Commentary will be back soon. The following are articles that were published between Friday, March 4, and Monday, March 7.

NJ Copt murderers charged | Human rights & religious freedom | Iraq, war, & terrorism | Religion & politics | Democrats & religion | Gambling | Pro-life Democrat seeks Rick Santorum's senate seat | Same-sex marriage | Ten Commandments | Life ethics | UK 'designer babies' | Abortion | Marriage & family | Sexual ethics | Abuse | Education | Evolution & creation | Missions & ministry | Church life | Methodist leaders concerned about mayor/pastor | Anglican Communion | Catholicism | Catholic schools deny ban on abortion-linked fundraiser | Pope John Paul II | People | Joel Osteen | Cricket bishop dies | Mel Gibson stalker | The Passion | Television | Art | Books | Religion & spirituality | More articles of interest

NJ Copt murderers charged:

• 2 ex-convicts charged with killing 4 in Jersey City home | Two former convicts, including an upstairs tenant of the victims, were charged with binding, gagging and cutting the throats of four members of an Egyptian Coptic Christian family last January in what prosecutors called a robbery that went awry in their Jersey City home (The New York Times)
  
  
• Arrests fail to mend Muslim-Christian rift | Coptic Christians and Muslims alike expressed relief, but suspicions linger (The New York Times)
  
  
• Robbery cited as motive in family slaying | The slaying of an Egyptian family that has caused tension between local Christians and Muslims was motivated by robbery, not religious fanaticism, authorities said (Associated Press)
  
  
• Coptic family killed in robbery: police | Hudson County prosecutors revealed that the two paroled drug dealers bound, gagged and stabbed Armanious and his family because his daughter recognized upstairs tenant Edward McDonald during a robbery (New York Daily News)
  
  
• Arrests seen unlikely to end religious strife | Tense feelings between Coptic Orthodox Christians and Muslims over the mid-January killings of four Egyptian-American Christians in Jersey City seem unlikely to vanish quickly, despite the arrests of two men who authorities say murdered the family to cover up a robbery (The Jersey Journal, Jersey City, N.J.)
  
  
• Arrests don't ease tension between faiths | Coptics, who had feared Muslims extremists killed the family because of their Christian beliefs, expressed a subdued relief about the arrests, but said they remained suspicious (NorthJersey.com)
  
  
• 'This was a crime based on greed' (Weehauken Reporter, N.J.)
  
  
• 'This was a crime based on greed' | Two arrested for murder of Armenious family in JC; bail set at $10M (The Jersey City Reporter, N.J.)
  
  

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Human rights & religious freedom:

• Crime of crimes | does it have to be genocide for the world to act? (David Bosco, The Washington Post)
  
  
• Justice unit puts its focus on faith | A little-known civil rights office has been busily defending religious groups (Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• The law against religious hatred is—in effect—an invitation to it | It incites each faith to take offence, and ensures that the most zealous can make the most trouble (Charles Moore, The Telegraph, London)
  
  
• China deports U.S. evangelicals | At least 10 foreign evangelical church leaders, including eight Americans, were deported from China last week, ChinaAid said Friday (UPI)
  
  

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Iraq, war, & terrorism:

• Iraqi Christians nominate Shiite cleric for Nobel | Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, 75, is Iraq's most-revered Shiite cleric and a symbol of Shiite political power. The group of exiled Iraqi Christians in the United Statessaid he has repeatedly opposed anti-American violence, including a bloody summer uprising by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr (The Boston Globe)
  
  
• Captives allege religious abuse | Prisoners at Guantánamo Bay have complained of anti-Islamic abuses by guards and interrogators, including defilement of the Koran (The Miami Herald)
  
  
• What can be done if the draft is reinstated? | Delegates of antiwar congregations nationwide gathered Saturday in Elgin to hatch a plan should young men ever again be required to report for military duty (The Daily Herald, Chicago suburbs)
  
  
• Religion kept US married to Vietman conflict | Seth Jacobs suggests that the US' long and bloody involvement in Southeast Asia was mostly about Christian fundamentalism (Taipei Times)
  
  
• Praying for the peace of Jerusalem | The Gathering expected to draw about 2,000 Christians and Jews to Leawood on Monday (The Kansas City Star)
  
  

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Religion & politics:

• The "M" word | The Boston Globe makes an issue of Mitt Romney's religion (Dean Barnett, The Weekly Standard)
  
  
• Christian lawyers say bill, Bible don't mesh | A national attorney group calls on church leaders to lobby against bankruptcy reform legislation (Des Moines Register, Ia.)
  
