At a star-studded White House celebration honoring the music of the civil rights movement, President Obama said “It’s hard to sing when times are tough,” but that “hymns … helped advance the cause of the nation.”

Parents of some of the children the U.S. missionaries in Haiti are accused of kidnapping told a judge they freely handed their kids over. The head of UNICEF warned that people are still trying to smuggle children off the devastated island.

The spate of church-fires in East Texas is likely the work of one person or group, the AFT said Tuesday.

Catholic liturgical organizations are beginning to prepare for the new Mass translation, even though it may be two years before it reaches U.S. churches. Mennonites in Ohio are selling “Hobbit tea.” Perfect for second breakfast, no doubt.

On the eve of a debate over whether to extend communion to a breakaway U.S. Anglican church, the Archbishop of Canterbury told his Church of England not to dismiss the Episcopal Church as a “liberal talking shop.” He also apologized for appearing to ignore the fact that there are good LGBT priests, and encouraged all sides to see their rivals in 3D.

The Anglican Church of Uganda wants to amend the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Law to “ensure that homosexual practice or the promotion of homosexual relations is not adopted as a human right,” but also said it has concerns about using the death penalty for crimes including rape.

Victims of clergy sex abuse in Ireland are asking for 1 billion euros in compensation and that Pope Benedict XVI meet with them during his visit to England. Meanwhile, another sex abuse scandal is widening in Benedict’s native Germany.

A British Hindu won the right to be cremated in an open-air pyre.