Pope: Basilica bones belong to apostle St. Paul
Scientific tests prove bones housed in the Basilica of St. Paul in Rome are those of the apostle St. Paul himself, according to Pope Benedict XVI.
“Tiny fragments of bone” in the sarcophagus were subjected to carbon dating, showing they “belong to someone who lived in the first or [...]

Papal visit would not be welcome in wake of Ryan report
POPE Benedict XVI is not entirely welcome here in the wake of the damning Ryan report, a survey found.
More than half of people surveyed do not want a second papal visit following the revelations in the report on child abuse.
An online survey by radio station [...]

Atheist Bus Campaign Draws Official Complaint

A private citizen has filed a complaint with the Council of Ethics in Advertising over the atheist bus campaign, which has plastered buses in some cities with atheist slogans.
According to the petition, the cheery ad campaign for atheism is slanderous and [...]

Scientology leadership rife with physical violence, report says

Clearwater, Fla. — The leader of the Church of Scientology struck subordinates numerous times and set an example for physical violence among the tightly controlled religion’s management team, four former high-ranking executives told a newspaper for a story published Sunday.
The executives, who have since left the organization, told [...]

Milwaukee Group Seeks Fiery Alternative to Materials Challenge
Life grows more interesting by the day for officials of the West Bend (Wis.) Community Memorial Library. After four months of grappling with an evolving challenge to young-adult materials deemed sexually explicit by area residents Ginny and Jim Maziarka, library trustees voted 9–0 June 2 to maintain the [...]

Abusive priest Gannon gave boy an ‘anatomy lesson’
A FORMER Melbourne priest who sexually abused young boys over an 18-year period from 1958 refused to apologise for indecently assaulting an 11-year-old for fear of a compensation claim being made against the church, a court has heard.
Retired Catholic priest Desmond Laurence Gannon, 79, told police last year [...]

Dead girl ‘punished in cold bath’
A seven-year-old girl allegedly starved to death by her mother and mother’s partner was made to sit in a cold bath as a punishment, a court has been told.
In video evidence shown at Birmingham Crown Court, a 12-year-old girl said that she herself had been made to stand in front [...]