I heard the term “anger farming” only recently. It may have been around for a while, perhaps a long while, but it certainly seems particularly relevant right now. We all know the “anger farmers.” We see them on the news whether we want to or not; we see them constantly in the political and cultural…
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The cause of women is advanced in two surprising ways this week. A priest in Hoboken uses his religion column in the local newspaper to suggest that women’s ordination may not be impossible. And Pope Francis encourages religious and consecrated women to “fight back” if they are exploited. Rev. Alexander Santora, pastor of Our Lady…
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Like their pagan mothers and grandmothers, the women of early Christian Ireland lived comfortably with power. It wasn’t a feminist paradise—their society was ruled, after all, by aristocratic warriors—but women who became Christians were still influential in the new religion. Brigid of Kildare is one of the best examples. Today is her feast day. Patrick…
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If the New York Times poses a question, must we answer?  Michael Sean Winters characterizes the response to an article last week as buzz, and I can confirm that: friends across the religious spectrum sent it to me. Author Liam Stack suggests the question way down in the article, quoting Dorothy Day herself: “‘Don’t call…
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Much of what we do in our circles of progressive Catholicism today draws directly on the work of those who acted for change in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. One of these key post-Vatican II leaders is the Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutiérrez, OP (1928-), whose foundational text, Teología de la liberación, perspectivas (1971),…
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You may have heard the big news from earlier this week that the Vatican has included a link to WOC’s website on the “Synod Resources” page of the Vatican’s own website. It seems that, in advance of the 2023 Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis wants to hear from ordination justice advocates. Alleluia! In the wake…
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I just read Krista Tippett’s recent interview with author Katherine May, on NPR’s “On Being.” May’s book is Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times. I have to admit, as relevant as the topic seemed, I had to force myself to continue past the subtitle. I’m inordinately wary of the “rest, relax,…
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I always start my class with a temperature check to gauge how much energy my students have. My favorite and easiest way to do this is by asking them to show me, on a scale of zero to three, where their energy level is. They then hold up that number of fingers in front of…
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Okay, I admit I’m just showing off by using the above title. I liked the sound but I did have to look up the meaning (so much for my two years of formally studying Latin and endless years of hearing it in church). It means, by the way, “incidental remark”. Remember the line to be…
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Pope Francis talked about vocations to Greek Jesuits late last year, Christopher Lamb reports. The number of Jesuits has been halved since he joined in 1958, and other orders of men and women are seeing similar declines. At least, I would add, and in the diocesan priesthood as well. Francis’s further reflections are worth thinking…
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