Chez TL

Contraception's con men

2012-02-16T05:34:00.000-06:00

Some Republicans are using the bishops’ stupidity to hurt the supposed “moderate” candidate Mitt Romney, giving a temporary leg up to the faux naïf Rick Santorum; others are attacking Barack Obama as an “enemy of religion.” CONTINUE

A religious war out of thin air

2012-02-15T08:21:00.000-06:00

At ease, Christian soldiers. There is no “war on religion,” no assault on the Catholic Church. A faith that has endured for thousands of years will survive even Nicki Minaj.

CONTINUE

Celebrate all kinds of love

2012-02-14T08:18:00.000-06:00

Valentine's Day tends to get on people's nerves. Singles are excluded by default, and many couples don't enjoy their romance corporatized, redwashed or chocolatey. Thankfully, there's an antidote: a new Tumblr started by feminist writer Samhita Mukhopadhyay called Occupy Valentine's Day. CONTINUE

Severe Conservative Syndrome

2012-02-13T07:59:00.000-06:00

Mitt Romney’s words are a clue to what went wrong for Republicans. CONTINUE

Up with Chris Hayes

2012-02-11T12:25:00.000-06:00

The issue between Obama and the Catholic bishops is intelligently discussed on the weekend morning show, "Up with Chris Hayes." Notre Dame law professor Rev William Daily joins the conversation. Worth watching HERE

A RHYTHM to their METHOD...

2012-02-10T06:09:00.000-06:00

The main question is whether this is truly a galvanizing issue for rank-and-file Catholics. If they conclude that the real issue is birth control, the bishops may lose. Humanae Vitae, the papal encyclical issued in 1968 that prohibited artificial contraception because every act of intercourse should be open to procreation, never really took hold in the United States. Some Catholic theologians still argue that it is bad doctrine.Studies have shown that 98 percent of Catholic women have used artificial contraception at some time in their lives. A poll released on Tuesday by the Public Religion Research Institute in Washington found that 52 percent of Catholic respondents agreed that even religiously affiliated colleges and hospitals should have to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception.

You can watch a video segment on this issue from The Rachel Maddow Show HERE.

Priest fired for improvising prayer

2012-02-09T08:37:00.000-06:00

For 18 years, the Rev. William Rowe has done a little improvising while celebrating Mass on Sunday mornings at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Mount Carmel, Ill. Now those deviations have led to his resignation in an incident that may be tied to global changes to the Catholic liturgy.
CONTINUE

Is The Help the Most Loathsome Movie in America?

2012-02-08T08:14:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure why so many people flocked to spend hours in this world of American apartheid. For me, watching The Help was like visual waterboarding. Still, Viola Davis should win the Oscar for Best Actress, CONTINUE

Nuns in street clothing shouldn't scare the Vatican!

2012-02-07T09:02:00.000-06:00

"American sisters aren’t a problem for the Catholic Church; they’re an asset. They’re demonstrating new ways to be communities of conscience in the world. With this report, the men of the Vatican can continue to use their power to intimidate anyone who appears threatening, or they can embrace the spirit of dialogue, respect and courage shown by American nuns. I’d love to be pleasantly surprised." -Former nun, Mary Johnson-Bloomberg

CONTINUE

Newt's an idiot!

2012-02-06T07:29:00.000-06:00

The PBS headliner rises to the defense of Saul Alinsky, “a patriot, in a long line of patriots, who scorned the malignant narcissism of duplicitous politicians and taught every-day Americans to think for themselves and to fight together for a better life.”

Newt Gingrich has been slandering (Moyers’ word) the late community organizer in his campaign appearances, although his crowd “knows nothing about the target except that they are supposed to hate him,” says Moyers. By explaining who Alinsky was and even how Gingrich himself has adopted at least one of Alinsky’s talking points, Moyers shows that the candidate, who claims to be a historian, is either ignorant of Saul Alinsky, or is deliberately misleading people. Below are Moyers’ essay on Gingrich and Alinsky, followed by this week’s entire Moyers & Company episode.

Watch the short video clip HERE.

