Gerald Slevin on Pius IX and the Doctrine of Infallibility: Pope Francis Can Make the Church Great Again by Eliminating the "Infallibility Trap"

Earlier today, I linked to a very fine statement by Irish lay Catholic Ursula Halligan in response to recent comments by Archbishop Eamon Martin of Ireland. Archbishop Martin notes that the Catholic community has difficulty welcoming people who do not live up to its ideals — notably, LGBTQ people. In response, Ursula Halligan asks Archbishop Martin,

Recommended: Robert Blair Kaiser's Whistle, on Tom Doyle's Life and Work with Abuse Survivors

I appreciate Jerry Slevin's reminder, in a response to my posting earlier today, about Robert Blair Kaiser's last book (Kaiser died in April this year), Whistle. Jerry notes that Whistle is an examination of Tom Doyle's life and work with abuse survivors. 

Things I'm Reading at Week's End: Marriage, Bible, Catholics, Women's Rights, Recovering from Religious Trauma, Pope Francis and Women

Things I'm reading as this week ends — these items all connected in that they talk about issues of religion in the public square:

Droppings from the Catholic Birdcage: Jerry Slevin on How "Finn Sacking . . . Points to Serious Trouble after the Chile Revolt for the Pope’s Upcoming Visit to Philly"

Jerry Slevin at Christian Catholicism on how the Finn sacking shows the tenacity of abuse survivor Marie Collins in holding the pope's feet the fire regarding the abuse, the trouble he's in following the revolt in Chile over his appointment of Juan Barros as bishop, and how all of this plays into the staging and messsaging of Pope Francis's visit to the U.S. later in the year:

The Furor in Chile About Juan Barros's Installation as Bishop of Osorno: A Footnote

A quick footnote to the update I published earlier today about the protest of Pope Francis's decision to make Juan Barros the new bishop of Osorno, Chile: at his Facebook page, Wisconsin SNAP leader Peter Isely has posted commentary today about the controversy. Peter writes, 

The Furor in Chile as Juan Barros Madrid Is Installed as Bishop: An Update

As a follow-up to my posting this past Sunday, which pointed you to a posting by Jerry Slevin at his Christian Catholicism site talking about the furor that ensued recently in Chile as Juan Barros Madrid was installed as bishop of Osorno, Chile: today, in his "Morning Briefing" column in National Catholic Reporter, Dennis Coday writes,

Jerry Slevin on Chilean Catholic Revolt and Need for a New Ecumenical Council

Jerry Slevin on Pastoral Treatment of Divorced and Remarried Catholics, and Popes Benedict and Francis: Which Pope Is Infallible?

In a recent posting at his Christian Catholicism blog, Jerry Slevin points readers to William McDonough's Commonweal essay about Pope Benedict XVI and the issue of divorce entitled "Right the First Time." As Jerry notes, McDonough reports that Benedict is in the process of issuing his opera omnia. Nine volumes of his theological work have now been published.

Jerry Slevin on Pope's "Three Card Monte" Approach to Birth Control: "Undercuts Many Catholics' Confidence in Pope Francis' Intellectual Integrity"

Jerry Slevin on how the pope's "disingenuous" remarks on contraception undercut many Catholics' confidence in his intellectual integrity:

On Martin Luther King, Jr., Day: Jerry Slevin on Pope Francis's Trip to the Philippines, and Catholics' Dream

And another King-day-themed posting: at his Christian Catholicism site, Jerry Slevin comments on Pope Francis's encounter in the Philippines with a street child who poured out her anguish to him immediately before the pope gave a homily reasserting the papal ban on the use of contraception:

Gerald Slevin on Pope's Pivot on Rumors of a Vatican Council: Now or Never

In a new posting at his Christian Catholicism site, Jerry Slevin cites a recent observation by Robert Mickens:

Sister Teresa Forcades on the Necessity of Dreaming of Revolution in the Catholic Church — Especially re: Clericalism and Misogyny

Joel 2:28, NIV Translation

In the Catalan journal El Critic, Irene Ramentol asks Benedictine Sister Teresa Forcades whether the idea of any kind of revolution in the Catholic church is just a dream (Rebel Girl has provided an English translation at Iglesia Descalza). Sister Teresa replies:

Gerald Slevin on 12 New Year's Resolutions for Pope Francis: Time to Act Is Now

In a new posting at his Christian Catholicism site, Jerry Slevin invites Catholics to dream about the impossible. As he notes, countering the idea that such dreams are "impractical," who dreamt that a "pope for life" would resign in the midst of the mess the Catholic church has made for itself at this point in history?

