Today is the anniversary of the death of Blessed Pope Paul VI. Despite the chatter about "John Paul the Great," I think history is already beginning to show that it was Montini who was the great pope of the twentieth century. Fr. Tom Rosica has a lovely reflection on today's feast and Paul's legacy at Salt & Light.
At the USCCB, Archbishop Thomas Wenski announces the conference's support for President Obama's new carbon rules. It is good to see the conference four square in its support for Laudato Si' and the policy implications that can be drawn from that text. Archbishop Wenski is a powerful advocate for any cause to which he lends his talents.
The commissioner of the IRS stated that the administration will not seek to revoke the tax exempt status of churches that do not embrace same sex marriage. This is very good news and the President could reaffirm his support for this stance publicly, say, at October's Human Rights Campaign Fund dinner. Also, the new regs on religious freedom announced yesterday appear to satisfy even my most stalwart conservative friends. Kudos to Melissa Rogers at the White House Office on Faith-Based Initiatives for seeing these through to fruition.
Monday, I was pleased to participate in a webinar sponsored by the National Press Foundation about the upcoming papal visit. I was joined by AP's Vatican correspondent and Rome bureau chief Nicole Winfield. You can find the video here.
