October (Web-only) 2004

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No commentary today. Here's a roundup of some of the religion news from this weekend.

Spain wants wall of separation between state/Catholic Church:

• Church and state clash, noisily, in Spain | Summarizing the country's mood, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the new Socialist prime minister, said the other day that Spaniards wanted more freedom, less dogma and a greater separation of church and state. "They want more sports, less religion,'' he said. (The New York Times)
• Vatican cardinal denounces Spain proposal | The Vatican (news - web sites)'s top official for family issues decried as a "sad step" Saturday the Spanish government's proposal to allow homosexuals to marry and adopt children. (Associated Press)
• Lay fundamentalism hits Spain | Relations between the Spanish government and the Roman Catholic church are tense as the socialist cabinet prepares to take action on a number of issues which are "holy" ground to the church authorities. (Radio Netherlands)

Catholicism:

• Communion and illness in conflict | Haley Waldman, 8 years old, with stringy brown hair and a sensitive stomach, comes from a Roman Catholic family, and her mother is on a quest for her to take holy communion the same way as any other Catholic girl. But Haley cannot eat wheat. (The New York Times)
• Spiritual sister aids cancer patients | Modesty is something that Sister Christiane Lehair has in bagfuls, under-playing the importance of her new role as the first chaplain to be appointed by Macmillan Cancer Relief. (BBC)
• The faithful commemorate pope's visit to city in 1979 | Larry Kulik believes the Holy Spirit descended on Chicago 25 years ago--the day Pope John Paul II conducted mass at Five Holy Martyrs Church. (Chicago Tribune)

Pope's beatifications:

• Pope beatifies last emperor of Austria; reaction mixed | Pope John Paul II put the last Austro-Hungarian emperor on the road to sainthood on Sunday in a solemn beatification ceremony in St. Peter's Square, a move that has sharply divided opinion in Austria. He also beatified the 19th-century German mystic whose visions helped inspire Mel Gibson's film "The Passion of the Christ." (The New York Times)