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Syracuse, N.Y. – Despite support from all statewide elected leaders, prospects for a same-sex marriage bill passing the state Legislature this year appear shaky at best. Political observers say its fate will hinge on the votes of a handful of state senators — particularly Republicans who are willing to make up for defections from the…

Vatican City – Critics of the Catholic Church’s social teachings are trying to intimidate Pope Benedict XVI into silence, the Vatican charged Friday in responding to attacks on the pontiff’s remarks about AIDS and condom use. In a strongly worded statement, the Vatican defended the pope’s view that condoms aren’t the answer to Africa’s AIDS…

Vatican City – New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson met Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Wednesday (Apr. 15), hours before a Catholic group lit up Rome’s Coliseum to honor New Mexico’s recent abolition of the death penalty. Richardson, a former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, led a state delegation to Rome for the…

Despite the economic downturn, more than half of actively religious donors plan to give the same or more to charitable causes in 2009 as they did last year, a new survey shows. Cygnus Applied Research, a Chicago-based international research firm, completed a survey of more than 17,000 U.S. donors to charitable causes in February. It…

Internet columns and chain e-mails question the candidate’s Christian bona fides. Old sermons are dredged up and dissected. Supporters, meanwhile, post documents online to combat perceived smears. In short: a campaign for high office delivers some low blows. The candidate in question? No, it’s not Barack Obama, but rather Bishop-elect Kevin Thew Forrester of Marquette,…

New York – Archbishop Timothy Dolan was installed Wednesday as the leader of Roman Catholic New York, taking the most prominent American pulpit in the church during an elaborate ceremony that drew thousands of parishioners and civic leaders to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Known for his wit and warmth, Dolan beamed as he walked down the…

Conservative Christian groups blasted a new report from the Department of Homeland Security on “rightwing extremism,” calling it an example of “guilt by association” for linking anti-abortion activists with hate groups. The 10-page “assessment” from the department stresses that the report is not based on specific threats. “The HDS/Office of Intelligence and Analysis … has…

Vatican City — The Vatican plans to investigate leaders of women’s religious congregations in the U.S. to ensure their fidelity to Catholic teaching on controversial questions of ecumenism, homosexuality and an all-male priesthood. Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, informed officials at the Leadership Conference of Women…

New York – The installation of New York Archbishop-designate Timothy Dolan is stretching over two days in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, in services before thousands of well-wishers ranging from his elementary school teacher to the Vatican’s U.S. ambassador. Dolan, 59, the former Milwaukee archbishop, is taking over the most visible American job in the Roman Catholic…

Arlington, Va. – Two Sikh men say they want to report for active duty in July even as they refuse to comply with the Army’s demands to cut their unshorn beards and hair and remove their turbans. “I am willing to lay down my life for America,” said 2nd Lt. Tejdeep Singh Rattan, one of…
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