As Gulf Coast residents deal with the worst oil spill in U.S. history, The Washington Post reports that — surprise, surprise — some people are finding comfort in prayer.
Praying to plug the oil spill
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Symbolic details for Memorial Day
Anyone who has spent more than a few hours in Arlington National Cemetery has probably seen, from a distance, a military funeral of some kind. For me, it’s impossible not to get caught up in the specifics of these rites, the symbolic details that offer details of the life, rank and service of the deceased. If Arlington is a cathedral in American civil religion, then these details are part of its high-church liturgical rites.
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Unearthing the truth about Copernicus
When I think of a classic example of a mainstream news story that is in urgent need of GetReligion treatment, the opening goes something like this:
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Catholic teachers, Catholic unbelievers?
The other day we had a lively comments-page discussion of whether it is acceptable for Catholic schools to ask the parents of students to either affirm or, harder yet, live by the central teachings of the Catholic faith.
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Newsflash: L.A. parish has Latinos!
First the Los Angeles Times nonchalantly reported the news that Cardinal Roger Mahony, head of the largest Catholic community in the nation, would not be asked by the pope to stay on, as is common, after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75. In a glorified news brief, no less.
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Speaking in tongues
Today is one of my favorite Christian holidays — Pentecost. My youngest was baptized last year on this feast day and we just got home from a beautiful service at our church.
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Whack-a-mole: female 'priests' edition
Last week, I wrote about a perennial GetReligion sport — “fundamentalist” whack-a-mole. The word is often used to describe any old traditional or conservative sect, but we’re forever pointing out “fundamentalist” has a very specific meaning in the context of Christian theology.
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Episcopal numbers games in greater LA
We are going to play a little numbers game for a minute, so please hang in there with me. The following is totally fiction, so please do not get hung up on the details.
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Beyond the L-word? Ask questions
As you would expect, the Baltimore Sun is in full celebration mode when it comes to the consecration of the Rev. Canon Mary Douglas Glasspool of Annapolis as a new assistant bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. This makes sense for all kinds of reasons, in terms of the newspaper’s views of the changes that must be made to help build a better and more enlightened world.
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