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The three dissenters in that case said that opinion may sound nice in this day and age, but it's illegal.

"Time and time again, we profess that, in interpreting a statute, we begin with the plain wording of the statute. Unless there is an ambiguity, we apply the explicit command of Congress," Kenneth F. Ripple wrote. "No one suggests that Congress has left any doubt as to what it expects in this situation. Unfortunately, however, our current decisional behavior does not follow the course of our rhetoric. In future cases, judges, attorneys and litigants will have to accept the reality that they must observe not what we say, but what we do."

While the U.S. Supreme Court won't sort out the issues, the executive branch did weigh in, filing a brief supporting Endres.

Jeffrey John:

• On his first day, dean says Church should bless gays | Cleric's call over homosexual couples sparks outrage from conservative Christians (Jonathan Petre, The Telegraph, London)
  
  
• Time to bless same-sex unions, says gay cleric | Jeffrey John says Church and State should offer couples a covenant of faithfulness (The Times, London)
  
  
• Gay canon welcomed as dean of St Albans | After prayer, bishop feels appointment is 'right and good' (The Guardian, London)
  
  
• Evangelical veto | There is no logic to the appointment of Dr Jeffrey John as Dean of St Albans. That does not make it any less welcome (Editorial, The Guardian, London)
  
  

The Passion :

• 'Passion'-bashing minimal | Fears that The Passion of the Christ would inflame passions worldwide turned out to be overblown (Variety)
  
  
• 'Passion' still tops as foreign market slows | Passion chalked up an estimated $14.6 million from about 52 markets to raise its international gross to an estimated $177.1 million (Reuters)
  
  
• Pirated 'Passion' copies swamp Peru | They cost about 95 cents (Associated Press)
  
  
• Passion comes to India on May 7 | No cuts made (UNI, India)
  
  
• How to gag on 'The Passion' | Nine fun-filled ways Mel Gibson's brutal snuff film makes a mockery of true belief. Clip n' save! (Mark Morford, SF Gate)
  
  

The Bible:

• The Bible's baffling one-liners | The church is divided over single verses (Bob Cuttino, Carolina Morning News, Bluffton, S.C.)
  
  
• The Internet shall make Bible free | Michael P. Johnson's World English Bible (WEB) is an online, open-source Bible without a copyright (The Salt Lake Tribune)
  
  

Books:

• A phenomenon's finale | The last novel in the Left Behind series, Christian fiction that has made publishing history, is on store shelves. But that may not be the end of the story (St. Petersburg Times, Fla.)
  
  
• 'Rapture' rebuts end-time 'Left Behind' theology | Barbara R. Rossing's "The Rapture Exposed" convincingly debunks the methodology of "end times" philosophy and shows why all this is more than just a theological spat in our war-torn world (The Journal Gazettte, Ft. Wayne, Ind.)
  
  
• Rethinking the Rapture | Not all scholars are swept away by Left Behind's end-times scenario (The Kansas City Star)
  
  
• Searching for purpose, a day at a time | There's something different about Rick Warren's book -- a work stunning for both its popularity and power (Ken Garfield, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.)
  
  
• A breakdown | Huntington professor simplifies Christianity for 'idiots' (The Journal Gazette, Ft. Wayne, Ind.)
  
  
• Vicar's black magic works £3.5m deal | Graham Taylor has signed a £3.5m publishing deal for his next six novels (The Guardian, London)
  
  

History:

• Investigation of Holy Grail intrigues, then just peters out, on History Channel | "Investigating History" has a tendency to pick up lines of thought, drop them and then repeat them in a fashion reminiscent of cross-country trips with a garrulous relative (Kay McFadden, The Seattle Times)
  
  

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April (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48