Droppings from the Catholic Birdcage: Story of 9-Year-Old Brazilian Girl the Kind of Story That Attracts Attention for Reproductive Rights of Children

At America, Molly Roach offers a powerful rejoinder to Vatican officials and their media enablers who want to pooh-pooh the recent U.N. report's recommendations that the Vatican look at how its position on contraception, gay rights, and abortion affects children:

Patricia Miller: Vatican Itself Argued That Sexual Abuse of Children Is a Culture-War Issue

Patricia Miller at Religion Dispatches on the Vatican's perfervid response (echoed by centrist media commentators) to the U.N. report:

Times Editorial on U.N. and Vatican, Plus Vatican Apologists Begin Their Spin: Ten Critical Questions

An editorial in todays' New York Times responds to the U.N. report on the Vatican’s handling of the abuse crisis in the Catholic church. As the editorial notes, 

As the Games Begin: Three Videos to Remind Us of What's Really Happening in Russia

As the Sochi Olympics begin, three videos to remind us of what's happening in Russia outside the bright lights of the carefully managed spectacle--and (third video) elsewhere in the world, as neo-Nazi groups akin to those now given free rein to beat and kill gay people in Russia march through the streets of Paris shouting hate slogans:

Footnote to Report of German Bishops to Vatican in Preparation for Synod on Family: Swiss Catholics Weigh In

A footnote to my posting yesterday about the report of the German bishops to the Vatican about the results of the Vatican survey in preparation for the Synod on the Family: as I noted yesterday, Tom Heneghan summarizes the German bishops' report for Reuters by noting that among German Catholics, "The Church's statements on premarital sexual relations, homosexuality, on those divorced and remarried, and on birth control . . . are virtually never accepted, or are expressly rejected in the vast majority of cases."

United Nations Releases Scathing Report on Handling of Abuse Crisis by Catholic Authorities

The United Nations Committee on Protection of the Rights of the Child has now released its report (pdf file) following the Vatican's grilling (and here) by that committee in mid-January. The report is scathing. The committee report urges the Vatican to act immediately to remove from ministry all priests known to have abused or suspected of having abused children, and to report them to civil authorities.

Droppings from the Catholic Birdcage: "Sandra Fluke's Rise to Political Stardom Was Something of a Fluke"

This is one of the stinky ones: