Preachers

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19 Stories

June 2008
- Boo Hoo: Firebrand Priest Suspended
  
  Chicago Tribune | Jun 4, 08 6:38 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The controversial Catholic priest who mocked Hillary Clinton in a guest sermon from the pulpit of Barack Obama's church has been suspended from his own parish, reports the Chicago Tribune . Father Michael Pfleger was ordered to take a weeks-long leave of absence by Chicago's cardinal, "to reflect on his recent statements." Pfleger didn't agree that the leave was merited, the cardinal noted. More »
May 2008
- Obama Repudiates Preacher Over 'White Tears' Slam
  
  MSNBC | May 30, 08 3:27 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama has had to apologize for another troublesome preacher at his home church, reports MSNBC. The Rev. Michael Pfleger—a white Catholic priest widely known as Chicago's "renegade" priest for his liberal social activism in the city’s black community—mocked Hillary Clinton in a guest sermon, saying she squirted tears on the campaign trail because her sense of white entitlement had been punctured by Obama's success. More »
- A Double Standard for White Preachers?
  
  Washington Post | May 2, 08 2:11 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - While Jeremiah Wright is hammered from all sides for his left-wing rhetoric, Washington Post writer EJ Dionne Jr. wonders why the same degree of backlash fails to surface over extreme statements from right-wing white preachers. Among many examples: Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell famously linked feminists and gays to the 9/11 attacks, but prominent Republicans such as John McCain still vied for their backing. More »
- Church Builds Wright $1M Home in Pricey Chicago 'Burb
  
  New York Post | May 1, 08 1:11 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Jeremiah Wright is set to retire to a $1 million mansion paid for by Trinity United Church of Christ. The 10,400-square-footer is in a tony Chicago suburb, and comes with butler’s pantry, elevator, and whirlpool, the New York Post reports. The church is listed as owner; an unexplained $10 million line of credit is attached to the property. More »
April 2008
- Offended, Black Ministers Decry Wright's Comments
  
  Los Angeles Times | Apr 30, 08 1:49 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Jeremiah Wright's ideas don't "represent mainstream black thought on Sunday morning," black ministers and parishioners tell the Los Angeles Times —and they're worried that his recent comments are offensive and damaging to Barack Obama’s candidacy. “This didn’t have anything to do with the black church—it was basically an attack on the individual message he proclaimed, which hurt some individuals,” says one pastor. More »
- Pundit's Pontificating Draws Fire
  
  Newsday | Apr 21, 08 11:58 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Not for the first time, people are calling for Bill Maher's head—in this case for taking pot shots at Pope Benedict XVI on his HBO show. "If you have a few hundred followers and you let some of them molest children, they call you a cult leader," Maher said. "If you have a billion, they call you 'pope.'" He also made a joke about the pontiff's membership in the Hitler Youth group as a child. More »
- Wright Takes Cross Over Racial Divide
  
  New Yorker | Apr 6, 08 8:39 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama pastor Jeremiah Wright built his Chicago church on black liberation theology, which directs Christianity at African Americans, Kelefa Sanneh writes in the New Yorker . The movement’s founder aimed to “emancipate the gospel from its ‘whiteness,’” but also from Frederick Douglass’ belief that antebellum America had profoundly perverted Christianity. More »
March 2008
- Wright 'Would Not Have Been My Pastor': Clinton
  
  Washington Post | Mar 25, 08 6:30 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - After a week’s silence, Hillary Clinton spoke today on the Jeremiah Wright flap, saying the ex-minister at Barack Obama's church “would not have been my pastor,” the Washington Post reports. She said “getting up and moving” would have been the right choice for Obama. “You don't choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend,” Clinton added. More »
- Mac's Pastor: Make War on Islam
  
  Mother Jones | Mar 13, 08 2:30 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The popular televangelist described by John McCain as a "spiritual guide" has called on Christians to "wage war" to destroy the "false religion" of Islam, reports Mother Jones . Apparently, McCain could lead those Christian soldiers, with powerful Ohio megachurch leader Rod Parsley endorsing the candidate as a "strong, true, consistent conservative." McCain appeared at a rally last month with Parsley days before his successful Ohio primary. More »
February 2008
- 'Osama bin London' Convicted
  
