Congregations More Opposed to Gay Marriage Than Pastors

He’s the president of the USA not the pastor of the USA

2012-05-15

John Blake, CNN

After President Obama this week became the first sitting president to endorse same-sex marriage, black clergy and churchgoers could be facing a question that's similar to the one that fractured King and Graham: Should my ideas about personal holiness trump my notion of justice? Read the complete article

Across Country, Black Pastors Weigh in on Obama's Same-Sex Marriage Support

"I love the president, but I cannot support what he has done," says one African American minister

2012-05-14

Dan Gilgoff, CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Addressing his large, mostly black congregation on Sunday morning, the Rev. Wallace Charles Smith did not mince words about where he stood on President Barack Obama's newly announced support for same-sex marriage: The church is against it, he said, prompting shouts of "Amen!" from the pews. Read the complete article

Biden Proves Catalyst for Obama on Gay Marriage

Julie Pace The Associated Press

2012-05-11

After nearly single-handedly pushing gay marriage to the forefront of the presidential campaign and inadvertently pressuring President Barack Obama to declare his support for same-sex unions, there was only one thing left for Vice President Joe Biden to do: apologize.

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Dalai Lama: World Belongs to 'Humanity,' Not Leaders

In wide-ranging interview in Minnesota, Buddhist leader talks Arab Spring and temptation

2012-04-26

Catherine Shoichet, CNN

(CNN) -- The Dalai Lama says he supports the principles behind Arab Spring protests. "The world belongs to humanity, not this leader, that leader, kings or religious leaders. The world belongs to humanity. Each country belongs essentially to their own people," he said in an interview Wednesday on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight." Read the complete article

Baptist Leader Criticizes Trayvon Martin Support

Richard Land says racial profiling is “understandable” even as his organization tries to diversify

2012-04-16

Travis Loller The Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The head of the Southern Baptist Convention's public policy arm condemns the response of many black leaders to the Trayvon Martin case as "shameful." Some black pastors within the nation's largest Protestant denomination say Richard Land's comments are setting back an effort to broaden the faith's appeal beyond its traditional white, Southern base. Read the complete article

Analysis: Pope, Castro Talked Past Each Other

In his respectful send-off, President Raul Castro acknowledged the visit's greatest understatement: "We do not think alike on all matters"

2012-03-29

Paul Haven The Associated Press

HAVANA (AP) -- The spiritual leader of the world's Roman Catholics and the brothers who have carried Cuba along an increasingly solitary Communist path mixed warm smiles with the hard language of their respective camps during Pope Benedict XVI's three-day tour of Cuba. Read the complete article

Records Detail Mosque Spying; NYPD Defends Tactics

Cops took down info of worshippers, cataloged sermons via paid informants

2012-02-26

Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Police Department targeted Muslim mosques with tactics normally reserved for criminal organizations, according to newly obtained police documents that showed police collecting the license plates of worshippers, monitoring them on surveillance cameras and cataloging sermons through a network of informants. Read the complete article

Newark Mayor: NYPD Misled City on Muslim Spying

Rising Democratic star says he never authorized the surveillance action

2012-02-22

Samantha Henry and Dave Porter The Associated Press

Newark, N.J. (AP) -- Newark Mayor Cory Booker and his top police official say the city was misled by the New York Police Department and never would have authorized such wholesale spying on Muslims if they had known about it. Read the complete article

No Cussing in Class for Teachers, Arizona Lawmaker Says

"You're there to be educated," state senator says. "You're not there to talk smack."

2012-02-15

Michelle L. Price The Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) -- A teacher's role may be to expand a student's vocabulary, but one Arizona lawmaker wants to make sure that doesn't include four-letter words. Read the complete article

Georgia Pastor Apologizes to Jewish Group for Ceremony

Eddie Long wrapped in scroll, called a king; Anti-Defamation League says action was “really awful”

2012-02-08

ATLANTA (AP) -- A Georgia megachurch leader is apologizing to a Jewish group that criticized him for taking part in a ceremony in which he was wrapped in a religious scroll and exalted as a "king." Read the complete article