Cathy Lynn Grossman
Nod to unbelievers part of pope’s style
When Pope Francis left his script Christmas morning to ad-lib an invitation to atheists to join the prayerful in “desiring peace,” it may have been the first time an Urbi et Orbi...
The Twible delivers holy writ with Twitter wit
Nearly every home has at least one Bible, although few read it.
...Black, Hispanic end-of-life views rooted in faith, family — and mistrust
c. 2013 Religion News Service
WASHINGTON (RNS) “A higher power will deliver me.”
“If Jesus suffered, I’m going to suffer.”
...Facing death: fight, choose or let it come
Death may be inevitable, but one in three Americans—including most blacks and Hispanics—want doctors never to quit fighting it....
Libertarian numbers small but they have clout
The Public Religion Research Institute’s annual American Values Survey, released October 29, examines libertarians to try to “pin down a group that doesn’t fit on the traditional liberal-to-co...
If it is not ‘mainline,’ what is it?
Is there a better name for mainline Protestants? How about vintage Protestants? Or the VPCC—Vanishing Progressive Christian Church? Or the Legacy Church?
...Tracking the ‘nominals’
They are rarely at worship services and are indifferent to doctrine. And they’re surprisingly fuzzy on Jesus.
...After long slump, number of Catholic seminarians on the rise
After decades of glum trends—fewer priests, fewer parishes—the Catholic Church in the United States has a statistic to cheer: more men are now enrolled in graduate-level seminaries—the main pipelin...
Church must act decisively on sexual abuse, says pope
Pope Francis has called for strong, specific worldwide measures for the Roman Catholic Church to act “with determination” against the clergy sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the church for more...
Pope Benedict XVI leaves mixed legacy on clergy sexual abuse
In 2001, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger urged Pope John Paul II to create a central system to further the Vatican's investigations of sexual abuse under priests....
'So help me God' isn't in official presidential oath
When President Obama rests his hand on two historic Bibles to take his second-term oath of office Monday (Jan. 21), he'll add a phrase not mentioned in the Constitution: "So help me God."
...With new technologies, ‘parent’ is hard to define
In a classic 1960 children’s book, a baby bird toddles up to one critter after another asking, “Are you my mother?”
...Newtown shootings renew questions about evil and suffering
"Oh, God!"
That cry has echoed ever since news of the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
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