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Commentary and links to news of the wonderful, weird, interesting and cutting edge through the lens of our Catholic faith. Updated daily by Our Sunday Visitor staff. Email us with question or comments or link suggestions: feedback@osv.com.
mercatornet.com
A new mom in Irving, Texas, talks about taking on the role in a culture that is too full of choices. While humans in the 21st century seem to want to get all their answers off the Internet, she encourages all women to look in the right direction for the meaning of motherhood -- that is, God. Read it here»
BBC News
Although the United Nations was finally allowed to fly in disaster-relief aid, several days after a cyclone smashed into the southeast Asian country of Myanmar (Burma), the Burmese government has yet to approve U.S. help and is reporting deaths and missing far below what outside officials believe will top 100,000 casualties. Read it here»
The Associated Press
The enterainment industry may have a new king on the block -- and it isn't benevolent. "Grand Theft Auto IV," the latest video game to push the boundaries of decency with violence, sexuality and mature themes, all while courting the teen audience, earned more money in one week than any movie or music release ever has. Read it here»
About 12 Indiana nuns were turned away Tuesday from a polling place by a fellow sister because they didn't have state or federal identification bearing a photograph. Sister Julie McGuire said she was forced to turn away her fellow members of Saint Mary's Convent in South Bend, across the street from the University of Notre Dame, because they had been told earlier that they would need such an ID to vote. The nuns, all in their 80s or 90s, didn't get one but came to the precinct anyway. Sister McGuire said the convent will make a "very concerted effort" to get proper identification for the nuns in time for the general election. More info here>>
InsideCatholic.com
While artificial contraception has been embraced by secular society, Inside Catholic columnist Eric Pavlat links many societal woes, including high divorce rates, abortion and assaults on the traditional family, to birth control. More info here>>
The Sydney Morning News
In a World Youth Day first, Pope Benedict XVI will send daily text messages of hope and inspiration to young people during the Sydney event. The plan will connect the Pope with 225,000 pilgrims that are expected to converge on Sydney as part of the six-day Catholic festival in July. World Youth Day coordinator Bishop Anthony Fisher said the idea behind the text service was to provide a unique experience by using new ways to connect with today's tech-savvy youths.
The Daily Telegraph
The Catholic Church has officially recognized a shrine in the French Alps where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a shepherdess named Benôite Rencurel around 2,500 times over 54 years. Notre Dame du Laus, which already draws some 120,000 pilgrims each year, was formally acknowledged by the Vatican after three years of research into its credentials by a team of theologians, historians and psychologists. More info here>>
The New York Times
With all of the press coverage on the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, New York Times columnist Frank Rich wonders why the outrageous claims of the Rev. John Hagee and other white preachers have not received much notice. Rev. Hagee, who has endorsed Republican presidential nominee John McCain, appears in a video posted on YouTube equated the Catholic Church as a “Great Whore” who has thirsted for Jewish blood. He has also blamed Hurricane Katrina on the sins of New Orleans. More info here>>
Reuters
Australia's Catholic Church wants to put a lid on British chef Gordon Ramsay’s foul mouth. The Church has demanded his reality television shows “Kitchen Nightmares” and “Hell’s Kitchen” be taken off the air or shown at a later time. One episode broadcast recently featured Ramsay using a four-letter expletive more than 80 times. “There can be no excuse for vilification of this sort. We conclude that this episode should never have been aired on Australian television," the Catholic Church in the south ...
