archives

Over a six-day stretch from last Wednesday through this Tuesday, I gave five presentations in four cities. The series kicked off last week when I served as the closing act at the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering in Washington, D.C. (I was publicly blessed at the end by Msgr. Ray East of St. Teresa of Avila Parish -- and when you're blessed by the dynamic Msgr. East, let me tell you, you feel it.)

A recent editorial in NCR asks that we begin to examine the "Catholic exodus" reported in the recent Pew survey.

True to form, the editors of NCR put forth their own explanations: "the sex abuse crisis, particularly the cover-up by bishops; rules prohibiting birth control; rules forbidding Communion to divorced and remarried Catholics; lack of accountability on financial matters; the second-class status of women in the church; rejection of gays and lesbians."

At the beginning of our second lesson today, St. Paul exhorts us: "You were once darkness, but now you are light in Jesus, and so behave as children of light and the fruits of light. Your fruits will be kindness, justice, peace and truth in every form." At the end of the passage, Paul says, "Awake, you who sleep. Arise from the dead, that the light of Christ may shine on you." Of course, then through you on our world to transform it.

Bringing to your attention the recent actions of 100 clergy in Australia from all denominations who marched or were represented in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade to offer their apology for the lack of hospitality and welcome offered by the churches to members of the gay,lesbian,bisexual, transgender community. The Statement of apology read as follows:
As ministers of various churches and denominations we recognise that the churches we belong to, and the church in general, have not been places of welcome for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people. Indeed the church has often been profoundly unloving toward the GLBT community. For these things we apologise, whatever the distinctive of our Christian position on human sexuality – to which we remain committed. We are deeply sorry and ask for the forgiveness of the GLBT community. We long that the church would be a place of welcome for all people and commit ourselves to pursuing this goal.

The American fossil-fuel-based, automobile-centered, war, poverty, throwaway economy can not endure much longer. Lester Brown in Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization describes the bleak environmental situation, presents success stories and a grand strategy that gives an outline of how we can get to there from here. Rich and poor nations must mobilize in a way reminiscent of the Allied effort to defeat the Axis Powers during the Second World War. Environmental casualties are not part of a distant future. The 2003 heat wave in Europe claimed 52,000 lives in 9 countries. The waters in the Gulf of Mexico in August, 2005 were the hottest since human beings have been recording them. These warm waters made Hurricane Katrina more lasting and violent.

As to the status of women in cultural history, there is indeed a long train of philosophical/ theological thinking back into the deep past of consciousness by which thought advances the ascendancy of insight into self-understanding as it obtains in the "Sacrament of Natural Order" — the cultural source of intrinsic order and remembrance in the divine/ human hypostasis.

The PARADIGMATIC HUMAN (female/ male in God’s image) is the continuity medium of the gendered personae (not the presumed male model) in which divine/ human hypostasis (understanding, consciousness) obtains and by which intrinsic order in nature sustains and evolves.