USCCB Weighs In on SCOTUS Decision

USCCB Weighs In on SCOTUS Decision by MSW.  MGB: The USCCB made a strategic blunder, probably staff driven, to not work more closely with both sides on the law - and more specifically to be identified mostly with the opponents who attempted to use life issues to prevent passage for purely partisan reasons.  It is a blunder because to the extent there are problems, they will find it more difficult to recruit people to help them fix them.  Luckily, Obama does not hold a grudge, although early on some of the bishops sure did against the Sisters who supported the President.  If they really want to build bridges, they need to call of the LCWR exercise in heretic hunting (and urge those who started it into retirement a bit early).

More Countdown to SCOTUS Ruling

More Countdown to SCOTUS Ruling by MSW. MGB: He, Dellinger and I all nailed it as far as the taxing power goes.  Good prediction.  What he ignored (and I have not) is that the financial markets have not priced in survival of an inadequate mandate in the face of robust preexisting condition reform.  They are about to and it won't be pretty.  When insurance company stock prices sink it will be time for real reform in the form of a public option.

Polling on Health Care

Polling on Health Care by MSW.  MGB: The result was not anything that most expected, unless the listened to the last 60 seconds of the Solicitor General's rebuttal on the second day, which very clearly cited the taxing power as the reason to affirm the mandate.  Both I and Lawrence O'Donnell have been saying this for month, as well as many constitutional scholars.  What had the PR be so bad was the constant thought it would be overturned as unconstitutional.  That will no longer happen.  The next big opinion comes from the financial markets, which likely priced in repeal, not the existence of pre-existing condition reforms with a fairly weak mandate.  I expect health stocks to tank once this is realized, with insurers demanding a subsidized public option and repeal of guaranteed issue and community rating, with a new funding stream for the subsidy.  They will use their entire financial power to drown out Norquist and get this done before their stock price falls to zero.  Once there is a public option, 70% will favor reform.

Editorial: Upheld health care law a blessing for the U.S.

Editorial: Upheld health care law a blessing for the U.S.  Anyone who listened to or read the rebuttal by the Solicitor General, especially the last 60 seconds, should have expected a taxing power decision.  I am disappointed that Kennedy and Alito did not join Roberts, the the outcome should never have been in doubt.  The next step is the stock market pricing in the price of health insurers.  I don't think they have priced in reform.  When they do, they will find the mandate not adequate once pre-existing condition reform is effective - but they will price it now, not waiting for 2014.  Expect the insurers to demand a subsidized public option and the GOP to cave on the additional funding required.

Marriage 'justice' should involve separation of church and state

Marriage 'justice' should involve separation of church and state  The separation won't occur because the families of gay marrieds will want these unions blessed in Church. The same forces demanding marriage equality in the civil sphere will also speak up in the Church, and a largely gay priesthood will at least quietly meet our demands - which is what truly frightens the bishops (as well as gay clergy joining straight clergy in demanding the end to celibacy, or having them give up Church imposed self-loathing and instead finding a nice guy to settle down with).

Voter ID Aim Exposed

Voter ID Aim Exposed by MSW.  MGB: The fact that they are admitting it will attract the attention of both the Justice Department and those who they are trying to suppress.  It will be a losing issue for the GOP and will have the Obama campaign take the time to make sure people have the proper ID.

UVA Prez is Back

UVA Prez is Back by MSW.  MGB: The problems that led to this crisis are bigger than UVA, although they are relevant to Catholic schools as well.  They also highlight how much non-college bound student needs are ignored by the Church.  We need Catholic vocational schools where you can go to culinary class and have the marriage class all seniors get in Catholic High School.  Not everyone needs college prep after the 10th grade - in fact, most don't and we should not impose it on them.  The first two years of college for those who are academic should also be free and combined with the last two years of high school - including when the Catholic Church runs the school.  We have no problem with providing public funding to freshman and sophomores in Catholic College - so I fail to see why it should be denied to Catholic High School seniors and juniors.

Why Ecclesia Dei Appt is Important

Why Ecclesia Dei Appt is Important by MSW.  MGB: Frankly, with the new translations of the Mass, the Trads have won, at least for now.  Of course, the "spirit of Vatican II" is still very much alive among many Catholics - some of whom are getting to the age of being consecrated as bishops.  The purge of liberals is not as complete as many like to think - some are likely hiding in plain sight and we will change the Church in very short order, possibly even with the cooperation of the Pope.

Distress remains over 'show me your papers' part of immigration ruling  This is mostly about checking the status of people who are under arrest already. Operationally, making a call to Vermont to query the immigration status of every traffic stop just won't happen.  If someone is not criminal and was brought here, chances are the new Obama Dream policy will protect them.  If they are criminal, they are likely gone.  Once you are already under arrest for something else, you won't notice the additional phone call.  Most people probably won't know an inquiry was made under this act.  They will have bigger fish to fry, like what are they going to do about being arrested.  This is a symbolic victory for Brewer that means nothing operationally.

Eisenhower Warned Us

Eisenhower Warned Us by MSW.  MGB: Hopefully the employees will get the message that they need to call their members of Congress and Senators to demand compromise on both taxation and spending.  If enough defense contractor employees put pressure on the GOP, they may forget they know Grover Norquist - although it would be smart if they would work harder on increasing funding for space exploration than preserving weapons funding.  My next project may be putting a bug in their ear to adopt that strategy. A few calls from major defense contractor CEOs to David Camp on getting a deal done before the election may be just what the doctor ordered.

Scalia Scatenato

Scalia Scatenato by MSW. MGB: I suspect that Scalia was letting one of his clerks write this one.  That kind of nonsense can only come from a Liberty or Ave Maria grad working as a law clerk.  There is no risk of such a dissent ever becoming the majority opinion of the Court, which is what happens to well written dissents in time.

The Scandal at UVA

The Scandal at UVA by MSW.  MGB: Luckily, the Board of Visitors geeked at the last minute.  I suspect that the members are not only rich, but also alumni.  Moderate income individuals usually cannot afford to be on such boards and rich people usually bring other rich alumni to the table to bring in donations.  Of course, if they were any good at it, there would be no need for cuts.

Ideally, most students would end formal schooling after grade ten, with vocational training (including at institutions sponsored by the Catholic Church) available for those who are not becoming engineers, scientists or people who write for a living (which is all the liberal arts really teaches you - with that part of rhetoric including thinking and analysis). Those who do wish to continue their educations should be able to do so on the taxpayers dime for four more years (at either public or private schools) until after grade 14.  At that point, all will find employers, with some starting work and others continuing education on the employer's dime in exchange for a work requirement after graduation.

