MondayâÂ?Â?s Religion News Roundup: Obama still a Muslim. Gingrich ditches âÂ?Â?GCB,” Doonesbury on abortion

American officials in Afghanistan are bracing again for another backlash, this time following the massacre of at least 16 Afghan civilians, mainly children and women, by a U.S. Army sergeant. The incident follows the accidental burning of a Koran and other religious texts by U.S. personnel, which led to outrage and violence. A suicide car […]

American officials in Afghanistan are bracing again for another backlash, this time following the massacre of at least 16 Afghan civilians, mainly children and women, by a U.S. Army sergeant.

The incident follows the accidental burning of a Koran and other religious texts by U.S. personnel, which led to outrage and violence.

A suicide car bomber attacked a Catholic church Sunday in the middle of Mass in the Nigerian city of Jos, killing at least 10 people. The latest attack, perhaps by the Islamic sect Boko Haram, sparked retaliatory violence later Sunday.


The war correspondent Marie Colvin, who was killed by Syrian forces while covering the carnage there, will be laid to rest today after a funeral Mass at St. Dominic Roman Catholic Church in Oyster Bay, Long Island.

Just before she was killed in Homs on Feb. 22, the 56-year-old Queens native spoke of watching a baby boy dying and hoping the horror might “move people to think, why is this going on?”

A sweeping anti-Shariah bill that might have impinged on Jewish practices as well has died in the Florida senate.

Most Republicans in Alabama and Mississippi, which hold critical primaries tomorrow, say President Obama is a Muslim. Just 14 and 12 percent say he is a Christian. This is not a typo.

Cui bono? Well, Rick Santorum, who is tied with Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich in polling in those two crucial states, says the improving economy may take that issue away from Republicans – which leaves them free to focus on culture war issues…Which Santorum does pretty well.

Then again, they can always point to rising gas prices if that doesn't work.

Newt Gingrich is itching to talk about the new ABC show “GCB,” which uses an acronym instead of a problematic term for women. But the glitch, says Gingrich, is that the show refers to “Christians” and not “Muslims,” and is an example of the “bias of elite media.” That’s rich.


“Doonesbury” author Garry Trudeau is not mincing words: today he starts a strip series on abortion: “To ignore it,” Trudeau told The Washington Post, “would have been comedy malpractice.”

Some newspapers maybe not run the strip.

Advertisers are still fleeing Rush Limbaugh.

Are congressional Republicans bailing on the Catholic bishops in their battle against the contraception mandate?

The Washington priest who denied a lesbian communion at her mother’s funeral has been placed on leave, though not necessarily for denying communion to Barbara Johnson.

Instead, the Rev. Marcel Guarnizo was barred from ministry for “engaging in intimidating behavior toward parish staff and others that is incompatible with proper priestly ministry.”

What does a gay wedding in the Episcopal Church look like? One draft of the vow exchange is making the rounds.

How much is a shekel worth? $1.1 million, by today’s exchange rate.

God and the Universe: Andrew Sullivan is making me feel smaller than usual.

David Gibson

Image of “Doonesbury” via The Washington Post, from Universal Uclick

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