The Christian Century

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) When President Obama last week bowed to political reality and changed the rules on mandated contraception coverage, the White House was trying to find an elegant solution to a political conundrum. Under the revised plan, insurance companies -- not faith-based institutions -- would arrange for the coverage and pay for it.

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) The White House has surprised observers and disappointed some liberal allies by signaling that it is willing to compromise and provide a broader religious exemption in its controversial regulations requiring all employers to provide free contraception coverage.

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) Just days after Rick Santorum surged to a virtual tie for first in the Iowa caucuses, conservative activists at an invitation-only summit along the South Carolina coast were buzzing about the former Pennsylvania senator's sudden and promising breakthrough.

For Americans who take note of the pomp and circumstance—and politics— at the Vatican, the big news in January was that Pope Benedict XVI had included New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan and former Baltimore Arch­bishop Ed­win O'Brien among the 22 churchmen that he will install as cardinals at a mass at St. Peter's.

American Episcopalians upset with their denomination's acceptance of gay and female clergy can now convert to the Roman Catholic Church while keeping many cherished traditions in a special new U.S. diocese that was established on New Year's Day by Pope Benedict XVI.

Even by the depressed metrics of Southern California's real estate market, the Catholic Diocese of Orange negotiated a sweet deal when it purchased the iconic Crystal Cathedral, the longtime pulpit of Robert H. Schuller and the backdrop to his popular Hour of Power television broadcasts.

If Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney can secure the nomination, his Mormon faith shouldn't be an obstacle for voters in the general election, according to a recently re­leased survey.