By Tim Townsend c. 2010 St. Louis Post-Dispatch ST. LOUIS (RNS) When is a church convention more than just another church convention? When 40,000 saints from the Church of God in Christ come marching in and relocate the year’s largest convention from one cash-strapped city to another. For the first time in more than a…

LONDON (RNS) Five bishops have decided to leave the Church of England and join the Roman Catholic Church under the Vatican’s new program to welcome disaffected Anglicans. The decision by three active and two retired bishops was reported Monday (Nov. 8) by the British Press Association (PA) and confirmed by the Vatican’s top spokesman in…

By Francis X. Rocca c. 2010 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI denounced abortion, same-sex marriage and the absence of religion in public life during a weekend (Nov. 6-7) visit to Spain, a country he called the “focal point” of tensions between faith and secularism in Europe. “The generous and indissoluble love…

By KEVIN ECKSTROM c. 2010 Religion News Service (RNS) Openly gay Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson, whose 2003 election caused a major schism within the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion, announced on Saturday (Nov. 6) that he will retire in early 2013. Robinson, 63, asked delegates from the Diocese of New Hampshire, meeting…

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