I needn't have soft-pedaled. Only a few hours later the bishops came out, guns blazing, insisting the only solution they would accept would be for "HHS to rescind the mandate for those objectionable services." By any employer, for any employee in the entire country -- a country where the vast majority of voters, and of Catholics, support Obama's stand. And at Sunday Mass, bishops and parish priests throughout the nation read aloud the stunningly political letters about the controversy they already had planned. Now, with the bishops' blessing, Republican are hard at work on legislation that would force HHS to strip the contraceptive coverage requirement for all employers, not just religious employers. Sen. Roy Blunt would allow employers to decline to cover any service they deem objectionable; Sen. Marco Rubio would restrict the legislation to contraception coverage.

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But the new agreement makes it possible for women's groups and some liberal Catholic leaders to maintain a truce on hot-button social issues while working together around issues of women's health and universal access to healthcare. Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America are happy with the solution, and so is Sister Carol Keehan of the Catholic Health Association, who endured withering heat from the bishops and their right-wing allies over the ACA. Kristen Day of Feminists for Life likewise backs the deal. Even New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan called it "a step in the right direction," though he demanded more time to examine the fine print and suggested "legislation will still be required" to protect the church's right to discriminate against women.

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Santorum’s sexual policy clock, however, does not stop turning back in 2003 when the Supreme Court struck down sodomy laws or 1973 when the Supreme Court protected abortion. Santorum would turn it all the way back to 1964, when birth control was criminal in many states. Actually, Santorum’s sexual policy prescriptions start in the fourth century, when the Catholic theologian Augustine of Hippo confronted his unruly dick. After years of Gingriching around with every female in sight, Augustine came to Jesus. Despite his newfound commitment to disciplined, godly behavior, he just couldn’t keep the good man down. But he decided that at least he could justify, if not control, his irrepressible sexual desires by confining them to the otherwise consecrated ends of monogamous marriage and the reproduction and rearing of children. The only acceptable sex is marital reproductive sex. All the rest of the Catholic teaching on sex is commentary.

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Jason Horowitz has the story, for the Washington Post, and I bet he was thrilled to get this bit of color into the paper:

In 2008, evangelical support washed over former Arkansas governor and Southern Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee, but this year [Iowa Right to Life executive director Jenifer] Bowen expressed bewilderment at the theological and electoral calculations that were leading conservative-values voters to bestow their blessing on one candidate after another.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Bowen said, as she set down a basket filled with fetus dolls.

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Kathryn Jean Lopez says "Obamacare strikes again" (when did it strike last time?) and then writes some lies about how now Obama will force Catholics to give prostitutes abortions, or something. I dunno. The Catholic church's prohibition against contraception is pretty medieval and stupid, I don't have a lot of sympathy for her argument. The Archbishop of Galveston-Houston threatens to shut down every single Catholic hospital, school, and charity in America if they don't get an exemption from the rule. Why does every minority want Special Rights?

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Dear Friends, I just launched News.va  Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI

But in the age of virtual identity theft and Catfishing, how do we know that this tweet was actually written by the papal leader himself? Simple: Time magazine has a video of Pope Benedict poking confusedly at an iPad while an archbishop touches the screen for him.

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The first Corner post on the vote, predictably, was headlined "Empire Shame," and it was brief, and defeated-sounding. But then everything went off the rails.

The Corner actually ran a surprisingly sympathetic report from the Stonewall Inn the night the vote happened. (Sympathetic if a bit zoological in tone. Gay people, Michael Potemra tells us, can look surprisingly "demure," which you may not know if you've only ever seen them in parades. "I learn tonight that the annual gay-pride march is on this very Sunday....")

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Sound bites should not be confused with facts.

By the time we officially released our report (which can be found here) on "The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010" on May 18, 2011, the media had already seized on incomplete leaks of the report to give it a spin that had only a tangential relationship to what we wrote.

It’s time to put the record straight -- and to chart a way forward so that the pattern of abuses we studied is never repeated.

To do that, it’s important to understand the background of the report and what it was intended to accomplish. Our mandate was to understand what led to the problem of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests from 1950 to the present day.

We studied individual priests who abused, the Church leaders who were responsible for overseeing them, and the broader social context in which the abuse took place.

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Outrageous, you're thinking. This would never happen, you're thinking. Even if the Catholic Church were so brazen in its bigotry as to deny food to hungry LGBT people, they have to know that they can't use public funds to do so, right? Think again.

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While her song "Judas" was definitely trying to rattle some cages with its "Like a Virgin"-style iconography, America largely ignored the attempt at blasphemy. But according to reports, thousands of copies of "Born This Way" were stopped by Lebanese officials and impounded on the grounds of "bad taste." "Judas" has already been banned from Lebanese radio.

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"How could they have given such a kind pope the head of a Fascist?" said 71-year-old Antonio Lamonica, in the bustling square outside Termini Train Station. As he pondered the statue, his wife muttered, "It's ugly, really ugly, very ugly."

The artist, Oliviero Rainaldi, depicts the pontiff as if he is opening his cloak to embrace the faithful.

But the Vatican says the effect is "of a mantle that almost looks like a sentry box, topped by a head of a pope which comes off too roundish."

Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno, asked by APTN in an exclusive interview in his office if the city might take down the statue, said public opinion would be considered.

"There's an ancient saying: 'Vox populi, vox dei' (Latin for voice of the people, voice of God)," Alemanno said. "And from this point of view we cannot help but take into consideration the opinion of the public."

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The researchers at John Jay College of Criminal Justice attribute the uptick to "opportunity" and, as Religion News put it, "emotionally ill-equipped priests" who "lost their way in the social cataclysm of the sexual revolution." Opportunity and cultural change are responsible for the sexual abuse of children, really? That might seem to imply some unsavory and disheartening things about human sexuality. Next they're gonna tell me these priests weren't actually pedophiles!

