Pope John Paul II nears sainthood
VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II has moved a step closer to sainthood.
A Vatican official says a commission of theologians approved a miracle attributed to his intercession, clearing a key hurdle.
The case now goes to a commission of cardinals and then Pope Francis. John Paul’s canonization is possible in autumn to coincide with the 35th anniversary of his election.
The Polish-born pope has been on the fast track for sainthood ever since retired Pope Benedict XVI waived the traditional five-year waiting period and allowed the investigation into his life and virtues to begin just weeks after his 2005 death.
John Paul was beatified in 2011.
- The Associated Press
Funds blocked for religious schools
CONCORD, N.H. - A judge has declared New Hampshire’s new scholarship program unconstitutional but allowed it to continue as long as none of the money goes to religious schools.
Under the program created last summer, businesses get tax credits for donating to a private organization that awards scholarships to students attending either private or public schools.
The program’s supporters argue it would provide educational choice to low-income parents, while opponents have cast it as a back-door voucher system that diverts taxpayer money to religious schools.
The program was enacted by Republican lawmakers who overrode a veto by then-Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat.
- The Associated Press
Deportation edges closer for cleric
AMMAN, Jordan - Jordan’s King Abdullah II has endorsed a treaty with Britain that sets the stage for the possible deportation of radical Muslim preacher Abu Qatada.
Last week, Jordan’s parliament ratified the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance, intended to ease human rights concerns preventing the deportation of the cleric, whose real name is Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, from Britain to Jordan.
Abdullah’s endorsement came in a royal decree published in Jordanian newspapers Tuesday.
Abu Qatada is wanted in Jordan for retrial in several terror cases in which he was sentenced in absentia.
- The Associated Press Streisand faults Jewish practices
JERUSALEM - Entertainer Barbra Streisand waded into one of Israel’s touchiest issues Monday on the first major stop of her tour of the country - Jewish religious practices that separate men and women.
Speaking at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she received an honorary doctorate, she took aim at cases of ultra-Orthodox Jews targeting women.
“It’s distressing to read about women in Israel being forced to sit in the back of the bus or when we hear about ‘Women of the Wall’ having metal chairs thrown at them when they attempt to peacefully and legally pray.”
She was referring to incidents in which ultra-Orthodox men tried to force women to sit separately at the rear of buses in their neighborhoods, as well as more serious clashes in which ultra-Orthodox Jews tried to prevent women donning prayer shawls and carrying Torah scrolls from praying at the Western Wall.
Religion, Pages 12 on 06/22/2013