Links: Biden's Catholicism; union organizing at Starbucks; vaccination success

Links: Biden's Catholicism; union organizing at Starbucks; vaccination success 

Ecclesial culture needs to shift from the Ambo to the Pews. Until it does, there will be mischief. The upcoming curial reforms, however, are about to limit the mischief. This is especially the case if the Cardinal Advisors are elevated to patriarchal roles. On some continents, this could lead to Matriarchs as well.

The real challenge is being ignored. Sex. The Mass is just a stand in for the need of deeper change, starting with the sexuality of priests - not gay priests but those asexual priests (who can still be quite queer) who resist such categorization. Until this happens, real charity toward the rest of the faithful is impossible.

Biden needs to be more muscular in his faith. It is not a private matter. He needs to speak the words of prophesy. By this, I mean putting wisdom over loyalty. The debate over abortion needs to be public. The bishops need a lesson in constitutional law. They are not being well served by their own lawyers who are too obsequious by half. Biden must not only call out their ignorance but dare them to support his budget as an anti-abortion issue. The GOP Trads will hate that, but we cannot have either national or Church unity if he does not do so.

McCarthy is more Dershowitz than OJ. Trump is OJ. McCarthy is trying to defend his caucus instead of purifying it. His antics will not go well in 2022. Some members need to be denounced and expelled on a bipartisan basis. Others need to accept censure for following the lead of Trump's agents in Congress.

Unionization is a good tool to move Starbucks forward. A move toward ownership and cooperation would be better (one worker-one vote) with preferred shares distributed based on longevity. Unions would then shift from striking to voting the shares of members.

Childcare should also be considered a pro-life issue, although there are better avenues for securing it than distributing money to employees. Onsite daycare funded as an offset to employer-paid (or collected) taxes could fund it. Places like Starbucks could contract with the building they are in to share resources (which should be for workers, not customers - especially in this age of COVID).

Starbucks is a great place to raise VAX rates among young people, although mandatory sick leave is as important as getting the shot. Anyone with a heavy cold or heavy allergies must immediately quarantine. Only that will stop Delta and Mu. Also, forget trials, either send elementary students home or rush a shot into their arms.

The dark ages in the US happened when we were killing tribal nations. In Europe, they occurred before the high middle ages, when government had collapsed and chivalry had not yet been established. At least is was warm.