Finally, today, I want to note discussions on two of my favorite blogs, Wild Reed and Queering the Church, to which I have been meaning to draw attention for some time. These discussions of scripture and tradition, and the role of binding religious teachings and religious authority in establishing the meaning of scripture and tradition within Catholicism, link to discussions of these same issues on Bilgrimage.I haven’t blogged about these discussions at Wild Reed and Queering the Church, since the thread of interconnecting postings at these two blogs that I want to recommend now began while I was out of the country. Though I contributed to the discussions as much as I was able while I was traveling, my lack of constant access to the internet (and time to think and write) as I traveled prevented me from posting about these discussions.
Now I’d like to do so—to draw attention to both blogs and this interconnecting thread as a treasure trove of information and insights about the role of the magisterium in Catholicism today, and how different believers view that role. The comments sections of these postings contain lively debate, to which I want to draw readers’ notice. It was in some of those sections that I was able to contribute to the discussion while traveling.
The postings I want to recommend are Michael Bayly’s “Catholic Challenge” and “Treasure and Dross” at Wild Reed, and Terry Weldon’s “Magisterium and Me” and “Magisterium and Scripture” at Queering the Church. These postings are treasure troves of information about questions of authoritative teaching in the Catholic church, as well as snapshots for how different groups of Catholics today appropriate and understand religious authority.
