Daily Links, April 9: Easter messages, health insurance, and Catholic social teaching

Happy Easter season! We hope you had a joyful day of celebration! The pope was in for a big Easter treat--literally. He received this 7 foot tall, 550-pound chocolate bunny [1], which he donated to a juvenile detention center. Benedict also offered an Easter message for Syria [2]: end the bloodshed. President Obama also extended Easter greetings [3]. And, here's an Easter message [4] from Vox Nova.

On our blog, Scott Alessi sees some reasons for hope [5] in the wake of the tragic shootings in Tulsa, Oklahoma this weekend.

We've recently discussed gender bias in the workplace [6]. The Washington Post asks - is there a "war on women" right now in our culture, or is it really a war for women's votes [7]?

Religion Dispatches takes a look at how the Paul Ryan budget meshes with Catholic social teaching [8]. Spoiler alert: they conclude that it doesn't, really. 

And, while debates still rage about the Affordable Care Act, former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm says that being uninsured [9] is also a mandate--to higher costs in emergency room care. "Being forced out of the insurance market doesn’t mean one is absent from the health care market," she says.