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On October 4, 1984, a paid advertisement appeared in the New York Times under the sponsorship of a group called Catholics for a Free Choice.-Daniel C. Maguire was one of the signers and paid a very steep price for the freedom of conscience and freedom of dissent-which is also part of True Catholicism

Santorum recently complained that Egyptians had elected a Muslim version of himself.... Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum issued the following statement regarding the election results in Egypt where Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, is the expected winner: "President Obama and his Administration contributed to the pushing out of a key U.S. ally in Egypt and unfortunately accelerated elections prior to laying the foundation for meaningful democracy. President Obama's confusion and ignorance over America's long-term interests in the world and the threat of Radical Islam has helped transform Egypt, who was a friend in a key region of the Middle East, into a center of leadership for Islamists. "The United States and its leaders should fight against Radical Islam and violent jihadism; and instead stand for freedom of religion and conscience and for the equality of women. In Egypt, strong advocacy by the United States for meaningful democracy which protects the rights of minorities, including Copts, would have promoted our security and interests and the security of our ally Israel. Tragically, a great opportunity has been missed. We cannot afford four more years of naive and politically-correct foreign policy under President Obama." I condemn the Egyptian people for voting the way they did. President Obama should stand up for American values and reject Egyptian democracy. How dare they pick the Muslim version of me?

Ironically, it is the Catholic tradition that today proclaims so forcefully the epistemological privilege of the poor. In the many senses in which the gospel speaks of the poor -- materially deprived, disempowered, marginated, overburdened, helpless -- women often have been the poorest of all. Their experiences and perspectives, therefore, have a special claim on our attention. Women's experience will be the hermeneutic of the future. Solomon's wisdom is worth remembering: let those who are most intimately affected by the consequences of a decision make that decision.

http://www.misconductinlatrobe.com/the-prophet/ This was in November 1992, long before a scandal over such abuse would erupt nationally, yet Weakland felt too much attention had been paid to the issue. He declared that sexual abuse by priests had "become almost a preoccupation in our society" and that "priests need to be reassured by the entire Catholic community that they are loved and supported." Only one sentence in the 800-word column acknowledged the victims: "My heart goes out to all victims and I am sincere in saying that the Catholic community wishes to do what is right in helping those so affected to regain full and productive lives." The column hit Isely hard. Brought up as a devout Catholic, Isely seemed destined to join the clergy. Isely had attended St. Lawrence, a seminary prep high school where he was sexually abused. Although he ultimately abandoned his dream of the priesthood, he was still a practicing Catholic who attended Mass weekly. He had tried to put the abuse behind him and consciously avoided stories on the subject. "I turned away when something was reported on television," Isely says. "I wanted to put it all behind me." But after reading Weakland's piece, Isely went immediately to his computer and wrote a response. "In a moment, I knew what I had to do," Isely recalls. "I hoped I could prod Weakland to take the lead in the church" and take on the clergy abuse issue. Journal Editor Sig Gissler received the response from Isely and decided the newspaper would run it the following Sunday, again on Page One. "We checked his credentials," Gissler recalls. "He was a psychotherapist and had a divinity degree from Harvard." And his "open letter to Weakland" was compelling. Isely called on Weakland and the church to not only banish the abusers but confront the culture that allowed the abuse to occur. "Root out the priest sex offender, yes; but also root out, when necessary, any attitude