Politics and social justice

2012-02-03T04:31:00.000-06:00

There has been much in the news lately regarding the poor and government's responsibilities regarding same. Here's the "current comment" from America magazine on one Catholic Republican candidate:

"Of the two Catholic Republican presidential candidates still standing, Pennsylvania's former senator, Rick Santorum, to a greater degree than other candidates, has constructed his image around an altar boy youth, his coal miner father and his big family of seven children, including the loss of a son born prematurely in 1996. He has gone out of his way to distinguish himself from PResident John F. Kennedy, who, he says, constructed a 'threatening wall' that froze moral convictions out of political discourse. At the same time, although he calls himself "pro family," in November 2011 he questioned the value of the government's helping poor families with food stamps, Medicaid and housing assistance. "Suffering,' he said, 'if you're a Christian, is part of life.'

"But there are several gaps between Mr. Santorum and the Catholic Church's social justice teaching. The bishops want citizenship for undocumented immigrants; the former senator says that would invite migrants to break the laws. Pope Benedict XVI deplores the 'scandal of glaring inequalities'; Mr. Santorum says, 'I have no problem with income inequality.' The encyclicals support labor unions; this Catholic candidate would abolish public sector unions. While the bishops have condemned all use of torture, in a televised debate Mr. Santorum endorsed waterboarding and 'enhanced interrogation techniques.' He has also long championed the death penalty."

Last evening, Rachel Maddow had some commentary on politics and social responsibilities, including a brief interview with E. J. Dionne (The Washington Post) who quotes Pope Paul II on social justice. You can watch this short video HERE.

"I'm sorry...so sorry"

2012-01-25T09:14:00.000-06:00

Not all apologies are apologies. Politicians take note: research shows the fine line between claiming regret and taking responsibility. CONTINUE

Catholic theologians: "Stop stereotyping!"

2012-01-24T07:42:00.000-06:00

A group of Catholic theologians and leaders of Catholic organizations called on Republican presidential candidates to "stop perpetuating ugly racial stereotypes on the campaign trail." CONTINUE

No more space

2012-01-21T07:57:00.001-06:00

Designers tend to be overly opinionated about lots of things that the rest of the world doesn't care much about. Bad logos. Poor color choices. And don't get them started on the pros and cons (mostly cons) of Comic Sans. But there's one argument where designers, namely type designers, do know best. And that's the argument against placing a double space after a period. CONTINUE

The high cost of moralizing

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000-06:00

Newt Gingrich can’t escape the toxic combination of infidelity and sermonizing. He seeks forgiveness yet tries to tell Americans how to run their lives. CONTINUE

50 years of social history

2012-01-18T08:30:00.000-06:00

Take 7 minutes to watch fifty years of social history. CONTINUE

For priests' wives, a word of caution

2012-01-16T09:09:00.000-06:00

The status of the priest’s wife is perhaps even more strange and unsettling than that of her ordained Catholic husband.

CONTINUE

The new Mass as "New Coke"

2012-01-14T06:05:00.000-06:00

"I never liked New Coke, so I didn't buy it. I just kept drinking the regular brew. Similarly, I suggest that we say our prayers in our own voice. If that's the old way, great, or if you are feeling particularly creative maybe you make up your own words - just like the big shots do. Or we can just leave the translating to God." Read more HERE.

And liturgist Ken Smits offered the following in a letter published in the Fond du Lac "Reporter" in late December:

"As a former professor of liturgy at St. Francis Seminary who trained many of the priests of Milwaukee Archdiocese, I deplore the English translation of the Roman Missal that has been foisted upon American Catholics.

"By a very slavish translation of Latin, these texts have brought us as close as possible to the way Romans prayed between 500 and 1000 A.D., together with the social and cultural baggage of that time. The spiritual universe of those Roman times is there, along with an almost groveling approach to God and an overriding preoccupation with getting to heaven, rather than the Gospel emphasis upon discipleship, loving our neighbor and service.

"Only antiquarians and Latin scholars (the people who made these changes) could love this turn of events. I would advise Catholic people to turn for spiritual nourishment to the hymns we sing, where they shall find the scriptures and contemporary spirituality more readily available.

"The new texts are cumbersome, wordy and difficult to pray publicly. They shall not wear well, but look increasingly archaic with time, fostering the search for alternate prayers. Unfortunately, the silk purse of our expensive new Roman Missal contains, when opened up, alas, a sow's ear."

