Gunning for the Nuns

I was not at all surprised to read about the Vatican’s fresh attempt to clamp down on nuns in the United States. When the class bully strikes out with the tough guys in the schoolyard, what, in his desperation, does he do? He moves on to the girls. A “Get the nuns!” strategy makes perfect sense at this point in time.

The Vatican is losing the war of public opinion in the pews. Prominent practicing Catholic politicians are refusing to budge on equal marriage rights and medical insurance coverage of contraception. The sexual abuse stories keep coming — I think they are getting
uglier. In the United States, the Vatican has failed to muster adequate support in the pews for its (secular) political agenda. The Holy See’s efforts to strong-arm American politicians have failed and are likely to backfire. Some of the Vatican’s own bishops are refusing to campaign against equal marriage rights in their dioceses. The hierarchy itself is sharply divided. In the U.S., the Vatican has struck out with the president and its long-shot dream of an Opus Dei in the Executive Office has gone the way of ripples on a pond.

The Vatican needs to flex its muscles. More urgent, still, is its need to push tales of Vatican corruption, child molestation and news of its colossal failure to convince Catholics to vote in accordance with the Magisterium off of what we once called “the front pages.” The Vatican needs to create fresh fear.

One Catholic fringe group has nothing at all to say about this week’s reports of a Philadelphia bishop who covered up for a priest who stripped children naked, draped them in loincloths and whipped them in the service of recreating the Passion of Our Lord, but has its knickers in a twist about a “Three Stooges” film that casts a bikini-clad beauty and a Jewish, male comedian as Catholic nuns. (It’s safe to assume our women religious would be more offended by the priest who whipped naked children in Christ’s name than by Larry David’s portrayal of one of their own.) But one need look no further than the Vatican’s recent decision to stick it to the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in order to behold a truly obscene display of disrespect for women religious.

I admit I didn’t like l nuns so very much during my days as a gum-snapping New York City Irish American schoolgirl in Catholic pleats — and the feeling was mutual. As a young woman working as a teacher in Catholic schools, however, I had the opportunity to see nuns up close, and to note how much good they do. As a middle-aged woman active in parish life I have come to believe that it is in communities of religious women where one finds the most exemplary models of Roman Catholic faith and Christ-like conduct.

Nuns relinquish the opportunity to be wives and mothers and take vows of poverty in order to serve Christ without the pomp, perks and payoffs of priesthood. Many nuns are quite poor, have little vacation or recreation time. Most work very hard for low pay. Many nuns are quite well-educated, but unlike priests, who have always been exhorted to study, nuns have had to fight for education. In the context of medical issues and education of children, it is Roman Catholic nuns, not priests, who work in hospitals as health care professionals and and teach in schools. For very good reasons, the expertise of its women religious scares the Vatican.

Nuns are best and brightest of Roman Catholic religious.

One of the reasons Ratzinger is targeting nuns is that he knows that some convents are indeed Women’s Ordination Movement think tanks. But there’s more to it. There’s the larger, pervasive misogyny of the hierarchy always seeking to ensure that women don’t gain too much power; and there’s the knowledge that nuns, not priests, drive catechesis in parishes. The Vatican needs women (nuns and lay women) to continue to prepare people for the sacraments, especially as it contends with the growing reluctance of even traditional Catholics to leave their children in the care of (male) priests. The Vatican is between a rock and a hard place in this. It lacks a male workforce adequate to run parishes and educate Catholic children, but if it can not arrest the erosion of doctrine brought about by what the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith sees as a facet of the “radical feminism” among women religious, the Vatican stands to lose a lot of doctrinal ground.

On the other hand, if the Vatican can create enough fear, it might retard women’s ordination activism and thwart the trickle-down effect which results when “radical feminist” nuns are charged with indoctrination of the young. If nuns teach children preparing for confirmation that love between two Catholics of the same sex can be holy, for example, Catholic children might grow up thinking that being gay and married is not sinful. If nuns teach children that not every woman who terminates a pregnancy is a murderer, children might grow up having a more open view of abortion.

