John Allen, senior correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, has an illuminating post over at the Daily Beast about the quandary facing the Roman Catholic church over sainthood for Pope John Paul II. There is much to admire about this man and an equal amount to detest, most notably how he dealt with the church sex scandals. Will the process slow down after his beatification on Sunday? Who knows.

It is very sad to see the Graham “brand” so pathetic and so tattered. Sad. Very sad. From Christianity Today:

Samaritan’s Purse president Franklin Graham addressed questions about President Obama’s birthplace and religious beliefs on ABC’s This Week that aired on Sunday. White House spokesman Jay Carney chided Graham for his comments after Graham told host Christiane Amanpour that there were still unanswered questions.

“I would just say I think it’s unfortunate that a religious leader would choose Easter Sunday to make preposterous charges,” Carney said at the end of yesterday’s press briefing.

Graham, who told Christianity Today that his ABC interview was taped a week before Easter, stood by his comments. “I respond[ed] to a question. I’m not going out making speeches about where the President was born. I could care less,” he said. “I’ll continue to answer reporters’ questions.”

I used the word “irrational”. But maybe it makes “perfect sense” given Graham’s other post-9/11 comments. Still, I am left wondering where the sane Christians are. And, no, Hitch, I don’t believe “sane Christian” is an oxymoron.