By SUZANNE McGEE c. 2011 Religion News Service (RNS/ENInews) A new book on post-war Japan says Gen. Douglas MacArthur sought to fill the country’s “spiritual vacuum” with religious and quasi-religious beliefs, from Christianity to Freemasonry, as an antidote to communism. In 1945 Under the Shadow of the Occupation: The Ashlar and The Cross, Japanese investigative…

By BRUCE NOLAN c. 2011 Religion News Service NEW ORLEANS (RNS) Archbishop Gregory Aymond says he has firsthand accounts from students who said they were injured by paddling at a Catholic high school, challenging school supporters who have filed suit over the claims. Aymond’s disclosure came as parents and alumni of St. Augustine High School…

By CATHY LYNN GROSSMAN and SEAN LEAHY c. 2011 USA TODAY (RNS) Tim Tebow is a 23-year-old second-year, second-string quarterback on a so-so NFL team. So who’s going to buy his memoirs? What’s to remember? Only … — The play-by-play of his life from conception (his missionary dad, Bob, prayed for a son and promised…

By ADELLE M. BANKS c. 2011 Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton defended her new ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom on Thursday (June 2), calling the Rev. Suzan Johnson Cook a bridge-builder who is right for the job. Speaking at Cook’s ceremonial swearing-in, Clinton cited Cook’s firsts as an African-American…

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