Sarx

ATHER GEOFF Posts A response to a second E-mail from someone of the religious right. It’s an interesting conversation, but I’d like to highlight his quote from retired Roman Catholic Bishop Geoffrey Robinson’s book Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church.
Far too often the Catholic Church has believed that it had such a [...]

Roman Catholic Ecclesial Community takes up a collection to support a political campaign? EVERY Roman Catholic Parish in a diocese takes up a collection in support of a political campaign and no one, not even the IRS, cares? In fact, the Catholic Media reports it as if there is nothing wrong at all. [...]

OMEN, Of course, enjoy a full spectrum of freedom in conservative, traditional religion provided they wear a hijab or an acceptable substitute. (Such conversations remind me, fondly, of Fr Joseph’s reference to converts in the Orthodox Taliban and jokes about the Ortho-Burqa.)

ISHOP William Murphy (RCC – Rockville Centre, NY) “corrects” a local politician on same-sex marriage. Coincidentally, he rehashes all the tired, useless arguments in this schnazzy new chart that lists all the blues and reds on the topic. It’s making all the rounds on the net just now…

Point of order: the Bishop has [...]

HE ROMAN Catholic Ecclesial Community in San Francisco has paid out some $40 Million in clergy-related Sex Abuse cases. In an effort to protect some assets, they transfered some very famous property – including Mission Delores, the old cathedral (St Mary’s) and the historic but totally abandoned St Francis church in SoMa – [...]

Christ is Risen!

O ONE, I hope, is missing the historical Irony that one man – who says he was pressed into service against his will – has been deported to Germany while another man – who says exactly the same thing – is now in Israel angering the Jews. Dear Jane brings us a visual [...]

Christ is Risen!

ER HOST Falls to sleep most nights reading Eamon Duffy’s giant opus, The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England 1400 – 1580. Yes, for a church geek, this is nearly bed-time pr0n.
I think Mr Duffy set out to say, “See, the laity were terribly religious and they didn’t [...]

ATHOLIC (Roman) News Agency offers us a prime example of Catholic (Roman) Homophobia: citing Rhode Island’s Bishop Thomas J Tobin’d call that Catholic apathy on same-sex ‘marriage’ must end. Last week (April 23) the Bishop’s Column in the local Roman newspaper explained in gory detail all the reasons good Papists should oppose Same-Sex Marriage [...]

Christ is Risen!

OPE Benedict 16, when he sways into modern morals and politics, is a bit of a nutter, but on the Church’s tradition he is perfectly patristic and a blessing. The most common problem shared by Biblical critics (left, right, progressive theist or atheist) is that they refuse to admit or accept that [...]

UST SO We’re clear, the USCCB says Reiki therapy is ‘superstition’.
“For a Catholic to believe in Reiki therapy presents insoluble problems” the guidelines continue, saying that employing a technique that has no scientific support or plausibility is “generally not prudent.”
What is ironic about that is that A) there’s no scientific evidence for exorcisms, baptisms, eucharists, [...]