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By Daniel Burke c. 2010 Religion News Service (RNS) For the second time in two years, the Rev. Jane Spahr is on trial in the Presbyterian Church (USA) for performing same-sex weddings. A retired pastor and self-described “lesbian evangelist,” Spahr, 68, was acquitted of similar charges by the denomination’s high court in 2008. The same-sex…

WASHINGTON (RNS) The most sweeping changes to the Catholic Mass in 40 years will be rolled out in 2011, the U.S. bishops announced Friday (Aug. 20) after receiving formal approval from the Vatican. The new English-language translation of the Roman Missal, the official text of prayers and responses used in the Mass, will be implemented…

(RNS) Fire officials in Gainesville, Fla., have denied a permit to a church that wants to burn Qurans on Sept. 11, but church officials said they’ll go ahead with the protest that has garnered worldwide attention. Leaders of the Dove World Outreach Center say “Islam is of the Devil” and plan to burn copies of…

By Adelle M. Banks c. 2010 Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) Two new polls say as many as one in four Americans mistakenly believe President Obama is a Muslim, presenting the White House with the unique challenge of defining a central element of the president’s life story. Asked in a Time magazine poll whether the…

By Adelle M. Banks c. 2010 Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) What started as a local zoning debate about an Islamic center near Ground Zero, and then morphed into a fight over religious expression, has now turned into an election-year political brawl. Caught in the middle of the rancorous partisan fight are American Muslims, whose…

By DANIEL BURKE c. 2010 Religion News Service (RNS) Contrary to what they say about Las Vegas, what happens in one branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion rarely stays there. And no one knows this more than the former Episcopal bishop of Sin City, Katharine Jefferts Schori, who is now presiding bishop of the Episcopal…

GENEVA (RNS/ENInews) World Christian leaders are paying tribute to the ecumenical Taize community in eastern France, which is marking the 70th anniversary of its founding in 1940 by Brother Roger Schutz, who died in 2005. In a message in advance of the Saturday (Aug. 14) commemoration, Pope Benedict XVI described Schutz as a “pioneer in…

By ALFREDO GARCIA c. 2010 Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) When the Baptist World Alliance held its global conference in Hawaii earlier this month, it was missing about 1,000 attendees from around the world. In June, the inaugural meeting of the World Communion of Reformed Churches in Grand Rapids, Mich., was missing 74, and the…

(RNS) Same-sex couples can begin marrying in California again on Aug. 18 after a federal judge lifted a stay on his recent ruling that struck down California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. “Based on the trial record, which establishes that Proposition 8 violates plaintiffs’ equal protection and due process rights, the court cannot conclude that…

(RNS) Advocates for victims of clergy sex abuse have blasted the Episcopal Church for reinstating the bishop of Philadelphia who had been charged with not investigating sex abuse allegations about his brother. A church appeals court ruled July 28 that Bishop Charles Bennison committed conduct inappropriate for a member of the clergy, but said charges…
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