Some experts think the investigation is driven by U.S. sisters’ embrace of the liberal decisions of Vatican II, while priests have tended to embrace pre-Vatican II ideas, which are far more conservative.

To read what the Vatican says about the investigation, go  to www.apostolicvisitation.org.

Below is an edited excerpt of my interview with a Catholic expert about the controversy.

Mary Louise Hartman is the former president of the Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church, based in St. Louis.

MARK BARNA: Why is the Vatican investigating U.S. sisterhoods?

HARTMAN: It’s just another effort of the curia, or (Vatican) middle management, to annoy the American church. They are not happy with the way we practice Catholicism. I sense that those in the curia want to maintain the status quo of the late 19th century. They don’t want to move out of Vatican I.

BARNA: Why are U.S. nuns the focus?

HARTMAN: The nuns are more visible, active, vocal, successful.

BARNA: What bugs you the most about the inquiry?

HARTMAN: It is stupid. It was done without consultation. The process is undemocratic. They are treating these women like children. It makes it even worse that they haven’t done the same investigation of priests, especially given the pedophilia scandals. [Editor's note:About seven years ago, the Vatican investigated seminaries. The scuttlebutt at the time was that authorities were trying to root out gays within the seminaries. No results were published publicly about that investigation.]

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Well, in a news release from Focus, officials talk about the Republicans winning the governors’ races in Virginia and New Jersey. And they are lovin’ that, too.

Read the news release here.

Do Tuesday’s election results suggest a resurgence of the Christian-Republican right? Please comment below.

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Haggard and Jones

Here it is in full:

Ted Haggard certainly has the right to do what ever he wants and deserves to be happy in life.  But make no mistake: Ted does nothing by accident.  This will be in the press, two months before Gayle’s book is released and then his book to follow.  At this point, publicity is publicity. 

But to sum it up, if Ted and Gayle were at Disneyland,they would never leave Fantasyland.  But this time they have Oprah as Tinkerbell to spread the fairy dust. 

Mike Jones

Will you attend Haggard’s church? Please explain why below.

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Jim Daly

Faith” online site. This week’s question was as follows:  Is there good without God? Can people be good without God? How can people be good, in the moral and ethical sense, without being grounded in some sort of belief in a being which is greater than they are? Where do concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, come from if not from religion? From where do you get your sense of good and evil, right and wrong?

Click here to read Daly’s response.

Please post your response to this question below.

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The Colorado Springs family group has been banned due to its negativity toward homosexuality and preaching Christianity without first getting parental consent, according to ABC News.

You can read the full story here. 

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Me and 2-year-old Aiden

has approved their adoption of baby Keshawn. This places their brood at 11, since they have three biological children. Below is the letter  Steve and Shonni Hassoldt sent out about the adoption. It states that the adoption will cost more than $25,000, and the family is in need of funds.

Dear Friends,

Approved!

On October 19, 2009, the court in Ethiopia approved our request to adopt Keshawn (Wodamo Admassu).

So, now we are in the final stage – preparing to send Shonni to Ethiopia to bring home our new son.  Everyone in the Hassoldt home is excited to meet their new little brother and finally we can show you a complete picture of him!

We are so thankful for those who have helped us financially with the costs associated with Keshawn’s adoption. It is not a cheap endeavor (his adoption will easily cost over $25,000 for all of the associated expenses), taxing our limited resources, but God is always faithful in providing what is needed when we need it. We are still in need of at least $5,000 to cover the final country fees and Shonni’s transportation costs to bring him home.

To help facilitate raising these final funds, we have collaborated with Kingdom Kids Adoption Ministries (KKAM).  Please see the attached brochure and letter about KKAM for more information about their ministry. Tax-deductible donations can be made to KKAM with a separate note indicating the desire for the funds to be used to assist with our adoption of Keshawn. We in turn can apply to KKAM for reimbursement for expenses we incur for Keshawn’s adoption. The final decision to provide assistance lies with KKAM.

We hope to send Shonni to Ethiopia late November or early December so things will be moving quickly. We appreciate any help and support you can give. Above all else, we appreciate your continued prayers and encouragement.

Please continue to pray for:

-favor with all government agencies (i.e. visa, his physical, interview with the US consulate)

-health for Keshawn

- finances

-Shonni and Keshawn’s travel

You can still follow the story of this adoption at Shonni’s Blog: Nations Around Our Table (nationsaroundourtable.blogspot.com).

