Friday’s Religion News Roundup: Bishops abuse record, nuns get support, Mormons back Romney, Santorum in 2016?

Ten years after the Catholic sex abuse scandal broke (again), accountability for bishops is still elusive. For Catholics, the Philadelphia trial is like a bad flashback. The bishops’ longtime point man on social justice issues is leaving the hierarchy’s staff in Washington. Farley Book Watch: The Vatican is winning the battle against Sr. Margaret’s book […]

Ten years after the Catholic sex abuse scandal broke (again), accountability for bishops is still elusive.

For Catholics, the Philadelphia trial is like a bad flashback.


The bishops’ longtime point man on social justice issues is leaving the hierarchy’s staff in Washington.

Farley Book Watch: The Vatican is winning the battle against Sr. Margaret’s book about sex: it has dropped from #14 to #25 on Amazon’s bestseller ranking. Still a ways to go to get back to the pre-censure rank of #147,982. But one day at a time.

The board of the Catholic Theological Society of America – basically the professional association of U.S. theologians – has come out in support of Farley.

The brothers are supporting the sisters: Franciscans in the U.S. back the leadership group of nuns that is under Vatican scrutiny.

All this Catholic conflict and carping got you down? Fr. Jim Martin has a prayer for you!

It begins: “Dear God, sometimes I get so frustrated with your church. I know that I’m not alone…”

Indeed, you’re not: Pope Benedict is feeling it too, so some German Catholics have started a postcard campaign to cheer him up!

Dog bites man: Mormons overwhelmingly support Mitt Romney.

Is Rick Santorum already looking toward a 2016 run? Social conservatives yearn.

Santorum could do well in Denmark: the country has decided to force the Lutheran Church to perform same-sex weddings. Even some Danes don’t think that’s so great. (And you wondered what today’s photo was all about?)


Such are the perils of being an official state church. Kierkegaard, anyone?

A soldier got married to another woman at a “private religious ceremony” in Fort Polk in Louisiana last month, and some folks aren’t happy.

Snark bait: The New York Times Magazine has a new ethicist. “I don’t claim to be more ethical than anyone else, or even more ethical than the average person. But I love thinking about these types of problems, and I’ll try to be interesting,” says Chuck Klosterman.

We try to be interesting too, and ethical most times. But free always. Check us out by entering your email in the box below and getting the Daily Religion News Roundup delivered straight to your inbox five days a week.

David Gibson

Photo: Great Dane couple, gender unclear, via Encyclopaedia Britannica

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