In all cases, after grade 10, anyone with a family should also get a stipend and a refundable child tax credit for each child or dependent spouse not joining them in school (including the fathers if they do the child rearing).  Only such a provision will keep young people from aborting their kids to continue their educations. Child care should also be available if both parents are in training.  No other solution should be acceptable to people who call themselves pro-life.   I have a classmate who is president of our alma mater who I bend the ear of on this issue when I see him.  So far, I have not heard that he has implemented my ideas. Pity.  If I were rich, he would put me on the board.  Of course, my insistence on this issue is probably why he no longer lets me know when he is in town.

This kind of corporate involvement will take the state revenue pressure away from education - and add employer pressure to lower tuition - but will also develop research relationships between employers and schools and likely be lucrative for both sides.

SCOTUS on Ariz Immigration Law

SCOTUS on Ariz Immigration Law by MSW.  MGB: Actually, the requirement to have and show documentation was not upheld.  All that was upheld was the responsibility of law enforcement to call the federal facility in Vermont that is charged with doing these verifications.  If local sheriffs don't start pulling over Latinos or others as a pretext to check their status and limit their checks to people actually in custody or who would have been stopped anyway in border areas, this portion of the law will likely stand.  Because the Feds have a center to take these calls, they can't oppose them with a straight face.

Everything else was handily rejected by the Courts, as it should be and as it will be in every other state that tries such nonsense.  Romney's claim that they had to act because Obama would not is silly on its face, since it was the GOP who was blocking a compromise that was one vote in the Senate away from law.  As I remember it, Lindsey Graham was about to sign on to a compromise before someone started talking about birth right citizenship being an issue.  I suspect it was big food, which thrives on labor in the shadows to freely abuse its workers who paid for this issue to suddenly come up.  If meat processing employees no longer live in fear of deportation, they will call USDA on conditions and DOL to unionize as soon as the ink is dry on the law. That is the real reason that compromise was averted.

The Verdict in Cairo

The Verdict in Cairo by MSW.  MGB: Mubarak is essentially dead, or they are faking it to sneak him out. The Fox Newsies have been pushing fear of the Muslim Brotherhood for more than a year and Egypt is not out of the woods yet.  You can't force modernity on people who are resisting it, but until the women and modernists have their own day in the Square, the Brotherhood is likely the option they will get.  Of course, the military may have a long rule until the people unite behind freedom - and not the religious freedom of the Muslim Brotherhood to rule the society.

The verdict in Philadelphia

The verdict in Philadelphia by MSW.  MGB: It is not enough to merely punish guilty priests, or to castigate the Church for listening to legal counsel who protect it at any cost (like in these cases).  Clergy must be removed from these decisions.  The real Catholic Spring will be for the laity to seize control of the administrative affairs of the Church.  The only clergy that should have anything to do with such issues are lay deacons (with no promise of celibacy) of both genders who are elected by the faithful rather than appointed by the Bishops.  Let the bishops freely dispense the sacraments, but make them take a vow of poverty.

Analysis: The Vatican's 'Next Generation' PR maneuver

Analysis: The Vatican's 'Next Generation' PR maneuver He should fit well in the echo chamber, which will only delay the inevitable.  Of course, if Benedict is much more liberal than we think, this may turn out well if this helps him soften the blow for Trads and makes them more compliant.  I suspect that instead, once he realizes Benedict is an economic leftist, he will run screaming from the Vatican.

Knights of Columbus leader: 'Catholics can no longer accept politics as usual'

Knights of Columbus leader: 'Catholics can no longer accept politics as usual' If the Knights wish to die out by being culture warriors, I won't stop them nor will I join them.  Their loss.

Gay ministry group refuses to sign oath

Gay ministry group refuses to sign oath  Being labeled as not authentically Catholic by a bishop such as this is overwhelmingly a good thing.  Eventually, the bishops will realize (hopefully too late) that their opinions on such matters do not matter anymore.  The Church as a whole will flock to this group with support.

Dems For Life on HHS Mandate

Dems For Life on HHS Mandate by MSW.  MGB: The fact that the government must come up with tests that deal with how government services are distributed is not at all unusual.  While there is certainly case law on religious institution categorization that already exists, the entire establishment question is still in flux.  This period may indeed cause a rethinking of that part of the HHS proposal - however, the law must be drawn somewhere.  It is still intellectually dishonest, however, to not admit that the current mandate to provide coverage, which has existed since 2000, is more restrictive than what HHS proposes.  Everyone is trying to pretend that Obama is persecuting him for trying to do the Church a favor.  I don't suspect Obama will make that mistake again.  The irony is still that the labor market mostly demands that this coverage be offered anyway - indeed many Catholic organizations did so on their own and simply did not tell the hierarchy that this was in fact the case.  I suspect the lack of courage in telling the truth on this issue comes from not wanting to admit that current policies have been covering birth control for a lot longer than has been required.

Remembering Cesar Chavez

Remembering Cesar Chavez by MSW. MGB: Chavez is a patron of day laborers and migrant farmers everywhere.  Some forget that the word most people translate as the carpenter's son was really the word for day laborers who work in the fields or nowadays on construction projects, congregating at 7-11s to work for the day.  Jesus was one of those people for most of his life.  What set him apart was a thirst for Scripture and a heart full of love, along with the faith to believe what he read, including the courage to accept those passages that applied to himself.

Why Catholics Leave & Where They Go

Why Catholics Leave & Where They Go by MSW.  MGB: Spiritual but not religious is actual code for many people who are in recovery and find the Ignatian Spirituality of Alcoholics Anonymous much more fulfilling than the fixation the Church has for gyno-morality, especially when they get political about it with such exercises as the Fortnight for Religious Freedom (which seems to be more about the religious rights of hierarchy at the expense of those of the faithful and employees who aren't even Catholic) or at election time.


Those who know their ecclesial history can be more easily discouraged, especially from ancient times where the Overseer (better translated as Pastor than Bishop) was elected by the people rather than transfered in or appointed from outside by the Pope through the Papal Nuncio. Don't let anyone tell you that people are not fully indoctrinated in the western world into modern democratic modes of thought. Consider that many who leave to be either spiritual and not religious, or simply religious somewhere else chaif at the arrogance of the hierarchy and their renewed insistence on conformity to the infallible Magisterium based on natural law (which is an inherent contradiction in terms - as natural law is always subject to reason and is the province of anyone who uses it).