If you're a goldfish living with an owner in Switzerland, your right's just improved dramatically; but if you're a human, don't get too caught up in the notion of human dignity and rights that go with it. In addition to a goldfish's right to have at least one side of it's living quarters be opaque, other animals will need to be handled with more "dignity" by humans: Prospective dog owners will have to pay for and complete a two-part course on the theory and practice of dog ownership. Anglers will also be required to take a course on handling fish with dignity. However, assisted suicide is still legal for humans, undercutting the entire notion of dignity. Click here for more info»
Knights of Columbus
A poll taken immediately following the conclusion of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States shows that it had a powerful impact on public attitudes toward the pope, the Church, and a willingness to live their faith more fully. Marist College Institute for Public Opinion interviewed 1,013 people April 22-24, 2008. Marist conducted a similar poll prior to the pope’s visit, allowing before-and-after comparisons. For poll results, click here»
Man seeks slogan as new name
Associated Press
Steve Kreuscher wants a judge to allow him to legally change his name. He wants to be known as "In God We Trust." More info here»
The Baltimore Sun
A 78-year-old nun offered kind words of forgiveness to the man who shoved her and stole her purse three years ago, bringing tears to the eyes of many in a Baltimore courtroom. She also pleaded with the judge not to send her assailant, Charles R. Dodson, to prison. Asked after the hearing what had inspired her unusual approach to the man who left her with broken bones and deep bruises, unable to fully raise one arm and incapable of living on her own any longer, Sister Muriel Curran answered simply. "The Gospel," she said. "You hear that cliche — 'What would Jesus do?' — but if you live it, you've got to believe it." Despite Sister Curran’s pleas, the judge gave Dodson a 10-year sentence. More info here>>
Mercator.net
Two sisters in England who have shared a home for years face a burdensome tax — when one of them dies, the other will have to pay a 40 percent tax on the property if she wishes to remain living there. However, if Joyce and Sybil Burden had proclaimed themselves lesbians and formed a “civil partnership” they would get a massive advantage: when one of them died, the other would receive the whole of the property, tax-free. The sisters took their case to the courts. And now they’ve had the final ruling from the European Court: They do not qualify for any tax benefits as their situation cannot be compared to marriage or a civil partnership. More info here>>
The Dallas Morning News
At Texas A & M University, students have long dunked their new class ring in beer, then chugged the beer to retrieve the ring. Some Catholic students at the school in College Station, Texas, have put a more reverential spin on the tradition. Those students are dunking their ...
Catholics and non-Catholics in America have a more favorable image of Pope Benedict XVI and the Church after his April 15-20 visit to the United States, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are more in touch with their own spiritual values, a new poll finds. Nearly 60 percent of those polled said they were satisfied with the pope’s apologies for the clergy sex-abuse scandal, although many believe more needs to be done to avoid having the scandal repeated. More info here>>
The Guardian
Police in southern China have taken into custody scores of youngsters suspected of being underage workers after Southern Metropolis, a Chinese newspaper, exposed a child labor racket this week. Police are reportedly looking after at least 79 children believed to be from the remote, impoverished area of Liangshan in Sichuan province. The newspaper said hundreds of children from Liangshan, mostly 13 to 15 years old, had been sold or kidnapped to work in factories in the south, particularly in Dongguan, a major export center. More info here>>
The London Times
Peter Phillips, Queen Elizabeth’s eldest grandson and 11th in line to the throne, will not have to give up his place in the succession to the throne when he marries May 17 after his fiancée renounced her Catholic faith. Canadian Autumn Kelly, 31, who was baptized Catholic and educated in Catholic schools, has been accepted into the Church of England. “She was not asked to do this; she did it of her own accord,” an anonymous source said. More info here>>
The Los Angeles Times
In a move that could herald warmer relations between the Vatican and Beijing, the China Philharmonic Orchestra will perform for Pope Benedict XVI next week at the Vatican. The Beijing-based orchestra, along with the Shanghai Opera House Chorus, will perform Mozart's "Requiem" for the pope at Paul VI Audience Hall, people familiar with the plans said. It wasn't clear how much the concert would help the Vatican and Beijing move toward reconciliation, but Pope Benedict has made the improvement of relations with Beijing a priority of his papacy, hoping to secure greater freedom for Chinese Catholics. More info here>>
The Washington Times
The Rev. James Hagee, pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, is not known for his warm relationship with Catholics. Yet in this essay, he praises Pope Benedict XVI on his moral vision for America and the world. More info here>>
The Pakistan Dawn
World Bank chief Robert B. Zoellick said on Tuesday that 100 million people have already been pushed into poverty due to a man-made food crisis while as many as 2 billion are on the verge of disaster. “This is not a natural disaster,” he said after attending a meeting of the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination in Berne, Switzerland “Make no mistake; there is nothing natural about this. But for millions of people it is a disaster.” More info here>>
Al Kresta, host of “ ...
