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Today's top news on faith and politics
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Is Arizona shooting an individual or shared sin?
By Stephen Prothero - CNN, Belief Blog
After the shooting, the vitriol. First came the thunder from the left, blasting the right for creating a climate of hatred in which taking out your Glock and aiming it at a congresswoman might seem to be the next logical thing to do.
(Read More) N.J. Rep. Bill Pascrell calls for 'week of solidarity' among region's clergy after Arizona violence
By Steve Strunsky - Neward Star-Ledger
"I'm looking for some of the churches and the synagogues and the mosques, the places of worship, where they can come together and talk about what solidarity means at this moment for the nation," said Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-8th District).
(Read More) House will issue resolution condemning Arizona shooting
By Michael A. Memoli - Chicago Tribune, Washington Bureau
The House of Representatives on Wednesday will honor the victims, survivors and heroes of the Tucson shooting with a resolution that "condemns in the strongest possible terms" Saturday's attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).
(Read More) Mourners to hold 'community healing' Mass after Arizona shooting
By - CNN, Belief Blog
"Right now it is important as a community to pull together and to reach out in care and concern to all who have been affected by this tragedy," Bishop Gerald Kicanas wrote Mon. in a letter to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson...
(Read More) Rep. Peter King Says Muslims Aren't 'American' When It Comes To War
By Lee Fang - Think Progress
"[W]hen a war begins," King said, every ethnic and religious group unites as "Americans." "But in this case," King continued, referring to Muslims, "this is not the situation..."
(Read More) Conservative Church Leaders Condemn Moves to Repeal Birthright Citizenship
By Valeria Fernandez and Elena Shore - New America Media
Conservative religious leaders warned Friday that the move to repeal birthright citizenship goes against the values of America, the Republican Party and the teachings of Jesus Christ.
(Read More) A half-century later, rabbis recall marching with Martin Luther King
By Sue Fishkoff - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
As the United States gets set to mark Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 17, some rabbis who traveled South to join the man who would go on to win a Nobel Peace Prize talked to JTA about the civil rights struggle.
(Read More) Jewish groups adjusting agendas for new GOP-led Congress
By Ron Kampeas - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Officials say the best asset available to Jewish organizations dealing with domestic and foreign policy is the grass roots -- not the lobbyists in Washington, but the activists across the country who make appointments to see their lawmakers on home visits.
(Read More) Health Reform Under Attack
By Marian Wright Edelman - Huffington Post, Opinion
That these new and long overdue protections are now subject to a repeal attempt by some members of the new Congress is a travesty.
(Read More) Activists don orange to mark Guantanamo prison camps' 10th year
By Carol Rosenberg - Miami Herald
Protesters donned orange jumpsuits from the gates of the Southern Command to London's Trafalgar Square Tuesday as activists marked the start of 10th year of Guantanamo's prison camps with small, scattered protests.
(Read More) Sarah Palin, Blood-Libel Hypocrite
By William Saletan - Slate
...when the events of 9/11 challenged our values, Palin surrendered. A decade later, she remains still willing to trade freedom, not for security, but for "sensitivity" to her supporters' anger at Muslims generally.
(Read More) Gov. Quinn to decide death penalty
By Ray Long, Todd Wilson and Ted Gregory - Chicago Tribune
Gov. Pat Quinn now has to decide the fate of the death penalty in Illinois, a state whose troubling record of condemning innocent men to death row put it at the center of the national debate over capital punishment.
(Read More) Faith-based groups pitch in for Haiti
By Cathy Lynn Grossman - USA Today, Faith and Reason
More than $300 million dollars and thousands of volunteers -- all powered by religious faith -- have poured in to earthquake-shattered Haiti to help rebuild the country and restore its spirit.
(Read More) Haiti still mired in post-quake problems
By Tracy Wilkinson - Los Angeles Times
A year ago, one of modern times' worst natural disasters struck Haiti, one of modern times' poorest nations. Haiti was plunged into a catatonic state. Today, life of a sort has returned to Haiti. Yet virtually no major reconstruction is evident.
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Archbishop Dolan, Please Call Rep. Peter King
Tuesday, Jan 11, 2011 New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan has not been shy about weighing in on controversial issues, taking to his blog recently and defending Catholicism's Culture Warrior in Chief Bill Donohue and blasting the New York Times for its coverage of the clergy sex abuse scandal. The new president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops now has another opportunity to address a hot-button issue emerging from his own backyard. Rep. Peter King, a Catholic who represents heavily Catholic Long Island, has announced that as the new chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee he will hold hearings next month on the "radicalization" of the American Muslim community. This hearing will likely be typical political theater, full of furrowed brows and heavy doses of demagoguery. This could all be easily dismissed if not for the rising tide of Islamophobia that brands Muslims as sinister outsiders hostile to American values. Sound familiar, Catholics? It wasn't that long ago, historically speaking, when Catholic immigrants were demonized as threats to democracy. Irish Catholics were caricatured with vile stereotypes, Catholic Churches were burned and political cartoons savaged the bishops' allegiance to Rome. It's easy to forget that ugly history today when influential Catholics serve in the highest echelons of government and media. We can find smart solutions to stop terrorism and other threats to national security (whether they come from Muslims, Christians or non-religious extremists) in ways that also preserve our values. Eboo Patel suggests in a recent Washington Post "On Faith" column that along with learning more about why a small percentage of Muslims become terrorists, Rep. King should also help educate the American people about a lesser known fact: Peter King can shine a light on the role that the mainstream Muslim community has played in these attacks. By and large, it has been to help prevent them. Mainstream American Muslims have been vigilant against extremists in their communities - confronting their views, flushing them out and if need be reporting them to law enforcement. A Muslim Public Affairs Council study found that American Muslim communities had played a central role in helping law enforcement prevent seven of the last ten Al Qaeda related plots. How did the FBI get turned on to Mohamed Osman Mohamud, the young man who planned to attack the Christmas Tree Lighting in Portland? His Muslim father reported him. Archbishop Dolan, who serves in one of the world's most diverse and vibrant cities, occupies a powerful pulpit. When he speaks, both privately and publicly, his words are taken seriously. When the archbishop calls politicians and other city leaders, you can bet he is not put on hold. The archbishop is by all accounts an affable guy, a consensus builder who prides himself on his ability to defuse tensions. A meeting with Rep. King should be on his schedule. continue reading » |
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