NCR Today is the group blog of NCR. Each member of our diverse team of bloggers writes on different topics, including the politics of the church and secular society (and the interaction between the two), culture, management of the church and more.
On this day, a century ago, the great Polish poet, Czeslaw Milosz was born in Lithuania. (Click here to hear his name pronounced.)
"The year was 1911. The parish had two churches. To the nearest, the wooden one, people drove or walked to Mass. The other, a baroque structure of stone (baroque was introduced by the Jesuits) and three miles away, housed the civil registry. . . . There I was baptized and received into the bosom of the Roman Catholic Church."
The Vatican has launched a new news portal. See it at News.va.
China detains Vatican-backed Catholic priest
Insurer says Catholic Church responsible for Vermont court fees, possible settlements
Philippines Politics corrupting the Church, says activist priest
Des Moines, Iowa Volunteer Superheroes pedal into Iowa
IPads being distributed at 8 New Orleans area Catholic high schools
On June 23, the New York State Senate voted for marriage equality. They did this in spite of opposition from the Catholic Bishops and other religious groups. Even though New York State is relatively liberal political territory, it is large and influential nationally.
That vote, I believe, signals a definitive shift in the political winds on this issue nationally. It's been coming for a while, and New York looks like the turning point. Tens of thousands of gays and lesbians will soon marry -- and the world won't come to an end.
Most interesting, the New York Senate is Republican controlled, and although only four Republican senators voted for the bill, the leadership could have prevented a vote, but did not. Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Roman Catholic, signed the bill into law almost immediately.
The same legislation almost passed in the Maryland legislature earlier this year. And the Catholic governor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley, pushed for the bill and was ready to sign it had it passed.
You might not have noticed, but there's a very special piece on the NCR Web site today.
Elizabeth McAlister, co-founder of the Jonah House Community in Baltimore with her late husband Philip Berrigan, reviews a book on the continuation of America's wars under President Obama.
In journalistic parlance, there's no simple one sentence description of McAlister's life. She's a peace activist, a scholar, and, dare I say it, a prophet. Along with her husband and so many others who have devoted entire lives to Gospel nonviolence, she has pushed, shoved, and prodded our church and our society to rethink their ways of violence.
Last week my wife and I flew from Santa Barbara to Phoenix in the first lap of our trip to Ireland to attend a conference on Chicano literature in Cork.
We never got there.
The tensions between the two Cuomos and the archbishops of New York poignantly exemplify the growing disarray of the Catholic church in America.
Mario, the father and former governor, incurred the wrath of Cardinal O'Connor by backing women's right to choose abortion (while rejecting it personally) and now his son and successor, Andrew, has irked Archbishop Dolan by managing to win approval for gay marriage.
Although Republican Gov. Chris Christie, 48, of New Jersey has said emphatically that he is not running for president, the television networks love him. True, his standing in the polls took a hit when his budget deal passed in the state legislature this week, but last Sunday morning on "Meet the Press" moderator David Gregory questioned Christie's blunt style and Christie called himself "huggable and loveable." He also said he would endorse the most authentic Republican candidate who would run for president in 2012
In Rob Reiner's 1995 romcom "The American President," Leo Solomon, played by John Mahoney of "Frasier" fame, heads a lobbying firm in D.C. He scolds the high-powered and overpriced lobbyist he just hired to convince Congress to oppose the president. She is Sydney Ellen Wade, played by Annette Bening, and she was the date of President Andrew Shepherd, played by Michael Douglas, the night before at a White House state dinner.
From the Associated Press:
The ossuary bears an inscription with the name "Miriam daughter of Yeshua son of Caiaphas, priest of Maaziah from Beth Imri."
An ossuary is a stone chest used to store bones. Caiaphas was a temple priest and an adversary of Jesus who played a key role in his crucifixion.
On this day we celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles and Martyrs.
Click here for the Liturgy of the Hours and here for the Mass.
Philippines National lottery chief defends decision to give luxury vehicles to several bishops
Opinion from Anchorage, Alaska Gay marriage is an American right
Poll: New York 70 percent of white NY Catholics say religious leaders make no difference in their decision to support or reject gay marriage law 48 percent each in support and opposition
San Diego, Calif. Catholic church reconsiders gay man's funeral, earlier priest said he couldn't do it
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