Catholic News Agency
St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y., has received dozens of applications after Pope Benedict XVI’s visit for a youth rally earlier this month. "It's been like a tsunami, a good tsunami of interest," Father Luke Sweeney, the Archdiocese of New York's vocations director, told the New York Daily News. “I've been meeting people all week and have a lot of e-mails I haven't had the chance yet to respond to. It has been incredible.” More info here>>
Cardinal Edward M. Egan, archbishop of New York, said Monday that former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani should not have received holy Communion during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI because Giuliani supports abortion rights. Cardinal Egan said in a statement on the archdiocese's website that he and Mr. Giuliani had reached “an understanding” when he became archbishop in 2000 that Mr. Giuliani “was not to receive the eucharist because of his well-known support of abortion.” More info here>>
A new study by the Catholic Biblical Federation found that Americans are among the world's most 'Bible-literate' people, and Spaniards, French and Italians are among the most ignorant about what the "Good Book" says. Asked if they had read a phrase from the Bible in the past 12 months, 75 percents of American respondents said yes, while between 20 percent and 38 percent of respondents in the other eight countries said yes. More info here>>
Columnist Kathryn Jean Lopez writes about the deep misunderstandings old-guard feminists have about the Catholic Church. They are not open to listening, but to dictating an unworkable agenda, she writes. If they were open to it, they would hear and see the Catholic Church's embrace and celebration of women. “Women will not be priests,” she writes, “but they will always be an essential part of the Church.” More info here>
The Washington Post
U.S. Army Spec. Jeremy Hall has filed a lawsuit alleging he's been harassed and his constitutional rights have been violated because he doesn't believe in God. He says he's been called immoral, a devil worshipper and -- just as severe to some soldiers -- gay, none of which, he says, is true. "I see a name and rank and United States flag on their shoulder. That's what I believe everyone else should see," he told The Associated Press. More info here>
Three Roman Catholic priests signed a £1 million contract last week with the music company Sony BMG. Father Eugene O’Hagen, 48, his brother Martin, 45, and their old school friend David Delargy, 44, who all hold parishes in the Northern Ireland Diocese of Down and Connor ...
Brazil's air force has suspended its search for a Catholic priest who vanished after sailing into the air under a cluster of colorful balloons. The cleric's family chartered a private plane to continue the hunt. According to a member of his parish, Father Adelir Antonio de Carli hoped his flight would help raise money for a center where truck drivers could stop "to rest and receive the Gospel." More info here>>
The Houston Chronicle
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has denied a request by a Bible-based school and research institute to offer a master's degree in science education. The issue was whether the Institute for Creation Research, whose leaders believe in creationism, or that the world was literally created as recounted in the Bible, could adequately prepare its graduates to teach science in middle schools and high schools. Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes had found — and board members agreed — that it could not. More info here>>
The U.S. Senate voted on a measureThursday that could ease concerns of Americans that genetic information could be used against them in employment or insurance decisions. The measure would become the first federal law dealing with the growing role of genetics in the prediction, diagnosis and individualized treatment of disease. It still must be passed by the House and signed into law by President Bush. Many patients who could benefit have refused genetic testing out of fear of discrimination, experts say. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act would prevent health insurers from using genetic information to deny coverage or raise rates. It would also bar employers from using genetic information in hiring, ...