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Church report: Children safer from abuse; more work to do
June 13th, 2012
05:03 PM ET

Church report: Children safer from abuse; more work to do

By Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog co-editor

(CNN) - Children in the Catholic Church are safer 10 years after the church initiated reforms in the wake of the priest abuse scandal, but there is still work to be done, according to a report delivered to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Meeting in Atlanta, the bishops heard from Al Notzon III, the chairman of the National Review Board, on the progress made 10 years after they tasked the lay group with "advising the bishops on the handling of sexual abuse of minors by clergy."

Notzon delivered the report to the clergy leaders in a morning session. "There has been striking improvement in the Church’s response to and treatment of victims," the report said. "Children are safer now because of the creation of safe environments and action has been taken to permanently remove offenders from ministry.”

But Notzon was quick to point out, "much work still needs to be done."

FULL POST

- CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor

Filed under: Belief • Bishops • Catholic Church

Unbelieving preachers get help to 'come out' as open atheists
Minister-turned-atheist Jerry DeWitt speaks at ReasonFest in Kansas earlier this year.
June 13th, 2012
10:47 AM ET

Unbelieving preachers get help to 'come out' as open atheists

By Dan Merica, CNN

(CNN) - Jerry DeWitt entered the ministry when he was 17, launching a 25-year career as a Pentecostal preacher. He traveled all around his home state of Louisiana, preaching and ministering wherever he could.

All these years later, DeWitt, 42, is still on the road, and now takes his message all over the United States. But the nature of that message, along with his audience, has changed dramatically.

DeWitt is now an avowed atheist, and his audiences are made up of religious “nones,” the growing number of Americans who are atheist, agnostic, humanist or just plain disinterested in identifying with a religion. Today, DeWitt preaches a gospel of disbelief.

FULL POST

- Dan Merica

Filed under: Atheism • Christianity

June 13th, 2012
05:18 AM ET

Belief Blog's Morning Speed Read for Wednesday, June 13

By Laura Koran, CNN

Here's the Belief Blog’s morning rundown of the top faith-angle stories from around the United States and around the world. Click the headlines for the full stories.

From the Blog:

CNN: Daughter's 911 call to report megachurch pastor is released
With a calm voice and collected manner about her, a 15-year-old girl called Fayette County 911 to report that her father punched and tried to choke her. The call led police to the suburban Atlanta home of megachurch pastor Creflo Dollar and ultimately resulted in a night behind bars on Friday. He admits trying to restrain her but denies punching or choking her.

CNN: Pew survey: Doubt of God growing quickly among millennials
The percentage of Americans 30 and younger who harbor some doubts about God’s existence appears to be growing quickly, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. While most young Americans, 68%, told Pew they never doubt God’s existence, that’s a 15-point drop in just five years.

FULL POST

- CNN's Laura Koran

Filed under: Uncategorized

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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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