GO TO SOURCE NEW YORK, NEW YORK, May 24, 2002: Investigators arrested the first Roman Catholic priest yesterday to be charged in New York based on the old case files that the church recently turned over to sex-abuse prosecutors, according to this article in the New York Times. The priest, the Rev. Francis X. Nelson, 38, was handcuffed near his…
GO TO SOURCE GREAT BRITAIN, May 23, 2002: Highgatehill Murugan Temple is to become the first Hindu temple in Britain to be visited by the queen in her 50-year reign. The temple was picked to welcome the Queen as part of her wish to recognize each of Britain’s many faiths during her Golden Jubilee tour of the country. The Queen…
GO TO SOURCE DEARBORN, MICHIGAN, May 22, 2002: The Pluralism Project was developed by Diana L Eck at Harvard University to study and document the growing religious diversity of the United States with a special view to its new immigrant religious communities. The affliated Pluralism Project at the University of Michigan-Dearborn is a co-sponsor of the summer seminar “Worldviews: Foundations…
GO TO SOURCE MUMBAI, INDIA, May 19, 2002: Until May 26, a corner of London’s Oxford Street will look like Madhuri Dixit. Gaudy saris and bawdy sets have transformed century-old department store Selfridges into an Indian film set as part of a “23 Days of Bollywood” store promotion. Nearby, you can dine at celebrity chef Kuldeep Singh’s, new eatery —…
GO TO SOURCE PETALING, MALAYSIA, May 24, 2002: Concerned with the high number of Hindu youth not being able to find the right marriage partners, the Malaysia Hindu Sangam will continue its successful matchmaking program. The program is aimed at helping eligible Hindu bachelors, single women, widows, widowers and divorcees find suitable life partners. Held for the second time, the…
GO TO SOURCE SHIMLA, INDIA, May 19, 2002: The Himachal Pradesh government proposes to introduce astrology as a subject in regular classes at various levels of learning, said Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal. Introduction of astrology would help preserve the ancient system of knowledge so that the younger generation could know more about India’s rich culture and traditions as well…
GO TO SOURCE LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, May 9, 2002: Southeast Christian Church is an example of a new breed of magachurch — a full-service “24/7” sprawling village, which offers many of the conveniences and trappings of secular life centered around a spiritual core. While unusual for America, it is similar to the temple towns of India, and represents the impulse of…
GO TO SOURCE WINTER PARK, FLORIDA, May 23, 2002: The Hindu University of America announced the release of “Hindu Temples of North America.” The book covers Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh Temples located across the United States and Canada. Architecture, iconography, art work and history of temples are featured. It contains 320 full-color pages with rare photographs and line drawings…
GO TO SOURCE FIJI, May 22, 2002: Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase has sparked a furious row by claiming a coup two years ago was part of a plan by God to depose the country’s Indian-led government. Critics claim his remarks amount to blasphemy. “The SDL coalition won because it was God’s plan,” Qarase said. “I believe God wanted to…
GO TO SOURCE GANDHINAGAR, GUJARAT, INDIA, May 22, 2002: Calling it a “Kalinga effect,” where a remorseful Emperor Ashok (circa 270 bce) became a messiah of peace seeing the death and destruction caused by war, “supercop” K. P. S. Gill regrets that he has not seen such a trend in Gujarat after all the violence. “I do not see this…