Meghan Duke

An order of Benedictine nuns near Avignon have just signed a record deal with Universal Music—the same label that brought you Lady GaGa and U2—for an album of Gregorian Chant. The nuns are from the Abbaye de Notre-Dame de l’Annonciation in Le Barroux and their congregation was . . . . Continue Reading »

As World Cup football fever dies down, the Salesian News Agency has suggested that the sport needs a patron saint: In spite of the fact that FIFA had forbidden the use of religious symbols and gestures most of the players don’t seem to take any notice and openly express their religious faith. . . . . Continue Reading »

Just a week after the lower house of French parliament passed a measure banning burqas amid charges of discrimination and xenophobia, Syria’s Ministry of Education has rather quietly banned the niqab —a veil that leaves only the eyes uncovered—from public and private universities. . . . . Continue Reading »

On the heels of the implementation of a new abortion law in Spain that declares abortion as a right, allows unrestricted abortions performed during the first fourteen weeks of a pregnancy, and lowers the age of required parental consent for abortion to fifteen, Archbishop Francisco Gil Hellín . . . . Continue Reading »

Following the old rule of thumb: “Y goes before C, except when C stands for something that could be embarrassing,” the YMCA—formerly known as the Young Men’s Christian Association—has decided to lop off the last three letters of its name and will now be known simply as . . . . Continue Reading »

Here’s the latest development in the ongoing story of Dr. Kenneth Howell , the former adjunct professor at the University of Illinois, who recently lost his job for teaching his students the Catholic Church’s position on homosexual acts in an introductory course on Catholicism. First . . . . Continue Reading »

The New York Times reported yesterday on the rampant cheating among college students and the Big Brother policies that some schools have instituted to combat it: No gum is allowed during an exam: chewing could disguise a student’s speaking into a hands-free cellphone to an accomplice outside. . . . . Continue Reading »

On the Guardian ’s language blog , Roz Kaveney—I dare not attempt any further description—complains of the linguistic difficulties in naming transgendered people: As a trans man or woman, you soon notice how many people have what Daffy Duck called ‘pronoun trouble’. No . . . . Continue Reading »

Even the Los Angeles Times can agree with Hadley Arkes that the Supreme Court decision in Hastings v. Martinez is bad news: Even if it passes constitutional muster, the “all comers” policy could lead to bizarre results, such as a Jewish group having to admit Christians or a pro-life . . . . Continue Reading »

It’s a common enough pastime on lazy summer days to lie on the grass gazing up at the sky and look for figures and faces in the clouds. But two professors at Johns Hopkins University, the  New York Times reports, have turned their gaze from fluffy cumulonimbus clouds to the ceiling of the . . . . Continue Reading »