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When the last non-Italian pope until John Paul II, a Dutch pope (Adrian VI), came to Rome for the first time. The cardinals proudly gave him a tour of the Belvedere. He was shocked and outraged, informing them (in Latin no less) that “these are nothing but pagan idols!” He threatened to sell off the whole collection, and in the interim built cabinets for them, locked the doors, and kept the key to himself.

“Despite a large missionary force and a persistent emphasis on growth,” Phillips and Cragun write, “Mormons are actually treading water with respect to their per capita presence in the U.S.” In fact, additional studies by Cragun and Phillips show that retention rates of young people (young men especially) raised Mormon have dropped substantially in the last decade.

Immodest yuppies move into Orthodox neighborhoods, and the influence cuts both ways.

The balance between the right to free exercise of religion and the right of employees to equal protection under the law is not easy to strike, and the Hosanna-Tabor decision doesn’t appear to strike it at all.

An argument against Commonweal’s argument against the religious exemption.

Trying to put the best face on prejudice!

Philadelphia DA loses an important witness.

Pastors listed on his Florida Faith Leaders Coalition say they were never contacted by the campaign.

Now that we know, what will the mayor do?