As for the music, most modern music is hideous. Sadly, my wife loves the St. Louis Jesuits. Luckily, a neigboring parish has a simple 7 AM Mass with no music at all. Still, the problem with the music is mostly that music ministers spend no time finding hymns the congregation loves and coaching them in them, including practicing the responsorial psalm prior to Mass. If the music is bad, we have ourselves to blame for it. This is one ministry where the laity mostly hold sway and are responsible for the result.

Chaput: We will lose religious freedom if we don't fight for it

Chaput: We will lose religious freedom if we don't fight for it  Chaput confuses freedom of conscience with deference to Christendom by Catholic voters and legislators.  If you want freedom of religion, extend it to others, including non-Catholics who work for you who are told by their doctors to get chemical birth control.

Who's funding the Catholic bishops' religious freedom campaign?

Who's funding the Catholic bishops' religious freedom campaign?  My fear is that donations to the Bishops Appeal and Catholic Charities are being used for this adventure, like they were used for the FOCA scam (whose real purpose was building mailing lists to send out emails against health care reform).  Someone should ask this question, so that donors to these appeals can suspend payment and say why.

One More Reason to Nix the Restrictive HHS Exemption

One More Reason to Nix the Restrictive HHS Exemption  by MSW.  MGB: This gets to the key point of the discussion.  It was not some HHS appointee that said that contraception was an essential preventative service, it was the Institute of Medicine.  It was not a political decision to assuage feminists.  Once this is made clear, the main argument against the new rules falls apart.  The other argument is over the ensoulment of blastocysts, which is impossible because they are guided by only the maternal DNA.  If the higher reality is reflected in the lower, this means ensoulment before gastrulation is impossible and the only moral objection is over the sexual morlity of Church employees.  Such objections should never be honored in policy and probably cannot be in an environment when tax and direct subsidies are at play in providing insurance coverage.  The publicness of the funding brings the right of privacy into the mix.  By privacy, we mean not simply the right to confidentiality, but for individuals to make their own decisions without the state having a say (or their employers if using tax subsidies to fund health care).  Maybe the easiest way is to overcome the bishop's objections to the four part test is to drop all exemptions for the Church, which is the current status quo.  It is rather ungratious of the Church to not mention this.

Ramos' Elegant Essay

Ramos' Elegant Essay by MSW.  MGB: Novels aside, liberalism is good for you, although it is bad for traditional marriage.  The left should actually admit that they are out to end the ideal of marriage in a hierarchical setting - which the Church still seems to defend as it allows male clergy to remain dominant and authoritarian.  From family dynamics to Christology, ending traditional marriage is exactly what the left should be trying to do, even if they are unaware of the fact, thinking that a marriage of unequals has already gone out of style.  One positive impact of the resistance to marriage equality is that those who hold the old view are coming out of the woodwork on what they view marriage actually is.  This allows us to reject their views directly and with integrity.

Contra Keller

Contra Keller by MSW.  MGB: Keller was reviewing Donohue's book.  I suspect he is ascribing the views you find objectionable to the Curia as a whole, not the Pope.  He is arguing ad absurdo and seems to be quoting Bill.  Without reading the book (which I would never pay for, no matter how good he says it is), I cannot confirm or deny his characterization.  I do agree with MSW that we need not heed the voices that encourage us to follow the protestant impulse and leave.  Indeed, the best voice on why we stay came from Gary Wills in his book "Why I am  a Catholic."  Comparing Donohue and Wills side by side would make a good paper for an undergraduate in either a religion class or a sociology seminar. Classmates who have left say they do so because they just don't trust the Church anymore to teach their children, either in class or the pulpit.  As an individual, I have an obligation to correct the hierarchy when they err (and they do err), especially when they find it inconvenient.  If I remain silent, their sin is on my head as well as theirs.  As far as my child, I can only make sure she hears as much from me as she does the clergy - especially about sex and tolerance.

Garnett on Immigration Reform

Garnett on Immigration Reform by MSW. MGB: If conservatives lawmakers wish to shoot themselves in the foot by opposing this policy in court, they are quite welcome to waste their donors money in doing so. At the risk of throwing an elbow, the recent lawsuits, which are not yet ripe and will be dismissed fairly quickly, do not have the same buy-in by most donors to their local Cardinals' and Bishops' Appeals. No one asked me to support this suit - and if asked I would have said no. The fact that no one has questioned whether we donors should have been allowed to give input to this Quixotic exercise is what is most troubling. Luckily, the Bishop of Arlington is not a party to the suit. If he were, I would suspend my pledge with a letter explaining why. I urge others who hold the same view to do so if you live in Washington and other such participants. The Catholic Spring must start somewhere.

O'Malley On Immigration Reform

O'Malley On Immigration Reform by MSW.  MGB: My favorite American Cardinal, second only to the brave Cardinal from Austria.

Supreme Court Preview

Supreme Court Preview by MSW.  MGB: The likelihood is that the last minute of oral argument on the second day is determinative, when the Solicitor General conceded that even if the Commerce Clause does not apply, the taxing power does, as proved by United States v. New York. That negates the scenarios of the third day of argument. If the mandate falls and takes gauranteed issue and community rating with it, the upcoming crisis in the insurance agency will be averted, although there seems no reason to overturn the Medicare reforms, including the new revenues. I suspect that this result would roil those who funded the lawsuit, who are much more about dodging the new taxes than about overturning mandates. If mandates fall, but nothing else does, the health insurance industry is toast.


Even if the mandate is upheld, and I expect it will be, it is inadequate to deal with community rating and gauranteed issue (pre-existing condition reform). I suspect that Health Insurer stock prices have not yet priced in the inadequacy of mandates, believing that the court will rule against mandates. This will change sometime this week and likely lead to a collapse in the stock price that will bring about single-payer insurance as these firms go into bankruptcy, or at the very least a deal on a subsidized public option in exchange for an end to mandates, community rating and gauranteed issue - with the pool of individuals in the public option increasing until it effectively becomes a single-payer program. Single-payer catastrophic insurance might also be negotiated, with employers funding health savings accounts (oddly, with a mandate that no one will object to) and employees funding linked flexible spending accounts to bridge the gap between the HSA balance being accumulated and the catastrophic deductible (and to fund such things as accupuncture and abortion).

