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Martin Luther King, Jr. is at the top of the U.S. Catholic Bishops' list of twentieth-century martyrs to be recognized by the Pope in a ceremony May 7. The Boston Globe notes that it's a fascinating choice: "He was not Catholic [he was a Baptist minister], he was killed not while preaching but while advocating for labor rights, and his personal life has been the subject of some debate in recent years." The full list of nominees was not released (see related stories in the Associated Press and Los Angeles Times).

For all the talk about the " I Believe generation" and " Generation WWJD," Barna Research found that "Teen-agers are even less committed to Christianity" than their parents' generation. "American teenagers are widely described as deeply religious individuals who have integrated their religious beliefs into their lifestyle and their thinking," says the report. "This latest study among teens, however, suggests that faith is a passing fancy of young people - just one of many dimensions that they blend into a potpourri of perspectives, experiences, skills, and contexts toward arriving at their worldview and lifestyle."

An effort by the Christian Coalition to put the Miami-Dade County's human rights ordinance to referendum has lost the support of municipalities that once backed the campaign, reports the Miami Herald.

As storm clouds continue to surround Australian Anglican bishop George Browning, who resigned his post after allegations of sexual misconduct emerged, an organization called Broken Rites is calling for clergy to be held accountable in the same manners as psychiatrists and doctors, reports The Australian.

The denomination spent $200,000 on nationwide newspaper ads, which even the denomination's former president, Ralph Bohlman, says are misleading about Catholic doctrine.

"A few years ago, the Pope had asked Vatican experts for a feasibility study concerning his possible resignation," says a report in Australia's The Age summarizing an earlier story in Italy's La Repubblica. "Their response was that the church would be 'unable to cope with two popes" - one reigning, the other in retirement.' " Still, the pope will strongly consider retiring next year, after the Jubilee, says the report. The story comes in the middle of speculation about whether or not a German bishop called for the pope's retirement.

"The art of the shocking has run out of things to say—all it ever could say, anyway, is "Boo!"—and is circling the drain, repeating itself," the CT columnist says in another of her gigs, as columnist for Beliefnet. Last summer's South Park movie, the Brooklyn Museum of Art's "Sensation" exhibit, and the performance art of Andy Kaufman are all cut from the same cloth, she says.

See our Weblogs from this week, ( Thursday, Wednesday, Tuesday, Monday), last week ( January 7, 6, 5, 4, and 3), and December 30 and 29.

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January (Web-only) 2000, Vol. 44