Pope Francis, Sex Abuse Scandal; Blasphemy, Islamists, Orthodox; Christianists, Creationists, In Bad Faith; Religion, Jesus

Pope Francis

• Pope makes first big decision naming advisory board—"Pope Francis, in his first major decision, ... set up an advisory board of cardinals from around the world to help him govern the Catholic Church and reform its troubled central administration."
• Pope Francis hits out at global 'cult of money'
• Church must help the poorest, not dissect theology, pope says

Sex Abuse Scandal

• Pope Francis calls for action on clerical sex abuse—Total opposite of his predecessor espoused.
• Cardinal who covered up pedophilia says he forgives those who are mad at him—Probably has also forgiven all the little boys and girls who seduced those poor oh-so-susceptible priests.
• $3 billion and counting: the sex-abuse scandal continues
• Outrage in Spain over video game that depicts Pope Benedict XVI as pimp for pedophile cardinals
• Australia: 'Catholic mafia' covered up Hunter abuse

Blasphemy

• Bangladesh protesters demand blasphemy law—"Hundreds of thousands of marchers call for law that would include death penalty for bloggers who insult Islam." The PM has so far rejected the notion.
• Russian MPs back harsher anti-blasphemy law—Church and State colluding to espouse censorship.
• Russian court denies punk band convict Tolokonnikova parole
• Qatar jails a Nepali teacher on charges of insulting Islam—Thankfully, he's been freed and back home in Nepal.
• Turkish pianist sentenced to jail for criticizing Islam on Twitter Salon

Islamists

• Egyptian Activists: Our Religion Is None Of Your Business
• Morocco's High Council of Ulemas's Death Sentence Fatwa on Apostates Sparks Controversy
• Gaza police shaving heads of long-haired youths—"Police in Hamas-ruled Gaza have started grabbing young men with long or gel-styled spiky hair off the streets, bundling them into jeeps, mocking them and shaving their heads."
• 'Modesty police' arrests ratchet fears of radicalized Islam in Gaza
• Indonesia teens accused of blasphemy over Maroon 5 dance
• No 'Happy Easter': The Muslim Brotherhood's Bizarre Religious Intolerance
• They're taking our children—'West Papua's youth are being removed to Islamic religious schools in Java for 're-education...'"

Orthodox

• Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest over Israeli army enlistment
• Orthodox men hurl stinkbombs at women praying at Jerusalem's Western Wall
• No More Play Dates? Sex-Segregated Park Opens in New York
• Culture war erupts in Israel over attempts to end preferential budgets for ultra-Orthodox
• Them and Them—"Up in Ramapo, the immigrant community and the growing population of Hasidim had eyed each other with increasing wariness. Then the Orthodox took over the public schools and proceeded to gut them."
• In Israel, new modesty glasses for Orthodox Jewish men blur women out of their line of sight
• Orthodox Jewish Man Covers Himself In Plastic Bag On Plane

Christianists

• North Carolina Republican Equates Praying to Allah with Terrorism
• Detroit: Christian Extemists Force Cancellation Of Annual Dearborn Arab Fest
• Mississippi high school forces students to attend Christian lectures: lawsuit
• Some Don't Like BioShock's Forced Baptism. Enough To Ask For A Refund
• The Quiverfull: The evangelical Christians opposed to contraception

Creationists

• snopes.com: 4th Grade Science Quiz—The South Carolinian school administrator "was shocked at the level of hate that the atheists poured down upon her, the teacher, and the school in general."
• Senators again reject repeal of Louisiana Science Education Act
• Why Americans Love Creationism

In Bad Faith

• 2nd Child of Pa. Couple Dies After Only Praying—The other children have been getting court-ordered medical care.
• Opinion: Faith healing is criminal in modern society
• Doctors win right to save Jehovah's Witness boy's life

Religion

• Christianity declining 50pc faster than thought – as one in 10 under-25s is a Muslim
• Belief in Angry God Associated with Poor Mental Health
• Man Sues Bishop for Failing to Exorcise Flatulent Demons
• Papua New Guinea Considers Repealing Sorcery Law—"The prime minister has vowed to repeal a controversial sorcery act after the latest in a string of brutal public killings of people accused of practicing black magic." NYT
• 10 Faked Historical Miracles

Jesus

• A Feud Between Biblical Archaeologists Goes to Court—"Jacobovici has claimed to have some of the bones of Jesus and his family, their DNA from ossuaries. 'If the remains were reburied, then there could not have been any true resurrection.'"
• The Three Christs of Ypsilanti—A psychiatric case that "details the interactions of the three patients... who each believed himself to be Jesus Christ."
• Shape-Shifting Jesus Described in Ancient Egyptian Text

#MuslimRage, Freedom of Speech, Australia, Pakistan, Schism, Religion Under Attack, Intolerance of Religion

#MuslimRage

• Egypt's mufti urges Muslims to endure insults peacefully--"Muslims angered by cartoons mocking the Prophet Mohammad should follow his example of enduring insults without retaliating...."
• Rage, but also self-criticism--"Though most Muslims felt insulted by a film trailer that disparaged the Prophet Muhammad, many were embarrassed by the excesses of protesters and preachers."
• A Letter from a Scared "Innonce of Muslims" Actress
• British woman among those killed in Afghanistan suicide bombing
• Comedy Ensues as Twitter Users Hijack Newsweek's #MuslimRage Hashtag

