May 2009 Archives

The Wichita Eagle is reporting that abortion doctor George Tiller was shot and killed at his church this morning. Police are looking for the gunman, according to the paper:

Father Cutié has decided to join the Episcopal Church, the Miami Herald is reporting.

You might recall the Rev. Alberto Cutié (KOO'-tee-ay) was removed from his Miami Beach church after photos of him kissing and embracing a woman appeared in the pages of a Spanish-language magazine earlier this month.

The popular Miami priest and media personality, who has the nickname "Padre Oprah" for his relationship advice, says he is leaving the Catholic Church and joining the Episcopalians.

In the latest Sightings column, Lois Ann Lorentzen of the University of San Francisco talks about how the rapid growth of the Santa Muerte movement during recent decades has led to conflict among devotees of Holy Death, the official Roman Catholic Church and the Mexican government.

Also, Time magazine has a fascinating photo essay devoted to Santa Muerte.

Pastors and Logos Academy school leaders gathered Tuesday to kick off a $8 million capital campaign, hoping to raise enough to supplement the cost of a new building for the Christian school and a community playground at 256 W. King St. in York.

Update: A Philadelphia judge acquitted 12 religious activists of trespass and disorderly conduct in protests at an allegedly rogue Philadelphia gun store, according to the AP.

One by one, defendants in the daylong trial testified about what led them toward the path of civil disobedience.

Melissa DeLong, 28, spoke of children in her after-school program who "fervently pray to get home safely." She tearfully described a Camden teenager killed in crossfire a week before her high school graduation.

"I had to do something to make it OK for a child to play outside," DeLong testified.

A Lutheran bishop and two pastors from Tanzania arrive Monday in York for a two-week stay.

On Tuesday, three Lutheran pastors from West Virginia synod of will arrive -- by bicycle -- in Middletown.

Update.

Religious leaders and other activists from the interfaith group Heeding God's Call go on trial today in Philadelphia for their part in demonstrations at a gun store. The charges include conspiracy, obstruction and disorderly conduct.

The activists were arrested in January for blocking the entrance to Colosimo's Gun Center in Philly. They want the owner to pledge to sell firearms responsibly. Heeding God's Call has partnered with more than three dozen Philadelphia-area congregations -- including Jews, Muslims, Quakers, Catholics and Protestants -- to work against gun violence, according to the AP.

Members say they want to add a different religious voice to the national gun-control debate -- one they say has been dominated for too long by conservative Christians opposed to firearms regulation. (AP photo)

Religion scholar Martin Marty discusses the worst job market for seminarians in years.

After quite a buildup, everyone was eager to hear what Obama would say at Notre Dame's commencement today (watch the webcast). I've only quickly read over the text of his speech, but it seems he dedicated time to the tension in American culture over the abortion issue.

"Those who speak out against stem cell research may be rooted in admirable conviction about the sacredness of life, but so are the parents of a child with juvenile diabetes who are convinced that their son's or daughter's hardships can be relieved."

The adjective mantic stems from the Greek mantis, meaning prophet.

A Tennessean article looks at a trend among some young Christians called the Virgin Lips Movement.

Some teens and young adults are redefining what's referred to as a purity pledge. Usually, that means someone who's made a promise to God to save their virginity for their wedding night. The Virgin Lips Movement saves the lips for the wedding ceremony.

"The way I see it, if you kiss before you're married, you could be kissing someone else's husband or wife," said one bride.

York resident Gary P. Williams has been named controller at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg.

He manages day-to-day financial activities of the seminary's accounting and business and related activities and helps wrestle the school's $6 million budget, student accounting and the seminaries programs and partner organizations.

Check out BeliefNet's roundup of 10 commandments that found their way into "Star Trek" over the generations.

As Obama's invitation to speak at the University of Notre Dame continues to draw criticism and headlines, Pennsylvania's outspoken Bishop Joseph F. Martino of the Diocese of Scranton slammed the choice of commencement speaker at another Catholic school.

Martino regrets the decision by King's College in Wilkes-Barre for to host Sen. Bob Casey Jr. as graduation speaker May 17. The bishop is upset with Casey's recent vote to confirm Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as U.S. secretary of Health & Human Services -- which he called "an affront to all who value the sanctity of human life."

A group of Pennsylvania United Methodists are among those urging a committee of state lawmakers to reject Gov. Edward Rendell's proposal to legalize video lottery machines in thousands of the state's restaurants and taverns.

"Pennsylvania's government -- our elected leaders -- is now addicted to gambling and its false promises and false choices. The siren's song of easy money has lured them into the trap," said Stephen Drachler, executive director of the group A United Methodist Witness in Pennsylvania at a government hearing last week.

Religion scholar Martin Marty's latest Sightings column reflects on a recent survey from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life survey, which reveals that the more church-going you are, the more likely you are to approve of torture.

Episcopalians in the Diocese of Northern Michigan recently elected a controversial new bishop, who has been criticized by some for challenging long-accepted teachings on sin, salvation and the the crucifixion. He's also received a Buddhist lay ordination.

The Rev. Kevin G. Thew Forrester denies that Satan exists, doesn't believe God sent Jesus to die for the world's sins and teaches that many paths lead to spiritual salvation. He's also altered the denomination's prayer book, which include its baptismal vows and the words of the Apostles' Creed. Read an interview he did with Frank Lockwood.

Church watchers say Forrester might be the first bishop-elect to be rejected by the House of Bishops since the 1930s. Under the canons of the Episcopal Church, the election of any bishop must be ratified by a majority of both the bishops and standing committees of other Episcopal dioceses.

Despite concerns over the Communion chalice used to distribute wine, one study suggests it may not be as unsanitary as expected, RNS reports.

"For the average communicant it would seem that the risk of drinking from the common cup is probably less than the risk of air-borne infection in using a common building," a Canadian cardiologist Dr. David Gould concluded in a 2000 article.

No cases of swine flu have been reported in York County, but state health officials confirmed one case Sunday in Montgomery County. Some churches and denominations are urging caution.