Why do conservative Catholics feel as though they -- and Catholic politicians -- must adhere closely to the pope's positions on abortion and homosexuality, but feel free to ignore him when he opposes, say, the war in Iraq?

In today's podcast, Joel and I discuss how Muslims now outnumber Catholics and what that might portend for any dialogue between the faiths.

David Warren, Canada's sobering yin to Mark Steyn's raging yang, has a must-read piece on what amounts to the closing of the Western mind. Truth is, it's been closing for a good, long while.

From the BBC:

Lecturers and students at a prestigious university in Rome want a planned visit by the Pope to be cancelled as they object to his position on Galileo.

Pope Benedict was in charge of Roman Catholic doctrine in 1990 when, as Cardinal Ratzinger, he commented on the 17th-Century Galileo trial. He has been quoted as saying the trial was "reasonable and just".