Does it seem to you that I’ve been unusually positive this month? That’s because I have been ignoring the US bishops, but I’ve been thinking about them. Two articles in NCR, three dueling bishops, and a scandalous document brings them into focus, not in a good light. The headline writer for Michael Sean Winters lays…
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A few years ago, I registered for the Parliament of the World Religions. At the Parliament, as it turned out, and for reasons I can’t remember now, I was able to come to one session only. I don’t even remember what the session was about. What I remember is that someone there mentioned the Women’s…
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We thought we were so smart. Forced to take Latin, we freshmen had a new word: “the Ides.” Or maybe it was because we were forced to read Shakespeare’s version. We knew to “Beware the Ides of March.” We understood the power of Roman conspiracy. “Et tu, Brute?” and all that. It may not seem…
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Many of us, me included, have had a very complicated relationship with Mother Mary. Or rather, with how she was portrayed to us and we, in our childhood innocence,  took her as lifeless and submissive as she had been presented. On my path to feminine empowerment, however, she has been my biggest cheerleader. I first…
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The actual anniversary is next Monday, March 13, but pundits have been ruminating for a month. Amidst this effusion of commentary, I am going to highlight the articles in which the analysis advances the conversation about Francis and women. First, of course, is Kate McElwee’s in NCR. What McElwee does is document particular changes over…
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In writing practice you choose a prompt, set a timer, and go. The only rule is that you need to keep your hand moving. And trust that what needs to emerge will, even if it is buried in countless pages of surface-level stuff. If we keep looking deep within, we will find the gems we…
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This week, I’m collecting articles under three headings: Pope Francis, whose tenth anniversary will be March 13; Synod, but I’m waiting for the North American report, which is due March 31; and Women, which I will write about this week for International Women’s Day, March 8. The Synod process has revealed worldwide concern about the…
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As I was preparing to write my last blog post as a guest writer for The Table, I found myself reflecting on what I could offer that was unique to my perspective. In my previous blog posts, I wrote about my letters to the pope, my conversations with a deacon, and for renewed attention the…
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As daughters of Vatican II, my friends and I were energized by Pope Francis’s call for a Synod on Synodality. It was a chance for us to share our concerns—and our joys and our hopes—with one another and with the wider church. Since there were no synod meetings held at our parish, we formed our…
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From the age of nine, I have wanted to be a Catholic deacon. I struggled with the restrictions placed on that role for women and non-binary people, and although I also support the ordination of people of all genders to the priesthood, because of my vocation, I have always focused my advocacy on women deacons…
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