Congrats to Baltimore’s newest cardinal!

Pope Benedict XVI presents the pallium to Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien in 2008 in Rome. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano)

Pope Benedict XVI announced today that Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and pro-grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, will become a cardinal!  Cardinal-designate O’Brien will be elevated at a consistory to be held at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on February 18.

Check out The Catholic Review story here.

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The Catholic Case Against Rick Santorum?

John Gehring, a former writer for The Catholic Review, has a provocative piece on The Huffington Post: “The Catholic Case Against Rick Santorum.”

Rick Santorum

It’s easy to see why Santorum might appeal to some culturally conservative Catholics and moderate evangelicals who are wary of Democrats but also turned off by the Republican Party’s cozy embrace of economic libertarianism and tireless defense of struggling millionaires. Santorum is more comfortable with communitarian language, has been a strong supporter of foreign aid to impoverished countries and connects with personal stories of his blue-collar upbringing.

But it’s a political delusion to think Rick Santorum is a standard-bearer of authentic Catholic values in politics. In fact, on several issues central to Catholic social teaching — torture, war, immigration, climate change, the widening gap between rich and poor and workers’ rights – Santorum is radically out of step with his faith’s teachings as articulated by Catholic bishops and several popes over the centuries.

Read the rest here.  What do you think?