La Croix International has August off, so every day they post a few articles from earlier this year. Sometimes I remember that I’ve read them and even used them, but sometimes I don’t. One issue I didn’t address is raised in “Why Celibacy?” by Chris McDonnell, a headteacher in England. It’s inspired by a reflection…
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“Unless you have a good reason to believe they were not there, put them there!” Dr. Amy-Jill Levine issued this charge to us in her marvelous contribution to FutureChurch’s Women Erased series with a presentation titled, “Women in 2nd Temple Judaism.” She was referring to the missing women of the Bible, specifically in the New…
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Last week, I was going to write about two ongoing Synod processes but I got captured by the Australians. This week I will write about the German Synodal Way. I have celebrated the decisions made there and the people leading the effort before, but, as you may have heard, not everybody is celebrating. An “unsigned…
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Each morning I have to wait an hour after taking a prescribed medication before I can eat anything or – gulp! – even have coffee. What does anyone do with an hour like that? Nothing especially productive in my case. (Please don’t judge: I haven’t had coffee yet!) What I do manage to do is…
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Despite the tremendous appeal of Pope Francis’s trip to ask for forgiveness from the indigenous peoples of Canada to the media worldwide, I am going to write about the Synod Process again. If we are to effectively advocate for people of all genders to be ordained, we have to understand what is happening around the…
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Be honorable yourself if you wish to associate with honorable people. -Proverb I am not a big sports fan as such, but while away visiting relatives, I caught a bit of the televised Tour de France cycling race. It happened to be the segment of the race in which the two lead cyclists vying for…
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I’ve seen this painting many times at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and each time it has enthralled me. I look at it and think, this is my church – unsteady, twisted, constricted, shrunken, tired. Then I come another time and think, this is my church – quietly beautiful, a refuge and sanctuary, and, if…
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Remember when Pope Francis warned us not to gossip? “Gossip is war. Poor Holy Spirit! (Imagine) the work He [sic] has with us with our habit of gossiping!” That was in 2020, and a not-infrequent complaint from Francis in his first years as Pope. He’s not bringing it up so often now. I wonder if…
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Sometimes when science and art and the work of everyday life intersect within a single subject, the results can be enlightening, revelatory, and even breathtaking. For me, it started with a morsel from everyday life described in one of July’s Earthbeat posts. It was the title which first captivated me: “Oblivion and Salvation in the…
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Pope Francis made news this week with a promise to add two women to the committee that considers the appointment of bishops around the world.  This conversation with Philip Pullella of Reuters has the typical Francis off-the-cuff airplane feel; he says they’re “opening up a bit.” Cindy Wooden for CNS notes that there are several…
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