When it comes to the immediate future of the church in the U.S., nuns hold the cards. The Vatican has stacked the deck — but nuns have found the workaround. The Vatican can not win without resorting to intimidation. Hence the need for Apostolic Visitations (“Inquisitions” technically) of 2009 and the current crackdown on nuns in the U.S.

Do women become nuns because they can’t become priests? Yes and no. Many nuns, like men who those called to become deacons and brothers, do not feel called to the priesthood. The two vocations differ greatly. But many nuns who have felt called to the priesthood report having answered the call by becoming sisters. As women assume more and more leadership in the Church, many of these women are coming forward to teach, preach and minister in ways nuns have not traditionally undertaken. Women in charge of educating Catholics are finding greater opportunity to steer the church in the direction of women’s ordination. It is easy to see why an 85-year-old pontiff might be vexed by the notion of nuns going rogue without concern for obtaining his imprimatur.

The Vatican (CDF) document devotes several syllables to the matter of hunting down “radical feminists.” While I am encouraged that this term even appears in the creepy Vatican warrant, I find that it doesn’t exactly describe the nuns I have encountered at masses celebrated by a woman priest. Although their bravery is astounding (they stand to lose everything if they are caught), these quiet, unassuming and humble ladies — some of whom took their final vows long before the Second Vatican Council — hardly come off as rabid radical feminists. They teach children in parishes, and work with the aged and indigent. They’re the regular nuns all Catholics know; they merely happen to concur with the many Roman Catholic bishops, priests, nuns, theologians and millions of Catholics in the pews who believe that the Church has both the authority and the obligation to ordain women as priests.

When the class bully strikes out with the tough guys in the schoolyard, what, in his desperation, does he do? He moves on to the girls. But the fellows in the Vatican have their work cut out for them. It will take a lot more than a few raging bullies in miters to take these flying angel nuns down!

Although the Vatican struggles to keep nuns subjugated, it may have already forfeited this fight. Nuns are at the forefront of catechesis; they wield great power. Furthermore, their power is relatively untainted by the Vatican’s fiscal improprieties, complicity in widespread child abuse, rape, homophobia and misogyny. They actually have credibility.

The Vatican fears women religious because they possess the moral authority the Vatican lacks.

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The Pulpit vs. The Pews: A Call to Action for All Catholics

A little over eight years ago, I came out as a gay man to my family and friends. Amid this revelation, I continued to practice my faith as a Roman Catholic. It was at this time in my life that I came to witness the overwhelming support that Catholics have for LGBT people. In my role as a religion teacher, a priest once informed me that a parent had expressed concern over having a gay man teach religious education. The priest called a meeting of the parish on a weeknight and asked that anyone who had concerns related to my teaching should speak up publicly. The night of the meeting, I entered a packed Church and slowly made my way to a pew where I sat next to my father. As the meeting began, one-by-one congregants rose and expressed their real concern: why this was even an issue. The reality is that my experience from nearly a decade ago is representative of the vast majority of Roman Catholics. We live in a Church that is called to welcome and affirm people’s humanity and identity without exception. It was in reflecting on this faith experience that I had such a difficult time reconciling Cardinal Dolan’s comments with the Catholic faith that I live and experience every day.

The past two weeks have been filled with an outpouring of support that I could never have expected when I resigned from the Junior Board of Catholic Charities. In writing a letter to the organization’s leadership, I sought to articulate my concerns regarding Cardinal Dolan’s positions on issues affecting the lives of LGBT people. I am particularly concerned by the hurtful language used by some of the Church’s hierarchy when speaking about the LGBT community. As a Catholic, I feel strongly that statements made by the Cardinal and some in the Church’s hierarchy regarding LGBT people are not only out of touch with the lived experience of many Catholics, gay and straight, but that they also violate Gospel values of inclusion. It further saddens me to think that the voices of some bishops are seen as representative of all Catholic people when in reality the vast majority of Catholics support their LGBT brothers and sisters, as evidenced by a growing number of studies. A recent study released by GLAAD showed more than 50 percent of Catholic voices presented in the media offer a negative view on LGBT issues when in reality a majority of American Catholics support LGBT equality.

