(Eugene Volokh) From Judge Kleinfeld’s concurrence in the judgment in Spencer v. World Vision: The core of Judge Berzon’s dissent is the idea that performance of activities that are often performed in a secular context cannot be religious. That is mistaken. When the Pope washes feet on the Thursday before Easter, that is not secular hygiene, and the Pope is not a pedicurist....

1,2,3,4,5,6,7, 8 Don’t mind me – I’m just counting the number of months that have passed since Xmas Eve 2009. That was when two Irish Catholic Bishops submitted their resignation to the Pope in contrition over their role (albeit a minor one) in putting the reputation of the church first before the welfare of young people abused by Catholic priests in Ireland. It has taken 8 months – Jeez, I’m constantly surprised by the breathtaking speed at which the Pope makes decisions (bet he doesn’t take so long to decide what he wants for brekkies) – but Pope ‘I was never a Nazi’ Benny has finally decided to refuse the Bishop’s resignations. Now there’s lots I could say about this decision but . . . for now I will content myself...

The English Defence League describes itself thus: "We, the English Defence League, are a grass roots social movement who represent every walk of life, every race, every creed and every colour; from the working class to middle England. Our unity and diversity is our strength. We have members that represent our culturally rich, “patriotic” and nation-loving populace. People who can see the threat of “Islamism” for what it is: a vile and virulent ideology based on 7th century barbarity, intolerance, hatred, subjugation and war."About page Protest The Pope says this on it's front page: "If you believe, as we do, that the Pope should not come to the UK without hearing from the millions of people who reject his harsh, intolerant views and the practices and policies of the Vatican...

There is, quite rightly, a need on the part of a host country to fund the costs of a visit to their country by another head of state. It is a mark of respect and basic good manners. So the news that the Pope's visit might cost as much as £12 million pounds (or even nearer £100 million) should not be a factor in his visit, should it? I would argue that cost shouldn't be a factor. But that doesn't mean I'm not completely opposed to a state visit by him. A state visit is an honour bestowed by both the host and the guest on each other. What exactly has the Pope done that deserves this honour? Here's a few things, perhaps, from Protest The Pope: However, as well as a religious leader, the Pope is a head of state and the state and organisation of which he is head has been responsible...

According to The Times, there is now 'open warfare' in the Vatican after Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, accused former Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano of having blocked investigations into sex abuse crimes committed by his predecessor, the late Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer. The BBC confirms the Roman Catholic civil war, quoting Cardinal Schönborn as saying: "I can still very clearly remember the moment when Cardinal Ratzinger sadly told me that the other camp had asserted itself." This is interesting for a number of reasons:Firstly, Cardinal Schönborn is a former theology pupil of Pope Benedict and a close ally. He has praised Pope Benedict for having pushed for sex abuse inquiries when he was Cardinal and head of the Congregation for the...

Fuck the motherfucker, fuck the motherfucker Fuck the motherfucker, he’s a fucking motherfucker Fuck the motherfucker, fuck the fucking fucker Fuck the motherfucker, he’s a total fucking fucker Fuck the motherfucker, fuck the motherfucker Fuck the motherfucker, fucking fuck the motherfucker Fuck the motherfucker, fuck the motherfucking Pope Fuck the motherfucker, and fuck you, motherfucker If you think that motherfucker is sacred If you cover for another motherfucker who’s a kiddie fucker Fuck you, you’re no better than the motherfucking rapist And if you don’t like the swearing that this motherfucker forced from me And reckon it shows moral or intellectual paucity Then fuck you, motherfucker, this is language one employs When one is fucking cross about fuckers fucking boys Andy...

Rosie Swale Pope set to complete charity challenge in Llanelli – before heading for the Bering StraitTourists pause and shoppers stare as Rosie Swale Pope jogs determinedly through Stratford-upon-Avon hauling her wheeled sleeping pod behind her.She smiles and waves but one of her knees is heavily strapped and she looks a little weary. Not surprising, as the 63-year-old adventurer and writer is running her 25th marathon in 25 days.Tomorrow Swale Pope should complete her 26th 26-mile run in Llanelli, south-west Wales, raising thousands of pounds for two hospices in the process. On Saturday she will do an extra run around her hometown of Tenby in south-west Wales just for fun."I feel very excited," she says. "I feel full of beans, I feel fit at last, though my knee is giving me a bit of...

