I just published a post which made it clear that I am not going to allow the bishops to vote me in the upcoming elections. I also said that we have the votes to overturn Roe on the Supreme Court. While it is true that we do have the votes, it is also true that the Court has sent mixed signals about abortion since Kavanaugh was confirmed. I’ve been queasy about some of the more outlandish “pro life” bills that... Read more
There’s more to being a legislator than casting votes. Most of the things you do require conversations with other legislators. It can be difficult to catch other legislators to talk to them because everyone is pin-balling between meetings, events and what-not. The best time to have a convo is often while you’re on the House floor together, debating and voting on bills. That requires getting up from your desk and walking around the floor. It also means that you... Read more
This video is from a while back, but I think it’s worth watching and thinking about again. The Holy Father’s compassion for the little boy who was crying and grieving for his recently deceased father is touching to see. The question child asks the Pope is one that a lot of us have grappled with. Do the people we love who have rejected Christ in this life have any hope of salvation in the next life? I know that the... Read more
And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. Jesus Christ. Bless their hearts. The border patrol agents who have been tasked with separating children from their families are doing things that neither time nor political Yakkity-yak will erase from their hearts and minds. They are inflicting deep wounds on their own souls by obeying the... Read more
Victims of sexual assault of any sort, but victims of incest when they were children in particular, are more often disbelieved than not. I’ve heard stories from adult children of respected members of my church whose parent “disbelieved” them when they tried to get help from being repeatedly sexually assaulted by a father, brother or uncle. I have friends who experienced the same thing. I don’t think this “disbelief” is actually disbelief. I think it’s self protection. It’s easier to... Read more
Pope Francis began the New Year with that rarest of all things: A sermon condemning violence against women. I’ve been sitting in pews for many years now. In all that time, I’ve only heard one sermon saying that rape is a sin, and I caused that one. We live in a society in which so-called “christian” religious leaders vie to outdo each other in their praise and fealty to a political demagogue who talks about women like they’re dirt and... Read more
She’s black. She’s American. I honestly saw her marriage to Prince Harry as a big win-win for Britain. Not only would she have pumped up their tourist trade, but she was a natural to help them build their economy going forward from Brexit. The UK is losing trading partners with Brexit. But they have a natural place to go to build the kind of powerful trading alliances that harken back to the British Empire. That place is the British... Read more
Sometimes people get caught up in things without realizing the impact they will have. It appears that Pope Emeritus Benedict experienced just that after he was listed as a co-author of a book by Robert Cardinal Sarah discussing priestly celibacy. Lots of people, including me, saw this move as an attempt to undercut the Holy Father, Pope Francis’ authority in this matter. From what I’ve seen in comboxes, Catholics were already choosing up sides about it, and some of the... Read more
I’m disappointed in Pope Emeritus Benedict. He resigned the papacy and toddled off into his retirement. Now another man has the job. This man, Pope Francis, has been under heavy criticism, much of it financed by big oil and right wing money interests because they see his teachings as a threat to their bottom line. Pope Francis was barely elected before the attacks from the right began. Rush Limbaugh made the absurd claim that the Pope was a “communist.” Others... Read more
Cardinal Sarah has written a book that attempts to instruct Pope Francis on the question of allowing priests to marry. For reasons I don’t fully understand, Pope Emeritus Benedict has jumped into the fray by backing this book. I expect there will be a lot of comment about all this as the days go forward. From Vatican News: A book on the priesthood that bears the signatures of Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, with a... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In