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Persecution:

• Catholic church firebombed in Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka | Nearly 20 unidentified men attacked the church late Monday in the village of Mathegoda— the third attack on a Christian place of worship in this predominantly Buddhist country in two weeks (Associated Press)
  
  
• Also: One more church attacked in Lanka | One more Roman Catholic church was attacked in Sri Lanka despite President Chandrika Kumaratunga vowing tough action against the perpetrators of violence against Christians in the Buddhist-majority country (PTI, India)
  
  
• Armed guards for Sri Lanka church | Armed guards have been posted at a church near Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, after the latest in a series of anti-Christian attacks (BBC)
  
  
• North Korean record on rights decried | Witnesses tell U.S. panel meeting in L.A. of abuses under Kim Jong-Il. 'His crimes are far worse' than those of Hussein, says one (Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• Boy soldier who died for faith made 'saint' | On his 19th birthday Chechen rebels took Yevgeny Rodionov out of the cell where they had held him prisoner and invited him to convert to Islam. When he refused, they beheaded him (The Daily Telegraph, London)
  
  
• Signs of tolerance amid religious strife in Sudan | Muslim-Christian tensions are softening in Sudan - which could set the tone for Africa (The Christian Science Monitor)
  
  

Money and business:

• A place to worship . . . and shop | An evangelical congregation in Alfred is shopping for land for what its pastor believes could be the first-ever Christian-oriented shopping mall (Portland Press Herald, Maine)
  
  
• Religious items sell | Demand grows in particular for Christian theme (Arizona Daily Star)
  
  
• Two-station radio purchase to make Christian programs more local | Local programming is expected to begin airing in mid-February after the FCC approves the transfer of ownership (Naples Daily News, Fla.)
  
  
• Holy-hearted efforts a blessing | The Greater Pittsburgh Convention & Visitors Bureau is trying to entice the religious market with a new convention center and an attractive, safe, convenient locale (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
  
  
• You won't find booze, smoke or crude songs at this nightclub | Harmony Cafe Club joins a handful of clubs nationwide that cater to believers and nonbelievers who prefer a smoke- and alcohol-free environment (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
  
  

Marriage:

• Marriage and politicians | Would we be talking now about a federal marriage amendment — a public policy response to a perceived crisis in public policy — if the relevant private institutions hadn't so frequently gone AWOL when challenged to show why marriage was rightly a sacred proposition? (William Murchison, The Washington Times)
  
  
• A marriage health advisory | The marriage initiative could justly be supported by anyone who favors limited government, stronger families, and reducing poverty. (Eve Tushnet, The American Spectator)
  
  
• Marriage and the moon: a curious union | State of the Union address is wedding-veiled endorsement of right wing's anti-same-sex marriage amendment (Bill Berkowitz, WorkingForChange.com)
  
  

Sex, marriage, and family:

• Gay men lose challenge to adoption ban | Four gay men lost a federal challenge Wednesday to the only blanket state law banning homosexuals from adopting children (Associated Press)
  
  
• Gay 'marriage' case broadened | In a move that could enable the Canadian government to abandon its push to legalize same-sex "marriages," Justice Minister Irwin Cotler asked the Supreme Court yesterday whether the constitution required that such unions be allowed (The Washington Times)
  
  

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January (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48