Religionography: Pope Benedict XVI

May 25, 2010

Hello readers! Here's what you may have missed in recent religion news:

Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged the need for reform within the Catholic Church, and a great deal of self-examination. The Dallas Morning News put out an interesting series of blurbs by local faith leaders regarding Benedict's reflection.
A friend of mine (and former colleague) is working to get African-American non-religious "out of the closet."
It's been a rough week or so for the Saudi "morality police," or Mutaween.
Get Religion does its usual excellent job predicting the religious and political fallout of a repealed "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy.
American Catholic women are just about as likely as any American woman to terminate a pregnancy via abortion. Why? Because they're otherwise just like other Americans. (CNNvia Pew)
Here's some interesting reading from Sojourners about (the biblical) Ruth...as an illegal immigrant. There are some very good points made about choosing compassion over law.
In a seeming coincidence of the last two points I posted above, a nun (and others, presumably) have been excommunicated for performing an abortion to save a woman's life. (Politics Daily)

September 24, 2009

Hello, readers! Today in 622, the prophet Muhammad completed his hijra from Mecca to Medina. And today in religion news...

Worldwide, witch hunts persecuting women and children are on the rise, according to the UN. (Reuters)
Tomorrow's Islam on Capitol Hill [site contains automatic audio] event is already attracting attention, not all of it positive, and not all just from anti-Muslim groups. (PD, Beliefnet)
Pope Benedict XVI will be making his first official visit to Great Britain. (Times of London)
Leaders from African-American churches will be endorsing Obama's plan for healthcare reform. (LAT)
Two openly gay members of Congress have endorsed legislation barring workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. (Baltimore Sun)