Philocrites

Religion news is everywhere these days.

by Philocrites

It's getting awfully hard to keep up, don't you think? Here's a small sample of what we stumbled upon in today's papers here at Philocrites Central:

Gay priests: One courageous retired priest in Boston was willing to say openly what many seminarians and priests couldn't say on the record to the Times:

As he walked inside to hear confessions, the Rev. Reginald Redlon, a retired priest who served as rector of a New Hampshire seminary for 10 years, said he is against the proposed papal ban.

"I don't think that gays who are celibate, prayerful, and disciplined should be barred from the seminary," Redlon, 85, said. "They are very often very zealous priests. Everybody has to integrate sexuality into their personal lives, and to discriminate against homosexuals is a mistake."

("Divided Catholics," Charles A. Radin and Anand Vaishnav, Boston Globe 9.24.05, reg req'd; "Gay Men Ponder Impact of Proposal by Vatican," Laurie Goodstein, New York Times 9.23.05, reg req'd)

Agnostic religious artist: Rich Barlow profiles the extraordinary engraver Barry Moser, an agnostic and former fundamentalist preacher (who knew!) who keeps illustrating religious books and acknowledges that his soul is a "wannabe Christian." ("Agnostic Puts Skill to Use for a Friend," Rich Barlow, Boston Globe 9.24.05, reg req'd)

Plus: Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson predicts schism in the Anglican Communion. (Get it over with already, I say.) The unscience of "intelligent design" gets a Pennsylvania court date. And A.O. Scott looks at Hollywood's interest in making "Christian-friendly" films — "Just Like Heaven" and "Emily Rose" most recently.

Finally, the UUSC: Bella English profiles Jennifer Harbury, the anti-torture activist who is helping to host the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee's mock-trial of Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzalez, and George Tenet in Washington tomorrow. Harbury is also the author of a new Beacon Press book, Truth, Torture, and the American Way: The History and Consequences of U.S. Involvement in Torture (also available from Beacon directly).

Copyright © 2005 by Philocrites | Posted 24 September 2005 at 1:03 PM

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