Open Forum Friday: Catholic Extortion

This Week’s Topic
This relates to some news that’s kinda old, and I’m surprised no one’s covered it on this blog yet. But it is a really interesting development. I am referring, of course, to the recent announcement by the Catholic archdiocese of Washington, DC, that unless the city changes a proposed law that would allow [...]

The Pope? Right? Never!

Back in March, I posted about a hot news item about the Pope positing that condoms were actually making the AIDS situation in Africa worse, not helping it. I condemned the church for wanting to take away what little family planning already exists in Africa.
A couple weeks ago (yes, I’m sorry this is old news, [...]

Angels & Demons: Good Movie, Bad Science

Several days ago Andy D. and I went to see the new film Angels & Demons based on the novel of the same name written by Dan Brown. Andy and I were expecting more nods to religion than there were and the movie was often delightfully irreverent, at times leaving the two of us doubled [...]

Pope to deprive AIDS-torn Africa of what little family planning they have

IM IN UR AFRIKAS, TAKIN AWAY UR RUBBERZ

On the holier-than-thou front, Pope Benedict Ex-Vee-Eye is visiting Africa, home to two-third of the world’s AIDS-infected population. During his trip, he is telling everyone he can that “condoms are not the answer” to their problems.
HIV/Aids was, he argued, “a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, [...]

She and her exes live in Texas

Benjamin Stakes and Marquis LaFortune
Score one for the Catholics. A Catholic high school teacher was fired for getting divoriced.
The reason for her termination turns on a theological tenet. According to Catholic doctrine, participants in a marriage must be an unmarried man and an unmarried woman. [...]

From altar boy to atheist: a coming out story

The Author
Hello, my name is Andy Welfle, and I’m an atheist.
This is my “coming out” story — how I transformed from a good Catholic boy who had dreams of becoming a priest, to the skeptical, cautious person I am today. Sit back, because, well, I can be loquacious at times, and I have a lot [...]