http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/christine_flowers RSS Feed for DN Col Christine Flowers en-us Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:58:42 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/christine_flowers/20120217_Christine_M__Flowers__CATHOLICS__E_UNUM__PLURIBUS.html FOR ONE, brief shining moment, we Catholics found common ground. It was as solid as the thinnest layer of spring ice, but it was still real. And then, with one carefully-crafted "compromise," President Obama sent us flying back to our separate corners to glare at our enemy siblings. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/christine_flowers/20120210_Christine_M__Flowers__OBAMA_S_MACABRE_DANCE_AROUND_CATHOLIC_BELIEF.html I'M NOT a perfect Catholic. When Mrs. Paul had a monopoly on meatless Fridays, I sometimes managed to get my hands on a burger. Once, at confession, I lied about a sin, which must amount to purgatorial perjury. I've missed Mass, sassed the sisters behind http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/christine_flowers/20120203_Christine_M__Flowers__Legalize_same-sex_marriages_in_New_Jersey__not_unless__we_the_people__say_so.html THREE of the most beautiful words in the English language are "We the people." New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie knows that. Last week, he promised to veto any bill legalizing gay marriage. Responding to the somewhat hysterical criticism that he usually gets, like a Democratic assemblyman's comment comparing the governor to his segrega http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/christine_flowers/20120203_Christine_M__Flowers_.html philly.com/flowers http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/christine_flowers/20120202_Christine_M__Flowers__A_MAN_OF_GRAVITAS___GRANDEUR__No_saint__but_deserves_our_prayer.html A FEW YEARS AGO, I went to a conference at the Union League where one of my heroes, Antonin Scalia, was going to be present. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/christine_flowers/20120127_Christine_M__Flowers__Paterno_doesn_t_belong_to_the_media.html WITH ALL due respect to the writers in the sports departments of every newspaper in Pennsylvania, including this one, Joe Paterno is not their story. They borrowed him for a few decades, making his gridiron triumphs a metaphor for their own particular int http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/christine_flowers/20120120_Christine_M__Flowers__A_Supreme_free-exercise_triumph.html LET'S SAY you teach religion at one of the schools on the archdiocesan chopping block. Let's say you're so depressed about the mass closures that you slam your hand through a wall, right beneath the crucifix. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/christine_flowers/20120120_Christine_M__Flowers_.html philly.com/flowers http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/christine_flowers/20120113_Christine_M__Flowers__Catholic_School_closings__Farewell_to_a_way_of_life.html I SPENT 17 years of my life in classrooms with crucifixes on the wall, and another three teaching in them. No surprise, then, that I have some strong opinions about the closings announced last week by the Archdiocese. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/christine_flowers/20120106_Christine_M__Flowers__Hating_Santorum__and_why_it_s_wrong.html TELL ME, which Rick Santorum do you hate? The one who compared sodomy to bestiality, thereby insulting the type of people who engage in either - or both? (Not to mention the folks at PETA.)