The new site is www.TruthAboutAngelsAndDemons.com.

“Just as academic institutions and other groups are using the momentum of ‘Angels & Demons’ and the scientific issues it highlights to provoke discussion, Westminster Theological Seminary stands strong and is committed to educating individuals about spiritual and historical truths, in addition to science, as it relates to the book and film,” Vern Poythress, professor of New Testament interpretation at Westminster and an expert on the intersection of science and religion, said in a news release.

Many universities around the nation and overseas are launching discussions to address the truth behind the scientific claims central to the suspense in the book and film.

Westminster launched the new Web site on May 13, hoping to help people ”sift through the mix of fact and fiction woven into the novel and film and encourage conversation,” leaders said.

 The site contains articles on issues related to religion and science and seeks to provide answers to such questions as: “Is the Bible true?” “Can science answer the ultimate questions?” and “Is there evidence that God created the Earth?”

“Angels & Demons” premiered May 15 and is based on a novel by Dan Brown.

In 2006, Westminster launched a similar online response to  l”The Da Vinci Code,” another novel-turned-movie by Brown.

“Westminster commends the scientific community for its strong response and conversation surrounding the film and joins in the pursuit of truth,” Peter Lillback, president of Westminster, said in a statement.

 ”We hope our site is a catalyst for people of faith to be better equipped to engage in spiritual conversation generated by this significant media and cultural event.”

Westminster Theological Seminary has campuses in Philadelphia, Dallas, New York and London.

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

Now another of Brown’s book’s is being brought to the big screen.

It’s “Angels & Demons” and it features actor Tom Hanks once again portraying ”Code” central character Robert Langdon.

I don’t know how this movie will fare at the box office. I do know that the Catholic Church is not a fan of the film,  just like it wasn’t a fan of “Code.”

Actually there were people from other Christian faith traditions besides the Catholic Church that did not like the issues raised in the earlier book-turned-movie, mainly the assertion that Jesus may have been married to Mary Magdalene and fathered a child with her.

Anyway, the Catholic Church forbid “Angels & Demons” director Ron Howard from filming in Catholic churches in Rome.

Speculation and talk of the movie is picking up steam as its U.S. premiere nears.

I saw Howard interviewed on “Entertainment Tonight” and wondered how close the film’s U.S. premiere was to Easter, which is April 12.

The premiere is set for May 15, just as “Code” premiered in May.

Watch a trailer for the film here: “Angels & Demons” 

And just FYI, I saw a publicity photography of Hanks and other stars taken in the St. Marta Church in Rome, which is described as a “deconsecrated church.” That means it is no longer used for worship. I am wondering if Howard and crew were allowed to film in those types of churches instead of churches where worship services currently take place. 

(AP PHOTO above: Actor Tom Hanks, left, Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer, center, and director Ron Howard, right, pose during a photocall to promote their new film “Angels & Demons” at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Meyrin near Geneva, Switzerland on Feb. 12.)

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

A congratulatory telegram was sent to President Barack Obama from Pope Benedict.

The Religion News Service reports that the pople sent the telegram urging Obama to “promote understanding, cooperation and peace among the nations.”

The pope said he hoped that Obama’s leadership would foster the “building of a truly just and free society, marked by respect for the dignity, equality and rights of each of its members, especially the poor, the outcast and those who have no voice.”

“I pray that you will be confirmed in your resolve to promote understanding, cooperation and peace among the nations, so that all may share in the banquet of life which God wills to set for the whole human family,” Benedict wrote.

The RNS reports that according to Vatican protocol, the pope sends greetings to all new heads of state when they take office.

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

The Vatican has found that new technology like the iPhone has some definite advantages.

According to the Associated Press, the Vatican is endorsing new technology that brings the book of daily prayers used by priests straight onto iPhones.

The Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Social Communications has given its approval of the iBreviary, an iTunes application created by an Italian priest, the Rev. Paolo Padrini, and an Italian Web designer, the AP reports.

The application includes the Breviary prayer book — in Italian, English, Spanish, French and Latin and, in the near future, Portuguese and German. Another section includes the prayers of the daily Mass, and a third contains various other prayers.

Padrini’s proceeds are to go to charity.

(Above: AP Photo)

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

Religious leaders and representatives of faith-based organizations are weighing in on the election of Sen. Barack Obama as the nation’s 44th president.

The National Council of Churches has responded today with a letter to the new president elect:

Dear Mr. President Elect,

Blessings on you, and congratulations. Now that the electorate has made its decision, we at the National Council of Churches urge all Americans to come together to uphold you with our hands, our hearts and our prayers.

Only rarely in our history has a president-elect faced immediate challenges of such fierce magnitude. The leaders of this Council pledge to you our unstinting support in the difficult days to come. All of us are dependent on God’s loving mercy, and we will regularly pray for you and others elected to high leadership. May your wisdom and discernment serve you well, and may your health never wane.

