Dennis Coday's blog

Kampala, Uganda -- African religious choose new leadership

First new U.S. nuclear reactors in decades approved, two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia, the first in the U.S. since 1978.

Catholic church takes out ad in Montreal papers asks fans to pray for the woeful Canadiens

Catholics Split Over Obama Contraceptive Order

Opinion: Catholic bishops cry wolf on contraception by Bill Press

Bishops Were Prepared for Battle Over Birth Control Coverage

A reader called to tell me that something was bothering her about the news coverage she has seen on Catholic reaction to the Obama administration’s mandate on contraceptive coverage in health care plans.

The mandate has only a narrow exemption for employers who are opposed to contraception. The U.S. Catholics bishops are vehemently opposed to that provision and many other Catholic leaders have joined them in opposing it.

Big states set to make mortgage deal real

Return of the Culture Wars: Can Mitt Romney Win Conservative Backing?

Syria forces bombard Homs, UN condemns "appalling brutality"

Protesters target Apple stores in 'ethical iPhone' campaign

Bay Area Catholic clerics join contraception fray

Analysis: Obama contraceptive mandate has a price By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer

Rick Santorum triumphant as election takes another unpredictable swing

EU set to adopt new sanctions against Syria

Editorial: War on contraception heats up health-reform debate by Philadelphia Daily News

Analysis: Obama Weighed Religious Politics Before Contraceptive Decision from Bloomberg

Opinion: An affront Catholics agree on By Charlotte Allen

John Allen in Rome -- Vatican abuse summit: Victim reports ‘death of respect' for church leaders

Rome -- Catholic Leaders Convene to Discuss Abuse Prevention from NYT

Rome -- Rome conference on clerical abuse response from RTE.ie

Syria Renews Bombardment as US Closes Embassy and Russia Sends Envoys

2 dozen Catholic schools in Philly appeal closures

Military chaplains told not to read archbishop's letter on HHS mandate

Belleville, Ill. -- After priest refuses to stop ad libbing during the Mass, diocese accepts his resignation

Tom Fox is in Kampala, Uganda:

• Some words with the prefect for religious life
• Uganda cardinal to religious: 'rise up to Africa's suffering'
• African sisters launch eight nation strategic plan

John Allen is in Rome:

• Scandal triggered by U.S. nuncio just won't die
• Roman notebook: Strokes for Sant’Egidio and Dolan

A favorite photo from my childhood shows me kneeling in our front yard, suited up in football pads and a red jersey, my hands resting on a helmet on my knee. I was 11 years old and a defensive tackle for the Redskins, champions of the fifth-sixth-grade bracket of the Mighty Might Football League. The trophy from that year still sits on a shelf in my mom’s sewing room.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure founder defends Planned Parenthood decision

Being a Catholic Priest—and Married, The pope has created a new diocese for bringing Episcopalians into the church.

Opinion: President Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast. Catholics Won't Get Fooled Again by Deacon Keith A. Fournier

Portland, Maine -- Maine Catholics start 'same sex attraction' group

Editorial: Catholics right to be angered by administration rule by The Oklahoman

NCR blogger and coloumnist Michael Sean Winters has just had a book published by HarperOne, a biography of Jerry Falwell titled God’s Right Hand: How Jerry Falwell Made God a Republican and Baptized the American Right.

NCR will review the book in it's Winter Books in a few weeks. That whole special section is devoted to the nexus of religion and polotics. Until then, if you want a peack at Winters' book, here's a review from The Charlotte Obssever, which I just saw: Falwell’s Moral Majority echoes in today’s GOP

Here's a taste from the review:

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA -- The Pope acted against natural justice and the Catholic Church's own canon law when he sacked Bill Morris as Bishop of Toowoomba last May, two expert independent reports have found.

Queensland Supreme Court judge W.J. Carter wrote : "One could not imagine a more striking case of a denial of natural justice".

Read more at The Sydney Morning Herald.

Washington Senate passes bill legalizing same-sex marriage; final vote will come in House

Philadelphia -- Plaudits for cardinal with regrets for a stain on legacy

Opinion: Catholic Church’s unfair attack against Obama By Joan Vennochi

Opinion: Catholics cannot cave to cultural pressure by Lisa Polizzi

Catholic nursing homes will be affected by HHS contraception regulation

Retired Cardinal Bevilacqua dies in Pa. at 88

Opinion: Catholic Bishops Trying to Find Relevance in Health Insurance Debate

Baptist leader admires Catholic stance against contraceptive coverage

Catholic schools in KC diocese seek Missouri tuition aid

Canada: Catholic schools fail to support gay students with their new club policy

The Associated Press is reporting this morning that retired Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who led the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia for more than 15 years, died in his sleep Tuesday night at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, a Philadelphia suburb.

His death comes just days after lawyers battled in court over his competency as a potential witness in the upcoming trial of a longtime aide in a high profile sex abuse case.

