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Belief Beat

Deadline and space limitations — even cyberspace has limits! — left some interesting notes on my cutting-room floor this week, so here’s my version of DVD extras for two stories that ran yesterday: 1. Corporate Culture Wars (Religion News Service) A feature story prompted after  TOMS, a shoe company that donates a pair to a needy child…

I’ve been preoccupied with the Cyprus disaster — that’s where my family is from, where I was traveling last month — and some stories I’m working on, so please excuse the blogging delays. There’s been plenty of headlines lately concerning the beliefs of our Republican presidential contenders. I always find this trend ironic, given the American…

Did you watch Diane Sawyer’s interview with abduction survivor Jaycee Dugard last night? There are a lot of parallels to the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping, though Smart was rescued after nine months, while Dugard was held captive for 18 years, giving birth twice in her backyard prison. Both Smart’s kidnapper Brian David Mitchell and Dugard’s kidnapper Phillip…

In the spirit of summertime and my own recent hiatus, I’ve enjoyed the “Pope takes a vacation” stories on this appropriately slow news week. (Perhaps he’s already burned out from tweeting?) Pope Benedict Begins His Busy Vacation (Catholic News Agency) Vatican Reflects on Spiritual Benefits of Vacation (Catholic News Agency) Vatican: God Bless Vacation (USA…

One of my favorite religious sayings is “Judge not, lest ye be judged,” though I usually mean it in a light-hearted way. Still, it comes to mind now, as we see the frenzy of outrage over “Tot Mom” Casey Anthony’s not guilty verdict, and speculation on whether she’ll be getting some kind of divine justice instead,…

Sorry for the delay, folks — technical difficulties! The Huffington Post’s Religion section published a range of July 4-themed columns, reflecting the range of beliefs practiced in the United States these days: ‘God of Liberty’: The Role of Religion in American Independence The Torah, The Constitution & The 4th of July The 4th of July:…

Happy birthday, America! It’s nice to be back in time for the Independence Day fireworks, though my dog is not so thrilled. Check back tomorrow for a roundup of July 4-related faith news links. In the meantime, how’s this for a 21st century problem: do you check work email (and headlines, in my case) while…

Belief Beat is on a break for the rest of the month, while I visit family overseas. As noted last week, I’m disappointed to miss next week’s Seattle meeting of the U.S. Catholic bishops, discussing updates to their clergy abuse policy. I expect that National Catholic Reporter and Whispers in the Loggia will cover it extensively.…

There was a very funny exchange on The Daily Show this week, during the fake press conference Jon Stewart held to satirize both Congressman Anthony Weiner’s apology and his own show’s half-hearted mockery of the scandal (Weiner is an old friend of Stewart’s) thus far. Stewart accidentally cut his wrist open on broken glass during…

The U.S. Catholic bishops will meet in Seattle June 15-17 to consider revising their policy on clergy sex abuse: the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, passed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in June 2002, as the scandal had broken wide open nationally. Although the John Jay College of Criminal Justice’s report last…
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