but maybe especially interesting for parents seeking to raise their kids as disciples. Missionaries’ children aren’t the only ones facing some of these pressures. Just some really powerful words here about faith and its challenges: You may wonder why I ran this survey. I am an adult MK and, like so many others, “wouldn’t give it up for the world.” In my full-time work, I teach and mentor MKs of all ages and, perhaps most importantly, advocate for them... Read more
What I’ve been watching. The Gallows. Out now. To call it “bog standard” would be an insult to God’s honest bog. This is a haunted-school/revenge-of-the-past flick. Lead actor is handsome and appears able to act. The sets for the school play are terrific, very spooky and effective. Otherwise this feels padded at an hour and a half. Tons of yipping exposition and repetitive arguments from shrill teens; the girls are damsels in distress. Found-footage, which at this point, if you’re... Read more
although really, every Catholic priest is a circus, yes? Before I left the center ring of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus’s Blue Unit traveling troupe, Father Frank Cancro handed me a postcard. On the front was Mary, her arms outstretched, with a multicolored shawl draping down from her hands like a circus tent. A lion, a tiger and a dancing dog were at her feet, with a clown, an acrobat, a juggler and others contained within the safety of her tent. They... Read more
Sts Processus and Martinian, patrons of prison guards (and jailers of Sts Peter and Paul), pray for him–and for all those involved in this story: …The brutal encounter, focal point of a civil lawsuit settled by the DOC last month, was eerily similar to another cell extraction at Charlotte in 2014, except that it ended in the death of an inmate, Matthew Walker. Last week, a Charlotte County grand jury said there wasn’t enough evidence to bring criminal charges against... Read more
is up: …Of course, respect does not mean agreement. Eve and I still disagree on several things. Eve believes the church needs to do more to recognize non-romantic forms of love, and I agree with that. It’s important for all of us, and especially for those who are celibate—by choice or by circumstance. But I don’t think that’s a sufficient answer to the challenges gay Christians face. As I argued in my original article, I believe romantic love is also... Read more
do a mitzvah, man… I’m a big fan of the blog A Queer Calling, and I’m lucky enough to know Lindsey and Sarah in real life. They write thoughtfully and generously about their experience offering learning how to live their vocation of love in a partnership, and they’ve placed hospitality/offering love to others at the center of their relationship. … Right now, Lindsey and Sarah are having a rough time — Sarah has Menière’s disease, which affects balance and hearing.... Read more
personal essay: I cannot sleep. There is a device on my leg. It requires that I wake up an hour early so I can plug it into a charger and stand next to the outlet, like a cell phone charging up for the day. Not the day, actually, but 12 hours. After that, the device runs out of juice. Wherever I am, I have to find an outlet to plug myself into. If I don’t, I’m likely to be thrown... Read more
here you go: I’ve greatly appreciated Justin’s contributions to this dialogue. I don’t expect this to be “the final word”—and I’m sorry these posts have been so long!—but let me try to give a bit more of a sense of where I’m coming from. Here are five things. What we long for. I generally write about the paths of love that are open to gay or same-sex attracted Catholics. That’s because they are so much more varied and more fruitful... Read more
and being gay and Christian: …Julie and I both know that Christian churches and communities are often toxic places for LGBT people. Drawing only from my own small circle of gay friends, I could share stories of jobs denied, friendships lost, promotions refused and hospitality qualified — all because of what Julie describes, rightly, as “straight up homophobia.” And yet I’m not sure that such tragedies are the result of the traditional Christian teaching on marriage and sex in and... Read more
(if by “in plain sight” you mean, in jail) The first of the convoys left Albuquerque in August 2013. A cruiser would take the lead, followed by a few buses and vans and another cruiser at the rear. For more than a year, they ferried inmates between an overcrowded jail on the city’s outskirts and another facility with empty cells, more than 800 miles away. The jail in Albuquerque, like many others around the country, didn’t have enough room. Authorities were spending $35,000 per... Read more
Eve Tushnet
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