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi by MSW.  MGB: When I was 5, my father let me steer an airplane around the San Antonio Hemisfare Tower while he worked the pedals and took pictures.  We later went up the tower after the Fair opened.   Last I checked, space needles are still all the rage, even if there is no exhibition to back them up.  Indeed, a new one is just now going up in Shanghai.  Just because they are not popular here does not mean they are dead everywhere.

Cafardi's Funnybone

Cafardi's Funnybone by MSW.  MGB: I would take it one step further - just call Rome and their objections irrelevant and stand on their own feet without recognition. When we lived in a society where bishops had secular power, the protection of the papacy was necessary.  They no longer have any such power, so papal recognition can be dispensed with, as well as any deference to the local ordinary.  Bishops and the Pope need to realize that they only have the power we give them.  If consent is withheld, Rome is irrelevant - at least to the Sisters.  God is still with them.  The conduct of the Curia does not make the same claim possible.  "By their fruits shall you know them."

Globalization & Its Discontents

Globalization & Its Discontents by MSW.  MGB: Actually, American was pretty much drenched in blood by the Civil War and the violence of the Slave Power which led up to it, although total war only happened at the end with Sherman's March.  We had our test of whether a confederate system of government beats a national government and the confederate system lost the war, but won the peace for another hundred years, until equal protection law became much more muscular.  Europe is still flirting with its confederate period, much in the same way the original 13 staes did before the Constitution was used to seize power.  Such a seizure will likely happen in Europe and beyond (the United Nations is also a confederation which cannot stand forever).  Subsidiarity is not so important a principal as sovereignty here.  Europe doesn't have it yet.  It needs it and will get it.

LCWR president 'not sure' of what comes next

LCWR president 'not sure' of what comes next  At some point, the LCWR will realize that it can tell the Vatican to zark off with no ill effects to them, but devestating to the patriarchy - because we can all follow them.

Gibson Nails Keller

Gibson Nails Keller by MSW.  MGB: The Catholic Church is like the Hotel California, you can check out any time you like but you can never really leave.  If more would forgo the sectarian impulse, those of us who stand for reform could certainly use the company - especially as it becomes increasingly necessary to force governance and financial changes on an unwilling hierarchy.  The doctrinal and ecumenical changes can be resolved once we take away their checkbooks and their belief that they can self-appoint and exclude women, the married, the gay and combinations of the above.  Cultural theorists are correct that doctrinal differences arise from the ecclesial ones.  The theorists are correct.

Jewish Support on Immigration

Jewish Support on Immigration by MSW.  MGB: If only the Catholic bishops would take such an uncompromising stand.

HHS, Immigration & the Estuary

HHS, Immigration & the Estuary by MSW.  MGB: Romney's problems on immigration are largely self-inflicted and he does not have competent staff to handle them. USCCB staff are similarly providing less than expert service on this issue, especially regarding the lawsuit - which is not even ripe. HHS staff is equally incompetent, since it appears that they did not get outside legal help in crafting their effort to draw a line between what organizations should be and should not be exempt, although in their defense, the law on this issue is still evolving. If it were clear, the issue would be resolved by now.


As to the principle of religious liberty in this case, the question to be considered is whether it trumps the privacy rights of patients - which come into play in private sector employment because insurance is being heavily subsidized and regulated in the federal sector. Such subsidies and regulation make the privacy right to contraception extendable to the employee-employer relationship - irregardless of any religious liberty issues.

Sr. Carol Keehan & The HHS Mandate

Sr. Carol Keehan & The HHS Mandate by MSW.  MGB: The four-part test is an attempt to draw a very necessary line.  Without a test, insurance companies can claim to be churches.  Of course, the question of the test is moot if no exception is made at all - which simply maintains that status quo as far as insurance companies covering contraception of all insurance providers including such coverage as required by the EEOC since December 2000.  I will keep bringing this up until MSW and the Church admit that the Administration is being rewarded for its attempts to accommodate the Church more than current law with this bit of nastiness.  They may be better off simply dropping any exemption at all.  As for the outlandish comment that this should be part of the New Evangelization - NO!  If the New Evangelization is merely a justification for continued deference to the hierarchy, we will have none of it.  The New Evangelization should be solely about the Good News of the Resurrection.  As for the lawsuit, if comments are still being taken, it is not ripe and will be thrown out in all jurisdictions because of it - which ads fuel to the speculation that at least someone who promoted this silliness was doing it for political reasons, even if the USCCB was not in on the joke.

New documentary depicts Jesuit's struggle for LGBT rights

New documentary depicts Jesuit's struggle for LGBT rights by Jamie Manson.  MB: The reason the CDF came down so hard on gay issues was because the Church at large was moving toward accepting gays and lesbians as they are.  It was sadly almost predictable, although eventualy victory and change are almost gauranteed as well.

BREAKING: CHA Calls on HHS To Scrap Narrow Exemption Clause

BREAKING: CHA Calls on HHS To Scrap Narrow Exemption Clause by MSW.  MGB: Seems like the bishops got to her.  Too bad.  Of course, this does not change the fact that mostly, Catholic organizations who offer preventative medicine have been funding birth control since, or even before, EEOC required it.

Metzger & O'Reilly on Bruskewitz, Lori, Garvey & Muslims

Metzger & O'Reilly on Bruskewitz, Lori, Garvey & Muslims by MSW.  MGB:  Such questions as raised by the Bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska deserve all the respect owed to Michele Bachmann in her comments about the HPV vaccine.  What is more troubling is that the bishops are taking definitive positions on bills that they have not read while relying on staff members with a partisan POV.  It shows that more complete briefings from less partisan staff are necessary, as I fear coalition politics having to do with personal relationships between the USCCB and the NRLC held sway over truth in considering the law - and in sniping at those who attempted to correct the bishops' error in doing so.

Camosy on Infanticide

Camosy on Infanticide by MSW.  MGB: The reference sonograms misses the very valid point that abortion is not undertaken for convenience but because the child proves dangerous.  If a born child is still considered dangerous then there are serious holes in the social welfare system, which should either be able to step in for the parent, provide servies to the parent or be helpful when the child has no chance of survival in helping the parent cope with its loss without having to hasten death.  The same points can be made when the child is merely economically dangerous prior to birth - however if the pregnancy is a danger to the mother and the child has no chance of survival - even to birth - it is not horrific at all to suggest that inducing delivery as soon as possible is the best thing for both mother and child - as the child might be baptized if pregnancy is induced before nature takes its course and kills it in the womb (not that this matters - one must truly believe that God is heartless to not trust him entirely with the fate of preborn children who are never born once - and therefore need not be born again).

