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Associated Press – September 26, 2007 YANGON, Myanmar – Mounting pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks against Myanmar’s military government erupted into serious bloodshed for the first time Wednesday, as security forces shot dead at least one man and wounded more in chaotic confrontations in the country’s biggest city. The violence riveted world attention on…

By Peggy Polk and Daniel Burke Religion News Service NEW ORLEANS — Expressing their “passionate desire” to remain a full partner in the worldwide Anglican Communion, U.S. Episcopal bishops on Tuesday (Sept. 25) said they remain committed to not allowing more gay bishops and pledged not to authorize public blessings of same-sex unions. The bishops,…

By Daniel Burke Religion News Service Religious sects across the globe wage wars of endless retribution. Revenge fantasies fill American movie theaters. Legal courts are crammed with people seeking settled scores. So last October, when the Amish community of Lancaster County, Pa., immediately offered forgiveness to the family of Charles Roberts, the gunman who murdered…

Associated Press New York – Lenny Kravitz’s upcoming album is titled, “It Is Time for a Love Revolution,” with songs including “Love Love Love” and “Will You Marry Me.” But anyone expecting a confessional on his romantic life may be disappointed. While saying his songs are “always personal,” Kravitz said the album focuses on many…

Associated Press St. George, Utah – The leader of a polygamous Mormon splinter group was convicted Tuesday of being an accomplice to rape for performing a wedding between a 19-year-old man and a 14-year-old girl. Warren Jeffs, 51, could get life in prison after a trial that threw a spotlight on a renegade community along…

Associated Press VATICAN CITY – Roman Catholic officials reminded the faithful Monday it is sacrilegious to buy or sell religious relics, after news reports and a church Web site suggested fans of Pope John Paul II could get a piece of his white cassock by making an online donation. For several weeks, the diocese of…

By Elizabeth Birge Religion News Service (UNDATED) In life, Lou Tafuri loved to fish in the waters off the New Jersey coast. In death, he sleeps with the fishes. His family couldn’t be happier. Tafuri, who died in 2005, was cremated after donating his body to science. Shortly before the ashes were returned to his…

Associated Press – September 24, 2007 YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar’s military government issued a threat Monday to the barefoot Buddhist monks who led 100,000 people marching through the capital, in the strongest protests against the repressive regime for two decades. The warning shows the increasing pressure the junta is under to either crack down on…

By Jeff Diamant Religion News Service FORT DIX, N.J. – The Rev. Andrew Barton is a Presbyterian pastor who considers himself an advocate for peace and questions whether the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 was justified. Yet he wants to be able to help counsel traumatized soldiers home from the war zone. He has…

Associated Press BAGHDAD – The slayings of two associates of Iraq’s top Shiite cleric raised fears Friday of a worsening Shiite power struggle in the country’s oil-rich south, prompting some clerics to go into hiding or abandon their robes and turbans for their own safety. The two were killed late Thursday in separate shootings within…

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