pewforum.org Religion News on the Web

Religion News on the Web

Selected religion-related news from around the Web
Wash. Post: Pope Francis slips into basilica for private prayer on first full day as pontiff
In his first morning as supreme pontiff and leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, Pope Francis visited the Roman basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary, slipping in a side entrance for a few moments of private prayer.
CS Monitor: Pope Francis signals core mission – returning Catholics to the church
As Pope Francis appeared on the Vatican balcony Wednesday night and prepared to offer his first blessing as pope, he signaled a priority for his pontificate: renewing Catholic faith in places where it’s lost much of its luster.
The Times: Ministers angry at Archbishop’s intervention on benefits cap
Ministers attacked bishops for being out of touch yesterday after the new Archbishop of Canterbury led stinging Church criticism of the Government’s benefit cuts.
Reuters: The impossible job: God's CEO on Earth

For several days after being elected in 2005, Pope Benedict - as he chose to be called - spoke as if in shock. At his first public Mass, he asked: "I must assume this enormous task, which truly exceeds all human capacity. How can I do this?"

Wash. Post: College of Cardinals imposes media blackout
The College of Cardinals that will elect the next pope cut off formal communications with the news media on Wednesday after their private deliberations emerged in the Italian press, raising the specter of a leaking scandal that cast a pall over the last year in office of Pope Benedict XVI.
AP: Americans control conclave message just by talking
The two American cardinals sat on the stage, microphones in hand, fielding questions from the world's news media on everything from the delayed arrival of some of their colleagues to their own wardrobe choices if elected pope.
NYT: Cardinals start to ponder subtleties of a big task
Like first-year seminarians, they walked through the glass doors on Monday carrying briefcases.
AP: Catholics ponder future with new pope
Faithful attending Sunday Mass on five continents for the first time since Pope Benedict XVI's retirement had different ideas about who should next lead the Roman Catholic Church, with people suggesting everything from a Latin American pope to one more like the conservative, Polish-born John Paul II.
Toronto Star: Politics, secrecy play role in selection of religious leaders around world
Roman Catholic cardinals will soon gather beneath Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope to succeed Benedict XVI, who retired in February.
NYT: Danish opponent of Islam is attacked, and Muslims defend his right to speak
When a would-be assassin disguised as a postman shot at — and just missed — the head of Lars Hedegaard, an anti-Islam polemicist and former newspaper editor, this month, a cloud of suspicion immediately fell on Denmark’s Muslim minority.
Reuters: U.N. told atheists face discrimination around globe
Atheists, humanists and freethinkers face widespread discrimination around the world with expression of their views criminalized and subject in some countries to capital punishment, the United Nations was told on Monday.
Observer: As Africa rises, Europe loses grip on Catholic power base
The muted light of an African sunset filters into the high, pointed roof of Christ The King church in Accra, a wide, understated building just metres away from the seat of government in Ghana's capital city.
WSJ: Europe remains challenge for church
As Pope Benedict XVI prepares to relinquish his office, church leaders planning for a new pontiff are sure to deliberate over one of his longtime goals: replenishing Europe's deserted pews.
AP: Pope's bombshell sends troubled church scrambling
With a few words in Latin, Pope Benedict XVI did what no pope has done in more than half a millennium, stunning the world by announcing his resignation Monday and leaving the already troubled Catholic Church to replace the leader of its 1 billion followers by Easter.
NYT: British House of Commons approves gay marriage
The House of Commons voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to approve a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in Britain, indicating that the bill is assured of passage as it moves through further legislative stages.
Reuters: German Catholic Church may back some "morning-after pills"
Germany's Catholic Church may approve some so-called morning-after pills for rape victims after a leading cardinal unexpectedly announced they did not induce abortions and could be used in Catholic hospitals.
NYT: New Archbishop of Canterbury takes office
On the eve of a divisive vote in Parliament on the legalization of same-sex marriage, Justin Welby, the former bishop of Durham, on Monday took over formally as the 105th archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual head of the world’s 77 million Anglicans, saying he shares the Church of England’s opposition to marriage among people of the same gender.
NYT: More in France are turning to Islam, challenging a nation's idea of itself
The spacious and elegant modern building, in the heart of this middle-class suburb of Paris, is known as “the mosque of the converts.”
Reuters: Church should have more control over Russian life: Putin
President Vladimir Putin said on Friday the Orthodox Church should be given more say over family life, education and the armed forces in Russia, as he celebrated the leadership of its head Patriarch Kirill.
The Times: High Court opens way to Sharia divorces
The prospect of divorce cases being settled by Sharia and religious courts has been opened up by a landmark legal decision.
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