Respect, compassion, sensitivity

2012-01-13T06:44:00.000-06:00

This issue has been discussed ad nauseam, but when Jesuit James Martin offers his perspective, it is wise to listen. CONTINUE.

My son's velvet yarmulke

2012-01-12T08:34:00.002-06:00

The yarmulke my son picked out at a local Judaica store on his third birthday was big like a salad bowl and the deep, chocolate velvet of a dress I once wore to a winter formal. Etched into the yarmulke in Hebrew letters was the name Yosef Yitzchak. There were a number of things wrong with this, not the least of which is the fact that my son’s name is Ezra. But that was the last thing that bothered me. CONTINUE

Rick Santorum on gays and "bla people"

2012-01-11T07:58:00.000-06:00

Rick Santorum likes it “hot and heavy and strictly missionary.” His truth, that is—get your mind out of the godless liberal gutter. And Santorum is spreading the word in nuanced and original speeches about gay parenting and racial difference, for just two handy wedge-issue examples, around the country as he jacks up the campaign rhetoric. Good thing Stephen Colbert is paying attention, as no good GOP deed goes unpunished on “The Colbert Report,” as demonstrated by this clip from Monday night’s show. Watch it HERE.

Disconnect between bishops and real people

2012-01-10T08:18:00.000-06:00

Given the findings of this latest survey, it is clear that relatively few Catholics look to the bishops themselves as the sole source of guidance on moral issues..There is an evident disconnect between what the bishops think is happening "out there," and what is actually going on.

CONTINUE

Catholic case against Santorum

2012-01-08T11:39:00.001-06:00

Catholic politicians across the spectrum will all find aspects of Church teaching that challenge their ideological agendas in discomforting ways. But for too long Catholics in public life have only been scrutinized when it comes to abortion and same-sex marriage. This does a disservice to voters, ignores the Catholic social justice tradition’s broad moral agenda and lets Catholic candidates like Rick Santorum off the hook even when they consistently disregard their faith’s teachings on key moral and political issues.

CONTINUE

Another article on Santorum this week urges consenting adults to "lock your doors!" Read it HERE.

More married priests are on the way

2012-01-07T07:47:00.000-06:00

“The truth is that celibate priests often have ways of walling themselves off,” Father Sullins says. “If you call a celibate priest’s rectory in the middle of the night, you’ll likely get an answering machine. But if you call a married priest in the middle of the night, and he is disinclined to go out, he will get an elbow from his life partner, saying, ‘Hey, you committed yourself to this work.’“I don’t want to say the difference is great, but if there is a difference, it’s in favor of the married priest.”

CONTINUE

IOWA...Think again!

2012-01-04T08:32:00.000-06:00

Now that the Iowa caucuses are over, you may want to "think again" about how you "think" about Iowa....watch this short video HERE.

The joy of quiet

2012-01-02T00:48:00.000-06:00

In barely one generation we’ve moved from exulting in the time-saving devices that have so expanded our lives to trying to get away from them — often in order to make more time. The more ways we have to connect, the more many of us seem desperate to unplug. Like teenagers, we appear to have gone from knowing nothing about the world to knowing too much all but overnight.

CONTINUE

Educating for Justice

2011-12-29T19:58:00.000-06:00

It is a challenging question, one that Benedict XVI took as his theme for the celebration of the 45th World Day of Peace on Jan. 1, 2012: “Educating Young People in Justice and Peace.”

CONTINUE

Feel free to ignore Iowa

2011-12-29T07:49:00.000-06:00

The first-in-the-nation caucuses are only a few days away! Frankly, people, it will be the first big nonevent of 2012. CONTINUE

The Molotov Party

2011-12-28T08:28:00.000-06:00

What Republican aristocrats in denial like Karl Rove can’t bring themselves to recognize is that “the most unpredictable, rapidly shifting, and often downright inexplicable primary race” they’ve ever seen is not just a conservative revolution but one that has them in its sights. CONTINUE

Obit: John Lawrence

2011-12-27T08:01:00.000-06:00

His courage led to a 2003 decision that read, "The state cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime." CONTINUE

Imported homophobia

2011-12-23T12:08:00.000-06:00

Fighting for gay rights means fighting for survival in Uganda, where homophobia is an import from the West. Read more HERE.http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/opinion/gay-and-vilified-in-uganda.html

Ordering the vegetarian meal? There's more animal blood on your hands!

