I’ve learned that a second survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school shooting has died by suicide this weekend. This latest one was a minor, so they can’t release a a name or any details yet. Suicide is a notoriously contagious thing, and I pray that there won’t be any further victims. May God grant them eternal memory. David Hogg, one of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas survivors-turned-activists, was on Twitter earlier today, tweeting the number for the National Suicide Prevention… Read more
March 24, 2019
Suicide, Shootings, and the Powerless Generations
March 24, 2019 By Mary Pezzulo
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March 21, 2019
The Worst Thing a Priest Can Say to an Abuse Survivor
March 21, 2019 By Mary Pezzulo
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A friend posted the following commentary today, about the experience of a mutual friend of ours talking to a priest lately: Here’s the scenario: some poor brave soul has gone to the good father for guidance or understanding. He/She has been traumatized by early childhood sexual abuse and consequently struggles with any given one of the host of psychological terrors or mental health battles associated with this, armed with her faith, her therapist, her doctor, her medication, her coping habits… Read more
March 19, 2019
Saint Joseph and the Silent Magnificat
March 19, 2019 By Mary Pezzulo
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Today is the solemnity of Saint Joseph, which means that I have to come up with something to say about Saint Joseph. I’m notoriously at a loss when it comes to popular Latin Catholic saints, honestly. Most of them don’t strike my imagination very much, and all have been praised much more eloquently by better people than me. But you know, I do love Saint Joseph. I love him because he was a nobody like me. Saint Joseph never… Read more
March 16, 2019
Let Me Tell You About Christchurch
March 16, 2019 By Mary Pezzulo
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Let me tell you about some good people who lived in Christchurch, New Zealand. Let me tell you about Daoud Nadi, who was born in Afghanistan but took refuge in New Zealand in the 80s. He was an engineer, a father, a community leader, a supporter of fellow migrants. “Whether you’re from Palestine, Iraq, Syria – he’s been the first person to hold his hand up,” said his son, Omar. Daoud Nadi was apparently the first man who saw a… Read more
March 14, 2019
Catholic Authenticity, Church Militant, And the Smearing of Abused Women
March 14, 2019 By Mary Pezzulo
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Today, I’m feeling less hopeful than ever that the Catholic Church has learned her lesson about believing abuse survivors. My friend Mindy recently had the courage to leave her abusive marriage to a drunk. Her situation was so severe that social services changed the locks on her doors for her. He has twice been charged with making death threats. Mindy blogged about this, because that’s what she does. Since she is a former Catholic and was married in the Catholic… Read more
March 11, 2019
The Scandal of a God Incarnate
March 11, 2019 By Mary Pezzulo
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Yet another content warning for my friends who are sensitive to this sort of thing: I’m going to talk a little about penises one more time. I promise I have a good excuse, and it’s to do with Christianity. There will be many fine art paintings as well. I am still getting feedback on my post from days ago that inexplicably went viral. A lot of people are very thankful that I wrote it, and I’m humbled by the praise… Read more
March 11, 2019
A Gold Day, A Kite Day
March 11, 2019 By Mary Pezzulo
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February is truly gone, and the gray went with it. If the physical and emotional color of february is that drab, ashen, Ohio Valley steel gray, the color of an Ohio Valley March is gold. The sun comes back, filtering yellow ochre through dirty window panes, and shrinks the snow drifts to messy mustard piles of slush on the edges of parking lots. The grass that was hidden underneath that mess is gold like hay. Gold crocuses bloom all… Read more
March 10, 2019
More on Christ the Victim, And the Necessity of Speaking Out
March 10, 2019 By Mary Pezzulo
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I was going to let the trolls take over the combox and retire on the click money. However, I received a comment from someone whom I need to address personally. In public, because she addressed me in public. It comes from a Disqus user named philothea7@msn.com. That name is not the secret email that I can see when I log in as a Disqus moderator; it is this person’s chosen public Disqus name, and that’s why I’m posting it… Read more
March 10, 2019
Aleteia White-Washes Slavery
March 10, 2019 By Mary Pezzulo
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Today, I read an article over on Aleteia that made my jaw drop. As an American, and a descendant of Irish immigrants myself, I am accustomed to hearing Irish immigrants glorified as plucky heroic saints and slavery dismissed. But this article, penned by Larry Peterson, is in a class of its own. It tells the story of the immigrant Michael Morris Healy and how he got six of his mixed-race slaves educated abroad and into seminaries and convents. And it… Read more
March 9, 2019
Blasphemy, Scandal and the Divine Victim
March 9, 2019 By Mary Pezzulo
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Just another warning to my dear readers, I’m going to talk about sexual abuse and Roman crucifixions again. I’m not going to mince words. I’m always surprised about which posts of mine go semi-viral. At least it wasn’t a political post this time. The other day I wrote a meditation on the sufferings of Christ, discussing the likelihood that He was a victim of sexual violence during His passion. I didn’t see anything wrong or controversial about saying this, even… Read more
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