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The Associated Press CHICAGO – Barack Obama discussed Darfur, the Iraq war, gay rights, abortion and other issues Tuesday with Christian leaders, including conservatives who have been criticized for praising the Democratic presidential candidate. Bishop T.D. Jakes, a prominent black clergyman who heads a Dallas megachurch, said Obama took questions, listened to participants and discussed…

By Achal Narayanan Religion News Service Chennai, India – The appointment of a new “living goddess” in Nepal has been held up by the recent abolition of the Hindu monarchy in the Himalayan nation, according to Nepalese officials. Traditionally, the palace priest appoints the girl, who is chosen in her infancy and is treated as…

The Dallas Morning News Jun. 10–WASHINGTON — Environmental messages preached from the pulpit have yet to take hold in evangelical and Catholic pews, according to a recent survey on religion in public life. Just 43 percent of evangelical Protestants said they would support strict environmental regulations if such rules would cost jobs or result in…

International Herald Tribune Lori Viars, an evangelical activist in Warren County, Ohio, essentially put her life on hold in the autumn of 2004 to run a phone bank for President George W. Bush. Her efforts helped the president’s ambitious push to turn out evangelicals and win that critical swing state in a close election. But…

Associated Press – June 9, 2008 DHARMSALA, India – Philip Hemley confronted a deep personal conflict. Should he continue his studies in Sanskrit and Tibetan languages or pursue his dreams of rock ‘n’ roll? So Mr. Hemley headed to this Himalayan hill town in 1989 to seek the one person he believed could resolve his…

Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) – June 9, 2008 Vatican City (dpa) – Pope Benedict XVI will host US President George W Bush in a medieval tower later this week in what the Vatican’s newspaper said Monday marks an “unusual protocol” move. The pontiff, who is scheduled to hold talks with Bush on Friday, normally receives high-calibre…

Associated Press – June 8, 2008 CONCORD, New Hampshire – The first openly gay Episcopal bishop and his partner of 20 years have been united in a private civil union. The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson was legally joined to Mark Andrew, his partner of 20 years, in a civil ceremony Saturday, the Episcopal Diocese…

Chicago Tribune – June 6, 2008 Jun. 6–SAN ANTONIO — In a sign of the changing face of American Catholicism, a 41-year-old of Mexican descent who grew up in Houston has been ordained the nation’s youngest Roman Catholic bishop. More than 1,000 people inside St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church applauded the promotion of the…

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News – June 6, 2008 Jun. 6–Gay activists and clergy are planning a silent protest Saturday morning outside a conference of ex-gays who contend homosexuality can be cured by religious counseling. The conference, called “Love Won Out” and sponsored by the conservative Colorado-based Christian organization Focus on the Family, has sparked controversy…

The Dallas Morning News – June 6, 2008 Jun. 6–Gov. Rick Perry, accepting personal blame if Texas “stepped across some legal line,” strongly defended today its sweep of all youngsters from a polygamist sect’s ranch. “I still think that the state of Texas has an obligation to young women who are forced into marriage and…

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