Bush, Religious Leaders Begin 9/11 Remembrance In Prayer

Attack remembrances marked by prayer
Before attending the myriad ceremonies today marking the one-year anniversary of terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists, President Bush went to St. John's Episcopal Church to attend services and to pray privately. Reuters notes that the church, across the street from the White House, "was ringed with extra security guards in a reminder that the United States is on high alert for terrorism."

Elsewhere, says the Associated Press, religious leaders across the world and nation are preparing to lead memorial services. Others are issuing statements. Pope John Paul II called terrorism "a manifestation of ferocious inhumanity" and prayed that God would "show mercy and forgiveness for the authors of this horrible terror attack."

Overall, however, there's very little breaking news on the memory front. There are stories on how church attendance spiked after last year's attacks, on relations between Christians and Muslims, religious survivor stories, and religious debates over extending the war on terrorism to Iraq. But there's nothing new here.

Senate may move on faith-based initiative bill by end of the week
Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) told Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Penn.) that "the next two or three days were critical" for moving on the faith-based initiatives bill. "If we couldn't work out an agreement … time [is] going to pass it by."

Santorum promised that he's working on it, but The Washington Times reports that almost everything about it is still controversial, from "language clarifying that a charity cannot be rejected for a federal grant simply because it has religious icons on its premises, religious language in its chartering documents, or religious qualifications for its governing ...

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