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	RELIGION NEWS: 1-JAN-12 - 12-MAY-12
	From	01-Jan-12						Copyright © 2011-2012 by Macroknow Inc. All Rights Reserved.
	To	12-May-12
	Days	133
	News Items	537
	Date	Event Category			Authors	Title	X	Event	Source	URL	Item
	03-Jan-12	REL	GOV	VIO	Edward Wong	Violent Clashes Reported in China Over Mosque Demolition		China: violent clashes between Muslims protecting their mosque and authorities that want to demolish it	NYT		1
	5-Jan-12	REL	VIO			Series of blasts leaves scores dead in Iraq: At least 70 killed and more than 100 wounded in the latest attacks in mainly Shia areas across the country		Iraq: a series of bomb attacks targeting Shia pilgrims killed ≥70 people	Al Jazeera-Agencies		2
	9-Jan-12	REL	ECON	POL	Pope Benedict XVI	Address to the Diplomatic Corps		Pope Benedict's annual “State of the World” address to the members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See: "Truly the world is dark wherever men and women no longer acknowledge their bond with the Creator and thereby endanger their relation to other creatures and to creation itself. The present moment is sadly marked by a profound disquiet and the various crises – economic, political and social – are a dramatic expression of this. Here I cannot fail to address before all else the grave and disturbing developments of the global economic and financial crisis. The crisis has not only affected families and businesses in the more economically advanced countries where it originated, creating a situation in which many people, especially the young, have felt disoriented and frustrated in their aspirations for a serene future, but it has also had a profound impact on the life of developing countries."	CatholicCulture.org		3
	11-Jan-12	REL	LAW			Supreme Court upholds 'ministerial exception' in landmark victory for religious freedom		Catholic World News: "the US Supreme Court ruled that religious bodies should set their own standards for hiring ministers, free from government interference"	CatholicCulture.org-Catholic World News		4
	11-Jan-12	VIO	REL		Craig Whitlock	Video appears to show troops urinating on corpses		Video on the Internet "purports to show Marines in combat gear urinating on the corpses of three Taliban insurgents"	Washington Post		5
	14-Jan-12	VIO	REL			Blast kills Iraqi Shia pilgrims in Basra		Iraq: a suicide attack killed ≥53 Shia Muslim pilgrims in Basra	Al Jazeera-Agencies		6
	15-Jan-12	PRO	REL		Tom Kington	Vatican protesters evicted by police		Rome: demonstrators aiming to set up a protest camp in St Peter's Square were evicted by police	The Guardian		7
	16-Jan-12	VIO	REL			Car Bombs Kill At Least 12 in Iraq		Iraq: car bombings killed ≥12 people, including women and children; many attacks have targeted Shia citizens	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters		8
	16-Jan-12	REL	BANK	FIN		L'Osservatore Romano questions ratings downgrade		L'Osservatore Romano questioned Standard & Poor's decision to downgrade 9 EU countries’ credit-worthiness	Vatican Radio		9
	19-Jan-12	REL	FREE			Pope to US bishops: Defend the Churches’ place in public square		Pope Benedict's to US bishops: " . . . it is imperative that the entire Catholic community in the United States come to realize the grave threats to the Church’s public moral witness presented by a radical secularism which finds increasing expression in the political and cultural spheres. The seriousness of these threats needs to be clearly appreciated at every level of ecclesial life. Of particular concern are certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion. Many of you have pointed out that concerted efforts have been made to deny the right of conscientious objection on the part of Catholic individuals and institutions with regard to cooperation in intrinsically evil practices. Others have spoken to me of a worrying tendency to reduce religious freedom to mere freedom of worship without guarantees of respect for freedom of conscience."	Vatican Radio		10
