Tuesday, July 2

I guess I missed this - 82-year old has tons of plastic surgery, looks....younger. She was supposed to be on GMA on Monday. Was she? Anyone see her? She looks like she has so much makeup in the photo in the article, it's hard to tell what the surgery actually did.
More on Cosby: Some say he's not been the same since his son's death. Totally understandable. Sad.
From the Stating the Obvious Department:Cincinnati police report few problems after Billy Graham Crusade, say lack of alcohol might have something to do with it:

Police say there were no major problems associated with the record 65,500 crowd that filled the stands and a large portion of the field to hear the Rev. Mr. Graham conduct one of his last career missions. They attribute the absence of alcohol as a big relief to the normal problems — such as road rage and fights — they face after sold-out football and baseball games. “There's a little traffic congestion, but all things considered, we're good,” Cincinnati police Sgt. David Johnston said.

A workday today, obviously. I wrote a brief review of John Allen's Conclave,, wrote an OSV column a week ahead of schedule, did some review work for another publisher, and am presently going to finish up preparations for my oldest son Christopher's visit. He left Knoxville around 11, should be arriving by dinner. It will be delightful to see him and Joseph together, once Joseph gets over the shock of seeing this new Big Person in his space.
James Akin with Uncomfortable Facts about the Douay-Rheims version of the Bible

Massive set of links to everyone's opinions on the Pledge and Vouchers
Is religion simply about "my sky god against your sky god?" That's what Jody thinks. I'll write more on this after I get some work done, but in the meantime, I'm sure you have something to say about it.
Archbishop Milingo's sister claims that he's a "virtual prisoner" at the Vatican
African monks build on ancient chant to create something new

At prayer every day, the white-robed monks of Keur Moussa, Senegal, lift their voices in centuries-old Gregorian chant, accompanied by the delicate strains of a traditional African harp.The music is soft and resonant, filling their small, whitewashed, Roman Catholic church with a sense of tranquility, and providing a sanctuary from the hustle of the streets.
The Benedictine monks make the harps, known as koras, out of elegantly carved hardwoods and giant calabashes covered in cow skins according to the ancient methods of the predominantly Muslim Mandingo people -- with a few innovations of their own.The unlikely convergence of cultures has yielded a new form of liturgical music that is spreading in monastic communities in Africa and France.

Here's the monk's website

Thanks again to Jay for the daily news from Detroit

Here, one of the priests recently removed from a parish had acted as a police chaplain and let wayward boys stay in the rectory.

What's more, when a charge was raised in 1987,

...instead of taking legal action against the Rev. Edmund Borycz or warning the priest's superiors, an assistant prosecutor sealed the file. That prevented anyone from discovering the case until a recent review during which Duggan's staff waded through all of the old files involving priests.