‘The notion of careful reflection is nonsense – he’s had 35 years to reflect on what he did then.’… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Barney Zwartz Gives Atheists Some Free Advice
Mar 17th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonBe less strident, less dogmatic, more humble.… Read the rest
Brady Apologizes for ‘Asking’ Children to Shut Up
Mar 17th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonBBC keeps saying children were ‘asked’ to sign vow of silence. Victims say they were made to sign.… Read the rest
Religious Belief Cannot Trump Gender Equality
Mar 17th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonTension between gender equality and religious rights in rulings by Quebec’s human rights commission.… Read the rest
Andrew Brown on Why Brady Must Go
Mar 17th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIt’s moral luck. He was a small cog at the time, but justice demands that he go now.… Read the rest
Oh and by the way new atheists are evil yeah?
Mar 16th, 2010 4:17 pm | By Ophelia BensonMichael Ruse did a piece on God and morality for Comment is Free Belief and talked sense for nine paragraphs, then in the tenth and last went completely random and gratuitous and childish.
God is dead. The new atheists think that that is a significant finding. In this, as in just about everything else, they are completely mistaken. God is dead. Morality has no foundation. Long live morality. Thank goodness!
Stupid, isn’t it. Frightful man – always spoiling for a fight. Everyone says he’s like that in real life, too.… Read the rest
Robes and furr’d gowns hide all
Mar 16th, 2010 3:46 pm | By Ophelia BensonHitchens doesn’t altogether see things the way Damian Thompson does.
On March 10, the chief exorcist of the Vatican, the Rev. Gabriele Amorth (who has held this demanding post for 25 years), was quoted as saying that “the Devil is at work inside the Vatican,” and that “when one speaks of ‘the smoke of Satan’ in the holy rooms, it is all true—including these latest stories of violence and pedophilia.” This can perhaps be taken as confirmation that something horrible has indeed been going on in the holy precincts, though most inquiries show it to have a perfectly good material explanation.
I had the same thought when I saw the exorcist piece. The Devil is at work inside … Read the rest
Go on, kick us again
Mar 16th, 2010 12:09 pm | By Ophelia BensonDamian Thompson, a Catholic, is in a frothing rage – not at the pope or the all-male hierarchy of his authoritarian church, but at the Times for reporting on it.
There is international outrage in Catholic circles over a headline in The Times this morning that many people regard as utterly misleading and part of the newspaper’s reliably biased coverage (reinforced by vicious cartoons) of anything to do with Pope Benedict XVI…A universally admired Catholic journalist contacted me this morning and accused The Times of (and I am toning this down for legal reasons) an extremely serious error of judgment.
A universally admired Catholic journalist? There is no such thing. There’s no universally admired anything, and certainly not a … Read the rest
Irish Catholic Church Runs Everything
Mar 16th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonNinety-two percent of primary schools are still run by the Catholic Church. There’s no escape.… Read the rest
The Catholic Church in Ireland is Staggering
Mar 16th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonA culture of religious deference has been eroded by one scandalous story after another. … Read the rest
Maryam Namazie on Religious Tribunals
Mar 16th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘Human rights are non-negotiatble and religious tribunals put religion before people’s rights and freedoms.’… Read the rest
Damian Thompson Fumes Some More
Mar 16th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘How can Lord Rees-Mogg stand by as the paper he loves traduces the Holy Father?’… Read the rest
Damian Thompson Shocked at Pope-coverage
Mar 16th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonInternational outrage, Catholic circles, biased coverage, vicious cartoons, universally admired Catholic journalist.… Read the rest
Who cares
Mar 16th, 2010 11:11 am | By Ophelia BensonToo bad for you if you’re Irish and you want to leave the Catholic church – the church is so dominant in public life that you can’t leave without making life difficult for yourself. Sor-reeeeee.
[T]he church is so deeply woven into the fabric of Irish life, it is difficult for many ordinary Irish people to distance themselves from it. The church is involved in education and health care, and its imprint on the Irish national identity is deep…Ninety-two percent of primary schools are still run by the Catholic Church and most of the best schools are Catholic.
So parents who want to leave are screwed. But hey, the remaining fans of the church are having a hard time too.… Read the rest
Sean Brady Being Sued by Victim of Priest
Mar 15th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonVictims were made to sign oaths saying they would not discuss meetings with anyone other than authorised clergy.… Read the rest
Thermal pope
Mar 14th, 2010 4:41 pm | By Ophelia BensonThings are getting hot for the Catholic church.
… Read the restThe pope, meanwhile, continues to be under fire for a 2001 Vatican letter he sent to all bishops advising them that all cases of sexual abuse of minors must be forwarded to his then-office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and that the cases were to be subject to pontifical secret…But canon lawyers insisted Friday that there was nothing in the document that would preclude bishops from fulfilling their moral and civic duties of going to police when confronted with a case of child abuse. They stressed that the document merely concerned procedures for handling the church trial of an accused priest, and that the secrecy required by Rome
Nawlins Hotelier Offers to Host Cancelled Prom
Mar 14th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘New Orleans, we’re a joyful culture and a creative culture here.’ Take that, Itawamba County School District!… Read the rest
Ratzinger, Vatican Under Fire for Canonical Letter
Mar 14th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonMurphy report harshly criticized Vatican for mixed messages and insistence on secrecy in 2001 directive.… Read the rest
Nick Cohen on the ICA and Postmodernism
Mar 14th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIs the Taliban so bad, really?… Read the rest
UK: Islamism in Prisons
Mar 14th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘Muslims run the prisons and there’s nothing the screws can do about it. For a Muslim you’d say it’s good but for a non-Muslim, it’s very, very bad.’… Read the rest