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Pontifications

A couple of weeks ago I picked up on the entertaining news, via Jim Martin at “In All Things,” that Brad Pitt would be playing Father Emilio Sandoz, a Jesuit scientist, in the film version of Mary Doria Russell’s “The Sparrow.” (Father Martin is a Jesuit, hence his understandable excitment–makes pitching vocations a lot easier…)…

Joking about the Holy Father isn’t always funny, or a wise idea in Italy. An Italian comedian, Sabina Guzzanti, said nasty things about the Holy Father at a recent rally in Rome and according The Times of London account is facing prosecution for “offending the honour of the sacred and inviolable person” of Benedict XVI.…

The furious division in Catholicism over abortion and the presidential election grows wider. But to what end? A front-page story in today’s New York Times is titled, “Abortion Issue Again Dividing Catholic Votes,” and yet evidence of how that is happening is scant, and evidence that abortion could even be masking issues of race (and…

The turmoil on Wall Street is continuing, and even though it is closer to me than even Russia is to Alaska, I understand less than little about economics. And yet the human toll of the crashes and crises is poignantly clear, and is spreading. Can the religious community have a voice in fixing this? Or…

Has the term “orthodoxy” lost its meaning? It means “right belief,” or “correct doctrine.” But among Christians it has become a fighting word, and the media has misconstrued it–especially in the contested Catholic context–as a pejorative or, worse, a secular seal of fidelity to belief. G.K. Chesterton might disagree, or just be appalled. But he’s…

Fallout over controversial remarks on abortion by Joseph Biden and Nancy Pelosi are continuing. And not just in the political sphere. The U.S. Bishops announced yesterday that in light of the conflicts and debates they will address the topic at their meeting in November–but a week after Election Day. Those who want the bishops (at…

Thursday is the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the crashed airliner in Shanksville, Pa., an observance that will bring renewed focus on relations between Islam and the West. But the following day, Friday, Sept. 12, will mark two years since “9/12,” the date when…

Yes, Catholic News Service has the story: MILWAUKEE (CNS) — Don’t let their veils and name — Sisters of Charity of St. Joan Antida — deceive you. Members of the Milwaukee order aren’t just brides of Christ. They’re biker girls. “We’re part of a gang,” the sisters laughed over coffee. They belong to the Sisters…

For all the wilful disparaging of the MSM by the GOP and its allies on the Christian right, there is a good argument to be made that the “media” (whatever that is, today) is reading straight out of the McCain playbook. The latest evidence was Joe Biden’s appearance on “Meet the Press” yesterday. Once again…

Whether Sarah Palin’s family, or Sarah Palin herself, should be a subject of commentary and scrutiny has itself become a much-debated topic. But let us agree that the issues raised by her candidacy, notably the revelation of her 17-year-old daughter’s pregnancy, may be a “teachable moment,” as they say. But what can we learn? A…
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