  
• Thou shalt have democracy, for God and the US | To George Bush, the events in Lebanon add justification to a holy 'mission' (Michael Gawenda, The Sydney Morning Herald)
  
  
• A new rallying cry for conservatives? | After losing a key ruling, some vow: 'No more Souters, no more Kennedys,' only hard-liners (Houston Chronicle)
  
  
• Wead in the Rose Garden | Doug Wead, former advisor to George H.W. Bush and counselor to Dubya, has a history of self-promotion and crass opportunism. The release of the Bush Tapes is only the latest example (Bill Berkowitz, YubaNet.com)
  
  
• Professor continues tax reform crusade | Susan Pace Hamill speaks to about 150 students at USA's Mitchell Center (Mobile Register, Ala.)
  
  
• Black churches struggle over their role in politics | A tug of war is under way inside black churches over who speaks for African-Americans and what role to play in politics, spurred by conservative black clergy members who are looking to align themselves more closely with President Bush (The New York Times)
  
  
• Sunday parking emerges as issue in the race for mayor | When city transportation officials began expanding enforcement of Sunday parking rules in 2002, they probably did not imagine that three years later it might become a political liability for their boss, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (The New York Times)
  
  
• Right with God | Evangelical conservatives find a spiritual home on the Hill (The Washington Post)
  
  
• The apprentice in a public ministry | Episcopal Bishop M. Thomas Shaw once served as an intern in former US representative Amory Houghton Jr.'s congressional office. Now Houghton is returning the favor, lending his expertise in a mission on politics and faith (The Boston Globe)
  
  
• Unity on the right gets rocky | A large number of Americans who know nothing of political labels fuse conservative and libertarian ideas in their political beliefs, embracing economic conservatism, tolerance, and freedom of choice when it comes to moral values and a government strong enough to protect our society from those who would destroy it (Cathy Young, The Boston Globe)
  
  
• Kansas Christians mobilizing on moral issues | Seen from afar, the unadorned cross atop the First Family Church of Overland Park seems to stretch almost into the heavens. But it is the thousands of Christians congregating at First Family and other churches throughout Kansas who are flexing their political muscle by pushing a conservative Christian political agenda that is rapidly gaining momentum (Reuters)
  
  
• Keep the Clause: the legacy | Five years after MSPs were caught up in the moral controversy over the repeal of Section 28, devolution has yet to recover (Kirsty Milne, Scotland on Sunday)
  
  

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Democrats & religion:

• Mix faith, politics, party told | The Democrats need to get right with Jesus. And maybe Muhammad, and Moses and a few other prophets. So says U.S. Rep. James E. Clyburn. (The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.)
  
  
• Angry Democrats say GOP piety is just a pose | "This is the meanest bunch of Christians I've ever encountered," state Auditor Claire McCaskill said Saturday (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
  
  

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Gambling:

• South Florida to vote on slot machines | The visions could not be more different. People who want Las Vegas-style slot machines in South Florida insist they will create jobs and pump money into schools. Opponents believe they will transform a family friendly destination into a gambling mecca with more crime and other social ills (Associated Press)
  
  
• Md. pastors see peril in slots | Approval in state house mobilizes congregations (The Washington Post)
  
  
• Bingo loses currency | Games have pluck but no luck as casinos take toll and players age (The Boston Globe)
  
  

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Pro-life Democrat seeks Rick Santorum's senate seat:

• Casey seeks Santorum's seat; Hafer withdraws bid | Senate race could prove most expensive, prominent (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
  
  
• Anti-abortion Dem. to seek Pa. nomination | Casey had not seriously considered running for Senate until Reid and other party leaders urged him to run (Associated Press)
  
  
• Anti-abortion democrats may seek Senate seats | With the next congressional elections still more than a year-and-a-half away, anti-abortion rights Democrats may run in both Pennsylvania and Rhode Island -- and in Rhode Island the Democrat would be challenging one of the few Republican senators who backs abortion rights (Reuters)
  
  
• Pro-life Democrat threatens Santorum | The race would pit two ardently pro-life candidates against each other in a state that has a huge, grass-roots pro-life community, yet often votes Democratic in national elections (The Washington Times)
  
  
• Anti-abortion Democrat runs | Officials of Emily's List expressed dismay earlier this week (The New York Times)
  
  

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Same-sex marriage:

• Gay couples pinning hopes for marriage on high court | The state Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on whether the state constitution entitles the Rainier Beach couple and 18 other gay and lesbian couples to marry (The Seattle Times)
  
  
• Protesters plan a message for state's justices | "Mayday for Marriage" goes to Olympia (The Olympian, Wa.)
  
