Last Supper art controversies:

• 'Yo Mama' artist debates with Catholic critic | Renee Cox defended her depiction of Christ as a nude black woman in a debate on Tuesday with William Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. (The New York Times)
• 'Last Supper' with cartoon characters under fire | "What you see in the statement are our recognizable figures," says director of Chicago Athenaeum, where painting is displayed. "They're more recognizable (to most people) than the 12 apostles. It's a statement about our culture. It is a fun painting." (The Daily Herald, Arlington Heights, Illinois)

Abuse:

• Founder of the Oxford Evangelical Theology Society found guilty of sexually assaulting 14-year-old | Anthony Gray, married lecturer with Britain's Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, befriended boy through an Internet chatroom (The Times, London)

Faith-based initiatives:

• Faith-based initiatives office opens to many calls | "There are a lot of misconceptions out there," says deputy director Don Eberly. (The Washington Times)
• Foreign aid hike pushed | Bush considers Helms' call for 'faith-based' initiative (USA Today)
• Religious groups wary of Bush plan | John DiIulio calls concerns of Lutheran, Catholic, and Jewish groups "misplaced" (Associated Press)

Prolife issues:

• Abortionist convicted of manslaughter | LouAnne Herron, died when her uterus had been ruptured by a medical instrument during a 1998 abortion. (Associated Press)
• Fetus bill moves on | Emotional plea to let families bury fetuses that die in the womb aids Colorado House committee approval (The Gazette, Colorado Springs)

Russia's Antichrist concerns:

• Antichrist fears put church in crisis | Russian Orthodox Church's Theological Commission warns that Patriarch Alexy II and the Holy Synod will be deemed traitors of Orthodoxy if they give their blessing to Russians to accept the "number of the beast" (The Moscow Times)