Month: May 2018

A Catholic Church in our area recently had its bulletin’s cover redesigned to proclaim, in huge letters no less, “ALL ARE WELCOME!” Huh? Really? Welcome maybe to “see the Light” or “the Truth” or to covert. But, I suspect, not to receive all the sacraments, i.e. Holy Eucharist – and for all women, of course,…
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In addition to Ellie Harty’s post in The Table about our Philadelphia demonstrations, most of the articles I am reading this week raise the question: how do things change in our church? Much of this discussion focuses on Juan Carlos Cruz’s report of his meetings with Pope Francis. The crucial quote is: “Look, Juan Carlos,…
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The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.                                                  ~ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Initially I had a problem with the women’s ordination movement. Perhaps you did, too. As a child and even as a teen and young adult participating in a Catholic Mass, I never felt “less than” nor marginalized nor…
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Do you know that Google knows when your birthday is and sends you a cute little graphic of candles? At least they didn’t use a volcano. This is the date Mt. St. Helens erupted in 1980, and Kilauea is still going strong. Still, it’s disconcerting that they know that about you. But not as disconcerting…
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We are there every year and will be again this Saturday, May 19 at 9:30 a.m. Twelve or more of us. Definitely a minyan.  Apostles in so many ways. Saying our Mass. Led by an ordained woman priest. Outside the Cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul while an “officially ordained” ordination takes place inside. One…
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The “Optics” are over the top this week at Monday’s Met Gala. The bright reds in last week’s blog pale in comparison with the fashion statements in New York. But what are they saying? Four young Catholic writers have weighed in the Gala, which is an invitation-only event hosted by Anna Wintour of Vogue to…
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When I was in my “Protestant phase” as I call it, I attended an experimental progressive branch of a very conservative denomination, allowed only because it was supposed to bring in those, especially young, people disaffected by the traditional church and probably because it was, after all, the Sixties when many such fresh breaths were…
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“Optics” seems to be used more and more to describe “how things look,” which is what I guess from the context. Like any jargon, it’s annoying. So I’ll focus on it and find things I like the look of. What about those teachers? I am amazed by statewide teacher actions. Here in Pennsylvania, teachers in wealthy…
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Doesn’t this say it all? In a recent Letter to the Editor in the New York Times, a reader, commenting on a Ross Douthat take on Pope Francis as a way too progressive and, therefore, dangerous leader, included this anecdote: He and some of his fellow students at an all-male Catholic high school had noted…
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