  
• Connecticut takes steps toward gay civil unions | The debate over a bill that would allow same-sex civil unions in Connecticut in some ways has been predictable (The New York Times)
  
  
• A debate filled with faith | While the issue of gay unions is being debated in the Legislature, churches also have been wrestling with the issue (The New York Times)
  
  
• Women await judges' decision on marriage | Couple married in Oregon, want it recognized in Washington (Associated Press)
  
  
• Gay marriage face-off nears in Wash. | State's high court hears arguments on ban tomorrow (The Boston Globe)
  
  
• Extreme prejudice | Events in a small Kansas town reflect the close links between the civil rights struggle and gay liberation (Gary Younge, The Guardian, London)
  
  

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Ten Commandments:

• They shalt not | The Supreme Court ought to uphold the several displays of the Ten Commandments on government property whose constitutionality it considered last week. But how might it do that? (Editorial, The Weekly Standard)
  
  
• Wisconsin group ends fight over commandments display | Freedom From Religion Foundation says it won't take dispute over La Crosse monument to high court after full 7th Circuit refuses to hear case (Associated Press)
  
  
• Ten Commandments, nine justices, zero winners | Whatever the Supreme Court does in the Ten Commandments cases, neither those who want religion endorsed in the public square nor those who want religion removed from the public square will be satisfied (Charles C. Haynes, First Amendment Center)
  
  
• God's commandments and American law | Hanging them up by themselves has got the appearance of official sanction. And that's establishing religion (Marc Davidson, Daytona Beach News-Journal, Fla.)
  
  
• Let Commandments remain on public sites | The Ten Commandments displays remind the public that they are a part of our social, cultural, and legal fabric. (Rose Russell, The Toledo Blade, Oh.)
  
  
• Religious sects stay quiet over Decalogue fight | Major U.S. Muslim organizations have not taken stands on the cases. Nor have many prominent Christian bodies. Jewish organizations are divided (Associated Press)
  
  
• Ten Commandments in Govt land irks American Hindus | With the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) being part of amicus curiae (friend of the court), oral arguments have begun in the Supreme Court on whether displays of the Ten Commandments on government property are an unconstitutional endorsement of a particular religion (IANS, India)
  
  
• Best way to display Ten Commandments | We honor the Ten Commandments not by displaying them, but by living up to them in our conduct of life (Joshua O. Haberman, The Baltimore Sun)
  
  
• Religious creeds don't belong on public grounds | The debate about whether to allow displays of the Ten Commandments on government property isn't about eliminating all shred of religion from public life - it's an argument about endorsement (Editorial, Portland Press Herald, Me.)
  
  
• Kicked out of court and onto center stage | A controversial Ten Commandments monument is on display in this area (Daily Press, Hampton Roads, Va.)
  
  
• Church, state aren't totally separate | When it comes to the exceptional example of the Ten Commandments - rules so ingrained in our nation's history and in the ethos of our institutions (indeed, they are the "natural law" written in all of our hearts) - there can be no excluding them from the public square, especially when they appear beside other hallmarks in the formulation of America's laws (Gerald B. Kieschnick, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
  
  
• Ten reasons against public Scripture displays | Public displays trivialize God's law (James L. Evans, Montgomery Advertiser, Ala.)
  
  
• Monuments to God or history? | Either you admit that the Ten Commandments on public turf make an important religious statement or you pretend they are a piece of our secular history. You can be either unconstitutional or hypocritical (Ellen Goodman, The Boston Globe)
  
  
• The new religious wars | Is the Lemon test headed for the garbage disposal of history? (Michael Kirkland, UPI)
  
  
• Religion and the Founders | The Nation is out of step with the American people (Christopher Levenick & Michael Novak, Nation Review Online)
  
  
• Inviting trouble over God | The Constitution's forgotten church-state commandment (Editorial, Daytona Beach News-Journal, Fla.)
  
  

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Life ethics:

• The problem with the stem cell bill | The power to clone life presents a challenge not only of intelligence and resourcefulness, but also of character and conscience (Mitt Romney, The Boston Globe)
  
  
• Schiavo case puts human dignity on trial | Terri Schiavo has been effectively widowed by an uncaring, unjust and cruel husband. Will she be orphaned by an equally uncaring, unjust and cruel society as well? (Douglas Groothuis, Rocky Mountain News, Denver)
  
  
• Assisted suicide at center stage once again | Award-winning movies and upcoming legislation give new urgency to the contentious issue (Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• Is the UK losing its way with stem cells? | Scientists believe they are very close to finding a miracle cure for heart disease (BBC)
  
  
• Scientists to make 'Stuart Little' mouse with the brain of a human | In one of the most controversial scientific projects ever conceived, a group of university researchers in California's Silicon Valley is preparing to create a mouse whose brain will be composed entirely of human cells (The Telegraph, London)
  
  

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UK 'designer babies':

• Designer baby row goes to Lords | The creation of "designer babies" to treat sick siblings is being challenged at the House of Lords (BBC)
  
  
• Secret ruling on 'designer babies' | Documents obtained under new legislation reveal that invasive surgery has been given the go-ahead (The Times, London)
  
  
• Lords to rule on 'saviour siblings' | The Comment on Reproductive Ethics (Core) is challenging the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's right to license doctors to screen embryos before implantation to try to create a baby who could be a blood or bone marrow donor (The Guadian, London)
  
  
• We'll try abroad if Lords rule 'no' - gene baby couple | Parents who are trying to have a 'genetically selected' baby to help save the life of one of their sick children have warned that they will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights if the House of Lords this week bans the creation of 'saviour siblings' (The Observer, London)
  
  

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Abortion:

• Christians placed other issues at forefront | We are so focused on abortion as an evil that we are missing some other vital points of concern we ought to share if we care what happens to the members of our society who are least able to care for themselves (Pam Hartman, Mobile Register, Ala.)
  
