Links for 05/2016 | National Catholic Reporter

Links for 05/2016 | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: Congratulations to the bishop on his retirement.

Bravo to Archbishop Cupich on taking the right side of this issue. Usually when institutions are claiming religious freedom, what they are seeking is religious power and this is no exception. While unionization of adjuncts is welcome, there is an argument to be made that they are not really employees but instead are independent contractors. Their relief should be from IRS and HHS, who should reclassify them as employees first and require that they get the same level of benefits as assistant professors (indeed, they should be considered part time assistant professors with at least consideration for tenure). Where unionization is truly needed is for university staff - and for the staff of university contractors, such as Service Master.

Professor Faggioli gets it right. The Church is moving under Francis from certainty to collegiality (note that the Trumpsters in the Church want certainty) and practicality. Hopefully the bishops will go forward this and not confuse a lack of absolutism with the teaching being optional. Here is the money quote. "I would make it clear that not all discussions of doctrinal, moral or pastoral issues need to be settled by interventions of the magisterium. Unity of teaching and practice is certainly necessary in the Church, but this does not preclude various ways of interpreting some aspects of that teaching or drawing certain consequences from it."

Bravo to Silberstein for keeping the issue alive, although until shareholders demand that CEO and executive candidates bid against each other in open auction, with easier entry into the bidding for CEO, including all subordinate managers, I fear this won't go very far. Indeed, I think that the thing that will move the needle on this is not shareholder power but selling those shares to the employees and let them vote on these issues (and elect the CEO if there is a tie in low bids).

Thank you for posting the link to the performance of Soussa's The Washington Post. Nowadays, I prefer the march to the newspaper.