Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley apologized “if I offended anyone in any way” after he said non-Christians are “not my brothers and sisters” just hours after taking the oath of office.
President Obama rolled out the red carpet for Chinese President Hu Jintao at an official State Dinner last night, but only after Hu admitted “a lot still needs to be done in China in terms of human rights,” with the caveat that “we also need to take into account the different and national circumstances when it comes to the universal value of human rights.”
WaPo probes the growing divide between Catholic hospitals and the Catholic hierarchy over who gets to call the shots in the O.R.; opponents are mobilizing just outside D.C. to keep a Catholic hospital from expanding because of its restrictions on reproductive health options.
Gay rights groups call a new 12-step program for gays in the Diocese of Colorado Springs “snake-oil therapy.” From the Dept. of Things That Make You Go Hmmm, researchers say the most popular place for gays to raise kids is in … the South.
Mother Angelica’s EWTN Catholic network has acquired the National Catholic Register from the conservative (and troubled) Legionaries of Christ. The California Supreme Court has given the green light to unseal the case files of nine Franciscan friars accused of child abuse. B16 wants young people to “act at all times with prudence and a sense of responsibility” behind the wheel.
A Philadelphia abortionist was charged with eight counts of murder for running a filthy clinic described as “a house of horrors.” Possible 2012 GOP candidate Rick Santorum chides President Obama for his support of abortion rights, saying it’s striking for “a black man to say ‘now we are going to decide who are people and who are not people.'”
Speaking of 2012, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee leads among evangelicals in a match-up against Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney, according to a new WaPo/ABC News poll.
Franklin Graham says Obama’s memorial service for the massacre in Tucson made a mockery of God for featuring a Native American shaman but no mention of Jesus: “There was no call for God to put His loving arms around those who were hurting. Why did they leave him out? They scoff at the name of Jesus Christ.” (Perhaps he missed Attorney General Eric Holder reading from 2 Corinthians.)
Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who wanted to BBQ a pile of Qurans, has been officially banned from entering the U.K. CNN looks at self-immolation across religious history.
Twin bombs exploded in the Iraqi holy city of Karbala, killing some 50 (mostly Shiite) pilgrims. WaPo explores the plight of religious minorities — particularly Ahmadi Muslims — in the largely secular(ish) Palestinian territories. Turkey is cracking down on booze, leading some to worry that hard-line Muslim purists are gaining more influence in the officially secular(ish) Islamic country.
And who knew Boy George (top left) had an eye for icons? Orthodox leaders thanked him for returning a stolen icon that he bought from a dealer at the height of his Culture Club fame.
