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While it is hard to explain to outsiders, one of the most fascinating battles in the American Catholic church today is the one that pits the kneelers vs. the non-kneelers. I refer, of course, to the issue of whether bishops should — bowing to the modernization of ancient rites — attempt to prevent the faithful from kneeling before the altar as they receive Holy Communion during the Mass.
Before we dive into the actual 12 days of Christmas — don’t forget to send URLs of any mainstream coverage — let’s look at another really interesting story from a big week for religion news in the Washington Post. The headline was crisp and to the point, if somewhat dry for such an interesting piece:
As you would imagine, I have to do a lot of writing about The Holidays — or the holy days? — this time of year. I try not to think about this as writing about Christmas, because most of what is going on really has nothing to do with Christmas.
What we have here is a classic “no comments” situation for GetReligion readers. I am about to praise a major Washington Post piece about religion on the other side of the world. It’s even about Islam.
It is very hard to write about the history of Catholicism in the United States without writing about the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland. Baltimore is, of course, the senior see in the United States and was established as a diocese on April 6, 1789.
In the wake of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, a few mainstream journalists are still trying to get a handle on what happens next with issues of religious liberty in the U.S. military.
As regular GetReligion readers know, I spent several years early in my career on the copy desk of a daily newspaper and I have remained rather obsessed with issue of Associated Press style ever since — especially questions about (surprise) religion.
You know how, in the competitions during the summer Olympics, the divers’ scores are often calculated on the basis of the difficult of the dives that they are attempting?
Let’s read this story together, shall me? The headline on A1 of the Washington Post was blunt, yet with very few specific details, in part because of the presence of that dishwater adjective “moderate.”
