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I’ve been scaling back on PopeWatch posts, but here’s something I found personally interesting: Catholic News Agency reports that Cyprus’ ambassador to the Holy See asserts that Pope Benedict’s upcoming visit to my mother’s homeland will be a “massive moral influence” on the divided Mediterranean island. Here are my top five reasons why this statement is…

Here’s a funny (though perhaps more of a tragic funny than a “ha-ha” funny) take on Arizona’s new immigration law: protesters have been using doctored photos of beloved bilingual children’s character “Dora the Explorer” as a way of driving home their concerns for how the legislation may encourage racial profiling and unfair treatment of Latinos. Check…

After Seattle artist Molly Norris jokingly suggested that May 20 become “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day,” in reponse to last month’s brouhaha over the South Park 200th episode poking fun at this ongoing cartoon controversy, she tried to backtrack by taking down her website and avoiding interviews. No matter. According to CNN, more than 7,000 images…

I’m no canon law expert, but this story certainly raises interesting questions about the disparity in the Catholic Church’s handling of clergy disciplinary issues: Sister Margaret McBride, an administrator at a Catholic hospital in Arizona, has been declared “automatically excommunicated” by a bishop for approving an abortion to save a critically ill mother’s life (at 11 weeks, the…

France’s cabinet has just approved a bill making it illegal for women to wear face-hiding veils in public, angering some people who believe this kind of legislation discriminates against devout Muslim women and prevents them from practicing their religion freely. According to the BBC, however, the French Parliament still needs to approve the bill for it to…

Several commenters have been speculating on why I hadn’t yet blogged about Indiana Rep. Mark Souder adultery-resignation news, among other stories. Rest assured, there’s no editorial conspiracy here — I just don’t have time (especially having just returned from a major trip) to blog about everything, and sometimes I make a judgment call to hold off for…

It’s still Jewish American Heritage Month, and today is also Shavuot, the holiday marking when the ancient Israelites, led by Moses from slavery in Egypt, received the Torah at Mount Sinai. Check out Beliefnet’s celebration ideas, and here are some links to related news stories on the holiday, which began at sundown yesterday: Different reads on Shavuot…

Updated at 8 p.m. to reflect Haggard’s clarification about his new venture: St. James Church is apparently a “corporation,” not a church. Check out the Religion News Service story. Apologies to F. Scott Fitzgerald, but it seems there are indeed second acts in American lives, especially for disgraced politicians and preachers. Megachurch pastor Ted Haggard, the…

Upon returning from his visit to Portugal, Pope Benedict was greeted by an estimated 150,000-plus supporters at St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. The gathering, which the Vatican’s defenders intended as a show of solidarity with the pontiff during his efforts to address the clergy sex abuse scandal, seemed to boost his spirits. But then yesterday, Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco…

Three weeks after charges were dropped against nine of the 10 Baptist missionaries who had tried to take 33 Haitian children (most or all of them not technically orphans) into the Dominican Republic after January’s earthquake, group leader Laura Silsby has been freed. The Associated Press reports that Silsby, 40, who is from Idaho, was…
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