	23-Jan-12	POL	REL	MON	Nicholas Confessore. Contributor: Jeremy W. Peters	‘Super PAC’ for Gingrich to Get $5 Million Infusion		Sheldon Adelson and his wife Dr. Miriam Adelson reportedly contributed a total of $10 million to the super PAC "Winning Our Future." Sheldon Adelson is in the "gambling/leisure businesses"; he is a billionaire of Jewish provenance; his wife is an an Israeli physician [source: Wikipedia,   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Adelson]. Sheldon Adelson reportedly said at the Taglit Birthright event: “Read the history of those who call themselves Palestinians, and you will hear why [Newt] Gingrich said recently that the Palestinians are an invented people" [source: Revital Blumenfeld, "Sheldon Adelson to Birthright group: Gingrich is right to call Palestinians 'invented people,'" Haaretz, 26-Dec-2011, http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/sheldon-adelson-to-birthright-group-gingrich-is-right-to-call-palestinians-invented-people-1.403671]	NYT		11
	26-Jan-12	VIO	REL			New church attacks in northern Nigeria; thousands of Christians flee		22-Jan-2012: Nigeria: bomb attacks targeted 2 churches; up to 35,000 Christians have reportedly fled the Muslim area following a Boko Haram ultimatum	CatholicCulture.org		12
	27-Jan-12	VIO	REL		Dan Morse; Aziz Alwan	Bomb kills dozens in Baghdad Shiite district		Iraq: a suicide bomber killed at least 31 people in a Shia neighborhood	Washington Post		13
	28-Jan-12	VIO	REL		David Kerr	Military archbishop: US invasion led to fewer Iraqi Christians		According to U.S. Military Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, one of the legacies of America's invasion of Iraq in 2003 is the substantial decrease in the Catholic population of Iraq -- from over 800,000, to less than 150,000; Catholics were protected under Saddam Hussein -- they no longer are	Catholic News Agency		14
	28-Jan-12	VIO	REL		Mary Abdelmassih	Over 3000 Muslims Attack Christian Homes and Shops in Egypt, 3 Injured		Egypt: >3000 Muslims attacked Copts in a village; Coptic homes and shops were looted then torched	Assyrian International News Agency		15
	10-Feb-12	JUST	REL		Nirmala Carvalho	Gujarat massacre: government to rebuild more than 500 places of worship		India: Gujarat High Court ruling regarding >500 places of worship destroyed during the 2002 riots (>1,000 people were killed): the government of Gujarat will have to compensate and rebuild the destroyed properties	AsiaNews.it		16
	12-Feb-12	PRO	GOV	REL		Al-Qaida Leader Voices Support for Syrian Uprising		11-Feb-2012: Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri urged Muslims to support anti-government rebels in Syria and "called on Syrians not to rely on the West or Arab governments"	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters		17
	15-Feb-12	VIO	REL			Sharqia: Church and homes set on fire by some 2,000 Muslim extremists		Egypt: ~2,000 extremists, mainly Salafists, set fire to the Church of St Mary and St Abram in a village north-east of Cairo; peace was mediated by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party	AsiaNews.it		18
	16-Feb-12	REL	FIN	MEDIA		Pope Warns Against The Power Of Finance And Of The Media		15-Feb-2012: Pope Benedict XVI, on the force of evil: "two great powers which are good and useful in themselves but easily open to abuse: the power of finance and the power of the media. Both are necessary, both are useful, but so subject to misuse that they often go against their true goals. . . we see how the world of finance can dominate mankind. Possession and appearance dominate and enslave the world. . . Finance is no longer a tool to promote well being and to support the life of man, but a force that oppresses him, one which almost has to be worshipped. . . Be non conformists. What counts is not possession but existence. . . we have a great need of information, knowledge about the truth of the world; but there is a power of appearance which in the end counts even more than reality itself. . . Man no longer pursues the truth but wants above all to appear . . . there is a Christian non conformism. . .  We want not appearance but truth, and this will give us true freedom."	Vatican Information Service		19
