Here and there . . .

• Shawn McElhinney explains the necessity of defending "the fundamental rights of man" in their entirety:
  One of the three fundamental rights of man that I constantly make reference to is the right to life. With regards to Terri Schiavo, I have made it clear on many occasions that what is needed and needed badly is not just a rally for the preservation of Terri's life. No, what is needed at the same time is a consistent line of argumentation on these issues if we are to triumph in the long run on them. That means that we cannot focus only on the issue of life as if the other fundamental rights are not interconnected with them -- as prolifers have been so often prone to do down through the years. Life is the first of these fundamental rights to be sure; however the others are based directly on it and cannot be separated from it without dire consequences resulting . . . READ MORE

• William Luse has a gift of writing -- he can even turn a trip to the next door neighbor's into an engrossing story!

• Jeremy Lott, a contributor to Crisis magazine and guest-blogger at GetReligion, investigates Deal Hudson and "Crisis management" in a special report (American Spectator Online, Sept. 27, 2004).

• On a related note, Mark Shea criticized The Reporter's Contemptible Hit Piece, describing it "as satanic a violation of the Sacrament of Reconciliation as a predator priest is of the Ssacrament of Holy Orders." Bill Cork disagrees, presenting Catholic teaching on the Sacrament of Reconciliation on his blog "Ut Unum Sint."

• In Word from Rome (Sept. 24, '04), John Allen, Jr. reports that
  Julian Hunte, a pro-choice Catholic politician in the West Indies who was awarded a papal knighthood Sept. 19. Hunte was made a Knight of the Grand Cross Pian Order. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano bestowed the honor in a New York ceremony.

  As the [Catholic Herald] notes, the award is especially interesting in light of the debate currently swirling in the United States over the eligibility of pro-choice Catholic politicians for the Eucharist.

  Read the rest of the story. According to Allen, the Vatican's inclination is to justify the award as a "constructive engagement"; Fr. Linus Clovis calls it a mockery, and is appealing the Pope to overturn the decision.

  More here: "Anti-abortion sisters petition Pope Stop Hunte Award", by Nicole Mc Donal. he St. Lucia Star Sept. 17, 2004.

And for all of you blogging fiends out there . . .

• Rightwing News posts 11 Rules of Basic Blogger Etiquette. (Thanks for the tip, Domenico Bettinelli).