Monthly Archives: March 2010
Tuesday’s roundup
By Daniel Burke — March 23, 2010
POTUS will sign the landmark health-care bill at the White House today. The U.S. bishops have quietly voiced their disappointment and are praying that the president will keep his promise on not funding abortions (except in cases of rape, incest, and mother’s health). Less quietly, a GOP congressman has admitted that he shouted “baby-killer” at […]
The bishops pull in their horns
By Mark Silk — March 23, 2010
Yesterday Thomas Reese, S.J., sometime editor of America, gave the Catholic bishops some unsolicited advice on how they should respond to passage of the health care bill that they opposed. Today they issued their response–and it tracks the advice pretty well. Reese urged them to praise the good things in the bill, and they do. […]
Perriello’s Tea Party
By Mark Silk — March 23, 2010
So the Lynchburg (no pun intended) Tea Party (LTP) has invited its members to show up at Rep. Tom Perriello’s home to share their feelings about his vote in favor of HCR. Given the readiness of some Tea Partiers to shout “Nigger” at black members of Congress and “Faggot” at gay ones–to say nothing of […]
Pope’s apology falls flat for Irish victims of abuse
By Tracy Gordon — March 23, 2010
DUBLIN (RNS/ENI) Ireland’s leading prelates have welcomed Pope Benedict XVI’s pastoral letter to the Catholic Church in Ireland, in which he apologized to abuse victims and strongly criticized the church’s failure to deal with “these sinful and criminal acts.” Those who suffered from those abuses, however, are not so impressed. Colm O’Gorman, a survivor of […]
Clergy, White House strategize on immigration reform
By Tracy Gordon — March 22, 2010
WASHINGTON (RNS) On the heels of a rally on the National Mall by immigration reform advocates, religious leaders met at the White House on Monday (March 22) to plot strategy despite a packed election-year political calendar. The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, said Latino Christians are frustrated with the […]
Nonprofit urges Jews to discuss Haiti during Passover
By Tracy Gordon — March 22, 2010
(RNS) In a bid to encourage Jews to weave the current tragedy in Haiti into their recollections of the plagues of ancient Egypt, a nonprofit organization has created a new Passover reading for the upcoming holiday. Passover, which starts March 29 this year, commemorates the biblical exodus from slavery. As families feast on their Seder […]
Scouts official describes files of unwanted members
By Tracy Gordon — March 22, 2010
PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS) A Boy Scouts executive testified Friday (March 19) that the organization keeps files — including “perversion files” — on volunteers deemed unfit to serve, including suspected child molesters, thieves, gays, atheists and agnostics. Nate Marshall of the Boy Scouts of America told jurors that the files were meant to help the organization […]
Professor tries to teach peace, two pages at a time
By Tracy Gordon — March 22, 2010
JERUSALEM (RNS) Eyal Naveh is rewriting the history of the Holy Land, two pages at a time. Naveh, a professor at Tel Aviv University, is about to launch the English-language version of a history book that he believes has the power to help quell the fighting between Israelis and Palestinians. All he needs now is […]
Monday’s roundup
By Daniel Burke — March 22, 2010
House Democrats approved a landmark overhaul of the country’s health-care system late Sunday, as President Obama appeased anti-abortion Dems with an executive order promising that no federal funds will be used for abortion coverage. The emotional day lead to some ugly rhetoric: Rep. Bart Stupak, leader of the anti-abortion Dems, was called a “baby killer” […]
Refugee seeks to save Somali teens at home and abroad
By Tracy Gordon — March 22, 2010
ST. LOUIS (RNS) Until he was relocated as a refugee from Somalia to St. Louis at the age of 27, Omar Podi’s life was one of continual discord. As a child, he was forced to flee his home during civil war. As a teenager, he lost both parents. As a young man, he was wounded […]
Survey: Less than half link Easter to the Resurrection
By Adelle M. Banks — March 22, 2010
Houston Chronicle: (RNS) Though most Americans describe Easter as a religious holiday, less than half of U.S. adults surveyed link it specifically to the resurrection of Jesus, a Barna Group study shows. Full story.
On the AIPAC stage
By Mark Silk — March 22, 2010
Hillary Clinton went unto AIPAC and said: New construction in East Jerusalem or the West Bank undermines mutual trust and endangers the proximity talks that are the first step toward the full negotiations that both sides want and need. It exposes daylight between Israel and the United States that others in the region could hope […]
USCCB blows HCR
By Mark Silk — March 22, 2010
Over at Politics Daily, David Gibson has an excellent analysis of how the Catholic bishops managed both to win the anti-abortion battle and be on the losing side of the health care war. There will no doubt be some smoke emanating from USCCB quarters about how they had to stand on principle–including the principle of […]
Stupak & Co.
By Mark Silk — March 21, 2010
What will the USCCB say about the Stupak deal? I would like to think that the bishops will give some support to the pro-life Democratic members of Congress who carried so much water for them. Update: I guess not.
Grading Benedict’s Letter to Irish Catholics
By Mark Silk — March 20, 2010
I’d give the letter a B-, and as a card-carrying member of the professoriat, admit I am sometimes guilty of grade inflation. On the plus side, the pope not only acknowledges blame up to and including the bishops, but also attributes at least some of the problem to a “misplaced concern for the reputation of […]
