EXCERPT from Laura Jones|The Global Dispatch The Pope will have immunity from prosecution regarding the mishandling of child sex crimes by staying within the walls of the Vatican, according to an anonymous Vatican source. Reuters reported Friday, Feb. 15, that church sources have explained that the retiring Pope Benedict would be “defenseless” if he leaves the MORE…
EXCERPT from Eric Dolan | The Raw Story: In brief video published by Big Think on Monday, physics professor Lawrence Krauss said that teaching school children incorrect facts about the age of the planet was a form of abuse. Krauss noted that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) recently declined to say how old the Earth was, MORE…
EXCERPT from Sarah Jones| PoliticusUSA.com: In New Mexico yesterday, Republicans treated us to “Exhibit A” legislation, introduced as House Bill 206. It criminalizes the ending of a pregnancy resulting from rape or incest in some cases, declaring the fetus to be evidence in a criminal trial. I’ve been pointing out for a while now that MORE…
EXCERPT from Eric Dolan | The Raw Story: Legislation proposed in the Missouri House of Representatives on Wednesday would require schools to treat the theory of evolution and intelligent design equally. The Missouri Standard Science Act states the theory of evolution must be taught side-by-side with intelligent design in public elementary and secondary schools. The MORE…
EXCERPT from The Local Cooperation between the Lower Saxony Institute for Criminology (KFN) and the German Bishops’ Conference ended due to unacceptable interference by the Church, KFN director Christian Pfeiffer told broadcaster Deutschlandfunk on Wednesday. He said the institute had already been told by the Church that its services would no longer be needed after MORE…
EXCERPT from Reuters/HuffingtonPost: Atheists and other religious skeptics suffer persecution or discrimination in many parts of the world and in at least seven nations can be executed if their beliefs become known, according to a report issued on Monday. The study, from the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), showed that “unbelievers” in Islamic countries MORE…
EXCERPT from Christian Right Leader Lauds Uganda Dictator as ‘Kill the Gays’ Bill Is Revived | Alternet: In the past week the Family Research Council has been busy praising Uganda’s commitment to Christian faith and “national repentance” — even as the Ugandan Parliament once again takes up a bill that would legally mandate the persecution MORE…
EXCERPT from Bill Morlin | SPLC / Salon.com: A confessed serial killer and bank robber who took his own life in an Alaska jail cell on Sunday was exposed to the racist and anti-Semitic beliefs of Christian Identity theology during his childhood in a rural corner of Washington state, Hatewatch has learned. Israel Keyes, 34, now linked MORE…
EXCERPT from Lucy Sherriff | Huffington Post UK A university’s Christian society has banned women from speaking at events and teaching at meetings, unless they are accompanied by their husband, it has been revealed. The Bristol University Christian Union (BUCU) had originally decided women would be allowed to teach at meetings after their international secretary MORE…
EXCERPT from Tana Ganeva | Alternet: …. The primary demon fighter in the modern Christian world is the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a global network of Charismatic Christian ministries devoted to Dominionism, the idea that they must take over public institutions in order to save America and the world from … demons (and gays, of MORE…
EXCERPT from BBC News Goodluck Caubergs died the day after nurse Grace Adeleye carried out the procedure without anaesthetic, Manchester Crown Court was told. The jury heard the 66-year-old only used scissors, forceps and olive oil at an address in Chadderton, Greater Manchester in April 2010. Mrs Adeleye denies manslaughter by gross negligence. The court MORE…
EXCERPT from Rory Callinan and Josephine Tovey | Sydney Morning Herald MORE than 70 per cent of the Brothers from the St John of God order are suspected child abusers and the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney should immediately shut it down, says a psychologist who was employed by the order to meet scores of victims. MORE…
EXCERPT from Tricia Bishop | The Baltimore Sun The Catholic-school teacher had a pre-teen student pinned to the ground in his Baltimore classroom, the girl’s blouse open and her chest exposed when the doorknob suddenly turned and the school principal — a nun — burst in. The screaming girl thought she was about to be MORE…
EXCERPT from Laura Gottesdiener | Alternet: In Kentucky, a homeland security law requires the state’s citizens to acknowledge the security provided by the Almighty God–or risk 12 months in prison. The law and its sponsor, state representative Tom Riner, have been the subject of controversy since the law first surfaced in 2006, yet the Kentucky MORE…
EXCERPT from Agence France-Presse / The Raw Story: RIYADH — Denied the right to travel without consent from their male guardians and banned from driving, women in Saudi Arabia are now monitored by an electronic system that tracks any cross-border movements. Since last week, Saudi women’s male guardians began receiving text messages on their phones MORE…
EXCERPT from Scott Bauer | AP/MontereyHerald.com: A federal lawsuit filed by a Wisconsin-based group representing atheists and agnostics argues that the Internal Revenue Service is violating the U.S. Constitution by allowing tax-exempt churches and religious organizations to get involved in political campaigns. The Freedom from Religion Foundation argues that churches and other religious organizations have MORE…