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Church life:

• New York experiences renaissance | Young, educated New Yorkers are pouring into mainline churches and synagogues in such numbers that some ministers believe they are witnessing an awakening. (The Washington Times)
  
  
• The Christian future | Contrary to perceived wisdom, Christianity is booming. (The Wall Street Journal, subscription required)
  
  
• Poor get helping holiday hand: Bishop Lennon reaches out | Bishop Richard Lennon yesterday followed tradition by visiting the poor and homeless at St. Francis House on Christmas Day, and offered a connection to those ``in the church or out of the church.'' (Boston Herald)
  
  
• For people of faith, only the infinite is adequate | The religious come in many kinds. They range from the deeply pious and devout to those who cling to faith despite serious doubts. (E.J. Dionne, The Washington Post)
  
  
• Clergy try to balance charity, security | Where does a congregation draw the line between its interests, whether it be security or order in the sanctuary, and its mission to help the poor? (The Boston Globe)
  
  
• Vicar spreading the word on a rural beat | Mr Baldwin has been vicar of a little fold of rural England for four and a half years. This is a day in his life. (The Guardian, London)
  
  
• Cathedral a star for pilgrims | Midnight Mass, other services draw crowds. Many praise the new downtown church. (Los Angeles Times)

Sexual ethics:

• Gay priests not on Archbishop's agenda | Dr Rowan Williams, who has publicly backed homosexuals in the church, seems to be distancing himself from his previous liberal views. (BBC)
  
  
• Also: Archbishop tries to calm critics on gay priests (The Guardian, London)
  
  
• British homosexual group challenges Christian charity | A homosexual group has challenged the charitable status of a British Christian organization over the distribution of an adoption instruction card that allegedly "promotes bigotry." (CNS)

Other stories of interest:

• The boy who saw the Virgin | Joseph Vitolo's life peaked at a tender age—what could compete?—and there is a weariness, a guardedness, about him, stemming from the burden of being the boy who saw the Virgin. (The New York Times)
  
  
• 'Exhibit A for the power of prayer' | Pat Boone asked the world to intercede with God in his grandson's recovery. For those who believe, healing is the result. (Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• U.S. religiousness tops among world's industrial nations | The United States is the most religious of the world's wealthy nations, and that inclination for belief makes it more akin to poorer countries than to other industrial societies, according to a poll of 44 nations. (The Washington Times)
  
  
• Disney World reduces religious services, draws criticism | Citing space problems and concerns about fairness, the giant resort has stopped the regular Sunday services for Protestant and Catholic visitors that had been held at the Polynesian Luau area since 1975. (The Ledger, Lakeland, Florida)

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December (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46