2011-12-22T05:01:00.001-06:00

The challenge for the ethical eater is to choose the diet that causes the least deaths and environmental damage. There would appear to be far more ethical support for an omnivorous diet that includes rangeland-grown red meat. Read more HERE.

Separation of Newt and State

2011-12-21T09:08:00.002-06:00

With his numbers in Iowa sliding, does the ostentatiously Catholic Newt Gingrich have a prayer? Read this Op Ed piece HERE.

The believer's atheist

2011-12-20T07:47:00.002-06:00

Why so many Christians loved Christopher Hitchens. Read it HERE.

Please stop sharing

2011-12-17T07:52:00.000-06:00

The best advice I’ve heard of late is from the actor George Clooney. “I don’t tweet, I don’t go on Facebook,” he said in a profile. “I think there’s too much information about all of us out there. I’m liking the idea of privacy more and more.” Read more HERE.

RIP: Christopher Hitchens

2011-12-16T09:13:00.000-06:00

This morning brought news of the death of Christopher Hitchens, the most notorious and aggressive atheist on the planet and a conversationalist, wordsmith and bon vivant of the highest order. Watch this short video on Hitchen's critique of the Ten Commandments HERE

Were you there....?

2011-12-14T09:13:00.000-06:00

Chris Hedges asks "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" Read this remarkable examination of conscience HERE.

John Foley dies

2011-12-13T08:51:00.001-06:00

Cardinal Foley heeded God’s “whisper” to become a priest as well as his own inclinations to go to journalism school, then combined the roles as the Vatican’s communications director. He once declared AIDS as a "natural sanction for certain types of activities." After the Vatican assured gay people that God loved them, Foley never uttered another controversial statement. Read more HERE.

Human Rights

2011-12-12T07:31:00.000-06:00

Last week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the United Nations on human rights: a huge leap forward for the LGBT community. You can read her extraordinary speech HERE.

Catholics: A house divided

2011-12-04T20:56:00.000-06:00

We offer two video clips for you this morning: the first, a serious look at the divisions in the Catholic Church (CBS Sunday Morning). You can view that segment HERE.

The second video clip, much shorter and lighter, is from the Colbert Report on the new translations for the Mass, among other things. Enjoy it HERE.

Please note: We will be on a short hiatus, but will return shortly. Stay tuned!

Franciscan ready to accept consequences for joining woman-led liturgy

2011-12-02T08:20:00.000-06:00

Despite rumors that Franciscan Fr. Jerry Zawada would be excommunicated and expelled from his order for his participation in a liturgy led by a female priest, Zawada and the leadership of his order say that has yet to be discussed. Read more HERE.

A decade of progress on AIDS

2011-12-01T08:37:00.000-06:00

We’re nearly at the point we have been campaigning for in the fight against AIDS, and America has led the way. Read more HERE.

NOTE: Chez TL will be on hiatus for the next week or so. Stay tuned!

The Aftermass

2011-11-29T12:30:00.000-06:00

I'm traveling today and tomorrow, so here's tomorrow's post today:

Peter Steinfels blogs on his experience of "the new Mass." Read it HERE.

Is pedophilia a sexual orientatiion?

2011-11-29T07:38:00.001-06:00

A Psychologist Breaks Down What Makes a Jerry Sandusky. Read more HERE.

No news is good news!

2011-11-28T08:54:00.000-06:00

A new poll conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind concludes that people who watch FOX news are less informed. "Because of the controls for partisanship, we know these results are not just driven by Republicans or other groups being more likely to watch Fox News," said Dan Cassino, a professor of political science at Fairleigh Dickinson and an analyst for the PublicMind Poll. "Rather, the results show us that there is something about watching Fox News that leads people to do worse on these questions than those who don’t watch any news at all."

You can read more HERE.

Giving thanks for small blessings

2011-11-24T05:14:00.001-06:00

This year, don’t forget to give thanks for the Republican presidential debates, suggests Gail Collins. Seriously, they have given us so many truly interesting TV moments. Read more HERE.