Hmm... interesting window The British Foreign Office apologised to the Vatican yesterday after a memo was leaked about the Pope’s planned visit to the UK in Sept. The memo suggested among other things that the visit would be a good time to launch a brand of “Benedict” condoms. It also suggested that he open an abortion clinic and bless a gay marriage during September’s visit. And given the recent scandal about covering up child abuse in the church, the memo proposed that Pope Benedict should sack “dodgy bishops”, and launch an abuse childline. My favourite suggestion is that Pope Benedict sings a duet with the Queen for charity. I am sure that it has all been a misunderstanding – much like the stained glass window here. Apparently the memo was the...

Sex abuse victims meet pope, who admits 'shame and sorrow' over the suffering they have enduredPope Benedict XVI was said to have been reduced to tears as he expressed his "shame and sorrow" over the Catholic church's sex abuse scandal during a meeting with a group of victims in Malta.The 83-year-old pontiff, who has struggled to contain the crisis in the church, made his strongest pledge to bring priests who have molested children to justice and better safeguard future generations from clerical abuse.The pope met privately with eight of the 10 men who say they were sexually abused by Catholic priests while growing up in a church-run orphanage on the island in the 1980s and 1990s and who are testifying in court against three priests."He was deeply moved by their stories and expressed his...

Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have launched in their latest crusade by seeking to indict the Pope. It’s not the humourless arrogance that I mind; rather it’s the muddling up of issues and the ignorance of the law. Contrary to what Dawkins and Hitchens (and Monbiot) argue, putting the Pope on the dock will not bring any justice. The accusation of crime against humanity is not based...

The news that atheists Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens are paying lawyers to investigate the possibility of prosecuting the pope for crimes against humanity is a troubling reminder that you don’t have to be religious or spiritual to seek to impose your worldview and values on others. Image by Catholic Church (England and Wales) via Flickr Hitchens and Dawkins argue that Pope Benedict XVI should be arrested when he visits Britain in September and put on trial for his alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic church. The Vatican has already suggested the pope is immune from prosecution because he is a head of state, but the high-profile ‘celebrity’ atheists believe that because he is not the head of a state with full UN membership, he does not hold...

Critics including Christopher Hitchens are exploring legal options for Pope Benedict XVI to face trial in UKProminent atheists Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens are paying lawyers to investigate the possibility of prosecuting the pope for crimes against humanity, their solicitor confirmed today.The pair argue that Pope Benedict XVI should be arrested when he visits Britain in September and put on trial for his alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic church. Last week a letter emerged from 1985 in which the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger urged that a paedophilic priest in America not be defrocked for the "good of the universal church".The Vatican has already suggested the pope is immune from prosecution because he is a head of state. But Dawkins and Hitchens believe that...

Since the scandal of priests abusing children, there have been questions asked about the present Pope’s role in the cover-up/protection of pedophile priests. The pope himself has made no comment on his own culpability but supporters have defended the pontiff saying that both as a bishop in Germany and later as a Cardinal, it wasn’t him but underlings that made fateful decisions. Seems the Pope saw no evil , heard no evil. The press, however, is no longer prepared to accept what the church says as gospel and has pursued their enquiries – leading some church leaders to question the motives of the media. A letter has now surfaced – signed by the Pope when he was Cardinal Ratzinger – urging caution in defrocking a priest found to have assaulted children because...

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN and MICHAEL LUOThe priest, convicted of tying up and abusing two young boys in a California church rectory, wanted to leave the ministry. But in 1985, four years after the priest and his bishop first asked that he be defrocked, the future Pope Benedict XVI, then a top Vatican official, signed a letter saying that the case needed more time and that “the good of the Universal Church” had to be considered in the final decision, according to church documents released through lawsuits.That decision did not come for two more years, the sort of delay that is fueling a renewed sexual abuse scandal in the church that has focused on whether the future pope moved quickly enough to remove known pedophiles from the priesthood, despite pleas from American bishops.As the scandal...

Yesterday was an important, if not the most important, festival in the Christian Calendar – Easter Sunday. A day Christians celebrate in remembrance of the resurrection of Jesus following his death on the cross. It is a day that symbolises fresh hope, new beginnings, fresh starts. A perfect day then for the head of the Catholic Church to comment on the scandal currently testing the faith of many catholics around the world – the revelations that priests have been sexually abusing children for decades, that instead of supporting those victims of abuse, the children were instead sworn to secrecy about their mistreatment (and what inducements/threats were made to extract that vow of silence one wonders?), while their abusers were not reported to the police but were instead given...

