Links for 01/28/15 | National Catholic Reporter

Links for 01/28/15 | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: As for the Mormons, it is good that they are doing basic anti-discrimination.  As for Same Sex Marriage, however, which they dislike, the Courts have already forced it on them - which the Salt Lake Tribune fails to mention - although it is as much a capitve paper of the Church as most diocesan news rags. It is good that the Apostles are now supporting what the Catholic Church already endorses in principle (though is week on practice) - but neither makes the point that moral scorn is not religious speech, it is the equivalent of yelling fire in a theater.  Accepting gay equal rights, including marriage, will soon call for the courage to submit - the fun part will be when gay church members request that their unions be blessed (as well as polygamists - who have never gone away in Utah).  The issue is that many pastors (bishops) and priests will gladly do just that - it is the hierarchy that stops them now



On the fundamentalist who doubt climate change - a little real biblical scholarship reveals that the Noah story was a myth and the promise is assumed to come from God in a story, not in reality.  The same is true of fire and ice in second Peter.  Indeed, the evidence for man-made global warming is stronger than the evidence for the reality of Genesis (including the story of Abraham).



Nice verse for St. Thomas' feast.  My father took Thomas as his confirmation based on his writings - although much, if not all, that Aquinas said in the areas of sex and biology turned out to be wrong - although his not attaching a full ensoulment to the blastocyst should be more vexing to the Humane Vitae supporters - and probably is - though they won't admit it.  I wonder what Thomas would do if given the knowledge of gastrulaion.  I would hope the same thing I have.  For my Confirmation, my father urged me to take St. Thomas (he did not explain that he had).  I thought he meant Thomas (Juda Bar Jonah) the Apostle, who doubted - I should have taken it, as Thomas is the patron saint of the Romany, who  converted us in India.