“Grave” confusion? * Jewish Evangelizers? * Religious Freedom: Tuesday’s Roundup

The Seattle Pacific shooting hero speaks. Did myth steal on march on truth in that "mass grave" story in Ireland? The Pope remains "indisposed." Plus much more...

One person died and three others were injured Thursday (June 5) when a man with a shotgun opened fire inside a building on the campus of Seattle Pacific University, a Christian university in Seattle, police said. Photo courtesy of Seattle Pacific University
One person died and three others were injured Thursday (June 5) when a man with a shotgun opened fire inside a building on the campus of Seattle Pacific University, a Christian university in Seattle, police said. Photo courtesy of Seattle Pacific University

One person died and three others were injured Thursday (June 5) when a man with a shotgun opened fire inside a building on the campus of Seattle Pacific University, a Christian university in Seattle, police said. Photo courtesy of Seattle Pacific University

Tuesday’s child is full of grace, and so starts the Roundup …

Seattle Pacific shooting hero Jon Meis’ statement

It’s chockablock with fine phrases, to wit:


“I would encourage that hate be met with love. When I came face to face with the attacker, God gave me the eyes to see that he was not a faceless monster, but a very sad and troubled young man. While I cannot at this time find it within me to forgive his crime, I truly desire that he will find the grace of God and the forgiveness of our community.”

So about that “mass grave” in Ireland …

A number of smaller news outlets and commentators (see Kevin Clark at America, e.g.) have been pushing back against the original reports of 800 dead babies “dumped” in a septic tank at a home for unwed mothers run by Catholic nuns, and now the New York Times makes an effort to divine the truth.

“Memorial Sprawl”

When the truth at Tuam does emerge, will the dead be commemorated by one of those sprawling memorials that are proliferating? Catesby Leigh:

“We have seen a remarkable shift from the vertical to the horizontal, with a significant number of major memorials designed as places rather than objects. They are symptomatic of a civic-art disease: memorial sprawl. Memorials are now sprawling both physically and conceptually—and becoming unnecessarily expensive in the bargain.”

The pope cancels meetings again today

The latest from our own Josephine McKenna in the Vatican:

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis canceled a second day of private audiences and his morning Mass on Tuesday (June 10) because of a minor illness, but Vatican officials downplayed speculation about ill health.

The pontiff must be reading RNS.

Hey, maybe these “sacred cocoa leaves” some indigenous Argentines gave him could help.

I bet Francis tunes in when Argentina plays in the World Cup …

And he’ll have company:

But Jesus is not an Italy fan …

… At least not according to the Catholic Church in Brazil, which is threatening legal action over an Italian advertisement that put an Italian jersey on Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Christ the Redeemer statue. Really, you are offending so many sensibilities here Signore Italian Advertiser.

Face Palm of the Day

Current St. Louis Archbishop Robert J. Carlson claimed to be uncertain that he knew sexual abuse of a child by a priest constituted a crime when he was auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in the 1980s.

Evangelical Christians campus groups getting shut down over bias claims

Speaking of taking offense, the NYT’s Michael Paulson has the latest on the campus PC virus shutting down Christian groups because they want their leaders to be, well, Christian. I mean, that’s outrageous. Right?


Danish churches will have to celebrate same-sex weddings

And in a similar vein, from Denmark: “The country’s parliament voted through the new law on same-sex marriage by a large majority, making it mandatory for all churches to conduct gay marriages.”

“Book of Mormon” cans Mormon movie ad?

… Seems the musical about Mormonism, sorta, didn’t want an ad about real-life Mormon missionaries running in their playbill in Detroit. So they rejected it. Competition or … ?

And in Louisiana, if you are 20 weeks pregnant …

… and on life support, hospitals may be required to keep you breathing no matter what your family says.

Planned Parenthood removes its “Pastoral Letter to Patients”

Abortion opponents are claiming victory after PP apparently removed a page on their website that counseled women considering terminating a pregnancy that “abortion is not even mentioned in the Scriptures—Jewish or Christian—and there are clergy and people of faith from all denominations who support women making this complex decision.Time’s Elizabeth Dias has other deets.

The trifecta of immigration opponents

From a new report by the Public Religion Research Institute in partnership with the Brookings Institution:

“Trust in Fox News as an accurate news source is the most powerful independent predictor of opposition to a path to citizenship. Identifying as Republican and being a born-again Christian are also significant predictors of opposition to immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship.”


Jewish Evangelizing?

Two words you don’t often see together, but Nigel Savage says that should change.

History and religion in Spain, again …

Fascinating NYT story (the Gray Lady is brightening today’s Roundup, props) about how the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba is becoming a site of contention between Islam and the church, rather than a symbol of coexistence between Muslims and Catholics. Christendom’s version of the Hagia Sophia controversy?

That’s all for now. Check our home page for updates throughout the day…

David Gibson

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