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As Economy Plummets, Religious Leaders Call for Poverty Reduction Agenda.
Amid a week of economic turmoil, religious voices are rallying for America's poor and most vulnerable. Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders gathered in Washington to lobby Congress and the presidential candidates to enact protections for families who have been hardest hit. They said the combination of rising fuel and food prices and the downturn in the nation's economy are pushing more and more people into poverty.
Fr. Larry Snyder, President of Catholic Charities: "All those things are combining to show that people are coming to us in greater numbers for just the basic necessities."
 Read or watch this week's conversation about ethics and Wall Street.
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Interfaith Group Presses for Moral Hurricane Response.
This past week the country marked the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that killed nearly three thousand people: a moment of silence in New York, Washington, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Faith leaders called for increased attention to the suffering caused by Hurricane Ike. More than 50 people died and millions remain without power and with only limited access to food. One hundred and eight prominent religious voices signed an interfaith statement calling for the government to provide both short- and long-term recovery on the Gulf Coast. Faith-based groups have also been active in the relief effort. One Baptist minister said religious groups have been essential in helping people cope with their losses. Pastor Robert Blakes leads congregations in New Orleans and Houston and has now seen both of them devastated by a series of hurricanes.
Pastor Robert Blakes: "We have had experiences in the congregation where we've had to kind of deal with people and talk them out of severe bouts of depression and anxiety, a lot of that."
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Episcopal Bishop of Pittsburgh Removed from Ministry.
Episcopal bishops have ousted an influential conservative bishop, escalating tensions within the U.S. Episcopal Church. The vote was 88 to 35 to remove Pittsburgh bishop Robert Duncan from ministry. Duncan had previously announced plans to have his diocese secede from the U.S. church because of disagreements with its stance on homosexuality and scriptural interpretations.
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Unfavorable Views of Jews and Muslims on the Rise in Europe.
Europeans have an increasingly negative view of both Jews and Muslims, according to the Global Attitudes survey by the Pew Research Center. The new analysis found that Spain showed the largest jump in anti-Semitism. Forty-six percent rated Jews unfavorably, up from about 21 percent three years ago. In Russia and Poland, anti-Semitic attitudes grew from about a quarter three years ago to more than a third today. Negative attitudes toward Muslims were even more prevalent. Half the respondents in Spain and Germany rated Muslims unfavorably. More than a third did so in France.
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President Bush Attends Iftar Dinner
As Muslims around the world are observing the holy month of Ramadan, President Bush hosted his annual iftar dinner at the White House. More than 100 Muslim leaders joined the president to break their daytime fast.
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