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So, as I see things, it appears that the principalities and powers at The Washington Post have reached an interesting legal conclusion in connection with the ongoing drama that is the clash between Father Marcel Guarnizo and the Buddhist-Catholic-artist-gay-activist Barbara Johnson.
In recent weeks, there have been a number of major news stories that have — to one degree or another — pivoted on the sharp doctrinal divisions among American Catholics. Think religious liberty vs. the Health and Human Services rules. Think about the case of Father Marcel Guarnizo and the Buddhist-Catholic-artist-gay-activist Barbara Johnson.
There are, of course, no references to religious faith in the recent Atlantic Monthly business section report that ran under this promising headline: “Europeâs Real Crisis — The Continentâs problems are as much demographic as financial. They wonât go away soon.”
Several things are becoming clearer here in Beltway-land, as coverage continues of the clash between Father Marcel Guarnizo and the Buddhist-Catholic-artist-gay-activist Barbara Johnson. Before addressing a few key themes, here’s the top of the recent Washington Post article that covered the latest development in the case.
Once again, we the people who care about religion news are seeing another sad round of thin mainstream press stories about the decline and fall of the Rev. Robert H. Schuller and his family’s megachurch monument — the Crystal Cathedral.
What is a Catholic Cuban? Or, better yet, who can be a Catholic in Cuba? An Associated Press story that looks at the forthcoming visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Cuba through the prism of his refusal to meet with Santeria leaders makes some claims on these points. But are they valid?
While the late Pope John Paul II — soon to be called St. John Paul the Great — was known as a strong supporter of interfaith dialogues that attempted to build trust, while declining to erase any true boundaries.
While much of the American media is obsessed over how to best exploit something a political opponent said on the radio last week, there are a few other religion stories out there. We looked at media coverage of the murderous riots in Afghanistan over inadvertent Quran-burning already but as the riots continue, so does the coverage.
Anyone who has been paying attention in recent decades knows that large segments of American Catholic culture — especially in academia — operate with a kind of “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy when to comes to a variety of doctrinal and social issues. This is the reality, for example, that shaped the fierce debates about the late Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Consitiution Ex Corde Ecclesia, addressing issues linked to Catholic education.
