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In a precedent-setting ruling, the Iowa Supreme Court Friday upheld a lower court decision legalizing same-sex marriages in Iowa. The unanimous landmark decision is expected to carry national implications as Iowa becomes the first Midwest state to grant full legal standing to gay and lesbian couples and only the fourth state nationally to confer marital…

CLEVELAND — It makes a great story. Jory Aebly’s miraculous recovery from an execution-style gunshot to the head bolsters Pope John Paul II’s case for sainthood. Except that four years after the legendary pope died at age 84, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints hasn’t said that he will be beatified any time…

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Christian churches in the U.S. are turning over a new leaf for Palm Sunday. About 2,500 congregations from every major denomination this weekend will use fair-trade palm fronds in their annual celebration of Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem in the days before his crucifixion. They say it’s the Christian thing to do. “We…

London — A secular organization in Britain that backs an atheist ad campaign on London’s buses is now producing “certificates of de-baptism” for people wishing to renounce their Christian faith — and claims it is getting thousands of takers. The National Secular Society says more than 100,000 ex-worshippers have downloaded the de-baptism certificates from its…

An Episcopal priest who professed two years ago that she was also a practicing Muslim has been defrocked by the Episcopal Church. Rhode Island Bishop Geralyn Wolf informed Ann Holmes Redding, who lives in Seattle, of the decision on Wednesday (April 1). Although she lives outside the diocese, Redding was ordained in Rhode Island and…

Vatican City – Pope Benedict XVI marked the fourth anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II with a memorial Mass on Thursday and new prayers for the Polish pontiff’s beatification. Benedict presided over an evening Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in which he recalled how beloved John Paul was, particularly among young Catholics.…

NEW ORLEANS – A Santeria priest who sued a Texas city for denying him permission to sacrifice a goat as part of a religious ceremony asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to let him resume the ritual in his home. Jose Merced, 46, accused the city of Euless, Texas, of trampling on his constitutional right…

WASHINGTON (RNS) The president of the National Association of Evangelicals took a rare step into the immigration debate Tuesday (March 31), saying that the long waiting period for citizenship must be shortened. “There are inconsistencies and many outdated aspects of immigration laws, and I think they are therefore unjust and unfair,” said Leith Anderson, president…

NEW YORK (RNS) Responding to increasing reports of sex abuse in Orthodox Jewish communities, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes on Wednesday launched a new outreach program aimed at helping victims come forward. Kol Tzedek, which translates to “Voice of Justice,” includes a phone number where victims can reach a social worker familiar with their…

Washington – Just before the end of the Bush administration last January, the U.S. State Department redesignated eight nations as “countries of particular concern” because of their religious freedom violations. The independent U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom learned of the designations, which were authorized Jan. 16 under then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and announced…
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