The Sheepcat

When the Ecclesial Shoe Is on the Other Foot

Diogenes highlights the remarkable transformation of one Jim Naughton from "secessionist poacher" (as a dissenting Catholic) to "curialist gamekeeper" (as a diocesan official in the Episcopal Church).

Link via Stand Firm.

What to Do about "Bad" Bishops?

In the wake of the Los Angeles abuse settlement for $600 million, Fr Rob Johansen reminds us why the Pope doesn't just sack bishops such as Cardinal Mahony.

I linked to some other reflections in a similar spirit last year when a group of dissident priests in Québec published a statement of dissent.

Church and State, When the Shoe Is on the Other Foot

When it comes to sins against universal human dignity, bishops do not have the right to tell anyone how to vote. What they have is the power to say who may and may not receive the sacraments. When the issue was racial segregation instead of abortion, the New York Times didn't have a problem with this.
Link via CAEI and the Curt Jester.

Thumpin' Thought-Experiments, Batman!

Jimmy Akin uses the analogy of Batman/Bruce Wayne to look at whether Muslims and Christians pray to the same God.

And Ed Peters explains the footnotes to the 1917 code of canon law by way of a nod to Ed Wood's cult classic Plan Nine from Outer Space – reckoned by some as the worst film ever made. (This marks the beginning of a new "Church Discipline" category on my blog. I don't expect to use it all that much, but considering the number of times I've had to explain to friends that Church doctrine is handed down from the apostles and is protected by infallibility whereas Church discipline is subject to amendment, it's probably not a bad thing to file matters of canon law separately from doctrine.)

Anyway, who thought orthodox Christians were stodgy?