Freedom of Speech

• On the Freedom to Offend an Imaginary God
• To ban or not to ban? German right-wing group to show anti-Islam film.
• U.N. Chief: Mohammed Filmmakers "Abused" Freedom Of Expression
• French weekly fuels Mohammad row with nude cartoons- Foreign Ministry shut down everything
• Danish Mohammad cartoonist rejects censorship
• Judge Refuses to Order YouTube to Remove Anti-Islam Film
• The Onion: No One Murdered Because Of This Image

Australia

• Video captures 8-year-old 'Jihad girl' urging Islamic uprising
• Middle East protests: mother of toddler who held 'beheading' sign turns herself into police
• Non-Australian protesters face deportation if charged
• Activists 'hijack' plans for peaceful pro-Islamic protest
• Muslim leaders call to 'stop all protests'--"Islamic leaders in Western Australia have urged local Muslims not to rally as Sydney prepares for possible further demonstrations after last Saturday's riots."

Pakistan

• Friday Will Be A Holiday To Protest Film Mocking Islam
• Pakistan businessman accused by film protesters of blasphemy for not closing shops--"[F]ollowing an argument that broke out when he refused to join their protest...."
• Pakistani teachers lead children to chant 'Death to America'
• Pakistan blocks cell phone service amid ongoing protests over anti-Islam video
• Pakistani Protester Burns American Flag and Dies From Smoke

Schism

• Christian monastery is target of political vandalism in Israel--"A Christian monastery near Jerusalem was defiled overnight by vandals, who set the front door on fire and spray-painted insults to Christianity, including 'Jesus is a monkey' on the outside walls."
• Vatican official says Israel fostering intolerance of Christianity
• Catholics call for Israeli hate-crime crackdown

Religion Under Attack

• Religious intolerance on the rise worldwide, says US report--"Pew Research Centre report says the US and UK are among countries showing a worrying rise in religious discrimination."
• Some Religious Leaders See a Threat as Europe Grows More Secular NYT
• Christians should 'leave their beliefs at home or get another job'

Intolerance of Religion

• Fox News host wants 'South Park' investigated for blasphemy
• Mormons Baptized Obama's Mother: CONFIRMED--In the name of the FSM, I baptize all dead Mormons as Satanists.
• Salman Rushdie: Satanic Verses 'would not be published today'--He also talks about how the fatwa changed his life
• Iranian woman may be deported and stoned to death — despite new evidence in her case
• Rick Perry Blames Satan For Separation Of Church And State
• Fired for My Family--A teacher at a Catholic school in Indiana was fired after the school discovered that she used IVF to try to become pregnant.
• Girls beat up Iran cleric over dress code--We only get the man's side.

Lego Week, Church and State, Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, Afghanistan, Atheism, Scientology, International News

Lego Week

• 2011 in Lego: the year's news - in pictures
• Lego tells Europe how to rebuild, brick by brick
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Cult of Lego
• Occupy Wall Street: the Lego Set
• See the world's tallest lego tower

Church and State

• David Cameron says the UK is a Christian country
• Schools insert God into Australian anthem
• Bishop of London attacks top public school after it demolishes its chapel

Ultra-Orthodox Judaism

• A Clash of Cultures in the Holy Land--"Ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups in Israel would like to see gender separation in public, and some have stooped to harassing women -- and even children -- to get their way. With thousands of Israelis protesting against the growing influence of the super-religious, the rift in Israeli society is getting deeper."
• Petition to protest ultra-Orthodox discrimination against 7-year-old Beit Shemesh girl
• Israeli ultra-orthodox Jews clash with police--They've done this sort of thing before.

Afghanistan

• Either Your Phone Plays Taliban Ringtones, or You Die--"Vendors in Kabul are doing a brisk trade in Taliban ringtones. Because Afghans report that the Taliban kill travelers at clandestine checkpoints if they don’t hear one of their messages on someone’s phone."
• Can Theater Transform Kabul?--"Established in 2005, the Aftaab Theater provides a refuge and sense of liberation for young people seeking to carve out a future in a country where many feel out of control of their own lives. Those behind the rejuvenation of the theater hope that it can play a role in reviving the creative and artistic freedoms that fell victim to the dictates of Taliban rule."
• Afghan women boxing for equality--"Female boxers in Afghanistan - overcoming threats from conservatives who think the sport is taboo - are hoping to win gold at the London Olympics. "

Atheism

• Penn Jillette: An Atheist's Guide to the 2012 Election
• Do Christians believe in atheists? UBC study finds believers distrust atheists as much as rapists
• Christians issue death threats over Twitter hash tag

Scientology

• Conflict at the heart of Scientology is exposed in bitter email outburst--A high-ranking member isn't happy with the way the money is being handled.
• Scientology's Cruise Ship as Prison: The Voice Interviews Valeska Paris
• The Church of Scientology’s friends in Washington Salon
• Russian court bans Scientology literature as ‘extremist’
• Church of Scientology facing back-pay claims

International News

• Vatican stunned by Irish embassy closure
• Canada "honor killings" on trial: An Afghan immigrant allegedly killed his daughters
• Catholics prepare for first new translation of the English Mass in decades
• A Jew of No Religion--"An Israeli novelist gets a legal writ of divorce between Jewish ethnicity and religion."
• Girl's baptism banned by judge after court battle--"[A magistrate] determined that the girl should make up her mind about being baptised when she was older."
• Police shave mohawks off punks at Indonesia concert
• Boy 'tortured and drowned' over witchcraft claims, court told