New polling data from the Public Religion Research Institute shows that Pope Francis is more popular than the Catholic Church as an institution. The poll also shows that U.S. Catholics continue to differ sharply along partisan lines regarding what issues the Church should focus on in the public square. The solution? Focus on ALL of them.
At Vatican Insider, a great interview with "Fr. Charly" the priest of the villas miserias in Buenos Aires.
At RealClearReligion, Anna Dembowski highlights more beautiful churches. I would not quibble with any of the items on her list. And for those who think it a scandal to spend money on such edifices, remember that these may be the only buildings of beauty that belong to the poor, and the poor need beauty as much as the rest of us. It is a false equivalence to suggest we should not treasure these monuments to the faith because of other clamant needs.
