Religion items in the SLC Tribune

Usually, it is as I am looking at diverse news sources that something catches my eye for inclusion in this blog. Today, I was struck by the items in the hometown newspaper. (Well, actually, there are two hometown papers - The SLC Tribune [describing itself as "Utah's Independent Voice since 1871] and the Deseret News).

** Massacre at a Catholic Church in the Congo with both the government forces and the rebel armies accusing each other of perpetrating the atrocity.
Church folks are frequent pawns in territorial conflicts as one side or another try to prove something. Wouldn't it be wonderful if churches could be considered "off-limits" in such territorial conflicts?

** Teen sexual abstinence pledges - which are predominantly religiously based - do not reduce the number of teens who become sexually active. Teens who make such pledges, though, engage in riskier sex, that is they are less likely to use condoms or other birth control methods. This is based on a new definitive study from Janet Rosenbaum of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
I hope this finally convinces the US Government, local school boards, parents, ministers, and churches that the best way to reduce unwanted teen pregnancies is through a comprehensive sex education program that includes the message of abstinence and proper instruction in birth control methods. Unfortunately now, with the Freedom of Conscience ruling pushed through HHS by the Bush White House, pharmacists can honor their own religious preferences and refuse to provide any birth control methods to anyone, even if prescribed by a doctor. I wonder who thought that would help the situation?

** A Catholic man in Maine who is an outspoken critic of the way the Roman Catholic Church has dealt with the sexual abuse scandal has been threatened by Bishop Malone with losing the right to participate fully in the sacraments of the church if the man persists.
I do not know what the man has done to annoy the Bishop, but doesn't this seem to be an abuse of ecclesiastical power to tell someone that God's presence and grace will be withheld from them for protesting? I am glad that I do not have that power in the Congregational Church.

** It has been interesting to me for a number of years to see how various religious groups put aside religious differences in order to achieve a common goal. I speak here most prominently of campaigns to limit marriage to one man and one woman, campaigns to deny rights and benefits to homosexual couples, campaigns to limit abortion, and campaigns to promote abstinence-only sex education in public schools. This was seen most recently and publicly in the joining together of the LDS Church and the conservative Christian groups like Focus on the Family in the California blitz on Prop 8. Perhaps now, that alliance is beginning to show cracks. As a result of pressure from other, more (?) conservative Christian groups, FotF has pulled an on-line interview with Glenn Beck, conservative talkshow superstar, from its website because he is a convert to the LDS Church. Quoting from the article, the FotF spokesperson said, "While Glenn's social views are compatible with many Christian views, his beliefs in Mormonism are not. Clearly, Mormonism is a cult."
Does this qualify as a "love 'em and leave 'em" policy after they - whichever they you may name - are no longer useful?

What do you think, good reader? Do you pay attention to the religion and culture items in your own newspaper?