Belgian officials have now responded to the outcry over their raid of Catholic institutions this past weekend — including the tomb of a cardinal — in search of documents relating to sex-abuse cases. They claim the search was prompted by a tip from the former head of an internal Church commission in charge of investigating … Read more
The Church in Belgium
Belgian officials have now responded to the outcry over their raid of Catholic institutions this past weekend — including the tomb of a cardinal — in search of documents relating to sex-abuse cases. They claim the search was prompted by a tip from the former head of an internal Church commission in charge of investigating … Read more
Lawsuit proceeding against the Vatican
It’s not every day that the Supreme Court makes headlines because of the cases it chooses not to hear: The US Supreme Court has declined to hear the Vatican’s appeal of an Oregon judge’s decision allowing a sex-abuse victim to proceed with a lawsuit against the Vatican. The Supreme Court made no decision on the … Read more
Wyoming priest an example of the power of reconciliation
Father Rob Spaulding, a new priest in the diocese of Cheyenne, Wyoming, was a seminarian when his life was changed forever. After having a few drinks with three fellow seminarians, Rob was nominated to drive the group home — but he lost control of the car and crashed, ultimately killing two of the passengers, Jared … Read more
Friday Free-for-All
Time for your Friday morning links: In the Caritas Christi Health Care deal in Boston (where the Catholic hospital group was just sold to Cerberus Capital Management), how much is their Catholic identity worth? 3 percent of the purchase price. Pius XII just got a movie, and now John Paul II has… a musical? For … Read more
Adult stem cell therapy returns sight to blinded patients
To put it bluntly, this rules: Dozens of people who were blinded or otherwise suffered severe eye damage when they were splashed with caustic chemicals had their sight restored with transplants of their own stem cells — a stunning success for the burgeoning cell-therapy field, Italian researchers reported Wednesday. The treatment worked completely in 82 … Read more
Treasures in the catacombs
This time last year, the Vatican announced that it had discovered the oldest known icon of St. Paul in the catacombs of St. Tecla in Rome. Now, with the excavation of the tomb complete, they’ve discovered even more: Vatican archaeologists announced the image of Paul was not found in isolation, but was part of a … Read more
Of Popes and Myths
Two new pope movies have been in the news this week: The first is the miniseries Under the Roman Sky, which focuses on the Church’s efforts under Pope Pius XII to aid Italian Jews during World War II. (Pope Benedict even attended a screening during Easter Week.) On the other end of the spectrum is … Read more
The Mass, brought to you by Steve Jobs
How would you feel about an iPad on the altar? Thanks to Father Paolo Padrini — the developer of the iBreviary app for the iPhone, and now an app for the iPad that contains the entire Roman missal — we may be seeing it sometime soon: Padrini, a consultant with the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for … Read more
Friday Free-for-All
Time for your Friday links: Ronnie Lee Gardner was put to death in Utah this morning by firing squad (the first such execution in 14 years). Many people protested what they saw as a barbaric holdover from the past, but are firing squads actually a better means of of execution than lethal injection? Best lede … Read more
Covering the abuse scandal the second time around
Over at Get Religion, Mollie Ziegler points out this Pew Forum study on the media coverage of the recent wave of clergy sex abuse allegations — the most scrutiny the Church has received since the story first broke in 2002. From mid-March (when the pope’s role in a decades-old abuse case in Germany came under … Read more
The Suicide Watchmen
Via the Anchoress comes the story of an Australian man who patrols the cliff across the street from his home, hoping to coax potential jumpers away from the edge: In those bleak moments when the lost souls stood atop the cliff, wondering whether to jump, the sound of the wind and the waves was broken … Read more
IC on the Links
It might be a little quiet around the blog today — the staff of InsideCatholic is heading out to our twelfth annual Lazarus Golf Tournament in Fairfax, VA, for a day on the links with friends of the site. (It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.) Feel free to make this an open … Read more
Friday Free-for-All
Time for some links to get the morning rolling: As if the bill weren’t already controversial enough: The Senate Armed Services Committee approves an amendment to the bill seeking the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” that would allow abortions at military hospitals. Pope Benedict reaffirms celibacy during the closing events for the Year of … Read more
‘How Soccer Is Ruining America’
With World Cup festivities kicking off in South Africa today, I think I’m going to post this article by Stephen Webb (originally published at First Things last year) and then just back away slowly: Soccer is running America into the ground, and there is very little anyone can do about it. Social critics have long … Read more
The Wild and Wooly Catholic Faith
Reflecting on Corpus Christi Sunday, Joe Escalante has a suggestion for getting kids more interested in the Faith: seize on the wild and supernatural. Focus on rivers of blood, secret language (Latin), 3D Gothic images, Gregorian chants, etc. And dress those Knights of Columbus like Roman soldiers for effect and get them out of those … Read more
Swallows of Capistrano leaving the church of their fathers
Man, church attendance is down everywhere. The famous cliff swallows who nest every year at the Mission San Juan Capistrano in California have bypassed their traditional home for something a little more modern: Instead, they found graceful lodging in the eaves at the year-old Vellano Country Club. The private community boasts a golf course designed by … Read more
NYT on ‘celibate, gay, conservative, Catholic writer’ Eve Tushnet
Regular readers of InsideCatholic will know Eve Tushnet for her many excellent articles that we run here regularly. Over the weekend, though, she was introduced to a larger audience via a profile in the New York Times as “a gay Catholic voice against same-sex marriage”: “The sacrifices you want to make aren’t always the only … Read more
Friday Free-for-All
Time for your Friday morning link round-up: Psychological exams for prospective priests have become more complicated in the wake of the sex-abuse scandal. For those who have trouble comprehending the current size of the oil spill, this will help put things in perspective. Top 25 conservative TV shows, and top 50 Catholic-themed movies. Plenty here … Read more
President of Turkish Catholic Bishops’ Conference murdered
Horrible news out of Turkey today: The president of the Turkish Catholic bishops’ conference has been murdered. Bishop Luigi Padovese of Anatolia was stabbed to death on Thursday, June 3. The crime occurred in the port city of Iskenderun, where the bishop was preparing to leave for Cyprus to join Pope Benedict XVI on his … Read more