Fri, March 12, 2010, 8:26 pm
Talking Points Memo is asking whether Focus on the Family founder James Dobson was pushed out of his longtime position with the Colorado ministry.
It quotes Dobson friend and former professional football player Ken Hutcherson, a pastor in Washington state, who thought it odd that Focus gave Dobson $1 million to help start his new radio program, "Family Talk with Dr. James Dobson.''
"Dr. Dobson gets off the radio in February, and he's starting a new program in May. It just didn't make sense. Why get off if you don't want to get off?" Hutcherson asked in a phone interview with TPMmuckraker.
The report notes that Dobson himself commented on this matter back in November on his show:
"(T)he board of directors voted privately on Wednesday - before we got there - to ask for my resignation, although their request was made with kindness and respect. We can only guess the reason for their decision because frankly I don't fully know," Dobson said. "But it apparently has to do with the desire for closure on my tenure and the beginning of another."
In response to the hubbub, Focus spokeswoman Joanna Brown issued this statement:
"We admire Rev. Hutcherson and the good work he has done for the cause of Christ and in support of families. He is, of course, entitled to his own opinion about the work we do, whether we agree with that opinion or not."
The TPM report links to a post from November from People for the American Way's Right Wing Watch that reported how Dobson shared with listeners that he'd been asked to resign.
Fri, March 12, 2010, 1:02 pm
Pope Benedict XVI met with Germany's top Roman Catholic bishop this morning to discuss the growing sex abuse scandal; our Vatican correspondent Francis X. Rocca will wrap it all together later today on these pages. Meanwhile, former members of the (not church-affiliated) Vienna Boys Choir are alleging abuse by former supervisors.
Here at home, a federal appeals court, in a flipflop of a 2002 decision, has decided that the words "one nation under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and "In God We Trust" on coins and currency don't violate the Constitution after all.
As Congress continues the long slog toward health care reform, NPR talks to Christian health-sharing ministries that split health care costs among members, and moderate-to-progress faith groups say abortion restrictions are actually tighter than many anti-abortion activists want to admit. The LA Times explores the growing synergy (or not)between veteran religious political activists and the Tea Party movement (Rick Santorum's already jumped on that bandwagon), and that Mississippi school that canceled prom rather than allow a lesbian student to attend with her girlfriend is now facing a lawsuit from the ACLU, which seeks to turn the music back on. Haven't these people ever seen Footloose?
Christian groups -- and not just lefties -- are firing back at Fox News' Glenn Beck for his call to parishioners to flee their churches at the first sign of "social justice" teaching, and also appearing to link "social justice" with Naziism and communism. President Obama has announced the charitable recipients of his $1.4 million Nobel Peace Prize money, including $200,000 to the Clinton-Bush Haiti fund.
Morocco is defending its decision to expel 20 Christian missionaries. Convicts in Georgia (the former Soviet satellite, not the land of shrimp and grits) can serve time in monasteries working for the Georgian Orthodox Church. Gay couples in Mexico City tied the knot on Thursday, becoming the first same-sex couples to wed in Mexico under a new policy that is being challenged by the federal government, not to mention the Catholic Church (Danes don't seem to have a problem with it). Some at the Vatican are ticked that a Rome high school has installed condom machines, saying it will lead students to have pre-marital sex.
The State Department is out with its annual human rights report for 194 countries around the world; it includes sections on religious freedom violations in China, Cuba, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and all the usual suspects (search for the term "religious" to see the highlights)
In Texas, Republicans on the state Board of Education shot down a Democratic move to teach children about why the Founding Fathers banned government support of religion; GOP members said the proposal downplayed the Founders' religious faith. In a sign that high school graduation season is just around the corner, there's already a lawsuit: A suburban Indianapolis valedictorian thinks its a bad idea to have students vote on whether to have a prayer at graduation.
A year after the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Maryville, Ill., was shot dead in the pulpit, our pal Tim Townsend finds the church is thriving. Rabbi Harold Kushner is still trying to answer the question of why bad things happen to good people, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu is pondering what it means to be "Made for Goodness," the title of his new book, and speaking out against a gay rights crackdown in Africa.
Now serving illegal escargot: Devotees of a Florida man who practiced a
traditional African religion said they were sickened after being told to
ingest
the mucus of a Giant African Snail. Tasty.
Thu, March 11, 2010, 5:42 pm
The spreading scandal over sexual abuse by Catholic priests in several European countries has provoked serious questions about a number of church practices and traditions. And some of the questions are coming from some of the most traditional quarters.
