The Vatican went before the UN Convention on Torture to answer questions about the clergy child abuse scandal and Church teachings on abortion and homosexuality, not as a church, but as a government. In addition to raising the preposterous idea that Church teaching on abortion is torture of women, the Convention also raised the issue of the practice of transferring child abusing priests from one parish to another. I am guessing that the Convention’s position on the Vatican and... Read more
May 5 — Cinco de Mayo, no less — was Patheos’ 5th birthday. That’s right. Big Number Five. I, for one, am glad that Patheos is here. Because I can write what I want. And think what I think. Patheos rocks! (I mean that.) Read more
The FBI stands ready to assist Nigeria to help find the approximately 300 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram. Considering the abysmal failure of Nigeria’s government to deal effectively with Boko Haram, I think they should consider taking the offer. What role does government corruption play in the continued successes that Boko Haram has had at killing unarmed civilians and burning down churches and schools? This kidnapping is not the first time Boko Haram has attacked a Nigerian school. On February... Read more
We’re going to have to find another word. That’s what happens when organized groups with an agenda do their lying thing and massage, twist and shave the meaning of a word that evokes powerful emotions into a meaningless, politicized hulk of its former self. Words have power to evoke emotion and, with some words, outrage. Somewhere back in the first half of the twentieth century the big-time government monsters among us figured this out. Instead of accepting the plain meaning... Read more
Who funds Boko Haram? “They are slaves and I will sell them because I have the market to sell them.” Those are the words of Abubakar Shekau, leader of Boko Haram. Mr Shekau was talking about the large number of high school girls that his followers abducted April 15 from their school after a firefight with government troops. He recently released a video in which he takes responsibility for the mass abduction and says the students “will remain slaves... Read more
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled today that prayers said before the town council meetings in Greece, NY do not violate the Constitution. Justice Kennedy wrote the majority decision which said in part that there is a historical precedent for opening legislative meetings with a prayer that the even though the prayers offered at the New York town’s council meetings were predominantly Christian in nature, they were not coercive but rather “evoked universal... Read more
My pal Kathy Schiffer tagged me in the writing relay, #mywritingprocess. Kathy has already done her part, answering four questions about why/when/what she writes. Elizabeth Duffy (another Catholic Patheosi) tagged Kathy after doing the same. Now I’m up, and this should be a piece of cake. After all, this relay asks me, a blogging politician, to talk about myself. How tough is that? Get your earplugs and eyeshades ready. I’m off. 1. What are you working on? We’re entering the... Read more
Catholic News Service presents part of the moral argument for raising the minimum wage. Read more
I’m not sure what to make of this. According to The Daily Caller this interview with Margaret Sanger and someone she calls John surfaced when British Pathe, a newsreel company uploaded 85,000 of its films to YouTube. The films were originally aired between 1896 and 1976. This particular news reel is an interview with Margaret Sanger (who the interviewer calls Mrs Sleen, or something like that) about what was evidently her call for women to cease having babies for... Read more
FGM. Female Genital Mutilation. This practice, which is widespread, involves holding down little girls while the women of a community hack away her external genitalia until they have cut all of it off. They then sew her vagina shut. They often also sew the labias shut, leaving only a small opening for urination. Over time, the resulting scar tissue create in a permanent closure which must be forced open when the girl marries. This terrible practice is almost universal... Read more
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