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Benedictions: The Pope in America

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright is not likely to fade into the woodwork anytime soon, but while we’re in the midst of l’affaire Wright and its toll on Barack Obama, it is worth considering another unsettling lesson in all of this: That for all the talk of closing the “God gap,” episodes like this one–and battles…

Steve Waldman and Deal Hudson are having a debate about why Clinton is winning the Catholic vote and Obama is not–an interesting development given that the two candidates share most social justice views that might appeal to Catholics, as well as being pro-choice and pro-gay rights and such. Steve argues that “in the Democratic primaries,…

Rudy is at it again. Anyone watching the papal mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on April 19 must have been surprised to see Giuliani–twice-divorced (once annulled), thrice-married, pro-gay rights, pro-abortion rights–take communion. Rudy hadn’t done this before, in my experience–neither at the Central Park Mass in 1995 with John Paul, nor at O’Connor’s funeral in…

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright is back in the news, delivering some fiery (the indispensible adjective with the Rev. Wright) rhetoric yesterday at the close of a meeting of the NAACP’s Detroit branch. Wright’s unrepentant talk and prophetic style are likely to make you smile if you are a black Christian or Hillary Clinton, and if…

Great headline on a Catholic World News report citing a German study linking religiosity and the number of children: “Women of faith found more fertile” Think of all the money you could save on IVF, huh? Well, actually, CWNews is right that the study is a no-brainer: religious observance does correlate to larger families. But…

Can’t get enough of Benedict? Or was il papa not your taste? You might try this curiosity–a pope made out of pizza dough. Prudence Emma Staite is a British (did I have to add that?) experimental food artist (don’t ask me) who recently exhibited various Roman icons made out of pizza crust. As the Daily…

They are the majority of worshipers every Sunday (and through the week), and they make up some 80 percent of the more than 30,000 lay ministers (and growing fast) serving in the nation’s 19,000 parishes. There are more of them working in U.S. churches than there are priests. They distribute communion, raise the next generation…

Two refrains often lost amid the accolades for the papal visit is that the trip itself was, as Pope Benedict said, a chance for a new beginning, a first step, not the end of a process. The second refrain was the critical role of advocacy groups like Voice of the Faithful (VOTF)–as well as the…

Tim Reidy at America magazine, the flagship Jesuit weekly and a must-read for serious Catholics, had me over for a podcast about the pope’s trip, and it is now on-line at the magazine’s website. Whether it is a “must hear” is debatable. Listen in here…

Q: Did a pope really condemn Galileo for saying the Earth revolves around the Sun? Read more from the papal answer man, Chris Bellitto and his new book, 101 Questions on Popes and the Papacy.
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