The Christian Century

c. 2012 Religion News Service CLEVELAND (RNS) In an extraordinary move, the Vatican has reversed the closure of 13 churches in the Diocese of Cleveland, saying the parishes must be restored and the sanctuaries reopened for worship, according to activists who fought the closings.

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) The Obama administration is rejecting charges by the nation's top Catholic bishop that talks to modify a controversial birth control mandate are "going nowhere" because of alleged White House intransigence and efforts to diminish the central role of the bishops.

British police say they have investigated more than 80 witchcraft-based child abuse cases in the last decade and warned that the practice is "far more prevalent" than previously believed.

Authorities say the belief in witchcraft is widespread and growing in some African immigrant communities in Britain.

c. 2012 Religion News Service NEW ORLEANS (RNS) The Church of God in Christ has lifted the suspension of a New Orleans bishop after a judge ruled that the charges of forcible rape, sexual battery and indecent behavior brought against him were too old to prosecute.

Strapped for cash and paid staff, Rick Santorum has enlisted a ragtag but politically potent army to keep his campaign afloat: homeschoolers.

Before winning three primaries on March 6, plus Alabama and Mississippi on March 13, Santorum was urging homeschoolers to organize rallies, to post favorable features on social media and to ring doorbells on his behalf.

c. 2012 Religion News Service, HIGHLAND PARK, N.J. (RNS) Saul Timisela was ordered to report to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Newark early Thursday (March 1) morning to be deported.

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) Mitt Romney has trounced Rick Santorum, an ardent Catholic, among Catholic voters, but Romney's support among evangelicals has wavered thus far in the GOP presidential primary, according to a new analysis of exit poll data.