(RNS) A New Jersey man who claimed God made him kill his pregnant girlfriend will get a new trial because jurors deciding his case should have been allowed to hear special instructions about an insanity defense, an appellate panel has ruled. The three-judge panel tossed out the conviction and 50-year sentence of Boyce Singleton Jr.…

WASHINGTON (RNS) In an 8-1 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday (March 2) that the “Thank God for Dead Soldiers” protesters from Westboro Baptist Church have First Amendment rights to protest military funerals. But does that mean more protests from religious groups are ahead? Or more efforts to limit them? The majority determined that…

METAIRIE, La. (RNS) Though he admitted having his hands in his pants, Christian fundamentalist Grant Storms denied Tuesday (March 1) he was masturbating while watching children in a park before being arrested. Storms, a self-described “Christian patriot” who has protested New Orleans’ annual Southern Decadence gay pride festival, also apologized to those he had maligned,…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Jewish people as a whole were not responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion, and their descendants have not inherited blame for his death, Pope Benedict XVI writes in a new book to be published on March 10. The statements appear in excerpts, which were released Wednesday (March 2), from Jesus of Nazareth: Holy…

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