CHICAGO – A public university in Illinois is raising concern over a recently published online how-to guide that instructs health and social service providers how to assist residents in obtaining an abortion. Accessing Abortion in Illinois was written and released by the University of Chicago’s Section of Family Planning and Center for Interdisciplinary Inquiry and Innovation in Sexual and Reproductive Health […]
AUSTIN, Texas — Barack Obama recently laughed and fist bumped a cashier who moonlights as a crossdresser after he joked with the president that he has sexual relations with men. The Austin Chronicle reports that Obama visited the Franklin Barbecue on Thursday during his visit to the Lone Star State, a popular restaurant in the […]
CHICAGO — A federal court has ruled that humanist couples in Indiana can be married by their own ‘secular celebrants,’ something that until now was illegal under state law. In a unanimous ruling, the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said denying humanists the right to be married by celebrants who share their lack […]
NEW YORK — Roman Catholics in New York City will observe what they call a veneration of a vial of blood drawn from the late Pope John Paul II this weekend, as others are expressing concern about the idolatry of such practices. The relic tour was recently announced by the Knights of Columbus, which regularly hosts […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The governor of California has signed a bill into law that redefines marriage and replaces the terms ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ with the generic term ‘spouse.’ Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 1306 on Monday, which will take effect on January 1, 2015. “Under existing law, a reference to ‘husband’ and ‘wife,’ ‘spouses,’ or […]
(RNS) World Vision tested its boundaries three months ago when it announced it would allow its employees to be in so-called homosexual ‘marriages’. The policy, however, was short-lived; the relief group reversed it within 48 hours after supporters threatened to pull donations. In the past, World Vision has requested that it be known as a […]
In a reversal, an apostate Pennsylvania pastor who was defrocked last year for violating United Methodist law after he officiated at his son’s so-called same-sex wedding has been reinstated. Frank Schaefer learned Tuesday (June 24) his ministerial credentials will be restored after the United Methodist’s Northeastern Jurisdictional Committee on Appeals voted 8-1 in his favor. […]
(RNS) What do self-styled atheists ‘pray’ for? Municipalities around the country are finding out, as various nonbelievers of all stripes, including so-called atheists, humanists, agnostics and others, begin offering “prayers” to nothing at local government meetings. That’s the result of Greece v. Galloway, the Supreme Court decision handed down in May that upheld the right for […]
KHARTOUM, Sudan (RNS) – A Sudanese woman who was sentenced to death by hanging for refusing to convert to Islam has been freed after an appeals court canceled the death sentence, according to the state-run news agency SUNA. Meriam Ibrahim, a 27-year-old Roman Catholic and mother of two, had been sentenced to hang in April […]
DETROIT — The 1.8 million-member Presbyterian Church (USA) voted Thursday (June 19) to allow homosexual ‘weddings,’ making it among one of the largest religious groups to take an embracing step toward openly supporting homosexuality. By a 76-24 percent vote, the General Assembly of the PCUSA voted to allow their pastors to perform homosexual “marriages” in states where they are […]