U.S. Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders are asking Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to press for a greater U.S. role in ending Mideast violence. Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, said the religious leaders asked for high-level engagement with both the Israelis and the Palestinians "that holds both sides accountable in a step-by-step peace process."

The group also promised to "say tough things to our communities here and in the region" about what must be done to bring about peace. Along with Rice and McCarrick, the meeting in February included Bishop Mark Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori; Sayyid M. Syeed, national director of the Islamic Society of North America; Rabbi Paul Menitoff, a leader in Reform Judaism; and Rabbi Amy Small, a leader of the Reconstructionist branch of Judaism.

The leaders are part of the National Interreligious Initiative for Peace in the Middle East, which represents more than 35 religious groups and supports a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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Methodists have a new way to connect. United Methodist Communications has unveiled the church's redesigned Web page that is meant to function as a social-networking site, similar to MySpace or Facebook. The church spent more than two years developing the new umc.org, to allow visitors to set up personal profiles, upload photos, create a blog and establish a network of friends.

The online community has filters that edit out offensive language, among other safety tools, that allow users to flag inappropriate posts for review by an administrator. "It's about relationships and bringing people of faith together in innovative new ways," said the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of United Methodist Communications.

Other site features include resources for church leaders, a "people" section that includes inspirational stories, a section to submit prayer requests, a volunteer opportunities section, a "MethoPedia" or encyclopedia for Methodists, and a church locator. The United Methodist Church claims 8.3 million U.S. members, along with many members overseas.

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The Indiana Senate is again starting its sessions with an official prayer for the first time since a federal judge's ruling barred sectarian House invocations as part of legislative business.

The Senate had been observing a moment of silent prayer or meditation at the start of each session day since November 2005, when U.S. District Judge David Hamilton ruled that official House prayers that mentioned Jesus Christ amounted to state endorsement of a religion. That case is now on appeal before the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed the lawsuit in 2005 on behalf of four people, including a Quaker lobbyist, who said they found the tradition of offering mostly Christian prayers offensive.

Senate leaders said members felt it was important to return to the practice of an oral prayer, even if the invocations cannot mention Jesus. Sen. Dennis Kruse gave the opening prayer, which asked for "divine guidance."

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A "Jesus" mask on sale in Verona for Italy's winter Carnival, a celebration that comes every February, prompted a rebuke from the local bishop.

The mask appeared recently in a store in the northern Italian city and consists of a fake beard and a long, brown-haired wig made in China, according to the ANSA news agency. On the box are the words "Jesus," and a drawing of Christ with a crown of thorns.

"I felt humiliated. For me and for millions of people the suffering Christ is a beloved image, and instead it is mocked," Bishop of Verona Flavio Carraro said. "We must respect the religious sentiments of our people," Carraro added. "That image is part of art history and poetry, and it's bad to ruin it like that."

Carnival festivities, which were centered in Venice and have since spread throughout the country, hit their zenith in the 1700s when European nobility were drawn by the promise of an anonymous good time before Ash Wednesday and the somber Lenten season.