Author: Lys Anzia

Source: Women News Network

http://womennewsnetwork.net/2009/05/18/pcw812/

During the recent days of battle in the northwest region of the Swat Valley, minority groups are leaving as quickly as possible. Although the majority of religious minorities in the Swat Valley are ethnic Pushtuns, with Sunni religious beliefs, Christian minority women and their families are also part of the fleeing force of refugees.

As violence...

Author: Daniel M. Peleschuk and Emma Rose Johnson

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/05/fire_breaks_out_1.html

A fire broke out this morning during a meeting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints outside Harvard Square in Cambridge, sending members spilling out onto the street.

The blaze, which hit three alarms, began at 10:37 a.m. in the church at at 4...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Chillicothe Gazette

[chillicothegazette.com/article/20090514/NEWS01/905140302/1002/rss01]

Southeastern High School graduates will not have a clergyperson delivering an invocation and benediction at their ceremony.

Superintendent Brian Justice explained Wednesday he and the board are not anti-prayer, but are obliged to follow the law.

"We will not violate the laws ... (I and) my board of education believe in prayer, but we're not for violating the law. Are...

Author: John McCormick

Source: The Chicago Tribune

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2009-05-14-0905140288-story.html

Andrew Chronister will graduate from the University of Notre Dame this Sunday, but the theology...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: ITN

http://itn.co.uk/3e70c9e40a5a6888d01a2d506623f4cb.html

Pope Benedict joined Muslims and Jews in singing a peace song during a trip to Nazareth.

At the end of a meeting involving representatives from different faiths, a rabbi announced he had composed a song using Arabic, Hebrew and English phrases about peace.

A Vatican spokesman said the Pope did not expect to be invited to sing the song but...

Author: Elizabeth Bryant

Source: Religion News Service

http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext/muslims_struggle_to_erect_minarets_next_to_steeples/

The dusty patch of weeds and litter may not look like much now, but the site nonetheless carries the hopes and a sense of sweet victory for Muslims in this hardscrabble Paris suburb.

The short story of the construction site is of a years-...

Author: Paul Schemm

Source: Connecticut Post

Wire Service: AP

http://www.connpost.com/ci_12368251

Iraq has lost more than half the Christians who once called it home, mostly since the war began, and few who fled have plans to return, The Associated Press has learned.

Pope Benedict XVI called attention to their plight during a Mideast visit this week, urging the international community to ensure the survival of "the ancient...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: UCA News

Religious harmony prevailed in a farming village in central Sri Lanka as Catholics and Buddhists joined hands to celebrate the Buddhist festival of Vesak (Vesakh).

Devotees of both faiths offered meals and refreshments at a dansala (alms-giving center) in Hammalawa village on May 9, as thousands of Buddhists flocked to temples and thronged village streets decorated with lights, lanterns and religious flags.

Hammalawa is a sub-parish of Kuliyapitya parish in...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Indian Catholic

[indiancatholic.in/news/storydetails.php/12104-1-1-Hindus-praise-Pope%E2%80%99s-espousal-of-interfaith-dialogue]

Welcoming Pope Benedict’s reported affirmation of the importance of interreligious dialogue in the pursuit of peace in Jerusalem yesterday, Hindus have urged him to take the lead in organizing one.

Serious and honest interfaith dialogue was the need of the hour, Hindu leader Rajan Zed pointed out in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, and...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8047537.stm

The BBC's appointment of a Muslim as head of religion and ethics is insulting to Christians, an Ulster Unionist assembly member has said.

Retired Presbyterian minister Dr Robert Coulter said the appointment of Aaqil Ahmed was "a juvenile gimmick".

"According to the Church of England 70% of the UK are Christian, 3% are...

Author: Kathy Gannon

Source: The Guardian

Wire Service: AP

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8505630

Fauzia Abrar had finally gotten her crying baby to sleep when screaming men pounded on the steel doors of her home in the mostly Christian slum in the port city of Karachi.

Suddenly she heard shots, and the screaming grew louder: "Long live Taliban! Death to infidels!"

The men forced their...

Author: Ethan Bronner

Source: The New York Times

Author: Richard Boudreaux

Source: The Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pope-mideast12-2009may12,0,1951298.story

Pope Benedict XVI, trying to quell Jewish anger over a Holocaust-denying bishop, bowed in silence Monday at Israel's memorial to Jews exterminated during World War II and declared that their suffering must "never be denied, belittled or forgotten."

"They...

Author: Jona Ison

Source: Chillicothe Gazette

[chillicothegazette.com/article/20090511/NEWS01/905110301]

Southeastern Local Schools has received notice from a Washington group that it would be a violation of the Establishment Clause to include a prayer at the graduation ceremony.

Traditionally, the school has had a reverend deliver an invocation and benediction at the ceremony, but the practice recently was challenged by senior Jacob Davis. Davis, who raised his concerns in a Letter to the...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Times

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6261820.ece

Pope Benedict XVI urged Christians in the Middle East to hold on to their faith and traditions at an open-air Mass attended by 50,000 worshippers.

He told them to work with other religions to enrich their daily lives and counter violent ideologies. “Be faithful to your roots,” he said yesterday in his homily at...