AP-Religion Roundup
     
Update on the latest in religion news:

SUPREME COURT-BIBLE CLUB
     
Court won't get involved in Bible club question

     
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court has refused to hear an
appeal from Christian students whose proposed Bible club was denied
official recognition and funding at their high school.
     
Officials at Kentridge High School in Washington state refused
to charter the Truth Bible Club in 2001. They cited the group's
name, the fact that students would have to pledge to Jesus Christ
to vote in the club and that chartering the club would bring
religion into the school.
     
The club's would-be founders sued the Kent School District,
claiming discrimination. But the Supreme Court let stand a ruling
that the students' constitutional rights were not violated.
     
The school district says chartered student groups must be open
to all, without requiring a faith pledge or adherence to a
Christian code of conduct.

     
HONDURAS COUP-MAINE
     
Maine church group in Honduras following military coup

     
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Sen. Susan Collins of Maine says 60
people from her state are on a church mission trip in Honduras,
where the country's president was ousted in a military coup over
the weekend.
     
Honduran soldiers on Sunday seized President Manuel Zelaya and
deported him to Costa Rica. The overthrow came just hours before a
rogue referendum that Zelaya had called in defiance of the courts
and Congress, and which his opponents said was an attempt to remain
in power after his term ends Jan. 27.
     
Collins says 60 adults and youths from the All Souls
Congregational Church in Bangor are in Honduras on a volunteer
mission. Collins says her office has spoken with church officials,
who say everyone in the group is safe.

MAURITANIA-US-SHOOTING
     
Family of slain American forgives his killers

     
CLEVELAND, Tenn. (AP) - The parents of an American aid worker
slain in Africa have issued a statement on the eve of his funeral
-- forgiving his killers "by the grace of God," but asking for
justice.
     
Christopher Leggett's funeral is set for this afternoon in
Cleveland, Tennessee.
     
The 39-year-old Leggett was shot to death last week near the
school he helped run in Mauritania.
     
An Arab TV station aired a statement issued by an al-Qaida
spokesman who said the group killed Leggett because he was
allegedly trying to convert Muslims to Christianity.
     
The statement from Leggett's parents says, "By the grace of
God, we have forgiven the individuals who committed this terrible
act." But they also hoped that justice would be done.
     
The parents say the Leggett family, including their son's wife
and their four children, "love the people and country of
Mauritania."

OBAMA-GAY RIGHTS
     
Obama: Gay rights hindered by "worn arguments and old
attitudes"

     
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says that while he's
dedicated to expanding gay rights, many Americans still cling to
what he calls "worn arguments and old attitudes."
     
At a White House celebration of Gay Pride Month, Obama said,
"There are good and decent people in this country who don't yet
fully embrace their gay brothers and sisters -- not yet." To
change that, the president said he has promoted gay rights in front
of skeptical groups like members of black churches.
     
Obama said Congress should repeal what he referred to as "the
so-called Defense of Marriage Act." He also said his
administration is working to pass a hate crimes bill and to repeal
the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military.
     
The audience at the White House ceremony included Episcopal
Bishop Gene Robinson and other gay clergy.

GENERATION GAP
     
Study finds generation gap in religion, morals

     
WASHINGTON (AP) - A new study by the Pew Research Center finds a
wide generation gap between younger and older Americans when it
comes to religion and morality.
     
Asked to identify where older and younger people differ most, 47
percent cited social values and morality. People age 18 to 29 were
more likely to report disagreements over lifestyle, views on
family, relationships and dating. Young people expressed greater
tolerance toward same-sex marriage.
     
Religion was found to be a far bigger part of the lives of older
adults. About two-thirds of people 65 and older said religion is
very important to them, compared with just over half of those 30 to
49, and 44 percent of people 18 to 29. In addition, among adults 65
and older, one-third said religion has grown more important to them
over the course of their lives, while 4 percent said it has become
less important and 60 percent said it has stayed the same.

VATICAN-POPE
     
Pope signs new globalization encyclical

     
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Benedict has signed his latest
encyclical -- a text on making globalization more responsive to the
needs of the poor amid the worldwide financial crisis.
     
The document, titled "Charity in Truth," is expected to be
published soon. The pope has said it will outline goals and values
the faithful must defend to ensure solidarity among all peoples.
     
Benedict has frequently spoken out on the financial crisis,
urging leaders to ensure the world's poor don't end up bearing the
brunt of a downturn that wasn't their fault. He has said the
downturn shows the need to rethink the world's financial system.
      An encyclical is the most authoritative document a pope can
issue. Benedict has written two others in his four years as pope:
"God is Love" in 2006 and "Saved by Hope" in 2007.

VATICAN-ARCHBISHOPS
     
Pope consecrates new archbishops

     
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Benedict has consecrated 34 new
archbishops, including leaders of the Roman Catholic archdioceses
of New York, St. Louis, Detroit and New Orleans.
      At a Vatican Mass on Monday, Benedict said archbishops must
guide and protect the faithful as shepherds care for their flocks.
He said the archbishops should be like Christ, "who as a good
shepherd carried on his back humanity -- the lost sheep -- to bring
them home."
     
Archbishops Timothy Dolan of New York, Robert Carlson of St.
Louis, Allen Vigneron of Detroit and Gregory Aymond of New Orleans
were among those receiving the pallium, a band of lamb's wool
decorated with black crosses that signifies pastoral authority.
Britain's new Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, says the
crosses represent willingness to share in Christ's suffering.

SWITZERLAND-VATICAN-CONSERVATIVES
     
Catholic splinter group ordains more new priests

     
ECONE, Switzerland (AP) - A conservative Roman Catholic splinter
group has ordained eight new priests despite a Vatican warning that
they wouldn't be considered legitimate.
     
The of St. Pius X says the seven Frenchmen and one Swiss were
ordained Monday in Switzerland.
     
The group ordained three priests in Germany on Saturday and 13
in Minnesota the previous weekend.
     
The Vatican says the group has no status within the Catholic
church, and any of its ordinations "must be considered
illegitimate."

     
     
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)
     
AP-NY-06-30-09 0335EDT