Bishops' Battlelines on the Economy

Bishops' Battlelines on the Economy by MSW.  MGB: Simply put, conservative bishops don't like to admit that they are in error, heretically so, on Catholic Social Teaching.  If only they could have moved the next meeting to October - although I am sure debate over the November document will spill over into the election cycle.  This is likely a good thing.  In matters of ethical reasoning, a little public disagreement is good for the Church to learn humility - although frankly there is more scripture to support a more progressive social teaching than the more conservative teaching on sex you see in today's doctrine.

Bishops told HHS rule is only one part of U.S. religious freedom threats

Bishops told HHS rule is only one part of U.S. religious freedom threats  Unless you are willing to let Blue Cross identify as a religious organization, you have to draw the line someplace.  No one is persecuting the Church by trying to draw reasonable lines.

Is it time for religious groups to lose their tax exemption?

Is it time for religious groups to lose their tax exemption?  Religious groups actually play quite a bit of tax through their employees.  Any move to a consumption tax would like have them pay taxes on their entire payroll, plus withholding income tax for highly paid staff members - rather than simply serving as tax collector to collect from their employees.  Either way, donor money is taxed (as it should be).  Also, when religious organizations rent space, they pay tax through their landlords.  When their employees pay property taxes, either directly or through their landlords, it also comes from donors if you look at it honestly.  Again, as it should be.

D'ya Think Bp Bruskewitz Watches Fox?

D'ya Think Bp Bruskewitz Watches Fox? by MSW.  MGB: Everyone assumes that the new Nuncio is with them.  I think that some of them may be in for the surprise of early retirement, unless they are consciously trying to pull a Burke and get assigned to Rome.  Either option is preferable to bishops like this who cannot be very good pastors, assuming he his not playing to right wingers in his particular flock - in which case he should be speaking out, not pandering.

Lough Derg

Lough Derg by MSW.  MGB: The Irish saved both civilization and the Church in the last dark ages.  Maybe they will again this time.

Bishops agree to prepare message on 'work, poverty and a broken economy'

Bishops agree to prepare message on 'work, poverty and a broken economy' I suspect that Republican priests and bishops will resist this or not act upon it until after the election.  This is where they should be saying something in the political world.  Christ said nothing about birth control (which did exist in his time).  He talked about justice for laborers and the poor all the time.

Archbishop: 'Fortnight' about religious freedom, not politics

Archbishop: 'Fortnight' about religious freedom, not politics The decline in religious practice comes about because the bishops go off half-cocked without listening to the faithful first - or ignore us when we do speak.  Lori is either badly advised or lying about whether this is political, since it has to do with a lawsuit that won't be ripe until final rules are issued in the Federal Register.  The fact that they filed before ripeness, which won't occur until next year, means that this is entirely political.  Either they did not tell him or he knows and is fibbing.  Finally, even if the bishops are not having a war on women or their doctors (hard to believe, since the policy they object to came not from the HHS Civil Rights Office but the Institute of Medicine's recommendations on preventative care for women), the Republicans they are associating with are surely having such a war.  Just look at the Susan B. Komen funding of breast exams by Planned Parenthood if you have any doubts about this.

George Weigel Almost Had Me

George Weigel Almost Had Me by MSW.  MGB: Frankly, Americanism is no heresy, even though the Curia of 100 years ago called it one.  Especially on the abortion issue, it is quite correct that at least when it comes to how abortion exists in law, one must understand the American system to understand why the rules that apply to European democracies do not apply here when dealing with what Catholic politicians can and can't do.  Additionally, the American viewpoint on freedom of religion eventually won out over that held by the counter-revolutionaries on the Council, including JPII, who did not understand it and still don't.  Sadly, they are egging on the American bishops.  While I agree that academia is mainly screwy in general, academic theology is actually better than most academic disciplines - and Sr. Margaret's work seems most useful - more so than actual Catholic doctrine on sex (which is best ignored in favor of the promptings of ones own conscience).  I suspect most of the faithful see Weigel as growing in irrelevance, like the system he defends.

Obama on The Defensive

Obama on The Defensive  by MSW. MGB: Messaging won't help him if the people are still suffering.  Luckily, home prices are going up and gas prices are going down.  The question is whether there will be enough movement to make people feel good enough to re-elect him.  Of course, the GOP and their nominee have a huge capacity for unforced errors, especially around the Tampa convention and any debates (where Romney will likely get his clock cleaned or show disrespect to the President of the United States, which will simply turn out the base strongly).

Nuncio endorses Fortnight for Freedom, plans to participate

Nuncio endorses Fortnight for Freedom, plans to participate I suspect that after participating, he will come to a different conclusion about some of his brother bishops.

Goc. Rick Scott: Worst Governor in US

Goc. Rick Scott: Worst Governor in US by MSW.  MGB: This designation is a no-brainer, although the GOP has some other interesting candidates, including Jan Brewer of Arizona.  Theoretically, the state of Florida could allow non-citizens to vote if it so chose.  Article I gives them total freedom to do so.  The question is whether under color of purging non-citizens, he is also seeking a disparate result that purges legal voters.  Indeed, what he seeks does not matter, only the result.  Luckily, it looks like local regisrars are obeying the law.

Dancing on Carr's Grave?

Dancing on Carr's Grave? by MSW. MGB: I hope the real reason is that Lisa is going to work for Fr. Brian in Boston Charities.  Heaven knows Brian needs the help.  I envy their move to New England.  Still, I can't help but wonder if he is on the outs on this insanity over contraception.  Certainly others on the USCCB staff have been advising the bishops badly on this issue, especially in the General Counsel's office.  They have no hope on any of the constitutional issues and their lawyer should have told them that.  BTW: they should consult with some one who can adequately explain the pro-choice position to them.  They might quit shooting themselves in the foot if they did.

LCWR leader: Meeting with Vatican an opportunity for dialogue

LCWR leader: Meeting with Vatican an opportunity for dialogue The LCWR is, of course, perfectly free to sever ties with the Vatican and reconstitute itself in its own right and there is not one thing the Vatican can do to stop them from doing so.  They probably won't, but they need to make it clear that they can.  If they had that courage, it would be a game changer.

