Happy New Year

Nestled in the rectory of St. Ann's on this New Year's Eve.

Giving thanks for an amazing year of ministry this year. I met some wonderful people this year as result of ministry within my parishes and diocese. I saw the visible face of Jesus Christ in your lives. This is a privilege I do not take for granted.

As I close my eyes tonight (before midnight I might add) I offer all my hopes for you in this coming year. Thank you for allowing me to share the message of the Gospel with you. I treasure those experiences: both the joyful ones and the sorrowful ones which we shared together. They all have God's hand upon them and give us grace.

It was a hard year on priests: we have lost some good ones and ordained some new ones. In all, I suppose, I still am grateful God has blessed me with the beautiful gift of ordination in the Priesthood.

I pray especially tonight for the priests in the United States who have lived through some difficult times           as pastors. Some are hungering for a more responsible leadership from their bishops; some pray for a more pastoral response from their bishops, who hold authority before people. Most pray for a healing of relationships between the institutional Church and her people. They are remembered tonight.

New Year's Day is the World Day of Prayer for Peace - and we have desperate need of it. Let us make that our shared prayer for communion tonight.

God Bless,one and all. Happy New Year!

Good Night

Feast of the Holy Family Homily

This weekend the Church puts before us the Feast of the Holy Family. It is an opportunity for us to look to Joseph, Mary and the child Jesus for direction, hope and comfort.

Our families, more or less, are challenging. They require attention and perserverance in order to grow into healthy reflections of God's love for the world.

On this feast I pray for your families, wherever they may be. They are remembered at this moment of grace and I have no doubt that God will continue to guide you in the days which are ahead.

In thanksgiving for the gift of family I offer you these words:

Merry Christmas From Father Paul

From our house to yours...

Merry Christmas from Father Paul & Kismet

On Not Being "Religious"

I had an experience today, which was not unfamiliar, I would think, to some priests. I was asked to preside at the funeral of a man who was, shall we say, "on the fringe of the church" or even organzied religion.

In my ministry in Canada's north this has been a regular ocurrence for me. I'm not certain it is due to demographics or just simply being in the right place at the right time, but I have frequently presided at funerals of people who some would say, "are outside the Church."

I have never looked at this in an extraordinary way. I simply believe I am a pastor and I have a responsibility to be present for people who are entrusted to my care - officially or not. I have drawn criticism from a former archbishop because of this, indeed I even received a censure in a previous parish for this practice, which I nonethless ignored.

Today, I felt relieved that a family chose to express their love for a father and friend by having prayers offered for him publically. It made a difference in my life, I must say.

I sometimes feel that we, as a Church, can grow too comfortable with how we do things. When an experience falls upon us which causes us to "think outside the box" we fall back on rules to prevent us from having to think pastorally. "This should not be allowed; He/she is a Protestant; we don't know he believed in God," and many other excuses come to mind.

This whole Advent Season we have been waiting. For whom? The Messiah made real to us in the birth of an infant named Jesus. We prepare to welcome him. How do we do this in 2012?

I believe the Church needs to pay closer attention to those "outside" it. They, like the shepherds and Wise Men who first welcomed Christ, are looking for an experience. Can we offer them that? More importantly, ought we offer them this?

I think too much sometimes. Today might be one of those days. I am enlightened and overjoyed that I saw hope in the life of a grieving family today. Did they fit the criteria of "practical Catholics" that the Church likes to throw around? I'm not prepared to make a judgement about that. All I saw today was a family who struggled to find hope and to express their love and gratitude for a man who touched their lives. They wanted God to be a part of that in some way.

That is enough for me. I pray one day, it will be enough for the Church.

Catholic Beliefs Not Open to Popular Vote: Pope

When the Catholic church affirms the importance of how all the faithful understand matters of faith and morals, it is not saying Catholic beliefs are open to a popular vote, Pope Benedict XVI said.

An authentic sensus fidei, which literally means "sense of faith," can come only when Catholics actively participate in the life of the church and follow the teaching of the pope and bishops, he said Dec. 7 during a meeting with members of the International Theological Commission.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes the Second Vatican Council's teaching that "the whole body of the faithful … cannot err in matters of belief. This characteristic is shown in the supernatural appreciation of faith (sensus fidei) on the part of the whole people, when, 'from the bishops to the last of the faithful,' they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and morals."

Benedict praised the theological commission members for including a discussion of the sensus fidei in "Theology Today: Perspectives, Principles and Criteria," a document they released in March and which affirms the primacy of bishops over theologians as interpreters of church teaching.

"Today it is particularly important to clarify the criteria which make it possible to distinguish the authentic sensus fidei from its counterfeits," the pope said. "In reality, it is not some kind of ecclesial public opinion, and it is unthinkable to use it to contest the teaching of the magisterium because the sensus fidei cannot develop authentically in a believer except to the extent in which he or she fully participates in the life of the church, and this requires a responsible adherence to the magisterium."

The sensus fidei is a kind of "supernatural instinct" that helps Catholics recognize what does and does not belong to the faith of the church, he said, and it is a sign that "the Holy Spirit does not cease to speak to the churches and lead them to the whole truth."

Referring to another document the commission is working on, about the Catholic belief in one God, Benedict said the sensus fidei is what helps believers rightly react against "the prejudice that says religions, especially monotheistic religions, would inherently be bearers of violence, mainly because of the claim that they advance about the existence of a universal truth."

Some people, he said, insist relativism is the only way to guarantee tolerance and peace and that it best conforms to the ideals of a democratic society where everything should be open to a vote.

When people are denied the possibility of referring to objective truths, he said, "dialogue is rendered impossible and violence, whether declared or hidden, becomes the rule of law of human relationships."

The life and death of Jesus, Benedict said, demonstrates "a radical rejection of all forms of hatred and violence" in favor of the absolute primacy of love.

"If, therefore, in history there have been or are forms of violence carried out in the name of God, these are not to be attributed to monotheism, but historical causes, mainly the result of human errors," he said.

In fact, the pope said, "it is forgetting God that immerses human societies in a form of relativism, which inevitably generates violence."

Cindy Wooden - National Catholic Reporter

Keeping Christ in Christmas

St. Ann's joined with Knights of Columbus Council's across the world in proclaiming their annual message of "Keeping Christ in Christmas."

Jill Diakow, Sir Knight Richard Kozar, Monica Kozar

With the help of a couple of parishioners, Sir Knight Richard Kozar erected the parish banner at St. Ann's Church, in Flin Flon, MB.

Mother nature shined on us in giving us a day that was only mildly cold at -12.

I appreciate our local council's initiative in keeping this annual tradition alive. The banner is visible from a major highway in town and is a visible reminder of our shared need to remember that this holiday time is centred around our Lord, Messiah and Teacher: Jesus Christ.

