Counting Bodies * “Poor Door” * Rocking Abuse: Tuesday’s Roundup

Yes, a New York luxury condo building will have a separate door for lower income folks. Mark Driscoll is back on Twitter, sorta. Tom Petty has a protest song about clergy sex abuse. And in a New York diocese, lay people can no longer preach.

Mark Driscoll

Yes, a New York luxury condo building has received approval for a special door for lower income folks to use. Mark Driscoll is back on Twitter, sorta.

Mark Driscoll photo

Mark Driscoll photo

Tom Petty has a protest song about clergy sex abuse. And in an upstate New York diocese, lay people can no longer preach.


But first, the latest on the Middle East …

Islamic militants in the nation formerly known as Iraq continue to “cleanse” Mosul and the surrounding areas of Christians who have been there since the early days of Christianity, and before Islam. Ancient monasteries are reportedly being converted into mosques.

Christians United for Israel

The pro-Israel group, led by the conservative pastor John Hagee, wraps up its annual summit in Washington today in a nifty bit of timing. The speakers all seem to be trying to outdo each other in expressions of support for the Jewish state in its battle with Hamas in Gaza. If you’re not following Dave Weigel and Jason Horowitz on Twitter, you’re missing the nest bits. To wit:

The toll in Gaza  continues to rise

As of this morning, the death toll among Palestinians — including women and children and noncombatants — is approaching 600 while nearly 30 Israelis have been killed, with one Israeli soldier reportedly missing.

The toll of Israelis has been unexpectedly high and is darkening the nation’s mood, reports the AP.

At least they are now bringing out the bodies in Ukraine … Though Tim Teeman thinks we need to see the corpses on TV first.

In Japan, Yahoo takes care of all your post-mortem needs

A new service from Yahoo Japan helps you prepare for the inevitable by, among other things, letting you send emails to loved ones from beyond the grave.

“Yahoo Japan’s job has been to solve social problems through the power of the Internet and to provide services from the cradle to the grave,” said Megumi Nakashima, a spokeswoman for the company. “We had services for the cradle part but not the grave part.”


Here at the Roundup, only live people will email you, and that’s a promise.

Heard on Twitter

Pope Francis looks beyond the headlines of carnage and violence:

And his Anglican counterpart takes the humble route:

I guess you had to spell this out for some folks:

Facebook & Infidelity

Speaking of social media, Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention tells the NY Post that he “can’t think of a single recent instance of infidelity in which social media did not play some role.” Facebook in particular, he says, “accelerates opportunities for human depravity.”

No wonder Dr. Moore won’t respond to my “friend” request.

Pastor Mark Driscoll is back on social media, sorta …

If anyone should get off the Internet it’s probably the florid, controversial pastor with 478,000+ Twitter followers, and in fact that’s what he did — announcing a social media break 131 days ago. But as our own Cathy Grossman tells me, his Twitter feed suddenly sprang back to life! But he informs us that it’s his staff tweeting for him. Which is how Jesus would do it. Definitely.

Luxury condo gets “Poor Door”

Yep, just when you thought the Upper West Side of Manhattan couldn’t get anymore UWS, this:

New York City has approved a developer’s Dickensian plan to include a “poor door” in a luxury apartment complex in the Upper West Side.

There will be 55 affordable housing units in the 33-story condo, with views of the street. Those tenants will have a separate entrance. The 219 upscale units for the wealthy will have views of the Hudson River, and their occupants will presumably enter the building through the eye of a needle.

No wonder Mayor Bill BeBlasio went to Italy, where he met the Vatican Secretary of State and expressed confidence that Pope Francis would visit New York on his U.S. trip in September 2015. No word on where the pontiff will stay, or what door he’d use.


No lay preaching for you!

That’s the word from the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester, Salvatore Matano, one of the more conservative members of the U.S. hierarchy, who Pope Francis named to replace longtime Bishop Matthew Clark, one of the most — and last — liberal prelates.

Lay folks had been preaching at Mass since the 1970s, though it is in fact against canon law. Time for the law to change?

The clergy sex abuse crisis is now a rock song

Thanks to Tom Petty, via the HuffPo:

The song — “Playing Dumb” — addresses the victims of the Catholic Church’s sex abuses over the last several decades and will appear as a bonus track on the new album’s vinyl release.

In an interview with Billboard preceding the album’s release, Petty said:

“I’m fine with whatever religion you want to have… [But] if I was in a club, and I found out that there had been generations of people abusing children, and then that club was covering that up, I would quit the club. And I wouldn’t give them any more money.”

Pay it forward, folks. And be sure and check out our home grown offerings on our home page, and check back for updates on the news throughout the day.

David Gibson

Donate to Support Independent Journalism!

Donate Now!