religion

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times has long enjoyed flaunting her Catholic schoolgirl pedigree like a badge of honor.

Still, the Pulitzer Prize winner took her game to another level in a recent column attacking Rome for its investigation of religious orders which shelter sisters who oppose many of the church's teachings.

Wait, is "investigation" the right word?

When Pope Benedict recently offered a place in the Roman Catholic Church to dissident Anglicans, some commentators said the move was reminiscent of a hostile takeover in the corporate world.

To be fair, the pope was simply responding to repeated requests of many members of the Church of England who are disenchanted with their church's acceptance of women priests and gay bishops.

When it comes to comedian Ricky Gervais, journalist Paul Asay openly confesses that he is a fan.

In my home county of Prince William in Virginia, the landscape is dotted with churches. Our houses of worship outnumber restaurants, theaters, golf courses and libraries combined. Nearly every denomination is represented. Moreover, many small businesses and private homes proudly display the American flag.

Mitch Albom has seen plenty of extremely large men, which isn't surprising after a quarter century as one of America's top sports writers.

But he wasn't ready for the giant who met him outside the Pilgrim Church's dilapidated Gothic sanctuary near downtown Detroit. The Rev. Henry Covington was as tall as a basketball player, but weighed 400 pounds or more.

When Henry Willenborg fathered a child out of wedlock with single mother Pat Bond, it never occurred to him to marry her. Henry was (and is) a Catholic priest, and priests don't marry.

After being knocked halfway to kingdom come, Tim Tebow knew that millions of college football fans would be paying close attention to his eyes the next time he led the Florida Gators into action.

Religion and marriage are alike in this respect: they appeal to the human aspiration to live happily ever after. Nowadays, however, marriage delivers on its promise of permanence to only half of all wedded couples. The remainder ends in divorce.

Anyone who has turned on talk radio or the TV, scanned the headlines or visited Capitol Hill lately knows that millions of Americans are angry.

"Don't marry him!" was the advice all of my wife's friends gave her when we were dating. Had I been merely her friend, instead of her suitor, I would have offered Becky the same counsel.