Gingrich claims Romney is 'extraordinarily insensitive' to religion in run-up to Florida vote

Kansas City, Mo. -- Diocesan Investigator Expands Abuse Focus, Church Will Focus On Suspicions, Not Just Reports Of Abuse

Vatican Press Release: Towards Healing and Renewal, A Symposium for Bishops and Religious Superiors on Sexual Abuse. February 6-9th, 2012

Catholics caught in middle of birth-control battle,
Religious freedom, health concerns at odds

New York -- In Million-Dollar Theft Case, Church Worker With a Secret Past

A reader from Arizona sends in this note:

Political Science | Women and Faith -- Ruling on Contraception Draws Battle Lines at Catholic Colleges

Editorial: Birth Control and Reproductive Rights

Opinion: Obama’s breach of faith over contraceptive ruling by E.J. Dionne Jr.

From Maine to Phoenix to southern Louisiana -- Catholic priests urge parishioners to oppose federal birth-control rule

Ohio bishops rally Catholics to oppose federal birth-control rule

Maine Catholic Church versus gay rights advocates

Boston, Mass. -- Catholics boosting church donations,
Contributions rose 4.5%, report says

JACKSON, Miss. -- Man Charged in Priest's Death Found Dead in Jail

Miami, Fla. -- Evangelicals are working to spread their faith in Gingrich

Special-ops hostage rescue in Somalia shows shape of US campaign to come

Washington -- Army will cut combat brigades, from 45 to as low as 32, reducing by 80,000 soldiers.

Top Catholic bishop feels betrayed by Obama

Opinion: HHS "ABC" Rule: Anybody But Catholics Has Religion Freedom by Sr. Mary Ann Walsh

President Obama's Blueprint for an America Built to Last

Catholics Blast Rule On Contraception

Press Release: Catholic Charities USA President and CEO Responds to State of the Union

Catholic Conference chides same-sex marriage supporters

Catholics Connect Through Social Justice Network

Jay Leno Catches Heat from Indian Official, Catholic Group over Jokes

Pa. archdiocese named 'unindicted co-conspirator' Prosecutors said the Roman Catholic Church fed predators a steady supply of children.

Philadelphia -- Did Catholic official's 'willful blindness' open more kids to abuse?

Irish Misionary preist says Celibacy in priesthood is 'soon to be a thing of the past'

Analysis: State of the Union: 4 things to look for

Catholic Schools Week -- Ohio Catholic school principal among White House 'Champions of Change' honorees

In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system pares religious ties. Catholic Healthcare West, one of the nation’s largest hospital systems, is ending its governing board’s affiliation with the Catholic Church and changing its name.

Conservatives, evangelical Christians rebuff Romney in South Carolina

Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind. -- Diocese calling Catholics home

See NCR's story on this national ad campaign: Ads aim to extend Catholic welcome

Editoraila: Respecting religious exemptions. The administration’s feint at a compromise.

Supreme Court ruling on church discrimination leaves educators at religious schools in limbo

Vatican City -- Landmarks on the path to Christian Unity since the Second Vatican Council

Omaha, Nebr. -- Catholic schools pray for reprieve, strategic planning effort focuses on 18 elementary schools and 37 parishes

South Caroloina -- Concerns about Romney's faith quieter, but not gone

NBC poll: Newt Gingrich gains ground on Mitt Romney in South Carolina

Letters to the Editor: Understanding the Role of Catholic Priests’ Wives

Chicago -- Priest gives up his vocation not his religion for love

Orange County, N.Y. -- Priest, Newly Installed, Is Removed From Post for Fathering Child While in Seminary

California diocese takes on ecological issues

Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson of the Washington Post are reporting:

The World Wide Web -- Ratcheting up their fight against anti-piracy bills in Congress, internet companies haul out thier most potent weapon: blacking out thousands of web sites.

Nigeria -- Nigeria Christmas church bomb suspect escapes

The 2012 presidential race -- Baptist Perry pointedly praises Santorum as 'good Catholic'

Vatican City -- Vatican’s Chinese Archbishop Appeals for Release of Catholic Priests in China

Evangelical support for Santorum shows generational shift for Catholic candidates

Opinion: Bishops don't speak for the flock on same-sex marriage By Joel Connelly

Vatican Ciyt -- Catholic Church finds itself on Africa's frontline

Opinion -- Right-wing Catholics are in the thick of the culture war — and the Republican presidential campaign. By James Carroll

The Women’s Ordination Movement is having a fundraiser in Cincinnati tomorrow, Jan. 14. Fr. Roy Bourgeois, advocate of women’s ordination and peace activist, will be the featured speaker and the documentary "Pink Smoke Over the Vatican" the story of the Women’s Ordination Movement will be shown.

Here are the details:

El Paso Catholic Bishop Armando X. Ochoa has sued a controversial priest and his brother, alleging they mishandled thousands of dollars in church money.

The Rev. Michael E. Rodriguez, who was reassigned from San Juan Bautista Parish, El Paso, on Sept. 20, 2011, to Santa Teresa de Jesus Parish in Presidio, Texas, denied any wrongdoing.

Mary Raftery: Irish journalist whose documentary uncovered sex abuse dies

Ireland -- Large attendance at Raftery funeral

Why Women Don't Run for Office (As Much As Men Do). Study from American University, Womenand Politics Institute in the School of Pubic Affairs.

Congo Catholic Leaders Seek Election Re-Evaluation

Evangelicals at the Crossroads in South Carolina

German priest admits to 280 instances of child sex abuse

This just in from a reader in the Philadelphia archdiocese:

WHYY is the local National Public Radio affiliate. Here's link to more info about today's radio show and where you need to go if you want to hear the show over the internet. http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/