Religion News Service staff
Adventists apologize for failures during Nazi era: German and Austrian leaders issue statement
German and Austrian leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church have issued a statement of apology for any support of or role in Nazi activities during World War II....
PCUSA lists five firms for possible divestment: The start of "progressive engagement"
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has announced plans to target five public companies that it says “contribute to the ongoing violence that plagues Israel and Palestine.” Church officials said they ...
Bush won’t budge on stem cells: Hard line could backfire
President Bush’s declaration that he would veto any legislative effort to expand embryonic stem cell research puts his Republican Party between a rock and a hard place politically, making the GOP a...
Anglicans, Catholics find common ground on Mary: Role model and Christ's foremost disciple
Roman Catholic and Anglican leaders have announced newfound agreement on the Virgin Mary, seeing her as a role model and “Christ’s foremost disciple.”
Hundreds of Christian leaders see new unity: Conference on World Mission and Evangelism
The May 9-16 Conference on World Mission and Evangelism, held outside of Athens, was the 12th such meeting since 1910—when the modern ecumenical movement began in Edinburgh.
Lesbian reinstated; bishop to appeal case: Guilty verdict sustained; sentence thrown out
The United Methodist bishop of Philadelphia plans to appeal the case of a lesbian minister who was reinstated last month after she was initially defrocked for violating a church ban on “self-avowed...
Survey finds more megachurches (1,200+) than expected: Texas and California have the most
Protestant megachurches—those with weekly attendance exceeding 2,000—may be far more prevalent than originally thought.
...Methodists OK sharing communion with ELCA and Episcopal Church: First step toward full communion
United Methodists have taken the first step toward full communion with Episcopalians and most Lutherans after their bishops approved an agreement to share the Eucharist, with members of the two oth...
Canadian Anglicans reduce role at council: Limited participation in Anglican Consultative Council
Like their Episcopal colleagues in the U.S., Canada’s Anglican church representatives will “attend but not participate fully” in the June meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council in Nottingham,...
Ousting of editor viewed as ominous: Thomas Reese leaves Jesuits' America magazine
Was Thomas Reese, the respected priest-editor of a Jesuit magazine who was often seen on TV during April’s papal transition, the latest casualty in a simmering battle between the Vatican and the U....
U.S. archbishop named as doctrinal guardian: Levada assumes Pope Benedict's former post
Pope Benedict XVI has named the archbishop of San Francisco, William Levada, to the pope’s old job as guardian of the Catholic faith, making Levada the highest-ranking American ever to serve at the...