the estate of william j. carter. the jane henson foundation and corporation for public broadcasting. >>> welcome. i'm bob abernethy. it's good to have you with us. an historic vote by the southern baptist convention this week. the nation's largest protestant denomination elected new orleans pastor fred luter, jr. as its first african-american president. the emotional vote was hailed as a significant step for the sbc, which was founded in 1845 in support of slavery. luter told us he hopes to address the sbc's declining number of baptisms and members -- >> we need to find out what happened and we need to fix it. because that's something this convention has been very proud about, about the fact that we've always made evangelism a priority. >>> in other business, sbc delegates narrowly approved an unofficial alternate name, great commission baptists, which can be used by churches that are uncomfortable with the word "southern" in the denomination's title. delegates also approved a resolution opposing same-sex marriage an

the estate of william j. carter. the jane henson foundation and the corporation for public broadcasting. >>> welcome. i'm kim lawton, sitting in for bob abernethy. thank you for joining us. after a two-year-long investigation, the vatican strongly condemned a 2006 book on sexuality written by a prominent american nun. the vatican's doctrine office said just love by sister margaret farley reflects a quote "defective understanding" of church teaching on issues including masturbation, homosexuality, marriage and divorce. sister farley taught christian ethics at yale divinity school for more than 30 years. she said her book was not intended to be an expression of official catholic teaching, but rather an "exploration of contemporary interpretations." with this week's news, the book has shot up the bestsellers' charts. many lay catholics around the country have been rallying in support of u.s. nones -- nuns. last week, the umbrella group representing the majority of american catholic sisters pushed back against a vatican

the estate of william j. carter. the jane henson foundation and corporation for public broadcasting. >>> welcome, i'm bob abernethy. it's good to have you with us. a key meeting at the vatican this week between church officials and the umbrella group representing the majority of american catholic nuns. in april, the vatican accused the leadership conference of women religious of having serious doctrinal problems and ordered the group to place itself under the authority of seattle's archbishop. the leadership conference said the vatican's assessment was "flawed." conference representatives said this week's meeting produced an honest discussion. >> we are grateful for the opportunity for an open dialogue, and we will -- the next step will be that we'll go to our members to decide how to proceed from here. >> the vatican asserted that the nuns' group "remains under the supreme direction of the holy see." >>> here at home, many catholics continue to show their support for the nuns. in atlanta, one group held a rally and

the estate of william j. carter. the jane henson foundation and corporation for public broadcasting. >>> welcome, i'm bob abernethy. it's good to have you with us. a key meeting at the vatican this week between church officials and the umbrella group representing the majority of american catholic nuns. in april, the vatican accused the leadership conference of women religious of having serious doctrinal problems and ordered the group to place itself under the authority of seattle's archbishop. the leadership conference said the vatican's assessment was "flawed." conference representatives said this week's meeting produced an honest discussion. >> we are grateful for the opportunity for an open dialogue, and we will -- the next step will be that we'll go to our members to decide how to proceed from here. >> the vatican asserted that the nuns' group "remains under the supreme direction of the holy see." >>> here at home, many catholics continue to show their support for the nuns. in atlanta, one group held a rally and