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Agreement signed to rebuild church at ground zero
The old St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church stood in the shadow of the World Trade Center before 9/11.
October 14th, 2011
04:08 PM ET

Agreement signed to rebuild church at ground zero

By Dan Merica, CNN

(CNN) - A decade after the 9/11 attacks, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America agreed Friday to rebuild the destroyed St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Manhattan.

The agreement stipulates that the church be rebuilt near the original site with slight modifications to the archdiocese's desired plans, the most noticeable being a nondenominational bereavement center at the east end of the structure.

“Rebuilding St. Nicholas Church, with a nondenominational bereavement center, is not just good news for the Greek Orthodox community, but for all New Yorkers,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. “With this agreement, we are continuing New York’s collective healing, restoration and resurgence.”

FULL POST

- CNN Belief Blog

Filed under: 9/11 • Belief • Christianity • Church • Church and state • New York • United States

October 14th, 2011
03:04 PM ET

Kansas City bishop indicted on child endangerment charge

By the CNN Wire Staff

(CNN) - Catholic Bishop Robert W. Finn and the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph have been indicted by a grand jury on a charge of child endangerment, the Jackson County prosecutor said Friday in Kansas City, Missouri.

The prosecution alleges that Finn failed to report suspected child abuse by one of his priests. The class A misdemeanor carries a potential sentence of up to a year in jail and a fine up to $1,000, said prosecutor Jean Peters-Baker.

"This case is about protecting children," she said.

The bishop and the diocese each entered a plea of not guilty Friday, she said.

Read more about this story from CNN affiliate KCTV.

FULL STORY
- CNN Belief Blog

Filed under: Bishops • Catholic Church

Lawyer: International pressure has not helped Iranian pastor’s case
Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was charged with apostasy for converting from Islam to Christianity
October 14th, 2011
12:21 PM ET

Lawyer: International pressure has not helped Iranian pastor’s case

By Dan Merica, CNN

Washington (CNN) - International pressure mounting in the apostasy trial of a Christian pastor in Iran has “not had any impact on the Iranian court,” the attorney for Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani told CNN on Friday.

“They (the court) work on the evidence and Iranian law,” said lawyer Mohammad Dadkah. “I don’t think the statements from the United States has had any impact either on this case as this is all going through the Iranian justice system, which is based on the law and evidence.”

Nadarkhani's trial has become a cause célèbre for a number of Christian organizations in the United States and abroad. Many of these groups took to Facebook, Twitter and websites in an attempt to energize their followers to protest the pastor's treatment.

FULL POST

- CNN Belief Blog

Filed under: Christianity • Courts • Crime • Iran

Pray for the President? Yes thou shalt.
A Christian group organizes prayer for public officials including the president. Image from their website www.presidentialprayerteam.com
October 14th, 2011
09:04 AM ET

Pray for the President? Yes thou shalt.

By Dave Schechter, CNN

(CNN) -
Republican presidential contender Rick Perry recently urged social conservatives to pray for President Barack Obama.

“As I campaign for president, I not only ask you for your vote and your support, I ask for your prayers. I ask you to pray for our country. I ask you to pray for our president to give him wisdom, to open his eyes,” the Texas Governor told an audience in Florida last month.

Doing just that is the stated mission of the Presidential Prayer Team.

Conceived in November 2000 in an adult Sunday school class in Scottsdale, Arizona, the PPT – or “The Prayer Team,” as it calls itself – takes its charge from the words of the Apostle Paul to his disciple Timothy: “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

“We believe prayer is the most important power in this entire world,” PPT president Jim Bolthouse tells CNN. The idea is simple: prayer moves God and God moves the leaders.

FULL POST

- CNN Belief Blog

Filed under: Barack Obama • Belief • Christianity • Church and state • Politics • Prayer

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About this blog

The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.

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