A lot of people in the Catholic world are up in arms today–particularly Bill Donahue of the Catholic League–regarding comments made by Susan Sarandon. The actress, in talking about her role in the film Dead Man Walking, where she played real life anti-death penalty crusader Sister Helen Prejean, used the word "Nazi" to describe the pope. Donahue responded by hurling some insults of his own at Sarandon. U.S. Catholic's own Meghan Murphy-Gill weighed in to point out how silly the whole thing is.
Also on our blog today, Liz Lefebvre recaps a day of nonviolence that she attended yesterday.
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protect Life Act, which attempts to limit federal funding of abortion. At Religion Dispatches, Sarah Morice-Brubaker raises some conscience concerns about what this could mean for pregnant women when abortion becomes a life or death issue for the mother.
A commentary at Huffington Post talks about the epidemic of sex abuse in the Catholic Church. But writer Roy Speckhardt says that even though Catholics have received the majority of attention, other religious traditions aren't innocent when it comes to the abuse of minors. It is good to see someone say that this isn't just a problem in the Catholic Church, but it would be nice to also add that the problem exists in the secular world, too.
Warning: The world might end this Friday. Maybe. Harold Camping has revised his original prediction that the rapture would occur in May (since, as far as I know, it didn't), but this time he is being a little less confident about it.
And finally… having worked in the church for a number of years, it can sometimes feel like a three-ring circus. But for one priest, it is. Literally. Father Jerry Hogan is chaplain to circus workers, and gets to wear the coolest chasuble I've ever seen.
