Memo to Catholic bishops and evangelical culture warriors: people in the pews feel increasingly comfortable holding their own views on abortion and homosexuality, no matter what you’re preaching from the pulpit.
Speaking of divided loyalties, two competing conferences in Detroit this weekend reflect the divide in the Catholic Church: liberals will meet in “one of the biggest gatherings of left-leaning Catholics in years,” while conservatives will meet a few miles away with the church’s official blessing.
The scandal-scarred Archdiocese of Philadelphia has hired an abuse expert from the local prosecutor’s office to oversee his badly damaged abuse prevention program; victims groups say it’s basically reshuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic.
An Illinois Catholic priest pleaded guilty to lifting at least $100,000 from the collection plate for his gambling habit, although the amount could be as high as $400,000, according to prosecutors. Another Catholic priest has been accused of trying to help a mobster recover a valuable violin from a house in Wisconsin to keep it out of the feds’ hands.
Lawyers for a Texas man on death row asked for a reprieve, saying his alleged abuse at the hands of a Catholic priest should be considered as part of his appeal for clemency.
House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King will host a second set of hearings next week on American Muslims, this time focusing on Muslim extremism in U.S. prisons.
The artist behind that surfing Madonna mosaic in California has stepped forward to claim credit.
The National Association of Evangelicals has sided with Jews and Muslims (!!!) in opposing the proposed ban on infant circumcision in San Francisco. The Forward looks at life in New Square, N.Y., a Hasidic enclave an hour north of New York City where a clash between separate factions of Orthodox Jews is starting to hit the boiling point.
Some 275,000 nonprofit organizations have lost their tax-exempt status from the IRS after failing to file the necessary forms for three years or more; the full list (state by state) is here.
Tea Party fav Michelle Bachmann talks to the Christian Post about her Christian faith. Interesting factoid: Bachmann attended law school at Oral Roberts University.
MTV has pulled the plug on “Skins,” the racy teen drama that many conservative activists said bordered on kiddie porn.
The Catholics and Anglicans are fighting again in Britain, this time after (Anglican) Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams attacked the government’s austerity measures, which prompted (Roman Catholic) Archbishop Vincent Nichols to defend PM David Cameron.
Russian anti-abortion activists are looking to the U.S. pro-life movement for inspiration. After Iran’s women’s soccer team was banned for the 2012 Olympics for their headscarves, a Muslim (female) weightlifter wants to be able to compete with her entire body covered except her hands and face.
For those ethicists out there who are still wringing their hands over the morality of invading Libya, a “senior NATO official” tells CNN that strongman Moammar Gadhafi is a legitimate target because he oversees the military that went after civilians.
–Kevin Eckstrom
