God's Politics Blog » César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net A Blog by Jim Wallis and Friends Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:53:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Sadness and Hope in the Aftermath of Immigration Enforcement http://blog.sojo.net/2010/02/22/sadness-and-hope-in-the-aftermath-of-immigration-enforcement/ http://blog.sojo.net/2010/02/22/sadness-and-hope-in-the-aftermath-of-immigration-enforcement/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:10:58 +0000 César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net/?p=16084 Debates about immigration policies and reform continue to rage. Consequently, op-ed pieces, books, and reports on this contentious topic appear daily. These materials focus mostly on the legal and ethical battles surrounding raids on immigrant work places and homes, as…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2010/02/22/sadness-and-hope-in-the-aftermath-of-immigration-enforcement/feed/ 22 Faith Beyond Belief: Dogma Without Deeds is Dead http://blog.sojo.net/2010/02/05/faith-beyond-belief-dogma-without-deeds-is-dead/ http://blog.sojo.net/2010/02/05/faith-beyond-belief-dogma-without-deeds-is-dead/#comments Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:00:28 +0000 César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net/?p=15706 In a recent interview with Commonweal magazine, renowned Catholic theologian David Tracy argued that theological discourse, with its accompanying jargon and disputes about certain doctrinal assertions, is “not the key to religion.” Essential to religion, according to Tracy, is the…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2010/02/05/faith-beyond-belief-dogma-without-deeds-is-dead/feed/ 34 The Televangelist and the Archbishop: Contrasting Christian Responses to Haiti’s Tragedy http://blog.sojo.net/2010/01/14/the-televangelist-and-the-archbishop-contrasting-christian-responses-to-haitis-tragedy/ http://blog.sojo.net/2010/01/14/the-televangelist-and-the-archbishop-contrasting-christian-responses-to-haitis-tragedy/#comments Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:00:27 +0000 César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net/?p=14866 Upon learning of the ruinous earthquake that leveled most of Haiti, my wife and I felt sadness and horror, as well as concern for the affected, their families, and friends. Having taught in a predominately-Haitian high school in Miami’s Little…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2010/01/14/the-televangelist-and-the-archbishop-contrasting-christian-responses-to-haitis-tragedy/feed/ 11 A More Serious Threat to Catholic Identity than Removing Public Crucifixes http://blog.sojo.net/2009/11/26/a-more-serious-threat-to-catholic-identity-than-removing-public-crucifixes/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/11/26/a-more-serious-threat-to-catholic-identity-than-removing-public-crucifixes/#comments Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:06:15 +0000 César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net/?p=13712 In his article “Benedict’s ongoing battle against secularism,” National Catholic Reporter columnist John Allen claims that European secular attacks on Catholicism led to Pope Benedict XVI’s recent controversial decisions to allow the Society of St. Pius X and conservative Anglicans into the Catholic…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/11/26/a-more-serious-threat-to-catholic-identity-than-removing-public-crucifixes/feed/ 4 The Struggle of Our Environmental Neighbors http://blog.sojo.net/2009/11/10/the-struggle-of-our-environmental-neighbors/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/11/10/the-struggle-of-our-environmental-neighbors/#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:00:45 +0000 César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net/?p=13223 Marvin Gaye once sang, “Oh, mercy mercy me/Oh, things ain’t what they used to be/No, no/Where did all the blue sky go?/Poison is the wind that blows/From the north, east, south, and sea/Oh, mercy mercy me…” This song came to…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/11/10/the-struggle-of-our-environmental-neighbors/feed/ 2 Ending AIDS’ Stigma http://blog.sojo.net/2009/11/03/ending-aids-stigma/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/11/03/ending-aids-stigma/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:00:10 +0000 César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net/?p=13017 President Obama and his administration were busy this past Friday. The president signed into legislation The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act, which according to CNN.com, “authorizes a 5 percent annual increase in federal support over the next four years.…

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For many in the US, Halloween is a time to dress-up as a character from a movie, a politician, a witch, vampire, and… alien looking-like immigrants. According to a CNN report, “The ‘Illegal Alien Adult Costume,’ manufactured by Forum novelties,…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/20/illegal-alien-halloween-costumes-cash-in-on-racist-stereotypes/feed/ 50 Stopping Anti-Immigrant Violence at its Ideological Roots http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/07/stopping-anti-immigrant-violence-at-its-ideological-roots/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/07/stopping-anti-immigrant-violence-at-its-ideological-roots/#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:00:16 +0000 César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net/?p=12234 November 8, 2009 will mark the one-year anniversary of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcello Lucero’s brutal murder at the hands of seven high school teens in the infamously anti-immigrant Suffolk County, New York. Unfortunately, it took the death of one human being…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/10/07/stopping-anti-immigrant-violence-at-its-ideological-roots/feed/ 16 Conservative Catholicism’s Political Enforcers http://blog.sojo.net/2009/09/29/conservative-catholicisms-political-enforcers/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/09/29/conservative-catholicisms-political-enforcers/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:56:24 +0000 César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net/?p=11992 As a struggling Catholic, the uproar and division caused by conservative U.S. Catholic groups (with the blessing and help of conservative bishops), has not helped me on my journey to attempt to follow Jesus’ teachings within the Catholic tradition. The…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/09/29/conservative-catholicisms-political-enforcers/feed/ 43 An Essential Point in the Health-Care Debate http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/19/an-essential-point-in-the-health-care-debate/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/19/an-essential-point-in-the-health-care-debate/#comments Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:30:25 +0000 César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net/?p=11001 As debates rage over the proposed health-care reform (which I strongly support), I believe many politicians, activists, religious leaders, and ideologues are missing an essential point. We need a complete overhaul in the way medical and pharmaceutical professionals perceive biology…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/19/an-essential-point-in-the-health-care-debate/feed/ 16 Taking the Bible Seriously, but not Always Literally http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/22/taking-the-bible-seriously-if-not-always-literally/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/22/taking-the-bible-seriously-if-not-always-literally/#comments Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:59:05 +0000 César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net/?p=10310 Throughout history, individuals and institutions have cited the Bible to support injustices, such as “holy war” against infidels, the subjection of women, racism and slavery, and the abuse of homosexuals. Misreading the Bible can have serious consequences.