And then check out this conversation between Gail and David Brooks on the theology of Augustine and the theology of the Republican presidential candidates. Read it HERE.

The mystery of the five wounds

2011-11-22T07:36:00.000-06:00

Investigating the phenomenon of stigmata. First case described was Francis of Assisi in 1224. Several hundred since. Mostly in Catholic Europe; mostly women. Some stigmatics admitted self-harm. But fraud doesn't explain all case. Read more HERE

Secret dread at Penn State

2011-11-21T07:00:00.001-06:00

Was it squeamishness over homosexuality that led a witness, and a university, to keep silent? In a culture that increasingly accepts gay life, organized athletics, from middle school to the professional leagues, is the last redoubt of unapologetic anti-gay sentiment. Anecdotal and public evidence for this is dismayingly overwhelming. Most recently, Sean Avery, of the New York Rangers hockey team, has been ostracized and ridiculed merely for making a short video in support of New York’s same-sex marriage act. (Anti-gay slurs are such an ingrained part of Ranger fans’ cheering that some gay fans have stopped attending games.) Read more HERE.

Vatican proposes "Robin Hood" tax

2011-11-18T08:50:00.000-06:00

While the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace recently supported a "Robin Hood" tax on share, bond and currency transactions that could support efforts to fight poverty, the U.S. Catholic bishops threw their support for a new effort to combat abortion, birth control and same-sex marriage. Watch this 8 minute segment from Rachel Maddow HERE.

Dirty Harry meets Dirtier Edgar

2011-11-16T09:02:00.000-06:00

Clint Eastwood growls: Go ahead. Make my gay.
Read more HERE.

Nuns "occupying"

2011-11-15T08:19:00.000-06:00

Long before Occupy Wall Street, the Sisters of St. Francis were quietly staging an occupation of their own, and have become one of the most surprising groups of corporate activists. Read more HERE.

Intellectual laziness

2011-11-14T09:38:00.000-06:00

The concern that liberals and conservatives seek out news media that reaffirm their points of view is exaggerated. The real problem is that the people they are listening to don’t seem to know much. "Intellectual laziness," is "in sync with a population that may care less and less about government and world affairs, a problem exacerbated by a declining education system and lack of civics instruction," claims James Warren in a column for The Chicago News Cooperative. Read more HERE.

Penn State's Catholic-like scandal

2011-11-12T10:39:00.000-06:00

It is rare, if not unprecedented, that the Catholic church could take a lesson from a secular university's football program. But the recent events surrounding Penn State's vaunted football culture is indeed instructive on several levels. Read more HERE.

Among the accolades...

2011-11-11T08:49:00.001-06:00

After Andy Rooney's death, the media sang the praises of America's "favorite curmudgeon." This piece from "Good Media" suggests that "Andy Rooney thought he was telling us all what we were already thinking. In fact, he was never able to see outside his specific place in the world, alone in his dark library." Read more HERE.

Herman Cain

2011-11-10T09:11:00.000-06:00

Herman Cain will never be president, and most likely will never be the nominee. Nevertheless, he keeps going as though he has a chance. Read more HERE.

The molester next door

2011-11-08T07:44:00.000-06:00

The predator to watch out for is less likely to don a trench coat and lurk behind a bush than to be someone who works closely with kids. Read Frank Bruni's NY Times Op Ed piece HERE.

Bishop describes Vatican's punishment

2011-11-07T08:57:00.000-06:00

Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, a retired auxiliary bishop of Detroit, revealed for the first time this past weekend details about his removal as a parish pastor in 2007. NCR published a report of the talk Gumbleton delivered at pre-conference meeting of Call to Action in Milwaukee. Read more HERE.

Beliefs about "Eucharist"

2011-11-03T10:55:00.000-05:00

The Catholic church teaches that in the consecration of the Eucharist, the bread and wine really become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist ‘the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.’ ” This is a key doctrine of the faith and a teaching that sets Catholics apart from most other Christians. Read more HERE.

Marriage isn't "sacred"

2011-11-02T07:59:00.000-05:00

Marriage is a tax shelter and a smart way for a couple to combine assets. Love is the thing that's sacrosanct. The sooner we understand the difference, the sooner we'll understand why Kim Kardashian's wedding was never holy, and why countless gay couples around the United States who love each other despite marriage bans are truly righteous. Read more HERE.

