Irish Catholic Church Runs Everything *

Mar 16th, 2010 | Filed by

Ninety-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

A 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

‘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

‘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

International outrage, Catholic circles, biased coverage, vicious cartoons, universally admired Catholic journalist.… Read the rest



Who cares

Mar 16th, 2010 11:11 am | By

Too 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

Victims 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

Things are getting hot for the Catholic church.

The 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

Read the rest


Nawlins Hotelier Offers to Host Cancelled Prom *

Mar 14th, 2010 | Filed by

‘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

Murphy 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

Is the Taliban so bad, really?… Read the rest



UK: Islamism in Prisons *

Mar 14th, 2010 | Filed by

‘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



Aquinas, Calvin and Buckminster T Fuller

Mar 13th, 2010 5:45 pm | By

Oh, Texas, Texas, Texas.

The Texas school board has been fixing up the standards for the curriculum.

9:30 – Board member Cynthia Dunbar wants to change a standard having students study the impact of Enlightenment ideas on political revolutions from 1750 to the present…9:45 – Here’s the amendment Dunbar changed: “explain the impact of Enlightenment ideas from John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Charles de Montesquieu, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and Thomas Jefferson on political revolutions from 1750 to the present.” Here’s Dunbar’s replacement standard, which passed: “explain the impact of the writings of John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Charles de Montesquieu, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin and Sir William Blackstone.”

That’s wonderful, isn’t it? From a list that … Read the rest



Vatican Says How Right It Is About Everything *

Mar 13th, 2010 | Filed by

It was secretive about the sexual abuse of children to protect the good name of…the children.… Read the rest



The Queen Invented the Telephone *

Mar 13th, 2010 | Filed by

Luke Skywalker was the first human to walk on the moon. Another droll quiz.… Read the rest



Julian Baggini on ’36 Arguments for the Existence of God’ *

Mar 13th, 2010 | Filed by

‘In Britain, cleverness is regarded as at once praiseworthy and not wholly admirable.’… Read the rest



The Texas Freedom Network Reports *

Mar 13th, 2010 | Filed by

Debate over new social studies curriculum has spiraled into another culture war pushed by far-right pressure groups.… Read the rest



The New Texas Social Studies *

Mar 13th, 2010 | Filed by

The source.… Read the rest



Texas Reactionaries Change Curriculum *

Mar 13th, 2010 | Filed by

There were no historians, sociologists or economists consulted at the meetings.… Read the rest



Humanists to Hold Inclusive Prom in Mississippi *

Mar 13th, 2010 | Filed by

Itawamba County School District canceled their prom rather than let a lesbian student bring her girlfriend.… Read the rest