Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Wednesday’s roundup
The father of a dead Marine, whose funeral was picketed by anti-gay protestors from Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church, has been ordered to pay Phelps' legal fees. The case is headed to the Supreme Court, but until then, supporters have launched a grass-roots campaign to help pay the bills.
Members of the Hutaree Christian militia in Michigan will face a judge today on whether they can be released on bond. A Baltimore judge who married a couple involved in a nasty domestic violence case defended his decision to marry them, saying he was guided by his Catholic conscience to "legitimize" their relationship.
The AP says the Vatican is planning to claim diplomatic immunity in response to a Kentucky lawsuit that charges U.S. bishops who allowed abuse to fester were employees of the Vatican. The Vatican's top spokesman says the pope is not some kind of multinational CEO who needs to resign when things go south. The Toronto Globe and Mail looks at the Vatican's PR crisis. The pope is also under pressure to say something -- anything -- on the scandal.
Maureen Dowd wants a papal inquisition and Randy Balmer says the pope's invitation to disaffected Anglicans should also work in reverse for disaffected Catholics. Union Seminary's Serene Jones is trying to focus on the good parts of the Catholic Church. NPR has a roundup of opinions on whether Benedict should stay or go: SNAP's David Clohessy (stay); Ken Briggs (go, at least temporarily), Tom Reese (probably not). The LA Times' Tim Rutton wonders what conservative Catholics will do about the abusive history of the Legionaries of Christ order.
Russians are nervous about the return of the "black widows" -- the Muslim women who blow themselves up in public spaces in retaliation for perceived injustices in the Caucasus. NYT says the women aren't Muslim extremists, but perhaps extreme nationalists.
That Indian guru who got caught up in a sex scandal has resigned, and a gay former employee at the very evangelical Trinity Broadcasting Network has settled his harassment dispute with his former employer. French officials warn that a ban on full-body burkas is likely to be unconstitutional.
Posted by Kevin Eckstrom at 8:33 am
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