Protest in London splits church

2011-11-01T07:52:00.000-05:00

Amid a lawsuit and the resignations of two clerics, a rift has emerged in the Church of England over what to do about the protest camp outside St. Paul’s Cathedral: the social radicalism of Jesus versus the appeal of order. Read more HERE.

Addicted?

2011-10-31T07:00:00.000-05:00

Brain scans suggest that everything from sugar to sex lights up the brain’s pleasure circuitry similar to the way cocaine does in an addict. And altruism does, too. In Sunday's NY Times, Nicholas Kristoff wonders if he's addicted to running. Read more HERE.

2011-10-27T11:18:00.000-05:00

May God give you peace! Today is the 25th Anniversary of the Spirit of Assisi, when on Oct. 27, 1986, Pope John Paul II called the leaders of the world's religions together to pray for peace. Following are some materials that may help you reflect on the meaning of the day.

St. Barbara Province shared with us an inspirational video and song by Rufino Zaragoza, OFM, and friends called, We Only Come Armed With Love.

Our own Pat McCloskey, OFM, was present 25 years ago at the first Spirit of Assisi and writes about his experience in the October issue of St. Anthony Messenger. Pat's editorial is attached.

Vicar General Michael Perry, OFM, has written a letter to the friars sharing his reflections on the Spirit of Assisi.

Al Mascia, OFM, and his colleagues at Song and Spirit Institute of Peace have a busy weekend ahead with their Spirit of Assisi interfaith observances. If you'd like, you can support them and become PeaceKeepers with your donations.

Here in Cincinnati we will have a Spirit of Assisi prayer service this Sunday, Oct. 30, at 4 p.m. at St. Anthony Friary Chapel.

May our prayers and those of people around the world today transform minds and hearts and move us all to peace.

Peace and all good,

First "multi-faith" theology school

2011-10-26T08:03:00.000-05:00

Claremont Lincoln University, a graduate school in California, is the first in the United States to bring together Christians, Jews and Muslims in the same classrooms to educate the future leaders of churches, synagogues and mosques. Special correspondent Saul Gonzalez reports. Watch the PBS Newshour (7 minutes) video HERE.

Anita Caspary dies

2011-10-24T09:41:00.000-05:00

Dr. Caspary, who went by her religious name, Mother Humiliata, led the largest single exodus of nuns from the Roman Catholic Church in American history. Read the obit HERE.

The myths of Christian Europe

2011-10-22T07:35:00.000-05:00

"The reason to challenge the crass alarmism about the decline of Christianity is not simply to lay to rest the myths about the Christian tradition. It is also because that alarmism is itself undermining the very values – tolerance, equal treatment, universal rights – for the defense of which we supposedly need a Christian Europe. The erosion of Christianity will not necessarily lead to the erosion of such values. The crass defense of Christendom against the ‘barbarian hordes’ may well do so." Read more HERE.

George Harrison changed the way we believe

2011-10-21T07:16:00.000-05:00

Harrison, who died of cancer in 2001 at age 58, was an intensely private global superstar. He's now in the spotlight again, thanks to a coffee-table book by his widow Olivia and a new Martin Scorsese documentary on HBO. Read more HERE.

Drug testing the poor

2011-10-20T09:28:00.000-05:00

Rachel Maddow talks about the trend to require welfare recipients to submit to drug testing. The general rationale for such is that "people on welfare use drugs more often than others," has been debunked. In fact, research shows that the "general populations" uses recreational drugs more often than those who are on welfare. Watch her video segment HERE.

Dean Brackley dies

2011-10-19T07:50:00.000-05:00

Jesuit Dean Brackley, who volunteered in 1989 to help replace faculty members slain at the Jesuit University in El Salvador during its bloody civil war, died Sunday in San Salvador. He was 65. Brackley, a member of the New York Province of Jesuits when he relocated to San Salvador, served at Central American University from 1990 until his death. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer four months ago. Read more HERE.

The evangelical rejection of reason

2011-10-18T08:04:00.000-05:00

Evangelical Christianity need not be defined by the simplistic theology, cultural isolationism and stubborn anti-intellectualism that most of the Republican candidates have embraced. Read more HERE.