Top adviser praises pope as 'unfailing rock' of Catholic church, in break from normal practice at Easter Sunday serviceThe pope today maintained his silence on the sex abuse crisis engulfing the Catholic church as his most senior adviser broke with tradition to deliver a eulogy of the pontiff before the Easter Sunday address.In a departure from normal practice, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the college of cardinals, stood before Benedict in a packed St Peter's Square and lauded him as the "unfailing rock" of the church."We are deeply grateful for your strength of spirit and the apostolic courage with which you proclaim Christ's gospel," he told the 82-year-old pontiff as rain poured down from a leaden sky.In an apparent reference to the sex abuse storm, and employing a term already used...

The Pope’s own preacher, the only one allowed to preach to the Pope, Father Cantalamessa, has compared criticism of the Pope over paedophile cover-ups to anti-Semitism. US-based abuse victims’ group Snap has said the remarks were “morally wrong” and the head of Germany’s Central Council of Jews, Stephen Kramer, described the Easter sermon as unprecedented “insolence”. He told the Associated Press news agency the remarks were “repulsive, obscene and most of all offensive towards all abuse victims as well as to all the victims of the Holocaust”. What gets me today—the whole scandal, mind, has shocked from the moment it started to be uncovered—is reading that sexually abused children were made to sign vows of silence over the...

In Palm Sunday address pope says faith in God leads 'towards the courage of not allowing oneself to be intimidated'Pope Benedict, facing the worst crisis of his papacy as a sexual abuse scandal sweeps the Catholic church, declared today he would not be "intimidated" by "petty gossip", angering activists who say he has done too little to stamp out paedophilia.Addressing crowds in St Peter's square during a Palm Sunday service, the pope did not directly mention the scandal spreading though Europe and engulfing the Vatican, but alluded to it during his sermon. Faith in God, he said, led "towards the courage of not allowing oneself to be intimidated by the petty gossip of dominant opinion".As Benedict spoke, the president of Switzerland, Doris Leuthard, called for a central register of...

The Vatican has asserted there is a concerted campaign to blacken the name of Pope Benedict – and him an old man, too This follows claims that before becoming Pope he was himself responsible for ‘covering up’ known instances of child abuse by priests....

Colm O’Gorman:- On Saturday Pope Benedict XVI published his letter to the Irish Church on the issue of child abuse. What was necessary seemed clear. As Pope, acknowledge the cover up by Roman Catholic Church of the rape and abuse of children by priests, take responsibility for it, and show how you will ensure it never happens again. But the letter failed to do any of this. There was no acceptance of responsibility for the now established cover up, no plan to ensure that across the global church those who rape and abuse will be reported to the civil authorities and children properly protected. The letter is clearly an effort to restore the credibility of a church rocked by the publication of three state investigations into clerical crimes and church over ups in Ireland. The Pope has...

'Pope Benedict has passed up a glorious opportunity,' says campaigning group of pastoral letter to Irish CatholicsSurvivors of child abuse by Catholic clergy in Ireland have expressed disappointment with the pope's apology for the scandal.Victims criticised Benedict XVI's letter of apology because it did not directly address the long history of concealment by Irish bishops of sexual, physical and emotional abuse by priests, nuns and Catholic orders.The campaigning group One in Four condemned the pope for failing to acknowledge that the church hierarchy had attempted to suppress the scandal."Victims were hoping for an acknowledgement of the scurrilous ways in which they have been treated as they attempted to bring their experiences of abuse to the attention of the church authorities," the...

Well, he is under a little pressure.Not only because of his advancing years, but there appears to be more than a whiff of fin de siècle decay in the air over the global pandemic of priestly paedophilia: the disease has gone viral. The Independent refers to 'the lonely reign of Benedict XVI' as he is 'plagued by scandal upon scandal'. Following hard upon the litany of appalling revelations emerging out of Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Canada, the United States, Australia New Zealand and the Philippines, Richard Owen in The Times says the Roman Catholic Church ‘has been accused of a cover-up after at least 170 allegations of child abuse by German Catholic priests’.This is...

