If the website: http://www.christiansofiraq.com/index.html
is to be believed, it is a small wonder that Iraqi Christians have fled and are staying away from their old homes.

As to the United Church of Christ apology for “division and confusion”, is this not just more “relligion and politics”? How can a denomination regret “schismatic ‘ordination’” when its own origin was schismatic? Even if all the religions in the world united in one organization, there would still be division and confusion.

Here again, a listing of religious news that is 90% about Roman Catholic news.

On the UCC story, and ’schism’. Let’s define schism, shall we? Most historical schisms in the church were led by people who saw significant problem with the church they left behind, either in doctrine or practice. One wonders if the Protestant Reformation would have happened if the R.C. church at the time had actually paid attention to the reformers, and had acted to address the concerns raised by Luther and others.

Here’s a news item that has had just about no play: Since the Katrina disaster on the Gulf Coast, the vast majority of the volunteer rebuilding work has been done by church organizations. The most common statement by the people who have been helped, who are moving back into new or rebuilt houses on the Gulf coast is this, “If it wasn’t for the churches, we’d have nothing.” (I’ve heard this statement with my own ears)

By the way, the Roman Catholic presence in the rebuilding effort is just about invisible. This work is being done primarily by those horrible Liberals the Presbyterians, the Methodists, and the UCC. There are many, many R.C. congregations who are worshiping in protestant churches, because the Bishops won’t lift a finger to repair the catholic churches.

HS- I can’t speak about the Catholic Church actively rebuilding. I really don’t know anything about it. What I can tell you though, is that Catholic Charities of St. Louis helped over 2000 Katrina refugees relocate here. But the Catholic Church is evil, right?

Let’s not forget that the Catholic Church is the largest philanthropic organization on the planet.

Wowee: Here’s what I heard in a particular Mississippi small town, that is 80% catholic: A month after Katrina, Catholic charities showed up in this town with TEN $1000 checks. To serve a catholic population numbering several hundred. In this same town, two years after Katrina, the catholic church was still boarded up because the Bishop wouldn’t allow anyone inside to work. The Catholics were worshiping in a Presbyterian sanctuary that had holes in the roof…but it was being worked on.

My point is this: there is a whole lot more going on that could be classed as ‘religious news’ that is non-Catholic in orientation. And, the biggest unpublished religious news in the US today is the faith-led volunteer work in the post-Katrina gulf. Here’s what I’ve learned on 3 trips down there: When you’re working in the incredible heat, it doesn’t matter which church the crew at the next house goes to: If they offer to share their ice water, they suddenly become your best friends. It doesn’t matter what church the homeowner belongs to, either. They tell their stories, and gladly accept the help…and issues like gay marriage, homosexual ordination, or abortion mean nothing.

HS- I cannot answer your unsubstantiated assertions as to what the Church has done in one town in Mississippi. The Catholic Church and Catholic Charities in particular does not discriminate when it comes to helping others. Sexual orientation, religion and one’s beliefs on abortion are not asked. If someone is in need, they are helped.

You obviously have a bee in your bonnet over the Church. I don’t know what you think it has done to you or failed to do, but your bias is obvious in both of your posts. I suggest reading “The New Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice” by Philip Jenkins (an Episcopalian).

Wowee: maybe I do have a ‘bee in my bonnet’ about the catholic church. However, I know a LOT catholics who, as you might say, have a ‘bee in their bonnet’ about protestants. Sorry, I don’t believe the RC church is the one true church, and I don’t accept that my salvation depends on my fealty to the Pope.

When the bees start buzzing among the christian community, I am reminded of the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 1. When we wear Jesus, we are an open and democratic society. When organized religion is our bonnet, we are divided.

HS -

Perhaps you don’t understand that Ms Tyree’s role in this blog is to advocate for traditional Catholic values, so, yeah, pretty much all her postings have to do with Catholic topics. I agree that she is so prolific that the entire blog tends to seem unbalanced.

On the other hand, like all blogs, you have to take the articles she links to with a certain grain of salt. For instance, if you took the item about Reverend Runnion-Bareford at face value, you might think he actually holds some position of leadership or authority in the United Church of Christ or in relation to the Reverend Nancy Taylor. The Reverend Runnion-Bareford is the self appointed leader of an ultra conservative fringe group in the church. Kind of like if one mistook the head of Opus Dei as a spokesman for the Catholic Church.

My personal Rashomon moment in this posting had to do with the “if that is not faith…” item. I presume to the person who wrote this item, it attests to the affirmative influence of the Church in Africa, but the story about the woman “snatched from the church during the middle of Mass” appalled me. I presume the priest knew she was being taken, or he wouldn’t have had cause to go looking for her later. So I am left with this mental image of the woman being dragged from the church by thugs while the priest and the rest of the worshippers - either too frightened or too indifferent to intervene - carry on with the Mass.

I realize the entire story may well be apocryphal. The interesting point to me is how one observer (the writer) can see the fact that this kind of thing can happen, yet people still go to church, as a wonderful affirmation of the power of faith, while another observer (me) is mainly appalled that people of faith could let something like this happen.

But I guess that is what makes religion such an interesting topic for discussion…

To Steve Kirk:
I wondered, too, about the priest evidently watching while a parishioner was “snatched” from Mass. I’d like to know more, what the context was and how culpable the priest was. I don’t think we’re likely to find out the whole story, particularly as it was anonymously reported, but if I do learn more I’ll pass it on.

This incident does bring up a larger question, one that was addressed in a recent AP report about the gunman killing and wounding several at a Unitarian church here in the United States. What are the protocols in place, if any, at U.S. churches? I don’t know if our parish has a plan in place. Do any of you know what your church leaders would do in case of a dire emergency?

Point #2: Thank you, Steve, for explaining my blogging role to HS. I have the advantage of sending out a daily, M-F, morning news bulletin, approximately 90 links per day, to a group of Catholic leaders. It is from this that I cull information that I think would be of interest to our Civil Religion readers. HS, if you would like a wider array of news, you might contact our other bloggers. Fr.Scott Steinkerchner and I are the only two Catholics.

Sherry, I understand your perspective quite clearly. It does seem as if over the last month or so, the vast majority of postings have been about Catholic news and events. Maybe no one else has anything to say.

On the story of the woman snatched from Mass…it certainly gives one pause, if true. Unfortunately, there is probably no way to substantiate it. On one level, it does bother me significantly that the priest, seeing what was happening, didn’t stop the worship to deal with it in real time. And, it bothers me that the rest of the gathering didn’t act, again in real time, to deal with it.

This is the kind of event that you really can’t plan for. So much will depend on the actions of the first responders, if you want to call them that. If the first witnesses sit on their hands, chances are the whole group will do nothing. It just depends, and it’s hard to predict. I can’t condemn anyone for failing to act as an individual in a case like this.