2 of 3

• Lutheran youths vote to accept gay members | The official youth office of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has voted overwhelmingly to accept gay and lesbian members, even as the church remains divided on its policies on human sexuality (Religion News Service)
  
  
• Gays help reclaim Jesus' words | I began my return to Bible study with the notion that the liberal left had allowed the term "Christian" to be hijacked. I believed that the word ought properly to describe someone who was more like — well — me. Then I actually reread the Gospels, only to discover that they made me squirm. (Fenton Johnson, Los Angeles Times)
  
  

Gay debates loom over Episcopal Convention:

• Homosexual debate threatens Episcopal unity | Starting tomorrow, the Episcopal Church will enter a 10-day melee involving church liberals and conservatives fighting for the future of one of America's most elite religious bodies at its General Convention in Minneapolis (The Washington Times)
  
  
• U.S. Episcopalian stance on gays riles conservatives | Proposals to ratify election of a gay bishop and bless same-sex relationships will fire debate at the upcoming convention of the U.S. Episcopal Church (Reuters)
  
  
• Gay issues could split Episcopal Church | Delegates to the Minneapolis convention will decide whether to approve blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples and confirm the church's first election of an openly gay bishop (Associated Press)
  
  

Church life:

• Churches govern their own funds, court rules | The highest court in the Presbyterian Church (USA) has ruled that local churches cannot be forced to give money to the denomination, but called withholding funds in protest a "serious breach of trust and love." (Religion News Service)
  
  
• That old-time religion | Some parishioners at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Orange, N.J., say that their new priest is using elements of the traditional Latin Mass, which opponents say undermines attempts to make the church more accessible (The New York Times)
  
  
• Parishes replenish from other shores | A fusion of religious ritual and immigrant traditions is fast becoming an integral part of parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Boston (The Boston Globe)
  
  
• A pastor accused, a congregation torn | At Trinity Lutheran in Ventura, the Rev. David Hall faces allegations of crude jokes and actions. He refuses to step down and members have taken sides (Los Angeles Times)
  
  

Politics and law:

• Accusation of bias angers Democrats | The battle over judicial nominations has grown ever more bitter on Capitol Hill, but Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee say they are particularly outraged over the latest turn: the accusation that their resistance to some conservative nominees amounts to anti-Catholic bias (The New York Times)
  
  
• Also: Beyond the pale | Who exactly is "playing politics with religion" in the William Pryor confirmation battle? (Editorial, The Washington Post)
  
  
• Also: Bad faith advertising | Ads claiming William Pryor is being opposed because of his "deeply held" Catholic beliefs are a lie (Richard Cohen, The Washington Post)
  
  
• Dems doing worst to lose 'Catholic vote' | In a deliberate act of political bigotry, the Democratic National Committee is daily telling Catholic voters to get lost (Mark Shields, CNN)
  
  
• Turning foreign aid into an investment | Charity, for the most part, is the wrong way to think about foreign aid (Daniel Altman, The New York Times)
  
  

next page... |  2 of 3

share this page

July (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47