KANSAS CITY, Mo. The refrigerator door is where parents often show off their children's artwork and other achievements.

Drug gang banners appear in central Mexico city Pope will visit

RALEIGH, N.C. Soldiers who don't believe in God can go to war with "Atheist" stamped on their dog tags, but humanists and others with various secular beliefs are still officially invisible in the Army.

Voices of Faith: Can one experience the greatness of the Divine without prayer?

Ever since the closing of the Second Vatican Council in 1965, conservative and liberal Roman Catholics have been deeply divided over church teachings, many of them concerning marriage and sexual matters. Those who are more conservative would like to see the teachings remain in place, while liberals would like to see drastic changes. Now, suddenly, after decades of internecine bickering, liberals and conservatives among Catholics have joined forces on an issue. Strangely enough, it involves artificial birth control, one of the sorest points between the two factions.

In January, while conservative Christians and GOP presidential candidates were charging that "elites" have launched "a war against religion," a federal court in Rhode Island ordered a public school to remove a prayer mounted on a wall because it imposed a belief on 16-year-old Jessica Ahlquist. The ruling seems particularly fitting because it was consistent not only with the First Amendment but with the intent of Roger Williams, who founded Rhode Island expressly to provide religious liberty and who called such forced exposure to prayer "spiritual rape."

The following editorial appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Monday, Feb. 6:

The following editorial appeared in the Los Angeles Times on Sunday, Feb. 5:

The following editorial appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Friday, Feb. 3:

PARIS France's first public cemetery for Muslims was inaugurated Monday in the city of Strasbourg.

ATLANTA A Georgia megachurch leader is apologizing to a Jewish group that criticized him for taking part in a ceremony in which he was wrapped in a religious scroll and exalted as a "king."

LOS ANGELES Christina Blouvan-Cervantes had been battling aggressive leukemia when her blood count plummeted and she landed in the emergency room in Fresno, Calif. Her doctors told her a blood transfusion was her only hope. But her faith wouldn't allow her to receive one.

As Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney continues his drive to win his party's nomination, Mormons worry they could face a barrage of negative scrutiny, much like that which engulfed President Barack Obama's former church on Chicago's South Side four years ago.

LOS ANGELES The Catholic Church reacted strongly Friday to a White House defense of new rules that will force many religious employers to provide contraception to their workers in government-mandated health insurance plans.

WASHINGTON President Barack Obama, who rarely speaks of his faith, defended some of his administration's policies Thursday by saying they reflect his religious convictions.

LOS ANGELES Republicans look at Mitt Romney and see a future nominee or a Massachusetts moderate they can't support. Democrats see a formidable opponent with abundant vulnerabilities to exploit.

The following editorial appeared in the Los Angeles Times on Sunday, Jan. 29:

When you make as many mistakes as I do, it's good to get in the habit of learning from them. Just over four years ago, I made a big one about Mormonism, and I thank the good folks at The Baltimore Sun for giving me a chance to make it right.

ATLANTA Jewish leaders are criticizing a ceremony that involved a controversial megachurch leader being wrapped in a religious scroll and exalted as a "king" to the applause of his parishioners.

LOS ANGELES David Burcham stood before the altar in Sacred Heart Chapel at Loyola Marymount University. The midday sun beamed through the stained-glass windows and a crucifix loomed over his shoulder as the university president offered a stirring defense of the school's Roman Catholic legacy.

Jesus at mountaintop ski resort in US allowed to stay after feds reverse statue's eviction

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. Five years after an animal rights group complained about the treatment of chickens at an egg farm run by a Roman Catholic abbey in South Carolina, the monks are now earning their daily bread by growing mushrooms. It hasn't been easy or without frustration.

Voices of Faith: How can nonbelievers in God lead lives as good as many believers do?

MEDINA, Ohio Stephanie Morris believes the church should be a place where everyone is welcome.

PHILADELPHIA Cardinal Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua, 88, whose 15 years as shepherd of the 1.5 million-member Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia was marked by both celebration and crisis, died in his sleep Tuesday night in his apartment at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, a suburb of Philadelphia.

The series of weekend conventions of Jehovah's Witnesses being held at Toyota Center in Kennewick this summer continues today and Sunday. The convention is in Spanish.

Lutheran Church of the Master in Pasco is planning a night of ice cream and fellowship Thursday at the park near Maya Angelou Elementary School at 6001 Road 84.

Several events are planned at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Kennewick through Thursday as part of Parish Mission Week.

HERMISTON -- The Christian women's club Time Out will meet at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Pheasant Cafe banquet room in Hermiston.

A garage sale and bake sale to raise money for mission work in Haiti is from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 15-16 at 6514 W. Ninth Place, Kennewick.

Riverview United Methodist Church in Pasco will hold beach parties from 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday and Aug. 17.

Cathedral of Joy in Richland is holding the 2008 "No Hungry Child" Golf Tournament on Aug. 17 at Canyon Lakes Golf Course.