Friday’s Religion News Roundup: Yoga’s cool * Alien apology * Suzan’s no-show

The British tabloids have an amazing response to Scientology. Religious leaders won't get to bury the bodies from Kermit Gosnell's house of horrors. And Uncle Frank knocks his priests down a peg or two ...

Flying saucer image via Shutterstock http://shutr.bz/18GeR9D

Ralph Reed is hosting his faithful foot soldiers here in town at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s summer meeting; speakers include Sarah Palin and Mark Sanford, who hiked his way up the Appalachian trail all the way to a seat in Congress.

Flying saucer image via Shutterstock http://shutr.bz/18GeR9D

Flying saucer image via Shutterstock http://shutr.bz/18GeR9D

Turns out yoga isn’t a tool of Satan after all — or so says Virginia lieutenant governor candidate (and ordained minister) E.W. Jackson, doing more than a bit of backpedaling.


Philly officials plans to cremate and bury the bodies from Kermit Gosnell’s squalid abortion clinic rather than turn them over to religious leaders.

Meet Jenny Yang, the young and fresh face of the why-evangelicals-support-immigration-reform debate.

Ten years after his death, Fred Rogers (an ordained Presbyterian minister) is still making neighbors all over town. I just want to know if Daniel Striped Tiger ever moved out of the clock.

The Church of Scientology says Will Smith’s flop “After Earth” has absolutely nothing to do with Scientologist beliefs. They’ve said the same to us in several testy emails over David Gibson’s piece.

Speaking of, the British tabloid The Sun has apologized for an article that said flying saucers were seen flying above Scientology’s British headquarters: “Following a letter from lawyers for the Church, we apologise to any alien lifeforms for linking them to Scientologists.”

Paging Foggy Bottom: A House panel held a hearing on the impact of the International Religious Freedom Act, and  Suzan Johnson Cook, the State Department’s ambassador for religious freedom, declined to attend, apparently because she didn’t want to appear alongside non-government witnesses.

Our own Alessandro Speciale takes stock of Pope Francis’ first 100 days, and what they could tell us about a potentially transformative papacy.

Francis and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby had their first face-to-face meeting today in Rome, and it was warm-and-fuzzies all around.


Speaking of Uncle Frank, he reminded priests in his daily homily this morning not to think too much of themselves, and to spend more time focusing on their sins than their awesomeness.

Omid Safi takes stock of the candidates in this weekend’s (sham) election for president of Iran.

The Dalai Lama says the 117 Buddhist monks who have set themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule aren’t changing policy in Beijing, although he stopped short of ordering them to stop.

And with that, it’s off to the weekend. Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there; it’s my first one, and please let them know I’d like my breakfast in bed, eggs over easy.

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