  Times (UK) | Feb 26, 08 2:50 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - An extremist preacher who called himself "Osama bin London" has been convicted of organizing terrorist training camps and promoting murder, the London Times reports. Mohammed Hamid trained five of the terrorists who undertook a thwarted attack at outdoor sights in suburban London. He mocked the death toll from the 7/7 London bombings: "Fifty-two? That's not even a breakfast to me." Three others were convicted of attending the training camps. More »
January 2008
- Shunning Makes a Comeback in US Churches
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jan 20, 08 10:08 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - In an effort to reclaim their churches' role as moral authority, many Protestant ministers have reinstated the all-but-lost practice of shunning unrepentant sinners from their congregations. And while nobody's yet had to pin a scarlet "A" to their Sunday best, the consequences of the puritanical revival have weighed heavy on some so-called sinners, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »
December 2007
- Mike's Church Trip Annoys Catholics
  
  Reuters | Dec 24, 07 3:34 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee may have alienated some Catholic supporters with yesterday's visit to Cornerstone, the mammoth evangelical church in Texas run by controversial pastor John Hagee. Hagee has suggested that the Roman Catholic Church played a part in the Holocaust, though the outspoken preacher claims he is not anti-Catholic, Reuters reports. More »
- Senator Attacks Free-Spending Megachurches
  
  NPR | Dec 5, 07 3:34 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Sen. Charles Grassley thinks big-spending pastors of so-called “megachurches” might be abusing their tax-exempt status, NPR reports. Ministers in these stadium-sized churches preach a gospel of wealth, and practice what they preach—driving Rolls Royces, flying in private jets, living in mansions. “Maybe that's not illegal,” the Iowa Republican says, “but it may raise questions about whether it's the right expenditure of money.” More »
November 2007
- Lawmaker Probes TV Preachers
  
  Associated Press | Nov 7, 07 8:18 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - A top Republican lawmaker is probing six televangelists who have put their opulent lifestyles on display, the AP reports. Rolls Royces, private jets, and a $30,000 table are among the luxuries that sparked Sen. Chuck Grassley's inquiry, he said yesterday. "I don't want to conclude that there's a problem, but people who donated should have their money spent as intended and in adherence with the tax code." More »
October 2007
- Church Prays for Britney's Soul
  
  E! Online | Oct 30, 07 7:34 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Thousands of parishioners of a Kentucky church are praying for pop princess Britney Spears and sending her notes expressing support, encouragement and love, reports E! Online. "Love Britney the way Jesus loves her: no preaching, no criticizing," the senior pastor of Lexington's Southland Christian Church instructed his 8,000-strong congregation. More »
- Oral Roberts U President Takes Leave of Absence
  
  Associated Press | Oct 17, 07 10:44 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Richard Roberts, the Oral Roberts University president who is accused of misuse of university funds and illegal involvement in a political campaign, requested and received an indefinite leave of absence from the university's Board of Regents today. The board said a senior pastor will temporarily take over the president's duties, with help from 89-year-old Oral Roberts, who is technically still the school's chancellor but had left day-to-day operations to his 58-year-old son. More »
August 2007
- Gospel Lives in the Oval Office
  
  Bloomberg | Aug 29, 07 12:41 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Billy Graham has seen US leaders laid bare, from skinny-dipping with LBJ to long walks on the beach with GWB. A new book details the ailing 88-year-old preacher’s rendezvous with presidents past, including counseling Ford to pardon Nixon and advising Hillary Clinton to look past Monica Lewinsky. Graham’s refusal to be a party booster has lent him his independent spiritual voice, Bloomberg reports. More »
July 2007
- Pope Pounds Protestants
  
  Reuters | Jul 11, 07 5:32 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In a remarkable nod to the 16th century, Pope Benedict XVI’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which he once led, said of Protestant denominations, 'it is nevertheless difficult to see how the title of 'Church' could possibly be attributed to them." The document restates Benedict's position set forth in 2000 when he was still Cardinal Ratzinger. More »
May 2007
- Falwell's Death Ends an Era
  
  Newsweek | May 16, 07 9:08 AM CDT

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Stories

Boo Hoo: Firebrand Priest Suspended

Obama Repudiates Preacher Over 'White Tears' Slam

A Double Standard for White Preachers?

Church Builds Wright $1M Home in Pricey Chicago 'Burb

Offended, Black Ministers Decry Wright's Comments

Pundit's Pontificating Draws Fire

Wright Takes Cross Over Racial Divide

Wright 'Would Not Have Been My Pastor': Clinton

Mac's Pastor: Make War on Islam

'Osama bin London' Convicted

Shunning Makes a Comeback in US Churches

Mike's Church Trip Annoys Catholics

Senator Attacks Free-Spending Megachurches

Lawmaker Probes TV Preachers

Church Prays for Britney's Soul

Oral Roberts U President Takes Leave of Absence

Gospel Lives in the Oval Office

Pope Pounds Protestants

Falwell's Death Ends an Era