Daily Links, March 1: Marriage, mosques, and Mitt

It’s already March! We’re a week into Lent–here’s a nice reflection to keep you inspired for the next several weeks. Our March issue is out, where we covered some of the new immigration laws and the toll they are having on families. Today, part of Arizona’s controversial law was blocked in court.

Our March issue also focused on the struggle of many gay and lesbian Catholics to feel at home in the church. Today, Scott Alessi blogs about the public’s view on same-sex marriage, while another state–Maryland–has legalized same-sex marriage. We’ve blogged about the woman denied communion at her mother’s funeral mass due to her sexual orientation. Her response to the controversy: “So many people have said to me that now they’ll never go back. That would break my mother’s heart. [My family’s] mission is not to divide the church. Our mission is to receive an apology from Fr. Marcel.”

We’ve heard a lot about Islamophobia in the last decade since 9/11, but a new survey shows that the number of mosques in the U.S. has doubled during that time. The study also says: The number of mosque leaders who believe that American society as a whole is hostile to Islam has dropped almost 30 points since 2000, from a majority (56%) of mosque leaders to only one quarter (25%).

The Blunt amendment was voted down in the Senate today. Speaking of religious freedom, have you heard about the Jewish high school basketball team in Texas who decided it wouldn’t play for the state championship due to the game conflicting with the Sabbath? The game has now been rescheduled, after threats of a lawsuit. And, will taxes be the next issue in the cries of religious freedom violation?

In Election 2012 news, apparently Mitt Romney is beating out the two Catholic candidates among Catholic voters.