Studies aside, the lived experiences of most Catholics serves as a testament to the stark disparity between some Catholics in positions of power and everyday Church-going Catholics on these issues. The notion that Cardinal Dolan would avoid responding to a plea for help for homeless LGBT youth is a deviation from Catholic social teaching. In 1997 the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) refused to be silent in the face of an injustice with their pastoral message “Always Our Children.” In this statement, they recognized the link between homelessness and LGBT youth, writing:

“A shocking number of homosexual youth end up on the streets because of rejection by their families. This, and other external pressures, can place young people at a greater risk for self-destructive behaviors like substance abuse and suicide.”

The fact that those in positions of power in the Catholic Church have ignored the document’s teaching is alarming and a reminder that Catholics in the pews and clergy who are allies must stand and be a voice for the most vulnerable among us. Last week, two Catholic parishes in Seattle, Wash., demonstrated great courage when they refused to allow their parishes participate in a signature drive being organized by the National Organization for Marriage, a leading anti-LGBT group. By this act, these two priests — along with many other pastors, deacons, sisters, brothers and many who work in the church — demonstrated that Catholic social teaching calls us to witness the beauty and diversity of God’s creation in a way that respects what makes each of us unique in the eyes of God as beautifully articulated in “Always Our Children”:

“God loves every person as a unique individual. Sexual identity helps to define the unique persons we are, and one component of our sexual identity is sexual orientation. Thus, our total personhood is more encompassing than sexual orientation. Human beings see the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart” (cf. 1 Samuel 16:7).

As Catholics and others listen to the messages coming from those in positions of power in the Church, I hope they will realize that the heavy-handed approach to LGBT issues is not shared by all Catholics. Although those in the hierarchy may have the pulpit, there are far more pews than there will ever be pulpits. As Catholics speak out and call upon the Church to live out its call to be a beacon of social justice and love, those in the hierarchy will begin to see another way in which Christ has risen — he has risen from the silence and has cried out for equality. We can only hope that those in the Church leadership will turn and listen to our voices, so as to see that our prophetic witness is merely asking them to look into our hearts and see the people God has created us to be.

For this reason I have decided to launch a petition on Change.org to be presented to Cardinal Timothy Dolan to let him know that Catholics stand in solidarity with the homeless LGBT youth of the Ali Forney Center and all LGBT youth in need. Through this Change.org action, the voices of gay and straight Catholics will unite, will break through the silence, and will call upon those in positions of power in the Church to see that the people of God will not allow the cries for help of God’s children to go unheard and unanswered. So please join me in signing this petition, so that we might invite Cardinal Dolan into a dialogue about this important issue that faces us all.

Let your voice be heard, sign the petition and call the Church to live the Gospel message of inclusion.

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Catholic group criticizes Paul Ryan

Nearly 60 progressive Catholic leaders released a statement Friday condemning Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s assertion that his budget proposal was shaped by his Catholic faith.

“When a high-profile Catholic congressman is mangling church teachings, that should be challenged,” John Gehring, Catholic Outreach Coordinator for Faith in Public Life, the organization that put together the statement, told POLITICO.

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In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network released Tuesday, Ryan said that his religious convictions influenced his budget plan, claiming that the proposal reflects Catholic teachings of local control and concern for the poor.

“[T]he preferential option for the poor, which is one of the primary tenets of Catholic social teaching, means don’t keep people poor, don’t make people dependent on government so that they stay stuck at their station in life, help people get out of poverty out onto life of independence,” said Ryan.

But some Catholic leaders disagree strenuously that Ryan’s policies represent their faith.

“If Rep. Ryan thinks a budget that takes food and healthcare away from millions of vulnerable people upholds Catholic values, then he also probably believes Jesus was a Tea Partier who lectured the poor to stop being so lazy and work harder,” said Gehring. “This budget turns centuries of Catholic social teaching on its head. These Catholic leaders and many Catholics in the pews are tired of faith being misused to bless an immoral agenda.”

