January 2, 2008

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Keeping the Faith
Holly Bailey/Newsweek (01/02/2008)
Huckabee's edge among evangelicals is tested in Iowa.

Despite apology, Huckabee's Web site hosts comments critical of Romney's Mormonism
Thomas Burr/Salt Lake Tribune (01/02/2008)
DES MOINES, Iowa - Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee personally apologized to rival Mitt Romney previously about a disparaging remark Huckabee made about Romney's Mormon religion. But Huckabee's Web site continues to host comments posted by supporters blasting the Mormon faith.

CHURCH AND STATE
A Taxing Issue: What to Render Unto Whom?
Suzanne Sataline/Wall Street Journal (01/02/2008)
With expansion-minded churches managing real-estate portfolios, sports centers and even shopping malls, religious leaders are increasingly getting unwelcome visits from tax collectors. Local government officials say they are levying taxes because churches are running businesses that don't have a charitable mission. Church leaders counter that they aren't trying to turn a profit but find entrepreneurial ways to serve the poor and the faithful.

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
New Hampshire celebrates civil unions
Noah Bierman/Boston Globe (01/02/2008)
New Hampshire became the fourth state to allow civil unions of same-sex couples Tuesday. Just after midnight, the first 40 or so couples held ceremonies at the Statehouse. Smaller ceremonies took place in other parts of the state throughout the day.

Same-Sex Divorce Challenges the Legal System
Dafna Linzer/Washington Post (01/02/2008)
For years, family court judges leaned toward a maternal preference when it came to custody disputes. But what to do when both parents are women, or neither is? Judges in Massachusetts have been grappling with that question since gay and lesbian couples began filing for divorce in 2004, seven months after the state Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage.

DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE
Episcopal Leader Defends Gay Bishops
Associated Press (01/02/2008: ap.google.com)
LONDON — Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori says her church has been unfairly singled out for criticism because it is honest about consecrating gay bishops.

Kwanzaa ends with celebration on the sand
Todd Wright/Miami Herald (01/02/2008)
Unity was the focus on Hollywood beach as about 200 people celebrated the final day of Kwanzaa.

Lifetime calling
Jennifer Garza/Sacramento Bee (12/30/2007)
In his first six months in a job he long sought, 'Padre Uriel' gets an education in the burdens and blessings of being a priest.

Lifetime calling: Feeling the pressure
Jennifer Garza/Sacramento Bee (12/31/2007)
As one of the U.S. Catholic Church's few new Spanish-speaking priests, the Rev. Ojeda feels the pressure - and pushes himself to the limit

ARTS AND MEDIA
Filling spiritual voids, not just pews
Colleen O'Connor/Denver Post (12/31/2007)
Richard Foster's treatise on disciplined faith turns 30