Stories with religion link plentiful today

Today was a big day for stories with a religion link, both domestic and abroad.

Leading things off is the threat from the Dalai Lama to resign from his political role as head of the Tibetan government in exile if the violent protests over Tibet worsen. The article eventually makes clear that it is only the political role that he is speaking about, but the short space for most web headlines simply says he will resign. Hope readers click through and read down on that one.

Then, there is coverage of candidate Barack Obama's planned speech today trying to put the comments of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his former pastor, "into context." This article from ABC news carries a good amount of context including the use of rhetoric in the black church. There wasn't much on the social gospel orientation of the United Church of Christ, which might also play a role. As one of the sources in the story says, this speech should be quite a challenge for the candidate.

Finally, yesterday was Saint Patrick's Day, which apparently U.S. President George Bush celebrated by receiving shamrocks from and discussing Northern Ireland with Irish leader Bertie Ahern (story here. Some cities ate the green eggs and drank the green libations early this year in order to honor Holy Week for Christians, which started Sunday.