At a moment when the pope is cracking down on apparitions and limiting Marian devotion why this apparition, and not other literally countless reports that pop up in the news every year?
The idea of martyrdom hasn’t been in very good shape lately. One common usage of it—“I’ll not be made a martyr!”—refers to the prospect of somewhat tragic but mostly useless suffering, perhaps in the service of a delusional cause, religious or otherwise…
At the first anniversary of health care reform legislation, an unprecedented attack is spreading across the nation to restrict or even ban insurance coverage of abortion for millions of women.
It’s not outlandish to see theological meaning in the drive to slash government spending for human services if we accept some version (no matter how secularized) of the concept of original sin.