Indeed, 59 Catholic leaders and theologians took issue with Ryan’s claims, signing a scathing letter that slammed the Ryan budget plan.

“Simply put, this budget is morally indefensible and betrays Catholic principles of solidarity, just taxation and a commitment to the common good. A budget that turns its back on the hungry, the elderly and the sick while giving more tax breaks to the wealthiest few can’t be justified in Christian terms,” argue the signatories.

The signatories include the leadership team of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, a women’s Catholic organization, a retired Priest in Ryan’s district, and the former Associate General Secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In 2011, after Ryan’s last budge proposal, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Timothy Dolan, wrote a letter that – to some social justice advocates in the Catholic community – was insufficiently critical.

Dolan did not endorse Ryan’s plan, but did not condemn it either, commending the Wisconsin Republicans’ “continued attention” to Catholic social justice “in the current delicate budget considerations in Congress,” and praising his attention to fiscal responsibility, the role of the family, the dignity of human life and attention to the poor.

‘Helped’ into the faith

By Tanya Connor

WORCESTER – Family, friends and “Father” are bringing people of other religions to the Catholic Church, people at Our Lady of Vilna Parish say.
At Saturday’s Easter Vigil, the pastor – Father Peter Tam M. Bui – baptized seven people. All received their first Communion and all but the 12-year-old were confirmed.
“As a pastor, I thank God for that,” Father Bui said. He said he thinks God is working on their community.
“I don’t ask them to become Catholics,” he said. “I just help them. I help anybody.”
That help included getting a funeral home to lower costs for a Buddhist’s burial, he said. And non-Christians are welcome at church – even just to sit in the sacristy, stand at the back or help with meals. At special Masses he tells them that, although they do not share the Catholic faith, he wishes them the blessing of the Risen Christ, the peace of Christmas, etc.
Four or five years ago Long Tran, who’d been baptized Catholic, came back to the Church, Father Bui said. A couple years ago he started bringing his sons – Bill, now 16,  and Bush, now 12 – to church with him. At first he let them sit in the sacristy to observe Mass. Later, he got them to join in the activities of the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth and sit with them at Mass. Now every Saturday he brings his boys to help him clean the church.
Mr. Tran also brought his Buddhist wife to church to help with weekly food preparation, Father Bui said.
“The Catholic women treat her like a friend – very warmly,” he said. “Me too.”
She sat in the sacristy with her sacristan husband for Christmas Mass in 2010, and he explained what was going on, the pastor said. Several times since then she sat in the pews, he said, and she watched attentively as he baptized Bill and Bush Saturday.
“I’m kind of nervous, I’m kind of excited, but I’m happy about it,” Bill said shortly before receiving the sacraments.
He said he learned about God at Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public School, where they studied different religions in history class. His father brought him to church, and he wanted to keep coming, he said.
“I just wanted to learn more about God and Jesus and be closer to him and to be happy in life,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to getting closer to God,” Bush echoed. “My Dad asked me if I wanted to do classes, and I said, ‘Ya.’ I feel happy because I’m going to be a member of the Church.”
Joining the Church was quite an occasion for Ngoclien Pham, 62, also baptized Saturday. And for her 72-year-old godmother, Annette Nguyen, her elementary school teacher in Vietnam, who helped translate and tell Ms. Pham’s story for The Catholic Free Press.
Ms. Nguyen said her former student is the first person from her village to become a Christian, though they both live in the United States now.
When Ms. Pham asked her to be her godmother and sponsor, “It touched me,” she said. “I said, ‘I cannot resist.’” So she came to the Easter Vigil from Chicago, where her husband is a deacon.
Ms. Nguyen said the faith of Ms. Pham’s children brought her to God.
“My grandchildren too,” added Ms. Pham.
Ms. Pham’s grandchildren kept saying, “We are praying for you, Grandma,” Ms. Nguyen said. Her son in Connecticut married a Catholic woman and they became very religious.
Ms. Pham was a Buddhist in Vietnam, and continued to practice here, but was afraid to go close to the Buddhist altar, her godmother said. But when she saw the altar in the Catholic Church, it touched her. Whenever she looked at Jesus, present in the Eucharist, she felt something special, which she couldn’t describe.
Ms. Nguyen was also godmother and sponsor for Ms. Pham’s friend My Ly.
She said Ms. Ly belonged to the Cao Dai religion, officially established in Vietnam in 1926, which mixes elements of Christianity, Buddhism and other philosophies. She married a Catholic man in Vietnam and their children became Catholics, but she never wanted to be a Christian herself. But now she feels she has faith and joy.
My Phuong Quach, the other woman baptized Saturday, said she was Buddhist and left  Vietnam for Worcester at age 8.
“My family wasn’t really religious,” she said. “So this (becoming a Catholic) gives me a chance to practice.”
She said at first she explored becoming Catholic for the family of her fiancé, Toan Do, but as she learned more she saw it was for herself.
“Now I know more about God and Jesus,” she said. “It opened up my mind.”
Father Bui said Ms. Quach’s Buddhist parents came from Connecticut for the Easter Vigil, and called it a wonderful celebration.
“Gradually we will invite them to come to the Church,” he said.
Luan Pham came in gradually – and was baptized Saturday. Father Bui said Father Phuong Van Nguyen, the priest who formerly served the local Vietnamese Catholic community, had baptized Mr. Pham’s sister and parents, who were not-very-involved adherants of ancestor worship. When the young man moved here from Vietnam a couple years ago, his parents invited him to church. His father told him how God had helped them and explained the Catholic faith, but did not push him.
“He usually stood at the back of the church” at first, Father Bui said. “Maybe through my words, God touched his heart.” He said a homily he preached made sense to the young man, who asked to attend classes and voluntarily mows the church lawn.
Hai T. Nguyen, who is from a non-practicing Buddhist family, was brought to the Church by his employers, faithful Catholics who treat him nicely, Father Bui said.
The pastor said he told the eight members of this initiation class, one of whom wasn’t baptized yet, that nobody was pushing them.
“If you become Catholic for somebody else, your faith will not be strong,” he said. “You make your own decision.”
For those still seeking, another class is starting.

