Pope Francis's Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium: Reflections from a Nobody Who Isn't Even in the Room

I've struggled for several days now to write something about Pope Francis's apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium.  I have read the document--sort of: it's lengthy and diffuse, and to be honest, much of it strikes me as a habriaqueísmo (a word I learned from the document itself, #96) that doesn't speak to me because it doesn't seem to see me in the room. And so my eyes scan the words without fully taking them in, since I suspect they're not addressed to me as an openly gay, partnered Catholic theologian who was never, throughout my brief, abortive theological career, accorded any lasting place within a Catholic college or university, or within a Catholic parish--because I am clearly not welcome within these institutions as I am in my real life.

Outcry in Louisville about University Hospital's Healthcare Plan Following Merger with Kentucky One/Catholic Health Initiatives

Another eye-catching item in today's news: as Laura Ungar reports for Louisville Courier-Journal, the American Civil Liberties Union and other human rights groups are unhappy about a recent announcement made by the University of Louisville hospital. The hospital recently announced that its 2014 insurance plan for employees will no longer cover vasectomies. The plan also erases all references to domestic partners, lumping them together with "dependent adults." The plan has explicitly inserted into its insurance coverage guidelines language defining spouses solely as legally married persons of the opposite sex.

Breaking News: Four New Indictments of Adults in Steubenville Rape Case

AP is reporting (and see CNN's report) this morning that there are four more indictments in the Steubenville rape case, in which high-school football players Ma'lik Richmond and Trenton May were convicted this past March of raping a 16-year old girl at a party last August. Here's Huffington Post's valuable cache of articles covering that story, in which it was widely reported that many members of the local community rallied around and protected the rapists and blamed the teenaged girl for her rape. 

More on Linda Woodhead's Survey of What British Catholics Actually Believe: The "Big Con" of Magisterial Teaching about Sexual Morality

Prof. Linda Woodhead

At Religion Dispatches, Linda Woodhead reprises the summary of her recent research findings regarding what British Catholics actually believe (as opposed to what they're told to believe) that I discussed last week. She frames her presentation of her findings by noting that the questionnaire the Vatican is circulating, which asks for lay input prior to the synod on the family, is unlikely to obtain a clear picture of what lay Catholics believe, because its methodology is so cumbersome that it will elicit "hydra-headed" replies that aren't susceptible to easy interpretation.

Note to Readers: Apologies for Slowness in Acknowledging Your Comments

A quick note to readers who have left comments here in the past several days: for a number of reasons, I'm running behind lately, and haven't yet had a chance to acknowledge your comments. I do very much appreciate them, and am hoping to use part of tomorrow to catch up.

In the News: George Zimmerman, Obamacare, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, and Moral Sickness of Cultures

News commentary about disparate topics (though interconnected ones, to my way of thinking) that has caught my eye this week:

Bishop Paprocki's Failed Exorcism Stunt and Moral Arc of History: More Commentary

Fred Clark thinks that Bishop Thomas Paprocki's recent exorcism failed. It was set up to prove the superiority of his episcopal power over, well, the entire state of Illinois, insofar as its elected officials chose marriage equality over the bishops' party line. In particular, it was set up to assert Paprocki's episcopal authority over the Catholic laypeople of Illinois, a majority of whom support the human rights of gay folks, including marriage equality.