The Catholic bishops of Illinois condemned Gov. Pat Quinn, who professes to be Catholic, for agreeing to give an award to pro-abortion political group. In response to the criticism, Quinn doubled down. The Naperville Sun reports: Gov. Pat Quinn said Thursday he considers it “the proper, Christian thing to do” to present an abortion-rights group’s leadership award, sloughing off criticism f... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on. New York Times blogger and number-cruncher Nate Silver, who is a liberal respected on both sides of the aisle for his election projections, says that “Obama has gone from a modest favorite to win re-election to, probably, a slight underdog.” http://cvote.to/7Q Canon lawyer Ed Peters has some comments on... More

The bishops of Illinois, led by Cardinal George, have issued a strong statement in response to the news that Catholic governor Pat Quinn will grant an award at an event hosted by a pro-abortion political organization: We have recently been made aware of Governor Quinn’s decision to present a Pro-Choice Leadership Award at an upcoming event for a political organization known as Personal PAC. This... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on. Mitt Romney and Rick Perry scrapped just hours before the GOP debate in Orlando tonight on Fox News at 9 pm ET. Picking up on the concern that Perry might have a tough time winning suburban voters, Tim Pawlenty wrote an op-ed for Politico with the not-so-subtle title: “Romney is electable.” http://cvote.... More

The recent news that the state of Illinois will terminate its contracts to do adoption and foster care through Catholic Charities should not be taken lying down. This happened as a direct result of the bad same-sex civil unions bill that went into law this June. A law that catholics (and other people) warned would result in, among other things, exactly this — Catholic Charities being forced ... More

The New York Times celebrates Illinois governor Pat Quinn’s moral wrestling with capital punishment: With the stroke of the governor’s pen, the cardinal has been posthumously vindicated on at least one piece of that seamless garment. In doing so, Mr. Quinn, a Democrat, also ratified the cardinal’s belief that religious thought has a place in the formulation of law, a premise the governor’s... More