https://politicalresearch.org/ The latest research related to u.s. bishops en https://religiondispatches.org/2023/06/01/exactly-30-years-illinois-ags-devastating-sexual-abuse-report-plan-prevention-was “Way too damned little and way too damned late.” That’s what one life-long Illinois Catholic woman I’ll call “Margaret” told me last week when the state’s attorney general released a nearly 700-page report, based on a five-year investigation, that concluded… Thu, 01 Jun 2023 03:47:48 EDT David Clohessy 2ed3f45b-c7d2-4d92-afa0-1ed90f539747 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/06/29/problems-pregnant-people-increase-catholic-bishops-claim-theyre-heroes-ending-abortion Now that Roe and Casey have been overturned, the roles of the institutional Roman Catholic Church and of most of the Catholic Supreme Court justices are transparent. Their ‘victory’ was the fruit of long, persistent work that many Catholics, myself… Wed, 29 Jun 2022 04:21:34 EDT Mary Hunt df21a91b-7295-4c4a-a01f-bb78f46c7970 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/05/24/catholic-bishops-punish-dissent-rosemary-radford-ruethers-life-and-legacy-show-way Theologians will tell you that Catholic theology almost always favors both/and scenarios, yet the U.S. Catholic bishops ’ crusade against abortion results in nothing but either/or positions. Take, for instance, the bishops’ newly favored form of public humiliation for Catholic… Tue, 24 May 2022 10:54:35 EDT Lauren Barbato beff2fd7-80f0-46df-ba8f-147fd786149c https://religiondispatches.org/2020/07/07/its-catholic-bishops-not-those-who-toppled-junipero-serra-statues-who-have-failed-test Apologies are not enough. As protesters have taken to the streets throughout the world in opposition to anti-Black racism, they’ve also attacked statues symbolizing dominating violence, precisely because so many statues present in city centers represent the continuation of structures… Tue, 07 Jul 2020 01:04:55 EDT Jacqueline M. Hidalgo cf81fe49-5dde-4544-b567-def14386a277 https://religiondispatches.org/2016/05/20/do-arguments-against-bathroom-equality-hold-water Let the backlash begin. The arguments against President Obama’s historic directive that public schools allow trans students to use the bathroom of their choice has met with the expected opposition, with the arguments against running the gamut from libertarian to… Fri, 20 May 2016 11:14:38 EDT Patricia Miller d1fc184c-cd8a-439d-9532-f99c8328c1e5 https://religiondispatches.org/2015/06/08/protesting-popes-not-yet-released-environmental-encyclical-check-your-doctrine Observers expect that Pope Francis’s environmental encyclical—supposedly titled Laudatio sii, or “Praised Be”—will be released within the next few weeks. Cue the predictable conservative backlash. Cries abound for the church to “ stay out of politics” and focus instead on… Mon, 08 Jun 2015 05:42:55 EDT Kevin M. Lowe 436b6ab1-0db9-41fa-b39e-4ef5e7f43ea6 https://religiondispatches.org/2015/05/08/nightly-news-turns-bishops-about-contraception-more-often-docs The big nightly network news shows are more likely to turn to the Catholic hierarchy as a source for stories about contraception controversies than doctors, according to a new study. Dr. Jen Gunter reports on her blog about the study… Fri, 08 May 2015 11:43:50 EDT Patricia Miller 48127b58-6679-4169-8087-9ba993bd30f3 https://religiondispatches.org/2015/03/22/republicans-evangelizing-catholic-voters Sarah Posner’s excellent analysis of the evangelical schism over the far-right rhetorical fork in the road—Christian nationalism vs. “religious liberty”—dovetails with my own reporting on the radicalization of Catholic voters over the religious liberty meme. As Posner notes here on… Sun, 22 Mar 2015 02:46:55 EDT Patricia Miller beb4f353-120e-4335-9d76-eee8601498bb https://religiondispatches.org/2015/01/09/anti-gay-forces-offense-europe-african-islam-challenged-extremists-irish-marriage-foes In our precap of global LGBT stories we expect to follow in 2015, we discussed the global culture war and specifically religious conservatives’ use of “religious liberty” claims and demonization of “gender ideology” as strategies for opposing reproductive choice and… Fri, 09 Jan 2015 09:38:37 EST Peter Montgomery ea4ec048-3f52-40ce-9f73-e47f3d89de19 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/09/09/chris-matthews-claims-we-dont-know-what-contraception-means Speak for yourself, Chris. Tue, 09 Sep 2014 10:53:36 EDT Patricia Miller 43cf2e32-daa8-408a-92b2-86c29e1495cb https://religiondispatches.org/2014/08/22/catholic-bishops-throw-cold-water-ice-bucket-challenge Bishops in two Catholic dioceses are discouraging parishioners from participating in the popular “ice bucket challenge” that has raised $30 million for ALS research because of concerns that some of the money raised for the charity would go toward fetal… Fri, 22 Aug 2014 11:28:36 EDT Patricia Miller c6fb74ab-6f5a-40a0-a669-317a696f3e40 