Controversy has surrounded Martin Salter’s very personalised attack on the Pope in his Daily Telegraph blog column. I certainly agree that the Pope was out of line to seek to comment on and intervene in the UK Parliamentary process of considerin a new Equalities Bill. The Pope is not just head of the world-wide Roman Catholic church, he is also a foreign head of state. It would be rather like the Queen criticising proposed law changes in Spain or Italy. However, the Pope’s comments were immediately overshadowed by the abusive and frankly juvenile comments of Reading West MP Martin Salter. Salter criticised the Pope’s remarks but then descended into schoolboy abuse by describing the Pontiff as a hypocrite and ”bloke in a dress”. Catholics are outraged at...

Pope Benedict XVI has attacked British society and in particular our equality legislation. In a letter addressed to the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, the pope criticised UK legislation for creating "limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs". Of course, what the Pope means is the law now prevents adoption agencies from discriminating against gay couples and the Equality Bill may mean the Catholic Church can no longer discriminate on grounds of sexuality or...

Benedict XVI says legislation safeguarding rights of same-sex couples violates 'natural law'Pope Benedict XVI has condemned British equality legislation for running contrary to "natural law" as he confirmed his first visit to the UK later this year.In a letter addressed to the Catholic bishops of England and Wales, the pope praised Britain's "firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all".However he criticised UK legislation for creating "limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs".It is thought his comments relate to laws that came in last year preventing adoption agencies from discriminating against gay couples.The pope, whose visit is expected in September, made the comments after hearing representations from English and Welsh...

Looks like Greg Pope will be getting some tender loving care from Nick Brown later today.  Labour’s Chief Whip and long-time Brown enforcer was overheard late last night on the train coming into King Cross.  Guido’s informant sent this from his iPhone: Nick Brown is sitting behind me on the train to KingsX right now and although he thinks he’s being guarded on the mobile – I know what he is talking about. The essence is that the plot rumours are real and he is holding meetings tomorrow to discuss things. Greg Pope was mentioned and the feelings within the PLP and ‘worries’, two camps, theose who will ’soldier on and those who want him out’… Monday night* is usually when the PLP meets.  Nick Brown will be keen to crush the dissent...

Pope asked his personal secretary to call on Susanna Maiolo 'to show his interest and benevolence', says VaticanThe pope's personal aide has visited the woman who jumped over a barrier and knocked the pontiff down in St Peter's Basilica on Christmas Eve, a Vatican spokesman said.Benedict XVI asked his secretary, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, to call on 25-year-old Susanna Maiolo "to show his interest and benevolence", the Reverend Federico Lombardi said.Lombardi declined to comment on an Italian newspaper report that the aide told the woman the pope had forgiven her and gave her a rosary.The Boxing Day visit to a psychiatric clinic in the town of Subiaco, near Rome, had been made discreetly, and the Vatican had not planned on publicly talking about it until the newspaper report appeared,...

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict used his traditional New Year address on Friday to call on people to change their lifestyles to save the planet, saying environmental responsibility was essential for global peace. Recalling that world leaders had gathered in Copenhagen last month for the U.N. climate conference, the pope said action at a personal and community level was just as important to safeguard the environment. “Nevertheless, in this moment, I would like to underline the importance of the choices of individuals, families and local administrations in preserving the environment,” the Pope told the thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square. “An objective shared by all, an indispensable condition for peace, is that of overseeing the...

Woman who knocked over pontiff was known to officials after attempting similar assault last yearThe Vatican's security arrangements were being scrutinised today after Pope Benedict XVI was knocked to the ground during Christmas Eve mass by a woman who tried to launch a similar attack on him a year ago.Susanna Maiolo, a Swiss-Italian national with psychiatric problems, jumped the barricade at the start of the service mass in St Peter's Basilica and was able to grab Benedict's vestments before security guards brought her down. The 82-year-old pontiff was uninjured and went on to deliver his Christmas Eve homily and his Christmas Day blessing today, although a French cardinal's hip was broken during the incident.Questions are being asked as to why Maiolo, 25, who jumped the barricade at...

Article by Nick Pisa from The Telegraph “Pope John Paul II regularly whipped himself in a sign of “remorse for his sins”, a nun has claimed. The Pope, who died five years ago, is being considered for sainthood by the Catholic Church. As part of the Vatican’s investigation thousands of documents have been collected and examined by officials from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Among them is the testimony of Tobiana Sobodka, a Polish nun of the Sacred Heart of Jesus order, who worked for Pope John Paul in his private Vatican apartments and at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo near Rome. Sister Sobodka said: “Several times he (Pope John Paul) would put himself through bodily penance. “We would hear it – we were in the next room at Castel...