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August 22nd, 2013
03:07 PM ET
Gay detective's mother booted from churchBy Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor (CNN)–The mother of a gay detective has been booted from the Tennessee church she attended for decades. Elders at Ridgedale Church of Christ told Linda Cooper and two relatives that their public support for Kat Cooper, Linda Cooper's gay daughter, went against the church's teachings, local media reported. In a private meeting, reports say, Linda Cooper was given a choice: publicly atone for their transgressions or leave the church. Linda left the church. Kat Cooper is a detective with the Collegedale Police Department. This month, she fought successfully for health benefits for her same-sex spouse, Krista, from the town.  Pope Francis graduated as a chemical technician before moving on to study philosophy, psychology and theology.
April 11th, 2013
03:13 PM ET
Vatican seeks to rebrand its relationship with scienceBy Florence Davey-Attlee, CNN (CNN) - Dropping to his knees before the 10 cardinals of the Inquisition, dressed in the white shirt of penitence, Galileo Galilei was forced to retract his "heretic" theory that the Earth moved around the Sun. Threatened with torture and interrogated for 18 days, the scientist, who was imprisoned in the 17th century, promised to never again teach the theory and spent the rest of his life under house arrest in his small farmhouse outside of Florence. Galileo's fate was very different from that of other scientists at the time of the Inquisition. Some were executed for threatening the church's teachings. Italian astronomer Giordano Bruno, an Italian philosopher who argued that the universe was infinite, was burned at the stake. Now in 2013, as Pope Francis settles into his new role as leader of the Catholic Church, the Vatican's head of science is urging a re-think of the "mischaracterization" of the relationship between the church and science. The Vatican would like the world to see how much this relationship has changed. FULL STORY
April 2nd, 2013
10:34 AM ET
Pope embraces disabled boy on Easter(CNN)–A mother who was with her husband and five children in St. Peter's Square for the holiday helped lift her young son with cerebral palsy, Dominic, into the arms of Pope Francis for a blessing after Easter Mass. Christiana Gondreau describes the touching moment to CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "There was not a dry eye around us. It was really, really moving," she says. "Not in a million years, really, did I expect to end the Easter Sunday Mass with a kiss from the pope. It was very beautiful."
March 25th, 2013
10:10 AM ET
My Take: Will gay rights infringe on religious liberty?
By Marc D. Stern, Special to CNN (CNN) - It was inevitable that the debate over same-sex marriage would have a strong religious component. This is partly because it involves such questions as the interpretation of biblical passages that, on their face, condemn homosexuality as a sin. But it also involves squaring the authority of ancient texts with modern theological understanding and developments in biology. And of course, the importance of love and human autonomy as religious values should be considered. Those issues surfaced in the various briefs filed in the Supreme Court, some of which are written as if the court must inevitably choose one religious point of view as the winner and the other as the loser. This is a false choice. The Court can make all winners, or at least avoid allowing one side to suppress the other's deepest beliefs. The U.S. Supreme Court has not been asked - nor could it possibly answer - the question of what God or the Bible thinks about same-sex marriage. Religious groups are divided on that question, some supporting and others opposing same-sex marriage. And even if the religious viewpoint were clear, it should play no direct role in deciding whether the Constitution requires the states or the federal government to recognize same-sex marriage. Our government should not act to further one or another religious view of contested moral issues. FULL STORY
March 18th, 2013
10:39 AM ET
Pope Francis energizes world's Catholics(CNN)–CNN's Ben Wedeman looks at how the personable character of Pope Francis is energizing Catholics around the world.  Michelangelo's "The Last Judgment" is seen through the Sistine Chapel doors on April 16, 2005. The painting, on the wall above the altar, was completed in 1541.
March 6th, 2013
01:18 PM ET
Electing a pope: What's taking so long?By Richard Allen Greene, CNN Rome (CNN) - In and around the Vatican these days, there's one question everyone keeps asking: When is the conclave to elect the new pope going to start? The cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church aren't saying, but they're sending a clear message: They will not be rushed. As of the seventh day after Pope Benedict XVI flew off into the sunset, the voting cardinals hadn't even all arrived in Rome, leaving the world wondering what's taking so long. But don't be fooled. The conclave matters, but it isn't the only game in town. What's happening now is at least as important.
February 27th, 2013
08:41 PM ET
Was Benedict XVI the right man for the job?By Richard Allen Greene, CNN Rome (CNN) - Thirty-five years before a German intellectual named Joseph Ratzinger ascended the throne of St. Peter and took the name Benedict XVI, a very different intellectual named Laurence Peter coined a rule which he named after himself: the Peter Principle. Put simply, the Peter Principle says that people who are good at their jobs get promoted, and if they're good at their new jobs, they keep getting promoted - until they get to a job they're not good at, where they stay. As the troubled papacy of Benedict XVI limps to a close, it appears very possible that the rule describes Ratzinger's eight years at the head of the Roman Catholic Church. Call it the Throne of Peter Principle.
February 27th, 2013
11:44 AM ET
Should celibacy end for priests?(CNN)–Starting Point panel discusses a NY Times editorial suggesting the celibacy vow for Catholic priests is a bad idea.
February 27th, 2013
11:32 AM ET
Smoke signals: How is a new pope elected?By Ben Brumfield, CNN (CNN) - With Pope Benedict XVI leaving the papal office after resigning two weeks ago, the Catholic Church will have to rush to pick his replacement before Easter. Normally, the College of Cardinals is not allowed to select a new pontiff until 15 to 20 days after the office becomes vacant - usually when the previous pope has died. Benedict's resignation is a rare exception. The last man to quit the head of the Catholic Church did so 600 years ago. The situation calls for some rule bending, and having the current pope involved is proving advantageous. He has slightly amended the 500-year-old policy on pope selection to get a successor into place more rapidly. The cardinals may to be able to pull it off before March 15, according to Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi. FULL STORY
February 23rd, 2013
05:14 PM ET
Key moments in pope's resignationCNN's Becky Anderson looks at the key events and reactions since Pope Benedict resigned.
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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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Editor's note: Marc D. Stern is the general counsel of the American Jewish Committee and a contributor to the book, "Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty."