I don’t know much about Michael Kinsley, but I probably should. His opinion column (published in such outlets as Politico and the LA Times and titled “Don’t Let ‘Miracles’ Trump Science”) gives me a very poor first impression of him. Kinsley’s beef with the news that Pope John Paul II is to be beatified is that a) only one person has been certified to have... More

Photos which show a thousand expressions of hate (scroll down for story): Photo: AP Photo Photo: Getty Images Photo: AP Photo Photo: AP Photo Pakistani Religious leaders hold banners and chant slogans during a protest against Pope Benedict XVI’s recent statements about Pakistan’s blasphemy laws in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011. Pope Benedict XVI urged Pakistan to rev... More

What a stupid stunt: A Banksy-style street artist caused outrage in Italy when he projected graffiti onto the Pope’s St Peter’s Basilica dome saying: “Wash Me.” Artist Iginio De Luca says he staged the stunt as a protest against the paedophile sex scandal that has engulfed the Catholic church. The graffiti- saying Lava Mi in Italian – was lit up for more than an ho... More

UPDATE: Wow! That didn’t take long. This YouTube video which shows the female pastor mocking the papal popemobile, has already been taken down by the user: I guess someone at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in San Francisco didn’t want proof of this anti-Catholic stunt going viral on the internet. ORIGINAL post: I realize AmP blogging has been heavily political of late. To change th... More

Pope Benedict is facing a strong headwind in the United Kindgom as he prepares to visit the country beginning this Thursday, so it’s good to see at least one non-Catholic sticking up for the pope and calling out his fellow countrymen for their bigotry and hypocrisy: When Pope Benedict XVI touches down in Edinburgh next Thursday at the start of a four-day state visit to Britain, he may be... More

Reuters has coverage: The Vatican’s official newspaper accused an Italian comedian on Wednesday of “terrorism” for criticizing the Pope and warned his rhetoric could fuel a return to 1970s-style political violence. In an unusually strongly worded editorial, L’Osservatore Romano said a presenter of a televised May Day rock concert, which is sponsored by Italy’s labor ... More

Rob Dreher, (the fellow behind Crunchy Cons and one of the regular bloggers at BeliefNet) who I had the pleasure of meeting at a recent conference, hit this one on the head today: Diogenes at the Catholic World News blogsite observes that when religious believers bring their faith to the public square and reach conclusions that liberals dislike — in this case, the Catholic justices on SCOTUS... More