Friday’s Religion News Roundup: “King” Eddie Long and spontaneous exorcisms

Embattled Atlanta pastor Eddie Long gets some supernatural protection from a Holocaust Torah scroll, while two men claim supernatural release from demons when the pope walked into the room.

OK, this is quite possibly the most awesome story of the week: Jewish groups are disturbed by a bizarre “kingship ceremony” at Bishop Eddie Long‘s Atlanta megachurch in which a Messianic Jewish man wrapped Long in a Torah scroll (from a concentration camp, no less) and proclaimed him invincible from all his foes. Full video here.

And remember the “Jewish Indiana Jones,” who went around the world saving endangered Torah scrolls from destruction? Yesterday, he told a judge he made it all up.


There were a lot of raised eyebrows over Mitt Romney‘s 10% tithe to his church; but at least he’s putting his money where his mouth is. Most Americans don’t even come close to meeting the biblical 10% donation mark.

Romney’s get-tough immigration policies don’t square with the policies of Mormon hierarchy, according to the NYT. Evangelical Republicans still prefer Newt Gingrich to lead the party over Romney, according to a new PRRI/RNS Religion News Poll, and mainliners are nearly evenly divided.

The AP reports that the NYPD targeted Shiite mosques in and around New York in a bid to thwart any potential terror threats from Iran. Speaking of New York, two-thirds of Americans support churches’ rights to rent space in public schools, according to a new poll, even though New York officials won a court fight to evict them.

POTUS talked about faith and poverty at yesterday’s National Prayer Breakfast, drawing a sharp but subtle distinction between himself and Romney’s “I’m not concerned about the very poor” gaffe.

There’s a strange story circulating in Rome that two men were cured of demons during an audience with B16 in St. Peter’s Square: ““The two possessed men fell to the floor and banged their heads on the ground. The Swiss guards watched but did nothing.” Church officials deny the whole thing, and say it wasn’t an exorcism.

Speaking of the Vatican, they’re still trying to make nice with Galileo after all that heresy unpleasantness and hosting a giant science fair for kids in Galileo’s hometown.

A federal court in Mississippi has dropped charges against the Vatican related to a bizarre insurance scheme in Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas.


A married Catholic priest in Connecticut shares the struggles of raising a family and tending a flock, saying married priests will not be a panacea for the church’s ills.

Things have been bad in Ireland for a while when it comes to the Catholic Church; now the Irish government is cutting aid to poor families to help them outfit their kids for First Communion.

— Kevin “should be rooting for the Patriots but really doesn’t care” Eckstrom

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