Religion News on the Web
Selected religion-related news from around the Web
January 11, 2012
- The Associated Press
AP: Czech gov't to pay back religious groups
Churches were seized, priests jailed or even executed and those allowed to lead religious services did so under the watchful eye of the secret police.
January 07, 2012
- The New York Times
NYT: Head of Russian church says leaders must listen to protests
The Russian Orthodox Church continued what appeared to be an effort to get the authorities to address Russians’ grievances over the political system, with Patriarch Kirill I, the church’s leader, saying in a televised interview that it would be “a very bad sign” if the country’s leaders failed to heed recent protests over perceived electoral fraud.
December 29, 2011
- The New York Times
NYT: Disputed voting turns church, a Kremlin ally, into its critic
Among the thousands of Russian voices raised against the Kremlin this month after parliamentary elections widely dismissed as fraudulent, perhaps the most surprising was that of Patriarch Kirill I, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, who defended popular protests as a “lawful negative reaction” to corruption.
December 10, 2011
- The Associated Press
AP: Italy's Catholic Church flexible on property tax
Italy's Catholic Church has shifted gears and shown a
willingness to revisit its tax-exempt status amid renewed criticism that
much of its vast real estate holdings isn't subject to local property
taxes.
December 07, 2011
- The Scotsman
Scotsman: Now Episcopalians oppose gay marriage
OPPOSITION to Alex Salmond’s plans to legalise gay marriage grew last
night when the Scottish Episcopal Church became the latest religious
organisation to oppose holding same-sex wedding ceremonies in its
churches.
December 06, 2011
- The Associated Press
AP: Vatican university hosts unusual tattoo conference
Tattooed mummies in ancient Egypt, Crusaders who branded
their foreheads with crosses, and New Zealand's inked Maori warriors
were fodder for an unusual conference at a Vatican university Tuesday on the role of tattoos in shaping identity.
November 29, 2011
- The New York Times
NYT: Iranian protesters attack British embassy
Iranian protesters shouting “Death to England” stormed the
British Embassy compound and a diplomatic residence in Tehran on
Tuesday, tearing down the British flag, smashing windows, defacing walls
and briefly detaining six staff members in what appeared to be a
state-sponsored protest against Britain’s tough new economic sanctions against Iran.
November 28, 2011
- The Guardian
Guardian: Islamic schools flourish to meet demand
At about eight o'clock on a dull autumnal morning, a mother is
preparing breakfast for her young son in the kitchen of an unassuming
private house on a little modern estate in Leicester.