  
• Emergency contraception | Women who endure the hell of being raped shouldn't have to worry about bearing the child of their attacker (Winston-Salem Journal, N.C.)
  
  
• Accusing woman of murder violates traditional teaching | There are those who believe that because it is their belief that abortion is wrong "there ought to be a law." Well, let's look at that idea. Is it a good idea? (George Sinner, The Forum, Fargo, N.D.)
  
  
• Pro-lifers push Mississippi to brink of becoming first abortion-free state in US | Some time soon abortion, made legal by the US Supreme Court's Roe vs Wade ruling 32 years ago, will probably become impossible for most Mississippi women because every clinic in their state will have closed (The Telegraph, London)
  
  
• Women reaffirm U.N. equality blueprint | The United States joined nations around the world in reaffirming a U.N. blueprint to achieve equality for women, though the counties refused to go along with Washington's proposed anti-abortion amendment, saying it was a distraction from real issues (Associated Press)
  
  
• Related: U.S. drops abortion issue at U.N. conference (The Washington Post)
  
  
• Panel backs women's rights after U.S. drops abortion issue | The leader of the American delegation, Ellen R. Sauerbrey, said that the United States had succeeded in assuring that the document did not incorporate a new international right to abortion, and that an amendment making that point was therefore unnecessary (The New York Times)
  
  
• Women worldwide face effects of Bush's gag rule | The rights the U.S. delegation was lobbying against last week are the very rights that would improve the status of women and their children (Dian Harrison, San Francisco Chronicle)
  
  
• Abortion illegal in Iran -- with dangerous effects | For women wishing to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, there are two options: prove that the child is putting their own life in danger, or otherwise join tens of thousands who go through dangerous illegal procedures every year (AFP)
  
  

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Marriage & family:

• As demands on workers grow, groups push for paid family and sick leave | Saying that too many workers feel overstressed by demands on their time, groups are calling for a broad shift in attitudes that would allow Americans to devote more time to their families, to spirituality and to their communities (The New York Times)
  
  
• Pro-family policies may hinder women | Improved maternity leave and the right for mothers to request part-time working have reinforced the notion that women should be primarily responsible for caring, the report from women's campaign group the Fawcett Society says (The Times, London)
  
  

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Sexual ethics:

• Beware the march of puritanism from America | Recent explosions of religious intolerance over programmes don't necessarily mean that the sexual liberalism is coming to an end. (Brian McNair, Sunday Herald, Scotland)
  
  
• They're young. They have healthy relationships. The last thing they want is sex | Why? Because for career, spiritual and health reasons, young Britons are being seduced by the abstinence movement. And now they are to have their own reality TV show (The Independent, London)
  
  
• Abstinence funds debate heats up on Senate panel | A debate about the strict definition of a $50 million-a-year abstinence education grant program is expected tomorrow when a Senate panel convenes to discuss the 1996 welfare law (The Washington Times)
  
  
• Keeping the commitment | Pure Freedom conference stresses abstinence (Lancaster New Era, Pa.)
  
  

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Abuse:

• Ex-priest sentenced for abuse 25 years ago | A former Catholic priest from Forestville was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in prison for molesting a 15-year-old boy and sodomizing a 13-year-old girl (The Washington Times)
  
  
• Richmond Diocese makes prevention its policy | The diocese, which already required background checks for volunteers and staff, is putting clergy, employees, and volunteer workers through an anguishing workshop (The Virginian-Pilot, Hampton Roads, Va.)
  
  
• Governor asked to investigate Cavalier child custody dispute | Crystal man also faces criminal charge for taking children to Canada (Grand Forks Herald, N.D.)
  
  
• Diocese's secret archives at heart of dispute | Group says files hold key to abuse (The Toledo Blade, Oh.)
  
  

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Education:

• ACLU: State preschool is no place to teach religion | The civil-liberties union calls Florida's pre-kindergarten law unconstitutional (The Orlando Sentinel)
  
  
• Christian fraternity wins injunction against UNC | Judge orders recognition until court can rule on nondiscrimination issue (Associated Press)
  
  
• Moeser backs UNC's position in lawsuit | UNC Chancellor James Moeser said Friday he supports the university's stance in a lawsuit involving a Christian fraternity's right to select its members (The Herald-Sun, Durham, N.C.)
  