No mention of abuse scandal in homily

2011-10-17T08:14:00.000-05:00

With news of charges against Bishop Robert Finn and the diocese still fresh, priests struggled on whether to broach the subject, and how, in their sermons. Read more HERE.

Before Stonewall, there was Franklin Kameny

2011-10-14T08:54:00.000-05:00

Mr. Kameny transformed his 1957 arrest as a “sex pervert” and his subsequent firing from the Army Map Service into a powerful animating spark of the gay rights movement. Read more HERE.

Panic of the plutocrats

2011-10-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

Paul Krugman (NY Times columnist) has a few words to say about the "Occupy Wall Street" movement. Read his column HERE.

Same-sex marriage in Catholic Portugal

2011-10-11T06:30:00.000-05:00

With minimal international attention, Portugal — tiny, overwhelmingly Roman Catholic Portugal — legalized same-sex marriage last year. Read more HERE.

A woman's place

2011-10-10T06:30:00.000-05:00

More dioceses are now outlawing altar girls. What's next? Read more from "America" magazine HERE.

Mortal institutions

2011-10-07T07:22:00.000-05:00

Tributes to Steve Jobs proliferate, but we found his 2005 address at Stanford University perhaps the best of what he offered. Read it HERE.

On empathy and emotion

2011-10-06T08:02:00.000-05:00

Are we less inclined to act in the face of large-scale tragedy than small-scale suffering? Watch this 5 minute video HERE.

Death becomes us

2011-10-03T07:42:00.000-05:00

The impulse to invest significance in the bodies of the dead has usually been a religious one. Yet even my atheist father cared about the treatment of his remains, says Sarah Murray. Read more HERE.

"Unalianable rights"

2011-09-30T08:57:00.000-05:00

"Rights," said Rachel Maddow last evening, "are not supposed to be up to popular vote." That's why they're called "rights." Watch her 8 minute segment on this issue HERE.

Reduced role for Rooney's "few minutes"

2011-09-28T07:50:00.000-05:00

Andy Rooney, whose folksy and often curmudgeonly essays have been a staple of “60 Minutes” for more than three decades, will end his regular weekly appearances on the program, CBS said Tuesday. Read more HERE.

Violence vanished

2011-09-27T08:13:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, the world of the past was much worse. Violence has been in decline for thousands of years, and today we may be living in the most peaceable era in the existence of our species. Read more HERE.

Working for Amazon is no bed of roses

2011-09-26T08:07:00.000-05:00

Reporters with The Morning Call in Allentown, Pa., interviewed 20 current and former workers who offered a behind-the-scenes look at conditions inside the warehouses. They spoke of soaring temperatures that caused some workers to collapse, while managers threatened layoffs if they did not meet the expected production rate. Some hid pain and injuries in order to keep their jobs, which pay $11 or $12 an hour. Read more HERE.

Tray Davis is dead!

2011-09-22T08:17:00.001-05:00

Georgia executed Troy Davis last evening. Read "Murder is good politics, bad justice" HERE.

Killing people in the U.S.

2011-09-21T07:26:00.000-05:00

Georgia is scheduled to execute a man this evening at 7 pm, even though there have been numerous bids for a stay of execution -- even from the pope! Watch this short segment from the Rachel Maddow Show HERE.

"Will you still love me?"

2011-09-21T06:00:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday, at 1 minute after midnight, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was no longer the law of the land. A soldier in Germany called his dad. Watch the 7 minute video HERE.

Before the Emmys were gay

2011-09-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

"In 1976, my partner missed seeing me win. Back then, we had to hide." Read this Op Ed piece from Sunday's NY Times HERE.

Pacifist College reconsiders the national anthem

2011-09-17T12:12:00.000-05:00

Goshen College, a Mennonite school in Indiana, stopped playing “The Star-Spangled Banner” before sporting events, a year and a half after it started playing it. Read more HERE.

Are your water skis on fire?

2011-09-15T09:09:00.000-05:00

Today, hospitals and doctors use a system of about 18,000 codes to describe medical services in bills they send to insurers. Apparently, that doesn't allow for quite enough nuance. For example, what if your water skis catch on fire? Or what if, heaven forbid, you are injured in an "opera house" as opposed to being injured in your bathroom? You may enjoy this article HERE.