As the USCCB Gathers in Atlanta

As the USCCB Gathers in Atlanta by MSW.  MGB: I suspect that most of the real action on religious liberty in Atlanta will be in behind the scenes discussion, with plenty of venting going on. As to the appropriateness of the four part typology on whether the exemption applies - such a typology is not at all inappropriate. You would need the same kind of thing in imposing a VAT. Hospitals would pay, Churches would not, schools may or may not, etc. The law can treat different entities differently and should, regardless of how you feel about it.


If the bishops wanted to avoid being part of a war on women, they should have insisted that a Sister testify with them on the panel, even she found the accommodation adequate. No one is saying that a war on women was the bishop's idea - but that does not mean that it does not occur - especially in light of the whole effort to defund Planned Parenthood in Susan G. Komen, which was part of a right wing project. When you lie with dogs...

When arguing about rights in law, the Church needs to rely on lawyers - and find lawyers that don't echo its views on the nature of rights in an absolute sense, which, by the way, don't really exist - they are either set by agreement or they don't. We have no rights before God (nor do we need them).

As to the future, the best thing that could happen out of Atlanta is that they drop the matter. It has been too conflated in the public mind with the GOP's war on Planned Parenthood and there is nothing they can say, aside from saying nothing, that will change that perception. If the more rightist among them keep flapping their gums, they will lose more support than Obama will, especially among Catholics who voted for Obama last time and maybe among Catholic women who did not. Of course, the partisan side of me hopes they will keep on going.

Vatican-criticized nun addresses fellow theologians

Vatican-criticized nun addresses fellow theologians She hits the nail on the head on whether the the Curia is really arguing natural law or simply mouthing it and relying on authority instead.  They cannot have it both ways. Oddl enough, the absolutist position is to let natural law arguments come to their conclusions based on reason and evidence.  Relying on authority is essentially relativism by devising moral teachings for Catholics only.

Essay: Power of the dying hierarchy is an illusion

Essay: Power of the dying hierarchy is an illusion  I would challenge the author to come back to Mass and not deprive himself and his children of the Eucharist just because the hierarchy has not yet figured out that they only have the power we give them.  We can ignore them just as easily from the pews - and it makes it easier to find our voices when the time comes if everyone is there.

Analysis: What's at stake in Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Philadelphia

Analysis: What's at stake in Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Philadelphia  Chaput may be gone by then.  It depends on how he behaves this electoral season.  If he goes to far, he may be kicked up to Rome.  Actually, given the age of the Curia, he may be on his way there anyway.

Theological society backs Vatican-criticized nun

Theological society backs Vatican-criticized nun  Good for them.  At least they know the difference between exploratory writing and apologetics - and that all theologians are required to engage solely in the latter.  If only the hierarchy cared enough for the truth to take advantage of the former in forming doctrine, especially when the doctrine is based on natural law, which depends on truth rather than authority, rather than those items which depend on common belief rather than reason.  Even then, listening the the theologians would be wise.

Analysis: Bishops' accountability still missing from abuse scandal

Analysis: Bishops' accountability still missing from abuse scandal This can really only be enforced by the Papal Nuncio.  Frankly, I like his track record of imposing reform on the Curia, or at least trying to.  I hope he brings the same spirit in dealing with bishops who ignore their obligations to protect children or who ignore their responsibility to remain neutral in this year's election cycle - especially those on the right who carry on the fraud that Catholic politicians actually have the ability to impact abortion law - other than offering a bill in the US Congress to set the start of human life earlier in the pregnancy - but with the necessary exemptions to deal with equal protection issues.  Of course, the latter is impossible if no responsible bill is actually written.

Latinos Still Back Obama

Latinos Still Back Obama by MSW.  MGB: At some point, we need to look at whether this also affects Texas and Florida, which explains Latino voter suppression efforts of late.  Should these backfire and GOTV among Latinos is done well by the administration, combined with conservatives not really warming up to Romney, not only will Florida be in play, but Texas as well.  If Romney loses both of these, we are looking at a Reaganesque or Nixonian landslide.  Stay tuned.

Abp Lori Denies Partisan Agenda

Abp Lori Denies Partisan Agenda by MSW. MGB: Republicans deny racism when they engage in voter suppression as well.  This is why the Voting Rights Act is about demonstrated impact, not intent.  Regardless of his intent, the more they mention this issue, the more the war on women meme exists in the public conversation.  This will especially be the case once the Justice Department wins summary judgements dimissing the suit because these cases will not be ripe until a final rule is issued.  Even then, it is obvious that some form of line must be drawn when making exceptions to the requirement that all employees be covered.  If they don't like this fact, the more realistic option is for all Catholic employers to continue with the same coverage currently offerred (which includes contraception).  It is still tone deaf of A/B Lori to seek religious liberty for employers but to deny it to employees - especially those who are not Catholic.  Not offering the coverage is such a denial.

Words of Hope in Cleveland

Words of Hope in Cleveland MGB: If only the other bishops would take their brother's words to heart.

Commonweal Symposium Part II

Commonweal Symposium Part II by MSW.  MGB: Kaveny raises the question of whether the Bishops are attempting to engage in Christendom, which is the use of the Church's power over its members who are elected officials (like the Vice President) to have their views given a weight they do not deserve. Any such attempts must be resisted, especially when they involve the Communion line. Indeed, such attempts are rightly called seditious. No non-Catholic politician would accuse the Church of this, for fear of alienating Catholic voters. Catholic politicians, however, should have the courage to do so, or at least share these concerns with the Papal Nuncio - who is responsible for the conduct of his bishops in this regard. (Were I President, I certainly would of, especially regarding the Secretary's right to partake).


Moreland offers an interesting take on the rights of institutions, but ignores the fact that this entire debate comes about because another institution, the medical profession as given voice by the Institutes of Medicine, also is a valid intermediary in public policy and has, in fact, based their judgment not on some radical commitment to feminism but on the medical necessity that women receive this coverage for no cost.

Laylock also points out how the Church argument has strayed into attempts at undoing contraception rather than simply defending its own rights. He is especially canny in pointing out that some of this attempt is about sexual moral issues rather than life issues. I would go further to state the Church is essentially wrong on their understanding of the life issues involved, since contraceptive methods mentioned are all affective prior to gastrulation, when the blastocyst is controlled solely by the DNA of the mother. The DNA of the father does not regulate development until gastrulations occurs. As the higher is reflected in the lower (as a theological principle), one can cite this as proof that ensoulment cannot have occurred - so there is no life issue - only a sexual one. It is quite a stretch to believe it is appropriate that the Church have an opinion on the personal sexual ethics of either their employees or the public at large.

