Religion Dispatches
…nced the presence of the previously underground group, which does not have official recognition at the Christian school. School officials had the flyers removed almost immediately. But the next day, they issued a statement clarifying the school’s stance on human sexuality and assuring students struggling with same-sex attraction that they are welcome in the Biola community. This is Biola’s version of “welcome:” Biola students are required to sign…
Read More…adership of an influential Washington lawyer and former Reagan White House official, Carl Anderson, the knights have increasingly backed conservative causes and routinely make sizeable donations to the Holy See. Bishop Lori, of course, is the chair of the USCCB’s Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, instigator of the anti-contraception coverage battles and the upcoming “fortnight for freedom.” Gallicho examines the Knights of Columbus tax return…
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…socialist-leaning and politically pragmatic Labor Zionists, broke with the official Zionist movement and formed their own organization. Eventually, the Revisionists would form their own military organization, the Irgun—led in the mid-1940s by Menachem Begin. As one of the intellectuals of the movement Netanyahu fell out of favor with the people who were to lead Israel in the first three decades of statehood. Though an accomplished historian and fl…
Read More…st racism by individuals both inside and outside the Church. The statement officially abandons as “speculation” or “opinion” a number of rationale for the ban propounded as doctrine by nineteenth- and twentieth-century Mormon leaders. The statement is also significant, say observers of Mormon history, because it may be the first time the Church has acknowledged that the priesthood ban did not originate with LDS Church founder Joseph Smith. Finally…
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…Have you heard anything from Cardinal Dolan or the archdiocese? Not in an official capacity. I have heard unofficially from friends who are priests that we needed to keep having this conversation, that if we keep talking the Church may respond in a good way. There is an opportunity for Cardinal Dolan to exercise a teachable moment, meet and talk with these young people, hear their stories, to show that they have dignity that should be respected….
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…is found guilty, it will set a legal precedent to go after Catholic Church officials who moved pedophiles and abusers without notifying legal authorities. The case is the first time that a diocesan official has been prosecuted for doing what the majority of bishops told them to do: bury the sexual abuse stories to protect the Church, or to move perpetrators to an undesirable parish. I am fervently hoping for a conviction in this trial. While the U…
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…ferred to as “the university,” by students, parents, and even a university official giving a speech. The unnamed hospital has a sign that says “Hospital.” But it isn’t really universal, is it? It depicts what abortion would be like if women were all beautiful, tragic figures, living in a world run by men who treated them with, not respect, but a kind of indulgent kindness. Well, okay. In the real world of policy, poverty, pregnancy complications,…
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…immolated in eastern Tibet. India has responded to the unrest by placing a number of Tibetan refugees under what they term “house arrest.” Below, Megan Sweas reports from India on the latest wave of protests. –Eds.] DELHI—Shibayan Raha had worried that this would happen. At a protest against the upcoming visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao, a 27-year-old Tibetan exile lit himself on fire and ran past the podium before police and other activists c…
Read More…it promotes a respect for religion by refusing to single out any creed for official favor at the expense of all others.” Last year, Republicans and conservative activists contended that HHS’s decision not to renew the Bishops’ contract under the TVPA amounted to anti-Catholic bias by the Obama administration. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, who also did the Bishops’ bidding by holding hearing…
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…pete for attention. And they do so as part of a world Church. The church’s official name is Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), indicating the way in which they see themselves as part of the worldwide family of churches who look to the Archbishop of Canterbury as their “focus of unity.” Nigeria is hardly the only African country where Anglicanism is growing quickly. In the world’s newest nation, South Sudan, the Episcopal Church of Sudan is a…
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