Association of Catholic Priests: Pope Francis Has "A Major Blind Spot When It Comes to the Place of Women in the Catholic Church"

Central Scotoma

The Association of Catholic Priests suggests that, as with his predecessors, Pope Francis has "a major blind spot when it comes to the place of women in the Catholic Church." ACP points to Francis's recent decision to excommunicate Australian priest Father Greg Reynolds, which is being spun as a decision based on the rumor that Reynolds gave communion to a dog. His real crime was advocating the ordination of women.

Chris Hedges on Christian Fascist Game Plan of American Religious Right

Here's how Chris Hedges opens his essay at Truthdig today about the theological roots of the radical right's war on the U.S. government at present:

Pope Francis and a Catholic Springtime? But What About the Abuse Crisis and Women's Role in the Church?

As I listen to Leonardo Boff predict a new springtime in the Catholic church due to Pope Francis (see here and here), I don't want to take my eyes off what has happened up to now with the new pope vis-à-vis the biggest crisis the church has faced since the Reformation. This is the crisis provoked by sexual abuse of minors by Catholic religious authority figures.

Leonardo Boff on the Latin American Context of Francis's Papal Style, and the Shift from Doctrine and Discipline to Human Search and Human Inquiry

Another essay by theologian Leonardo Boff, which, to my way of thinking, glosses the analysis of his reflection on Pope Francis's dialogue with Italian intellectual (and non-believer) Eugenio Scalfari, about which I blogged yesterday. Here, Boff talks about how the third world has come to the Vatican with Francis (the English translation of this Boff essay is by Melina Alfaro). Boff maintains that many of those perplexed by style that the new pope brings to the papacy have not given sufficient attention to the fact that Francis "comes from a different manner of being Church, which has matured in the Third World."

Final Two Installments in Miranda Blue's Series on Globalizing Homophobia and Role of U.S. Religious Right

Miranda Blue has now published the final two installments in her Right Wing Watch series about the role of the religious right in globalizing homophobia (especially in Russia). I blogged about the first two essays in the series several days ago. I'm grateful to reader Chris Morley for pointing out in a comment responding to that posting that the other essays in the series have now been published.

More on the Shutdown, Dominance of White Southerners in GOP, and Theology Driving GOP's Ideology

Two more links to add to the set I offered readers yesterday, when I discussed the dominance of the radicalized GOP by white Southerners and what that means for the shutdown:

Leonardo Boff Comments on Pope Francis's Latest Interview: Believer and Non-Believer Walking the Path to Truth Together, Implications for the Future of the Church

I like very much liberation theologian Leonardo Boff's reflection on Pope Francis's recent interview with Italian thinker and non-believer Eugenio Scalfari. Bettina Gold-Hartnack has translated it into German at Boff's website. I don't trust my faltering German enough to provide an English translation for readers, though I can read the German text--sort of, with the aid of a dictionary to remind me of the meaning of words I once knew but have long since forgotten.