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Religion

No new Lourdes miracles despite eased criteria

PARIS, Sep. 11, 2008 — When Bishop Jacques Perrier said the Roman Catholic Church would ease some criteria for miracles, skeptics foresaw a wave of pious believers claiming they had been healed at the famous shrine in his diocese of Lourdes.
New categories were needed, Perrier argued, because medical progress in recent decades had made it all but impossible to meet the strict scientific criteria for certifying miracles at the pilgrimage site in southwestern France. Perrier proposed the new categories -- declared, unexpected and confirmed healings -- to allow the Church to officially honor the pilgrim's recovery and the spiritual experience that went with it, even if it cannot be called miraculous.

A woman vice president? Sure. A woman pastor? Not likely.

Jane Hansen Hoyt serves as president and CEO of Aglow International, and thinks that women should have equal access to both politics and the pulpit. Religion News Service photo courtesy John Keatley/Aglow
WASHINGTON -- There may never be a female pastor leading Tony Perkins' Southern Baptist congregation in Louisiana, but there could be a woman taking over the vice president's mansion in WashingtonAnd as Perkins sees it, there's no contradiction there whatsoever. "It's not a spiritual role," said Perkins, president of the Family Research Council and a church elder, who calls Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin a "brilliant pick" for the Republican ticket. "An elected official is not a spiritual leader -- and that's what the Scripture speaks to."

Pope Benedict

VATICAN CITY, Sep. 10, 2008 — Pope Benedict and French President Nicolas Sarkozy would appear to be unlikely allies in a battle to inject more Christian values back into Europe.
Yet when he welcomes Benedict to France for a four-day trip to Paris and Lourdes starting on Friday, Sarkozy, twice divorced and now married to ex-supermodel Carla Bruni, will likely have the German pope nodding in agreement more than once. Sarkozy, who considers himself a "cultural Catholic" and attends Mass only occasionally, has been calling for a more active role for religion in public life and greater recognition of Europe's Christian roots.

Evangelical Leaders: Pregnancy Doesn't Derail Palin Support

Religion News Service
Evangelical leaders say the announcement that GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's teenage daughter is pregnant will not diminish their support for her candidacy.Palin, a first-term governor of Alaska, issued a statement with her husband, Todd, saying that they are proud of their daughter Bristol's "decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents."Focus on the Family founder James Dobson issued a statement within hours of the Monday (Sept. 1) announcement, congratulating the Palins for choosing to continue the pregnancy of a 17-year-old."They should be commended once again for not just talking about their pro-life and pro-family values, but living them out even in the midst of trying circumstances," he said.Evangelical leaders have previously praised the governor for choosing to give birth to her fifth child, Trig, despite his diagnosis with Down syndrome.Asked Tuesday if the family's announcement would dampen evangelicals' general support for McCain's vice presidential pick, Mathew Staver, dean of Liberty University School of Law, said "absolutely not." Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said the governor's daughter is "following her mother and father's example of choosing life in the midst of a difficult situation."