Please feel free to pass this note on to any one you think might be interested in our mission. We so greatly appreciate all of the people who have helped and supported us in some many ways over the years.

Blessings

Steve, Shonni and all the children.

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I have some info to impart about the church, but first a little background, taken from my Gazette story.

Chinese  Church of Colorado Springs is suing  the Christian & Missionary Alliance in Colorado Springs and the MidAmerica District of the Christian & Missionary Alliance in Nebraska to take back the worship property C &MA confiscated in July 2006, as well as the $17,845 the denomination allegedly confiscated from the church’s bank account.

Last month, the denomination asked a Fourth Judicial District court judge for summary judgment of the case, but the judge refused, according to sources.

A trial is expected next year, but so far no date has been given, sources say.

Stay tune. We’ll keep you updated.

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In my column, Laguna Pueblo Indian Jacob Anaya talks about what may have gone wrong at the Arizona sweat lodge. Below are edited excerpts from my interview with 49-year-old Anaya.

Anaya  has run a Native American sweat lodges for 25 years. Currently he has one in Peyton where he conducts lodge ceremonies every other Saturday. He never charges a dime to people who want to participate. If you would like more information on it, contact him at allmyrelations16@earthlink.net.

MARK BARNA: What went wrong at the Arizona sweat lodge?

JACOB ANAYA: Many things. For one, they used plastic rather than blankets and cotton for the lodge’s walls. That caused the steam to become and trapped, the lodge was unable to breath, and that rose temperatures. There were also too many people taking. I never conduct a lodge with more than 10 people.

The people were seated in three rows. This meant that the people in the first row closest to the rocks and those in the last row would be the hottest [that's because those in the first row are closest to the red-hot rocks and those in the third row would be where the hot air circulated].

BARNA: Was Ray qualified?

ANAYA: For him it was a moneymaking opportunity. Most of these people go on a weekend retreat where someone says they have the right to teach this and have a certificate. But in the Native American community, you go for years to learn this.

BARNA: You’ve said organizer of the Arizona sweat lodge suffered from a “warrior mentality.”

ANAYA: “The New Agers want to see how hot they can get it. And if you make it through, you are a warrior. They are doing a macho lodge. That’s how they understand what a warrior is.

BARNA: What should people watch out for with sweat lodges?

ANAYA: Be careful if the person running the lodge is charging money. Also, if they want you to come exclusively to theirs, that is not right. We were always told  to go to other lodges to (gain a broader understanding of lodge ceremonies). Another thing is if the man running the lodge has women around him other than his wife. A traditional man will have his wife there or  a helper and a singer around him. Through this he is backing himself up, saying nothing wrong happened here. There’s been lodges where women have been molested and naked lodges. We don’t stand for any of that.

BARNA: Are there any lodges in the Pikes Peak are being run the wrong way.

ANAYA: Yes. Some are charging money and don’t understand (the Native American way.) They don’t have any understanding of community. They don’t have any humility and no respect.

BARNA: You say that people should be wary when spiritual leaders charge for their knowledge, and that Native Americans believe spiritual knowledge is to be freely given.

ANAYA: If they charge, the best thing to do is walk away

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Scary stuff.

But some people criticized Hell Houses for being sensational and sometimes, yes, erotic. It was like a pastor railing against fornication while giving his congregation all the sensual details.

So now we have Judgement Day (the “e” is always included). This is a less sensational Hell House with emphasis on, you guessed it, God judging whether people are going to heaven or hell.

Sadly for me as religion reporter here, Judgement Day never caught on in Colorado Springs; it would have been fun to tour one of these. But in other conservative cities they did catch on, one being Laurel, Miss.

Laurel has a few Judgement Day Halloween houses, and you can read about one of them here.

Happy Halloween!

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Americans are now pretty much equally divided on whether abortion should remain legal. In Pew Forum polls in 2007 and 2008, slightly more Americans were opposed to abortion. Read the complete poll results here.

Meanwhile, 57 percent of Americans favor civil unions, up from 45 percent in 2003, according to the Pew Forum. Even so, 53 percent of Americans continue to be against same-sex marriage. Read the poll results here.

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