Thank you to Sir Knight Richard Kozar, Monica Kozar and Jill Diakow who assisted in this effort.

Many thanks from all of us at St. Ann's.

Homily - Advent & John the Baptist: Are We Willing to Reveal Jesus to Others?

This Sunday finds us celebrating the Third Sunday of Advent, or Gaudete Sunday. It simply means to "Rejoice" at the presence of the Lord.

We hear about John the Baptist this weekend; a pivotal person in the life of the Messiah.

John's message was clear: "Prepare the way for the Lord!"

We have taken much time over these last weeks in contemplating the coming of Christmas; the Birth of Christ - not only in history, but the coming of Christ at the end of time. How do we hear John's message in this Sunday's Gospel? Is there something there that we can encourage ourselves with today?

Are we willing, like St. John, to announce the coming of Christ in our lives as christians? Do we make His presence known?

I have found the emergence of the popular greeting, "Happy Holidays" to be worrisome. Are we as christians settling for a watered down version of the Christmas Message in order to not make waves in the culture in which we live? It is "Christ"mas, afterall.

I ask myself if I am willing to stand for my belief? An acknowledgment that God's Son came into the world that I might have life and a life to the full. I owe my life, such as it is, to God. God's grace alone keeps me, at least, serene and sober. Can I not have the freedom to acknowledge God's greatest and most lasting gift to the world when afterall it is His birthday I celebrate?

Pray for the grace to stand like those who have gone before us to pass on our faith. Pray for the grace to acknowledge the source and summit of this "holiday" and be grateful to say, "Merry Christmas."

Homily:

Installation of Archbishop Chatlain Announced

It has been announced that Archbishop Murray Chatlain will be installed on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Cathedral in The Pas, MB.

This promises to be a significant event in the life of our archdiocese. I am certain that there will be many representatives from across the diocese who will join in welcoming our new archbishop.

More detailed information will be following. On this weekend where we celebrate "Gaudete" Sunday (Third Sunday of Advent) we have great reason to celebrate.

Please join me in keeping Bishop Murray in our prayers as he makes this eventful move in his life.

What an amazing Christmas present we have received.

Advent Homilies on Line...Finally

At long last I have managed to go digital with some homilies.

I have included here both homilies at St. Ann's Parish in Flin Flon, MB from the First & Second Sundays of Advent.

Let me know what you think of the format if you have the time.

Here they are:

First Sunday of Advent:
Second Sunday of Advent:

On "America's" Summit: Vatican Meeting This Week

Church leaders from North, Central and South America are meeting in Rome to discuss the New Evangelization across the region and discover how the Church can respond to shared societal problems.

"Three things stand out to me as particularly important for our discussion at the conference next week," said Carl Anderson, head of the Knights of Columbus, the world's largest Catholic fraternal organization.

"Firstly, that America, broadly defined as the entire American continent from Alaska to Argentina, is a key area for the work of the New Evangelization, and that it remains a Christian continent," Anderson said at a Dec. 4 Vatican press conference.

"Secondly, that ‘Ecclesia in America’ reminds us that the laity has an indispensable role to play in that New Evangelization and without it the Church's renewal is impossible," he added.

The final point Anderson made was that “Our Lady of Guadalupe is key to our understanding of the New Evangelization in America.”

The New Evangelization refers to the Church-wide effort to reintroduce the Gospel in areas where the practice of the faith has declined or even been largely forgotten.

Today’s media event was held in anticipation of the Dec. 9-12 international congress in Rome called "Ecclesia in America.”

Besides focusing on the New Evangelization, the summit will also commemorate Blessed John Paul II's exhortation ''Ecclesia in America." The gathering will fall on the 15th anniversary of the Synod of Bishops' Special Assembly for America, which was held Nov. 16 to Dec. 12, 1997.

"The churches of North, Central and South America face common problems developed over the last 15 years," Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet observed.

He pointed to youth violence, drug trafficking and drug consumption as matters of "grave concern and debate," and said that the Church is called to make a major contribution to addressing these issues.

But even more importantly, Cardinal Ouellet stressed that the Church must stand strong in areas where the institution of the family is suffering a serious assault.

The international congress will also offer a chance for building “networks of friendship throughout the continent, with a true sense of belonging to the Church,” he added, referring to it as "one of the first major events of the Year of Faith.”

Over 200 participants are expected at the congress, organized by the Knights of Columbus and the Commission for Latin America with the help of the Institute for Guadalupan Studies.

The Ecclesia in America congress will open with Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica and a speech by Pope Benedict, and will include cardinals from Toronto, Boston, Guadalajara, Santo Domingo and Tegucigalpa, as well as bishops and archbishops from across the region.

Religious, supervisors of the Roman Curia and those residing in Pontifical Colleges in Rome from North and South America will also attend.

The event will also include the Rosary, which will be prayed on Dec. 11 at the Vatican Gardens, a devotional event with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, “Guadalupan” hymns and a scientific research presentation on the St. Juan Diego’s cloak that bears the famous image of Mary.

The conference will conclude with proposals on cooperation between the continents.

The results of Ecclesia in America will then be given to the Roman Curia and the respective bishops’ conferences.

Reflections on Archbishop-elect Chatlain

It was with great rejoicing that we, as an archdiocese, learned of the appointment of Bishop Murray Chatlain as our new Pastor.

This is a significant moment for ourselves as a diocese and for the local church. We have been without an archbishop since July and we have been very grateful for Fr. William Stang, OMI who has served as Apostolic Adminstrator during these months. I think there can be only one other person, than Bishop Chatlain, who is happier and that is Fr. Bill. May God bless him for his faithful service and guidance over these months.

This is a diocesan first for us in our history. With the appointment of Archbishop Chatlain, it is the very first time, in our history as a diocese that we have a diocesan priest as our Archbishop. Until now we have had the generous service of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate as our bishops.

This appointment signifies a moment of renewal for ourselves, as a diocese, as we have a man with a new charism and spirituality as a diocesan priest to shape and mold our diocese. There are subtle differences in the spirituality of religious and diocesan priests. They each contribute in their own way to the shaping of the faith and we have need of each other.

I am looking forward to the years ahead with Archbishop Chatlain and ask you to join me in praying for him and the faithful of the Diocese of Mckenzie - Fort Smith in giving us a good Shepherd.

We celebrated mass for the new archbishop this morning and there was great rejoicing at St. Ann's that God has indeed blessed us with a renewed hope and spirit for our Archdiocese.

Thanks be to God!

Ad Multos Annos!

New Archbishop for Keewatin - Le Pas

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI today named the Most Reverend Murray Chatlain Archbishop of Keewatin-Le Pas, Manitoba, and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories. At the time of his appointment, he was Bishop of Mackenzie-Fort Smith.