Pope Francis in the News: Media Memes and Informed Commentary (There's a Difference)

Perhaps you haven't noticed, but Pope Francis has been in the news lately. A lot. Headlines yesterday about his scolding of the Vatican Curia ranged from "Francis Gives Roman Curia Officials Coal for Christmas" (Robert Mickens, National Catholic Reporter), to "In Curia: Merry Christmas, You Power-Hungry Hypocrites" (Josephine McKenna, Religion News Service), to "Pope Francis Says the Vatican Curia Is Sick with Power and Greed" (Philip Pullella, Reuters), to "Pope Francis Denounces the Vatican Elite's 'Spiritual Alzheimer's'" (Barbie Latza Nadeau, Daily Beast). I especially like Charles Pierce's wry summary of Francis's come-to-Jesus meeting with the Curia:

Jerry Slevin on Pope Francis's "Huge Papal Mistake" in Not Placing Father Thomas Doyle on Papal Abuse Commission

At his Christian Catholicism site, Jerry Slevin argues that Pope Francis is making "a huge papal mistake" and "exhibiting his papal fallibility" by passing over Father Thomas Doyle, one of the leading authorities on the Catholic abuse crisis, as Francis adds new members to his commisison on abuse. Jerry points to Tom Doyle's extensive qualifications to serve the church on this papal commission:

Jerry Slevin: Pope Francis and Women Cardinals

Earlier today, I suggested that Pope Francis would do well to read some women theologians like Ivone Gebara as he continues to put both left feet into his mouth when he makes jaw-dropping strawberries-on-the-cake statements quips about women. I ended that posting saying, "One can dream, I suppose."

New Essay by Jerry Slevin: "Thanksgiving, Catholic Hope and Pope Francis"

For your weekend reading on what's a long weekend for many American workers, I'd like to recommend to you Jerry Slevin's new essay at his Christian Catholicism site entitled "Thanksgiving, Catholic Hope and Pope Francis." As with everything Jerry writes, this posting is actually an essay, and it bears very careful reading. In offering you some excerpts and framing remarks about the essay, I don't want to give you the impression that I'm summarizing it. 

Jerry Slevin on Pope Francis as a Ray of Hope in a Crisis of Trust — A Holy Mess

At his Christian Catholicism site, Jerry Slevin maintains that if Pope Francis represents "a ray of hope" for the Catholic church, as many Catholics wish to believe, the window of opportunity for hopeful light to enter the church will close, perhaps definitively, if Francis is not prophetic and transparent. Meanwhile, Catholics watch, and are increasingly less convinced by the convenient, shopworn arguments about hierarchical power that have been overused to thwart the open discussion and faithful dissent necessary to maintain a vital church.

Aletha Blayse's Essay on Child Abuse, War, and Need for a National Commission of Inquiry: A Footnote (and Recommendation)

Dear Readers,

I'm multi-tasking right now after a day of traveling, and apologize that I didn't take time (I didn't have time would be accurate) this morning to say more to you about the excellent essay of Aletha Blayse that I posted early in the day). Because Aletha ends her essay with some biographical information, I had counted on that information to introduce her to you, and to tell you where she is coming from as she comments on the issue of sexual abuse of minors — and something of her outstanding credentials.

Aletha Blayse: Child Abuse, War, and the Need for a National Commission of Inquiry into Child Abuse

We Are Losing the War

On the eve of the November 4 election, America is at war. I’m not talking about the war in the Middle East. I’m talking about a different war. On the one side of the battle lines are those who abuse children or allow children to be abused. On the other are those who have declared war on these monsters in a fight for a world in which children are safe from all forms of predation. If ever the doctrine of jus bellum iustum applied, it is here and now. Because the statistics are horrifying. This year, the US Department of Justice cited figures from the Centers for Disease Control that approximately 1 in 6 boys and 1 in 4 girls are sexually abused before the age of 18. Rates of other forms of abuse are also high. This is the here and the now. This is not historical. And it is totally and utterly unacceptable.