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Front Page: Pope Meets Victims, Brown in DC, Polygamy Hearing, Carter and Hamas

CitizenSugar — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 07:01:34 -0700

Pope Meets Victims: Pope Benedict XVI came face to face yesterday with a scandal that haunts the American Catholic Church by holding an unannounced meeting with several victims of sexual abuse by priests. The cardinal who organized and attended the meeting, gave the pope a list of about 1,000 boys and girls who had been abused in the Boston Archdiocese in the past several decades. The Pope requested the meeting, praying and speaking personally with each person in attendance. The cardinal said afterward, “it was a moving experience. It was very positive and very prayerful.”

Brown in DC: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was in Washington DC yesterday to celebrate what he called the “special relationship” between his country and the United States. As a reminder of President Bush's waning time left, before Brown visited the White House, he met with all three candidates vying to succeed President Bush. After the meetings Brown said, “What I was convinced of, after talking to each of them and talking about the issues that concern them and concern the world, is that the relationship between America and Britain will remain strong, remain steadfast.” Not to leave Bush unrecognized, Brown said, “the world owes President George Bush a huge debt of gratitude for leading the world in our determination to root out terrorism.”
Polygamy Hearing: The judge in the largest child welfare case in US history, that of the children removed from the polygamy compound in Texas, struggled to retain order in chaotic hearings that began yesterday. The 416 children and their lawyers were crammed into a courtroom and additional rooms. The judge said of the task ahead of her, "the court is not in the position and certainly does not intend to rule about someone's religious practices and their freedom of religion."
Carter and Hamas: Former President Jimmy Carter met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad moments ago. The meeting comes ahead of planned talks with exiled leaders of Hamas, the Islamist group which Carter argues should be included in efforts for Israeli-Palestinian peace. According to a source, "Carter is very upbeat. The publicity put out by his detractors made him more determined to pursue a different way with Hamas."

Vegas to OK Prostitution — The Pope's "Secular Challenges?"

CitizenSugar — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:55:54 -0700

Yesterday the Pope praised America as a nation where strong faith and religious beliefs live harmoniously with secular society. His remarks, delivered at the White House as part of his first trip to the US, came with a caveat addressed later to the bishops: The US is battling a "subtle influence of secularism" that threatens to derail the righteous. He said:

Is it consistent for practicing Catholics to ignore or exploit the poor and the marginalized, to promote sexual behavior contrary to Catholic moral teaching or to adopt positions that contradict the right to life of every human being from conception to natural death?

Maybe the Pope should have started his trip in Las Vegas. The Sin City mayor just had this to say about legalizing prostitution:

It's disingenuous when people say they don't want to legalize it. Right now it's uncontrolled and unregulated. There's no check and balance as far as the women's health is concerned and legal brothels could be an important revenue-raising device for the city. When you speak about it intellectually, not morally, it makes sense.

Las Vegas exists in an odd bubble as much of the rest of the state allows and watches over the sex trade. To see the dilemma,

The Pope Is Coming to America! Today!

LibertySugar — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:00:00 -0700

Pope Benedict XVI arrives this afternoon for his first US visit. Nearly half a million faithful, including Stephen Colbert, have acquired tickets to his events in Washington, DC and New York City.

A recent poll found that 74 percent of American Catholics approve of their spiritual leader. But, it's not all fishes and loves. More than 6 out of 10 Catholics reported that the Church is out of touch with their views. About 75 percent of Catholics and non-Catholics disapprove of how the Church leadership handled the priest sexual abuse crisis. It is likely that the Pope, who while aboard his plane to the US said he was "deeply ashamed" of the scandal, will apologize to Americans this week.

And of course, this wouldn't be a truly American visit without some financial analysis. To see how much this visit is going to cost,