  
• Pregame prayer legal battle ends | Marian Ward, now a senior at the University of Arkansas, received a bittersweet court victory in December (The Daily News, Galveston County, Tex.)
  
  
• Review of school calendar to embrace student diversity | Muslims seek the same type of recognition that has long been extended to agricultural events and Christian holidays (St. Petersburg Times, Fla.)
  
  
• A CU prof deserving of sympathy | Ward Churchill may play the part, but Phil Mitchell is the true dissenter at CU (David Harsanyi, The Denver Post)
  
  
• Schools chosen for sex course in Montgomery | The Montgomery County [Md.] public school system yesterday announced the three high schools and three middle schools that will participate in a pilot program for a sex education curriculum that has riled some parents and activist groups throughout the county (The Washington Times)
  
  
• School orders mom to spank son--or else | 6-year-old suspended after mother refuses to spank him for numerous disciplinary infractions; instead she yanks him from school (Chicago Tribune)
  
  
• Also: Mom says no to spanking policy | Michelle Fallaw-Gabrielson knew corporal punishment by parents was a disciplinary option at Schaumburg Christian School, but never knew she'd have to choose between spanking her son and keeping him home for a day. (Daily Herald, Chicago suburbs)
  
  

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Evolution & creation:

• US scientists battle over anti-Darwin "Intelligent design" theory | Intelligent design, which holds that only an unspecified superior intellect can account for the complexity of life forms, is increasingly appearing in science forums and journals as an alternative to evolution theory (AFP)
  
  
• Prof discusses evolution, creationism | "I'm always amazed about how God works, and that's what is exciting to me," said Keith Miller, professor of geology at Kansas State University and editor of a book called "Perspectives on an Evolving Creation," which is a compilation of essays on the interaction between Christian faith and evolutionary theory (Lawrence Journal-World, Kan.)
  
  

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Missions & ministry:

• The end of poverty | In a world of plenty, 1 billion people are so poor, their lives are in danger. How to change that for good (Time)
  
  
• Sending forgiveness and clothes | Area Christian Sudanese are helping Darfurian Muslim refugees (The Kansas City Star)
  
  
• For children of inmates, a loving place | Program focuses on kids' self-worth (The Charlotte Observer, N.C.)
  
  
• A no-proselytizing zone | Churches urged to provide aid, not evangelism, for victims (Religion News Service)
  
  
• World prayer | Church women mark World Day of Prayer with ecumenical service (Grand Forks Herald, N.D.)
  
  
• Giving aid amidst AIDS | Churches offer home care and convert old jail to school, shelter and orphanage (The Toronto Star)
  
  
• All children are winners in league combining basketball, Bible study | In the Upward Basketball League, learning about the ways of Jesus is just as important as learning how to shoot a jump shot (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland)
  
  
• Cross selling | A youth-focused religious brand finds a place in a pop-culture temple — the mall (The New York Times Magazine)
  
  
• Poor may pay dearly for new cathedral | When the historic St. Francis de Sales Cathedral at 22nd Street and San Pablo Avenue was knocked down by a wrecking ball 12 years ago, those who mourned the loss were comforted by knowing two other buildings on the property were spared. But now the remaining buildings could also be brought down, ending a program that serves the poor in the neighborhood. (The Oakland Tribune)
  
  

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Church life:

• Shock, anger, after Holy Family theft | Two former church employees are charged with stealing $500,000 from the parish by padding their salaries and exploiting a parish credit card (Newsday)
  
  
• Service for the soul | The Beacon Baptist congregation finds a place to worship -- a Salem auto-body garage (The Roanoke Times, Va.)
  
  
• Not married to the job | The entire Scottish church will be watching to see how its new priest, James Bell, and his wife get on (The Scotsman)
  
  
• The business of filling pews | Congregations employ marketing consultants to step up appeal (The Washington Post)
  
  
• Should breakaway congregations be allowed to keep church property? | Readers respond (The Washington Post)
  
  
• Writing is on the wall for crumbling church where Shakespeare is buried | Parts of its spire are crumbling, there is death watch beetle and dry rot in the roof of the chancel and the exterior stonework is decaying (The Independent, London)
  
  
• Churches tackle a problem close to home | Domestic violence affects Christians just as much as anyone else (The Times, London)
  
  
• Rev gives no quarter | The Rev. David Gehret notices it as soon as Sunday services end, when congregants who used to linger for prayerful fellowship now rush out - to feed their parking meters (New York Daily News)
  
  
• The Church, a community of equals | It would be arrogance for members of the hierarchy to consider themselves superior to the lay faithful. If there is any superiority, it will depend on the sanctity, not the office, of the person (Teodoro Bacani Jr., ABS-CBN, Philippines)
  
  

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Methodist leaders concerned about mayor/pastor:

• Methodist leaders are concerned about mayor | The Bishop of the Virginia United Methodist Church will review Mayor Carl Hutcherson's appointment as pastor of Trinity church, District Superintendent David Drinkard said Sunday (The News-Advance, Lynchburg, Va.)
  