	17-Feb-12	VIO	REL		Ali Afzaal. Contributors: Saud Mehsud; Jibran Ahmad; Qasim Nauman; Sanjeev Miglani (ed.)	Suicide bomber kills 26 in NW Pakistan, ignites protest		Pakistan: a suicide bomber targeted a Shia mosque and killed ≥26 people	Reuters		20
	18-Feb-12	REL				Composition Of The College Of Cardinals		Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the 4th ordinary public consistory of his pontificate, and created 22 new cardinals; the College of Cardinals has now 213 members, distributed as follows: Europe 119, North America (U.S.A. and Canada) 21, Latin America 32, Africa 17, Asia 20 and Oceania 4	Vatican Information Service		21
	21-Feb-12	REL				US apologises for Afghan 'Quran incident'		Afghanistan: hundreds of Afghans protested against US forces burning copies of the Quran	Al Jazeera-Agencies		22
	23-Feb-12	HEAL	REL	VIO	Alberto Giubilini; Francesca Minerva	After-birth abortion: why should the baby live? [J Med Ethics doi:10.1136/medethics-2011-100411]		Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva argue that "what we call ‘after-birth abortion’ (killing a newborn) should be permissible in all the cases where abortion is, including cases where the newborn is not disabled," because: "(1) both fetuses and newborns do not have the same moral status as actual persons, (2) the fact that both are potential persons is morally irrelevant and (3) adoption is not always in the best interest of actual people"	Journal of Medical Ethics		23
	24-Feb-12	PRO	VIO	REL		Fresh Anti-US Protests Erupt in Afghanistan		21-24-Feb-2012: Afghanistan: thousands protest against burning of Qurans; ≥22 people, including 2 Americans, were killed	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters		24
	25-Feb-12	VIO	REL			At Least 17 Killed In Nigeria Violence		Nigeria: bombings and shootings killed 17 people, including 5 worshipers	VOA News-AP-AFP		25
	27-Feb-12	VIO	REL		Anne Look	Christian Youths Kill 2 Muslims In Nigeria Church Bombing Revenge		Nigeria: Christians killed 2 Muslims in revenge for a bombing by Islamists of a church in which 3 people were killed and a Christmas day bombing of a Catholic church that killed ≥37 people	VOA News		26
	28-Feb-12	VIO	REL			Gunmen Kill 18 Shi'ites in NW Pakistan		Pakistan: gunmen ambushed a bus and killed 18 of it's Shia passangers	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters		27
	7-Mar-12	PRO	REL		A Guest	Vatican.va TANGO DOWN		Anonymous took down Vatican websites: "Anonymous has now decided to lay siege to your site in response to the doctrines, liturgies and the precepts absurd and anachronistic that your organization is for profit (Roman Apostolic Church) propagates and spreads worldwide. . . This is NOT intended to attack the true Christian religion and the faithful around the world, but to the corrupt Roman Apostolic Church and all its emanations."	Pastebin		28
	7-Mar-12	GOV	REL		Fredrick Nzwili	South Sudanese face deadline to leave the north		Sudan: ~500,000-700,000 people, mainly Christians, are being forced to move to South Sudan	ENI News		29
	8-Mar-12	REL	POL			Documents: Pius XII Favored a Jewish Homeland in Palestine		Documents reportedly reveal that Archbishop Eugenio Pacelli (future Pope Pius XII) favored a Jewish homeland in Palestine	Zenit		30
	9-Mar-12	BANK	LAW	REL	Tim Reid	Banks foreclosing on churches in record numbers		U.S.: banks are foreclosing on churches in record numbers; according CoStar, in 2011, 138 churches were sold by banks (up from 24 in 2008)	Reuters		31
	12-Mar-12	VIO	REL			Archbishop of Jos: Religious leaders must bring down tension in Nigeria		11-Mar-2012: Nigeria: a suicide car bomber attacked a Catholic church in Jos killing ≥10 people	Vatican Radio		32
	12-Mar-12	REL				Presentation Of Pontifical Yearbook 2012		The number of Catholics in the world increased from 1,181 million in 2009 to 1,196 million in 2010 (up 15 million or 1.3% YOY); over 2009-2010, the presence of baptised Catholics in the world has remained stable at ~17.5%	VIS News		33
	13-Mar-12	VIO	REL			Imam dies in arson attack on Belgian mosque		Belgium: arson attack on a Shia mosque killed its imam.	Al Jazeera: Agencies		34
