Traveling in Portugal, Pope Benedict XVI blamed “sins within the church” for the sex abuse scandal and urged the church to “profoundly relearn penitence.”
The pontiff also said the financial crisis wracking Europe demonstrates the need for moral responsibility in the economic sector. Benedict has finished writing the second installment in his life of Jesus, which will hit bookstores in several months.
The A.P. notes that European bishops are stepping down during this latest phase of Catholic sex abuse crisis, in contrast to American bishops, who largely survived 2002 chapter of the scandal with their jobs.
President Obama’s nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court has sparked some discussion, and a few yawns, about her faith (Judaism) and the future hole in the court (Protestantism), with some saying it’s no big deal, and other bemoaning Protestants’ fall from judicial grace. Religious groups weighed in on Kagan’s scant record and raised issues they hope will be explored during the Senate confirmation hearings. Wonder if Kagan will turn up at the White House for a reception celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month — the first reception of its kind, says the administration.
Speaking of SCOTUS, somebody apparently didn’t like its decision to allow the Mojave cross; it’s been stolen. A breakaway Episcopal church in California is appealing to SCOTUS for a third time, after state courts awarded property to the denomination.
WaPo digs into the health care bill passed in March and says “little-noticed provisions” have reawakened a debate on how to balance doctors’ and patients’ religious rights. A growing number of evangelicals support immigration reform, says CNN. Two undocumented immigrants testified Monday about their 12-hour, six-days-a-week shifts at a kosher slaughterhouse in Iowa.
The Church of England paved the way for ordination of its first women bishops. French lawmakers will vote on whether Muslim veils are contrary to gender equality. Islam is only one of many religions (cr: Mormons, Amish, Orthodox Jews) that promote (one might say “enforce,” in many circumstances) modest appearances, says NPR. Quick query: Do any faiths promote immodest dress?
Teachers in Ontario are converting to Catholicism in order to land jobs. The First Freedom Center has a new president. The consolidation of Catholic parishes in Syracuse has burned candle-makers in the area. NPR catches up with a Buddhist monk in Japan who walked 26 miles a day for 1,000 days. Interest in the Passion plays at Oberammergau have faded after Europe’s financial crisis, Catholic sex abuse scandal, and o’erhanging cloud of volcanic ash.
