Religious Officials

He made it sound so simple. Indian spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar brought his message of hope and love to Los Angeles this week, and again and again offered the same advice: Be at peace, be good to others. During brief remarks and then in a wide-ranging and lengthy question-and-answer session with a rapt audience in Westwood, the bearded and robed guru repeatedly revisited his central theme as questioners sought guidance on how to navigate the world.

In a strong show of solidarity, leaders from different faiths came together Friday in Los Angeles' Koreatown to urge the release of the remaining 19 South Korean Christian aid workers being held in Afghanistan by Taliban insurgents. In a message directed at the international community, 25 representatives of Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and Muslim groups said hostage-taking violates tenets of all religions.

Doctors in Miami halted liver transplant surgery on the leader of Greece's Orthodox Church because his cancer appeared to have spread into his abdomen. Archbishop Christodoulos, 68, was diagnosed with liver and colon cancer in June after undergoing intestinal surgery, but it was not known that it had spread. Doctors said a transplant was not possible because anti-rejection drugs would fuel the cancer tumors' growth.

Speaking with mutual respect and sensitivity, prominent Christian, Jewish and Muslim scholars and clergy from around the country met in Los Angeles this week to "wrestle" with what one rabbi described as the "dark side" of the three faith traditions. Experts cited "problematic" passages from the Hebrew Scripture, the New Testament and the Koran that assert the superiority of one belief system over others. As an example, the Rt. Rev.

A Stanton pastor about to go on trial on charges of having unlawful sex with a 16-year-old parishioner has been rearrested on suspicion of violating a court protective order by seeing her twice while out on bail, authorities said Friday. Ronald Hernandez Tova, 57, is accused of meeting the girl, now 17, at a bus stop in July and in a church parking lot earlier this week, said Drew Haughton, a deputy district attorney prosecuting the case. "It's pretty outrageous conduct," Haughton said.

The trial of cleric Abu Hamza al Masri on charges of stirring up racial hatred and urging the killing of non-Muslims opened Monday in a London court. Masri, 47, is the best-known figure to be tried for such offenses in Britain since the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S. The Egyptian-born cleric faces nine counts of using public meetings to incite followers to kill non-Muslims. Four other charges allege that he urged the killing of Jews.

The Roman Catholic cathedral of Los Angeles on Monday rescinded its invitation to hold a Christian unity conference later this month after concluding that the principal speaker was to be a controversial self-proclaimed mystic who claimed to speak directly with God, Jesus and Mary. In a letter to the sponsors, Msgr.

A Christian conference that was disinvited from the Roman Catholic cathedral in Los Angeles because it was to feature a self-proclaimed mystic will be held Saturday at the Alex Theater in Glendale, organizers said. Two weeks ago, Msgr. Kevin Kostelnik, pastor of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, withdrew the invitation to hold the event at the cathedral.

Pat Robertson is lunching this sunny afternoon at his four-star hotel, where the waitresses have committed his favorite meal to memory: grilled chicken over field greens, berries in season, iced tea no lemon.

Pope Benedict XVI named his first group of cardinals Wednesday, including an outspoken Hong Kong prelate and the former archbishop of San Francisco, as the pontiff put his stamp on the elite cadre that rules the Roman Catholic Church. Benedict announced the elevation of 15 cardinals and said the new "princes of the church," as they are known, will be installed March 24, when each is bestowed with a bright red hat that signifies the blood they are willing to sacrifice for their faith.