Religion News Roundup 5/25/2010

Hello readers! Here's what you may have missed in recent religion news:

• Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged the need for reform within the Catholic Church, and a great deal of self-examination. The Dallas Morning News put out an interesting series of blurbs by local faith leaders regarding Benedict's reflection.
• A friend of mine (and former colleague) is working to get African-American non-religious "out of the closet."
• It's been a rough week or so for the Saudi "morality police," or Mutaween.
• Get Religion does its usual excellent job predicting the religious and political fallout of a repealed "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy.
• American Catholic women are just about as likely as any American woman to terminate a pregnancy via abortion. Why? Because they're otherwise just like other Americans. (CNNvia Pew)
• Here's some interesting reading from Sojourners about (the biblical) Ruth...as an illegal immigrant. There are some very good points made about choosing compassion over law.
• In a seeming coincidence of the last two points I posted above, a nun (and others, presumably) have been excommunicated for performing an abortion to save a woman's life. (Politics Daily)

Quote of the Day

Van Jones, via a radio/web producer friend:

When it gets harder to love, love HARDER.

Consume Carefully: Jeans, Part II

I'll bet you think I forgot to hunt for a new pair of jeans. Well, I've been taking time to do some research, and have been admittedly pretty busy. But first, my official response from the earlier note I sent Levi's about their jeans and sourcing:

Hi A.C.,

Lilia here from Levi's(R). Thanks for checking in with us.

Levi Strauss & Co. is an international company with offices and production facilities all over the world, including the USA. In order to remain competitive and ensure that consumers receive the best value, we do manufacture many of our products offshore. All of our manufacturing facilities worldwide comply with high quality production standards and sourcing guidelines.

For more information on our global sourcing guidelines, please check out our Social Responsibility and Sourcing Guidelines at our corporate website at www.LeviStrauss.com.

Thanks again,

Lilia
Levi Strauss & Co.
Consumer Relations

My hunch is that this is probably some kind of doublespeak. It's only natural that Levi's would want to make themselves look responsible by directing me to their guidelines--something the average consumer is unlikely to take the time to read. I'm quite suspicious of policies that are non-governmentally enforced, and Harper's Magazine gave me some good reason to back up that suspicion. Please read Ken Silverstein's excellent investigative piece.

I also got a friendly reminder from careful consumption sage Reverend Billy, who was quick to point out that by not shopping for used clothes, I'm entering an economy that's by nature less sustainable, responsible, humane, and possibly a rip-off in the long run. To be continued...

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