Our Takes Daily

Teddy bear sparks interfaith tensions

The Economist

An English woman volunteering her services as a teacher in largely Muslim Sudan has been sentenced to 15 days in prison for “insulting religion” after allowing her young students in Khartoum to name a teddy bear Muhammad. To observers who know Sudan, the affair seems to have become entangled with the broader stand-off between the government in Khartoum and Western countries, including Britain, that have pushed for the United Nations to intervene in the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan. More info>

Goodbye to pro-life leader

Catholic Online

Pro-life advocates are mourning the loss of Henry Hyde, former congressman and champion of life issues who authored the Hyde amendment in 1976, which forbids use of federal funds for abortion. He died Thursday in Chicago, just a few weeks after being awarded the Presidental Medial of Freedom. Hyde, who was Catholic, was considered one of most distinguished layman in the U.S. Church. More info>

Pope reaches out to Muslim leaders

Breitbart.com

Pope Benedict XVI invited a delegation of senior Muslim personalities, who signed an appeal for greater dialogue between religions, to a meeting at the Vatican, according to a letter released Thursday. The pope praised the "positive spirit" behind the Oct. 11 message signed by 138 top Muslims from around the world and sent to Christian leaders, said Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone in the letter sent in Pope Benedict's name. More info>