Here Comes Trouble

2011-09-14T09:51:00.000-05:00

In 2001 Christopher Hitchens published a slim, engaging how-to book titled “Letters to a Young Contrarian.” Among its most consequential advice was this: “The noble title of ‘dissident’ must be earned rather than claimed; it connotes sacrifice and risk rather than mere disagreement.” Read more HERE.

Dick Cheney: the "bad guy"

2011-09-14T07:49:00.000-05:00

Here's a clip from "The View" with Dick Cheney and his wife discussing same-sex marriage. Wasn't he the bad guy from the Bush administration? Watch the 60 second clip HERE.

Sometimes it doesn't "get better"

2011-09-13T07:43:00.000-05:00

A sprawling suburban school system north of Minneapolis is caught in the eye of one of the country’s hottest culture wars: how homosexuality should be discussed in the schools. Read more HERE.

Sleeping Barry Awakes

2011-09-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Opposite Day in Washington: The president is fierce and the House Republicans are compromising. Read today's Op Ed in the NY Times HERE.

The worst mistake America made after 9/11

2011-09-08T06:01:00.000-05:00

"Ten years after the events, I now find myself asking: Could it be that the planes that hit New York and Washington did less damage to the nation than the cascade of bad decisions that followed?" Read more of Anne Applebaums's essay HERE.

Remembering Mychal Judge

2011-09-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hundreds of people marched the streets of New York City Sunday to honor the memory of Franciscan Friar Mychal Judge, the first recorded victim of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center. Judge, a New York City Fire Department chaplain, was 68 years old when he was killed while giving last rites to a firefighter at the scene. He was a larger-than-life figure, with admirers and friends across the political and social spectrum, and whose life is commemorated in the acclaimed documentary, "Saint of 9/11." The film is notable for its effort to portray a half-hidden secret about the priest: he was gay. In his private diaries, the revered Catholic priest wrote of how "I thought of my gay self and how the people I meet never get to know me fully." We speak with Brendan Fay, longtime gay rights activist and independent filmmaker who produced "Saint of 9/11," and play excerpts from the documentary as well as his upcoming film, "Remembering Mychal."

Watch this 10-minute video segment HERE.

Intermission: The Twin Towers

2011-09-06T07:04:00.000-05:00

As we approach the tenth anniversary of 9/11, you may "enjoy" a 3-minute video featuring quick scenes from all the movies in which the Twin Towers appeared. You can view the video HERE.

Note: You can view the video on full screen by right-clicking on the video and choosing "Full Screen." Keep an eye on the lower left corner of the screen for the titles of films being viewed.

Pass, Fail, and Politics

2011-09-05T09:00:00.001-05:00

Perry and Obama, the evolution whiz and the deferrer in chief. Read this Op Ed piece from Sunday's NY Times HERE.

General Mills fruit snacks ad

2011-09-02T07:21:00.000-05:00

Does this 32 second advertisement make you want to try fruit snacks? If so, you are in urgent need of counseling. Watch it HERE.

Sorry, wrong "in box"

2011-09-01T07:56:00.002-05:00

With all of our e-mail addresses and cellphone numbers, we’re so accessible that we’ve become inaccessible. Read more HERE.

The Lavender Scare

2011-08-31T08:02:00.000-05:00

The Lavender Scare is the first feature-length documentary film to tell the story of the U.S. government's ruthless campaign in the 1950s and '60s to hunt down and fire every Federal employee it suspected was gay. Watch the trailer HERE.

"Simplicity" for healthy living

2011-08-29T09:55:00.000-05:00

To portray the richness of simplicity as a theme for healthy living, here are eight different flowerings that I see growing consciously in the "garden of simplicity." Although there is overlap among them, each expression of simplicity seems sufficiently distinct to warrant a separate category. These are presented in no particular order, as all are important. Read more HERE.

Witnessing tools and resentment

2011-08-25T06:00:00.004-05:00

If you think the phrase “a witnessing tool” refers to something that’s good to have rather than someone it’s bad to be, then you might be an evangelical. Read more HERE.