President Obama held a press conference to discuss the compromise over the mandate to offer free birth control through religious organizations' insurance plans, which sparked the ire of Catholic leaders. Obama said, "After many genuine concerns were raised over the last few weeks — and the more cynical desire to make this into political football — it became clear that spending months hammering out a solution was not an option; we had to move this faster...I’ve been confident from the start we could work out a sensible approach here. Some folks in Washington may want to treat this as another political wedge issue, but it shouldn’t be. I never saw it that way. It’s people with goodwill on both sides of the debate sorting through a complicated issue to find a solution that works for everyone. Today’s announcement has done that." Also, he reminded everyone he's a "citizen and a Christian." more ›

Now that the Obama Administration has signaled it will reconsider the requirement to make insurance plans offered by Catholic universities and charities provide women with birth control without charging them, Archbishop Timothy Dolan is happy... for now. He told the Daily News, "I would welcome the fact of the government saying we’re willing to rethink this... The federal government should do what it has traditionally done since 1776 and keep its hand out of the internal workings of the church." more ›

In today's Presidential capitulation triangulation news bulletin, the Obama administration has signaled that it will rethink a law that would require insurance plans offered by Catholic universities and charities to provide women with birth control without charging them. “We’re going to look for a way to move forward that both provides women with the preventative care that they need and respects the prerogatives of religious institutions," David Axelrod told MSNBC yesterday. "To turn it into a kind of political football to take advantage—to try and capitalize that isn't going to make it easier to resolve that issue," Obama For America's football coach said without a hint of irony. more ›

Per an official decree, English-speaking Catholics will now recite certain portions of the mass that are closer to the original Latin translation, in the most earth-shattering changes to Mass since its English translation more than 40 years ago. Some are upset because the translation was meant to fulfill the goal of a more "shared liturgy" with other Christian denominations. Plus, it kind of snaps you out of your peaceful trance when the same thing you've been incanting for four decades is changed. But according to the Times, Corpus Christi Church in Morningside Heights has been giving the ecumenical finger to the Vatican since the 60s, and in effect, the church is catching up to them. Who's the cafeteria Catholic, now? more ›

Not everyone is happy that a large swath of New Yorkers are now given the same rights and privileges as everyone else. Now the Catholic church, which is usually totally cool about leaving people alone and letting them live their lives, is holding a grudge against Governor Cuomo and his colleagues for helping push the "ruinous legislation" along. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio who oversees a Brooklyn diocese released a statement following the passage of the bill asking "all Catholic schools to refuse any distinctions or honors bestowed upon them by the governor," and any state legislators who voted "Yes." more ›

St. Patrick's Cathedral was "standing-room-only" yesterday at a thanksgiving mass led by Cardinal Egan celebrating the beatification of Pope John Paul II, the Daily News reports. Several New Yorkers in attendance were quoted as saying that "he deserved to be a saint," and that "it's a very cool thing--he was a very spiritual man." We assume the Vatican's HR department would screen out all of those "non-spiritual" papal applications (notable exception: Pope Dwayne "Boogie" Williams, also known as "The Surfer Pope" of the 12th century). more ›

A few months ago the Catholic League got angry at the Empire State Building planners for not agreeing to light up blue and white to honor Mother Teresa's 100th birthday. City Councilman Peter Vallone proposed a bill to force the building to light up, Brooklyn Borough Hall and the Intrepid both agreed to light, and Christine Quinn called ESB owner Anthony Malkin a hypocrite. But now, some Catholics are saying Mother Teresa wouldn't want her birthday in lights anyway. more ›

Another clash of the art world and the religious reich is going down in the East Village. The AP reports that a "Roman Catholic watchdog group is protesting a student art exhibition that includes vulgar depictions of religious symbols including a crucifix and rosary." Just how does one depict a rosary as vulgar? There are ways:

The target of the protest is a series of paintings by Felipe Baeza. One of them depicts a man with his pants down and a crucifix in his rectum. A Latin caption says, "The day I became a Catholic." Another painting shows rosaries with male genitalia and a third, a man with a halo and erection.

Surely there is a difference between art, traditionally understood as conveying beauty, and junk. I have the sneaking suspicion that these paintings made the cut precisely because they were an assault on Catholic sensibilities. No, I can’t prove what the motive was, but I can be deadly certain that if even a reverential portrait of Muhammad had been offered, it would have been rejected. I hasten to add that if a reverential portrait of Jesus had been submitted, it too would have been rejected, but for entirely different reasons.”