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The report was commissioned by bishops of the American Catholic Church, and compiled by scholars at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. It is thought to have cost around $1.8 billion, half of which was provided by the bishops themselves (the U.S. Justice Department's National Institute of Justice contributed approximately $280,000, according to the New York Times).

Its conclusions will doubtless be controversial; they will please neither those who argue for an end to clerical celibacy -- thus supporting a priest's right to marry -- nor those who claim that homosexuals are more likely to abuse young boys (who have, in clerical abuse cases, historically been victimised more than girls) and thus should not be ordained.

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Back in 1989, Madonna's "Like a Prayer" managed to get the Vatican to release a statement condemning the video as blasphemous. Down the line, it was voted the most groundbreaking music video of all time. Lady Gaga was trying to cash in on some of that controversy with her new song "Judas," but ultimately the video was too confusing to upset anyone.

The narrative is pretty straightforward: Jesus is a Latin biker who goes clubbing with Mary Magdalene (Gaga). He and Judas get into a bar fight. It just doesn't have the same sacrilegious flavor of "Like a Prayer": In straight narrative terms it's more like one of those corny "updated" Bible stories you'd hear in Sunday school. Catholic League president Bill Donohue wouldn't even deign to call the video "anti-Catholic":

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Alex Proyas’ ("The Crow") adaptation of “Paradise Lost,” long in the works at Legendary, tells the story of the epic war in heaven between archangels Michael and Lucifer, including the latter’s role in Adam and Eve’s fall from grace. Pic will be crafted as an action vehicle that will include aerial warfare, possibly shot in 3D.

By the way, "possibly shot in 3D" means "definitely shot in 3D" in Hollywood-speak. Putting aside your thoughts on "The Crow," Milton and movies for a second: How are we all feeling about Cooper as Lucifer? On the one hand, the angel that's as beautiful as the Morning Star (and twice as vain) seems like a perfect fit for the cocky "Hangover" actor. On the other, we haven't really seen enough of Cooper's serious acting chops to say whether or not he could pull off such a meaty role. Sure, he's pretty enough, but could he be delightfully, tragically evil?

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The crowd in Rome and in capitals around the world erupted in cheers, tears and applause as an enormous photo of a young, smiling John Paul was unveiled over the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica and a choir launched into hymn long associated with the Polish-born pope.

"He restored to Christianity its true face as a religion of hope," Benedict said in his homily, referring to John Paul's decisive role in helping bring down communism. Benedict dotted his remarks with personal recollections of a man he came to "revere" during their near-quarter century working together.

Beatification is the first major milestone on the path to possible sainthood, one of the Catholic Church's highest honors. A second miracle attributed to John Paul's intercession is needed for him to be canonized.

The beatification, the fastest in modern times, is a morale boost for a church scarred by the sex abuse crisis, but it has also triggered a new wave of anger from victims because the scandal occurred under John Paul's 27-year watch.

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He also called on Europeans to welcome refugees from North Africa.

"In heaven, all is peace and gladness. But, alas, all is not so on earth!" the pope lamented as he delivered the traditional "Urbi et Orbi" message from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to a crowd of more than 100,000 that overflowed from St. Peter's Square.

"In the current conflict in Libya, may diplomacy and dialogue replace arms, and may those who suffer as a result of the conflict be given access to humanitarian aid," he said.

Referring to North Africa and the Middle East, the pope prayed that all citizens, especially young people, would "work to promote the common good and to build a society where poverty is defeated and every political choice is inspired by respect for the human person."

Uprisings, repression and civil warfare have triggered an exodus of people to Italian shores as well as other countries in the region. Europe has been split over whether to accept or deport tens of thousands of migrants, many of them from Libya and elsewhere in northern Africa.

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The case was brought by a Finnish-born woman living in Italy who objected to the crucifixes in her children's classrooms, arguing they violated the secular principles public schools are supposed to uphold. The debate divided Europe's traditional Catholic and Orthodox countries and their more secular neighbors that observe a strict separation between church and state.

Initially, the Strasbourg, France-based European Court of Human Rights sided with the mother. Italy appealed, supported by more than a dozen countries including the late Pope John Paul II's predominantly Catholic Poland, and won.

Friday's reversal has implications in 47 countries, opening the way for Europeans who want religious symbols in classrooms to petition their governments to allow them.

It was not immediately clear how the ruling would affect France, a traditionally Catholic country with a strictly secular state that does not allow crucifixes or other religious symbols in public schools, including the Muslim headscarf.

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Akcja Konin pulled a transparent plastic bag over a man-sized column in the middle of an inactive public fountain. For a few hours the column -- nicknamed "the penis" by many in Konin -- sported a proud sheath bearing the name "Julius Fromm," and his date of birth.

The move has drawn criticism from elected officials and religious leadership in the Polish municipality. The deputy mayor, for example, claimed that the stunt turned Konin into a laughingstock. Akcja Kronin defended its actions, saying that Fromm's accomplishment is a legacy to be proud of. 

Read more about the stunt at Spiegel Online

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He was never convicted of the charges, and he now lives in a doublewide mobile home in a quiet neighborhood within two miles of a youth sports complex, a library, two day care centers and at least two elementary schools. Sutphin admits he molested children as a priest, but his name doesn't show up in a sex offender database because the charges were dismissed because too much time had elapsed.

"I don't remember the numbers. I won't say I deny it. I do not deny it, no," Sutphin, who has been accused of abuse by 18 people, told The Associated Press. "The church could have acted quicker, I think, and sometimes reports were not made right away. In my case, some of the cases didn't come forward until 15 or 20 years later. ... So the church didn't do anything about it, they couldn't do anything about it."

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