After some tidying up and clearing of land mines, Israel has opened the traditional baptism site of Jesus to daily visits. Previously the site had been open to tourists only a few times a year.

Just how godly are some of India’s Hindu “godmen?” Increasingly, Indians are wondering about the vast wealth of some of the nation’s self-proclaimed holy healers and spiritual gurus.

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney says he won’t sign that anti-gay marriage pledge that originally opined that African-American children had a better chance of having two parents under slavery than today. (The pledge failed to point out, however, that either or both of these parents could be sold down the river at any time.)

Romney said he “strongly supports traditional marriage” but was concerned that the pledge “contained references and provisions that were undignified and inappropriate for a presidential campaign.” Two other GOP candidates, Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum, have already signed.

Next year in Jerusalem . . . with former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. For a $4,629 per person, double occupancy, you can travel with the former presidential candidate to the holy city in Israel next February. Beats New Hampshire that time of year.

Happy Graduation Cuban Prison Chaplains! It took a little while for Cuba to allow chaplains in its prisons, but the first class, of 87 pastors and lay leaders representing 26 denominations, is ready to minister. The Ecumenical Council of Churches in Cuba and the Ecumenical Seminary in Matanzas presided over the training.

Detectives in Polk County, Fla. have arrested a man in connection with the Sunday slaying of Rev. Edward Everitt, a Louisiana Catholic Priest. The suspect was one of the last people to see the priest, who was found at a Dominican retreat in Mississippi. Police believe the motive was robbery.

Ireland’s justice minister says a new investigation into Catholic Church concealment of child abuse by priests demonstrates that church officials cared more about protecting their reputation than the welfare of children.

Shmuel Goldin, the new head of Modern Orthodoxy’s largest rabbinic association says his goal it to keep the fracturing organization – strained by tensions between rabbis on the right and left – from actually falling apart.

And finally, well before the Christmas rush, let us introduce you to an evangelizing doll we’ll call “Salvation Sally.” Hand-crafted by a group of volunteers around Charlotte, the doll’s face is frowny on one side and smiley on the other, signifying her state of being before and after she accepted Jesus. An accompanying card explains the transformation in the language of the country to which the doll is sent.

–Lauren Markoe