Headlines
November 13th, 2009
Catholic Bishops Weigh In on House Version of Health Care Bill
The House of Representatives approved controversial health care legislation that would put strict bans on insurance for abortions. Analysts say the proposal would cause many insurance plans to stop offering abortion coverage. The vote came after an intense lobbying campaign by several conservative religious groups and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. Many bishops individually urged lawmakers to limit abortion coverage. The next step is debate in the Senate, and the bishops say they will remain closely involved.
November 13th, 2009
Vatican Releases Details of Plan for Anglicans to Become Catholics
Next week (November 21), Pope Benedict XVI and the leader of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, will meet in Rome. The long-scheduled summit comes just after the Vatican released details of its effort to make it easier for Anglicans to become Catholics. The church’s teaching on celibacy for priests will not change, the Vatican said, even as more Anglican priests will be allowed into the Catholic priesthood on a “case-by-case” basis. The rules also prohibit former Catholic priests who converted to Anglicanism and married from returning to the Catholic clergy.
November 13th, 2009
Obama Urged Not to Ignore Rights, Religion on China Trip
President Obama will be visiting China this week (November 16-18). Human rights activists are urging him to push for more religious freedom and other reforms when he meets with that nation’s leaders. Meanwhile, the Chinese are asking Obama to reconsider his plans to meet the Dalai Lama, who opposes Chinese control of Tibet. Obama is expected to meet the Tibetan spiritual leader after the president returns to Washington.
November 13th, 2009
President Speaks at Fort Hood Memorial Service
Before President Obama left for Asia he visited Fort Hood in Texas, where 13 members of the military were killed allegedly by an Army psychiatrist who is an American-born Muslim:
President Obama at Fort Hood memorial service: “No faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favor. And for what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice—in this world and the next.”
The Fort Hood killings have raised questions about whether the accused shooter’s zeal about Islam could have played any role in the tragedy, and about being Muslim in the US military.
November 13th, 2009
U.S. Seizes Four Mosques over Ties with Iran
Muslim groups are protesting a move by federal prosecutors that they say could have a chilling effect on religious freedom. Prosecutors moved to seize four mosques and other assets in the U.S. owned by a foundation accused of funneling money to Iran. It is extremely rare for the government to take over houses of worship. Federal officials said they are investigating the foundation, not worshipers or religious leaders.
November 13th, 2009
Italian Churches Install Anti-Swine Flu Holy Water Dispensers
The swine flu continues to vex religious communities that fear that when their people gather, they could spread the virus to each other. But in Italy, one Catholic inventor says he has a solution. He has created an automatic dispenser for holy water. It allows believers to receive a handful of the water without dipping their fingers into a communal font. Several churches in Italy already have installed the device, and orders have been flooding in from all over the world.
November 13th, 2009
LDS Church Backs Gays Rights Laws in Utah
In Utah, newly approved legislation banning discrimination against gays got support from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—the Mormons. The Mormon backing came as a surprise to some gays since the church has been so vocal in its opposition to gay marriage. But church leaders said the ban against discrimination was “fair and reasonable and does not do violence to the institution of marriage.”
November 13th, 2009
Religion Scholar Says Compassion Unites the World’s Faiths
In Washington, religion scholar Karen Armstrong and other faith leaders unveiled an interfaith effort called the Charter for Compassion. The charter is endorsed by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, among others. It is a call to action for faith communities and others to focus on shared traditions of empathy. Armstrong said her hope is that the charter will remind people that all religions have an imperative to treat others compassionately.
