Daily Links, Feb. 8: RICK ROLLING, controversial non-discrimination, and no space for Vatican III

Quite possibly the best analysis of yesterday’s big wins by Rick Santorum in the Minnesota, Missouri, and Colorado primaries comes from Religion News Service’s Daniel Burke: “Ladies and germs, the 2012 GOP primary field has officially been rickrolled.” I’m pretty sure the rickroll meme was made for this moment.

Yesterday’s daily links had the words “contraception,” “same-sex marriage,” and “abortion” has zero comments? You’re getting a little unpredictable, internets.

I’m in no way seeking to diminish the seriousness of a breaking of celibacy vows, but this headline had me thinking, “Who’s treating pregnancy as a disease now?”

Apparently, non-discrimination clauses are controversial? The protestors look suspiciously like religious liberty coat-tail riders to me. BUT WHO KNOWS? Liz Lefebvre weighs in on our blog, asking if we’re invoking “religious freedom” too broadly.

Are you one of the many (huh?) calling for a Vatican III? George Weigel says among the many reasons it’s not a good idea to convene another council right now is that with the doubling in size of the episcopacy over the last 50 years, there’s really no place to hold it. And who wants to refer to the First Cowboys Stadium Council for the rest of history, amiright? The challenges and questions the church faces by the increasing number of bishops have more to do with the space to hold them, I’m afraid.

And, finally, Obama was warned by Catholic administration members, Bill Daley and Vice President Joe Biden, that the new HHS mandate would be interpreted as an infringement on religious liberty, but ultimately decided to side with many of his female “who urged him not to limit a health-care law mandate to provide contraceptives, even at the risk of alienating Catholic voters in November.”