The Christian Century

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) Retired United Methodist Bishop Leontine T.C. Kelly, the first African-American woman elected to the episcopacy by a major religious denomination, died Thursday (June 28). The teacher, pastoral leader and activist was considered a pioneer for her ministry of more than two decades. She was 92.

First Lady Michelle Obama held up the church as the place to deal with political issues and the catalyst for getting people to the polls in a speech June 28 to members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

The Supreme Court’s split decision on the new health-care law was mirrored days earlier by divided public opinion, according to a national survey.

A poll taken days before the high court’s ruling upholding most of the Affordable Care Act found that 43 percent of Americans said the court should not overturn the law, and 35 percent hoped it would.

c. 2012 Religion News Service LONDON (RNS) Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams criticized some Christians for feeling so "embarrassed and ashamed and disgusted" over homosexuality that they seem unwelcoming to outsiders and convey a lack of understanding.

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) The leading advocacy group for victims of sexual abuse by clergy is urging Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput to defrock the priest convicted last week of shielding other clerics who preyed on children. But laicizing Monsignor William Lynn is not as simple as it sounds.

c. 2012 Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) A new documentary exploring the ethical implications of sperm donation is creating a buzz among religious audiences.

A breakaway traditionalist Catholic group has rejected a Vatican document that was supposed to lay the foundation for the group’s reconciliation with Rome. The move came after three years of complex negotiations between the Vatican and the Society of St.