On his way to Madrid for World Youth Day, Pope Benedict XVI said God “sows silently,” and the spiritual harvest from events like WYD often isn’t immediately apparent.
More apparent, judging by these Reuters photos, is the vitriol WYD’s high price tag has stirred among Spaniards, many of whom seem to be graduates of the Christopher Hitchens School of Religious Tolerance. Eleven people were injured in the protests, and a young Mexican chemistry student was arrested on suspicion of plotting a gas attack on the protesters. Maybe he can confess his sins under one of the 200 surfboard-like confessionals Catholic officials have erected in a Madrid park.
In other Catholic news, the Archdiocese of Dublin is on the brink of financial collapse following payouts to abuse victims, according to an internal report, and a Dutch Catholic institute for disabled girls says it will review 40 deaths at the children’s home in the early 1950s. Theologians can be a “curse and affliction upon the church,” according to the U.S. bishops’ top official on doctrine.
The Tea Party is pretty much the Religious Right tricked out in tricorn hats, according to scholars Robert Putnam and David Campbell. Tea Party fave Sen. Jim DeMint says the movement is “as much a spiritual awakening as a political awakening.”
The Christian Science Monitor wonders whether Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s good relationship will Muslims hold up through the GOP primary. Perry’s already got the vote of one Jewish swinger, Kiss rocker Gene Simmons. A Polish judge ruled that a death metal singer’s destruction of a Bible during a show is a protected form of artistic expression.
Jihadhists want to cut out the tongue of “Late Show” host David Letterman for celebrating the death of an al-Qaida leader. Mormons are taking over the InterWebs, or at least gaming search engines.
From the Department of Bad Combinations: A Portland woman inspired by the Old Testament and YouTube botched a home circumcision of her 3-month-old son and has been sentenced to five years of probation. Sounds like a case for Foreskin Man. A Massachusetts barber shop was shut down after animal control officers found evidence of ritualistic animal sacrifices.
Yr hmbl aggregator,
Daniel Burke
