FPL Daily News Reel: July 27, 2012
The FPL News Reel is a daily round-up of the top faith and politics stories in the news. You can sign up for the email version of the News Reel here, subscribe to the RSS feed here, and follow it on twitter at @FPLNewsreel.
Michele Bachmann’s Muslim Brotherhood Claims Condemned By Catholic Bishops, 41 Other Groups 
By Amanda Terkel — Huffington Post
Forty-two religious and secular organizations united on Thursday in condemning conservative lawmakers’ allegations that Muslim-American individuals connected to the U.S. government may be trying to spread the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood.
We are victims of out-of-control gun culture
By National Catholic Reporter, Editorial
To allow another gun massacre to go by with nothing more than hand-wringing and empty words is not being considerate of victims. It is rather buying into a culture-wide denial and giving assent to the insanity.
Candidates Cower on Gun Control
By New York Times, Editorial
At a moment when the country needs resolve and fearlessness to reduce the affliction of gun violence that kills more than 80 people a day, both presidential candidates have kicked away the opportunity for leadership. On Wednesday, reacting to the mass murder in Colorado last week, Mitt Romney and President Obama paid lip service to the problem but ducked when the chance arose to stand up for their former principles.
Hospitals Worry Over Cut in Fund for Uninsured
By Nina Bernstein — New York Times
President Obama’s health care law is putting new strains on some of the nation’s most hard-pressed hospitals, by cutting aid they use to pay for emergency care for illegal immigrants, which they have long been required to provide.
Boehner Cedes Spending, Birth Control Battles — For Now
By Sahil Kapur — Talking Points Memo
Asked whether the House will act to roll back the administration’s birth control rule…Boehner effectively took GOP-introduced legislation to that effect off the table. The battle damaged Republicans politically in the spring.
No ‘middle ground’ possible with LCWR on key issues, Bishop Blair says
By Catholic News Service
“If by dialogue [LCWR members] mean that the doctrines of the church are negotiable and the bishops represent one position and the LCWR presents another position, and somehow we find a middle ground about basic church teaching on faith and morals, then no,” [Blair] said. “I don’t think that is the kind of dialogue that the Holy See would envision.”
Birmingham pastors present petitions to Alabama Public Television objecting to history series
By Bob Carlton — Birmingham News
A handful of religious leaders from Birmingham and a representative of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery today delivered a cardboard box containing about 114,000 signatures on two petitions urging APT not to air a controversial history series by evangelical Christian activist David Barton.
Many Americans don’t know religion of either presidential candidate
By Dan Gilgoff — CNN, Belief Blog
Americans have limited knowledge of the presidential candidates’ religious faith, but their concerns about the candidates’ respective religious beliefs are unlikely to play a major role in the 2012 race…
Romney May See an Evangelical ‘Enthusiasm Gap’
By Daniel Burke — Religion News Service
Among the nearly 23 percent of evangelicals who are uncomfortable with Romney’s Mormonism, just 16 percent back him strongly.
Social justice: What’s tarnishing its good name?
By Kristen Hannum — U.S. Catholic
Criticism of social justice is nothing new…What may be new, however, is how transparently politics now seems to influence the faith of some Catholics when it comes to debating social justice.
