April 8, 2008

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Religious Freedom Panel Urges Bush to Boycott Beijing Games
Kevin Eckstrom/Religion News Service (04/08/2008: pewforum.org)
WASHINGTON - A federal religious freedom watchdog panel has urged President Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics unless "there is substantial improvement" in China's treatment of Tibet. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said China must open "direct and concrete talks" with the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual and political leader of Tibetan Buddhism, before Bush attends the opening ceremonies.

BENEDICT XVI
Pope to Address Church Abuse
Associated Press (04/08/2008: time.com)
The Vatican's No. 2 official says Pope Benedict XVI recognizes the damage and pain caused by the clergy sex abuse crisis and will seek healing during his U.S. trip next week. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press that Benedict will deliver a message of "trust and hope."

U.S. visit will give pope a defining moment
Cathy Lynn Grossman/USA Today (04/08/2008)
When Shepherd One lands outside Washington, D.C., on April 15, the jet carrying Pope Benedict XVI to a six-day visit in the USA will deliver a complex and surprising man. His image is cast in a stern adherence to orthodoxy. He has been true to that, but his first three years as leader of the Roman Catholic Church also suggest he is not exactly the harsh disciplinarian some fans had hoped for — or many critics had feared.

Pope Prepares For U.S. Visit
Associated Press (04/08/2008: cbsnews.com)
Pope Benedict says he hopes his trip to the United States will be seen as a “fraternal gesture” toward all Christian denominations and a “sign of friendship” by other religions.

Pope hopes U.S. trip will help world peace
Philip Pullella/Reuters (04/08/2008)
VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict said on Tuesday he hoped his trip to the United States next week would help draw attention to the need for greater peace and justice around the world.

POLYGAMY
Abuse Probed at Polygamist Compound
Michelle Roberts/Associated Press (04/08/2008: chicagotribune.com)
ELDORADO, Texas - Until the raid on their compound last week, the women and girls of the Yearning for Zion Ranch spent their days caring for its many children, tilling gardens and quilting, dressed in pioneer-style dresses sewn by their own hands. But it was no idyllic recreation of 19th-century prairie life, authorities say. Since last week, they have interviewed members of the polygamist sect looking for evidence that that girls younger than 16 were forced into marriages with older men.

FLDS retorts: Raid violated the sect's rights
Brooke Adams/Salt Lake Tribune (04/08/2008)
SAN ANGELO, Texas - For the first time, the FLDS have responded to the state raid on the YFZ Ranch that began last Thursday and just now is nearing completion. In five filings released Monday, Isaac Jeffs and Merrill Jessop said the sect's constitutional rights were violated in a massive search that was overly broad and vague in its focus.