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German Catholics' Path To Heaven Comes With Taxes

Credit Daniel Karmann / EPA/Landov

Bavarian bishops walk in a procession to the Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers near Bad Staffelstein, Germany, in May. A decree by the German bishops' conference warns that German Catholics who do not pay a state church tax will be denied sacraments.

By Sylvia Poggioli

Originally published on Tue October 9, 2012 10:02 pm

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Germany's bishops have a clear message for the country's 25 million Catholics: The road to heaven requires more than faith and good intentions; it requires tax payments, too.

Last month, German bishops warned that if members of the Catholic Church don't pay the country's church tax, they'll be denied the sacraments — including baptisms, weddings and funerals.

In increasingly secular Europe, Germany is one of the few countries where the state collects a special levy from tax-registered believers and hands it over to three organized faiths.

1:52 pm

Tue October 9, 2012

Marine General Expected To Be Next Commander In Afghanistan

Credit Marines.mil

Gen. Joseph Dunford.

By Tom Bowman

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is expected to announce during a meeting of NATO defense leaders in Brussels Wednesday that Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford will be nominated to succeed Gen. John Allen as the top commander in Afghanistan, according to a defense official familiar with the decision.

1:51 pm

Tue October 9, 2012

Poison And Petticoats: The Incomplete Jane Austen

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Credit Michael Lionstar

Rebecca Harrington is also the college editor for the Huffington Post.

By editor

Originally published on Mon November 12, 2012 9:48 am

Rebecca Harrington is the author of the book Penelope.

As a young child, I was very much enamored with romance (my Barbies were subjected to appallingly long balls — Ken was very urbane in his own way). So it was with a kind of relief that I first discovered Jane Austen. I was 9 years old when I stole my mother's copy of Pride and Prejudice and read it very late at night. I didn't really understand much or even who was speaking (old J.A. was never one for attribution) but I knew it was extremely romantic and that was all I needed.

1:42 pm

Tue October 9, 2012

Letters: Helping Kids Handle Grief

By editor

Originally published on Wed October 10, 2012 8:47 am

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1:41 pm

Tue October 9, 2012

Getting To Yes On Gay Marriage, One Voter At A Time

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Credit Michael May for NPR

Rion Tucker is a canvasser for Equality Maine. The organization is working to get supporters to the polls on Election Day, to vote for a ballot initiative legalizing same-sex marriage.

Credit Michael May for NPR

Tucker of Equality Maine talks with a supporter in Dexter, Maine, who bought a bumper sticker.

By editor

Originally published on Tue October 9, 2012 6:10 pm

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Rion Tucker is covering a lot of ground in his home state of Maine these days. The 20-year-old is a canvasser for Equality Maine, and he's been knocking on lots of doors in an effort to make sure that voters in his state pass a ballot initiative in November legalizing same-sex marriage.

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1:58 pm

Tue October 9, 2012