Salt-and-pepper hair. Western-style mustache. Cowboy hat. Thomas Mitchell looks like my kind of editor.
Ghosts in toddler's tragic death?
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Has the pope failed?
There was something that confused me about this Associated Press story “Pope to create new office to fight secularization.” It’s by no means an in-depth story — just a quick wire report on some business that came out of Vatican City this week. But check out this lede and supporting paragraphs:
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Supreme Court takes on "all comers"
The Supreme Court handed down a decision on Monday that dealt with the gay rights and religious freedom by looking at how non-discrimination clauses can come into conflict with the freedom of association. We’ve looked at Christian Legal Society v. Martinez before here, here, here and here.
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Twilight of the Mormons
The smartest piece I’ve read so far about the Twilight phenomenon, was Caitlin Flanagan’s essay for The Atlantic. To date, I haven’t read the books or seen the movies, but my Mormon upbringing has made me somewhat attuned to a subject that otherwise is primarily of interest to adolescent females. Anyway, here’s Flanagan’s take on the books’ religion and morals:
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When "diversity hires" attack
On Friday, Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel — who covered conservative groups — resigned his position after incendiary partisan emails he had sent were published by the Daily Caller. The day before, some of his intemperate emails were published by Fishbowl DC. He had apologized already for those and chalked them up to a bad day.
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A priest's rocky road to forgiveness (updated)
Up in Wyoming, Casper Star-Tribune subscribers got their money’s worth — and more — Sunday. Kristy Gray’s remarkable story on a priest’s journey from rock bottom to redemption dominated Page 1. The banner-size headline: “RECONCILED.”
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Define 'Islamist.' OK, 'radical.' Whatever
I trust that anyone who has read GetReligion for any amount of time whatsoever has noticed that we are not fond of labels. Take, for example, “fundamentalist Islam” or “moderate Muslims.”
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Breaking the confessional seal?
I once knew a member of the clergy who warned parishioners that if they told him about anything illegal, he’d be compelled to report them. Now, usually when I confess my sins they’re of the variety where the state doesn’t have an interest. But it’s probably a good idea to clarify whether your confessor is bound to secrecy or not.
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Got news? Religious freedom edition
Religion Dispatches, a progressive blog for religion news and analysis, has a post about President Barack Obama’s newly appointed religion ambassador. The headline sums up the story very well:
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