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An odd choice for sex abuse inquiries
Sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church is really big news this week, largely due to the start of a Cambridge, Massachusetts, trial of former priest John Geoghan and the Vatican's new rules on how to deal with such cases. "The Boston scandal is bringing out every left-wing Catholic malcontent and dissenter, who will attempt to associate their causes—women's ordination, abortion rights, and the like—with the case against the Boston hierarchy," writes Rod Dreher in National Review Online. But conservatives are so angry about the church's inaction that they're letting the Catholic leadership stew. "The Catholic League is not the Church's water boy," says the organization's chief, Bill Donohue. "We are here to defend the Church from the kind of scurrilous attacks that have become all too frequent in our society. But we will never defend the indefensible."

In Britain, however, the Roman Catholic Church has brought on an interesting choice to head the Catholic Office for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults—someone who's not sure she believes in God. "I think the value of the fact that I am not a Catholic lies in the transparency of my independence from the church," says Eileen Shearer. "I feel I understand the Christian ethos and I think that both my personal and professional values are consistent with Christianity, although I am not a practicing Christian."

Keep reading
Weblog is short of time today, so there's not much commentary. But some of the stories below are very important. Be sure to check them out.

• Pakistan makes electoral reforms | "Religious apartheid" system scrapped; non-Muslims get same voting privileges as Muslims (Associated Press)
• Earlier: Pakistani Christians Fight Against 'Apartheid' in Election System | Under rule, citizens cannot vote for candidates outside their own religious affiliation. (Christianity Today, Aug. 3, 2001)
• The not-so-good book | Lai Kwong-keung is a God-fearing man, and that spooks Beijing - which is why the Hong Kong trader faces the death penalty in a mainland court. China's devout are learning that Bibles can bring big trouble (Time Asia)
• China arrest | A Hong Kong businessman was arrested while bringing bibles into China. But who was he taking the Bibles to? (Morning Edition, NPR)
• Nigeria stoning appeal delayed | Raped woman on trial for adultery says baby is from former husband, not rapist (BBC)
• Nigeria shari'ah court adjourns woman's stoning case (Reuters)

• Minister calls Islam evil threat from pulpit | Muslims say Nashville pastor preaches hate (The Tennessean)
• Orthodox leader visits Iran | Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I pushes dialogue between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam (Associated Press)

• 'In God We Trust' tenet gains favor | Troy latest city to OK public building posting (Detroit Free Press)
• 'Jesus Christ is God': Taylor backs off from debate | Liberian president affirms Trinity after uproar (The News, Monrovia, Liberia)
• Talibanned in the USA | There are similarities, but the Religious Right is not America's Taliban (Bill Berkowitz, WorkingForChange)

• Pastor comes 'out'; church cheers | One of Denver's oldest churches gives standing ovation after pastor says he's leaving his wife and three kids (The Denver Post)
• Why good sex is a religious experience | It can be for fun alone, say Christian ethicists meeting in Vancouver (Vancouver Sun)
• Norway official marries gay partner | Conservative finance minister is first government official in legal gay union (Associated Press)

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January (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46