  
• Lynchburg mayor Carl Hutcherson talks at church | Members of Trinity United Methodist church filed into Sunday morning service with no comments on the investigation of Carl Hutcherson - their minister and mayor (WSLS, Roanoke, Va.)
  
  

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Anglican Communion:

• Gay priest calls for greater acceptance | Father Nigel Wright of St Agnes, Glen Huntly - the only Anglican priest in Melbourne to have "outed" himself - said that both evangelicals and disgraced Anglican bishop Donald Shearman claimed their behaviour was blessed by God. "It's, in fact, a prop for prejudice," he said (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
  
  
• Anglican divide becomes a chasm | Talk of schism pervades church's global circle (The Toronto Star)
  
  
• Church, Episcopal diocese split | Parishioners will vote on the agreement (The Kansas City Star)
  
  
• Liberal and weak clergy blamed for empty pews | Churchgoing is in freefall in Britain because clergy and ministers are failing to stand up for moral values and treasured beliefs, a new survey has found (The Times, London)
  
  
• Parish threatens to leave Episcopal Church | The largest parish in the Episcopal Diocese of eastern Kansas has agreed in principle to separate from the diocese and the national Episcopal Church USA because of disagreements over several issues, including the ordination of an openly gay Episcopal bishop in New Hampshire (Associated Press)
  
  
• Break-away bishops could undermine truce on gays | A group of senior Church of England bishops have put the fragile truce over gays under pressure by announcing their determined support of the liberal Anglicans in North America responsible for bringing the Church to the brink of schism (The Times, London)
  
  
• The letter: The Church and homosexuality (The Times, London)
  
  
• New favorite emerges for York archbishopric | The Bishop of London, the Right Rev Richard Chartres, is emerging as a favorite to become the next Archbishop of York (The Times, London)
  
  
• Balanced ticket | The Bishop of London should be asked to serve as Archbishop of York (Editorial, The Times, London)
  
  
• Wilder shores of Anglicanism | It is a great puzzle who is in communion with whom in the Anglican world (Christopher Howse, The Telegraph, London)
  
  

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Catholicism:

• Tithing may be Catholic schools salvation | Parishioners asked to step up funding (Chicago Tribune)
  
  
• Catholics face lack of priests, consolidation | Even as the dust settles around the rubble of small-town chapels, major shifts have not occurred in the faith (Fond du Lac Reporter, Wi.)
  
  
• Cathedral to display "Relics of the Passion" | Millions have seen the movie. Now, the faithful and the curious have a chance to witness what Catholics believe are the real deal: holy relics from Jesus' last days on Earth (The Denver Post)
  
  
• The return of exorcism | Popularity of satanism fuels need for Catholic class (The Kansas City Star)
  
  

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Catholic schools deny ban on abortion-linked fundraiser:

• Comic Relief schools ban denied | The Bishop of the Welsh Diocese of Menevia has denied that Roman Catholic schools in the area are banned from raising money for Comic Relief (BBC)
  
  
• Earlier: Catholic schools ban red nose day in abortion row | There will be no red noses in three Catholic schools in south Wales on Friday because church leaders claim money raised by Comic Relief will be used to fund abortions (The Guardian, London)
  
  
• Also: Catholic schools ban Comic Relief events | Church officials in south Wales say money raised has been used to support abortions (The Independent, London)
  
  

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Pope John Paul II:

• John Paul is people's pope | Local laypeople recall encounters with Holy Father (The Journal Gazette, Ft. Wayne, Ind.)
  
  
• Vatican: Pope may return for Holy Week | Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the pope has suffered no complications since Feb. 24 surgery to insert the tube in his windpipe and ease his second breathing crisis in a month (Associated Press)
  
  
• Vatican expects Pope to be home before Easter | But it is still unclear how he would participate in Holy Week activities (Reuters)
  
  
• Frail Pope reappears at hospital window | Though the 84-year-old pope said nothing from behind the window, which was kept shut to keep out the damp chill, followers made clear they were no less inspired (Associated Press)
  
  

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People:

• Bono may make short list for World Bank | Treasury Secretary John Snow on Sunday would not rule out the idea of Irish singer Bono, an activist on debt relief and AIDS, making the short list of potential candidates to lead the World Bank even though an American is expected to get the job (Associated Press)
  
  
• Get behind Charles and Camilla, says Lord Carey | The country should "get behind" the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles, a former Archbishop of Canterbury has said (The Telegraph, London)
  
  
• Q&A with Luke Timothy Johnson | A professor of New Testament and Christian origins teaches at Emory University in Atlanta (The Roanoke Times, Va.)
  
