Yahoo! News: Religion News

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• Judges weigh religious exemption for health law
• Church bombing in Pakistan: Why it still ricochets
• Austria: Catholic church fined for phone texting
• Parti Quebecois religion plan gets support from retired Supreme Court judge
• Austria: Catholic diocese fined for mass texts asking followers to pay their membership dues
• Ex-pope Benedict denies covering up sexual abuse
• Pope says migrants not 'pawns on chessboard of humanity'
• Pope defends immigrant rights, denounces 'slave labor'
• Pope names future Newark archbishop
• The media's mind-boggling failure to understand Pope Francis
• Christians fear attacks after Pakistan church bombs
• Nuns, orphans trapped in Syria's Maalula: church

Judges weigh religious exemption for health law Posted: 24 Sep 2013 02:38 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court is considering whether for-profit businesses can be exempted from a contraceptive mandate in the health care law because of the owners' religious views.

Church bombing in Pakistan: Why it still ricochets Posted: 24 Sep 2013 01:32 PM PDT Sunday's suicide bombing of a Christian church in Pakistan continues to shake the largely Muslim nation. The government declared three days of mourning for the dozens killed. Thousands of people, from lawyers to students, have joined Christians in countrywide protests.

Austria: Catholic church fined for phone texting Posted: 24 Sep 2013 11:26 AM PDT Austria's Roman Catholic church has learned its lesson. Mass is OK. Mass texting is not. A diocese in the southern city of Graz says it has been found guilty of contravening Austria's telecommunications ...

Parti Quebecois religion plan gets support from retired Supreme Court judge Posted: 24 Sep 2013 11:06 AM PDT MONTREAL - A former Supreme Court judge has joined a movement supporting the Parti Quebecois' controversial charter of values.

Austria: Catholic diocese fined for mass texts asking followers to pay their membership dues Posted: 24 Sep 2013 10:31 AM PDT VIENNA - Austria's Roman Catholic church has learned its lesson. Mass is OK. Mass texting is not.

Ex-pope Benedict denies covering up sexual abuse Posted: 24 Sep 2013 09:17 AM PDT By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Former Pope Benedict has denied that he tried to cover up sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests, in his first direct published comments since he stepped down. The comments - which a victims' group rejected - were made in an 11-page letter to Italian author and mathematician Piergiorgio Odifreddi, who had written a book about the problems facing the Roman Catholic Church before the pope resigned in February. "As far as you mentioning the moral abuse of minors by priests, I can only, as you know, acknowledge it with profound consternation. ...

Pope says migrants not 'pawns on chessboard of humanity' Posted: 24 Sep 2013 08:07 AM PDT VATICAN CITY (AFP) - Pope Francis on Tuesday called on countries to protect migrants, condemning the treatment of refugees as mere "pawns on the chessboard of humanity".

Pope defends immigrant rights, denounces 'slave labor' Posted: 24 Sep 2013 04:13 AM PDT By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis urged countries on Tuesday to welcome and respect migrants and refugees and not treat them as "pawns on the chessboard of humanity". Francis, who has made the defense of the poor and vulnerable a cornerstone of his papacy, said in a message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees that there should be a change in attitude on the part of host countries. "Migrants and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity," he said in the message, which is sent to government and international institutions such as the United Nations. ...

Pope names future Newark archbishop Posted: 24 Sep 2013 03:26 AM PDT VATICAN CITY (AP) — The pope has named a new bishop to help out and eventually take over for the archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, who is under fire for his handling of a sexually abusive priest.

The media's mind-boggling failure to understand Pope Francis Posted: 24 Sep 2013 03:03 AM PDT As a practicing Catholic working in the media, perhaps the five most frightening words I hear are, "Pope Francis gave an interview." They aren't scary because of anything Pope Francis actually says; the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio spent decades choosing his words carefully as an Argentinian priest and then prelate of Buenos Aires, emphasizing the pastoral care of the Catholic Church while the extremes of politics from both left and right engulfed Argentina for decades. ...

Christians fear attacks after Pakistan church bombs Posted: 24 Sep 2013 02:17 AM PDT PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) - A devastating double suicide attack on a church in northwest Pakistan has triggered fears among the country's beleaguered Christian community that they will be targeted in a fresh wave of Islamist violence.

Nuns, orphans trapped in Syria's Maalula: church Posted: 23 Sep 2013 05:14 PM PDT DAMASCUS (AFP) - Nearly 40 nuns and orphans are trapped inside a convent in the Syrian Christian town of Maalula, where regime troops are battling rebel forces, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate said Tuesday.

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