He succeeds the Most Reverend Sylvain Lavoie, O.M.I., whose resignation had been accepted by the Holy Father on 16 July 2012 for reasons of health.  Since then, Father William Stang, O.M.I., has served as the Apostolic Administrator of Keewatin-Le Pas.

Archbishop Murray Chatlain

Born in Saskatoon, 19 January 1963, Archbishop-elect Chatlain completed a BA at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, and then studied at St. Peter’s Seminary, London, Ontario, where he completed a Master of Divinity degree. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Saskatoon in 1987. He served a number of parishes in his home diocese as well as parishes in northern Saskatchewan which are part of the Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith. He has also studied the Dene language at La Loche, Sask., which is in the Archdiocese of Keewatin-Le Pas.

He was named Coadjutor Bishop of Mackenzie-Fort Smith on 23 June 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI. He succeeded as Bishop of Mackenzie-Fort Smith on 10 May 2008, when  the Holy Father accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend Denis Croteau, O.M.I., who had served as Bishop of Mackenzie-Fort Smith for 22 years. Since 2008, Archbishop-elect Chatlain has been a member of the Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Archdiocese of Keewatin-Le Pas has 45 parishes and missions, with a Catholic population of 37,380, which is served by 2 diocesan priests, 2 visiting priests from other dioceses, 9 priests who are members of religious communities, and seven Sisters from religious communities.

Ordination of Women Would Correct an Injustice: NCR Editorial

Preamble: In light of recent happenings within the Church in the world I discovered the following editorial from the National Catholic Reporter to be timely and well written. It asks good questions and I believe it is representative of many people within the Church at this time. I believe this is a timely reflection and well worth your read. It is not only a question of women in the church, it is a question that we as priests need to address in an open and responsible forum. A retired Archbishop once told me, "Paul, if we never ask the question, than how will people know that this is important to us?" Take a look:

National Catholic Reporter, editorial, December 3, 2012:

The call to the priesthood is a gift from God. It is rooted in baptism and is called forth and affirmed by the community because it is authentic and evident in the person as a charism. Catholic women who have discerned a call to the priesthood and have had that call affirmed by the community should be ordained in the Roman Catholic church. Barring women from ordination to the priesthood is an injustice that cannot be allowed to stand.

The most egregious statement in the Nov. 19 press release announcing Roy Bourgeois' "excommunication, dismissal and laicization" is the assertion that Bourgeois' "disobedience" and "campaign against the teachings of the Catholic church" was "ignoring the sensitivities of the faithful." Nothing could be further from the truth. Bourgeois, attuned by a lifetime of listening to the marginalized, has heard the voice of the faithful and he has responded to that voice.

Bourgeois brings this issue to the real heart of the matter. He has said that no one can say who God can and cannot call to the priesthood, and to say that anatomy is somehow a barrier to God's ability to call one of God's own children forward places absurd limits on God's power. The majority of the faithful believe this.

Let's review the history of Rome's response to the call of the faithful to ordain women:

In April 1976 the Pontifical Biblical Commission concluded unanimously: "It does not seem that the New Testament by itself alone will permit us to settle in a clear way and once and for all the problem of the possible accession of women to the presbyterate." In further deliberation, the commission voted 12-5 in favor of the view that Scripture alone does not exclude the ordination of women, and 12-5 in favor of the view that the church could ordain women to the priesthood without going against Christ's original intentions.

In Inter Insigniores (dated Oct. 15, 1976, but released the following January), the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said: "The Church, in fidelity to the example of the Lord, does not consider herself authorized to admit women to priestly ordination." That declaration, published with the approval of Pope Paul VI, was a relatively modest "does not consider herself authorized."

Pope John Paul II upped the ante considerably in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (May 22, 1994): "We declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful." John Paul had wanted to describe the ban as "irreformable," a much stronger stance than "definitively held." This met substantial resistance from high-ranking bishops who gathered at a special Vatican meeting in March 1995 to discuss the document, NCR reported at the time. Even then, bishops attuned to the pastoral needs of the church had won a concession to the possibility of changing the teaching.

But that tiny victory was fleeting.

In October 1995, the doctrinal congregation acted further, releasing a responsum ad propositum dubium concerning the nature of the teaching in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis: "This teaching requires definitive assent, since, founded on the written Word of God, and from the beginning constantly preserved and applied in the Tradition of the Church, it has been set forth infallibly by the ordinary and universal Magisterium." The ban on women's ordination belongs "to the deposit of the faith," the responsum said.

The aim of the responsum was to stop all discussion.

In a cover letter to the responsum, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then head of the congregation, asked presidents of bishops' conferences to "do everything possible to ensure its distribution and favorable reception, taking particular care that, above all on the part of theologians, pastors of souls and religious, ambiguous and contrary positions will not again be proposed."

Despite the certainty with which Ordinatio Sacerdotalis and the responsum were issued they did not answer all the questions on the issue.

Many have pointed out that to say that the teaching is "founded on the written Word of God" completely ignored the 1976 findings of the Pontifical Biblical Commission.

Others have noted that the doctrinal congregation did not make a claim of papal infallibility -- it said what the pope taught in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis was that which "has been set forth infallibly by the ordinary and universal magisterium." This too, however, has been called into question because at the time there were many bishops around the world who had serious reservations about the teaching, though few voiced them in public.

Writing in The Tablet in December 1995, Jesuit Fr. Francis A. Sullivan, a theological authority on the magisterium, cited Canon 749, that no doctrine is understood to have been defined infallibly unless this fact is clearly established. "The question that remains in my mind is whether it is a clearly established fact that the bishops of the Catholic Church are as convinced by [the teaching] as Pope John Paul evidently is," Sullivan wrote.

The responsum caught nearly all bishops off-guard. Though dated October, it was not made public until Nov. 18. Archbishop William Keeler of Baltimore, then the outgoing president of the U.S. bishops' conference, received the document with no warning three hours after the bishops had adjourned their annual fall meeting. One bishop told NCR that he learned about the document from reading The New York Times. He said many bishops were deeply troubled by the statement. He, like other bishops, spoke anonymously.

The Vatican had already begun to stack the deck against questioning. As Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese reported in his 1989 book, Archbishop: Inside the Power Structure of the American Catholic Church, under John Paul a potential episcopal candidate's view on the teaching against women's ordination had become a litmus test for whether a priest could be promoted to bishop.

Less than a year after Ordinatio Sacerdotalis was issued, Mercy Sr. Carmel McEnroy was removed from her tenured position teaching theology at St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana for her public dissent from church teaching; she had signed an open letter to the pope calling for women's ordination. McEnroy very likely was the first victim of Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, but there have been many more, most recently Roy Bourgeois.