  
• Gardener keeps faith where it belongs - in his ability | Well done Jason Gardener, who told the 9,500 crowd at the Palacio de Deportes in Madrid "I did it for me" after winning the 60 metres title at the European Indoor Championships for a record-breaking third consecutive time. Too many thank God (John Rawling, The Guardian, London)
  
  
• The vilification of James Dobson | Heterophobia hit another low with recent attacks on James Dobson (Robert H. Ashby, The Holland Sentinel, Mi.)
  
  
• Missionary's love and pain | One could say that when American missionary Elizabeth Decker went to seek divorce in a Nakuru court recently, she was walking along a familiar painful path (Lorraine Anyango, The Nation, Kenya)
  
  
• Martha Stewart living free | Lessons from prison, and from getting out (Chuck Colson, The New York Times)
  
  
• Rejoice in the spirit of holy irreverence | The Reverend Obadiah Steppenwolfe III's ability to say those things most of us wouldn't dare think takes stand-up to new highs — and lows (The Times, London)
  
  
• Mo. congressman also holds job as pastor | Rep. Emanuel Cleaver has been in the pulpit every weekend since he began his first House term in January, and he says he intends to continue doing so. He presides over two services every Sunday and sometimes a third service at another church in the evening (Associated Press)
  
  
• Ex-Korn guitarist baptized in Jordan River | Former Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch was baptized Saturday in the Jordan River, just weeks after quitting his band, drug habits and rock-and-roll lifestyle for religion (Associated Press)
  
  
• Are jarring details fit for obit? | I can understand why people who knew the Rev. Gilbert Phinn were upset by the Globe's handling of his Feb. 22 obituary. It's unsettling to see a beloved priest, especially one as dedicated as Phinn, linked with the Catholic Church sexual abuse story (Christine Chinlund, The Boston Globe)
  
  
• From palace to bin duty: an archbishop downsizes | For 10 years, his every need was catered for in his personal grace-and-favour palace. This weekend, David Hope, the former Archbishop of York and the second most powerful man in the Church of England, was to be found clattering a black wheelie bin across the pavement in front of a modest Yorkshire vicarage (The Times, London)
  
  

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Joel Osteen:

• Faithful follow message of hope | Osteen feeds crowds hungry for optimism (The Charlotte Observer, N.C.)
  
  
• Popular evangelist packs Coliseum | Joel Osteen, a Houston native, is often referred to as a rising star of Christianity (News14, Charlotte, N.C.)
  
  

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'Cricket bishop' dies:

• The last great muscular Christian | Lord first, Lord's second: the priorities for David Sheppard are lost on modern sportsmen (The New York Times)
  
  
• Cricketing bishop dies of cancer | The former Bishop of Liverpool and ex-England cricket captain Lord Sheppard has died of cancer aged 75. (BBC)
  
  
• The Right Rev Lord Sheppard | Much loved and respected Bishop of Liverpool who was toughened for a lifetime of testing situations by his early career in cricket (The Guardian, London)
  
  
• Lord Sheppard of Liverpool | Cricketing bishop who captained England and devoted his pastoral life to the condition of the disadvantaged in inner cities (The Times, London)
  
  
• The Rt Rev Lord Sheppard of Liverpool (The Telegraph, London)
  
  
• Obituary: The Right Rev Lord Sheppard of Liverpool | England cricket captain who became Bishop of Liverpool (The Independent, London)
  
  

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Mel Gibson stalker:

• Jury convicts man of stalking Mel Gibson | Zack Sinclair could face 16 months to 3 years in prison (Associated Press)
  
  
• Mel's Virgin visions | Mel Gibson's follow-up to his controversial The Passion of the Christ could be about three children who said they saw a vision of the Virgin Mary (Herald Sun, Melbourne, Australia)
  
  
• Mel plans 'miracle' film | Mel Gibson is planning to make a movie about the miracle of Fatima (New York Post)
  
  

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The Passion:

• Mel Gibson reveals his new 'Passion' | A new version of 'The Passion of the Christ,' with cuts to some graphic scenes, will be released March 11 (Good Morning America, ABC)
  
  
• Easter won't be without its passion | National surveys, and anecdotal reports locally, indicate that "The Passion," for all its passion, didn't have much of a long-term effect (Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster, Pa.)
  
  

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Television:

• What has floppy ears and a subversive tale? | A church makes a big deal out of showing the Buster "Sugartime" episode (The Washington Post)
  
  
• CBN donors are growing as fiscal core of network | CBN's reliance on donations has grown since 1997, when they accounted for about a third of the revenue that sustains the organization's operations at its Virginia Beach headquarters (The Virginian-Pilot, Hampton Roads, Va.)
  
