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Associated Press Mexico City – Hundreds of thousands of people, some crawling on hands and knees, others carrying her image to be blessed, gathered Wednesday to honor the Mexico’s beloved patron saint, the Virgin of Guadalupe. Celebrants set off fireworks, sang and prayed inside the packed Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe to celebrate the…

The Miami Herald A South Florida imam says U.S. officials pressured him to give up his immigration appeals and leave the country voluntarily. A Muslim group says the imam’s case is part of a troubling trend in which religious leaders are compelled to become informants or risk being deported. Foad Farahi, 33, of the Shamsuddin…

By JANET FILLMORE 2007 Religion News Service CLEVELAND — When the Ven. Shih Ying-Fa parks his 5-foot-10 frame before the computer in his home office, he never knows who will be seeking his help. It could be a high school student in Baton Rouge, La., who asks the difference between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism for…

Associated Press – December 12, 2007 BOSTON – Republican Mitt Romney retorted to questions about his faith by surging rival Mike Huckabee on Wednesday, declaring that “attacking someone’s religion is really going too far.” In an article to be published Sunday in The New York Times, Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, asks, “Don’t Mormons…

Associated Press – December 12, 2007 NEW YORK – A suspected bias attack on four Jewish subway riders in New York City has resulted in a friendship between the Jewish victims and the Muslim college student who came to their aid. Walter Adler is calling Hassan Askari a hero for intervening when Adler and three…

By Kevin Eckstrom Religion News Service With megachurches come mega crowds, mega money, and increasingly, mega security concerns. The crowds — anywhere from 2,000 to 20,000 worshippers each weekend — can be an attractive target for a deranged shooter. Overflowing offering plates are tempting to thieves, and well-known preachers can become high-profile targets. Sunday’s (Dec.…

Associated Press Washington – President George W. Bush recognized Hanukkah on Monday by remembering the kidnapping and murder in 2002 of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl at the hands of Islamic militants in Pakistan. “His only crime was being a Jewish-American – something Daniel Pearl would never deny,” Bush said as he celebrated the…

Associated Press Washington – A book on interfaith relations by a Georgetown University theologian does not accurately reflect Roman Catholic teaching, a U.S. bishops’ committee said Monday. The Rev. Peter C. Phan, in his book “Being Religious Interreligiously: Asian Perspectives on Interfaith Dialogue,” writes that the terms “unique” and “absolute” when referring to Christ may…

Associated Press – December 10, 2007 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The deadly shooting sprees at a megachurch and a missionary training school were believed to have been carried out by the same person – a 24-year-old suburban Denver man who “hated Christians,” a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official, who spoke on…

Associated Press Colorado Springs, Colo. – Authorities searched a home in suburban Englewood early Monday, seeking any link between two deadly shooting sprees at Christian religious centers that left both communities stunned on a day of worship. Five people, including a gunman, died in the attacks Sunday at a megachurch in Colorado Springs and at…

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