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/07/30/we-all-speak-conscience-are-we-talking-about-same-thing “Conscience” keeps popping up in contemporary political and ethical debate. Think Hobby Lobby and the offended consciences of those who would deny contraceptive coverage to their employees. Think about minimal religious exemptions to President Obama’s executive order on equal hiring… Wed, 30 Jul 2014 02:39:27 EDT Mary Hunt 9bde5bcf-8470-4daa-8960-eb23d5c15dd4 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/07/28/dubious-theology-behind-catholic-opposition-contraception-compromise As my colleague Sarah Posner recently reported, it looks increasingly likely that several of the Catholic plaintiffs who are objecting to the use of Form 700 to notify their insurance carriers of their intent to opt-out of the ObamaCare contraception… Mon, 28 Jul 2014 11:26:58 EDT Patricia Miller f2555a93-21e0-41b3-91f2-c6cb0a03ab92 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/04/23/want-slurpee-your-birth-control-0 Cardinal Timothy Dolan again argues that women should just run over to 7-11 if they want birth control. Wed, 23 Apr 2014 06:08:23 EDT Patricia Miller a9424ac6-014f-4ddb-9b69-3e07687a06b8 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/03/27/obamas-compromise-catholic-bishops-was-bad-idea As Obama meets Francis it’s a good time to remember that he gave an inch and the Bishops may just get their mile too. Thu, 27 Mar 2014 12:57:15 EDT Patricia Miller 09abb84b-132d-4604-b8fc-2aa32315418f https://religiondispatches.org/2014/03/24/can-you-be-liberal-and-catholic And if you are, can you get some media love? Mon, 24 Mar 2014 01:04:20 EDT Patricia Miller 04436038-1473-46ba-ac8f-7dd1b7ffa3e3 https://religiondispatches.org/2013/12/12/popes-gay-priests Every bishop knows he has gay priests in the ranks—pretending otherwise is surely as much of a moral issue as, say, same-sex marriage. Gay priests work in dioceses and religious orders as pastors, teachers, administrators, right-hand men, chaplains, liturgists and preachers. The bishops know this and yet few are able to speak with the kind of candor the pope manages on a daily basis. Thu, 12 Dec 2013 06:01:56 EST William J. Dohar 573a16ff-ff57-4d72-9965-703a05646413 https://religiondispatches.org/2013/06/26/how-will-religious-conservatives-follow-through-marriage-bluster Catholic and evangelical leaders have pledged massive resistance to marriage equality. Now what? Wed, 26 Jun 2013 02:12:12 EDT Peter Montgomery 160eb4d9-c2e1-4529-8c5f-3f5f9318b72b https://religiondispatches.org/2013/06/19/freedom-through-eyes-bishops-and-filmmakers Bishops launch ‘fortnight’ of prayer and p.r. as San Francisco’s LGBT Film Festival opens. Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:51:03 EDT Peter Montgomery 4d75a6f2-07dd-4ec4-a4b6-1888072b5026 https://religiondispatches.org/2013/06/11/suspicion-modern-age-pope-regresses Called to the carpet for the decision to reinstall controversial bishops, the Vatican has taken to doing what it does best: issuing public statements, coupled with obfuscation and outright denial. Tue, 11 Jun 2013 03:14:17 EDT Louis A. Ruprecht 2a81e355-81ba-426b-8c86-aca7c0abf187 https://religiondispatches.org/2013/02/07/bishops-cite-flawed-gay-parenting-study-prop-8-brief The Catholic Bishops are the latest to mischaracterize the notorious Regnerus study—this time in a Supreme Court brief. Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:36:38 EST Peter Montgomery 9a37990f-83f3-4b15-ae6e-016f57cb9ef0 https://religiondispatches.org/2013/01/02/queer-new-year Last year’s big LGBT religion stories will get bigger in 2013. Wed, 02 Jan 2013 06:05:50 EST Peter Montgomery eb3b53a1-c497-402e-8fe7-709804359a74 https://religiondispatches.org/2012/12/24/undercover-ed-religion-13-stories-went-missing-2012 An RD holiday sampler of stories & viewpoints we would have liked to read in 2012. Mon, 24 Dec 2012 02:54:59 EST Peter Laarman 09f995aa-5ad0-4743-8abc-16bbb851740b https://religiondispatches.org/2012/12/07/failing-politics-bishops-turn-prayer Despite dismal results for first “Fortnight for Freedom,” US Catholic bishops plan another. Fri, 07 Dec 2012 02:40:26 EST Peter Montgomery 77f61e8d-2e04-4b4f-8bf9-c06127565ec1 https://religiondispatches.org/2012/10/22/most-us-catholics-back-marriage-equality-knights-columbus-pour-millions-opposition Quick, what organization was founded to support justice for immigrants, boasts nearly two million (all-male) members, and loves a good parade? The Knights of Columbus still support immigrants’ rights, but those sober-faced men marching down Main Street in full parade regalia are also part of an organization that was the single largest donor in support of California’s Proposition 8. As it turns out, this venerable fraternal order has taken up the anti-equality baton in a big way since then. Mon, 22 Oct 2012 05:26:17 EDT Peter Montgomery 4f71e912-c889-4b49-a7cd-307be036cbba