One of the creepier aspects of being a Catholic were the recurrent, often impassioned reflections of adult men on the state of an adolescent girl’s hymen. The girl in question was usually Mary. Going back to very early in the Roman church, you find a continual current of fascination with the question of how, exactly, the virgin mother was able to give birth without losing that precious, intact membrane which confirmed her virginity. Theories varied in their details, and most... Read more
In the 17 years that I was a Roman Catholic, I heard exactly one sermon one domestic violence. I’d attended probably nearly a thousand Masses, and yet this was the first time I heard a priest speak directly about the suffering in my home. About a month later, I finally called the police on my ex. That one sermon made all the difference in the world. About one in three women, and one in four men, experience some form of... Read more
When it comes right down to, our attempts to reach out across the cosmic divide and touch the face of the Divine are always fraught with one very distinct danger: that when we reach that horizon beyond which our minds cannot pierce, we will see a mirage hovering in the distance. To souls thirsty for mystical contact, these mirages are easily mistaken for God. Most often, though, they are simply representations of aspects of our own psyches. Like the “demons”... Read more
Over the next little while, I want to talk about the spiritual life and in particular the ways in which our approach to God is shaped by psychological processes – by the process of creating gods in our own image and then wrestling with those gods, learning their weaknesses and inadequacies and, in the process, coming to greater knowledge of ourselves. I think our quest for God is, at bottom, motivated by a strong feeling or intuition that there is... Read more
Yesterday, Libby Anne posted pretty much the exact blog post that has been forming in my head over the past few days as I watch the spectacle of pro-lifers and conservative media railing against the injustice of having to make genuine personal and economic sacrifices in order to preserve human life. Every Possible Sacrifice For years, as a pro-lifer, I was taught that it was selfish, utilitarian, relativist, baby-hating, death-worshiping, evil to ever decide that the cost of a human... Read more
Since the revelations about Jean Vanier came to light, I have been mulling over the problem of heroes and saints. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the scandal, Vanier was the founder of L’Arche, a Catholic ministry to people with intellectual disabilities. He authored a number of spiritual books and was not only beloved within the Church but had also been honoured as a Campanion of the Order of Canada in recognition of his contributions to society. Just... Read more
So there’s this communist dictatorship. The head of state is elected for life — but not by popular vote. Instead, there are officially designated Electors, all of them Party men, who are selected to represent the people and select the leader. Who selects the Electors? The head of state. All Electors are invariably selected from a particular caste. Generally, they are selected for their loyalty to the Party. Almost all of the leaders are chosen from one of the central... Read more
Several months ago, I contacted my editor at Patheos Catholic. “I’m not really Catholic anymore,” I said. “Or, at least I’m not practicing. I guess I kind of consider myself a Catholic-in-exile. I’m wondering if I should move to a different channel.” The Not-So-Quiet Revolution At the time, we decided that I should stay and provide a voice for all of the Catholics who were becoming increasingly frustrated with the institutional Church’s response to the unfolding sex abuse crisis. After... Read more
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