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• Tibet's Catholics flourish in a cauldron of despair | In more than a dozen small villages strung along the narrow banks of the upper Mekong and Salween river valleys, like pearls on a chain, the Catholic Church has survived 150 years of hostility from Buddhist lamas and the Communist Party. (The Asian Pacific Post, Canada)
• Mass in Mexico takes African twist | Jean Pierre Bandoweshe, a youthful pastor born in Africa's Congo, gently sways as he sings along with his Mexican congregation, towering over parishioners during communion. His delivers his sermon in Spanish, with a thick Congolese accent. (The Christian Science Monitor)
• Pope worried about wrong Slytherin guy | Just prior to last week's release of the sixth installment of the wildly popular "Harry Potter" series, it was learned that the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger once criticized J.K. Rowling's saga about an orphan boy who discovers that he's a wizard. Had the Church moved quicker to protect children from predator priests rather than circling the wagons and blaming the media, it wouldn't have to worry about Harry Potter. (Charita Goshay, Canton Repository, Ohio)

Marriage & family:

• Fewer in U.S. marry as more live together | Both the U.S. marriage and divorce rates are dropping while the number of unwed couples living together is rising, according to an annual study of marriage released Monday. (Reuters)
• Parents sue over cancer treatment | The parents of an American boy once at the centre of a custody battle over chemotherapy to treat a cancer diagnosis are suing Utah state, its child welfare system and hospital doctors for allegedly violating their parental rights. (The Guardian, UK)

Entertainment:

• Ritual and faith in epic theater of two visionaries | "Ta'ziyeh" is a passion play, and there is a powerful religious undercurrent to both of the works this summer. They are spectacles of ritual and faith and devotion. (The New York Times)
• Heat-seeking missile | Raunchy US comedian Margaret Cho learnt to speak out from the Bible. (The Age, Australia)
• CBS' new movies include Pope, Stewart | An upcoming CBS miniseries about Pope John Paul II is a "papal page turner," the network's programming chief said Tuesday. (Associated Press)

Other religions:

• Monks protest against listing of brewery | Thousands of Buddhist monks and other anti-alcohol campaigners brought Bangkok's notoriously slow traffic to a halt today as they protested against plans to list Thailand's biggest brewer. (Daily Telegraph, Australia)
• Interfaith dialog ready to roll | Delegates from 39 countries began on Tuesday to stream into Bali for the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Interfaith Dialog, which will be opened by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday. (Jakarta Post, Indonesia)

More articles of interest:

• Dealing with my sexual brokenness | Clifford Smyth, respected Orange historian and family man, tells of the transvestite compulsions which have made his life a struggle. (Belfast Telegraph, UK)
• Lawmaker wants to send virgins to college | A lawmaker is offering to pay university fees for girls who are virgins when they graduate from high school, in part to help fight AIDS. (Associated Press)
• Adoption group to address no-Catholics policy in Miss. | Independent state offices criticized for excluding Catholics while accepting state funds (Clarion Ledger, Jackson, Miss.)
• I'm a believer: author of 'The Da Vinci Code' defends marriage of Christ theory | In the documentary, Unlocking Da Vinci's Code, Brown says: "As I started researching I really thought I would disprove a lot of this theory about Mary Magdalene and holy blood. But I became a believer." (The Independent, UK)

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July (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49