A cardinal close to the pope seems to have suggested a possible link between priestly celibacy and pedophilia. And the official Vatican newspaper has run an article arguing that more women in positions of authority could rend the "veil of masculine secrecy" that permitted cover-ups of sex abuse.
Thu, March 11, 2010, 3:28 pm
The open lesbian elected as an assistant bishop in Los Angeles is apparently one step closer to consecration after her diocese announced Thursday that it had received "consents" from 61 of the denomination's 109 other dioceses. The result is not official until ratified by Episcopal Church headquarters; a tally of diocesan bishops' confirmations, which is also required, is not yet known.
The CSM and WSJ have articles on what made a former cheerleader become "Jihad Jane" (pic at top left). Rep. Bart Stupak's staunch Catholicism has often put him at odds with fellow Democrats, the AP reports. Muslims are wary of participating in the 2010 Census, after a number of them were rounded up and deported after registering with federal officials in the wake of 9/11.
The PCUSA released part three of its report on the Israel/Palestine situation. The report asks the U.S. government to consider "the possible withholding of military aid as a means of bringing Israel to compliance with international law and peacemaking efforts," but does not recommend divestment from companies that contribute to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Overall, the report is not that different from what the Obama administration has been saying, but American Jews, who have long battled with the Presbyies about this issue, still profess outrage.
Virginia's new governor overruled his attorney general, saying that public institutions - including colleges - should indeed ban discrimination against gays. Other Virginians want legislators to stop an imam from delivering the opening prayer in the House of Delegates.
Archbishop Chaput of Denver defended the expulsion of a preschooler with lesbian parents from Catholic school. Catholic bishops in New Mexico and Arizona are condemning a crackdown on illegal immigration. Archbishops Dolan of New York and Listecki of Milwaukee say they are averse to denying Communion to Catholic politicians who support reproductive rights.
Harriet Tubman's personal hymnal was donated to Washington's National Museum of African American History and Culture. Karl Rove says gay marriage found him, he didn't find it.
Egypt's leading religious official died. Membership in the Lutheran World Federation topped 70 million for the first time, mostly because of growth in Asian and Africa. The Swedish artist who painted Prophet Muhammad as a dog says he wanted to prove that artistic freedom trumps piety. Seven Muslims arrested in Ireland on suspicion of trying to kill the artist will be held in custody for three more days, a judge ruled.
The Vatican is not pleased that a high school in Rome has installed a condom-dispensing vending machine. Pubs in Ireland want an exemption to sell alcohol on Good Friday because of a highly anticipated rugby match. A Polish heavy metal singer faces two years in jail for insulting Catholics and tearing up a Bible on stage.
Wed, March 10, 2010, 2:29 pm
The growing sex abuse scandal in Germany's Catholic Church is heating up -- again -- now that the Regensburg diocese says it will name an outside investigator to probe charges of physical and sexual abuse swirling around a famed boys choir that the pope's own brother directed for 30 years.
In Sweden, at least three newspapers on Wednesday published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog after a plot was uncovered by Muslim extremists -- including an American woman known as "Jihad Jane" -- to kill the artist. Six Pakistani workers for the U.S.-based Christian aid group World Vision were killed Wednesday when gunmen stormed their office. Back here at home, some U.S. Muslims worry about participating in the first post-9/11 census, concerned about how the data could be used.
Hungary has a new law that imposes a three-year prison sentence for Holocaust denial and the Dalai Lama used the anniversary of a Tibet uprising to accuse China of trying to "annihilate" Buddhism from Tibet.
VP Joe Biden is dialing up the pressure on Israel over plans to expand settlements inside Palestinian territories, saying Palestinians deserve a "viable" state with contiguous borders. Next door in Egypt, Muslims are mourning the death of Sheik Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, who headed the influential Al-Azhar seminary in Cairo, the intellectual heart of much of Sunni Islam.
A Colorado judge has told a man that his First Amendment rights to religion do not extend to his right to smoke pot. Liberty University students still don't buy into creation during their annual visit to the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum, which will open a new mega-exhibit on "human origins" as part of it's 100th birthday. And Florida GOP lawmakers want to offer tax credits to films and TV shows -- except those that promote "nontraditional" (i.e., gay) values.
In Wisconsin, an Amish farmer has won his battle with state regulators over his refusal to install tracking devices on his animals. The farmer, Emanuel Miller, Jr., worried the program referenced the "mark of the beast" found in the Bible. WaPo follows cooks who put together large-scale church dinners for Lent and serve up something to feed both body and soul.
And if you happen to be driving through St. Louis this Friday, stop by Compton Heights Christian Church where parishioners gather with coffee to wish everyone a Happy Friday. Now that's a holy day of obligation I can agree with.
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