bavaria may live with their partners in parish parsonages, but only if they enter into a state-sanctioned civil union. Although the move may seem bold for what is generally considered one of Germany’s most traditional states, Bishop Johannes Friedrich of the Evangelical […]
U.S. hunger stats stable, but still at record high
By Tracy Gordon — November 17, 2010
WASHINGTON (RNS) The number of Americans struggling with hunger remained stable in 2009 despite the economic downturn, but remained at the highest recorded level, according to new federal figures. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released statistics Monday (Nov. 15) that showed one in seven American households could not buy adequate food last year due to […]
Student survey says some likely to throw punches, others taunts
By Tracy Gordon — November 17, 2010
(RNS) A recent survey of 43,000 high school students found that public school students were more likely to participate in physical violence, while private school students were more likely to have teased or taunted someone, and more likely to have felt bullied themselves. Fifty-two percent of public school students say they have hit someone in […]
Church ladies, like the queen, cover heads with `crowns’
By Tracy Gordon — November 17, 2010
ST. LOUIS (RNS) When St. Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians nearly 2,000 years ago, it’s unlikely he had the $599 Satin Ivory & Black Crystal Tower from Shellie McDowell Millinery in mind. “Any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled disgraces her head,” Paul wrote. “It is one and the […]
12,000 American Muslims to make pilgrimage to Mecca
By Kevin Eckstrom — November 16, 2010
Houston Chronicle (RNS): Some 12,000 American Muslims are expected to join an estimated 2.5 million pilgrims in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca for the hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage that this year runs Sunday through Thursday. Read more.
