Mollie Hemingway

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The scandal of Catholic professions of faith

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Last night I read a Washington Post story that gave me reason to revisit my Lutheran confirmation rite. After a reading from the Gospel of Matthew, the catechumen is then directed to answer some very serious questions about what he or she believes. The structure of the rite is that as the pastor asks the questions “Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty” and “Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord?” and so and so forth, the response is to quote from the Apostles’ Creed, one of the earliest confessions of Christian faith. The final five questions are:


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Lutheran, Baptist, whatever

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Last week I highlighted an excellent local story about how one North Dakota congregation was helping people who are looking for work in their town. Apparently I wasn’t the only person who loved the story, as the congregation was also highlighted by CBS Morning News on July 3. I can’t find that broadcast, but I did appreciate that they put some additional footage from that bit on the web.


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Ghosts in the 'God particle'

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Back in December, I highlighted a story about how scientists really don’t like the terminology of “God particle” to describe a theoretical subatomic particle called the Higgs boson. But the battle seems to be lost and reporters know that “God particle” is so much sexier than Higgs boson. Last week physicists in Switzerland said they would soon prove the particle’s existence and we saw another round of stories using the terminology.


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Credulity, chutzpah and Catholic battles

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In recent weeks we’ve looked at some of the stories the mainstream press has done, using the theme provided by a progressive, George Soros-funded public relations firm called Faith in Public Life. That theme, of course, is that Catholic bishops, by working to reclaim certain religious freedoms, are being “too political” and, worse.


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Finding God in a North Dakota oil boom

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Over at the Dickinson Press (North Dakota), reporter Amy Dalrymple has been writing a fascinating series titled “Faces of the Boom.” Whereas most of the country (outside of Washington, D.C., at least) is facing economic hardships, prolonged unemployment and housing problems, North Dakota has something of a boom. If you or anyone you know has been out of work in the last couple of years, you’ve probably heard the advice to head there for work.


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Cheering on those nuns on the bus

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I’m so old that I remember when Catholic leaders getting involved in anything even slightly political meant that journalists would write hard-hitting pieces. Sometimes journalists would just follow the “too political” talking points of well-funded PR campaigns run by political opponents of the Catholic leaders.


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Beyond talking points at Scientology opening

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The Denver Post‘s Eric Gorski hasn’t been exclusively on the Godbeat for a while. So I was quite happy to see him dip back into religion reporting for his piece on the Church of Scientology’s grand-opening celebration in Denver. We’re told that the celebration filled a city block downtown with balloons, confetti and cheering throngs.


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