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(RNS) When Pope Benedict XVI proclaims Blessed Damien de Veuster a saint on Sunday (Oct. 11), among the 40,000 expected attendees at the ceremony in St. Peter’s Square will be the King and Queen of Belgium and a White House delegation including Ambassador to the Vatican Miguel Diaz and Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii. Yet no…

(AP) A Canadian Muslim organization urged the Canadian government Thursday to ban traditional Muslim garments designed to cover a woman’s face, saying they are medieval and misogynist symbols of extremism with no basis in Islam. The Muslim Canadian Congress has called on the federal government to prohibit the burka and the niqab because it says…

(RNS) If there were a guide book for globe-trotting gurus, its rules might run something like this: 1. Don’t get too involved in politics. 2. Never criticize your host country. 3. Welcome converts to your faith. 4. Act as sage-like as possible. 5. Be wary of science. On his trip to Washington this week, the…

(RNS) In a dramatic about-face for a movement that a generation ago embraced a Cold War nuclear shield against the Soviets, evangelical Christians are now spreading the gospel of nuclear disarmament. Exhibit A: eliminating nuclear weapons will be on the agenda of a leadership forum hosted by the National Association of Evangelicals in Landover, Md.,…

(RNS) When Congress passed a law transferring the property around a war memorial cross in the Mojave National Preserve into private hands, did that resolve a court ruling that the cross violated church-state separation? The U.S. Supreme Court grappled with that question Wednesday (Oct. 7) and related thorny issues, including how veterans should be memorialized…

(RNS) At least two denominations say they are not seeking taxpayer funding of abortion as part of health care reform after an online newsletter erroneously reported that they were. Lifenews.com reported — and later retracted — on Oct. 2 that several denominations were lobbying through the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice and Healing for…

(RNS) U.S. Jews give President Barack Obama a high job approval rating, more than other religious groups and significantly more than the general population, Gallup reports. While 52 percent of U.S. adults approve of the job the president is doing, 64 percent of Jewish adults voiced approval during the month of September, according to Gallup…

(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…
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