Silk's comments on Americanism as a heresy, which is not about foreign policy but the belief that somehow the American Church can take a different line on issues than the Church as a whole, are worth reading the entire Commonweal piece.

All of the arguments ignore the fact that there is no constitutional reason to object to the current policy (which covers contraception) or the new one by HHS which merely stops the copay - a fact that has already been litigated in federal court regarding an identical state policy. This puts to lie the Church's contention that they must somehow resist a change when they have been living with paying for contraception through insurance since December 2000, when the EEOC enacted it. A truly intellectually honest analysis would start with that fact.

Commonweal's Symposium and Next Week's USCCB Mtg

Commonweal's Symposium and Next Week's USCCB Mtg by MSW.  MGB:  Galston's argument is deservedly first.  His comments on the Lee decision are spot on, as are Kaveny's.  If you take government money, there is no right to try to change the statement of work.  Galston is also correct on how gay marriage is evolving.  Let me add that because the Church does not refuse to cover spouses in civil marriages that have not been solemnized in a Church, it has no real freedom of conscience right to deny them to spouses who happen to be of the same sex as the employee.

Pondering the 'what,' not the 'who,' of Vatileaks

Pondering the 'what,' not the 'who,' of Vatileaks by John Allen.  MGB: Someone needs to explain to the hierarchy that using ecclesiastical discipline on matters of constitutional law borders on sedition, given that the constitutional oaths we take are to the Constitution, not the Church.  For someone responsible for another head of state to attempt to subvert free action in these matters is problematic at best.  If the American hierarchy were self appointing, it would have more freedom of action in this regard.

A faith-based plan to confront obesity

A faith-based plan to confront obesity  God wants us to be healthy, for our own sakes rather than Theirs (if that is the plural possessive of Thou).  There are 12th Step fellowships that help.  Such things are about personal recovery, not public policy toward sugar (just like AA has no position on temperance).

Weigel & the Cristeros

Weigel & the Cristeros by MSW.  MGB: There is also no muscular masonic anti-clericalism in the US, like there is in Mexico.  Martyrdom is a title that is owed to the faithful.  It is not merited by people who assert power, aid oppression or attempt revolution and do so ineffectively.  I am referring here to certain Catholic martyrs in England who had fantasies of regicide.  Trying to kill the monarch is never an act of faith - it is bowing to Satan in a way Christ did not when tempted the same way.

Remembering D-Day

Remembering D-Day by MSW.  MGB: First, read the link.  Second, Good way of throwing them out and funny, however the reality of American Hegemony was already in full swing.  The decision became Ike's.

Archbishop: Religious liberty campaign not meant to 'throw' election

Archbishop: Religious liberty campaign not meant to 'throw' election  Regardless of how it is meant, it is and will have an impact - mostly by further radicalizing women against the bishops and into the arms of the GOP.  Thanks, bishops!  Now, if they radicalize Latino voters to demand better immigration policy, that would not be bad either, since, again, the Democrats benefit (also when they criticize the Ryan budget).  Of course, there are some bishops who are obviously partisan.  We know who they are and we mostly ignore them.  This is the point the bishops need to get.  If they are tone deaf to what Catholic voters actually believe, rather than trying to tell us what to believe, they will have influence.  If they don't ask, they will simply be ignored.

Commonweal's Symposium and Next Week's USCCB Mtg

Commonweal's Symposium and Next Week's USCCB Mtg by MSW.  MGB: The constitutional issue of the mandate itself has already been settled, twice, in federal court in regard to an identical state mandate in New York.  The power to treat individual Catholic entities as something other than a monolith controlled by the bishops (because essentially, they are not) is simply common sense.  The line must be drawn somewhere or else Blue Cross becomes a religious group for the purpose of dealing with these mandates.  As far as the institutional freedom of the Church - it must be recognized that they are not really fighting a governmental decision, but a decision regarding the insitutional freedom of doctors to provide the care that they think best to women.  Any analysis that ignores the fact that the madate is first a medical determination, rather than a feminist project in the HHS Office of Civil Rights, is missing the flavor of what is really going on.

Russia Will Need More Than a Fortnight

Russia Will Need More Than a Fortnight by MSW.  MGB: A bit much for quoting in a family magazine.  I don't suspect that if an American female group of the same name stormed the high altar at St. Matthews, St. Patricks or the National Shrine and started singing about contraception, the bishops and the Republicans, it would not go over too well.  At the very least, they were trespassing on sacred space, regardless of their intent or of the problems of the Russian Church in dealing with the State.  To those who think the bishops here are overreaching, a familiar theme is evident, but this is no excuse for bad behavior.

Grim, Grim, Grim in Wisconsin

Grim, Grim, Grim in Wisconsin  by MSW. MGB: While it is certainly true that Citizens United must be dealt with, it likely only will when it becomes an electoral issue - where raising so much money is a downcheck in the minds of voters. We are not there yet. It is no shock that money is important in politics, since money is important everywhere. The answer is not to wall off financial influence in the public sector - but to do so in every sector. In a cooperativist society where no one is "owned" as employee, but instead is marked by mutual ownership and both cooperative labor and production, money and politics will no longer be an issue because wealth will no longer equal power.


As to the more particular question of Wisconsin, Citizens United has nothing to do with it. Under Wisconsin law, which controls in local campaign finance, recalled officials are not limited as to what they can raise. Meanwhile, hopefully organized labor will wake up from their Democratic Party stupor and rededicate itself to building a more cooperative workforce rather than being political power players. That would be a good result.

More on Money & Politics

More on Money & Politics by MSW. MGB: Wisconsin means nothing on the current state of campaign finance, since the unlimited nature of a recalled politician to raise money has nothing to do with federal law or Citizens United and everything to do with Wisconsin law.  This story does not have legs if fact checked.  The media is pulling an Emily LaTella here ("Never mind").

Anti-Gay Bigotry, Part II

Anti-Gay Bigotry, Part II by MSW.  MGB: People undertake litigation because they are being harmed, not because they have a desire to cash in. On the reason for gay marriage, one must really understand that gay couples are aggreived, largely due to the Catholic Church's treatment of gay patients. Hospital visition is not enough - the Church must recognize the right of individuals to designate their next of kin regardless of their sexuality, rather than defaulting to the wishes of an often estranged family of origin, who might still harbor with the Church the delusion that gay patients would only be saved if their partners are excluded (lest they fall back into the sin of loving outside the natural order).