  

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Art:

• A sculptor who keeps reinventing his form | Almost all Tim Hawkinson's pieces address the so-called eternal themes of human culture: the self, time, language, art, birth, death. He's even built work around hallowed Christian subjects (The Washington Post)
  
  
• Art focuses on similarities of Easter, Passover | An interfaith exhibit at Los Angeles' cathedral reflects the maturing relationship between the communities (Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• Topped by genius | Michelangelo's dome (The Washington Times)
  
  

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Books:

• That other passion | The queen of Christian romance tries to cross over (Time)
  
  
• Grove City College professors turned authors put faith in factual, fictional books | Two Grove City College political science professors took divergent paths in writing their faith-based books. Dr. Paul Kengor delved into the spiritual life of Ronald Reagan, in "God and Ronald Reagan, A Spiritual Life," while Dr. Marvin Folkertsma focused on sin, redemption and a killer virus in "The Thirteenth Commandment" (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
  
  
• Era of souped-up humans is coming | Alex Soojung-Kim Pang reviews More Than Human: Embracing the Promise of Biological Enhancement by Ramez Naam (Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• Formula elusive when blending faith, politics | Alex Coffin reviews Jim Wallis's God's Politics (The Charlotte Observer, N.C.)
  
  
• May your cubicle be filled with joy | God's managerial style? Benevolent, according to Dennis W. Bakke, author of "Joy at Work: A Revolutionary Approach to Fun on the Job" (NorthJersey.com)
  
  
• Korean `Da Vinci Code' is riddled with mistranslations | Many seeking refunds (The Korea Times)
  
  
• Seeker with spirit | Plan B is classic Anne Lamott, brutally funny and painfully candid in her assessment of herself and the world around her (Cathleen Falsani, Chicago Sun-Times)
  
  

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Religion & spirituality:

• Fast-selling bands put cause, message on believers' wrists | "Live for Him" replaces What Would Jesus Do? (The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Ca.)
  
  
• People of faith increasingly wearing beliefs on their sleeves | Everyone's wearing messages now, but they act as if they aren't. It's considered uncool to comment on them — or even read them. There's one exception: religious T-shirts. (Ray Waddle, The Tennessean)
  
  
• Safran's exorcist coming to haunt your neighbourhood | Bob Larson, the evangelist who famously performed a televised exorcism on John Safran, is on his way to Australia for a public "showdown with Satan" (Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia)
  
  
• U.S. a Christian nation? Not exactly | I don't think the ACLU has to worry about us becoming a Christian nation, at least in practice (Philip Gailey, St. Petersburg Times, Fla.)
  
  
• Faithful track questions, answers and minutiae on blogs | Religion-oriented blogs, many of them irreverent and contrarian, serve as a meeting point for the like-minded (The New York Times)
  
  
• In the sin-bin | I asked my kids what they thought of the recent BBC poll that showed the seven deadly sins are out of date. "What's a sin?" they asked (Susan Maushart, The Australian)
  
  
• Ghosts in a machine | What is it that triggers the brain to produce a religious experience? (The Times, London)
  
  
• We all live double lives | Few of us ever degenerate into the radical darkness of serial killing, but we all do hurtful things, things we regret, things that shame us, things we want to keep hidden (Bill Tammeus, The Kansas City Star)
  
  
• Pastor offers insights into what is known about God | Does God exist? Does God care? What do you know for sure? The pastor of the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago is taking on these questions and more as part of the 62nd annual Perkins Lecture Series, titled "A Viable Theism: Questions People Ask about God" offered by First United Methodist Church in Wichita Falls. (Times Record News, Wichita Falls, Texas)
  
  

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More articles of interest:

• GuideOne will provide perks for the faithful | The insurer plans home and auto policies with added benefits for churchgoers and volunteers (Des Moines Register, Ia.)
  
  
• Religion news | Phone blockers answer higher call; most doctors back assisted suicide; and other stories (The Washington Post)
  
  
• We need evangelical Christian support | While it is true that many of the evangelical Christians belong to the right wing of the political map, their love for the State of Israel is unconditional (Yehiel Eckstein, Haaretz, Tel Aviv)
  
  
• A Christian evolution holds key to tolerance | What we can we do to ensure a continuing respect for Christian traditions in a society where the habit of Christian worship is fast becoming a historical memory? (Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman)
  
  
• Housewives, hoodlums fight for Mexico death cult | Dressed in white and clutching statuettes of their beloved skeleton saint, followers of Mexico's fast-growing Santa Muerte death cult marched across the capital on Friday to demand recognition of their faith (Reuters)
  
  
• Disney sets out to make 'The Passion for kids' | Walt Disney is to promote its $100 million adaptation of C S Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as a "Passion of the Christ for kids" in an attempt to secure worldwide Christian support for the film (The Telegraph, London)
  
  

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