By NANCY HAUGHT c. 2011 Religion News Service (RNS) A Jesuit will be sworn in as the 60th chaplain of the House of Representatives on May 25, when he will become the first member of his order and second consecutive Catholic priest to serve the House. As chaplain, the Rev. Patrick Conroy will be in…

By DANIEL BURKE c. 2011 Religion News Service (RNS) An Indiana prosecutor on Thursday (May 5) dropped trespassing charges against nearly 80 anti-abortion activists who protested President Obama’s 2009 commencement address and honorary degree at the University of Notre Dame. Because Obama supports legalized abortion, some Catholics — including dozens of bishops — accused Notre…

By YONAT SHIMRON c. 2011 Religion News Service DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) To many Americans, Thomas Jefferson is a symbol of liberty and religious freedom, the architect of American democracy and a standard bearer for progressive politics. But to members of America’s most liberal denomination, the slave-holding legacy of the nation’s third president has become a…

By DANIEL BURKE c. 2011 Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) Tilting toward a run at the presidency, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich traced his spiritual journey from Southern Baptist to Roman Catholic at a Catholic prayer breakfast here on Wednesday (April 27). “People ask me when I decided to become Catholic,” said Gingrich, who formally…

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