Blessed John Henry Newman said that there are three magisteria in the church: the bishops, the theologians and the people. On the issue of women's ordination, two of the three voices have been silenced, which is why the third voice must now make itself heard. We must speak up in every forum available to us: in parish council meetings, faith-sharing groups, diocesan convocations and academic seminars. We should write letters to our bishops, to the editors of our local papers and television news channels.

Our message is that we believe the sensus fidelium is that the exclusion of women from the priesthood has no strong basis in Scripture or any other compelling rationale; therefore, women should be ordained. We have heard the faithful assent to this in countless conversations in parish halls, lecture halls and family gatherings. It has been studied and prayed over individually and in groups. The brave witness of the Women's Ordination Conference, as one example, gives us assurance that the faithful have come to this conclusion after prayerful consideration and study -- yes, even study of Ordinatio Sacerdotalis.

NCR joins its voice with Roy Bourgeois and calls for the Catholic church to correct this unjust teaching.

Advent Prayer

Come, long-expected Jesus.

Excite in me a wonder at the wisdom and power of Your Father and ours.

Receive my prayer as part of my service of the Lord who enlists me in God's own work for justice.

Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me a hunger for peace: peace in the world, peace in my home, peace in myself.

Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me a joy responsive to the Father's joy.

I seek His will so I can serve with gladness, singing and love.

Come, long-expected Jesus.

Excite in me the joy and love and peace it is right to bring to the manger of my Lord.

Raise in me, too, sober reverence for the God who acted there, hearty gratitude for the life begun there, and spirited resolution to serve the Father and Son.

I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, whose advent I hail. Amen.

(anonymous)

Sunday Evening

Having a quiet evening and cannot believe it is Sunday night and that the first Sunday of Advent has drawn to a close.

I have the comfort is sitting with some good friends by a fireplace and watching the snow fall with Kismet on my lap.

A prayer of gratitude escapes my lips as I thank God for His Son who's Presence we await. All I have comes from God and was given to me by His Son.

Thank you, Lord

Why Yes: Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! You might wonder why I offer this greeting on the weekend of December 1st. Nevertheless a new Church year begins this weekend with the celebration of the First Sunday of Advent.

This Season of Advent, which at its heart is a season of hopefulness, comes every year to remind us of two things: The preparation to celebrate the coming of Christ historically at Christmas as well as an opportunity to reflect on the coming of Jesus at the end of time. Indeed, we are strongly rooted in the first practice but Christ's second coming is likely not something we spend a great deal of time contemplating.

I get it! It's difficult. Our culture: everyone and everything tells us that Christmas is here, right now. You would never be able to tell by what is happening around us that Christmas is still 24 days away. Why then does the Church insist on inviting to participate in a time of "waiting?"

Christianity, from the time of Jesus until today has always been "counter-cultural." This is to say that it often finds itself at odds with what happens culturally. This is not to say that our culture is wrong or that it is flawed in some way. Christianity does insist, however, that there is something more to be found in these weeks; something deeper to be experienced.

We provide an atmosphere of patient waiting; of expectant hope; of pausing in our life to reflect on what the coming of Jesus, the Messiah means to me. This is why the church invites us to not focus on decorations or lights, nativity sets or flowers. The church space is simple and plain with the focus being on the Advent Wreath which marks off for us each week in which we grow closer to the celebration of the Feast of the Nativity.

We do this in Lent for six weeks easily enough without a second thought. At Advent we somehow get caught up with what is going on around us that it's difficult to slow ourselves down and to admit that we are still waiting.

This year, I invite you to give this a try. Attempt to think about how the coming of Jesus in history and in our future will affect you. Does it have an effect in your life? What could our response be to Jesus when he does come at Christmas, in our hearts, and what will we say to Him when he comes again? Give it a try. I "double-dog" dare you.

End Times

These weeks we are hard pressed to not hear about the "End Times" in both every day life or within the celebration of our Christian rituals.

Last Sunday we marked the Feast of Christ the King which is the last Sunday of the church's liturgical year. This coming weekend we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the church year.

The readings of the last couple of weeks and this week lead us to an examination of a reckoning in the world when God's Kingdom will be brought to fruition in the world with the second coming of Christ.

All around us, secularly, there is a buzz in regards to the last days of the Mayan calendar which will run out on December 21st. Soothsayers are abounding with thoughts of our demise.

What does this week afford us as a Christian Church? A great deal actually.

We are reminded this week, through the scriptures, that God has a plan for the world and it is unfolding in our presence. God is not only a God of history; He is a God of the here and now. God lives within us and among us.

Last Sunday's Gospel from St. Luke reminds us that Jesus came to point the way to the "truth." The truth for us today is that God remains and dwells within the world through the sacred Presence of His Son, Jesus. Jesus' presence is not only reverenced in the Eucharist at mass, but also in our daily lives when we strive to see and feel His presence. We must look.

In our lives, we can point to the "truth" of His loving and thoughtful Presence when we invite others to see opportunities for this in their lives. To see and find hope. There is an 'expectant' hope that comes in between these two seasons of the Church year. That hope is Jesus, himself. Coming to unite and heal the world and to restore us in dignity.

To remember our lasting 'hope' is to recall that Christ's Promise to come again is a reality in this world and in my life. In light of that, do I fear my future? Do I fear "the end?" Can I find some measure of comfort that God has made a covenant with this world that is being fulfilled every day I live and commit myself to His Will.

I invite you to find hope in these days; to know that God has a will and purpose for you. That God is making something good out of your life, even in times of trial, that we cannot always see or even understand.

Timely...

God gave burdens, also shoulders.
--Yiddish proverb

Some days we wake up, and we know we can't get out of bed. We lie there, trying to force ourselves, but none of the usual motivations work. We may be depressed, we may be grieving, or we may simply be tired. It's hard to resist the temptation to believe that everyone else is functioning with ease. They all show up for work. What's wrong with me? The more frantic we become, the more likely we may lapse into old ways of thinking and behaving in order to get moving. 

If we feel we can't get out of bed, there's usually a good reason why. We can give ourselves permission to discover it. By being honest, we will discover how to take care of ourselves. Maybe it's a day to stop and nurture ourselves, not force ourselves to keep going. Only we know what we really need. We do not have to compare ourselves to others or apologize for what we are going through. Instead, we can be gentle, giving our bodies, emotions, and spirits what they require. We can turn the day over to God's will. 

I pray for the willingness to make this a day of healing. I will be part of my own renewal.

Thought for the Day: On Giving Thanks

The expression of praise as thanksgiving, gratitude, and joy is among the most powerful forms of affirmation.
--Catherine Ponder

Praise inevitably has a multiple effect. It positively acknowledges another human being, enhancing his or her well being, while making us feel good. This offering of love, which is the substance of praise, heals all who share in its circle.

