Rap Sheet
Links on R&P from around the web
Missouri Bishop’s Conviction Leaves Clergy Divided
posted on December 4, 2012John Eligon and Laurie Goodstein of The New York Times report on Bishop Robert Finn, the first to be convicted of failing to report a pedophile priest. After the verdict, lay people called for his resignation, but now the reporters found a “significant number of the bishop’s own priests have lost confidence in him.” They write, “Such sentiments raise the question of whether Bishop Finn can successfully continue to oversee a diocese of 87 parishes and more than 130,000 people, or whether he will go the way of Cardinal Bernard F. Law, who gave up his post in Boston a decade ago after an outcry over his practice of reassigning priests accused of abuse to new parishes.”
Palestinians Win Upgraded UN Status by Wide Margin
posted on November 30, 2012By an overwhelming margin of 138-9, the UN General Assembly upgraded Palestine’s UN status to a non-member observer state, reports the BBC’s Barbara Plett. “While the move is seen as a symbolic milestone in Palestinian ambitions for statehood,” writes Plett, “the ‘Yes’ vote will also have a practical diplomatic effect.” Israel and the U.S. opposed the resolution, believing the vote to be “counter-productive” to peace talks.
Rick Warren, Saddleback Pastor: Obama Has ‘Infringed’ Upon Religious Liberties
posted on November 30, 2012For The Huffington Post, Jaweed Kaleem looks at Rick Warren’s critiques of President Obama’s religious policies. Warren argues that the administration’s policies “intentionally infringed upon religious liberties.” Warren predicts, “Religious liberty will be the civil rights issue of the next decade.”
Photo of Officer Giving Boots to Barefoot Man Warms Hearts Online
posted on November 30, 2012J. David Goodman at The New York Times writes about a photo of New York police officer Lawrence DePrimo giving a pair of boots to a barefoot man in Times Square. Online, the photo has gone viral, with 1.6 million views by Wednesday. Jose Cano, a manager of the store where DePrimo bought the shoes, said, “We were just kind of shocked. Most of us are New Yorkers and we just kind of pass by that kind of thing.”
The Disappearing White Catholic Voter
posted on November 30, 2012For The Catholic Thing, George J. Marlin considers the diminishing importance of the white Catholic vote. Marlin provides a breakdown of white voting Catholics in important swing states. Marlin writes, “Romney needed at least two [swing states] to win. He lost them all because, in my judgment, practicing Catholic voters were not persuaded to come out in force.”
Mormonism: A Scrutinized, Yet Evolving Faith
posted on November 30, 2012At NPR, Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports on the recent evolution of Mormonism. Hagerty writes that the religion’s changing beliefs have allowed Mormonism to be seen by Americans, historically skeptical even antagonistic toward the LDS Church, as more mainstream. Patrick Mason, a professor and chairman of the Mormon Studies program at Claremont Graduate University, said, “I think this election cycle is the culmination of what we’ve seen in Mormonism for the past hundred years. I mean, this is exactly what Mormonism has sought to achieve ever since it gave up polygamy and its political kingdom.”
Louisiana Education Case Highlights Bobby Jindal’s Creationism State
posted on November 30, 2012At The Guardian, Paul Harris looks at the religious implications of a new court case in Louisiana that challenges Governor Bobby Jindal’s voucher system for schools. Jindal’s program supports many conservative Christian schools that teach creationism. Harris writes, “When parents use the vouchers at such establishments they are effectively giving state money to teach children lessons that can include alternatives to the theory of evolution or questioning the widely accepted age of the Earth.”
The Down Syndrome Community’s Abortion Rift
posted on November 30, 2012Matthew Hennessey of First Things considers the rift that the question of abortion has created among Down syndrome advocacy organizations. For such organizations, the decision to provide information, and what kind of information, on abortion access to women who receive a prenatal diagnosis that their fetus has Down syndrome has become a major issue. Hennessey writes that even within the close-knit Down syndrome community, “[n]o philosophical disagreement, no policy debate, no theological quibble rivals our fundamental and unbridgeable divide on the question of abortion.”
Polish Ruling on Kosher Meat Angers Jews
posted on November 30, 2012For Reuters, Marcin Geottig writes that Jewish groups believe that a Polish court ruling on the procedures of animal slaughter could halt the production of kosher meat in that country. The case, which requires animals to be stunned before slaughter, “has inflamed religious sensitivities in Poland against the backdrop of the Holocaust when Poland was under German occupation,” writes Geottig.
Palestinians Say UN Bid is Last-ditch Peace Effort
posted on November 29, 2012For the Associated Press, Karin Laub reports on the Palestinian bid for U.N. recognition. Laub writes that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is attempting to gain U.N. recognition as a means “to improve Palestinian leverage and secure the pre-1967 war frontiers as the baseline for future border talks.”