Odd Spot

Bishop robbed of cash, episcopal ring after vigil against violence

Monday, May 31st, 2021

A gun-wielding man allegedly robbed Bishop Michael Barber of Oakland of some money and his episcopal ring near the city’s cathedral, the very day the cathedral had held a vigil against gun violence. Read more

Italian diocese launches course to help priests avoid financial scams

Thursday, May 27th, 2021

After an octogenarian priest was swindled out of more than $450,000 over a two-year period and threatened when he stopped giving the “family” money, the Diocese of Padua, Italy, launched a continuing formation program for priests focused on financial accountability and avoiding scams. Read more

Pope Francis photographed with Holocaust survivors, not Rockefellers and Rothschilds

Monday, May 24th, 2021

An image of the pope kissing a man’s hand while other men look on has been portrayed as a moment involving Rockefellers and Rothschildslies and the Pope “Do you see it now? The Vatican is run by the Jesuits, the Real Mafia of this world, but even they have Overlords…” But the man whose hand Read more

Australian PM Scott Morrison mocked for praying

Thursday, May 20th, 2021

When Australian prime minister Scott Morrison addressed a gathering of pastors from the Australian Christian Churches (ACC), a recording was leaked on social media by the Rationalist Society. They did not do that to make Morrison look good. Rather, they hoped it would make the PM look, um, weird because of his faith – or Read more

Yoga classes in a Christian church welcomed by Hindus

Monday, May 17th, 2021

A Hindu teacher has commended an Episcopal church in USA, for hosting yoga classes. Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed said that yoga, referred as “a living fossil”, was a mental and physical discipline, for everybody to share and benefit from, whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization. The Trinity Cathedral, Read more

Vatican creates group to study separating mafia from the Catholic Church

Thursday, May 13th, 2021

The Vatican’s human development office has created a working group on the topic of the expulsion of criminal organizations from the Catholic Church. The eight-member group will study the ex-communication of the mafia, offering support to bishops around the world Read more

Andy Warhol’s Life Revolved Around Sex, Drugs—and Catholicism?

Monday, May 10th, 2021

Andy Warhol is synonymous with Pop art and celebrity, Campbell’s Soup and Marilyn Monroe—but one driving force in the artist’s work that people may not know about is Warhol’s relationship to Catholicism. Read more

Pope Francis’ ecological encyclical set to music

Thursday, May 6th, 2021

When Linda Chase first read Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home,” she was struck by the phrase, “Let us sing as we go. May our struggles and our concern for this planet never take away the joy of our hope.” Now the composer and flutist, who lives in Arlington, Read more

“Spiritual but not religious” generation Zers turn to tarot cards

Monday, May 3rd, 2021

Generation Z is the driving force behind the renewed popularity and mainstreaming of tarot cards. Theresa Reed, known online as The Tarot Lady, says it’s not just for witches anymore. Read more

Pastors who are plagiarising are building a web of deceit

Thursday, April 29th, 2021

A sermon isn’t just another speech, says theologian Scot McKnight, a professor at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. Instead, it is supposed to be an encounter with God. Through reading, prayer and study, the preacher hears from God and then passes on what they learned to the congregation. When a pastor short-circuits that by plagiarising, it’s Read more