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Pontifications

That is one quote that Peter Steinfels cites in his excellent column today, “In Stem Cell Debate, Moral Suasion Comes Up Short,” about Obama’s stem cell decision. (My critique here). A taste of Peter’s focus: The more challenging objection — again, not to the president’s specific stance on embryonic stem cell research, but to the general form…

The second story from the Sunday Styles is “Little Mr. Conservative,” about 14-year-old Jonathan Krohn–the hot-ticket on the conservative circuit after his thrilling three-minute performance at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Bigger than Rush? Jonathan, a slight, home-schooled only child whose teeth are in braces, is so passionate about his beliefs that he spent his…

The “Sunday Styles” section of the NYT had two stories out front, which present stark contrasts, both unsettling. One is “Where to pass the torch?” about 70s-era abortion rights activists seeing the ambivalence or indifference of the younger generation of women, even self-described feminists. One subject is Ann Baker, an abortion counselor who is cast thusly: “I was…

Newt Gingrich wants to pay pregnant teenagers to take prenatal vitamins and stay healthy so the government avoids expensive costs when babies end up in neonatal intensive care units.He also wants to pay poor children to read, and says the state should consider paying girls to not get pregnant. Who needs a faith-based program when you’ve…

Here is the official account of the statement by Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, that accompanied the pope’s letter of explanation on his remittance of the excommunications of the SSPX bishops: FR. LOMBARDI: POPE FEELS HIS RESPONSIBILITY AS PASTOR VATICAN CITY, 12 MAR 2009 (VIS) – In an explanatory note accompanying the Holy Father’s…

GOP chairman Michael Steele has had his share of woes in the weeks since he was elected with the aim of re-making the party. He bowed down to Rush, got skewered by Comedy Central (and has yet to show up for Colbert’s “rap challenge”) and appeared (via simulacrum) on SNL. Whew. You’d think he’d take…

He’s Ross Douthat, erstwhile Atlantic editor and blogger and a serious upgrade from William Kristol, who started badly–not entirely unexpectedly–and went down from there during his year-long stint, which ended–not entirely unexpectedly–a couple months back. I’d hoped that Douthat would get the nod–and obviously that went into Sulzberger’s decision-making process–despite the fact that he’s so bloody…

New York’s Cardinal Edward Egan a closet liberal? Who knew?! Well, he’s out now. In a 30-minute interview with a NY radio show–part of Egan’s valedictory tour as he prepares to leave office–His Eminence did indeed say that celibacy is “a perfectly legitimate discussion.” “I think it’s going to be looked at, and I am not…

Benedict XVI’s letter to the world’s bishops (official text released today) was a good idea and probably inevitable, as no one was happy and the furor was not going away, inside the church from the highest echelons to the lowest. Did the pontiff’s letter help matters? Maybe it will reinforce the “move on” mantra, but the long-term…

The official text, published today by the Vatican: LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI TO THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH concerning the remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre Dear Brothers in the Episcopal Ministry! The remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated in 1988 by…
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