FROM A VERY NAUGHTY READER

What shall I wear to the ball?

The times they are a-changin'.

IT IS A SIN

A leading Catholic cardinal at the Vatican has essentially said that complying the with Obama birth control mandate would have Catholics and Catholic organizations participating in sin.

The mandate compels religious employers to pay for birth control and drugs that may cause abortions in health coverage for their employees and a revised mandate will compel them to refer employees for free coverage from their health insurance plans, which will eventually have the payment mandate.

In an upcoming episode of Catholic Action Insight hosted by Thomas McKenna to air on EWTN on Wednesday, Cardinal Raymond Burke speaks out for the first time on the controversial mandate.

I can't wait for the EWTN episode.

Speaking of sin, the clashing colors of His Eminence's vestments against the clashing green of the throne are surely an ecclesiastical fashion sin.  Help!

Further, His Eminence believes that the Roman Catholic Church is well on its way to being a persecuted church.

Yes, I think we’re well on the way to it," he said, pointing to areas of social outreach - such as adoption and foster care - where the Church has had to withdraw rather than compromise its principles.

This trend could reach a point where the Church, "even by announcing her own teaching," is accused of "engaging in illegal activity, for instance, in its teaching on human sexuality."

What about the red vestments?

H/T to Charles Pierce at The Politics Blog for the links to the latest on the 'Clan of the Red Beanie'.

UPDATE: Ann V sent me the link to a post by Armando at Daily Kos titled, 'Is Walgreens committing a sin by selling condoms?'  According to the words of His Eminence, I can't see how not.  Strip the shelves!

UPDATE 2: I asked my expert consultant on ecclesiastical vestments if the objects on either side of the Cardinal Raymond Burke's hat were pom-poms, and he replied that they were "the tassels that hang down the side of a cardinal's hat, apparently sutured into place on top of the hat". There you have it.  The cardinal's hat may be a galero.

Thanks to Lapin for the picture.