Articles by Daniel Burke

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Just how long did Jesus stay in the tomb?

Apr 14, 2011 by Daniel Burke

(RNS) As Christians worldwide prepare to celebrate Easter, they will follow a familiar chronology: Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and rose from the dead on "the third day," in the words of the ancient Nicene Creed.

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Catholic bishops report seven abuse cases during 2010

Apr 12, 2011 by Daniel Burke
WASHINGTON (RNS) U.S. Catholic bishops announced Monday (April 11) that sexual abuse accusations against Catholic clergy increased in 2010, and auditors found 57 dioceses do not follow church guidelines on child protection.
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Court says Adventist postmen can't get Saturday off

Apr 04, 2011 by Daniel Burke

(RNS) Neither snow nor rain nor Saturday Sabbaths should keep a Missouri mailman from his appointed rounds, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Seventh-day Adventist Hosea Harrell argued he was the victim of religious discrimination when the U.S. Postal Service refused to give him Saturdays off. Harrell took the days off anyway and was fired in 2008.

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Hajj suit raises host of questions

Apr 01, 2011 by Daniel Burke
WASHINGTON (RNS) In 2008, Safoorah Khan, a math teacher in Illinois, asked for 15 days of unpaid leave (19 days including weekends) to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, an obligation for all Muslims.
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Senate hearing looks at Muslim rights, harassment

Mar 29, 2011 by Daniel Burke

It was billed in Washington as the first-ever congressional hearing on the civil rights of American Muslims. But it played more like a second act than a premiere.

In many ways, the hearing led by Senate Democrats on March 29 was the dramatic antithesis of one that House Republicans held earlier in the month on homegrown Islamic radicalism.

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Bishops push back on allowing gay couples in housing

Mar 28, 2011 by Daniel Burke
WASHINGTON (RNS) U.S. Catholic bishops are urging federal housing officials not to adopt proposed rules that would bar groups that receive federal funds from discriminating against gays, lesbians or transgender persons in housing programs.
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For second time, Vatican keeps parishes open

Mar 08, 2011 by Daniel Burke
(RNS) For the second time in recent months, the Vatican has overruled a U.S. bishop's decision to close churches in his diocese, a rare reversal that Catholic activists hope heralds a new trend.

The Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy has ruled that the Diocese of Allentown (Pa.) did not present "grave" reasons for shuttering nine churches in 2008.
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Would you pay to see John the Baptist's tooth?

Mar 03, 2011 by Daniel Burke

BALTIMORE (RNS) Martina Bagnoli admits that the exhibit she helps curate here at The Walters Art Museum may gross some people out.

After all, the display includes 2,000-year-old teeth, shards of bone and splinters from a first-century execution device. But these are not just any teeth, bones and splinters.

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Catholic bishops back Wis. union protesters

Feb 24, 2011 by Daniel Burke
WASHINGTON (RNS) The U.S. Catholic bishops on Thursday (Feb. 24) threw their moral weight behind the pro-union protesters in Wisconsin, saying the rights of workers do not abate in difficult economic times.
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National debt is new hot issue for evangelicals

Feb 16, 2011 by Daniel Burke
WASHINGTON (RNS) Many economists warn that the government's huge national debt is a looming threat to long-term prosperity. But is it also immoral?

According to a growing number of conservative Christians, the answer is a resounding "Yes."
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Top church official indicted in Philly abuse probe

Feb 14, 2011 by Daniel Burke
(RNS) Advocates for victims of clergy sexual abuse are hailing the indictment of a senior Roman Catholic official in the U.S. on charges of endangering the welfare of a child for failing to remove abusive priests from ministry.
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PCUSA court clears cleric in gay marriage case

Feb 09, 2011 by Daniel Burke

The top court of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has found a Boston minister not guilty of violating church rules against performing gay marriages. The narrow ruling keeps the churchwide ban in place.

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Biggest obstacle for Catholic nuns lies at home

Feb 08, 2011 by Daniel Burke
(RNS) If she had listened to her parents, Sister Jenn Graus might never have professed vows last month to join the Congregation of St. Joseph.

Though lifelong Catholics, Graus' parents had met few nuns or sisters near their home in Sterling Heights, Mich., and assumed most were cloistered in remote convents.
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Catholic hospitals, bishops reach accord

Feb 03, 2011 by Daniel Burke

In the wake of public spats between the Catholic hierarchy and health-care executives, the Catholic Health Associa­tion publicly acknowledged that bishops—not doctors or hospital ethicists—have the final say on questions of medical morality.

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Critics raise concerns about House hearings on Muslims

Feb 03, 2011 by Daniel Burke
WASHINGTON (RNS) A coalition of more than 50 Muslim, human rights, and faith organizations is urging House leaders to raise concerns about planned hearings this month on the "radicalization" of American Muslims.
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Anglican archbishops end meeting on a quiet note

Jan 31, 2011 by Daniel Burke

(RNS) Anglican archbishops concluded their six-day summit in Ireland on Sunday (Jan. 30) by issuing statements on a host of international issues, including violence against women in Africa, political chaos in Egypt, and the murder of a gay rights activist in Uganda.

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Why is Hollywood obsessed with Catholic exorcisms?

Jan 24, 2011 by Daniel Burke
(RNS) For nearly 40 years, Hollywood has been obsessed with the possessed.

Since the 1973 blockbuster "The Exorcist" unleashed a head-spinning, pea-soup spewing, foul-mouthed and demon-possessed girl on the American imagination, a host of films featuring exorcisms have hit the silver screen.
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Catholic bishops won't support repeal of health care bill

Jan 19, 2011 by Daniel Burke
WASHINGTON(RNS) The U.S. Catholic bishops will not join efforts to repeal the new health care law, even though they staunchly opposed the bill last year after concluding it permits federally funded abortions.
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Obama evokes Niebuhr, black church

Jan 13, 2011 by Daniel Burke

Expecting a speech, Americans instead heard a sermon. Drawing on scripture, theology and the rising rhythms of black preaching, President Obama was more pastor than politician at a memorial service in Tucson for the victims of the January 8 shooting in that Arizona city.

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Religious leaders call for calm, civility

Jan 10, 2011 by Daniel Burke
(RNS) Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas was thousands of miles away from the shooting rampage that rocked his Arizona diocese on Saturday (Jan. 8), but the emotional shock hit him hard.