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(RNS) A half-century ago, when civic groups were a staple of American life, 4.1 million men regularly spent evenings at Masonic lodges around the country. That period, from the late 1950s to the early 1960s, would be the peak of Freemasonry membership. Each year since, membership has declined, in line with those of other service…

(RNS) U.S. Catholic bishops have tried to reassure Jewish leaders that interfaith dialogue will never be used as a means of proselytism or a “disguised invitation to baptism,” after months of interfaith tension. The overture from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops comes more than three months after the bishops angered Jewish leaders by seeming…

WASHINGTON – A decision by Barack Obama to postpone his first meeting as president with the Dalai Lama is overshadowing a visit to Washington this week by the exiled Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader. The Dalai Lama arrived Monday in Washington and will be received by prominent U.S. lawmakers and the U.S. coordinator for Tibet. But…

WASHINGTON (RNS) The Supreme Court announced Monday (Oct. 5) that it will not intervene in two prominent church-state cases, one involving a Catholic diocese in Connecticut and the other a former Episcopal parish in California. The Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn. has fought since 2002 to block the release of more than 12,000 pages of depositions…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) The new American ambassador to the Holy See met the press on Monday (Oct. 5), for the first time since his nomination was announced in May. Miguel H. Diaz received a group of 10 American and Italian reporters at the official ambassador’s residence on Rome’s Janiculum Hill, three days after presenting his…

JERUSALEM (RNS) Four influential ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Israel have decreed that Jews may not use so-called “Shabbat elevators,” which enable observant Jews to use elevators without breaking rules against manual labor on the Sabbath. This is the first time a group of such eminent rabbis has banned the use of Shabbat elevators, which have been…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) In a meeting with the new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Pope Benedict XVI praised Obama administration policies on arms control and inter-religious relations, but underscored a key area of disagreement by reaffirming the Catholic Church’s opposition to abortion. Benedict made his remarks on Friday (Oct. 2) as he formally accepted…

(RNS) The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will allow religiously observant Jews to transport ritual objects related to the holiday of Sukkot in airports and through security checkpoints in the U.S. The move comes at the request of the New York-based Orthodox Union (OU), which over the years has heard complaints from Jews whose lulavs (palm…

WASHINGTON (RNS) When the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center opened in December 2008, the national motto, “In God We Trust,” was nowhere to be found. But almost a year later, after complaints from members of Congress, a new engraving of the phrase was unveiled. “This was accomplished due to the efforts of so many individuals in…

The Dalai Lama announced this week a gift of $50,000 to an Emory University initiative that is developing a science education curriculum for Tibetan monastics. Emory officials also announced that the Tibetan spiritual leader will return to the campus in October 2010 and host forums, seminars and other activities for the college community and the…
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