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(RNS) Religion reporters chose the 2008 elections and the controversy surrounding President-elect Barack Obama’s former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, as the top story of the year. Democrats’ outreach to faith communities, and the selection of GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, were chosen as the No. 2 and No. 3 top religion stories by…

Cardinal Avery Dulles, who left a prominent Protestant pedigree to become one of the nation’s most distinguished theologians and a prince of the Catholic Church, died Friday (Dec. 12) at the age of 90. Dulles, who was one of the oldest men to be named a cardinal, at age 82, by Pope John Paul II…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Traditionalist Catholics will have a sympathizer in the new head of the Vatican’s liturgical office. Pope Benedict XVI has named Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, currently Archbishop of Toledo, Spain, as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Vatican announced Tuesday (Dec. 9). Canizares, who will…

SAGINAW, Mich. (RNS) The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal in a case involving a Michigan fifth-grader who tried to sell candy canes with a religious message at his school. The high court on Monday (Dec. 8) denied the petition that the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Alliance Defense Fund filed on behalf of Joel…

WASHINGTON — The top Washington lobbyist for the National Association of Evangelicals, who had already faced criticism for his embrace of environmental activism, resigned Thursday (Dec. 11) after signaling support for same-sex civil unions. The Rev. Richard Cizik, who had worked in the NAE’s Washington office for 28 years, resigned after being harshly criticized for…

MECCA, Saudi Arabia – On foot and on the roofs of overflowing buses, Muslims poured into the holy city of Mecca for a final day of the hajj on Wednesday, many of them saying they felt reborn and cleansed of sin as they completed the annual pilgrimage. Around midday, the Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest shrine,…

NEW YORK (RNS) Struggling with a kosher meat industry labor scandal that won’t go away, Orthodox Jews have begun publicly debating what role– if any — ethical standards should have on their eating habits. At a panel discussion Tuesday (Dec. 9) at Yeshiva University, four scholars presented a range of responses to accusations of illegal…

(RNS) California’s top Catholic clerics are trying to sooth hard feelings over the recent passage of the state’s gay marriage ban, explaining the church’s support for the measure while attempting to assure gays and lesbians that they are “cherished members of the church.” “The passage of Proposition 8 in the state of California does not…

MINA, Saudi Arabia – After pelting a symbol of the devil with stones, the Iraqi pilgrim knelt and prayed that one day soon all sorts of devils will be removed from his homeland – among them, that American forces will soon leave. Hatim Mohammed al-Sakr said he hoped President-elect Barack Obama will carry out that…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI praised collaboration with other faiths in pursuit of common social goals but cautioned against dialogue that could lead to blurring of religious differences. Benedict’s statement, released on Tuesday (Dec. 9), was addressed to participants in a Vatican-sponsored academic event connected to the current European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. “Let…
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