CALIFORNIA

Religion's defender in a secular age
National Post
"Huston Smith likes to say that he drank in religion with his mother's milk. Growing up in the 1920s the child of Methodist missionaries in China, Smith absorbed not only the Christian faith of his parents but also the very different Taoism of local peasants, a religion filled with auguries and necromancy."

MASSACHUSETTS

Boston cardinal outlines why settlement was rejected
The Associated Press
"BOSTON - Cardinal Bernard Law on Sunday acknowledged the anguish caused by the archdiocese's withdrawal from a settlement with 86 alleged victims of sexual abuse and said he would seek an 'equitable solution.'"

OHIO

Walk circle, seek self
The Cincinnati Enquirer
"SYCAMORE TOWNSHIP - About to embark on a new cycle of life, some seniors at Sycamore High School are being exposed to the use of labyrinths as another tool in man's search for meaning. A labyrinth is a path with concentric circles that people walk for personal, psychological and spiritual insight."

UTAH

Downtown Can Have a Future, LDS Church Says
The Salt Lake Tribune
"The LDS Church is a bit dismayed with Salt Lake City's fair-weather Main Street tenants and property owners. Nordstrom, for starters."

Abuse Spans Many Faiths
The Salt Lake Tribune
"SNOWBIRD -- It is not only Roman Catholic priests who are guilty of abuse. People of many faiths are vulnerable to victimization by leaders they trust -- even religiously trained psychotherapists can be guilty, said attendees at this weekend's meeting of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors."

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Muslim cleric defends American Taliban
United Press International
"WASHINGTON -- In a rare interview earlier this week, the man who taught American Taliban John Walker Lindh at a Muslim seminary described him as a religious man who prayed till late into night."

Islamic group starting U.S. voter drive
The Associated Press
"WASHINGTON - The Council on American-Islamic Relations has started a campaign to register more than 100,000 Muslim voters before the November elections."

WYOMING

Martin's Cove Sale Debated
The Associated Press
"CASPER -- A proposal in Congress to sell a historic site to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was praised Saturday by some people as an effort to boost understanding of pioneer history but criticized by others concerned the church would put its own spin on history."

CHINA

Anti-Cult Forum Draws Large Audience in Hong Kong
The People's Daily
The anti-Falun Gong forum, which attracted some 230 Hong Kong organizations and 1500 people, went into the second day (May 6) at the Hong Kong Cultural Center.
Note: The People's Daily is a pro-communist China newspaper. The Chinese government is hostile twoard Falun Gong.

ECUADOR

Healers help football club over dog-killing curse
Ananova
"Healers have been asked to remove a curse believed to be on an Ecuadorian football club because of its dog-killing fans."

INDIA

Gandhi's dream: Muslim-Hindu rift jeopardizes vision for India
The Associated Press
"AHMADABAD, India - Mohandas Gandhi's wooden spinning wheel still stands among the simple throw pillows where he once sat cross-legged, threading cotton, receiving world leaders and promoting his vision of a unified, secular India."

'Secular' education for Bangladeshi clerics
BBC News
"The United Nations in Bangladesh has launched what it says is a groundbreaking scheme to train future Muslim clerics in sex-education, Aids and women's empowerment."

ISRAEL

Many Christians Leaving Holy Land Out of Fear
Knight Ridder News Service
"BETHLEHEM, West Bank -- In the past month, Bshara Hamdel, 7, has started drawing tanks instead of birds. His twin sister, Lara, runs in fear whenever she hears gunshots or the rumble of Israeli tanks. That's one reason why the Hamdels, who are Orthodox Christians, are planning to leave Bethlehem and move to California, where they have relatives."

KENYA

Muslims angered by media bias
The Daily Nation
"Muslims yesterday accused the Western media of failing to understand their religion. Islam had "deliberately been misconceived to be synonymous" with terrorism and unjustified war, they said."

Sect denies it plans forced circumcision
The Daily Nation
"Members of the controversial Tent of the Living God sect have denied claims that they planned to circumcise women by force. They termed the allegations as malicious."

PHILIPPINES

Church losing parish flock to cult
The Sun-Star
"CEBU -- For the cult Sagrada Familia in Lamac, Pinamungajan, Cebu, their breakaway from the Roman Catholic Church is an attempt at reliving the old days when everybody shared many things and prayer spoke about being united in a community."

Police baffled by Haraka: What kind of group is it?
The Manila Times
"The police cannot seem to make heads or tails of the Haraka, a little-known group that is said to run two terrorist training camps in Central Luzon."

SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Arabia bans 'indecent' cloaks
BBC News
"Saudi Arabian authorities have confiscated thousands of full-length black cloaks for women for violating strict Islamic law (Sharia), a Saudi newspaper has reported."

SOUTH AFRICA

Murder linked to Satanism
News24.com
"East London - Police suspect that Satanists might be involved in the murder of a 21-year-old East London man, Gunther Walter Brandstetter."

Sangoma 'prescribed' rape
News24.com
"Neslpruit - A father appeared in court on Friday after he allegedly raped his daughter because a sangoma said it would cure him of an illness."

TUNISIA

Arabs fight Islamists, with few rules
The Christian Science Monitor
"TUNIS - Over the course of his eight years in prison, Lassaad Jaouhari was, he says, subjected to the full spectrum of Tunisia's torture treatments."

ZIMBABWE

Witch Hunter Allegedly Rapes Beatrice Woman
The Herald
"HARARE -- A SEKE witch hunter allegedly raped a 20-year-old woman at Muda Farm in Beatrice were he had gone to perform a cleansing ceremony two weeks ago."

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