The Christian Century

Ever since she was a little girl, Savannah Uqdah longed to pose for pictures and strut down a runway with flashbulbs bursting. But as an observant Muslim who didn't want to violate Islam's tenets on modesty, the aspiring model assumed that designers wouldn't hire someone who was unwilling to show some skin.

After winning the Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for his expose of al-Qaida, journalist Lawrence Wright turned his eye toward another secretive and controversial religious movement.

The Church of Scientology boasts a glittering roster of celebrity adherents and landmark real estate. But beneath that surface, Wright says, sits a troubling web of deceit, violence and paranoia.

After all three Masses on the weekend of Jan. 19-20, parishioners of St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Springfield, Ill., were handed a statement written by Bishop Thomas Paprocki.

The bishop explained that St. Aloysius' pastor, the Rev. Thomas Donovan, "is suffering from a psychological condition that manifests itself in self-bondage as a response to stress."

The Arkansas Senate has passed a bill that lifts a ban on carrying concealed weapons in church.

The proposal, which goes to the Arkansas House for consideration, would allow churches to decide which, if any, worshippers with concealed carry permits can bring their firearms inside.

The measure passed 28-4 on Monday (Jan. 28), KATV reported.

VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican on Thursday (Jan. 24) defended the pope's choice to open a Twitter account even if it exposes him to insults and online abuse.

Do people really see a light at the end of a tunnel when they have a near-death experience? And could that be heaven up ahead?

That light is shining brighter than ever these days. Heaven is hot. Hotter even than that other place. Just ask any bookseller in America.

When thousands of abortion opponents gather on Friday (Jan. 25) on the National Mall for their annual protest march, they will be united in their fierce passion for ending a procedure that the Supreme Court legalized 40 years ago in the controversial Roe v. Wade decision.