WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court ruled Jan. 4 that a veterans’ memorial featuring a 43-foot cross on California’s Mount Soledad is unconstitutional. “The use of such a distinctively Christian symbol to honor all veterans sends a strong message of endorsement and exclusion,” wrote Judge M. Margaret McKeown for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of…

By DANIEL BURKE c. 2011 Religion News Service WASHINGTON — Mass protests against planned mosques in New York City and Tennessee. An Oklahoma referendum to ban Islamic law. A media circus around a Florida pastor’s threat to burn Qurans. An outbreak of homegrown Islamic terrorists. Two U.S.-led wars in predominantly Muslim countries. There was no…

The International House of Pancakes has dropped its suit against the International House of Prayer after claiming the Missouri-based church had infringed on its trademarked IHOP acronym. Patrick Lenow, spokesman for IHOP Restaurants, said the suit was dismissed on Dec. 21 but negotiations are continuing between the chain and the church. “We are very interested…

By MICHAEL O’MALLEY c. 2011 Religion News Service The recent appointment of an American archbishop to the Vatican office overseeing a wide-ranging investigation of U.S. nuns has the sisters and their supporters breathing a little easier. Archbishop Joseph Tobin has already acknowledged the “anger and hurt” among U.S. nuns caused by the probe in his…

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