Benedict XVI continues to take heat on two fronts since last weekend’s reinstatement of four far-right, schismatic bishops: from Catholics anywhere to the left of Franco are upset at the implicit repudiation of Vatican II, and from Jews who are concerned that, in the words of one rabbi, the pontiff has set Catholic-Jewish relations back…

There have been many, (many!) Barack Obama t-shirts that appeared over the long months of the presidential election, but my favorite was the multi-colored portrait of the candidate boldly underlined with the word “Progress.”  Progress was promised in the policies of the campaign, but also embodied in the man himself.  On Monday we will celebrate…

Bedtime Stories   Last night’s bedtime story for my two little boys was about Mother Rosa Parks. A few nights ago we read and talked about Dr. King.   On Monday morning, MLK Day, I will do what I have been doing for over 15 years… it is the only day of the year my…

Steve Waldman asks the question whether the current crisis will split the religious left.  He predicts: “Most likely what will happen next is that an over-reaction from the Protestant left will prompt American Jews into an uncomfortable (but familiar) defensive crouch in which they suppress their anguish and in many cases disgust about Israel and…

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