Monthly Archives: January 2008
The Hold Steady
By Daniel Burke — January 24, 2008
The Jesuit magazine America has a great online story about The Hold Steady, surely one of the most Catholic (and literary) bands on the scene today. Lead singer Craig Finn weaves tales of young and awkward lovers stumbling through high and mostly low culture with the panache of a Flannery O’Connor and Bruce Springsteen lovechild. […]
Papal Boilerplate
By Francis X. Rocca — January 24, 2008
Even his critics concede that Pope Benedict XVI is an uncommonly clear and forceful writer. But like any busy leader, a pontiff must often lend his name to official documents written by members of his bureaucracy, with all the limitations that bureaucratic documents typically display. One such text seems to be this year’s papal message […]
Hillary Time Out
By Mark Silk — January 24, 2008
This isn’t about religion, so I will beg your pardon and tuck the bulk of it out of sight. But Gail Collins’ column in the New York Times today reminded me of one of the lasting lessons I took from covering a presidential campaign. Back in 1987 and 1988, I was the Dukakis beat reporter […]
In Memoriam: Fred Thompson
By rvineis — January 24, 2008
Fred Thompson was once the savior of Reaganites and conservative Christians alike. Yet, he was never able to gain as many disciples as his competitors.
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 24, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service Holy Land church leaders appeal for Gaza JERUSALEM (RNS) Christian leaders from the Holy Land are demanding that Israel, President Bush and the world community “put an end to this suffering” of Gaza residents caught in the crossfire between Israel and the Hamas militants who rule the Gaza Strip. “There […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 24, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service COLUMBUS, Ohio _ There was a time when Ted Strickland was clearly what political pollsters would call a white evangelical Christian. Fueled by a teenage conversion experience, he attended a small Christian school in Kentucky and spent a summer preaching and passing out Christian pamphlets in Europe. Forty years later, […]
Evicted Hindus ponder fate of sacred artifacts
By Bridget MacDonald — January 24, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service EPPING, N.H. _ Six Hindu men and a woman huddled together on a 20-degree January morning along a dirt road beside a series of posted “NO TRESPASSING” signs. They had come to save their deity. Having been evicted from their bucolic, 100-acre temple grounds two weeks earlier, they drove from […]
Baptists to push unity, fresh face in Atlanta
By Cathleen Falsani — January 24, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Earlier this month, the No. 2 film in the nation was a movie about redemption set almost entirely inside a church. But few people I’ve talked to, even in religious circles, had heard of “First Sunday,” the comedy starring Ice Cube and “Saturday Night Live” alumnus Tracy Morgan. No […]
Baptists to push unity, fresh face in Atlanta
By Adelle M. Banks — January 24, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) For decades _ centuries even _ Baptists have been known for preaching the gospel, baptizing the converted and, with their sheer numbers, shaping the face of American Christianity. But at the same time, their internal squabbles, racial and ideological splits and sometimes controversial positions have cemented the image that […]
Holy Hooliganism
By Francis X. Rocca — January 23, 2008
For men from around the world preparing for the priesthood in Rome, the Clericus Cup tournament is a welcome Saturday morning break in their studies. Seminarians from various national colleges and ecclesiastical universities compete on the soccer field while their classmates cheer them on from the stands. When I attended a game last spring, it […]
Must See TV?
By Daniel Burke — January 23, 2008
A site called Anglicantv.org has posted video of Episcopal Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori’s deposition in the trial over the 11 Virginia churches that have left for the more conservative Nigerian branch of the Anglican Communion. If you have the time and are interested, here it is. I learned a few things.
Why I Didn’t Inhibit Duncan, Either
By Daniel Burke — January 23, 2008
Bishop Peter Lee of Virginia says that he, too, voted against preventing Bishop Robert Duncan from exercising his episcopal duties. Here’s why, he said: “I along with the two other most senior active bishops in the House of Bishops were asked by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori to review the evidence and give consent to […]
RNS Weekly Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 23, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service Jews denounce Muslim rumors aimed at Obama WASHINGTON (RNS) Several Jewish leaders have come to the defense of presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama against rumors that he secretly espouses radical Muslim beliefs. In a joint letter, leaders of nine Jewish groups including the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the American Jewish […]
Blocked Shot
By Daniel Burke — January 23, 2008
The St. Louis Dispatch has word today of a contest between Rick Majerus, basketball coach of St. Louis University, a nominally Catholic school, and Archbishop Raymond Burke. Apparently, Majerus (best known for former stints coaching Utah U. and commenting on ESPN) showed up at a Hillary Clinton rally and said that he was pro-choice. He’s […]
CT Meets BO
By Mark Silk — January 23, 2008
Another interview with Obama, this one by Sarah Pulliam and Ted Olsen of Christianity Today, is worth a look. The following exchange puts the candidate more
