Again, Case Study from Minnesota: Bishops Playing Culture-War Games Cannot Effectively Address Real, Pressing Problems Like Racism

On 23 May, I posted a piece here entitled "As US President Demands That Churches Re-Open, Case Study from Minnesota." That posting noted the intent of the Catholic bishops of Minnesota to "defy" the stay-at-home orders of the state's governor and re-open churches. The word "defy" is used in the headline of a 20 May MPR article about this story to which I linked on 23 May.

Reaping the Whirlwind: America Now Confronts the Reality of Its 2016 Election

People Can Only Bear So Much Injustice Before Lashing Out via @thenation https://t.co/qevqJ0pvk4

— 𝕎𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕞 𝔻. 𝕃𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕤𝕖𝕪 🌈 (@wdlindsy) May 30, 2020

Jack Holmes, "This CNN Crew's Arrest in Minneapolis Is More Than a Mistake":

Imagine what they're capable of when they're not live on national television. 

Ruth Krall, Looking Slant: Oppressive Ideologies and Belief Systems

Ebola: Transporting a Sick Child to a Care Facility (1)

The essay by Ruth Krall that follows below is the fourth in a series of essays entitled "Recapitulation: Affinity Sexual Violence in a Religious Voice," which I've had the honor to publish on Bilgrimage in the past weeks. The first essay in this series appeared in two installments, here and here. The second appeared in another two installments, here and here. The third essay is here. As Ruth's introduction to the essay below notes, it follows on her three preceding essays, which hypothesize the endemic natural of religious and spiritual leader sexual abuse of followers by asking what might be the role played by various ideologies in establishing institutional climates that faciliate abuse and then cover it up. As with some of Ruth's previous essays in this series, I'm posting this one in two parts: part one is below.

Then and Now: A Nation Awash with Blood, Torn by Racially Driven Violence, Unwilling to Learn — My Reflections on Dallas Shootings

Charles Pierce, Politics Blog at Esquire

The universe has physical laws: For every action, there's a reaction.

Bloody Summer of 2016 and Coming U.S. Elections: "A Great Sorting on the Trump Question Is Coming" (As Guns Fail [Again] to Save Us)

America,
Put the gun on the ground and step away.
Please.

— Amanda Kerri (@eternalkerri) July 8, 2016

As Violence Is Discussed in Light of Brussels Atrocities, Some Food for Thought — About Violence As Our Problem, Too

Violence is in the air these days. After the events in Brussels, it's being discussed all over again — as if it's something occasional, far-away, over there, not really affecting most of us much of the time. As if violence has roots in them but not among us . . . .

Droppings from the Catholic Birdcage: John Dear on Nonviolence As Call for Everyone, Matthew Pulver on U.S. Complicity in Assassination of Oscar Romero

Father John Dear on the . . . odd and capricious . . . way in which mainstream news commentators chide protesters in places like Baltimore and Ferguson about nonviolence, while totally ignoring the massive violence practiced by those with real power in our society: 

Cultural Violence and Gay-Bashing: Four Quotations for Your Consideration

Four quotations for your consideration, from thought-provoking works I've read, bookmarked, and annotated over the years — all on the theme of violence, where it comes from, its roots in religious ideology, and its manifestation as attacks on LGBT persons: