In my reading this past week I was struck by a passage that seemed to sum up the state of the Catholic Church in the United States today. It's describing a completely different time and place, but if we switch out a few words (noted by italics), we get: Indeed, the effects of doctrinal and liturgical conflict were even more far-reaching than changing religious attitudes and parish membership patterns suggest. A decade of "enforting themselves," of hearing the horror stories of refugees and the … [Read more...]
Around These Parts, Every Week is NFP Awareness Week
August 1, 2015 by
So I spent NFP Awareness Week cleaning my house. Not just ordinary cleaning, but epic, Biblically-proportioned it's as if we're trying to get our life in order cleaning. Not done yet, but one can only make so many decluttering decisions before it's necessary to run away and ride roller coasters all day, which I also did. There are scripture verses about this.But fear not, we do NFP all year around here. Technically the bishops do, too, but probably they try not to think about it more than … [Read more...]
Where Are You Going, Catholic Church?
July 16, 2015 by
Patheos is hosting a symposium on "The Future of Faith in America" and you can read the Catholic highlights at Elizabeth Scalia's place. I don't do predictions, but I do like strategy, so let's talk about that. We Have Everything Going For Us If we want it, the Catholic faith could be on the verge of a renewal to knock the socks off all the other renewals. In our favor:Being Catholic today is weird and countercultural. It's not something you do out of habit or convention. Young Cat … [Read more...]
The South is Backward and Horrible and Don’t You Forget That
July 15, 2015 by
Max Lindenman has been on a roll with his essays lately, and his piece on people determined to fix the South is insightful as always. I especially like the bit about how the South is dragging the rest of the country down, and the US would be some Euro-Canadian paradise if it weren't for those backwards folk wrecking our numbers. You'd almost think someone's arguing for secession after all.I'm not going to contest these claims. Let me assure you, the South is just awful. It's terrible. We … [Read more...]
The Innocent Grown-Ups Abandoned by Obergefell
July 14, 2015 by
Shortly after the Supreme Court decision imposing same-sex marriage laws, I read this reaction from Lindsey at A Queer Calling: If you were to ask me to name my top fear, I would tell you that I am most afraid of Sarah losing health care access. Currently, Sarah’s health care access rests entirely on my employer extending coverage to domestic partners. We first opened the conversation about protecting ourselves legally over 20 months ago. We’ve been encouraged to grant one another durable power … [Read more...]
Good Cause: Support Local Catholic Radio – Updated
July 14, 2015 by
UPDATE: Here's the link to the Quick Give form (hosted by OSV), where you can designate your gift to be used for Catholic Radio. From in the inbox, a request for help from St. Peter's Catholic Church in Columbia, SC, to fund a local radio station ASAP. This was a bit of a surprise, and is a use-it-or-lose-it situation. Details in the pastor's letter:At the end of the three Sunday Masses I celebrated last weekend, I announced that Saint Peter’s School has received a Low Power FM … [Read more...]
Follow Sticking the Corners!