'A good Samaritan' emerges out of an ugly shooting

I don’t naturally click on too many stories about shootings. We live in an urban environment, and the more you read, the more paranoid you can get. That said, stories about a shooting can turn up stories of bravery and kindness, stories that show sparks of selflessness in the middle of a messy situation.


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Well handled snakes, in the Washington Post

Although I lived in the mountains of Tennessee for six years, I am not an expert on the small — but well documented — bands of Christians who choose to handle snakes as part of their worship services. Yes, there was this mainstream Greek newspaper that decided that I was an expert on this subject (one of the most bizarre episodes in my career), but that was the kind of mistake that happens when one writes a singe column that somehow shows up high in a Google search.


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Got news? The Vatican women's Page

L’Osservatore Romano reports that it has added a women’s page to its Italian-language edition. The four-page insert will be called “Women, Church, World” and will be written “by and for” Catholic women, and will appear on the last Thursday of the month, the semi-official Vatican newspaper reports.


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How an iconic photo of naked girl made a lasting impact

Prepare to be moved to tears, because we have a lovely story to share. A friend sent me this amazing Associated Press story about a woman coming to terms with a stunning photo from her childhood. I would post the photo here, but AP owns the photo so you can find it here.


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Ghosts in the "Polish death camps" fracas

The former newspaper copy editor in me has been watching the development of the whole “Polish death camp” debate this week, which led, of course, to a political resolution of this rather small-scale media storm.


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When monks get litigious

I never get a chance to look at stories about libertarianism and religion because, frankly, there aren’t that many of them. But the Washington Post had a story that joined these two topics and it was actually really good. Good stories about libertarianism and religion are even rarer to find.


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