By A. JAMES RUDIN c. 2011 Religion News Service (RNS) When the Vatican beatifies someone and places the person just one step away from sainthood, it usually attracts scant attention among Jews because it is correctly perceived as an internal church process. But the recent beatification — and likely canonization — of the late Pope…

By LINDA J. GUSTITUS c. 2011 Religion News Service (RNS) Immediate claims by supporters of the Bush administration’s torture program that Osama bin Laden was found and killed based on information obtained through torture leaves one almost breathless. Disregarding the absence of clear facts, and overeager to justify an illegal operation, Bush-era officials and others…

By CATHLEEN FALSANI c. 2011 Religion News Service (RNS) Late Sunday night, while perusing Facebook, a friend on Facebook updated her status to announce that Osama bin Laden was dead. It took a few seconds to confirm the news on CNN, and by the time I refreshed the screen, her status had changed once again.…

By CATHLEEN FALSANI c. 2011 Religion News Service (RNS) This fall a film based on Donald Miller’s bestselling spiritual memoir, Blue Like Jazz, is expected to hit theaters nationwide. In many ways, Miller’s book is an unlikely subject for a feature film. Blue Like Jazz book is a collection of semi-autobiographical short essays based in…

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