Video
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feed
Archive: March 28, 2010 - April 3, 2010
Church needs an accounting of the soul
How long will people continue to turn for moral authority to a body that has failed to live up to its promise to protect its most vulnerable members? How can the faithful look to the Church for guidance if the Church neglects to courageously and proactively address its own darkest wounds?
By Sharon Brous | April 2, 2010; 7:53 PM ET | Comments (4)
My blog Religion from the Heart
My blog Religion from the Heart
By Timothy Shriver | April 2, 2010; 3:32 PM ET | Comments (0)
Brutal and foolish to link Catholic scandal with Holocaust
To use the sufferings of the Jews as an analogy for the church's public discomfort -- given our painful shared history -- is indescribably tactless.
By David Wolpe | April 2, 2010; 3:19 PM ET | Comments (125)
The bondage of freedom
Our ancient process of freedom did not end when we crossed the sea to freedom. Those initial steps were only the beginning. We are still walking.
By Erica Brown | April 2, 2010; 11:45 AM ET | Comments (0)
Easter is not a pagan holiday
The Devil hates Easter for good reasons, but some Christians worry about it for bad reasons. Some worry that Easter is really a pagan holiday. It is not.
By John Mark Reynolds | April 1, 2010; 5:55 PM ET | Comments (15)
Time for the church to clean house
I believe that the only way that this scandal will end is by the resignation of the Pope and every cardinal, bishop and priest who has ever had anything to do with this child sexual abuse and rape.
By Sally Quinn | April 1, 2010; 4:36 PM ET | Comments (6)
A time for prophetic leadership and accountability
Catholics are yearning for leadership that reaffirms the aspirations of the Church, Christ-like servant leadership, based on foundational principles of integrity, honesty, openness and transparency.
By Kerry Robinson | April 1, 2010; 3:04 PM ET | Comments (7)
Hyperbole, vitriol and death by crucifixion
You have to wonder if the Roman Catholic Church circa 2010 is what Jesus had in mind as he hung on the cross. Probably not. On the other hand, the current explosion is likely not a surprise to him.
By Margaret O'Brien Steinfels | April 1, 2010; 9:21 AM ET | Comments (10)
Anti-Catholic bias and irresponsible reporting
The question of whether Pope Benedict XVI should resign is, frankly, silly, because it assumes guilt where none has been proven or even credibly asserted. Joseph Ratzinger has been more involved than any other senior churchman in confronting what he once called the "filth" in the Church; when might that fact begin to frame some of the coverage of the Pope and the Church?
By George Weigel | March 31, 2010; 3:36 PM ET | Comments (54)
The Church's moral accountability
The week will be remembered as the moment when a Catholic Church crisis that had gained notoriety in several countries, starting with the U.S. in 1985, suddenly emerged as a global issue and reached the Pope himself.
By Terry McKiernan | March 31, 2010; 10:41 AM ET | Comments (24)
Pope should be held accountable
Pope Benedict XVI may not need to resign in light of the current scandal swirling around the Roman Catholic church, but he sure needs to show leadership. The entire situation is painful to learn about, but what is most troubling...
By Susan K. Smith | March 31, 2010; 8:52 AM ET | Comments (1)
A pope resign? Mind-boggling but soul-healing
The silencing and gagging of victims in the name of protecting the church hierarchy at all costs, even if that cost includes the ongoing suffering of children and the Catholic faithful, is stunning. Despicable. Unbelievable. Incomprehensible. And truly, truly heartbreaking.
By Donna Freitas | March 31, 2010; 7:06 AM ET | Comments (41)
Pope should abandon institutional self-protection, embrace transparency
Besides being very crucial to the moral credibility of Catholic hierarchy, this crisis has also eroded the faith of believers in religion in general and resulted in their falling confidence.
By Rajan Zed | March 31, 2010; 4:02 AM ET | Comments (5)
Benedict should stay - and clean house
Should Benedict resign? No. He should do what a good father would do: Root out the filth in his house, acknowledge the church's past failings frankly and let his flock know, in both word and action, that he shares their fury at these unspeakable crimes and their resolve that they never be repeated.
By Colleen Carroll Campbell | March 30, 2010; 7:25 PM ET | Comments (9)
Religion and International Relations
There are very few areas of American life as delicate and nuanced as the relationship between religion and the state. We are not alone. From Israel to India, Egypt to Eritrea, China to Colombia, the relationship between religion and the...
