National

A Pakistani resident reads a message on a cellular telephone referring to the blocked social networking Web site Twitter in Quetta on May 20, 2012, after the country's government blocked the site. Pakistan temporarily blocked Twitter, saying Twitter had refused to remove posts promoting a Facebook competition involving caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed. (BANARAS KHAN - AFP/GETTY IMAGES) My friend in Pakistan was unable to tweet this quote on May 20th: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and conveniences, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Yes, it was over 140 characters but the bigger reason was Pakistan’s ban on Twitter.

Why was the popular site banned? Because social media activists were tweeting to promote a Facebook page titled, “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day.” That posed a challenge for the Pakistan’s telecommunications regulators who view such activities as blasphemous. The government banned Twitter for eight hours.

Will Romney’s Mormon religion drive a wedge between him and evangelical Christian voters? (BRIAN SNYDER - REUTERS) Last October, socially conservative activists and politicians gathered for the Values Voter Summit sponsored by the evangelical Family Research Council. With the Republican primaries just months away, Pastor Robert Jeffress of the First Baptist Church of Dallas warned the gathering that “Every true, born again follower of Christ ought to embrace a Christian over a non-Christian.” The non-Christian he had in mind was Mitt Romney, who will soon become the first member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), more commonly known as Mormons, to receive the presidential nomination of a major party.

For years, I have privately mused that the Bible is a problematic book.

As the holy book for Christians, it has been used and misused over time to justify personal prejudices and bigotry, including racism and slavery, sexism, and homophobia.

It’s not that there are not verses and in fact chapters that seem to condone bigotry. I found myself feeling really uneasy about what appears to be a biblical endorsement of racism not unlike that I remember reading about coming from staunch segregationists; in the book of Ezra, in order for a group of Israelites who have survived the Exile to be “at one with God,” they are required to end intermarriage. “Now make confession to the Lord, the God of your ancestors, and do his will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.” (Ezra 10:11ff). The scribe and priest Ezra is actually embarrassed for the “sins” of his people in their turning away from God in many ways, among which is intermarriage with people “not their kind.”

I was a Girl Scout. My daughter is a Girl Scout. As Catholics, we are stunned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ decision to investigate an organization that we both deeply love.

It is tempting to laugh off this news as further evidence of how profoundly out of touch many of our bishops are with the lives and concerns of the people who fill their pews. But the hierarchy’s attempt to exert pressure on an organization that has helped millions of girls grow into strong, self-reliant and public-spirited women is only the most recent episode in an increasingly troubling sequence of events.

Egyptians wait in a queue outside a polling station in Cairo on May 23, 2012 during the country's first presidential election since a popular uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak. Egyptians vote in historic presidential elections contested by Islamists and secularists promising different futures for the country after the overthrow of veteran dictator Hosni Mubarak. (MAHMUD HAMS - AFP/GETTY IMAGES) Wednesday, Egypt votes. After a revolution, a dictator’s flight and a year of debate, the people go to the polls. No-one really knows who is going to win, even though most indications point to Amr Moussa – his name recognition is hard to beat, his ‘vote for the candidate with experience’ piece is working, and most importantly, it does not seem as though the army will object to him.