Links for 04/04/16 | National Catholic Reporter

Links for 04/04/16 | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: John Allen hits the nail on the head in Crux.  This exhortation is likely to affirm what is already the case among many Catholics, even when divorce is not the issue.  There are a variety of former "mortal sins" that many Catholics are not bothered about - chief among them contraception - as well as missing Mass.  They are things that don't get confessed because no one wants to go to confession and argue that they don't believe they have sinned seriously.  Reforming reception of Communion rules will simply codify that. This will be a mercy in the pews, with the acknowledged noise in the left and right blogospheres.



The prevelance of "Nones" is related to age, especially for Democrats where the young are no longer forced to go to Church.  It is surprising that more Catholics are not favoring Sanders, although I suspect Catholic women are striking a blow for gender - and this adds another argument for women priests.  As for Trump, Pew does not model authoritarianism.  Other surveys and commentators have noted that authoritarianism is the difference is supporting Trump.



Gans is right and Berkowitz is wrong.  The old Zionism, which looks good, is in practice relient on the kind of group exclusion most accurately equated with Jim Crow.The democratic mantras may be in place, but they are largely ignored.  Two things could happen.  Either Israel can get rid of Zionism or make it egalitarian and create a secular Israeli state or it can yield to a muscular two-state solution which gives parts of the Arab dominated North to the Arab state - which should ideally be as protective of minority rights as Jewish Israel.  Of course, the best of all solutions is an international government where such issues don't matter anymore.  Until we get to a state of no more deportations or blowing up of homes, Israel probably is not worthy of participation is such a world state.  Of course, this will all blow up when the Romany start asserting their right to return as heirs to the northern kingdom of Israel.  Hopefully we will behave with more humanity than our brothers from the tribe of Judah.