	17-Mar-12	REL				Egypt's Coptic Christian Pope Shenouda III dies		Egypt: Coptic Christian Pope Shenouda III died at the age of 88	BBC News		35
	19-Mar-12	REL	BANK		Philip Pullella; Lisa Jucca	Vatican bank image hurt as JP Morgan closes account		JP Morgan Chase to close the Vatican bank's account; reason: lack of transparency at the Holy See's Institute for Works of Religion (IOR) [sources: Il Sole 24 Ore; Corriere della Sera; La Stampa]	Reuters		36
	20-Mar-12	VIO	REL		DS	Series of attacks in Iraq, dozens of dead. Church of St Mathew in Baghdad targeted		Iraq: the Syrian Orthodox Church of St. Matthew in Baghdad was targeted in bombings by Iraqi extremists on 20-Mar-2012 -- the 9th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq	AsiaNews.it		37
	21-Mar-12	RES	REL		Dr. Gudrun Kugler (director of the Observatory)	Report 2011		Dr. Gudrun Kugler, director of the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians: "Studies suggest that 85% of all hate crimes with an anti-religion background in Europe are directed against Christians . . ."	Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians		38
	23-Mar-12	REL				Apostolic Journey to Mexico and to the Republic of Cuba (March 23-29, 2012)		23-29-Mar-2012: Apostolic Journey to Mexico and to the Republic of Cuba	Vatican		39
	23-Mar-12	PRO	REL	FREE	Barbara Bradley Hagerty	Thousands Rally For Religious Freedom Nationwide		"Stand Up For Religious Freedom" rallies: thousands of people rallied across the U.S. against a perceived threat to religious liberties	NPR		40
	25-Mar-12	GOV	LAW	REL		Islamists Win Majority on Egypt's Constitution-Drafting Panel		Egypt: Islamists won a majority of seats on a 100-member constituent assembly; the assembly is tasked with drafting a new constitution	VOA News-AP-AFP		41
	30-Mar-12	REL	FIN	ECON		Jews And Catholics: The Economic Crisis Is A Crisis Of Moral Values		27-29-Mar-2012: 11th meeting of the Bilateral Commission of the Delegations of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with Jews: "while many factors contributed to the financial crisis, at its roots lies a crisis of moral values in which the importance of having, reflected in a culture of greed, eclipsed the importance of being; and where the value of truth reflected in honesty and transparency was sorely lacking in economic activity"	VIS News		42
	8-Apr-12	REL			Robert Berger	Thousands of Christians Converge on Jerusalem for Easter		Jerusalem: thousands of Christians celebrated Easter	VOA News		43
	23-Apr-12	REL	PRO		Nina Achmatova	Moscow, tens of thousands with Kirill in defense of the faith		22-Apr-2012: Moscow, Russia: thousands of people rallied in defense of the faith in Russia, organized by the Moscow Patriarchate to "protect the Church from the attacks of anti-Russian forces." Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill: "We are under attack by anti-Russian force. . . The danger is that blasphemy and mockery of religion are presented as a legitimate expression of human freedom, which must be protected in modern society."	AsiaNews.it		44
	23-Apr-12	VIO	REL	OIL	Mohamed Saeed	Muslim mob burns Catholic church in Sudan capital		Sudan: a Muslim mob of several hundred reportedly torched a Catholic church in Khartoum; hostilities between Sudan and South Sudan revolve around oil and borders	AP		45
	29-Apr-12	VIO	REL		Jon Gambrell. Contributor: Haruna Umar	21 killed in north Nigeria church service attacks		Nigeria: gunmen killed ≥21 people at a church service in Bayero University	AP		46
	1-May-12	REL	RES		David Briggs	Diversity rising: Census shows Mormons, nondenominational churches, Muslims spreading out across U.S.		Association of Religion Data Archives: 2010 U.S. Religion Census: 10-year statistics: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) grew to 6.14 million adherents (up by ~2 million); Protestant churches lost an average of 12.8%; Catholic churches lost 5% (down from 62 million adherents in 2000 to 59 million in 2010); the number of non-Christian congregations – synagogues, mosques, temples, etc. – increased from 8,795 in the 2000 study to 11,572 in the 2010 census (up 31.6%)	ARDA		47