Joanne writes on the pope-ordered penance that accompanied the opening of the International Eucharistic Congress in Ireland: . . . at the request of the Holy Father—the papal legate Cardinal Mark Ouellet spent last night in St Patrick’s Purgatory, fasting and keeping barefoot vigil in prayer for reconciliation and healing of the grievous wounds dealt by Ireland’s clergy abuse scandals. […] Of course, this gesture will be read by many (if not most) as one more cynical photo opp, one... Read more
Pat McNamara, our favorite historian and professor has a terrific column up this week, studying Daniel A. Rudd, a former slave who became an entrepreneur and a journalist and eventually published the first “black” Catholic newspaper: Born in Bardstown, Kentucky, Daniel Arthur Rudd was baptized in St. Joseph’s Church, where the Rudds worshiped together with their owners. For three generation, his relatives had been church sextons (caretakers for the facilities). From childhood, Daniel recalled never experiencing segregation in church: “We... Read more
The sisters are all Joan of Arc and the Bishops are all Don Giovanni! Allow me to clear my tabbar of these numerous links touching on the Sr. Margaret Farley story, the LCWR leadership meeting with Rome story and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad menfolk — offering “the contorted thinking of celibate men” — who just don’t appreciate the linear and perfect thinking of the celibate women. I guess female celibacy is superior to male celibacy and therefore... Read more
Sometimes a piece is so authentic that its truth overpowers you. Like this one, written by the mother of a severely autistic child: But as this year wound down, I added a seemingly tricky expectation/goal to my list for Lil D – that he should walk across the stage for his fifth grade graduation. It morphed from something I would speak of with a longing in my voice to something I discussed with more and more determination in the multitude... Read more
My piece at First Things, today: With something like horror I realized that I—the news junkie whose earliest memories involve sitting on the floor, transfixed as Nancy Dickerson read the afternoon headlines and the iconic black and white images burned themselves into my imagination; the girl who had devoured political and religious stories and had made a happy career out of the chomping; the woman whose greatest joy after family was the perpetual wellspring of the internet where one could... Read more
Photo: George W. Bush Institute Dallas Morning News: Bringing Africa Back to Life: LUSAKA, Zambia — On a beautiful Saturday morning, Delfi Nyankombe stood among her bracelets and necklaces at a churchyard bazaar and pondered a question: What do you think of George W. Bush? “George Bush is a great man,” she answered. “He tried to help poor countries like Zambia when we were really hurting from AIDS. He empowered us, especially women, when the number of people dying was... Read more
Over at the Patheos Movie Club (you didn’t know we had one of those?) and also on the Catholic Landing Page, we have, along with many other interesting pieces, this fascinating article that about 75 Carmelite Sisters who saw For Greater Glory and a piece of their own history: We have read about the Cristeros, researched the elements of the persecution in Mexico, and a few times we’ve given talks on the beginnings of our community. Some of our first... Read more
He’s a hero of mine. I like seeing him remixed and updated. Read more
Many Catholics have long regarded Pope Paul VI’s little-read-but-much-despised encyclical letter Humanae Vitae as prophetic. Even some who, perhaps, had not previously thought so are admitting that “Humanae Vitae in its entirety reads better, and more presciently, every year.” A few months ago, while I was in the middle of a rant, I wrote as an aside: I have come to believe that Humanae Vitae is going to eventually be seen as a powerfully unifying document between Evangelicals and Catholics,... Read more
Imagine you’re pregnant, unchurched and addicted, and you want to step out of the darkness and into the light. What sort of hand will you trust to lead you out? My first child was conceived out of wedlock. I was, at the time, not only unmarried but also a crystal meth addict. I was not Catholic but some strange combination of agnostic/lapsed Protestant; my boyfriend and the father of my child was a Catholic. Obviously neither he nor I were... Read more
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