Category Archives: Politics

Marriages Mixed and Pure

Posted on 18 January 2014 by

PrayTell reported on divorce rates as a function of religious identification, Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, and no belief. C P E N C 29% 24% 40% 26% P 24% 42% 32% 63% E 40% 32% 32% 61% N 26% 63% 61% … Continue reading →

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Sacking In Seattle

Posted on 7 January 2014 by

The fired married and gay school administrator does not seem to be receding very quickly from the public eye or mind. dotCommonweal raised it to the top of the blog listing last evening. A few years ago one Australian bishop … Continue reading →

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What Thirty Days Can Do

Posted on 3 January 2014 by

The Catholic Herald reported that a politician in the House of Commons came to her decision to retire from politics after a Thirty Day Ignatian retreat. MP Sarah Teather: Sometimes you just have to shut up. This politician just needed … Continue reading →

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Underestimation/Punditry

Posted on 30 December 2013 by

I agree with practically a fraction of Ross Douthat’s opinions, but his review of his top-3 misreads of 2013 was an interesting voyeuristic experience of another person’s confession. On Pope Francis, his number two: I made two claims: first, that … Continue reading →

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On Parenting Daughters

Posted on 18 December 2013 by

I saw the dotCommonweal post the other day on parenting daughters and the thought that this somehow tilts liberal parents to Douthatism or something. Lots of commentators, especially conservative ones, overlook that morality and ideology are not bedfellows … or bedpersons. … Continue reading →

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The Two Minds of NSA

Posted on 16 December 2013 by

BBC reports that two different figures in the National Security Agency are in public differentiation about offering amnesty to fugitive Edward Snowden. I’m a skeptic on the line that Mr Snowden had a better course of action: report wrongdoing within … Continue reading →

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WoC: The Saint Nicholas Perspective

Posted on 6 December 2013 by

It’s the 6th of December and it’s the feast day of one of our favorite seasonal saints. I listened to a few more holiday stations while transporting the young miss to school today. This week’s radio count now stands at … Continue reading →

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The New Breed of Cafeteria Catholics

Posted on 2 December 2013 by

One of Ross Douthat’s friends is crowing: “NOW it’s your turn to be part of the loyal opposition,” a fellow Catholic journalist said to me earlier this year, as Pope Francis’s agenda was beginning to take shape. … Now, he … Continue reading →

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Gibson on USCCB on ACA

Posted on 22 November 2013 by

David Gibson rounds up various post-B16 reactions of the USCCB to the Affordable Care Act. (I don’t use the nickname, be advised.) I always found the threat/promise to go to jail somewhat laughable. Especially given how a bishop or two really … Continue reading →

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Prayer in Greece

Posted on 7 November 2013 by

Aside from my hometown’s new bishop, another community I knew as a lad and young adult is in the news. The problem isn’t only that there’s prayer, but that it’s predominantly Christian. If only Greece non-Christians could sign up to offer … Continue reading →

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NSA = Drunks

Posted on 6 November 2013 by

Catching up on yesterday’s religion news, I saw Tom Ehrich’s commentary at RNS equating those obnoxious late-night drunks with the American surveillance community. He takes a strong poke at Facebook and Google too. This was self-centeredness run amok. It was … Continue reading →

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Election Day Eve

Posted on 4 November 2013 by

Tomorrow is Election Day in the US. We have a pretty tame ballot in my city’s precinct: mayor, two city councillors, and two board seats. The mayor and one of our councillors are running unopposed. I’ll be working the polls … Continue reading →

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Halloween War Spreads Abroad

Posted on 30 October 2013 by

Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski of Lodz enters the War on Halloween: Parents and teachers should protect youngsters against its images of terror and dread, especially when many already associate it with the cult of Satan. Halloween costume traditions aren’t all that … Continue reading →

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War on Atheists and New Alliances

Posted on 24 October 2013 by

Amused, dismayed, but not surprised about South Carolina atheists being turned away from volunteering at a soup kitchen. Eve Brannon: I told them we wouldn’t wear our T-shirts. We wouldn’t tell anyone who we are with. We just want to … Continue reading →

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The Spotlight on Honduras

Posted on 23 October 2013 by

America continues a raft of recent coverage of Honduras with an aptly titled “Sin and Grace …” piece on the blog today. Our faith community’s sister parish is in the mountainous region of western Honduras. So this is a bit … Continue reading →

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