Pope Benedict XVI Seeking Immunity From Prosecution For Mishandling Child Sex Abuse Allegations

Pope Benedict XVI Seeking Immunity From Prosecution For Mishandling Child Sex Abuse Allegations

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…

Physicist Lawrence Krauss on teaching creationism: It’s child abuse

Physicist Lawrence Krauss on teaching creationism: It’s child abuse

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…

Republicans Turn Victims of Rape and Incest into Felons and Forced Incubators

Republicans Turn Victims of Rape and Incest into Felons and Forced Incubators

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…

Missouri Republican proposes bill to require teaching of ‘intelligent design’

Missouri Republican proposes bill to require teaching of ‘intelligent design’

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…

Catholic Church thwarts child abuse investigation

Catholic Church thwarts child abuse investigation

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…

Report: Atheists, Humanists Suffer Persecution World Wide

Report: Atheists, Humanists Suffer Persecution World Wide

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…

Christian Right Leader Lauds Uganda Dictator as 'Kill the Gays' Bill Is Revived

Christian Right Leader Lauds Uganda Dictator as ‘Kill the Gays’ Bill Is Revived

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…

Alaska serial killer raised racist, anti-Semitic

Alaska serial killer raised racist, anti-Semitic

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…

Bristol University's Christian Union Bans Women From Speaking At Meetings

Bristol University’s Christian Union Bans Women From Speaking At Meetings

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…

Dominionists: Demons Make the Gay, and Theocracy is the Cure

Dominionists: Demons Make the Gay, and Theocracy is the Cure

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…

Manchester baby boy 'bled to death after circumcision'

Manchester baby boy ‘bled to death after circumcision’

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…

A Year in Jail for Not Believing in God? How Kentucky is Persecuting Atheists

A Year in Jail for Not Believing in God? How Kentucky is Persecuting Atheists

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…

Saudi Arabia implements electronic tracking system for women

Saudi Arabia implements electronic tracking system for women

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…

Atheist group sues over tax code

Atheist group sues over tax code

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…

Five Ways The Religious Right Imploded In 2012

Five Ways The Religious Right Imploded In 2012

EXCERPT from Jack Jenkins | ThinkProgress: When election returns began pouring in on Tuesday, progressives were quick to declare the election a resounding victory for President Obama, Democratic candidates, and progressive ideals such as marriage equality and the DREAM Act. A deeper look at Tuesday’s results reveals that the 2012 election season was also a MORE…