Boston Globe

Romney Told Catholic Hospitals to Administer Abortion Pills

A defining moment in Mitt Romney’s post-pro-life-conversion political career came in his third year as governor of Massachusetts, when he decided Catholic hospitals would be required under his interpretation of a new state law to give rape victims a drug that can induce abortions. Romney announced this decision — saying it was the “right thing … Read more

“Happy” Birthday, Sex Scandal

As of today, ten years have passed since the Boston archdiocese was engulfed in scandal, as the result of investigative reporting by the Boston Globe. Today the faithful in Boston are still struggling to shake off the lingering effects of that scandal. But a full recovery is delayed because of two popular misconceptions, which should … Read more

The Imam at Ground Zero

The debate over the mosque at Ground Zero and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is of particular interest to me. I know Imam Rauf. Five years ago, he and I were participants in an interfaith dialogue event that took place in Rome. I spoke with him over the course of several days. I have read his … Read more

How do you solve a problem like teenage bullying?

Because IC went offline last Friday while we worked on the redesign, I wasn’t able to post my usual Friday morning link round-up. (I know, it was hard for me, too.) One of the articles I had lined up that I didn’t want to go unmentioned was this excellent series from Emily Bazelon at Slate … Read more

Fooling you for your own good.

One of the great black boxes in medicine is the placebo effect — we know that it works, but we don’t know why. The fact is, if you give a large enough set of people a phony medical treatment for some disease they share, a percentage will experience some degree of genuine recovery.  And that … Read more

The Ongoing Saga of the Priest Sex-Abuse Scandal

In October 2001, crisis Magazine published an article, titled “The High Price of Priestly Pederasty,” by Dan Michalski. Reporting on publicly known cases of sex abuse by priests, Michalski summarized his findings: So far, more than 3,000 Catholic priests in America have been accused of sexual misconduct with minors, and nearly 2,000 insurance claims have … Read more

STUDY: Most Internet security advice is wrong

If you’re like me, every time some Web site’s security protocol forces you to use numbers in your password, you fantasize about reaching through the screen and throttling the site administrator. Well, we apparently have the right idea (not about the throttling). According to the Boston Globe, a new study — the first of its … Read more

The New Swingers

Polyamory is the latest “alternative lifestyle” grabbing headlines these days for its titillating (to some) approach to love and commitment. The latest article comes from the Boston Globe: Adherents call it responsible non-monogamy or polyamory, and the nontraditional practice is creeping out of the closet, making gay marriage feel somewhat last decade here in Massachusetts. … Read more

The Unpopular Vote: Choosing the Third Party Option

On Saturday, I headed off to the early absentee voting booth, where, for the first time in my life, I voted third party. Though I don’t need to explain myself, I will anyway: I’m a former Republican who voted third party because I’m tired of the issues I care about — all of them — … Read more

Being There

Yesterday morning I spent 15 minutes washing the breakfast dishes. I spent 30 minutes matching socks, folding underwear, and returning these items to dresser drawers. I spent 12 minutes looking for my toddler’s sandals. I spent 25 minutes on the phone with the doctor’s office and insurance company making sure a recent office visit would … Read more

Targeting the Bishops? An InsideCatholic Point/Counterpoint

Deal W. Hudson and Francis X. Maier conclude their discussion on the propriety of a Catholic leveling public criticism against a bishop. In this special InsideCatholic.com Point/Counterpoint, Deal W. Hudson and Francis X. Maier, the chancellor of the Archdiocese of Denver, discuss and debate whether a Catholic may criticize a bishop publicly. Is it a … Read more

Why I Don’t Trust Mitt Romney

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has positioned himself as a pro-life, pro-family “social conservative,” and has received the endorsement of some prominent social conservatives. But Massachusetts-area grassroots Catholics familiar with his record as governor are mystified by that support.  Their view of Romney is that his “conversion” to social conservatism was pragmatic, a tactic to … Read more

Philip Pullman’s Useful Idiots

You may find Bill Donohue of the Catholic League a bit loud at times, but you have to admire his forthrightness in pointing out something so bleeding obvious that only a functionary for the USCCB film review office or a highly trained theologian could miss it. He writes: In the current Newsweek, Pullman lashes out … Read more

Meet the New Condom Policy (same as the old condom policy)

Media sources have put a charge into the leadup to today’s World AIDS Day by once again floating the suggestion that the Catholic Church is on the verge of approving condom use in limited circumstances; that is, for the purposes of preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. “Will Vatican Review Stand on Condoms?” reads … Read more

Boston Cardinal Rebukes Democrats on Abortion

The Archdiocese of Boston has produced some of the most influential pro-abortion politicians in history — among them, the late Rev. Robert Drinan, S. J. (D-MA), formerly a four-term Congressman, and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA). Yesterday, Boston’s Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley said that support of pro-abortion candidates from Catholic voters “borders on scandal as far … Read more

Has James Dobson Created an Opening for Mitt Romney?

Mitt Romney is seizing the opportunity created by Dr. James Dobson’s threat of a third party candidacy. The Massachusetts pol is positioning himself as the GOP candidate of choice for religious conservatives. How? In a Boston Globe story from October 5, Eric Fehrnstrom, a spokesman for the Romney campaign, said, “Dr. Dobson is keeping an … Read more

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