GREENING THE CHURCH

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Thou shall not pollute the Earth. Thou shall beware genetic manipulation. Modern times bring with them modern sins. So the Vatican has told the faithful that they should be aware of "new" sins such as causing environmental blight. In recent months, Pope Benedict has made several strong appeals for the protection of the environment, saying issues such as climate change had become gravely important for the entire human race. Under Benedict and his predecessor John Paul, the Vatican has become progressively "green." It has installed photovoltaic cells on buildings to produce electricity and hosted a scientific conference to discuss the ramifications of global warming and climate change, widely blamed on human use of fossil fuels. Read More Eliot Spitzer is the story of the day, but the wire story we ran in our paper today about Southern Baptists and climate change also really jumped out at me. A group of Southern Baptist leaders, including the head of the conservative Southern Baptist Convention, released a document this weekend that basically says Southern Baptists have been too timid about climate change and that the denomination should be more serious about the environment. Read More Visit recording artist, Lee Alexander on MySpace as he lends his song, "Venus Rising" for the podcast today.