August 26, 2008

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Democratic Convention Is A Faith-Based Initiative
Linton Weeks/NPR (08/25/2008)
NPR.org - Religious themes have been more likely to take center stage at recent Republican National Conventions than at Democratic gatherings. But politics and religion will be mingling all this week when Democrats convene in Denver to choose Barack Obama as their presidential nominee.

Catholic bishops correct Pelosi on abortion
Associated Press (08/26/2008: ap.google.com)
DENVER — Two prominent Roman Catholic archbishops say House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Catholic Democrat, misstated church teachings about abortion in a recent television appearance, the latest sign that the U.S. Catholic hierarchy will not stay silent about politics this election year.

Biden pick provides Catholic link, but renews abortion debate
Adelle M. Banks/Religion News Service (08/25/2008: pewforum.org)
WASHINGTON -- While supporters say Sen. Joe Biden provides a crucial link with Catholic voters, others say the new vice presidential running mate reprises an unwelcome debate over abortion and Communion. The senator chosen by Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama regularly attends a Greenville, Del., Catholic church. And while disagreeing with his church's stance on abortion, Biden is known for supporting other key tenets of Catholic teachings.

Is voting a Christian rite or right?
Tim Murphy/Religion News Service (08/25/2008: pewforum.org)
While some remain less than enthusiastic about their options this fall, conscientious abstention raises another ethical question: Do Christians have an obligation to vote?

DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE
Not too late to bat mitzvah
Barbara Karkabi/Houston Chronicle (08/22/2008)
It was a little crowded on the bimah at Seven Acres chapel. But not to the four women — three in wheelchairs and one using a walker — who smiled proudly from the platform at family and friends. If they were nervous about celebrating their bat mitzvahs at an age when many wouldn't bother, it never showed.