SACRED ACTS: HOW CHURCHES ARE...
Scholars focus on 'fullness' of teaching over emphasis on single issues
It's not just Catholics that are in focus this election cycle. The church's teachings have rather unabashedly taken the national spotlight too.
Oct 26-Nov 8, 2012
Bhutan bans religious activities ahead of election
Political leaders in the small Buddhist nation of Bhutan have announced a nearly six-month ban on all public religious activities ahead of its upcoming elections, citing the Himalayan nation’s constitution, which says that “religion shall remain above politics.”
A notification by the Election Commission of Bhutan asks people’s “prayers and blessings” for the second parliamentary election, expected in June 2013. But it also states that religious institutions and clergy “shall not hold, conduct, organize or host” any public activity from Jan. 1 until the election.
Philippine government and rebels sign peace agreement
The government of President Benigno Aquino and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed a landmark peace agreement Oct. 16 aimed at ending four decades of conflict on the Philippines’ southern island of Mindanao. More than 100,000 people have been killed in the conflict as the mainly Muslim south has sought greater autonomy within the Christian majority country.
Negotiators from both sides signed the “framework agreement” at the presidential palace in Manila, with Aquino and Moro Islamic Liberation Front chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim.
Swing states put American Catholics in a decisive position
Analysis: For a variety of reasons, Catholics will break one way or the other in the final weeks of the presidential race, and that will decide who wins.
Connecting with trees, author explores paths to reverse forest destruction
THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES: LOST GROVES, CHAMPION TREES, AND AN URGENT PLAN TO SAVE THE PLANET
By Jim Robbins
Published by Spiegel & Grau, $25
Supreme Court can defend human rights by upholding 1789 law
VIEWPOINT: The Supreme Court should uphold a law that is important for the protection of members of religious groups -- Catholics included.
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In This Issue
May 10-23, 2013
- Illinois parish's ESL program welcomes all
- A different Mary assumes the stage
- A question few seem to consider when the US wages war afar
- [Print Edition Only] Special Section: Summer Listings
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