To read the complete letter, click here: Letter

The Rev. Billy Graham, who is nearing his 90th birthday on Friday, also has a statement, shared through a news release sent today:

“President Elect Barack Obama faces many challenges, and I urge everyone to join me in pledging our support and prayers as he begins the difficult task ahead.”

Meanwhile, The Associated Press is reporting that the Vatican said today that it hopes that Barack Obama will work to promote peace and justice in the world.

The Rev. Federico Lombardi, chief spokesman for the Vatican and for Pope Benedict XVI told The Associated Press that the Vatican hoped Obama would “work for the cause of rights and justice, finding suitable ways to promote peace in the world, fostering people’s development and dignity while respecting essential human and spiritual values.”   

Other statements come from leaders that are not as conciliatory:

The Rev. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, released the following statement regarding the Presidential election:

“Americans have made a grave mistake in electing Barack Obama to the presidency. He said during the campaign that he does not know when a human being starts to have human rights.  How can one govern from that starting point of ignorance?   Governing is about protecting human rights; to do it successfully, you have to know where they come from, and when they begin.  The President-elect has already failed that test miserably.”I’ll post more comments and statements as they arrive.Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

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By a ratio of four and a half to one (58 percent to 13 percent), people surveyed during a recent poll said that they had a favorable or very favorable view of the pope.

The poll was commissioned by the Knights of Columbus and conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion between Feb. 25 and March 5. Carl Anderson, supreme knight for the Knights of Columbus, recently discussed the poll results at the National Press Club.

According to the poll 42 percent of Americans said that they would like to attend one of the pope’s public appearances while he is in the United States and 66 percent of Catholics said they would like to attend one of the events.

Pope Benedict is set to visit New York City and Washington D.C. April 15-20.

According to the recent poll, 72 percent or more of the respondents want to hear the pope talk about allowing God to be a part of their daily lives (73 percent),  finding spiritual fulfillment by sharing their time and talent (71 percent) and how they can make a positive difference in the world, their state and communities (70 percent).

Nearly two-thirds (64 percent), according to the poll, expressed an interest in hearing the pope talk about how they can have a society where spiritual values play an important role.

“The bottom line is that, despite years of very negative stories about the Catholic Church scandals, and dissenting view of the Pope as some sort of ‘panzercardinal’ determined to pursue the unorthodox to the ends of the earth, the American people have a very sensible and balanced view of Benedict and the Church,” Anderson said in a prepared statement on March 25.

“And they are very open to hearing his views on matters of how they might live their faith and put it into action in their daily lives.”   

Anderson unveiled a new Web site, www.papaltrip.org for those interested in learning more about the pope’s upcoming visit. The site offers detailed information about the pope’s trip, along with historical material about previous popes and their experiences with the Catholic church in the United States.

Such was the case when a Vatican official recently gave his opinion about ”new sins of the modern era” to the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.

All of a sudden there were reports that the Vatican had published a new list of the seven deadly sins of modern times that included such things as economic inequality and genetic manipulation.

Soon, however, a wire report turned up, saying that an interview with Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, regent of the tribunal of the Apostolic Penitentiary, (the Vatican body which oversees confessions and plenary indulgences) was misinterepreted in the media as an official Vatican update to the seven deadly sins laid out by Pope Gregory the Great in the sixth century. 

Too late — conversations and stories about the so-called new list of sins were already taking place.

For a quick update, the mortal sins known as the Seven Deadly Sins are gluttony, sloth, anger, envy, pride, avarice and lust.

Girotti, in the newspaper interview, said he could see sinful attitudes in relation to individual and social rights. Making his  list of new sins to watch out for are drug use, which he said “debilitates the psyche and darkens the intelligence”; abortion; pedophila; environmental pollution; social injustice causing the rich to become richer and the poor to become poorer; and genetic science manipulation.

 Whether or not these were meant to be “updates” or additions to list of sins that threaten the soul, one thing is clear: The list of sins always captures folks’ attention.

I’ve asked myself what sins I would add to the list, along with justifiable punishments.  In a study I did last year for a blog series on the Seven Deadly Sins, I found that the original list had an accompanying list of horrible punishments to go along with them.  

 For instance, if you were guilty of gluttony, you would be forced to eat rats, snakes, spiders and toads. If you were guilty of wrath, you would be torn apart limb from limb (ouch!).

What would you list as a sin that is not already one of the seven deadly? Take it a little further: What punishment would you mete out for the sin that you added on the list?

Let me know, by sending an e-mail to chinton@oklahoman.com or send a note by regular mail to Carla Hinton, P.O. Box 25125, Oklahoma City, OK 73125.