Pope Benedict XVI wrapped up his four-day pilgrimage to Portugal this morning, leaving the heavily Catholic country without making much news on his way out. Brazilian bishops vowed to get tough on abusive priests and not cover up what they called a “criminal” act; prosecutors have dropped plans to investigate newly resigned Bishop Walter Mixa, citing a lack of evidence. Catholic officials in Vermont have agreed to a $17.6 million settlement involving abuse allegations by 26 former altar boys.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center added its voice to the chorus of Jewish groups who say it’s time to end the Nazi analogies when decrying Arizona’s new get-tough immigration law. Arizona religious leaders, including the first Hispanic woman bishop in the United Methodist Church and the VP of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, took their plea for reform to Capitol Hill on Thursday.
The head of Boston‘s Catholic schools offered to help find a new school for an 8-year-old boy after he was turned away from one school because he has two moms. The coach of a Catholic sports team in Pennsylvania is accused of trying to bribe referees into letting his team win. A seminary rector in rural Maryland worries as he sends his flock of 24 newly minted priests out into the world.
Doug Coe, the rather elusive founder of The Fellowship (which sponsors the National Prayer Breakfast, and has links to DC’s infamous C Street House), explains his original intentions in a rare interview with CT. Inside HigherEd looks at the challenges facing gay employees on Catholic college campuses.
New York’s City Council upheld the landmarking of a crumbling Presbyterian Church on the Upper West Side; the pastor says it’s a direct violation of church-state separation. (I wrote an extensive piece about this church, seen at left, back in 2006, when the condo market was still sizzling). Mormons have their eye on Philadelphia as the spot for the state’s first temple. In North Dakota, 5 Lutheran, Methodist and UCC churches have merged into one, but no one is quite sure how to label them.
An appeals court in Saskatchewan is hearing a case on whether marriage commissioners must preside at same-sex weddings if the rites violate their personal religious beliefs. Meanwhile, over in Toronto, they’re fighting over stores should be allowed to be open 365 days a year, including Sundays, Easter and Christmas. (Personal note: I’ve been in Toronto on Easter and there’s NOTHING open).
Attorney General Eric Holder got into it with GOP lawmakers over whether “radical Islam” is to blame for a spat of recent (failed) attempted terrorist attacks. “I don’t know why the administration has such difficulty acknowledging the obvious, which is that radical Islam might have incited these individuals,” responded Texas Republican Lamar Smith. “If you can’t name the enemy, then you’re going to have a hard time trying to respond to them.”
Officials in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, say they’ve foiled a plot to assassinate the president and install a government under Islamic law. Nearby, in Malaysia, the founder of a banned Islamic sect died, leaving behind 3 wives, 38 kids and 200+ grandkids, and hard-line Muslims don’t like plans to allow gambling on sports. Two years after their arrest, seven Baha’i leaders remain imprisoned in Iran.
