News In Brief

Five Protestant groups plan to sue over envoy for Vatican

Four Protestant denominations and the National Association of Evangelicals plan a lawsuit challenging the sending of a US ambassador to the Vatican. The goups involved -- the Presbyterian Church (USA), the American Baptist Churches, the Church of the Brethren, and the black Progressive National Baptist Convention -- say that diplomatic recognition of the Vatican favors ''one religion over others,'' violating the principle of separation of church and state.