Criminal case filed against Bishop
Salem, July 22 (PTI) A Criminal case was filed here today against Church of South India Bishop Manickam Dorai, who is already facing charges of misappropriation of CSI funds, and 12 others, a top police official said. The case was filed under seven sections of IPC including cheating in Hasthampatty police station. Inspector Kennedy said the case relates to misappropriation of funds totalling Rs three cro... [Jul. 22 2010]

Most Nigerian pastors are worse than beggars
Source: Nigerian Compass, June 28, 2010 Prophet Ojo Akhigbe Agge, is the President and Founder, City Gate Ministry and City Gate Homes Foundation, Benin, a ministry involved in soul winning, charity and community development. In this interview with PATRICK OKOHUE, Ojo speaks on his mission in ministry, the greed of some men of God and why even some native doctors will enter heaven and some men of Go... [Jun. 30 2010]

Should Church control access to health care?
By Nancy Northup president, Center for Reproductive Rights Opinion pages of U.S. newspapers lambasted a decision by St. Joseph's Hospital, a Catholic institution in Phoenix, over the excommunication and demotion of a nun. Sister Margaret McBride was a head administrator at St. Joseph's Hospital who compassionately granted a critically ill young woman permission to have an abortion because continuing the... [Jun. 23 2010]

School trades evangelism access for shoes, school supplies
Talk about school spirit! A news story brings a new twist to the latest moves by cash-strapped schools selling advertising and promotional access to everything in sight to raise school supply and activity moola. Now a Florida school is selling access to kids' souls. Combee Elementary School in Lakeland, Fla., where separation of church and state is clearly not on the social studies curriculum, has been "... [Jun. 21 2010]

The Whole Truth About Those Who Debase and Derogate Other Religions
Anyone who thinks that he/she has some kind of corner on religious and spiritual beliefs and practices, and believes he/she can take another person to task for exposing the falsehood of an only pathway to God are welcome to do so. I am prepared to defend the legitimacy of all religions as I research and understand them better, especially when God and religion are purely for the transformation of the human h... [Jun. 21 2010]

Jharkhand Bishop openly backs Maoist cause
VR Jayaraj | Kochi Even as Home Minister P Chidambaram keeps on asking the intellectuals and rights activists in the country to declare their position on the war against Maoists, a Christian Bishop in Jharkhand, one of the States hit worst by the menace, is openly justifying their cause. Claiming that the Church and the Maoists are waging war against the same social evils, Bishop Charles Soreng, Hazarib... [Jun. 21 2010]

what is wrong with missionaries? A self-defeating zeal
In the words of Ashoka, whoever praises his own religion and condemns others only harms his cause The small American town where I grew up was dominated by evangelical and pentecostal Christians. And every Sunday these good people would pack the town's churches, where they were called to go forth and bring more souls to Jesus. The problem was that everyone in the community already was Christian, or i... [Jun. 9 2010]

Woman Chained Nine Years…For Having Sex In The Bush
A woman believed to be about 30 years has been chained for nine years by her mother, who accuses her of being a witch and the cause of their family’s woes. The woman’s ordeal began when her mother took her to a pastor for ‘cleansing’ after allegedly having sex with her boyfriend in the bush, The victim, Afia Korkor, according to a witness, lived with her mother Yaa Nyameama at Denkyira Obuasi, a villa... [Jun. 9 2010]

Rwanda: Will the Vatican Ever Accept That Genocide is Also a Crime?
Kigali — This church's lack of courage and humility made it develop what philosopher Bertrand Russell, in his book "The Conquest of Happiness" termed "persecution mania" which he says is "a recognised form of insanity." The fall of the former genocidal regime was not good news for some in the Rwandan church. Out of solidarity with and nostalgia for their defeated ideological allies, they were at a loss. ... [May. 28 2010]

Christian casteism: Only in India: A Brahmin groom for a Catholic bride
MUMBAI: When Winnie D'Souza wanted to marry her daughter into a ‘decent' family, she scanned the matrimonial columns of Catholic periodicals in Panaji. After shortlisting a few young men, D'Souza made inquiries about their caste. She wanted her daughter to marry a Brahmin. Most Catholic publications do not list caste categories as they did 20 years ago, but casteism has not disappeared among Christians. It ... [May. 19 2010]