The Presbyterian Church-USA, one of the nation’s oldest and largest mainline Christian denominations, is in the middle of a crucial vote among its leadership to determine whether or not open homosexuals will be allowed to fill the church’s pulpits. At the denomination’s General Assembly in July 2010, delegates approved by a 373 to 323 vote a measure that would allow open homosexuals to pastor and minister in the flagship Presbyterian denomination’s 11,000 congregations and serve its estimated 2.3 million members.

On February 23 Hawaii became the 12th state to recognize homosexual unions, as Democratic Governor Neil Abercrombie signed a bill granting same-sex couples the same state legal benefits extended to married couples, but without calling such unions “marriage.” The law will go into effect on January 1, 2012.

He was a prosperous abortionist and an influential force early in the movement to legalize abortion in America. But as Dr. Bernard Nathanson was brought face to face with the truth of what was happening when he helped women “terminate” their pregnancies, he had no choice but to abandon his “pro choice” platform and spend the rest of his days fighting for the unborn. On February 21, at the age of 84, Dr. Nathanson completed his life’s mission and met his creator. The cause of death was cancer, said his wife Christine.

Last week’s Grammy Awards ceremony was most noteworthy for its celebration of an entire year of perhaps the most vapid, senseless, and immoral catalog of music in the history of popular culture. But even as a silly and irrelevant Lady Gaga preened, an aging Eminem showcased his worn-out urban anger, and the music industry honored a rag-tag collection of nominally-talented and self-important recording stars, another, more modest and self-effacing artist was honored for his 60-plus-year career as one of the world’s most beloved gospel vocalists.

Following revelations that a Pennsylvania physician had murdered at least one woman and hundreds of viable fully delivered babies in his “House of Horrors” abortion clinic, Governor Tom Corbett announced sweeping changes to clamp down on his state’s under-supervised abortion industry.

Thanks to pro-family groups like the Parents Television Council (PTC), Focus on the Family, and the American Family Association, parents across America are getting the low-down on what’s wrong with what’s on TV — and what can be done about it beyond merely flipping the switch.

A new study from a youth research organization finds that even amidst a culture in which an aggressive media encourages teens to become sexually active, a solid majority still want to embrace traditional values regarding sex. According to the latest research by OneHope, a Christian youth outreach that provides research to non-profit organizations, 61 percent of American teens want to remain abstinent until marriage, with an additional 63 percent saying that while they have already been sexually active, they would like to return to a place of sexual purity.

A group of 33 retired bishops with the United Methodist Church (UMC) have released a statement calling their denomination to drop its ban on homosexual clergy. The bishops are asking the church to remove from its official Book of Discipline the stricture stating that the “practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching” and that “self-avowed practicing homosexuals are not to be certified as candidates, ordained as ministers, or appointed to serve in The United Methodist Church.”

An Indiana software company has developed a new smart phone application to help Catholic Christians prepare for the sacrament of Confession. “Confession: A Roman Catholic App” features a “personalized examination of conscience” that is designed to help users prepare for Confession with a priest in real time.

A Kansas physician is making preparations to open an abortion clinic in Wichita, the community where infamous late-term abortionist George Tiller practiced his grisly trade before being murdered last year. Dr. Mila Means, who is a family practice physician and is not certified in obstetrics or gynecology, recently purchased abortion equipment from Tiller’s now-shuttered Women’s Health Care Services, and has reportedly been training in Kansas City to perform abortions, which she plans to offer at her own Wichita medical clinic.