We can see the effects of affirmation in the people we admire. We can discern its absence too, particularly among those who struggle. How difficult is it to give small acknowledgments to those we care about? Making a habit of this heals our own inner wounds too.

Affirming a friend or ourselves connects us to the spirit residing within. That bond fills in our empty spaces, making us whole and healed. Our security grows as we praise one another.

Prayer:

I will freely offer my love in the form of praise to the wonderful friends on my path today.

On New Penance

The word is spreading fast. 

The US bishops met last week in Baltimore. In light of reeling from the effects of their nation (Catholics included) voting to grant Barack Obama a second term in office, they had wagered much over the last year to address the Democrats insistence on healthcare and same-sex unions. 

Many a bishop profoundly preached of the slippery slope the culture of the US was heading for. Although I do not necessarily share their concern over some of these issues I listened intently to the rhetoric that was being employed. 

I would like to affirm my belief that at no time should we use the Eucharist as a weapon in culture. To advocate, even subtly, that a person should be even remotely denied communion over one's political beliefs is a tragedy in which everyone loses. A point, I might add, several high ranking bishops and cardinals do not see.

In any case, a little humor is to be found. The archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, advocated that an answer to the US issues facing the US Church and of declining mass attendance was to instruct our faithful to return to regular weekly confession and abstain from meat on Fridays. It was endorsed by the assembly present.

I'll save my personal opinions on this for a more private setting but I did get the following cartoon emailed to me. I think it captures where we are today:

Church Addresses Cell Phone Issue

I think we have all been in church, at point or another, when an anonymous cell phone has begun to ring or a text message is loudly received. In spite of the increase in pastors addressing this before the start of a service it continues to occur.

Please find the approach of one parish a "sign of the times."

UPDATE: University of San Diego Votes No Confidence in President

Almost 100 faculty members at the University of San Diego have declared a loss of confidence in their president's leadership, saying her cancellation of a British theologian's visiting fellowship and her response to criticism of the move have shown her to be "ethically bankrupt."

The vote of no confidence by the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences, one of seven colleges at the Catholic university, is the latest response to president Mary Lyons' rescission of a fellowship for Tina Beattie, a theologian known for her work in contemporary ethical issues.

Beattie had been scheduled to begin a fellowship at the university's Frances G. Harpst Center for Catholic Thought and Culture on Nov. 6. Lyons, who says the theologian publicly dissented from church teaching by suggesting Catholics could support civil same-sex marriage, canceled the appointment in an Oct. 27 letter.

"The president has shown herself to be ethically bankrupt, for which reason the motion is placed that this body declare a loss of confidence in her leadership," read the motion approved in a meeting Tuesday of the academic assembly of the university's College of Arts and Sciences .
The vote was 99 in support of the measure, 16 against, and 19 abstaining.

Carlton Floyd, chair of the assembly's executive committee, told NCR that while the vote was "largely symbolic," "it is hugely important as a symbolic gesture."

"It lets the world know ... that faculty here do in fact support and believe strongly in academic freedom, believe strongly and support the leadership of its directors ... and that the reasons and explanations that have come to us [for the cancellation], we consider largely invalid," said Floyd, an associate professor of English at the university.

Calls to university representatives for comment were not returned Tuesday afternoon.
The faculty's action follows wide criticism of Lyons' cancellation of Beattie's fellowship from prominent academics in both the U.S. and the U.K.

The 47,000-member American Association of University Professors, which rates universities on their protection of academic freedom, said in a letter Nov. 5 that the situation raises "serious issues."
Lyons' cancellation came after an influential university alumnus and a conservative watchdog group backed by a high-ranking Vatican official protested the appointment to the university's board of trustees.

At a similar assembly Nov. 6, the San Diego University faculty had asked Lyons to reinstate Beattie's appointment or face the vote of no confidence.

Lyons responded to the Nov. 6 vote hours before Tuesday's faculty assembly. In a letter to Floyd on Tuesday morning, Lyons wrote she would allow Beattie to speak at the university, so long as the theologian was not given an "honorary affiliation" with the institution, a reference to Beattie's expected title of "visiting fellow" of the Harpst Center.

In the letter, Lyons wrote that she recognized that her decision to disinvite Beattie left "many very thoughtful and serious academics, students and others -- including theologians -- both on our campus and beyond questioning our university's commitment to Academic Freedom."

"In response to the Assembly's request [of Nov. 6], I am endorsing that Dr. Beattie be invited by the [Harpst Center] to speak at USD, as early as the Spring semester, without conferring upon her an honorary affiliation with the University," Lyons continued.

Gerard Mannion, the director of the university's Harpst Center, told NCR Tuesday the general feeling of the faculty was that Lyons' response was "too little, too late."

"People just felt that it didn't change anything," Mannion said. "It didn't apologize, as the assembly had asked. It didn't right any of the wrongs. They just felt it was compounding the wrongs that had been committed.

"She believes herself to have the right to veto or approve visiting scholar appointments, which is itself a violation of academic freedom," he said.

Beattie, a professor of Catholic studies at London's University of Roehampton, said she would have to consider before accepting a new invitation to speak at USD.

"The only thing that would make me feel inclined to accept it is I feel an enormous debt of gratitude to faculty and students at USD," said Beattie, who also serves on the board of directors of the British Catholic weekly The Tablet and is a theological adviser to the Catholic Agency For Overseas Development, the Catholic aid agency for England and Wales.

While Beattie said she was "amazed" at the response she had seen in her case from others worried about academic freedom and freedom of conscience, she also said her experience has made her believe there are "real problems" with U.S. Catholicism.

"One thing I think that your bishops there need to be aware of, and your funders, is that from this side of the pond, why on earth would any British intellectual want to go through this?" she asked.
"I can't see why anyone in my position would subject themselves to this in order to speak in America. Part of me thinks that you have a real problem with the politics of American Catholicism at the moment. And it's really a disincentive to people wanting to get involved."

The University of San Diego's College of Arts and Sciences lists about 212 faculty members.
Academic assembly meetings, which normally occur once a month during the academic year, are open to all tenure and tenure-track faculty in the college.

In a Nov. 5 statement to NCR, Lyons said Beattie's signature on an August letter in The Times of London -- one of 27 -- that said it would be "perfectly proper" for Catholics to support civil marriage for same-sex couples was the primary reason for her cancellation of the theologian's fellowship.
Among other theologians who have publicly questioned Lyons' move are Eamon Duffy, a professor of Christian history at the University of Cambridge and a former member of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, and Paul D. Murray, the president of the Catholic Theological Association of Great Britain and a consulter to the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Beattie's cancellation marked the university's second revocation of a fellowship from a prominent theologian in recent years. U.S. theologian Rosemary Radford Ruether, a Catholic feminism scholar, was disinvited as the university's Msgr. John R. Portman Chair in Roman Catholic Theology in 2008.

