OK, this is going to be a rather short post. Here is the big news, in the words of a faithful GetReligion reader: "Oh no. They did it again."
Who is "they" in that sentence? Basically, "they" are one or more Internet journalists somewhere who wrote and approved a headline without stopping and thinking about it.
What is the "it" in that sentence? Pay attention as I dig into this a bit. Then we'll get to the use of the word "again."
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem is a one-of-a-kind holy site, with various ancient Christian churches in control of this large and complex sanctuary. At the moment, there is a big story unfolding there. Here is the top of a Newsweek report, as run at a Yahoo news site:
Christian leaders have closed the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, said to be built on the site of Jesus’s crucifixion and burial, in a protest at Israeli tax policy which they say unfairly targets Christians.
In a rare move, leaders from the Greek, Armenian and Catholic denominations said they were indefinitely closing the church because of a “systematic campaign” by Israeli authorities.
Well, yes, that's one way to say it. The church does contain a shrine built over the tomb of Jesus. However, if you know anything about Christianity -- anything AT ALL -- you probably remember something very important about that tomb. It's the whole Easter thing.
Thus, the reader sent me this headline -- which is the "it" n this sad tale. Here we go:
Jerusalem Church Where Jesus Is Said to be Buried Closed After Tax Dispute With Israeli Government