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International Herald Tribune Lori Viars, an evangelical activist in Warren County, Ohio, essentially put her life on hold in the autumn of 2004 to run a phone bank for President George W. Bush. Her efforts helped the president’s ambitious push to turn out evangelicals and win that critical swing state in a close election. But…

Associated Press – June 9, 2008 DHARMSALA, India – Philip Hemley confronted a deep personal conflict. Should he continue his studies in Sanskrit and Tibetan languages or pursue his dreams of rock ‘n’ roll? So Mr. Hemley headed to this Himalayan hill town in 1989 to seek the one person he believed could resolve his…

Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) – June 9, 2008 Vatican City (dpa) – Pope Benedict XVI will host US President George W Bush in a medieval tower later this week in what the Vatican’s newspaper said Monday marks an “unusual protocol” move. The pontiff, who is scheduled to hold talks with Bush on Friday, normally receives high-calibre…

Associated Press – June 8, 2008 CONCORD, New Hampshire – The first openly gay Episcopal bishop and his partner of 20 years have been united in a private civil union. The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson was legally joined to Mark Andrew, his partner of 20 years, in a civil ceremony Saturday, the Episcopal Diocese…

Chicago Tribune – June 6, 2008 Jun. 6–SAN ANTONIO — In a sign of the changing face of American Catholicism, a 41-year-old of Mexican descent who grew up in Houston has been ordained the nation’s youngest Roman Catholic bishop. More than 1,000 people inside St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church applauded the promotion of the…

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News – June 6, 2008 Jun. 6–Gay activists and clergy are planning a silent protest Saturday morning outside a conference of ex-gays who contend homosexuality can be cured by religious counseling. The conference, called “Love Won Out” and sponsored by the conservative Colorado-based Christian organization Focus on the Family, has sparked controversy…

The Dallas Morning News – June 6, 2008 Jun. 6–Gov. Rick Perry, accepting personal blame if Texas “stepped across some legal line,” strongly defended today its sweep of all youngsters from a polygamist sect’s ranch. “I still think that the state of Texas has an obligation to young women who are forced into marriage and…

By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service “Author Unknown” once asked Jesus why there was only one set of footprints in the sand during life’s most perilous moments. Now a federal court on Long Island is trying to decide just whose footprints those were. Basil Zangare of Shirley, N.Y., claims they belonged to his late…

San Jose Mercury News, Calif. The wait is over for everyone from wedding planners to local clerks — and thousands of gay and lesbian couples across California. The California Supreme Court on Wednesday removed any lingering legal doubts about whether same-sex couples can marry in California beginning June 17, setting the stage for a rush…

By Francis X. Rocca Religion News Service Vatican City — When President Bush pays a visit to Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican next Friday (June 13), it will be his sixth meeting with a pope, and his third meeting with Benedict in just over a year. Never in U.S. history has a president consulted…

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