Beliefnet News

WASHINGTON (RNS) A new federation of two dozen conservative Christian groups announced plans Tuesday (June 30) to work together to strategize around moral values they feel are under attack across the country. “We are not wed to a particular partisan candidate or party,” said Mathew Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel and an organizer of the…

Provo, Utah – Brigham Young University, the Mormon church school where students agree to live a chaste and virtuous life, has lifted its almost three-year policy of blocking access to YouTube. Administrators lifted the ban on Friday, citing an increasing amount of educational material on the popular video-sharing site, university spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said. YouTube…

OREGON CITY, Ore. — Prosecution and defense attorneys differed sharply Monday (June 29) on what led to the death of 15-month-old Ava Worthington. Ava, malnourished and in obvious distress, “died a needless death” because her parents, Raylene and Carl Worthington, failed to provide adequate medical care, said Greg Horner, chief deputy district attorney. Yet John…

The Rev. Brad Braxton, senior minister of New York City’s famed Riverside Church, has resigned just two months after his installation after a nasty fight with his new flock landed the church in court. Braxton’s abrupt departure comes amidst congregational discord over the church’s mission and the pastor’s compensation package, which critics estimated as high…

PRAGUE – An international conference assessing efforts to return property and possessions stolen by the Nazis to their rightful owners or heirs said Monday that caring for Holocaust survivors is a matter of the “utmost urgency.” The five-day meeting attended by Holocaust survivors, Jewish groups and government officials was a follow-up to a 1998 meeting…

Rome (dpa) – In a surprise announcement Pope Benedict XVI has said scientific tests carried out on an ancient Roman tomb confirm the long-held Roman Catholic belief that it contains the remains of Saint Paul. Benedict on Sunday evening told the faithful gathered at the Basilica of St Paul Outside-the-Wall, that a white marble sarcophagus…

PARIS – A redheaded horsewoman in a flowing, made-to-measure Islamic gown atop a snorting steed opened what can only be deemed Paris’ most unusual fashion show of late. The display, a sumptuous affair held Thursday at the French capital’s George V Hotel, showcased haute couture abayas, the body-covering black robes some Muslim women don over…

PRAGUE – Holocaust survivors, Jewish groups and experts gathered in Prague on Friday to assess efforts to return property and possessions stolen by the Nazis to their rightful owners or heirs. The five-day conference, which brings together delegates from 49 countries, is a follow-up to a 1998 meeting in Washington that led to agreements on…

When sex symbol Rudolph Valentino died at the age of 31 in 1926, riots broke out as tens of thousands of mourners tried to cram themselves into a public viewing in New York. It was, says Emory University’s Gary Laderman, “a new kind of sacred attachment, one based on fame and looks, personality and stardom.”…

Trenton, N.J. – Only a few years ago, Edward Fagan was a world-renowned lawyer for the underdog, brash and audacious enough to take on Swiss banks and even whole countries to win judgments for Holocaust survivors and victims of South African apartheid. Now, the state Supreme Court has barred him from practicing law in New…

More from Beliefnet and our partners