Bishops often moved the abuser priests into poorer, working-class areas, where people were more trusting.… Read the rest
Catherine Deveny Asks a Cardinal About Hell
Oct 20th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘I am not asking for forgiveness and it wasn’t a mistake. It was a choice.’ ‘Well, in that case, you will be judged.’… Read the rest
The Mortal Coil
Oct 20th, 2009 | By Colin BrewerIn the 1970s and early 1980s, Colin Brewer was a Birmingham University Research Fellow attached to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service and also its psychiatric advisor. He published several papers about various aspects of abortion in peer-reviewed journals, including the British Medical Journal and also wrote articles about abortion for the better class of newspapers and weeklies. In retirement, he maintains an interest in abortion politics.
If anyone wants to set up a Museum of Irony and Paradox, the main exhibit ought to focus on abortion because it attracts so much of the stuff. There’s the capital punishment paradox – the fact that among ‘pro-life’ anti-abortionists, with their often traditional set of moralities, are quite a few hangers and floggers. … Read the rest
That a millstone were hanged about his neck
Oct 20th, 2009 11:55 am | By Ophelia BensonBehold the deep compassion of the Irish Catholic church.
… Read the rest[T]he Catholic Church in Dublin operated a jurisdiction within a jurisdiction based on one consistent rule: protect the institution at all costs. Those costs included the exposure, and indeed sacrifice, of vulnerable children, again and again, to predatory abusers…The Dublin inquiry has involved a sample of 46 priests and 19 bishops, including four archbishops. From what is known, its findings are damning. Bishops in Dublin moved priest abusers around from parish to parish, again and again, in most instances informing no one in the parishes, even its priests, of the newcomer’s proclivities. In most such instances, too, they moved the abuser priests into poorer, working-class areas, where people were more
Oklahoma’s Grotesque New Abortion Law
Oct 19th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonWill require women to reveal an array of personal information, which will be posted on an official website.… Read the rest
Churches Are Involved in Child Witch-hunts
Oct 19th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonA growing number of children in Africa are accused of witchcraft by pastors, then tortured or killed.… Read the rest
NPR Talks to PZ Myers
Oct 19th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe reporter had the goal of making a story that put atheism in a bad light, so she wrote it that way.… Read the rest
NPR on Atheist Disagreement Shock-horror
Oct 19th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe horrid ‘new atheists’ versus the kinder gentler ‘sweet atheists.’… Read the rest
Confused About Free Speech
Oct 19th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonYasmin Alibhai-Brown seems to think angry criticism is somehow opposed to free speech.… Read the rest
NPR says ‘ew’
Oct 19th, 2009 11:08 am | By Ophelia BensonNPR proudly joins the vast majority of good decent centrist moderate sensible okay acceptable Americans in saying how horrible atheists are, especially the ones who don’t keep their atheism a tactful secret.
Last month, atheists marked Blasphemy Day at gatherings around the world, and celebrated the freedom to denigrate and insult religion.
No, that’s wrong, and tendentious. What atheists celebrated on Blasphemy Day was the freedom to say anything we like (barring incitement to murder and similar) including but by no means restricted to perceived denigration and insult. NPR was careful to trash ‘atheists’ in the opening sentence, so that nobody would be in any doubt even for a second that NPR is opposed to atheism.
They quote Stuart … Read the rest
In Oklahoma
Oct 19th, 2009 10:28 am | By Ophelia Benson… Read the restWomen seeking abortions in Oklahoma are to be forced to reveal an array of personal information, such as the state of their relationships, how many children they have and their race, which will be posted on an official website…Abortion rights groups have filed a lawsuit to try to block the new law, which requires women seeking abortions to provide doctors with answers to 34 questions including their age, marital status and education levels, as well as the number of previous pregnancies and abortions. Women are required to reveal their relationship with the father, the reason for the abortion and the area where the abortion was performed. Doctors are obliged to pass the information on to the
Michael Shermer to Bill Maher on Vaccinations
Oct 18th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonOn alternative medicine and vaccinations you have fallen prey to cognitive biases and conspiratorial thinking. … Read the rest
Jurors Consulted the Bible During Deliberations
Oct 18th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonBut the execution is going forward; the Supreme Court has declined to review the case. … Read the rest
Research Shows: Pain is Pain
Oct 18th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonDefenders of religious slaughter claim that unstunned animals don’t feel the pain, study says they do.… Read the rest
Nick Cohen on the Rebranded BNP
Oct 18th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe ability of democratic Britain to expose sectarianism will be on trial when Nick Griffin appears on ‘Question Time.’… Read the rest
London: More Religious School Holidays
Oct 18th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe policy is intended to ‘raise awareness of different faiths and cultures within the school community.’… Read the rest
Let’s close for David Koresh’s birthday
Oct 18th, 2009 10:36 am | By Ophelia BensonTwo councils in East London have irritated a lot of people (and perhaps pleased a few, though that looks doubtful) by instructing all schools under their control to shut for the annual celebrations of Eid-Ul-Fitr, Diwali and Guru Nanak’s Birthday. They have their reasons.
The council has said that the policy is intended to “raise awareness of different faiths and cultures within the school community, which in turn supports cohesion for the wider community”.
Dear god – do people just swallow nauseating bromides in pill form so that they will belch them for a stipulated period afterwards? Do they get them inscribed on the inside of their eyelids? Or am I over-thinking this – is it simply a matter … Read the rest
Vatican ‘Diplomat’ Scolds Secularists
Oct 17th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSecularized citizens must not deny that religious images of the world may express truth.… Read the rest
Ben Goldacre: Chiropractors Cause Controversy
Oct 17th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonFor those with the finances to try to silence their critics, this has been a week of spectacular own goals.… Read the rest
Jack Miles on Robert Wright and Karen Armstrong
Oct 17th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘A god whose existence you can prove is a god to whom you cannot pray, postmodern theology argues…’… Read the rest