That Catholic ghost at Notre Dame of Maryland

Time for a brief trip into tmatt’s massive folder of GetReligion guilt, that niche in which I stash mainstream news stories — good and bad — that catch my attention but then get trampled in the rush to react to bigger stories. This time around, I think that this particular story deserves late attention, not because it is of massive importance, but because it represents another example of the struggle at The Baltimore Sun to recognize that the Roman Catholic Church is a big, complicated institution and that it is often important to talk to a variety of Catholics to find out what is going on.


Please respect our Commenting Policy

Cheering on those nuns on the bus

I’m so old that I remember when Catholic leaders getting involved in anything even slightly political meant that journalists would write hard-hitting pieces. Sometimes journalists would just follow the “too political” talking points of well-funded PR campaigns run by political opponents of the Catholic leaders.


Please respect our Commenting Policy

Pod People: Gay Marriage in Denmark

In this week’s podcast Issues Etc. host Todd Wilkin and I discussed two recent GetReligion stories: Gay marriages in Denmark and the Lindy Chamberlain affair in Australia. Press ignorance quickly became the theme of the show.


Please respect our Commenting Policy

A proportional response towards abusers

There is something missing — not quite right about this Associated Press story from Medford, Oregon. If true as written, the facts set forth in “Church protests insurance rules for sex offenders” presents an extraordinary development of insurance guidelines dictating church doctrine and discipline. The concept of proportionality in punishment and forgiveness of the sinner appear to have been overwhelmed by fear.


Please respect our Commenting Policy

Why keep interviewing men on women's issues?

It was another Roe v. Wade anniversary and, as usual, the protestors on both sides of the debate were out in force on the grounds of the Colorado state Capitol. Both sides, of course, had their designated spokespersons who were available to talk to the press. This happened year after year.


Please respect our Commenting Policy

Spinning the Vatican's new spin man

During one of my newspaper internships, I helped compile a list of data from houses of worship around the city for a church directory. You would not believe the number of bizarrely awful websites we came across, from the flashy purple and gold to the blogspot templates people still use.


Please respect our Commenting Policy

Beyond talking points at Scientology opening

The Denver Post‘s Eric Gorski hasn’t been exclusively on the Godbeat for a while. So I was quite happy to see him dip back into religion reporting for his piece on the Church of Scientology’s grand-opening celebration in Denver. We’re told that the celebration filled a city block downtown with balloons, confetti and cheering throngs.


Please respect our Commenting Policy