Well, I blew it. Lost track of time and forgot to check for the Sweet Sistine update. Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Canada and Cardinal John Onaiyekan of Nigeria made it to the finals and the voting ends tonight (Monday). The winner will be announced tomorrow. I confess I’m surprised and pleased to see there are no Italians in the finals. … Comments »
The previously reported Sweet Sistine has reached its Final Four. Canadian Marc Ouellet is facing off against Brazilian Joao Braz de Aviz, while Milan’s Angelo Scola is up against Nigeria’s John Onaiyekan. Choose your favorites now. No word on when this round closes. Continue reading Sweet Sistine reaches Final Four
The brackets for the Sweet Sistine race for the Vatican have moved to the Round of Eight. You have until 9 pm EST on March 6 to pick your favorites. The two Italians, Ravasi and Scola, have advanced (surprise!) and one will be eliminated in this round. … Comments »
I have paid little attention to the race for the papacy in Rome and am only vaguely acquainted with the names of the American hopefuls. It’s been suggested that, since the majority of Catholics today live in Latin America, the next pope should be from there. That sounds logical to me and might let in … Continue reading March Madness, Vatican-style
As the sun sank slowly in the west (in Italy), Pope Benedict XVI stepped out of the public limelight and into “retirement” (though he’ll continue to reside in the Vatican), his every move described in rapt reverence by this morning’s commentators on ABC News. Really? I’m sorry, but as an increasingly cynical old atheist, I find … Continue reading Papal resignation: The more things change
Those in the mood for some thoughtful reading about religion, atheism, and parenting should check out “Godless mom strikes a chord with parents” on the CNN belief blog and the related discussion on “Kids Without Religion,” the “godless” mom’s blog. (Forgive my cringe; “godless” always sounds pejorative to me.) I applaud what this mom, Deborah Mitchell, is doing; … Continue reading ‘Godless’ mom draws record number of comments