UPDATE: University of San Diego Called to Reverse Decision to Withdraw British Theologian

Following up on my post regarding The University of San Diego's President Mary Lyon's decision to withdraw a teaching invitation to theologian Tina Beattie the following has now transpired and here is an update from Joshua J. McElwee of the National Catholic Reporter:

More than 100 faculty members at the University of San Diego have presented their president with an ultimatum: Reinstate a canceled visiting fellowship for a British theologian or face potential public questioning of your capability to lead.

The faculty of the Catholic university's College of Arts and Sciences made the move Tuesday in response to president Mary Lyons' cancellation of a fellowship for Tina Beattie, a theologian known for her work in contemporary ethical issues.

Beattie was scheduled to begin a fellowship at the university's Frances G. Harpst Center for Catholic Thought and Culture on Tuesday. Lyons, who alleges the theologian publicly dissented from church teaching by suggesting Catholics could support civil same-sex marriage, canceled the appointment in an Oct. 27 letter.

In a meeting of their academic assembly Tuesday, the University of San Diego faculty agreed to ask Lyons to reinstate Beattie's appointment immediately or face a possible vote of no confidence in her leadership.

Carlton Floyd, the chair of the assembly's executive committee, said in an interview Wednesday that the move was "exceptionally important."

"The will of the faculty has made it very clear that they consider this matter a matter of extreme importance and a matter that requires our immediate attention," said Floyd, an associate professor of English at the university.

While Floyd said the official count of the vote was not yet available, he said the vote was "overwhelmingly" in favor of the move. Another faculty member present at the meeting put the tally at 117 in favor, two against and three abstaining.

Floyd said the faculty agreed to meet again next week to reconsider the matter and any possible response from Lyons. Although Floyd said he wasn't sure what the faculty would do next, he said a vote of no confidence in Lyons' leadership is "definitely on the table."

University representatives were not immediately available to comment Thursday morning on the faculty vote.

In a statement to NCR on Monday, Lyons said Beattie's signature on an August letter in The Times of London -- one of 27 -- that said it would be "perfectly proper" for Catholics to support civil marriage for same-sex couples was the primary reason for her cancelation of the fellowship.

"It is significant that she signed the letter as a 'theologian,' " Lyons wrote in the statement. "This action is materially different from the exercise of scholarship and teaching appropriate to the role of an academic and whose freedom to do so I consistently defend."

Lyons' move, which came after pressure from a conservative watchdog group backed by a high-ranking Vatican official, sparked wide-ranging criticism from academics in the U.S. and the U.K. who say the cancellation of Beattie's fellowship represents a stifling of academic freedom.

The 47,000-member American Association of University Professors, which rates universities on their protection of academic freedom, said in a letter Monday that the situation raises "serious issues."

The University of San Diego's College of Arts and Sciences, one of seven colleges and schools at the university, lists about 212 faculty members. Academic assembly meetings, which normally occur once a month during the academic year, are open to all tenure and tenure-track faculty in the college, Floyd said.

The faculty vote Tuesday came hours after about 170 faculty and students protested the cancellation of Beattie's fellowship outside the university's main administration building.

One visiting faculty member has resigned his position at the university in a sign of solidarity with the theologian.

Michael Davis, a professor at the University of California, Riverside who had accepted a visiting fellowship at USD, announced his resignation in an email Nov. 2, which has since been made public on a Facebook page supporting Beattie.

Davis, a member of Riverside's creative writing department who was expected to take up the USD's Knapp Chair of Liberal Arts in January, said he felt it necessary to forego the fellowship to be in solidarity with Beattie and "with the stand that's been taken by faculty and students."

"There's little to be said" about the resignation, Davis wrote in his email forgoing the post. "It's obvious that the University has been put under excruciating pressure by clerical reactionaries."

Terrence Tilley, the chair of the theology department at Fordham University, said in an interview Wednesday he thought Lyons might be "confused" about the relevance of Beattie's signature on the August letter regarding same-sex marriage.

"Beattie doesn't dissent from doctrine," said Tilley, who is also the Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., Professor of Catholic Theology at Jesuit-run Fordham. "[Beattie] has just made a statement about the legitimacy of Catholics voting in favor of civil rights for people who want to marry people of the same sex."

"Of course, on moral grounds, the church finds this wrong," Tilley continued. "But that she has chosen to make a statement regarding politics means that she is not denying or opposing Catholic doctrine."

Regarding Lyons' claim Beattie's signature on the August letter is "materially different from the exercise of scholarship and teaching" of a theologian, Tilley agreed with the university president.

"Lyons' claim that this action is materially different from the exercise of scholarship and teaching is entirely correct," Tilley said. "But it's one of the things that scholars and teachers do. We also function as public intellectuals."

In its letter on the matter, the American Association of University Professors referenced similar concerns it raised about the university in 2009, when USD revoked an offer of an honorary chair position to Rosemary Radford Ruether, a prominent U.S. Catholic feminism scholar and theologian.

Referencing Beattie and Ruether's rescissions, Tilley said that "the only conclusion I can draw is that the University of San Diego has again showed its disdain for serious academic theological scholarship, at least if it's done by women."

Floyd also portrayed Lyons' decision as opposed to allowing a diversity of viewpoints on campus.

"Diversity is the hallmark of education," he said. "If you can’t have opposing viewpoints, what exactly are you looking at if you can’t engage in dialog about those matters? What exactly does a university do?”

St. Kateri Mass Path to Healing First Nations Division: Canadian Bishop

Canadians from the country’s First Nations and those of European descent took an important step toward reconciliation when they gathered Nov. 4 at St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal to give thanks for the canonization of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha.

“I think the grace of the canonization for the natives, as well as for the other people in Canada, is a grace of reconciliation,” Bishop Lionel Gendron of the Diocese of Saint Jean-Longueuil told CNA on Nov. 7.

Bishop Gendron was the main celebrant and homilist for the Mass that drew 2,500 people to the Oratory, and he was “impressed by the presence of the native people from all over Canada.”

“I thought the participation would be mainly from the Mohawk nation,” he said, “but I've seen people coming from British Columbia, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia.”

Several more Canadian bishops concelebrated the Mass, among them were Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher of Gatineau; Archbishop Christian Lepine of Montreal; Bishop Jacques Berthelet, emeritus of Saint Jean-Longueuil; and Bishop Louis Dicaire, auxiliary of Saint Jean-Longueuil.

