By Thomas G. Plante in 'America' The Jesuit Review, 22 October 2018 Many people believe that homosexuality is the root cause of sexual abuse by clergy in the Catholic Church since about 80 percent of the known victims have been male. This has led some church leaders to suggest that banning homosexual men from the…
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Clerical cronyism and secrecy shielded McCarrick and others
By Fr Peter Daly in The National Catholic Reporter, 22 October 2018 Two months into the sex abuse scandal that forced Theodore McCarrick to renounce his cardinal's red hat and withdraw to a Capuchin friary in Kansas, Catholics are still asking, "How did this happen?" How does someone like McCarrick advance to the pinnacle of Catholic…
It’s time to show snowflakes some sympathy
By Clare Foges in THE TIMES, 22 October 2018 Watch out Fisherman’s Friends, Earl Grey tea, Daddies sauce: your time may soon be up! Last week we saw the demise of the Gentleman’s Roll, a product from Waitrose containing Gentleman’s Relish among other delicious things. After an outcry on Twitter in which the sandwich name was…
Homily, 29th Sunday (B) 2018
How would you describe to a non-Christian friend the purpose of the life of Jesus Christ and what it has achieved for the world and for you personally? This is the question the New Testament Letter to the Hebrews, from which today's second reading is taken, tried to answer for the Hebrew Christian community living…
Tentacles of the welfare state are tightening
From Ed Conway in THE TIMES, Friday 19 October 2018 (I met Ed Conway at a family wedding last year. Always interesting. ~ MJC) Several years ago an American psychology professor, Sarah Brosnan, carried out an experiment with capuchin monkeys. She trained five pairs to give her a token in return for a slice of…
A Farewell
Before he died on 17 April 2014 at the age of 87, Gabriel García Márquez, Colombia’s illustrious Nobel Laureate for literature, had declared his retirement from public life. He had terminal cancer and, apparently, sent this letter of farewell to friends before he died: If for a moment God would forget that I am a rag…
Homily 28th Sunday (B) 2018
In today’s Gospel we are set yet another demanding challenge by Jesus. As last Sunday, we have the difficulty of trying to apply Christ’s demanding teaching to our lives in a modern world so vastly different from his in first century Palestine. Most of his hearers, like Jesus himself, came from poor backgrounds. In their…
Identity politics is killing off healthy debate
From Rachel Sylvester in THE TIMES, 9 October 2018: It is a year since the Eurosceptic Tory MP Chris Heaton-Harris, then a government whip, wrote to universities requesting a list of the names of professors involved in the teaching of European affairs “with particular reference to Brexit”, together with copies of each syllabus and links…
Don’t feel guilty, selfishness is the new religion
From James Marriott in THE TIMES, 9 October 2018: Fancy doing some radical politics? It’s all right, you don’t even have to leave the house. Pop upstairs and run a bath. If you’re feeling especially political you might want to add some bubbles. Jump in. Congratulations, you’re performing a radical act of self care. In…
Homily, 27th Sunday (B) 2018
27th Sunday (B) 2018 Just in this past week it was announced that heterosexual couples in England and Wales will be able to enter into civil partnerships. This will give them a raft of financial advantages reserved until now for marriage. It will provide greater security for couples who want legal recognition for their relationship…
Sunday Mass: Saturday 4pm, Sunday 10am 