Religion News in Brief
The Associated PressPope Benedict XVI will make a two-day visit to Spain in November, with a stop in Barcelona to consecrate the famed Sagrada Familia church, his spokesman said.
The Rev. Federico Lombardi told reporters Wednesday that the pope will first go to the western pilgrimage city of Santiago de Compostela on Nov. 6.
On Nov. 7, the pope will visit the Mediterranean port city of Barcelona to consecrate La Sagrada Familia, the Barcelona landmark, whose construction began in 1882 and is still continuing. The church is designed by architect Antoni Gaudi, who died in 1926.
It was not immediately known if the pope will meet with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez.
Benedict, who turns 83 next month, also plans trips this year to Malta, Portugal, Cyprus and Britain.
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Dutch gay groups and Catholic parish call for end to dispute over Communion
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Dutch gay rights groups have called for an end to protests against a Roman Catholic parish southwest of Amsterdam after the church said it would no longer seek to bar gays from taking Holy Communion.
The Sint-Jan church in Den Bosch said believers will decide on their own whether they should receive the sacrament.
Mass at the church Sunday was disturbed by protests. The demonstrations began last month after an openly gay man in a nearby village was chosen for a prominent role during Dutch carnival celebrations but was refused Communion by his local priest — offending many in the village.
Most Dutch people support gay rights. The Catholic Church teaches that gay relationships are "intrinsically disordered."
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French archaeologists unearth a burial chamber for mysterious Egyptian sixth dynasty queen
CAIRO (AP) — French archaeologists have unearthed the burial chamber of a mysterious queen from Egypt's Old Kingdom more than 4,000 years ago.
The necropolis of Saqqara outside Cairo, famed for its massive step pyramid, has yielded a string of discoveries as 10 different teams excavate a previously untouched area.
French mission leader Philippe Collombert said the mummy of Queen Behenu was destroyed, but the religious texts were well preserved. The text is primarily concerned with protecting the queen's remains and her transition to afterlife.
Collombert called the queen "mysterious, and said it was not clear whether she was the wife of King Pepi I or II of the Sixth Dynasty.
The Saqqara burial grounds contain tombs from Egypt's earliest history up through Roman times.
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Cheatham County settles religion-in-schools case
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Cheatham County schools have agreed to stop teachers and officials from promoting religion during school hours.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee announced the settlement after the school board approved the deal in a vote Monday night.
"Now the students of Cheatham County can exercise their Constitutional right to make religious decisions with their families and faith communities, free from fear of coercion by school officials," ACLU cooperating attorney George Barrett said in a news release.
ACLU-TN Executive Director Hedy Weinberg has said not all religious displays in school violate the Constitution, but to be legal it cannot be compulsory and must be student-led.
Representatives of the school district did not return phone calls seeking comment Tuesday.
The ACLU sued the Cheatham County schools last November after six months of negotiations failed.
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Jonas Brothers join up with Rick Warren for Easter service
LAKE FOREST, Calif. (AP) — The Jonas Brothers will be busy on Easter Sunday.
The Rev. Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Orange County, has told congregants that the pop group will perform at a special Easter service in Angel Stadium in Anaheim marking the mega-congregation's 30th anniversary.
A spokeswoman for Warren confirmed Monday that the group will perform. The April 4 event will be broadcast live online.
Warren and his wife Kay founded the church which has grown to become one of the most influential evangelical congregations in the country.
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http://saddleback.com/newsandevents/easter/2010/
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Settlement reached to allow 77-foot tall cross
KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — A settlement clears the way to erect a 77-foot Cross on a hilltop near Interstate 10 in the Kerrville area.
An agreement was reached Monday, the day that a trial was to have begun, to allow the metal sculpture by artist Max Greiner Jr. as part of a planned $7 million religious garden.
Some neighbors, in a 2008 lawsuit, cited subdivision rules to block the Cross. The Coming King Foundation has agreed to pay for construction of a fence to obstruct the residential view of the structure.
State District Judge Keith Williams says the issue was property law, not religion. Some zoning provisions capped structures at 40 feet.
Kerrville is about 100 miles southwest of Austin.