By James Standish | March 30, 2010; 4:12 PM ET | Comments (0)
My Invitation To You
In response to this week's question, I'd like to invite you to read the latest blog entry from Archbishop Timothy Dolan, of New York: Read Archbishop Dolan's Blog I hope everyone has a wonderful and prayerful Holy Week and Easter...
By Matt Maher | March 30, 2010; 3:22 PM ET | Comments (0)
Pope Benedict's karma
The pope is now reaping some of the fruits of the narrow-minded approach to life that he has promoted for decades, an approach that may have benefited some, but has hurt countless others both inside and outside the Church.
By Ramdas Lamb | March 30, 2010; 2:20 PM ET | Comments (3)
Children before doctrine
Church and state are separate, except when the church decides to reach beyond that wall we hold so dear. And when innocent children and the faithful flock are horribly scarred, any church, temple or mosque can consider its privilege lost.
By Aseem Shukla | March 30, 2010; 1:01 PM ET | Comments (3)
Ordination does not = immunity from prosecution
Child abuse is a crime. Covering up a crime is also a crime. Ordination and a position in the Roman Catholic hierarchy does not make one immune to the consequences of criminal behavior.
By John Shelby Spong | March 30, 2010; 12:54 PM ET | Comments (5)
Looking for paradise
Everyone believes in a heaven. The next time you are standing in line at a store, take a moment to look at the covers of the magazines on the rack. Each cover presents a picture of some sort of heavenly...
By Mark Driscoll | March 30, 2010; 12:11 PM ET | Comments (1)
Everyday believers vs. institutional scandal
The purging that is about to happen in Rome is a necessary and long overdue thing. The sad fact is that the longer it drags on, there will be a dark cloud sitting over Catholics. Benedict should resign.
By Mark Tauber | March 29, 2010; 7:53 PM ET | Comments (2)
Open the books, tell the truth
The claim that Cardinal Ratzinger was more theologian than manager, his attention captured by the intricacies of doctrine, not the activities of those under his leadership, actually undermines his moral authority, by suggesting that he put intellectual fascination ahead of his duty as a leader of leaders.
By Daniel C. Dennett | March 29, 2010; 3:44 PM ET | Comments (6)
Who holds the pope accountable?
In Roman Catholic polity (at least since the Middle Ages), the pope is accountable to no one - except, presumably, to God. We can only hope - and, for the sake of the victims, pray - that Benedict finally, all these years later, does the right thing.
By Randall Balmer | March 29, 2010; 12:59 PM ET | Comments (6)
New kinds of Christianity
I wonder if the Christian community as a whole is intended to deepen in its appraisal of the saturated events of Holy Week year by year, century by century, millennium by millennium.
By Brian D. McLaren | March 29, 2010; 11:32 AM ET | Comments (0)
Lenten season calls us together
If Lent marks an intersection of faith, death, and sin, then it's a good season to think about what I call The Pluralism Question, because we're all keenly aware lately that religion itself can become a force for death and an excuse for some of the most terrible kinds of sin.
By Brian D. McLaren | March 29, 2010; 11:27 AM ET | Comments (0)
The sins of the Fathers are crimes
A fundamental question that often gets overlooked in the horrible pattern of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, is who is the church? Are children part of the church, and the beloved of God, and their safety the condition for being able to say the church is holy? Or is it only the church hierarchy that is the church, and the protection of the hierarchy the most important issue? Are children part of the church or not?
By Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite | March 29, 2010; 10:36 AM ET | Comments (15)
Impeach the Pope
I am amazed at the enormous tolerance for this abomination in the Catholic Church. When will the Catholics worldwide say enough is enough and impeach the Pope and all those - doctrines and priests - who facilitated and covered-up for the serial child molesters.
By Muqtedar Khan | March 28, 2010; 10:38 PM ET | Comments (1)
Pope Benedict won't be intimidated
I don't know what the Pope should do, but I know that hiding behind the mantle of victimhood at moments such as these is what brings down communities and their sacred institutions. The "rock upon which the Church is built" could crumble if the Vatican doesn't figure that out soon
By Brad Hirschfield | March 28, 2010; 4:42 PM ET | Comments (22)
Ratzinger is the perfect pope
No, Pope Ratzinger should not resign. He should remain in charge of the whole rotten edifice.
By Richard Dawkins | March 28, 2010; 7:03 AM ET | Comments (131)