In addition, representatives from the First Nations of Canada, the Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council, and Kahnawake – the Canadian community where St. Kateri settled – participated in the Mass.

“As with Saint Kateri, let us be guided in all events by the Spirit … so that our lives may become a love story with Jesus,” Bishop Gendron said in his homily.

Bishop Gendron said the canonization was an important step in the process of reconciliation between the First Nations of Canada and Canadians of European descent.

“I would say that we've been on a path of curing the past, and trying to walk towards reconciliation. And often, I would say many Canadians, or Quebecers, or the people of the diocese here are not quite aware of that. And I would say the Natives are very sensitive to these questions.”

“My impression, in all I've seen in the last weeks, is that we are becoming more aware that we have something to do. We have to walk towards one another and to walk together towards reconciliation.”

St. Kateri was canonized Oct. 21 by Pope Benedict at St. Peter's Square, along with six other people. Some 1,500 Canadian pilgrims traveled to Rome for the Mass of canonization.

St. Kateri was born in upstate New York in 1656. Her father was a Mohawk chief, and her mother was an Algonquin who was raised Catholic. She was orphaned at age four by a smallpox epidemic that left her with poor eyesight and a badly scarred face.

After encountering several Jesuit priests, St. Kateri was baptized, despite objections from her family. Her conversion caused her tribe to disown her, so St. Kateri fled to Canada, where she devoted herself to prayer and the Blessed Sacrament.

She died in 1680 at Kahnawake, a Mohawk settlement south of Montreal. She died saying “Jesus, I love you.” After she passed away, her face was healed of its pockmarks. Her relics are located in a shrine at Kahnawake.

“Her face became radiant, and often it has been interpreted as her face would have found its original beauty. I think we Canadians and Quebecers, and also the First Nations, we all come with scars,” Bishop Gendron reflected.

“I think that in the love of Jesus, as St. Kateri was, and through the intercession of Kateri, these scars may be cured. So this is my hope in these days, and I'm trying as bishop of Saint Jean-Longueuil to share this hope with my people, with the Mohawks here in the diocese, as well as those who do not belong to the First Nations.”

Convicted US Bishop " Elephant in the Room" at US Bishops Annual Meeting

As the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops gathers for its annual fall meeting Nov. 12-15 in Baltimore, one of the biggest issues confronting the prelates won't be on the formal agenda: how to cope with the re-election of a president whose policies many bishops denounced as unprecedented attacks on the Catholic church.

But another topic not on the agenda may loom just as large for a hierarchy hoping to wield influence in the public square. In September, Bishop Robert Finn of Missouri became the first bishop to be found guilty of covering up for a priest suspected of child abuse.

Unlike President Barack Obama's election, however, Finn's status isn't a subject the churchmen are eager to discuss.

The verdict against Finn, leader of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and an outspoken conservative, initially prompted widespread calls for his resignation, a Vatican suspension or discipline from his fellow bishops.

Yet in the two months since Finn's conviction, no bishop or church authority has addressed his case, nor has anyone spoken to Finn privately, according to Jack Smith, Finn's spokesman.

"Bishop Finn will be attending the USCCB meeting, as he has been fulfilling all of his responsibilities as Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph," Smith wrote in an email. "Bishop Finn and the Diocese, through its Office of Child and Youth Protection, are actively engaged in fulfilling the terms of probation."

Smith added that Finn did not intend to address the bishops either in their public or closed-door sessions. USCCB officials also said there were no plans by conference leaders to raise the issue of Finn's status.

By remaining silent on the issue, critics say the bishops are not only undermining their own policies -- Finn heads a diocese yet would not be allowed to teach Sunday school in an American parish under the USCCB's rules -- but they are undermining their credibility and their claims to have learned from the devastating scandal.

"Nothing has changed over the past 10 years," said Anne Burke, an Illinois state Supreme Court justice and an original leader of the National Review Board, a blue-ribbon panel of lay Catholics that the USCCB set up in 2002 to hold the bishops accountable.

Burke said the yawning hole in those policies is the lack of any mechanism for disciplining bishops who violate the charter, as the collection of child safety measures is known. While the bishops pledged to "apply the requirements of the charter also to ourselves," they have shown no willingness to do so, she said.

"They've never done anything before so why should we expect them to do anything now?"

David Clohessy of SNAP, the leading victims advocacy group, agreed. "Our secular justice system has punished his wrongdoing, but the full Catholic hierarchy has ignored his wrongdoing," he said of Finn. Clohessy said SNAP -- the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests -- was writing to Finn asking him to stay away from the Baltimore meeting as a sign of contrition.

There may be one opening for movement on the issue next week: Al J. Notzon III, current head of the 16-member National Review Board, said the board will be meeting in Baltimore and will talk about the problems raised by the Finn case.

"We will be discussing the issue of accountability and one of the issues we will be pressing is the issue of timely reporting," Notzon said Thursday.

Notzon declined to say whether the board would address Finn's case directly, but said that after their meeting they would then meet with the bishops' Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People, headed by Bishop R. Daniel Conlon of Joliet, Ill.

Last August, Conlon told a conference of church workers who oversee child safety programs in American dioceses that the hierarchy's credibility on fixing the abuse problem is "shredded."

At the bishops' spring meeting in Atlanta in June, Notzon also warned some 200 bishops that they must follow their own policies against abuse more rigorously. "No one can no longer claim they didn't know" about what is required to protect children, Notzon said then.

On Sept. 6, Finn was found guilty of a single misdemeanor count for not telling police that one of his priests, Fr. Shawn Ratigan, had taken hundreds of lewd images of children in Catholic schools and parishes.

Evidence introduced by prosecutors showed that Finn, 59, had received numerous complaints about Ratigan's behavior over the course of a year, starting in December 2010, and did not tell authorities even after Ratigan attempted suicide. Ratigan, 46, subsequently pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges.

Kathleen McChesney, a former FBI agent who was the first head of the USCCB's Office of Child and Youth Protection, agreed that the bishops have to discuss what happened and why in the "egregious" Ratigan case. And she said the best bishop to start that discussion would be Finn himself.

"The greatest gift he could give other bishops and the children is to come forward and talk about what happened," said McChesney, who now works as a consultant on child safety issues and often advises church groups and religious orders.

"What's at stake is continued disgruntlement, despair, and a lack of confidence and faith in the bishops," she said.

-David Gibson, Religious News Service

A Novel Take on the Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the people I cannot change,
which is pretty much everyone,
since I’m clearly not you, God.
At least not the last time I checked.

And while you’re at it, God,
please give me the courage
to change what I need to change about myself,
which is frankly a lot, since, once again,
I’m not you, which means I’m not perfect.
It’s better for me to focus on changing myself
than to worry about changing other people,
who, as you’ll no doubt remember me saying,
I can’t change anyway.

