More bad news on the fiscal front. A growing number of Protestant churches have seen their Sunday collections drop this year, according to a survey reported in the Tennessean. Megachurches, however, seem to be doing fine.

The Roman Catholic bishop of Phoenix is threatening to strip a local hospital of its Catholic status if it doesn’t guarantee compliance with church teaching. Earlier this year, the hospital permitted an abortion for a woman whose life was threatened by her pregnancy.

Two men are suing the Knights of Columbus for sexual abuse, according to the Hartford Courant. A California man is suing the Presbyterian Church (USA) for abuse that allegedly occurred while his parents were missionaries for the church in Africa.

An English mosque is embarrassed that it did not report to police about a congregant who was alienating fellow worshippers with his extremist views, and who later blew himself up in a busy street in Stockholm. Iran said the U.S. is responsible for a suicide attack on Wednesday that killed at least 39 people at a Shiite ritual in southeastern Iran. Pakistan is deploying tens of thousands of paramilitary soldiers ahead of a Shiite festival that will be a major security test for authorities.

President George W. Bush, who is making the rounds promoting his book among evangelicals, said he was tipsy the first time he met Billy Graham. England’s Prince Charles says “sacred geometry” can provide glimpses of the divine.

A Colorado judge denied a request from a Muslim woman to have her jail booking photo taken while wearing a headscarf. She was arrested for driving a scooter while intoxicated. The ACLU announced that it’s filing suit in Georgia on behalf of another Muslim woman who was told she could not enter a municipal courtroom where her nephew faced a traffic hearing if she did not remove her hijab. Muslim employees of a Washington hotel say they were barred from floors where an Israeli delegation was staying last week.

A leading Israeli rabbi says Jews should not visit the Western Wall on the Sabbath because its security cameras desecrate the day of rest. Thugs in Ecuador killed a priest with a crucifix. A Catholic bishop in Argentina told children that Santa Claus is not real.