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Quote of the Day. “The State Duma hasn’t yet ratified the protocol banning capital punishment because many in Russia support the death penalty. The society needs more time to ban the death penalty. But the government structures support a ban on capital punishment.” Mikhail Krotov, Russian President Medvedev’s envoy to the Constitutional Court, on a decision by the Constitutional Court that effectively outlawed the death penalty by continuing a moratorium until the nation fully bans executions. (AP/Boston Globe)

FAITH IN THE NEWS

US Christian leaders urge Obama, "build, don’t destroy" in Afghanistan “Over a dozen church leaders in the United States are urging a new strategy for Afghanistan on President Barack Obama, based on a "a humanitarian and development surge" rather than military might. In their "build, don’t destroy" theme, they have been backed by thousands of signatories.”

Christian Leaders Unite on Political Issues “Citing the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s call to civil disobedience, 145 evangelical, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian leaders have signed a declaration saying they will not cooperate with laws that they say could be used to compel their institutions to participate in abortions, or to bless or in any way recognize same-sex couples.”

Anglican Leader, in Rome, Optimistic on Ecumenical Strains “Speaking in Rome a month after the Vatican unveiled plans to facilitate the conversion of conservative Anglicans to Catholicism, the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion offered a moderately hopeful assessment of ecumenical relations between the two churches.” Archbishop tells Pope: women priests here for good  “The Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday made his most outspoken challenge to the Roman Catholic Church since the Pope invited disaffected Anglicans to switch to Rome.”

Faith Groups Urged to Act Together to Tackle Africa’s Water Crisis “Africa’s growing water crisis demands leadership and common action among faith groups, said the general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in a keynote address for the Third Summit of the Inter-Faith Action for Peace in Africa (IFAPA).”

NEWS AT HOME

Health Care. Senate girds for Saturday vote and long battle on health care “The Senate Thursday began what promises to be a bitter, lengthy battle over the future of health care in America, and taxes, abortion, affordability and federal deficits emerged as key flashpoints.” Reid, as Legislative Tactician, Takes Ownership of Health Care Overhaul “The majority leader’s deep personal involvement in assembling the overhaul of the health care system – now on the brink of a historic Senate debate – has, for better or worse, conferred ownership of the legislation on Mr. Reid, Democrat of Nevada.”  Reid pushes for votes on health-care bill “Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid worked Thursday to nail down the votes needed to move to a final debate on health-care legislation, but a tepid assessment of the public insurance plan he crafted emerged as the latest potential obstacle to the passage of the far-reaching changes.”

Housing. U.S. Mortgage Delinquencies Reach a Record High “The economy and the stock market may be recovering from their swoon, but more homeowners than ever are having trouble making their monthly mortgage payments.” Problem mortgages hit new high at 14 percent “More than 14 percent of borrowers were in trouble on their mortgage during the third quarter, a new record, according to an industry survey released Thursday, which also suggests that the foreclosure rate is likely not to peak until next year as unemployment rates continue to rise.” Housing bust halts growing suburbs “The recession and housing collapse have halted four decades of double-digit growth for nearly half of the nation’s biggest rapidly expanding suburbs.”

Immigration. Immigration Officials to Audit 1,000 More Companies “Immigration enforcement officials said Thursday that they were expanding a program for auditing companies that might have hired illegal immigrants and had notified 1,000 companies this week that they would have to undergo such a review.” More Employers Face Immigration Audits “About 1,000 U.S. employers will be audited for immigration violations as the federal government escalates pressure on business owners to resist hiring illegal immigrants."

Nuclear Weapons. Panel Sees No Need for A-Bomb Upgrade “In a new report, a secretive federal panel has concluded that programs to extend the life of the nation’s aging nuclear arms are sufficient to guarantee their destructiveness for decades to come, obviating a need for a costly new generation of more reliable warheads.”

NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

Rights of the Child. UN marks 20 years of Convention on Rights of the Child “The UN says the Convention on the Rights of the Child has transformed the way children are treated.  But it says a billion children in the world still go without food, shelter or healthcare and that millions are facing lives of poverty and abuse.”

Climate Change. Industrialized Nations Unveil Plans to Rein in Emissions “With less than three weeks remaining before negotiators gather in Copenhagen to hammer out a global response to climate change, a rapid-fire succession of countries are unveiling national plans that serve as opening bids for reining in heat-trapping emissions.” £22bn emergency fund aims to cut rate of deforestation “The aim of the fund, which is backed by 35 countries, is to begin cutting the rate of deforestation immediately, without waiting for the United Nations to complete negotiations on its own scheme for saving rainforests.”

Afghanistan. Afghan President Hamid Karzai sworn in for second term “President Hamid Karzai set two ambitious goals in his inauguration speech Thursday: to have Afghan soldiers and police take full responsibility for security within the next five years and to root out the pervasive corruption that hobbled his first administration.” Karzai Sworn In for Second Term as President “Tainted by a flawed election and allegations of festering corruption in his government, President Hamid Karzai was inaugurated Thursday for a second term, promising to remedy the country’s problems and to have the Afghan Army assume full control of security within five years.” U.S. aims to hold Afghanistan’s Karzai to his pledges of reform “The United States is developing a set of benchmarks to ensure that Afghan President Hamid Karzai keeps a promise delivered at his inauguration to fight corruption and inefficiency.” Karzai’s pledge of Loya Jirga may be only partial solution to conflict “In his speech, President Karzai gave the British Government what it has been asking for when he promised a Loya Jirga grand council, designed to begin a wider process of engagement with the Taleban.”

Pakistan. Pakistani Politics Take on a Nationalist Tone “Anti-Americanism is peaking. Enemies of the state lurk around every corner, if the nationalist media is to be believed. President Asif Ali Zardari could hardly be more unpopular.” ‘US drone’ targets Pakistan hideout  “At least eight people have been killed in a suspected US missile attack targeting al-Qaeda-linked fighters in Pakistan’s mountains on the Afghan border.”

Iran. U.S. Talks Tougher on Iran “The international spokesman for Iran’s main opposition movement called for President Barack Obama to increase his public support for Iranian democrats and significantly intensify financial pressure on Tehran’s elite military unit, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.” UN nuclear watchdog presses Iran “The head of the UN atomic watchdog has urged Iran to accept a deal over its nuclear programme by the end of the year, and "move beyond sanctions". IAEA head hopes Iran won’t miss chance “As representatives of six world powers met in Brussels on Friday to discuss possible measures against Teheran for its refusal to halt nuclear enrichment activities, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency said he hoped Iran would not miss the opportunity to resolve its dispute with the international community.”

OPINION

The Big Squander (Paul Krugman, New York Times) “For the job of fixing the broken economy is far from done – yet finishing the job has become nearly impossible now that the public has lost faith in the government’s efforts, viewing them as little more than handouts to the people who got us into this mess.”

Sojourners’ Daily Digest is a compilation of the top news related to our commitments of life and peace, economic and racial justice, and care of creation, with a special focus on news of the engagement of faith in public life.