The Church if fighting gay marriage primarily out of fear that the same forces that call for recognizing legal marriage will also call for canonical marriage within the Church, not by the intervention of the state but by pressure from the families. I suspect they also worry that their own gay clergy will quietly bless gay unions performed civilly and will join heterosexual priests in demanding the right to marry - or worse will forgo the priesthood as societal acceptance of gay marriage increases so that they no longer look to the clerical life as their place of acceptance. I supect their biggest fear is that if they change their view on the morality of homosexuality, their whole intellectual construct on their own infallibility will be shattered (which also explains their resistence to dealing rationally with contraception). This is just too much for them to take.

Commonweal Symposium on Religious Liberty

Commonweal Symposium on Religious Liberty by MSW.  MGB: This is very well done.  The Center for Public Justice did a series on the contraception mandate a few months ago that was much more defensive of the rights of the bishops.  Commonweal does an excellent job.  The remark about Gibbons is priceless, as is the criticism that the bishops engaged in dicta rather than argument in their letter.  It seems another example of bad staffing at the USCCB (telling the boss what he wants to here rather than the truth).  I will also address each essay later.

A Report on Cardinal Marx

A Report on Cardinal Marx by MSW.  MGB: He comes close to being a social libertarian, which accepts the existence of non-state alternatives to government with government services as a backup and contributions as a mandatory thing, not some form of voluntary charity.  They key to countering the Randians is to make the distinction between charity and justice as the source of social services.  Justice is and should be mandated, with the taxation to pay for it.

Why the Church Should Fight Anti-Gay Bigotry

Why the Church Should Fight Anti-Gay Bigotry  by MSW.  MGB: The Ugandan movement has nothing to do with the Catholic Church and everything to do with The Family. In the drive to ecumenicism, it would be better to approach the Presybterians and Anglicans rather than this crowd.


As for the CDF position on Sr. Farley, the Church gives too much respect to the writing of rabinic writers during the exile, infusing them with a divine authority that they most likely do not deserve. They are no more inspired than the writings of the CDF. Whether homosexual acts are disordered depends on where you get your information on the existence of the natural order. If it is constructed a priori without reference to human experience, it is quite useless and has nothing to do with natural law or reason, which should be accessible to all who exercise reason and should consider all evidence, including emerging science on sexuality.

The fact is that it is natural for heterosexuals to find expressions of homosexual erotica revolting. It is part of being heterosexual. One must make a conscious choice to view others with love and tolerance to get over such revulsion. All such "natural" reactions are essentially bigoted - meaning they come from the gut rather than by ethical examination. It is not an insult to say that Church attitudes on homosexuality result from bigotry, it is just a statement of fact.

Vatican criticizes US theologian's book on sexual ethics

Vatican criticizes US theologian's book on sexual ethics.  The CDF seems allergic to common sense and does not appreciate the fact that they don't own and control every utterance of any Catholic theologian and ethicist.  They are fast becoming irrelevant and have yet to realize that the only authority they have is what we give them.  The extent to which we ignore them is the extent to which we have no use for them.  Unwillingness to consider new opinions does not bode well for them.

Really Bad News on Jobs

Really Bad News on Jobs by MSW.  MGB: This news is so bad, its good if it spurs the Administration into action.  Regretably, last summer the President agreed to fiscal austerity in order to meet the GOP half way - so it will be hard to walk that back.  Still, he needs to do something - hopefully something without Congress - like using TARP authority to sell Freddie and Fannie to the Federal Reserve so that they can pay off bondholders and then write down mortgages.  Even though most won't directly benefit, even changing this segment of the market will stop the slide in home values and get people buying again.  Finally, if Obama wants to attack the GOP as being obstacles to recovery, I certainly would not argue with him - especially if he pushes more stimulus and less austerity.  Of course, if things are bad, a Democratic sweep is less likely - and the perception that it won't happen will stop the GOP donor base from insisting on a deal to prevent the automatic expiration of the Bush tax cuts.  More will be revealed and I am still optomistic on compromise once primary season is over for Senators.

Berkowitz: "Reading Into the Constitution"

Berkowitz: "Reading Into the Constitution" by MSW.  MGB: When most people talk about originalism or constitutional federalism, they are seeking the halcyon days before the 14th Amendment had any teeth and the commerce clause was used to restrict union power and regulation - seeking a return to the 90s - the 1890s - or social Darwinism and Robber Baron Capitalism. 

As Catholics, we don't believe in that.  Distributists, who are essentially libertarian socialists, seek a time before Vatican II when everyone listened to the Church - and indeed before the milenium, the first millenium, when the climate was pleasantly warm and the economics were confessionally Catholic - there were no protestants and there was no finance.  In essence - a return to Feudalism, but a kinder, gentler verson. 

I think we need to move forward, not back to either era, with a libertarian socialism that takes full advantage of technology and where cooperatives depend on themselves - not the clergy.  Indeed, the recent clericalism would be replaced with a more protestant ecclesiology - although the Sacraments would retain the Catholic model, with Catholic education and social services replacing government in most respects (although family services in Catholic Charities would shift from pushing teens and addicted parents from adoption to enabling them to start their own families with community suppport). 

As far as constitutional arrangements, I would seek amendments to enable regional government, especially with regard to spending and taxing - with part of taxing including the option to designate alternative providers, including Churches.

Defending the Right to Vote

Defending the Right to Vote by MSW.  MGB: What is amazing is their blatantness, given the fact that the Department of Justice is controlled by a Democrat.  Of course, this did not stop them from doing similar nonsense to purge the rolls when Clinton was POTUS.  The only realistic response, aside from enforcement by DOJ, is backlash by moderate and Latino voters.  The GOP actions are so stupid, they have to be born of desparation.  I suspect they feel the cold chill of demographics, which will turn Florida into a permanent Blue State.  This kind of sloppiness bespeaks a party which thinks it has nothing to lose.

U.S. sisters: Vatican order has caused ‘scandal and pain’

U.S. sisters: Vatican order has caused ‘scandal and pain’  The CDF and USCCB are full of emotion children who should ask the Sister's their opinion on ordination and health care rather than forcing public dissent on these issues.  If the LCWR decided that official recognition was no longer worth the effort, it would damage the crediblity of the hierarchy more than it would their own.