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Associated Press – March 26, 2008 WASHINGTON – President Bush called China’s President Hu Jintao on Wednesday and raised concerns about the crackdown in Tibet, joining a growing chorus of international protests about Beijing’s tough tactics. The White House said that Bush encouraged Hu to engage in “substantive dialogue” with representatives of the Dalai Lama,…

Associated Press – March 26, 2008 SCRANTON, Pennsylvania – Understanding Pennsylvania’s rich Catholic tradition and responding to it is an article of faith for Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama as the April 22 primary looms in the still unsettled and intense Democratic presidential race. It’s a way of thinking well-known to the people…

By Rohan Mascarenhas Religion News Service Palermo, N.Y. – Members of the Gobind Sadan USA temple hurried with last-minute chores last Saturday morning (March 22) as they prepared to dedicate their new temple. Adults readied musical instruments and food, while children played with balloons on a floor covered with Oriental carpets and white sheets. And…

United Press International New Delhi – Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said Tuesday he would resign if violent protests by Tibetans didn’t cease. “I have always made it clear that the expression of deep emotion should be in control. If it is out of control, we have no option. If the violent demonstration will…

Associated Press Vatican City – A Muslim scholar who participated in recent Vatican talks to improve Catholic-Muslim relations criticized Pope Benedict XVI’s Easter baptism of a prominent convert from Islam as a “provocative” act. Magdi Allam, an Egyptian-born TV and newspaper commentator who has denounced Islam as inherently violently, was baptized by the pope in…

Associated Press – March 23, 2008 BAGHDAD – A roadside bomb killed four U.S. soldiers in Baghdad on Sunday, the military said, pushing the overall American death toll in the five-year war to at least 4,000. The grim milestone came on the same day that rockets and mortars pounded the U.S.-protected Green Zone, underscoring the…

Associated Press – March 24, 2008 WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has turned down an appeal from a county sheriff who objects to transporting jail inmates for elective abortions. An Arizona sheriff wanted the justices to allow him to enforce a jail policy that bars transporting inmates for abortions without a court order. Arizona courts…

Associated Press – March 24, 2008 WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday urged China to consider a new policy to address Tibetans’ grievances and to start talks with the Dalai Lama. A Chinese dialogue with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, Rice said, “is going to be the only policy that is…

By Andrea Useem Religion News Service With Islam so much in the news today, experts and pundits are frequently called upon to explain the views of Muslims worldwide. But according to Dalia Mogahed, executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, Muslims should be able to speak for themselves. In the new book, “Who…

By Daniel Burke Religion News Service When Deacon Ken Finn is counseling prisoners, he often tells the story of St. Dismas. “He was the guy crucified on the right side of Christ,” Finn says. “He never took a course in (Catholic doctrine) but he gets to skip purgatory and go straight to heaven.” Finn, 72,…

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