Author: Lilly Fowler

Source: Religion News Service

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

For more than 60 years, Mount Calvary Monastery sat as a patch of holy ground high atop the Santa Barbara hills, home to seven Benedictine Anglican monks whose only jobs in life were prayer and welcoming pilgrims.
...

Author: Rachel Donadio

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/24/world/europe/24pope.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

In comments on Sunday that could have broad implications in a period of intense religious conflict, Pope Benedict XVI cast doubt on the possibility of interfaith dialogue but called for more discussion of the practical consequences of religious differences.

The pope’s...

Author: DeeDee Correll

Source: The Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-church21-2008nov21,0,466950.story

Boulder County, Colo., officials acted illegally when they turned down a local church's request to double its size, but their decision was not motivated by religious bias, a federal jury decided this week.

Rocky Mountain Christian Church sued the county in 2006 after...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Bahá’í World News Service

http://www.bahaiworldnews.org/story/670

The Baha’i International Community praised the United Nations General Assembly for today rejecting a so-called “no-action motion” on human rights in Iran.

Such a motion, if it had passed, would have used procedural rules to set aside a resolution that is sharply critical of the Islamic Republic of Iran over its use of torture, the...

Author: Rhys Blakely

Source: The Times Online

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5186703.ece

Extremist Hindu groups offered money, food and alcohol to mobs to kill Christians and destroy their homes, according to Christian aid workers in the eastern state of Orissa.

The allegations follow the British Government’s refusal to prevent members of two radical groups linked to the worst anti[-]Christian...

Author: Richard Owen

Source: The Times Online

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article5190702.ece

Italy's Jewish leaders have said they will refuse take part in traditional joint Jewish-Catholic prayers in January because of the re-introduction last Easter by Pope Benedict XVI of a "prayer for the conversion of the Jews" as part of the revived Tridentine mass.

Rabbi Giuseppe Laras, head of the Italian Rabbinical...

Author: DeeDee Correll

Source: The Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-church18-2008nov18,0,5054482.story

When the largest church in Boulder County, Colo., wanted to double its size two years ago, county commissioners said no.

Rocky Mountain Christian Church already dominated a rural corner of the county northwest of Denver. If it became any larger, commissioners said,...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Times of India

Wire Service: IANS

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/VHP_against_govt_aid_to_Orissa_churches/articleshow/3726931.cms

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Tuesday said it was opposed to the move by the Orissa government to rebuild churches that were damaged during the communal violence in the state's Kandhamal district...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: AsiaNews

Author: Raja Abdulrahim

Source: The Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/features/religion/la-me-beliefs17-2008nov17,0,2237585.story

World Roman Catholic and Muslim leaders made headlines this month when they met in a first-of-its-kind interfaith forum at the Vatican. Locally, some faithful saw the forum not as something new but as an affirmation of efforts they have been making for years.

The goal of the...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Indo-Asian News Service

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080072848

The head of the Church of England has contrasted the "organised attacks" on Christians in Orissa with the treatment of Hindus in Britain, and said India risks losing its place as "an international beacon" if the violence is allowed to continue.

In a letter written to Indian church leaders on the eve of a...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/entertainment_living/religion.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-11-16-0030.html

A series of violent attacks on Christians in India calls for a "strong and urgent American response," a broad group of U.S. Christian leaders urged President Bush in a letter.

"What has happened recently in India, and has been...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Economic Times

Wire Service: IANS

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/PoliticsNation/Orissa_government_allows_Hindu_rally_despite_centres_objection/articleshow/3716083.cms

At least 1,500 policemen were deployed in the Orissa capital ahead of a massive rally planned by Hindu groups Saturday, police said...

Author: Ilene R. Prusher

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1113/p01s01-wome.html

Sheikh Ishaq Abdel-Jawad Taha's phone is ringing off the hook.

"You're welcome, go ahead," says Sheikh Taha, sitting behind his desk at the Palestinian Authority's Al-Fatwa Council, of which he is the director. "She's still recovering, so she doesn't have to pray," he says.

The voice on the other end of the phone is...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_10968740

The Supreme Court warily confronted a case Wednesday that mixes limits on free speech with issues of church-state separation.

The justices engaged in lively arguments over a small religious group's efforts to place a monument in a public park that already is home to a Ten Commandments display.

The court seemed reluctant to accept the...