Missionary murdered in Mozambique:
- Detentions in connection with murder of missionary | The people detained are the two security guards who were supposed to protect the building where Edinger lived, and three members of the local Lutheran congregation (Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique)
- Organ trade claim nun murdered | Six people have been arrested over the murder of a Brazilian nun in northern Mozambique (SAPA, South Africa)
- Murder ‘not linked’ to organs | Police have denied links between the killing of a Brazilian missionary and allegations she made that an organ trafficking syndicate was operating in the country, newspapers reported on Saturday (News24, South Africa)
- ‘No proof of Moz organ trade’ (SAPA, South Africa)
- Mozambique ‘human organ’ nun dead | A Brazilian nun has been found dead in Mozambique after some of her colleagues said they had exposed an organ trafficking network (BBC)
Catholic Charities forced to provide birth control:
- Ruling worries St. Cloud charity | The leader of a prominent St. Cloud charity is troubled by a legal decision requiring a Catholic organization to cover birth control in its employees’ insurance plan (St. Cloud Times, Minn.)
- Maryland Catholics hear birth control ruling won’t apply | Roman Catholic organizations in Maryland will not be forced to provide health insurance that covers contraceptives in the wake of a California Supreme Court ruling because Maryland law has broader exemptions for religious groups (The Washington Times)
- Free reign | California’s top court tells Catholic group it must provide contraceptive coverage (David E. Bernstein, National Review Online)
- Confine & conquer | The California Supreme Court and religious freedom (Richard W. Garnett, National Review Online)
- California court jumps into religious waters | The government is punishing Catholic Charities for not discriminating (Bill McClellan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
- Court’s ruling on pill just upholds state law | Catholic Charities serves secular purpose (Editorial, San Jose Mercury News, Ca.)
- Catholic charities and birth control | Catholic Charities of San Jose isn’t affected at all; it already was offering contraceptive prescription benefits before the 2000 state law (L.A. Chung, San Jose Mercury News, Ca.)
Supreme Court porn case:
- Supreme Court hears online porn case | The Child Online Protection Act has never taken effect (Associated Press)
- High court weighs sidelined internet porn law | The U.S. Supreme Court considered on Tuesday whether a law that requires Web site operators to wall off risque material from underage visitors violates free-speech rights (Reuters)
Church life:
- Churches get £1m lottery blessing | Fifteen historic churches in the North West are getting more than £1m in grants from English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund (BBC)
- Church elects new moderator | A former missionary in Indonesia has been appointed as the new moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (BBC)
- Newly light-filled church leaves dark days behind | The renovated First Presbyterian in Encino has won awards for its brighter, friendlier look (Los Angeles Times)
- Woman sells home for new church | A Warwickshire church group has completed a dream move to its own premises thanks to a mystery woman who sold her house to pay for it (BBC)
Sudan:
- UN warns of ‘atrocities’ in Sudan | The head of the UN refugee agency, Ruud Lubbers, says atrocities are being committed in the western Sudanese region of Darfur (BBC)
- Sudan forces ‘attacking refugees’ | Refugees fleeing fighting in Sudan say government forces are attacking them to get information on rebels (BBC)
‘Jews killed Jesus’ marquee:
- Pastor apologizes for church sign saying Jews killed Jesus | Pastor Maurice Gordon is so sorry that he said so on the marquee outside his Lovingway United Pentecostal Church on South Colorado Boulevard (The Denver Post)
- Minister’s atonement a sign of his convictions | Cleric sorry for offending, not for message of ‘truth’ (Rocky Mountain News, Denver)
- Pastor whose sign ignited furor apologizes | A pastor who outraged Jews and Christians with a sign reading “Jews Killed The Lord Jesus” said Tuesday he hopes his replacement sign of apology will calm the fury, but a new comment he made about the Holocaust drew fresh criticism (Associated Press)
- Reading the signs | Christians joined in outrage at church sign on Jews (Editorial, The Daily Camera, Boulder, Co.)
Gay marriage in New Mexico, Oregon:
- County will license gay nuptials | Multnomah County is the first in Oregon to allow same-sex marriage, joining an intense national debate (The Oregonian)
- Gay marriage licenses coming to Oregon (The New York Times)
- The next state to drop | Gay marriage heads to New Mexico (Stanley Kurtz, National Review Online)
Marriage amendment in Georgia:
- Black legislators stall marriage amendment in Georgia | Georgia’s rush to block gay marriages through a constitutional amendment has been stalled by black members of the House of Representatives (The New York Times)
- Same-sex marriage ban finds support | Blacks’ unity splintering (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
New York’s gay marriage mayor charged:
- N.Y. town’s mayor charged in gay weddings | The village’s mayor was charged Tuesday with 19 criminal counts for performing weddings for gay couples, an act of defiance that thrust the small community into the national debate over same-sex marriage (Associated Press)
- Gay-nup mayor charged, but another says ‘I’ll do’ (New York Daily News)
- Mayor of N.Y. village charged as AG Spitzer mulls marriage laws (New York Law Journal)
- Mass. officials seek gay wedding guidance | With Massachusetts’ first gay marriages drawing near, town clerks are seeking guidance from the state about such things as blood tests, the “bride-groom” wording of the marriage license, and the state’s residency requirements (Associated Press)
Gay marriage politics:
- Schwarzenegger’s u-turn on gay marriages | The California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has surprised political allies and foes by insisting he is not opposed to gay marriages (The Guardian, London)
- Bush’s stance not risky to him | Opposition to gay marriage is a can’t-lose proposition politically for President George W. Bush, reaping rewards with his core supporters while exacting almost no price from those on the other side, a new poll has found (Newsday)
- Cheney says he supports gay-marriage ban | Vice President Dick Cheney said Tuesday he supports President Bush’s call for a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages, though one of his daughters is gay and he has said in the past the issue should be left to the states (Associated Press)
More on gay marriage:
- No good | The Massachusetts “compromise” (Maggie Gallagher, National Review Online)
- Gay weddings come out of the closet | Mock ceremonies, legal advice and invitations from the bride and bride will greet visitors to the UK’s first gay wedding fair (BBC)
- For Toronto family, gay marriage fortifies ‘normal’ | Eight months after gay people were given the right to wed in Canada, life goes on (The Washington Post)
- Bush advances gay rights | President Bush’s endorsement of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage could prove to be a great moment for gay rights (Steven Waldman, The Washington Post)
- The future of gay couples married in the meantime | More than 3,500 gay couples have now been married in the United States, and numbers are rising fast (The Christian Science Monitor)
- The fairness doctrine | Those of us wishing to preserve marriage for heterosexuals, imperfect as we may be at it, ought to ask those pushing for its redefinition what they mean by their “fairness doctrine” and upon what it is based. At least we heterosexuals have a reference that is thousands of years old (Cal Thomas, The Washington Times)
- Marriage: Mix and match | To preserve the sanctity of marriage, we should spend less time fretting about other people’s marriages — and more time improving our own (Nicholas D. Kristof, The New York Times)
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