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Telling it how it is

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We are always pleased when news reports tie religion into stories about social celebrations and holidays. Celebrations like Mardi Gras — known today by most for its explicit expressions of drunkenness and lascivious behavior — have religious roots that go back centuries. Reporters would be amiss in neglecting to report that angle. However, when dealing with celebrations such as Mardi Gras, it is always refreshing to see news reports that tell just it how it is today.


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’Tis the season . . . to be penitent

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Today is Ash Wednesday. In the Western Christian calendar, it is the first day of Lent. It occurs 40 days (not counting Sundays) before Easter and begins the most sacred part of the Christian year. It’s probably known mostly for the imposition of ashes on the forehead, a custom that aims to remind Christians of their complete sinfulness and mortality. They’re made in the sign of the cross to direct Christians to the necessity of Christ’s suffering and death for their salvation.


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Thuggish cleric behaves thuggishly!

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Let’s all agree that Richard Williamson of the schismatic Society of St. Pius X shows no understanding of history that has occurred in his lifetime and is singularly lacking in people skills. That the man ever became a priest, much less a schismatic bishop, boggles the mind. Thus, should it surprise anyone that he waved his fist in the face of a Reuters reporter who pursued him, Hound of Heaven-style, through the international airport in Buenos Aires?


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Devils are in the details

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The other day, I wrote the following about one of the major news reports on the events unfolding in Pakistan’s Swat valley, where government leaders are trying to work out a compromise with the Taliban. News reports have been telling us that:


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New York gets safe shepherd (apparently)

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Guess what? The new leader of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York is Catholic enough to make the college of cardinals at the New York Times a bit miffed at his appointment, but flexible and corporate enough not to make the Gray Lady mad. I’m shocked, shocked, how about you?


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More than just domestic violence?

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What do you think about the media coverage of the beheading of Buffalo-area woman Aasiya Hassan? I came across the story as it was breaking — but only because I was on the Buffalo News site looking for information on that Feb. 12 commuter plane crash in Buffalo. I expected the story to be huge because the prime suspect in the killing was Hassan’s husband, Muzzammil Hassan.


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Pakistan, Taliban and daily life

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It has been a long time since I have voiced the following complaint about coverage of Islam in the mainstream media. However, I have been frustrated all week by the coverage — just about everywhere — about the Pakistani pact that is supposed to bring some kind of peace in the Swat Valley.


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