Scholars in academic settings…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/22/taking-the-bible-seriously-if-not-always-literally/feed/ 21 Michael Jackson’s Legacy of Social and Environmental Concern http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/13/michael-jacksons-legacy-of-social-and-environmental-concern/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/13/michael-jacksons-legacy-of-social-and-environmental-concern/#comments Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:09:26 +0000 César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net/?p=10008 Though it has been two weeks since Michael Jackson’s death, the world continues to mourn and to monitor news sources for the latest developments. As a fan of Jackson, I too was shocked when he died, but what surprised me…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/13/michael-jacksons-legacy-of-social-and-environmental-concern/feed/ 6 Clean Energy is the ‘Space Race’ of Our Age http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/29/clean-energy-is-the-space-race-of-our-age/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/29/clean-energy-is-the-space-race-of-our-age/#comments Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:30:15 +0000 César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net/?p=9733 Last Tuesday, as a member of Catholics United, I joined countless others in Washington, D.C., to lobby on behalf of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (HR 2454 ). This bill, which now will go before the Senate after…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/29/clean-energy-is-the-space-race-of-our-age/feed/ 10 The Legacy of an Eco-Prophet: Remembering Thomas Berry http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/03/the-legacy-of-an-eco-prophet-remembering-tom-berry/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/03/the-legacy-of-an-eco-prophet-remembering-tom-berry/#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:30:36 +0000 César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net/?p=9104 Today’s most pressing task for humanity, I believe, is to halt the current environmental crisis. Thus, churches worldwide should be working to reduce greenhouse gases, protesting the destruction of rain forests, and becoming a leading voice against the arrogant stance…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/03/the-legacy-of-an-eco-prophet-remembering-tom-berry/feed/ 42 In the Footsteps of Jesus? http://blog.sojo.net/2009/05/28/in-the-footsteps-of-jesus/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/05/28/in-the-footsteps-of-jesus/#comments Thu, 28 May 2009 18:30:45 +0000 César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net/?p=8979 Angels and Demons, the movie inspired by Dan Brown’s novel by the same title, has raked in nearly $190 million worldwide (with approximately $90 million in the U.S.) in only its second week of release. Dan Brown’s books, spurred by…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/05/28/in-the-footsteps-of-jesus/feed/ 4 Priest Scandal Re-opens Celibacy Debate http://blog.sojo.net/2009/05/15/priest-scandal-re-opens-celibacy-debate/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/05/15/priest-scandal-re-opens-celibacy-debate/#comments Fri, 15 May 2009 18:00:36 +0000 César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net/?p=8656 Scandal has again surfaced in the American Catholic Church, but, gratefully, this time it is not over child abuse or mismanagement of funds. Rather, it is over the publication of sensual pictures that show famous Miami Catholic priest Alberto Cutié…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/05/15/priest-scandal-re-opens-celibacy-debate/feed/ 24 The Social Side Effects of Global Warming http://blog.sojo.net/2009/04/22/the-social-side-effects-of-global-warming/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/04/22/the-social-side-effects-of-global-warming/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:15:23 +0000 César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net/?p=8023 We are at a global turning point. Rampant deforestation, mass extinction of species, global warming, the melting of polar ice caps, and the rapid depletion of fossil fuels are all symptoms of today’s ecological crisis. Few, however, tend to see…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/04/22/the-social-side-effects-of-global-warming/feed/ 25 The Power to Dominate and the Power to Love http://blog.sojo.net/2009/04/16/the-power-to-dominate-and-the-power-to-love/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/04/16/the-power-to-dominate-and-the-power-to-love/#comments Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:00:31 +0000 César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net/?p=7885 As Christians, our continual task is to explore and mediate on Jesus’ teachings, as well as to emulate his deeds. Central to this two-fold task is comprehending the type of power Jesus wielded, namely the power to love. It often…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/04/16/the-power-to-dominate-and-the-power-to-love/feed/ 12 Jesus and the Children of Empire http://blog.sojo.net/2009/04/03/jesus-and-the-children-of-empire/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/04/03/jesus-and-the-children-of-empire/#comments Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:00:34 +0000 César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net/?p=7553 Jesus, who was a Palestinian Jew living under Roman occupation, preached a message that was anti-state and religious imperialism. In fact, many believe that the Roman authorities and the elite within the Sanhedrin killed Jesus for espousing this anti-Roman, anti-Sanhedrin…

]]> http://blog.sojo.net/2009/04/03/jesus-and-the-children-of-empire/feed/ 26 The Obama Notre Dame Controversy http://blog.sojo.net/2009/03/26/the-obama-notre-dame-controversy/ http://blog.sojo.net/2009/03/26/the-obama-notre-dame-controversy/#comments Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:30:42 +0000 César Baldelomar http://blog.sojo.net/?p=7336 The University of Notre Dame recently announced that President Barack Obama will be its spring commencement speaker and that he will also be receiving an honorary doctorate of laws degree. For this act, Notre Dame should receive praise. And President…

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