U.S. : Religion
AP - Newt Gingrich thrust the reproductive rights issue into the GOP campaign spotlight on Tuesday, criticizing both Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama's records on requiring Catholic organizations to provide contraceptive aids in some circumstances. Rick Santorum vowed to make the issue a central part of his struggling campaign.
AP - A German court has rejected the claim of two Jewish women for extra pension payments for work they did under the Nazis in ghettos.
Religious license plates for sale in SC (AP)AP - South Carolina drivers can buy religious license plates that feature three crosses and a sunrise.
Pope may visit Lebanon in September (AP)AP - The Vatican is confirming that Pope Benedict XVI may travel to Lebanon later this year.
Axelrod defends administration birth control rule (AP)AP - A political adviser to President Barack Obama said Tuesday the administration didn't intend to "abridge anyone's religious freedom" with its regulation requiring church-affiliated employers to cover birth control for their workers.
French minister's remarks seen as Muslim putdown (AP)
AP - France's interior minister has walked into a firestorm of controversy with his weekend comments that some civilizations — notably his own — are worth more than others.
AP - Pope Benedict XVI has named a new bishop for the Salina, Kansas, diocese.
Catholics urged to write Congress on birth control rule (Reuters)Reuters - American Catholic clergy called on the faithful to write Congress to protest new birth control rules from President Barack Obama's administration, stepping up a campaign that began a week ago with denunciations from the pulpit at Masses across the country.
Ga. pastor apologizes to Jewish group for ceremony (AP)AP - A Georgia megachurch leader is apologizing to a Jewish group that criticized him for taking part in a ceremony in which he was wrapped in a religious scroll and exalted as a "king."
Gingrich raps New York's Bloomberg on religion issue (Reuters)Reuters - Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich inserted himself into the long-running controversy about whether religious groups should be allowed to hold services in New York City public schools, and accused Mayor Michael Bloomberg of being "anti-religious."
