You can learn a lot reading the news obituaries in the paper. This morning, I found out about Robert F. Drinan, a Jesuit who became the first Catholic priest elected to Congress. The prospect of a priest in office is an interesting one, but apparently the Vatican didn’t think it was such a good idea and asked him (and other priests) to step down by 1980. It sounds like he was a strong voice against war, but the paper notes cryptically that he was a “moderate” on abortion. Of course, a great number of Protestant ministers hold elected office in the U.S., but as a priest is supposed to take orders from the Vatican, that could create personal or church/state conflicts. Do any of you in Massachusetts know more about Father Drinan?
Author: Adam (Southern California)
Defending Religion
Terry Eagleton at the London Review of Books has a powerful refutation of Richard Dawkins’s The God Delusion.
Catholic Nun Sentenced in Rwanda Genocide
From the BBC. If the molestation scandals hadn’t proved it enough already, the propensity for even nuns and priests to commit sin is made frightfully clear by their participation in the Rwandan genocide. How could anyone, much less a nun, commit such evil acts? Have they said anything to defend their actions?
10,000 Burundian Refugees Coming to the U.S.
The article doesn’t give many details. I wonder how they’ll be resettling them here and how they’ll help them assimilate. I’m very happy for them to get the opportunity to come here to the U.S., and I hope they become successful in establishing a community here. If anyone sees more info on where they’ll be coming or what people can do to help, be sure to pass it on.
Four new saints!
Pope Benedict canonized four new saints today: a French nun on the Indiana frontier who founded St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, a Mexican bishop who risked his life to help the wounded during the Mexican Revolution, an Italian priest who pioneered education for the deaf and founded an order of nuns, and an Italian woman who founded an order of nuns and schools for girls.
Four faces of God?
A Baylor University survey of Americans reveals four distinct views of God, the “Authoritarian God,” the “Distant God,” the “Benevolent God,” and a “Critical God.”
Repairing Mission San Miguel
The main sanctuary at Mission San Miguel (est. 1797) in Central California was severely damaged by the San Simeon Earthquake in 2003 and has been closed ever since. The Diocese of Monterey says it doesn’t have the money to repair it and it can’t get public funds, despite being a California Historic Landmark, since it’s an active place of worship. So volunteers have been doing their part by, among other things, casting 5,000 adobe bricks just like they used to back in the old days. The L.A. Times has the story.
Yet another reason to oppose the death penalty
It prevents the prosecution of other crimes the condemned has committed, potentially leaving murders unsolved. The case of William Bradford has been in the news a lot lately in Southern California, because investigators are trying to determine if any of the unidentified women he photographed may have also been killed.
From the article:
Even Bradford hinted at other victims after he fired his lawyers and gave his own closing argument:
“Think of how many you don’t even know about,” he told jurors.
That turns the tables against the “closure” argument for capital punishment.
Update: Thank God, it appears that most of the women in the photos are alive and well. But at least one isn’t. And since Bradford hasn’t been executed, he can be questioned about the case.
Chicago enacts living-wage ordinance
It only applies to employers with over $1 billion in annual sales and stores of 90,000 square feet or more. It’s aimed at Wal-Mart, but I’m not sure who else would fall into that category; the article doesn’t say if it actually applies to any existing businesses in the city.
The wage under this ordinance is $10.00, plus $3.00 in fringe benefits. Much better than minimum wage, but still under the $15.00 (under the table, presumably) that day-laborers in Agoura Hills, California are getting.
Also, of course, it only applies within the city limits; the article notes that Wal-Mart recently opened a store just outside the boundary of the city.
Incidentally, I had no idea Chicago had 50 people on its City Council. Wow!
Mennonite Tour de France champ
New Tour de France champion Floyd Landis was raised in a conservative Mennonite community in Pennsylvania, though he left the church at the age of 17. Here’s the article. And a quote:
One of Martindale’s pastors, David Sensenig, said recognition of individual accomplishment is frowned on in Mennonite faith. Nevertheless, he said Floyd Landis was still the talk of the congregation.
“Winning the race isn’t the big deal,” Sensenig said. “It’s what he does with the results, with the fame and fortune. He can use his influence for the betterment of the church, of Christ.”
Paul Landis said he sees the victory as a chance to spread the Gospels and looks forward to meeting people he never otherwise would have met.
“I want to hear their victories and their sorrows, and we can encourage each other,” he said.
I’ve always admired the faith of the Amish and the Mennonites, but doesn’t this point out something of a paradox with insular communities— publicizing the church is only possible for people who leave it?