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JERUSALEM – Pope Benedict XVI ended his pilgrimage to the Holy Land Friday with a stirring call for peace at the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and then made an emotional appeal to Israel and the Palestinians: “No more bloodshed. No more fighting. No more terrorism. No more war.” After a weeklong struggle to get his…

(RNS) New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch said Thursday (May 14) that he would sign legislation legalizing same-sex marriage as long as religious groups would be not be forced to “violate their deeply held religious principles.” State lawmakers said a bill with those protections could reach Lynch’s desk within weeks, thus making New Hampshire the sixth…

MINNEAPOLIS – A 13-year-old Minnesota boy with cancer must resume medical treatment to save his life, despite religious and other objections by his family – unless it already is too late, a Brown County District Court judge ruled Friday. Daniel Hauser must have a chest X-ray by next Tuesday, when Judge John Rodenberg will learn…

Tallahassee, Fla. – Monsignor William A. Kerr, a leading human rights figure whom serial killer Ted Bundy sought out to be his spiritual counselor on death row, died Wednesday. He was 68. Kerr was hospitalized May 3 after suffering a stroke as he concluded celebrating a Mass. “Monsignor Kerr traveled all over the globe, touching…

East Brunswick, N.J. – A proposed Hebrew charter school has ignited a debate over the separation of church and state. The school, which would require Hebrew classes, has divided the local Jewish community and raised arguments about whether the school should run on taxpayer money. The founders argue their school would steer clear of religion…

Nazareth, Israel — Pope Benedict XVI spent the last full day of his week-long pilgrimage on Wednesday (May 14) urging reconciliation in the town where Jesus spent his youth but which is now beset by uneasy relations between Christians and Muslims. At a festive Mass in this hilly city in northern Israel, the pope focused…

SEATTLE – Father Patrick O’Donnell said in King County Superior Court he is sorry he molested at least 30 boys while part of the Seattle Catholic Archdiocese. While testifying Monday in court, the 66-year-old priest offered an apology to the two men who have accused him of molesting them during his 15 years as a…

First, the silver lining: people of faith are better citizens and better neighbors, and America is “amazingly” religious compared to other countries, says Harvard University professor Robert Putnam. Now, the cloud: young Americans are “vastly more secular” than their older counterparts, according to Putnam. “That is a stunning development,” Putnam said. “The youth are the…

Bethlehem, West Bank – Standing in the city of Jesus’ birth that’s now under Palestinian control, Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday (May 13) forcefully endorsed the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state. “Mr. President, the Holy See supports the right of your people to a sovereign Palestinian homeland in the land of your forefathers, secure…

JERUSALEM — Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday (May 12) prayed at the Western Wall and visited the nearby Dome of the Rock, two disputed pieces of holy ground that are sacred to both Muslims and Jews, as controversy continued to overshadow the pope’s weeklong pilgrimage. Benedict paused in prayer after he inserted a written prayer,…
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