Malaysians flock to Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ"

More than 40,000 Malaysians have watched Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” after authorities in this mostly Muslim nation allowed the movie to be shown to Christians in specially designated cinemas. The Home Ministry ruled that non-Christians should be barred from screenings, but the restriction hasn’t been strictly enforced, Wong said, noting that some people might have asked their Christian friends to help them obtain tickets, which are sold only through churches. Proselytizing of Muslims by members of other religions is prohibited by law.

Australia's Anglican Church won't ordain women bishops

Australia’s Anglican Church rejected a move to ordain women as bishops, after a lengthy debate at its governing council on Oct 5. Most of the delegates at the meeting in the Western Australian capital city of Perth supported having female bishops, but the final vote on a proposal to ordain women as bishops failed to garner the two-thirds majority required. Sydney’s Archbishop Peter Jensen, one of the country’s most vocal opponents of female ordination, applauded the outcome. “The constitution of the church prevailed, in that it protected the minority, and a pretty substantive minority did not want this,” Jensen said, according to the Associated Press. Women have been allowed to serve as deacons in Australia’s Anglican Church since 1985 and as priests since 1992.                                — E.P. News