Rail workers in Australia's state of New South Wales have withdrawn a threat to hold a 24-hour strike in the middle of Pope Benedict XVI's first visit to Sydney and World Youth Day celebrations, the Australian said, citing a member of the labor union. The New South Wales state branch of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) has agreed to call off the strike after resuming talks over a wage dispute, the newspaper said, citing John Robertson, secretary of Unions NSW.

via bloomberg.com

Add another famous-named offspring to the Oaks Christian football roster. Nicholas Montana, a 6-foot-2 junior who is the son of NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, has enrolled at the private Westlake Village school.
Montana, the starting junior varsity quarterback at Concord De La Salle last season, filed his admission papers for Oaks Christian online last week.

via venturacountystar.com

The Church of England was thrown into turmoil last night over the issue of women bishops, as it rejected proposals that would have accommodated clergy strongly opposed to the historic change. In an emotional, sometimes bitter debate lasting more than seven hours, the General Synod voted against introducing separate structures and "superbishops", to oversee parishes opposed to women bishops, because they were seen as amounting to institutionalised discrimination.

via topix.net

The Church of England's move to accept women bishops further roiled an already troubled Anglican communion Tuesday, infuriating conservatives and complicating efforts to promote unity with the Roman Catholic Church. The Church of England's ruling body on Monday night voted to back women becoming bishops without giving traditionalist supporters of male-only bishops the concessions they had sought.

via news.yahoo.com

Australians protesting against Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Sydney took a creative turn on Wednesday, staging an "annoying" fashion show of T-shirts displaying anti-Catholic slogans.

via news.yahoo.com

The Jenner mosque attracts about 4,000 Muslims each week, with Friday prayers often spilling out on to the street. Now, after years of complaints from local residents, Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni has said he will close the mosque by August. A leading Roman Catholic has accused Mr Maroni of behaving like a fascist. He has rejected that charge.

via news.bbc.co.uk

The Church of England faced a key vote Monday on whether to allow women bishops, with more than 1,000 clergy threatening to quit the Church if its General Synod goes ahead with the move. A "yes" vote from the Church's ruling body could trigger an irrevocable schism in the worldwide Anglican Communion already embroiled in a divisive row over homosexuality.

via gay-religion.blogspot.com

The Church of England was thrown into turmoil last night over the issue of women bishops, as it rejected proposals that would have accommodated clergy strongly opposed to the historic change. In an emotional, sometimes bitter debate lasting more than seven hours, the General Synod voted against introducing separate structures and "superbishops", to oversee parishes opposed to women bishops, because they were seen as amounting to institutionalised discrimination.

via gay-religion.blogspot.com

Mourners who attended a viewing of former North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms on Monday remembered the conservative champion as the last politician of his kind. Helms, who died Friday after years of failing health, lay in a closed casket covered with a U.S. flag and flanked by state troopers at Hayes-Barton Baptist Church. The Republican, who served in the Senate from 1973 to 2003, worshipped there for decades and served as a deacon.

via news.yahoo.com

However, the code will fall short of safeguards demanded by traditionalists, such as allowing male "super-bishops" to cater for those against the reforms. Liberals said such moves would have created a two-tier episcopacy. A Church group will now draw up a draft of the as-yet unspecified safeguards to put before Synod next February.

via news.bbc.co.uk

With the two major parties' nominees for president apparently decided and attention turning to their vice-presidential choices, an old question inevitably arises in certain circles -- how to corral the "Catholic vote" in November. But the topic is being met with increasing skepticism by some who believe American Catholics base their votes on nearly as many factors as there are American Catholics.

via catholicnews.com

The Abrahamson family of New York City has a unique binary reality. They are both African-American and Hasidic Jews. In this week's Faith Matters conversation, the Abramsons discuss belonging to two communities that often misunderstand one another.

via npr.org

The Church of England has refused to deny that its most senior bishops held secret discussions with their Vatican counterparts this weekend in an historic union to topple the controversial Anglican push to admit gay unions and the ordination of women bishops. In an unprecedented turn of events, a handful of Pope Benedict XVI's most trusted advisers are believed to have met senior Anglican Bishops in York over the weekend to build closer inter-church ties - and to stymie the liberalisation of significant traditions.

via smh.com.au

A tablet said to date back to the first century BC could redefine links between the Christian and Jewish religions by predicting a messiah who would rise again after three days. Israel Knohl, a biblical studies professor at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, said his interpretation of the Hebrew text on the tablet could "overturn the vision we have of the historic personality of Jesus" Christ.

via afp.google.com

Two men who converted from Islam to Christianity went on trial Wednesday on charges that they illegally promoted the Christian faith in Algeria. Rachid Mohammed Seghir, 40, and Jammal Dahmani, 36, were already convicted in absentia for illegal practice of a non-Muslim religion in 2007 but asked for a new trial, as Algerian law allows, their lawyer said.

via washingtonpost.com