Free-for-All Friday, July 30

Time for some Friday-morning link action. Somehow all the links today ended up being reading/writing/storytelling related, so get ready:

• Novelist Anne Rice, who had a very public reversion to the Faith in the 1990s, is now just as publicly breaking it off again:

“I quit being a Christian. I’m out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of … Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.”

Archbishop Sheen’s comment about people hating what they think is the Catholic Church comes to mind…

• In other writer news, an excellent introduction to Cardinal Newman and one of his recent biographies. The piece also contains a very straightforward explanation for why all the questions about his sexuality are misplaced, and why Newman himself would find them laughable.
• The best magazine articles ever. These should keep me busy all weekend.
• From reader Chris, Apostrophe Catastrophes: “The Worlds’ Worst. Punctuation;” Just looking at this page gives me Editor Hives.
• ‘The Letter-Writing Priest’: A priest with Alzheimer’s continues his ministry by writing letters — lots of them.
• Have you seen this trailer for the new movie about Opus Dei founder Josemaria Escriva? It’s directed by Roland Joffe, who also directed The Mission. Set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, it certainly makes it more action-adventure-y than your average saint’s-life story…