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Several years ago, I failed to make it through Lent without visiting my favorite time-sucking Web site; I’ve never even considered giving up Facebook or going offline entirely (not a professional option, anyway). But, all this coverage of the Sabbath Manifesto’s call for a “National Day of Unplugging” has inspired me to try something that seems more manageable…

With Congress expected to vote on the health care reform bill Sunday, the predictable debates among the Democrats (pro-life vs. pro-choice, naturally) and with the Republicans pale in comparison to the Catholic infighting: nuns and hospitals support the bill, bishops oppose it, and the folks in the pews are scratching their heads. Former Beliefnet blogger David…

Tariq Ramadan, a prominent Muslim scholar barred from entering the United States in 2004 will be in New York in a few weeks to discuss “Secularism, Islam and Democracy: Muslims in Europe and the West.” The U.S. travel ban was just lifted in January, by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In my interview with Ramadan for…

The Associated Press reports that Colleen LaRose, the Pennsylvania woman who allegedly used the Internet alias “JihadJane,” has denied in court that she sought to kill a Swedish artist targeted by radical Muslims or agreed to marry a terrorism suspect to help him get travel documents. But this morning’s Philadelphia Inquirer reported that two anonymous…

UPDATED: The New York Times just reported that President Obama has decided to push back his Indonesia trip for the second time. (The rest of my post remains accurate, with the strikethroughs added.) President Obama has had already postponed his visit to Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population and where he lived as…

This week marks the 30th anniversary of the Refugee Act, prompting the Episcopal Church to renew its “committment to remember and advocate on behalf of the uprooted, recognizing that situations of violence and war around the world will continue to force people from their native lands.” And the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, a group I…

In a move that’s sure to deepen the rift between America’s Episcopalians and the global Anglican communion, the Rev. Mary Glasspool has been approved to become the Episcopal Church’s second openly gay bishop. She will be consecrated the new assistant bishop for the Diocese of Los Angeles in May. The Episcopal Church consecrated its first openly…

It’s more about St. Valentine than St. Patrick in Israel this week, as some couples finally got the right to get married there even if they don’t meet the country’s strict standards for a religious ceremony. In the past, Jews who wanted to wed non-Jews or otherwise did not qualify for or want a traditional ceremony had to…

Guess I spoke too soon about today being a happier news day for Irish Catholics. Then again, St. Patrick was celebrated for driving the snakes out of Ireland, so perhaps it’s fitting to report on the church’s need to do likewise with the snakes in its own midst today. (Too much of a stretch?) Cardinal Sean Brady, the head…

Catholics have gotten plenty of tough press lately, between coverage of their disagrements over health care reform, same-sex marriage and family issues in Washington, D.C. and Boulder, Colo., and the investigations of the clergy sex abuse scandals embroiling Europe and battering Pope Benedict. At least on St. Patrick’s Day, the cathedral Masses and high-spirited masses — along with some much-needed…
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