Category: Guest Post

Pope Francis’ gift to Catholics this Christmas is his new apostolic letter on the Nativity scene, Admirabile Signum. It is quite moving. Francis says the crèche “never ceases to arouse amazement and wonder” and is “like a living Gospel,” and dives into reflections on the varied elements of these scenes. Among these elements, Francis acknowledges,…
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Today, December 17, we begin the O Antiphons that lead us for the next seven days to the brink of the nativity.  Seven days contemplating different aspects of the Redeemer soon to be celebrated.  Seven different titles, beginning with perhaps the most ancient of all:  Wisdom, Sophia, Sapientia. The traditional Advent hymn, O Come O…
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I confess that I was more than a little thrilled to grasp the bright blue United Nations ID badge in my hands, for this official recognition of Women’s Ordination Conference into the “Economic and Social Council” (ECOSOC) of the international organization has been a long time coming.  Although WOC has been present at the United…
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Maybe we’re too American for the Catholic Church. Maybe that’s been our problem all along.   I was reading an article about fashion, of all things, and thought about how the new, particularly American, movements in that industry might inform us in our own struggle. Apparently, some of the elder “statesmen” (author Vanessa Friedman’s word…
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Are our bishops men with poor, even malicious intentions? Is that why abuse and corruption have flourished? Not quite. Acknowledging this reality does not excuse their countless moral and, at times, criminal failings. But to solve a problem, it must be accurately diagnosed. The philosopher Hannah Arendt’s concept of the “banality of evil” seems fitting:…
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I just turned down a ticket to attend the ordination of our next diocesan bishop.  Each parish was given two tickets for members of the laity along with a ticket for each clergy member. Twenty years ago, I would have been honored to be picked to attend such an event. Today, I couldn’t bring myself…
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[Editors’ note: Josefina Gabuya is a 2018 awardee of the Lucile Murray Durkin Scholarship for Women Discerning Priestly Ordination. This is the last in a series of reflections from our 2018 awardees on how the scholarship impacted their journey over the academic year. Read the first reflection, from Allison Connelly, here, and the second from MaryClare…
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[Editors’ note: A version of this article was first published on New Ways Ministry’s blog, Bondings 2.0, on July 22.] Last year, Pope Francis deemed July 22nd as a feast day for St. Mary Magdalene. But for years before his decree, advocates for women’s equality in the church have celebrated this “Apostle to the Apostles”…
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[Editors’ note: Maryclare O’Brien-Wilson is a 2018 awardee of the Lucile Murray Durkin Scholarship for Women Discerning Priestly Ordination. This is the second of three in a series of reflections from our 2018 awardees on how the scholarship impacted their journey over the academic year. Read the first reflection, from Allison Connelly, here.] “I found…
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[Editors’ note: Allison Connelly is a 2018 awardee of the Lucile Murray Durkin Scholarship for Women Discerning Priestly Ordination. This is the first of three in a series of reflections from our 2018 awardees on how the scholarship impacted their journey over the academic year.] “While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in…
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