Canada Court Rules against Religious Liberty

Susan Comstock asked that she be able to divert her union dues because of the union’s advocacy of homosexual marriage. She’s now been turned down at the third level, the Federal Court of Appeal. She sought accommodation under a provision that exists for those who have religious objections to unions. She’s in a bind, however,…

Ignorance and Paranoia

Dunkin Donuts has withdrawn an advertisement featuring Rachael Ray–because some ignorant and paranoid folks complained that her frilly black and white paisley silk scarf looked like a Palestinian keffiyeh. Leading the charge: Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs and Michelle Malkin. Yeah, her scarf and a keffiyeh are black and white. So are zebras and…

The Dark Side of Globalism

For some, “globalism” means an excuse to make a profit anywhere in the world without asking moral or legal questions. Jim Hightower comments on a trade show in China, where US and other manufacturers paraded their wares for Chinese military and police use. Via Tompaul. But this is nothing new. It was the United Fruit…

“The Betrayal of Judas”

In the Chronicle of Higher Education, Thomas Bartlett writes of the fraud of National Geographic’s “Gospel of Judas”–“The Betrayal of Judas: Did a ‘Dream Team’ of Biblical Scholars Mislead Millions?” When the Gospel of Judas was unveiled at a news conference in April 2006, it made headlines around the world — with nearly all of those…

Orthodoxy and Heresy in American History

Dallas Morning News Religion Blog quotes Rice University professor of religious studies Jeffrey Kripal: When I look at American religious history, I see a long history of puritanism, of Christian fundamentalism. It’s been there from Day One. But I also see what some historians would call American metaphysical religion. I see people who are not…

Catholic Clergy Transfers

Parishioners and staff of Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral in downtown Houston are hurt and angry. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo is transferring the rector (pastor), Fr. Troy Gately. Bad timing, they say; he just completed construction of the new cathedral, and has started renovating a new administrative center (the former Federal Reserve Building). Why pull a pastor in…

Blue Thunder

They don’t say whether it is blue (or perhaps black), but a $10,000,000 sophisticated spy helicopter is keeping its eye on New York. Law abiding folks have nothing to fear … of course. (Another page shows a picture, and lets us know it is silver).

Fr. Virgil Cordano, RIP

Fr. Virgil Cordano, OFM, a name and face synonymous with Santa Barbara in the eyes of many, died yesterday at 89. The funeral next Friday will be on the steps of the Mission, so great are the crowds expected. He was one of my spiritual directors, and his guidance to me is summed up in…

Corpus Christi

Today in the Catholic calendar is Corpus Christi, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ–a day established to honor the Catholic church’s dogma of transubstantiation, the teaching that “by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the…

Stifling Discussion

Under debate in the state next door: the Louisiana Science Education Act, which would, according to a news report, allow use of supplemental materials in classrooms which promote “critical thinking skills, logical analysis and open and objective discussion of scientific theories being studied, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming and…

Tobacco Money vs. Academic Freedom

From Bruce Tomaso at the DMN Religion Blog, link to a NYT story: At One University, Tobacco Money Is a Secret. Tomaso comments: The university’s vice president for research, according to the story, refused to say how much money Philip Morris gave for this “restricted research.” Apparently, he forgot that he works for a public…

The Push For a New Marian Dogma

For some years now, some Catholics have been pushing to get the pope to declare a new Marian dogma, that she is “mediatrix of all graces” and “co-redemptrix.” Mark Miravalle of the Franciscan University of Steubenville is one of the most vocal proponents of this. In January, five cardinals wrote to Pope Benedict XVI and…

The Witness of Iraqi Christians

Iraqi Christians have condemned the death sentence for the killer of their archbishop. “Monsignor Rahho, would not have accepted the sentence. Christian principles say it is not allowed to sentence someone to death, and instead it invites us to forgiveness, reconciliation and justice.” The U S Embassy, however, celebrated the sentence.

Religious Liberty Victory in Tomah, Wisconsin

The Tomah, WI, school district has been reminded that the First Amendment applies to students. As I blogged March 31, an art student was penalized for referencing John 3:16 in an art project–he was given a zero and two detentions. He was also penalized for using religious expressions in a jewelry making class. Other students…

When Catholic Laity Complain

Rod Dreher tells the story of a Catholic layman in Dallas who complained about a priest to then coadjutor bishop Joseph Galante. The layman, Steve Sandifer (a lawyer), had recently been received into the Catholic church by Fr. Art Mallinson. He learned that Mallinson was involved in a ring of homosexual priests. The story Rod…

Priest Files Restraining Order against Autistic Teen

A priest in Minnesota has filed a restraining order against a 13-year-old boy and his parents, to forbid them from attending mass at their parish. The boy has autism. Though 13, he’s 6 feet tall and weighs 225. The Races and their five children typically sat in either the church’s cry room or in the…

Prince Caspian–My Take

Andrew Adamson doesn’t get it. His Aslan is too small, too tame, too little seen. He’s the star attraction, and his scenes have been chopped, his dialogue butchered, his relevance minimized. The entire narrative of his gradual revelation to the children on their journey to Aslan’s How is eliminated. His Caspian is too old. Ben…