Finally, give me the wisdom to just shut up
whenever I think that I’m clearly smarter
than everyone else in the room,
that no one knows what they’re talking about except me,
or that I alone have all the answers.

Basically, God,
grant me the wisdom
to remember that I’m
not you.

Amen

James Martin, SJ

On Satisfying Our Hunger

Hunger serves us well. Physical hunger prompts us to eat the food we need to promote and maintain health. Emotional hunger sends us in search of companionship, intimacy, and love. Our hunger for achievement fuels our contribution to the work of the world. And our spiritual hunger leads us to a Power greater than ourselves. Peace, unity, goodwill all of these and more, we hunger for.

If we find ourselves trying to satisfy our hunger in ways that don't work, it's time to reassess and make changes. That's what we do when we take time to share our lives with others. We can admit that our false satisfactions have gotten out of hand and are threatening destruction.

The satisfaction of our various hungers is within reach. Much of what we crave we will find within ourselves as we develop a relationship with a God.

US Election & US Bishops: Extreme voices lead to politicized church

The following is an editorial piece that appears in this week's National Catholic Reporter. It speaks to me of my own personal observation at a time when the religious culture of North America is changing. I have believed, strongly, that our "Catholic" response to this period of election in the US could have been much more than what it ended up being. The editorial is powerful, pointed and provoking. One would hope that the American Church can reflect on it over the next four years in the hopes of avoiding a similar, if not duplicate, strategy.

NCR Editorial:

When the bishops of the United States gather later this month in Baltimore for their fall meeting, they ought to take some time to ponder a simple question: Were their words and actions during the recent election season the kind of discourse that informs and persuades or did they contribute to the partisan shrillness that we hope our teachers are educating youngsters to rise above as they mature into voting citizens?
We do not yet know the outcome of the national election, but the results for the church are already well-known -- no polls necessary here. The activity of the loudest and most extreme voices in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have left us the most politicized and divided church in recent memory. They have not only done a disservice to the cause of unity, they haven't done much to advance the causes they so stridently champion.

Those members of the hierarchy -- and we're led to believe they are in the majority -- who bristle when the conference is characterized by its most extreme elements need to overcome their reticence and the unspoken rule that bishops don't argue in public. They need to let their brother bishops know that outlandish pronouncements and empty threats further diminish the hierarchy's already compromised authority.

Not one episcopal voice was raised in objection to the slanderous and absurd claims of Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, who last April compared President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Not one openly questioned the wisdom of the extreme partisan fight against health care reform, a fight, as it turns out, that was waged on the false claim that the reform would lead to federal dollars used to procure abortion. It didn't and it won't. Not one episcopal voice questioned the validity of trumped-up threats to religious liberty or of the ill-conceived "Fortnight for Freedom," which turned out to be a fortnight-long seminar on how not to organize a campaign.

The bishops are so beholden to the huge sums of money dumped on them by the Knights of Columbus (see story) that they can't imagine pushing back against the political agenda of an organization led by a longtime, high-level Republican operative. And who will raise a voice asking for some prudence when the likes of Bishop Thomas Paprocki threatens "the eternal salvation" of a person's soul over a decision to vote for a given candidate who may not conform to all of the church's positions? Bishop David Ricken is another who has neatly carved out the nonnegotiables of political decision-making along thinly disguised partisan lines with a similar threat that a vote for the wrong candidate could "put your soul in jeopardy."

What will it take to make them aware that they are preaching to a small choir already convinced of their narrow and partisan view of politics while further alienating the rest?

A bumbling approach to politics is bad enough -- and some of the bishops come off as old-time ward heelers, and incompetent ones at that. Worse, however, is that those who are permitted by dint of volume and extremist language to fashion the Catholic story in the public square actually do more harm than good to the causes they espouse. Abortion is a prime example.

For decades now, the polls have shown almost the same result year in and year out. There is a small portion of the electorate at one end of the abortion debate that wants abortion available always and without restriction. There is a small minority at the other end of the spectrum that wants to prohibit abortion in every instance, confer citizenship and property rights on fertilized eggs the moment of conception and who will allow no exceptions even in the case of rape and threats to the health of the mother.

Between those extremes -- for whom the issue of abortion is a welcome and perennial source of votes and fundraising -- lie the vast majority of people, who express ambivalence but are waiting to be persuaded of some reasonable approach to diminishing the number of abortions. They would consider placing both reasonable restrictions on the practice as well as reasonable exceptions to those restrictions. They are the people who correctly wonder how the culture can leap from the reality that science has established -- that nature itself dispenses with a high percentage of fertilized eggs, a loss that is not sacramentalized or given any official civic status -- to criminalizing a similar act when done by humans. They are the ones who may wonder if we know the mind of God so well as to be convinced beyond doubt that such a God would require a rape victim to carry a pregnancy to term or not allow an abortion in a case where mother and child would both die as a result of continuing a pregnancy. They wonder, should the law be overturned, who the criminals will be and who will be prosecuted and jailed.

At this point, the bishops can't begin to speak to that broad swath of the population. An intelligent conversation about abortion can't be conducted. The absolutes that bishops have transferred to a political program won't allow them to entertain questions except in private, and then always wary that they'll be outed as "soft" on right-to-life issues.

The results of the recent survey by the Public Religion Research Institute (see story) tell us that the majority of Catholics -- even those coveted weekly-Mass-attending Catholics -- want the bishops to broaden their political focus to a wider range of social justice issues.

The bishops have become adjuncts to and enablers of those who politically benefit from the grinding polarities surrounding the abortion issue. They have been complicit in narrowing "life issues" politics to a single approach to a single issue. Experience should inform them by this point that their efforts are largely wasted. Election cycle after election cycle they've had their pockets picked of political capital only to arrive home empty-handed.

During the recent Synod of Bishops on the new evangelization in Rome, several bishops (none from this country) spoke of the need for a new sense of humility if the church hoped to engage the wider cultures. If the recent data gathered in the United States showing increasing numbers of people walking away from organized religion is at all instructive, then it is clear that fewer and fewer people are listening to religious leaders in general and bishops in particular. The Catholic church, while maintaining a stable membership number thanks to immigrants, was the biggest loser of adherents among mainline denominations. The old pomposity, the decrees from on high and threats intended to induce fear no longer work. It is time to ask what kind of evangelization, as well as political discourse, might work.

All Souls Day

Today is the Feast of All Souls

Let us remember our deceased members of our families, our friends and community.

Eternal Rest Grant Unto Them, O Lord, and Let Perpetual Light Shine Upon Them.

May their Souls and All the Souls of the Faithfully Departed Rest In Peace.

Amen.