Source: Navya Shastra

http://www.shastras.org/PressRelease11.html

On April 19, 2005 a Navya Shastra press release reported, "Navya Shastra, a global Hindu organization of scholars, practitioners and priests with members in over ten countries, has congratulated the Catholic Church for selecting Joseph Ratzinger--now Benedict XVI--as its new Pope. However, the organization expressed concern over Ratzinger's stance towards Hinduism. 'Ratzinger has described Hindu meditative...

Source: MSNBC/Newsweek

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7446931/site/newsweek/page/4/

On April 18, 2005 Newsweek reported, "John Paul II made interfaith dialogue a priority, but his successor needs to expand and intensify those exchanges, says Diana Eck, professor of comparative religion at Harvard. 'He went much further with the Jewish people than with Muslims,' she says. 'And much further with Abrahamic dialogue than either Buddhists or Hindus.' Relations between the...

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Opinion/Key-issue-for-next-pope-is-a-meeting-of-the-faiths/2005/04/17/1113676643828.html?oneclick=true

On April 18, 2005 The Sydney Morning Herald ran an opinion piece by Neil Ormerod, professor of theology at the Australian Catholic University, about the importance of the new pope addressing religious pluralism. Ormerod writes, "The...

Source: The Indian Express

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=68645

On April 18, 2005 The Indian Express reported, "Leaving the West Bengal government groping in the dark, the VHP today said that they have 're-converted' 45 Adivasi Christian families to Hinduism in Popra village, 20 km from Malda. The day-long function, organised at an ashram of VHP-affiliate Akhil Bharatiya Santhal Samaj, was attended by Adivasi families from nearby...

Source: Asian Tribune

http://www.asiantribune.com/show_news.php?id=14105

On April 17, 2005 the Asian Tribune reported, "The Venerable Medagama Dhammananda Thera of the Asgiriya Maha Vihara has called for strong legal measures to protect Buddhists and Hindus from dollar-waving ‘religious’ pied pipers. Hordes of them from the West and their local supporters were spreading out to the island’s remote corners to 'save souls,' while their own countries were...

Source: In-Forum News

Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4450363.stm

On April 15, 2005 BBC News reported, "A students' association has called for the Bible to be removed from more than 2,000 university rooms because it could offend non-Christians. Stirling University Students' Association (SUSA) wants the Gideons Bibles taken out of all student rooms. Students said providing the Bible in all university accommodation was 'presumptuous' and offensive to...

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/vote_2005/frontpage/4438453.stm

On April 14, 2005 BBC News reported, " The Conservatives say they want to see "perhaps thousands" more faith schools. Education spokesman Tim Collins says a commitment to a major expansion of religious schools 'is absolutely at the heart of the Conservative vision.' He says Christian, Jewish and Islamic schools have higher standards and a stronger...

Source: Sightings

http://marty-center.uchicago.edu/sightings/archive_2005/0414.shtml

On April 14, 2005 Sightings reported, "With a theme of 'Building Communities of Peace for All,' the Christian Conference of Asia held its twelfth general assembly in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from March 31 to April 6...They were joined by an equal number of representatives of the World Council, other regional councils, and the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences, as well...

Source: The Journal News

http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050414/NEWS02/504140355/1020/NEWS04

On April 14, 2005 The Journal News reported, "the Yorktown Planning Board could vote on dividing the old Franciscan High School property, part of which would be used as a mosque and Muslim center, as soon as May 9. If the opening of public hearings on plans to turn a former Catholic high school into a Muslim...

Source: India Post News Service

http://www.indiapost.com/members/story.php?story_id=4707

On April 13, 2005 the India Post News Service reported, "Bibi Inderjit Kaur Khalsa, Bhai Sahiba of the Sikh Dharma, addressed a gathering of 500 in an Interfaith Memorial Service for Pope John Paul II at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angeles in Los Angeles, California. She shared some personal experiences with her husband Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib Khalsa Yogiji and their...

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/12/international/worldspecial2/12islam.html

On April 11, 2005 The New York Times reported, "One is from Nigeria, a man who grew up among Muslims and says there is no clash of cultures. Another is from Germany, who believes that it may be useful to talk to Muslims but that it is better to revitalize Christianity. Others speak of the need for Muslims in Europe to integrate better or even to...

Source: Houston Chronicle

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/world/3127863

On April 11, 2005 the Houston Chronicle reported, "The symbols of cooperation left to the world by Pope John Paul II transformed interfaith relations. He was the Polish pope who came of age under Nazi occupation and prayed at one of Judaism's most holy sites, Jerusalem's Western Wall. The leader of more than 1 billion Catholics, he shed his shoes to enter a mosque and urged repentance...

Source: The Tampa Tribune

http://tampatrib.com/opinion/MGBRB1IRB7E.html

On April 10, 2005 The Tampa Tribune ran a letter to the editor from K. Wipulasara, abbot of Florida Buddhist Vihara, on Pope John Paul II's legacy of interfaith work. Wipulasara wrote, "At a time when the need for tolerance of discrete religious beliefs and pluralistic views is so evident, the world has been blessed with spiritual guidance from individuals of the caliber of Pope John Paul II. History has...