kim lawton has our special report. >> reporter: in washington, d.c., sister maureen fiedler hosts the public radio program "interfaith voices." she tries to broaden interreligious understanding in order to further justice and peace. values she says come straight from her roman catholic faith. >> this isn't something peripheral. this is central to the preaching of the gospel. >> reporter: fiedler entered religious life 50 years ago, just before vatican ii got under way. she says the spirit of the vatican meetings had a profound impact on how she viewed her calling. >> the second vatican council had a marvelous document called the church in the modern world which basically underlined the message of justice and peace in the gospel. >> reporter: fiedler became involved in a series of social justice causes, including a 37-day fast in support of the equal rights amendment, and rallies in support of the ordination of female priests. >> it just all fit together as a piece for me, and it also fit together in my prayer as i tried to put this together with the second vatican council. it simply m

i'm kim lawton reporting. >>> this week, one of the three bishops appointed to oversee the lcwr took a highly critical stand against the group. on the public radio program "fresh air," toledo bishop leonard blair said the sisters are promoting "a new kind of theology." he quotepope john paul ii saying all other human rights are "false and illusory" if the right to life is not defended with "maximum determination." >>> more about the week's "religion and ethics news" now from kim lawton, managing editor of this program, and david gibson, national reporter for religion news service, who joins us from new york. welcome to you both. david, out of all the tragedy in colorado, there has emerged another debate about gun control. should it be considered a pro-life, a right to life issue like abortion? what are people saying? >> well, this debate, bob, was really prompted in the hours after the shooting by a column by father james martin, a jesuit at "american" magazine, popular author, who wrote an essay saying, look, gun control and gun violence is a pro-life issue as much as abortion, as t

pat zapor of catholic news service, kim lawton of "religion and ethics newsweekly," many thanks. >>> in other news, religious relief groups are helping the thousands of people fleeing the wildfires raging in the mountain states. charities are working to provide food and shelter to the more than 35,000 evacuees. several churches have had to cancel religious services. faith leaders are asking for prayers for those people affected by the fire. the blaze has been particularly bad around colorado springs, home to many evangelical organizations, among them focus on the family. a popular catholic priest, once called the country's first televangelist, may become a saint. this week, pope benedict xvi recognized the late archbishop fulton sheen as having quote "heroic virtues," furthering his cause for sainthood. the charismatic sheen was known for his popular broadcasts "the catholic hour" on the radio and "life is worth living," which ran on tv during the 1950s. the newly elected president of egypt says he will work to protect the rights of all egyptians, including women and christians. moha

kim lawton reports. >>> muslims observing the month-long ramadan fast are not allowed to eat or drink anything at all, even water, from sunrise to sunset. all muslims who are able to do so are supposed to fast, but the koran does allow for some exceptions. >> there are verses in the koran that talk about people who are sick or people who are traveling. so within that period of travel or people who are sick, they are actually exempted from fasting. many muslim olympians believe they come under travelers' exemption. judo champion maher abu rmeileh is the first palestine to qualify for the olympics. he says, "we asked religious scholars and they said that if we're out on a mission like this, out on a national mission, there is no problem with not fasting, on the condition that when you return, you fast the days you lost because fasting, like prayer, is obligatory." >> religious scholars have said there are several ways muslims can make up for not fasting during ramadan. >> you know, if you are able to fast on different days, you are able to do that. if you are not, you can also pay a kin

kim lawton spoke with him. >> reporter: celebration of american liberty is important, but author and commentator e.j. dionne says liberty not the full picture of our national character. in his new book, our divided political heart, dionne argues that a strong impulse toward community is also part of the american story. >> we often forget that the first word of the constitution of the united states is not the word "i," it's the word "we." we, the people of the united states. and the preamble sets forth a series of common goals, not individual goals. we are not just "is" out there, interested in our own liberty-- although we are. but we are also wes, a we who are trying to preserve this great experiment in self-government. >> reporter: according to dionne, a "web of social bonds and mutual obligations" has always tied americans together. the often delicate balance between individualism and community is part of what he says "philosophically and spiritually" makes us americans. >> i think right from the beginning of our republic, we've been torn by this tension between individualism and