Our Takes Daily

Nun’s mercy astonishes courtroom

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>>

Justice eludes British sisters

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>>

Blessed school tradition

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 rings in holy water after a priest of a parish across the street from campus suggested that would be meaningful than the beer dunking. More info here>>

Today’s podcast

EWTN’s “Life on the Rock” features interviews with members of Communion and Liberation. More info here>>