Our Takes Daily

Huckabee visits controversial preacher

Reuters

Rising Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee risked his standing with Catholic voters on Sunday by courting his evangelical base at the church of John Hagee, a controversial preacher accused of disparaging Catholics. While the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights says Hagee is virulently anti-Catholic, Huckabee’s campaign insisted the visit should not be seen as a slight to Catholics. "Three members of the senior leadership of the campaign are Catholic, including our national chairman. Gov. Huckabee is committed to being a leader of all Americans," said Charmaine Yoest, one of his senior advisers. More info>

Indian churches attacked

BBC News

A curfew has been imposed in parts of the eastern Indian state of Orissa after Hindu hardliners attacked up to a dozen Christian churches, police say. One person was killed and more than two dozen were injured in the violence that erupted during a dispute over Christmas celebrations. More info>

Pope hails persecuted Christians

The Washington Post

Pope Benedict said today that Christians faced persecution, torture and death in some parts of the world and continued to be made martyrs for their faith. In a message to pilgrims on the day after Christmas — the feast day of St. Stephen, considered the first Christian martyr — the Pope said Christians who die for their faith pray for forgiveness for their killers. “We should always note that this is a distinctive characteristic of the Christian martyr — it is exclusively an act of love, toward God and towards men, including the persecutors," he told crowds in a rainy St. Peter's Square. More info>