Yahoo! News: Religion News

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• Church spokesman critical of 'Dirty Dozen' list of papal candidates
• Babylonian artifact the Cyrus Cylinder shown in US for 1st time, confirms account from Bible
• Vatican battles to maintain secrecy ahead of conclave
• Sex abuse: the scandal the Catholic Church cannot shake
• Cyrus Cylinder, ancient decree of religious freedom, starts U.S. tour
• Indonesian provincial vote suggests religion card weakening
• Jurors ask Jodi Arias about religion, memory

Church spokesman critical of 'Dirty Dozen' list of papal candidates Posted: 07 Mar 2013 02:07 PM PST QUEBEC - A Roman Catholic Church spokesman is criticizing a list that calls Canada's Marc Cardinal Ouellet and 11 other papal candidates the ''Dirty Dozen.''

Babylonian artifact the Cyrus Cylinder shown in US for 1st time, confirms account from Bible Posted: 07 Mar 2013 10:52 AM PST WASHINGTON - A nearly 2,600-year-old clay cylinder that has been described as the world's first human rights declaration is being shown for the first time in the U.S.

Vatican battles to maintain secrecy ahead of conclave Posted: 07 Mar 2013 10:27 AM PST VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican struggled on Thursday to contain leaks from its closed-door preparations for the next papal election, highlighting a gap between the Catholic Church's traditional secrecy and the 24/7 information age. Details divulged from the debates appeared in Italian media again despite a Vatican move on Wednesday to influence reporting by ending news conferences by American cardinals that had begun to compete with its own daily briefings. ...

Sex abuse: the scandal the Catholic Church cannot shake Posted: 07 Mar 2013 10:11 AM PST VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Colm O'Gorman was 14 years old when Father Sean Fortune arrived unannounced at his parents' house in a small town in southern Ireland. The priest was given tea and a seat by the fire, and asked the teenager to help set up a youth group. "I was 14, and very eager and hungry to be out in the world, involved in things, doing things, making a difference. And that's what he exploited," said O'Gorman, now 46 and the executive director of Amnesty International in Ireland. ...

Cyrus Cylinder, ancient decree of religious freedom, starts U.S. tour Posted: 07 Mar 2013 09:08 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Cyrus Cylinder of ancient Persia, a landmark in religious freedom and a potent symbol of Iranian national identity, will begin its first U.S. tour with an exhibit that opens Saturday in Washington. The barrel-shaped clay artifact, 2,500 years old and only 9 inches long, has been described as the first declaration of human rights and an influence on leaders from Alexander the Great to Thomas Jefferson. It has been celebrated by the shah of Iran and that country's post-revolutionary leaders, as well as by the ancient Hebrews and the founders of modern Israel. ...

Indonesian provincial vote suggests religion card weakening Posted: 06 Mar 2013 11:36 PM PST JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's most populous province has re-elected its conservative Muslim governor, but by such a narrow margin that it suggests the religious card may be losing its power to win votes in the world's largest Islamic society. Last week's West Java election, the results of which were announced this week, comes amid criticism that while President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government has largely tamed Islamic militants, it is standing aside as religious hardliners muscle into the mainstream political debate ahead of next year's presidential and general election. ...

Jurors ask Jodi Arias about religion, memory Posted: 06 Mar 2013 07:17 PM PST PHOENIX (AP) — Jodi Arias was peppered with a wide range of questions Wednesday as jurors in her murder trial asked about everything from Mormonism to the definition of a derogatory name she says her lover called her before she killed him.

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