Author: Regina Bannan

Looming over my August has been the letter Pope Francis wrote to priests on August 4. Apparently this is what he did on vacation. As the organization having its unique purpose to ordain women priests, WOC should know what the Pope is thinking about this role. Not that he’s thinking about women in it –…
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Marie Collins of Ireland will be the speaker for the third Tipping Point tour sponsored by Catholic Organizations for Renewal. Collins was a member of the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and resigned because – well, this is the quote used to publicize the tour: “Survivors will not be satisfied with more…
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After time off devoted to literature, family and friends, place – Maine, new furniture – how can I not mourn the passing of Toni Morrison? She wrote about everything. The Catholic press is debating whether she was a Catholic writer. Thursday, Carol Zimmerman, for Catholic News Service in NCR, summarizes: for those who have sought…
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Since I’m writing this blog early this week, I am hoping that there are no news flashes that I wish I had covered. Instead, I am going back to two articles I have saved on women deacons. They came to mind because of articles in NCR about a talk by Ally Kateusz that looked for…
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Would you believe that Nine to Five is almost forty years old? NPR’s Morning Edition on Thursday featured the song as one of its American Anthems. It’s fun to wake up to, and interesting to hear the examination of the lyrics by Lynn Neary, Karen Nussbaum, Rebecca Traister, and Merrill Garbus. It’s not as simple…
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Hum this to “America the Beautiful.” It’s my favorite line from Miriam Therese Winter’s version of this classic: “Indigenous and immigrant, our daughters and our sons, O may we never rest content till all are truly one.” I am inspired to write about “indigenous” by the July page in the calendar of the National Museum…
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Just thinking – what would happen if leadership Catholics, 10 at a time, were able to be on a national stage and asked hard questions that revealed what they are passionate about? How do we get our information about church issues that matter to us? The written word. NCR, America, Commonweal – all have podcasts,…
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When Frank DeBernardo of New Ways Ministry and I first discussed expanding this blog to be more regular, we joked that not much is happening about women’s ordination – not like the many bishops leaping into the fray to condemn, fire, and otherwise attack LGBTQ people. Well, the latter has not abated and Bondings 2.0…
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“Sexism masquerading as theology” is what I’ve always said about the church’s position on women’s ordination, and I see no reason to modify my position based on the new document from the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education, which presents itself as a “Path of Dialogue.” “Male and Female He Created Them” is a really useful…
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The New York Times last Sunday featured “The Sisters Project” about the “Nuns and Nones,” previously reported on by the NCR. , I mention the latter only to give us some insight into what is considered news by the broader journalistic community. This project is so hopeful: young, self-identified non-religious people live in convents where…
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