April 17, 2008

BENEDICT XVI
Pope Praises U.S In 1st Public Mass
CBS/AP (04/17/2008)
Pope Benedict XVI praised America as a land of opportunity and hope Thursday as he celebrated the first public Mass of his U.S. pilgrimage, but he lamented that the nation's promise fell short for Indians and blacks.

Pope calls for renewal of faith at stadium Mass
Cathy Lynn Grossman and Marisol Bello/USA Today (04/17/2008)
WASHINGTON — After days with the powerful of church and state, Pope Benedict XVI turned to the laity Thursday morning, with a huge open-air Mass where he called on Catholics to renew their faith. Benedict presided over Mass at the new Washington Nationals stadium, with a congregation-for-a-day of 46,000 people looking on.

Pope asks Catholics to help victims of sexual abuse
CNN (04/17/2008)
WASHINGTON -- Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday again acknowledged the pain the Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal has caused, and urged all Catholics to help heal the wounds.

In Homily, Pope Describes Hope for Healing After Clergy Scandal
Petula Dvorak, Jacqueline L. Salmon and Michael Ruane/Washington Post (04/17/2008)
In his first Mass on American soil, Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged the damage done by the church's sexual abuse scandal, asked that the American spirit of hope help heal that pain and urged Catholic Americans toward a renewal of their faith.

POLYGAMY
Hearing for polygamists' kids grinds to a halt
Associated Press (04/17/2008: msnbc.msn.com)
SAN ANGELO, Texas - A court hearing to decide the fates of hundreds of children seized from a polygamist retreat ground to a halt almost as soon as it began Thursday as hundreds of lawyers demanded to study the first piece of evidence before it could be introduced.

CHURCH AND STATE
ACLU 1, Jesus O
Michael Kunzelman/Associated Press (04/17/2008: abcnews.go.com)
Displaying a portrait of Jesus in the foyer of a Louisiana courthouse is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled this week, siding with civil libertarians who sued over the display. But inserting Jesus within a group portrait of historic figures at the courthouse is permissible, the judge said.

SCIENCE
Darwin's private papers get Internet launch
Reuters (04/17/2008)
LONDON - The first draft of Charles Darwin's "On The Origin Of Species" is among a wealth of papers belonging to the intensely private man who changed science being published on the Internet on Thursday for the first time.