Doublespeak
David Cameron has appointed a “special representative” to coordinate the Pope’s September visit to the U.K. This representative, Chris Patten, is extremely concerned. Not concerned about the sexual abuse of children and its institutionally-sanctioned cover-up or about the obscene amount of money that the British government is spending on this “state visit,” though. No: he’s [...]
Opportunism, thy name is Christine Quinn
And Bill Donohue’s Mother Teresa/Empire State Building Campaign of Doom marches on… New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who fully supports and has become very involved in Donohue’s campaign, has again indicated that she either does not understand or refuses to respect the fact that it’s inappropriate and illegal for government officials to actively [...]
New developments in The Campaign of Doom
More on Bill Donohue’s Mother Teresa/Empire State Building “WORLDWIDE CAMPAIGN OF DOOOOM!”: New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is still at it. Along with City Councilman James Vacca, she has persuaded the owners of the Hutchinson Metro Center, an office complex in the Bronx, to light their building in blue and white on August [...]
Another update on Bill Donohue’s ridiculous campaign
Bill Donohue’s Mother Teresa/Empire State Building “WORLDWIDE CAMPAIGN OF DOOOOM!” is all over the news today. According to the New York Observer, NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who fully supports Donohue’s campaign, recently “exchanged terse words” with Anthony Malkin, owner of the Empire State Building. Then, after Malkin refused to reverse his decision, she held [...]
Oh those poor, persecuted military chaplains!
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council and graduate of the ever-so-estimable Liberty “University,” is well-known for his bigoted views and his persistent desire to weaken (or eliminate altogether) America’s already frighteningly tenuous wall of separation between church and state. Today, CNN’s Belief Blog has posted a piece by Perkins entitled “My Take: Ending [...]
When the mere act of questioning becomes a powerful tool of defiance
This is depressing: More than 100,000 people filled St. Peter’s Square on Sunday in a major show of support for Pope Benedict XVI over the clerical sex abuse scandal. Benedict said he was comforted by such a “beautiful and spontaneous show of faith and solidarity” and again denounced what he called the “sin” that has [...]
The Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport must not be allowed to hide behind the First Amendment (written in September 2009)
(This is a piece that I wrote in September 2009, for another site. It discusses clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, specifically focusing on one Connecticut diocese and the abuse and cover-up that went on there. It’s quite long, so I’ll put the majority of it behind a cut.) Accusations, revelations, lawsuits, legal battles, [...]
Absolutely vile
The Guardian’s Comment is free today published a horrifying article by Nancy Graham Holm, “Prejudiced Danes provoke fanaticism: Publishing Kurt Westergaard’s cartoons was an aggressive act born of Denmark’s reluctance to respect religious belief”, discussing the recent attempted assassination of Danish artist Kurt Westergaard, famous for his editorial cartoon that depicted the prophet Muhammad with [...]
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