(ANALYSIS) The 2024 election faced a situation that echoes the circumstances of 2004. In the Dobbs decision, the Supreme Court essentially turned the question of abortion regulation back to the states. That means that the ballot initiative/referendum has become the instrument through which states can set limits (or not) on abortion access.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Forget the opinions of newspaper czars. The question many voters needed to know in this feverish White House race was simple: Who did Hell endorse? Writing in the style of “The Screwtape Letters” by Christian apologist C.S. Lewis (in which a veteran tempter lectures lesser demons), Dominick Baruffi didn't answer the question.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A native of Fairmont, West Virginia, Paul Quenon entered Gethsemani as a novice in 1958. Thomas Merton was his novice master. “A Matter of the Heart” draws from Quenon’s experiences and observations over five of his more than six decades inside the cloister. Paul Prather recently spoke to him via email.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A thumbsucker on the news business could review all those disheartening statistics about dying dailies and weeklies, declining ad and circulation income and shrinking newsroom staffs — all of which have escalated since the 21st century dawned.
Read More(ANALYSIS) I thought the Google Maps website could provide me with crucial information for this post. Alas, that was not the case. I thought that I could call up a map of Burnsville, North Carolina, and then, after enlarging it, I would be able to count all the Baptist churches between I-26 near Mars Hill and Burnsville on U.S. Highway 19 — but very few of them showed up.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Pope Francis, along with the European Union and Italy’s left-wing voters, face a major headache since a coalition of right-wing parties could emerge victorious in Italy’s elections. The parties have been at odds with the Vatican over immigration. Can Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna make the difference this summer?
Read MoreRetired Pope Benedict XVI issued a strongly-worded defense for priestly celibacy — countering his successor Pope Francis who’s been considering allowing married men to be ordained in the Amazon to deal with a shortage in that part of the world.
Read MoreThe often toxic mix of religious identity mixed with politics – either real or imagined – accounts for so much of what we think of as religion news. This story ties together some of those powerful symbols.
Read MoreWhat comes first, advertising or content? This question loomed large in my mind as I read an article on exorcisms that the Daily Telegraph chose to sensationalize rather than report faithfully.
Read MoreA story in a local newspaper in the U.K. caught my eye this week, raising questions on the nature of truth and the craft of journalism.
Read MoreThough progressive Muslims push for a secular public life, a growing demand for Islamic criminal punishment codes, known as hadd or hudud, which set Pakistan on the road to ruin, is worrying.
Read MoreVery suddenly, migrants are of great interest to politicians, media, and organs of civil society within Mexican public life. Where were these advocates before Trump became president?
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