By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) A federal watchdog panel said Friday (May 2) that 11 countries should be named “countries of particular concern” for their records on religious freedom, including three that are not currently on the State Department’s list. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom urged the inclusion of…

Associated Press – May 1, 2008 NEW YORK – Whatever impressions Pope Benedict XVI took away from his long weekend in New York may influence a big, upcoming decision – picking a successor to Cardinal Edward Egan as archbishop. Speculating on the next leader of the New York Archdiocese, one of the most important posts…

By Daniel Burke c. 2008 Religion News Service FORT WORTH, Texas — Efforts to remove a transgender pastor from ministry in the United Methodist Church died quietly here this week at the denomination’s General Conference. The failure to enact a ban most likely means the Rev. Drew Phoenix, a pastor in Baltimore who entered the…

By Jonathan Rubin Religion News Service (RNS) Northwestern University has retracted an honorary degree offer to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Sen. Barack Obama’s embattled former pastor. “In light of the controversy around Dr. Wright and to ensure that the celebratory character of commencement not be affected, the university has withdrawn its invitation to Dr. Wright,”…

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