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The news that Pope John Paul evidently engaged in self-mortification — whipping himself as a form of penance — has sparked some curiosity about this ancient practice. The BBC has some background: Flagellation is the beating or whipping of the skin, most often on the back, and often drawing blood, as a bodily penance to…

She was up at the crack of dawn to sing for the crowd at the TODAY show. It was a chilly November morning, but this performance could make you melt.  Behold: Susan Boyle’s gorgeous interp of “Cry Me A River.”

John Allen has a few interesting thoughts about the Patrick Kennedy-Bishop Thomas Tobin communion clash: I have no insider scoop to offer, but I can summarize here what I’ve been saying on-air: the most interesting question about the story isn’t so much “why,” but “why now”? That is, there’s no mystery about why Tobin took…

“Holy Communion in the Catholic Church is one of the holy sacraments. Practicing Roman Catholics believe in extreme unction; in other words, that the wine and unleavened bread are transformed into the actual body and blood of Christ – a belief that in itself, is somewhat controversial.” — Rachel Stockton, writing about the Kennedy-Tobin standoff…
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