Opinion Roundup

March 21, 2011

• Elizabeth Scalia offers a balanced perspective on what we know (not much) and what we don’t know (a lot) regarding charges that have reportedly been leveled against Father Corapi.
• Father Zuhlsdorf does not name names, but he clearly has the Corapi case in mind, too, when he makes some suggestions as to how prudent Catholics should respond when priests are accused of misconduct. He stresses that we do not want to fall into the error made by the Donatists.
• Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island, upholds his reputation for candor with a column in his diocesan newspaper in which he responds to criticism of a prayer printed on a banner in a local public school. While explaining logically what is wrong with the suggestion, the bishop also expresses frustration with a campaign that has become tedious. He writes: “The desire to scrub every reference to God and religious faith from public life, including our schools, is tiresome and irritating.”
• In April, when new Vatican regulations come into force, the Vatican bank—the Institute for Religious Works (IOR)—will be much like other European banks, notes Sandro Magister of L’Espresso. That will mark a major change; for years the IOR has been a friendly institution for its depositors, offering discretion and personal service without red tape. Unfortunately that approach allowed opportunities for unscrupulous customers.
• And the BBC reports that although most (61%) of the people in Great Britain identify themselves as members of a religious body, a solid majority (65%) do not describe themselves as religious. Although the poll was sponsored by the British Humanist Association, and might therefore be viewed skeptically, there may be an important distinction being made. Most people feel some sense of affiliation with a religious body, even if it is only a social or cultural tie. But when asked, “Are you religious?” they give a different sort of answer.

 

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Further information:

• 36 Hours after Corapi-Stormfall (The Anchoress)
• Priests, holiness, and avoiding a spiritual peril (What Does the Prayer Really Say)
• “Teach Us How To Pray” – In Cranston (Rhode Island Catholic)
• Vatican and Finance. The April Revolution (L'Espresso)
• Two-thirds of Britons not religious, suggests survey (BBC)