condemnation

Rev. Federico Lombardi, issued an appeal for the release of kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls. Photo: David Gibson/RNS

The Vatican issued an urgent appeal Thursday for the release of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

The abduction of the young girls three weeks ago was the latest instance of the “horrible forms of violence” for which the militant Islamic group has become known in Nigeria, said the Vatican’s chief spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi.

“The denial of any kind of respect for life and for the dignity of human beings, even the most innocent, vulnerable and defenseless, calls for the strongest condemnation,” Lombardi said.

He added that the kidnappings aroused the most heartfelt feelings of compassion for the victims and a sense of horror for the physical and spiritual suffering and the incredible humiliation they have suffered.

David O'Hara 5-06-2013
photo by Lawrence OP / Flickr.com

Jesus and a woman at the well, painting in museum of the Dominican priory of Santa Sabina in Rome, photo by Lawrence OP / Flickr

In the fourth chapter of John’s Gospel Jesus speaks with a woman when they find themselves alone at a well at midday. We can learn a lot from what he says to her, and from what he chooses not to say.

Jesus tells the woman, “Go, get your husband, and bring him here.” She replies, “I have no husband.” Jesus tells her “That’s right. You’ve had five husbands, and the man you’re now with isn’t your husband.”

These could have been shaming words. In her culture, to be without a husband is to risk economic ruin, and to have been divorced by your husband is to be shamed.   

Had he wanted to, Jesus could have scored some serious points here: I’m a prophet, and you’re a sinner. I’m celibate, and you’re promiscuous. You are living in sin by living with a man who is not your husband.

Evidently, he didn’t want to say those things.

Eugene Cho 5-23-2012

http://youtu.be/d2n7vSPwhSU

No matter where you stand on the issue of gay marriage, there are some boundaries of human decency that should never be crossed.

Never.

Even in the name of free speech, some boundaries should never be crossed. Pastor Terry Jones crossed that line in burning the Koran and making a global media spectacle. Pastor Wiley Drake crossed that line in suggesting that he was praying for the death of President Obama. And then, of course, there are the folks of Westboro Baptist Church. 

But this…?!#@

Wow, this takes the prize for the most idiotic, insane, stupid, asinine, cruel, ungodly, foul, inexcusable, heinous, and disgusting comments by any person – let alone someone that calls himself a pastor and shepherd.

Jim Wallis 5-26-2011
It's a constant storyline in the media involving powerful men in politics, sports, business, and even religion: Men behave with utter disregard for the dignity and humanity of women -- using and ab
Logan Isaac 4-04-2011
Forty-three years ago today, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee.
In a blog posted on God's Politics on September 14, 2010, I wrote that I rejoiced that Pastor Terry Jones had
In a northern Kabul neighborhood in December, I met with the director of the Afghan Women's Skills and Development Center, a non-governmental organization working to enhance the basic skills and ca
I rejoice that Pastor Terry Jones and his church have decided never to burn Qurans.

Geoff Tunnicliffe 9-14-2010
When the story of the fringe Florida pastor and his proposed burning of the Quran broke back in July, we intentionally decided not to give oxygen to the story.
Ruth Hawley-Lowry 8-20-2010
On August 28, 1963 the mastermind of the historic March on Washington, A.
Charles Honey 4-09-2010
The Grand River flows through Grand Rapids, Mich. with power and peace on its way to Lake Michigan 30 miles west.