The first Lord Baltimore, who was Catholic, as are the American bishops meeting in Baltimore this week.
Disobedience: Not one, but 50 clergy — most of them ordained in the United Methodist Church — preside over the marriage of two men, which is disallowed under church law.
A wedding under the palm trees will soon be possible for gay Americans, as Hawaii’s Senate is expected to pass a gay marriage bill today, the last legislative step before the governor signs a bill.
Sponsor of the Day: Gay Hawaii Weddings! Thinking about getting hitched? Why not do it here in Maui. Better yet,… http://t.co/SCIXCnmi
— Maui Pride (@MauiPrideOrg) August 30, 2012
Vatican ambassador to U.S. bishops: Francis’ priorities should be your priorities. David Gibson reports that the message, ease up on the ideology guys, will play well with at least some. Cardinal Dolan, who heads up the U.S. bishops conference, seemed to strike a similar tone, imploring his club to focus attention on violations of liberty abroad.
Dolan instead asked the bishops to “broaden our horizon” and recognize that their own domestic concerns “pale in comparison” to the suffering of Christians in the Middle East and elsewhere “who are experiencing lethal persecution on a scale that defies belief.”
At the same time, a Reuter’s report has Dolan striking a defensive note on the bishops treatment of the poor.
Gibson is your eyes and ears at the bishops conference in Baltimore this week. #USCCB13 He asks a non-conference-related question this morning.
Did Pope Francis @Pontifex just come out against spanking children? http://t.co/KKz8PNRqkn @RNS
— David Gibson (@GibsonWrites) November 12, 2013
Another reason to listen to Francis: Church attendance in Italy has risen molto, Eric Lyman reports. (Not to mention that “Francesco” is suddenly the #1 name for newborn Italian boys.)
The Vatican will display the bones of St. Peter for the very first time, to mark the end of the Year of Faith.
A N.J. prosecutor slammed Newark Archbishop John J. Myers for failing to police child sex abuser Michael Fugee. Prosecutor:
If something like this were to ever happen again, I have no intention of relying on the archdiocese to monitor these priests
Rabbi David Wolpe responds to the “dispiriting news” that former President George W. Bush will headline a fundraiser for Messianic Jews: Messianic Jews is a “terrible misnomer” and that real Jews do not accept Jesus as the Messiah or son of God.
There is one Jewish person left in Afghanistan, a kebab shop owner in Kabul who is faced with financial ruin because no one is eating out in a country where security is a luxury and eating out can mean taking your life into your hands.
On the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht, Westminister Abbey for the first time commemorated the Night of Broken Glass, what many consider the beginning of the Holocaust.
New Pew Research Center data shows the growth rate for Orthodox Jews is more robust than previously thought, leading some to predict an Orthodox majority.
Reuters remind us how awful Iran makes life for the country’s Baha’i minority, against whom discrimination is an official policy.
A guy on death row in Ohio, whose crimes make even opponents of the death penalty think twice, says he wants to donate his organs.
– Lauren Markoe
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