What’s Behind Thailand’s Lèse Majesté Crackdown?

In Thailand it’s often referred to, usually in hushed tones, as “the institution.” In a land where the holy trinity consists of nation, religion and king, talking about the monarchy, except in terms of adulation, can be risky business. Political activists, university professors, webmasters and now even a U.S

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Christians in Gaza Make Their Appeal to the Pope

The sign outside the door read “Cinema Club”, but inside, a Catholic priest was conducting Friday mass in Arabic for Gaza’s furtive Christians. Many of those Christians bowing their heads before a statue of the Virgin Mary were hoping that the power of prayer might nudge along the Israeli security bureaucracy. Six weeks ago, 250 Christians applied for permission from the Israelis to exit the locked down Palestinian enclave of Gaza for a day to see Pope Benedict XVI as he visits in Israel on his tour of the Middle East

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Archaeologist: Jesus took a different path

It’s Good Friday, the day that Christians believe Jesus was crucified. Jerusalem’s Old City is crowded with the faithful, retracing the steps of Jesus along the Via Dolorosa — the Way of Suffering — to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Christians believe he was crucified. But they’re all taking the wrong route, according to Israeli archaeologist Shimon Gibson

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