New archbishop, new attitude atop Montreal Catholic diocese

MONTREAL — As Montreal’s populist archbishop calls it a career, his cerebral successor enters at a time of dwindling numbers at the pews and a shortage of priests.

Archbishop Christian Lepine was named to the post this week by Pope Benedict XVI and says he’s ready to be open and listen, and to be proactive and spread the gospel to families and youth where they live.

Lepine, 60, takes over from Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte, who held the post for 22 years at Canada’s second-largest Catholic diocese before announcing his intention to retire last year after he turned 75, the mandatory age of retirement according to church rules.

Lepine treaded carefully in his first media appearance, saying he’s humbled to have been chosen for the job.

“It’s a great task, but it’s not something I can do alone,” Lepine said Wednesday. “With God, with prayer, and with other bishops, with priests, with other laypeople, we can do it.”

Turcotte’s resignation was accepted on Tuesday, at the same time as Lepine’s promotion.

Lepine was ordained in 1983, was a pastor at various Montreal-area churches and spent two years at the Vatican. He was named auxiliary bishop last year.

Lepine said his goal is to reach out and unite people. He explained that on controversial issues, his approach will be based on respect for the person and focus on dialogue and listening rather than on confrontation.

“We live in a society where there is often opposition, contradiction and it makes it difficult for people to come together and discover as human beings, we share the same values,” Lepine said.

“I think the church has a role to learn to bring people together.”

Asked about the place of the church in a secular society, Lepine said he hopes the church has “the freedom to speak and give its message.” He said the separation of church and state is “good” in the sense that it accepts freedom of religion.

Turcotte said he is glad to let Lepine, a Montrealer, take over the job in a community he knows well. He says Lepine brings an infusion of youth despite his 60 years.

The outgoing archbishop says he had plenty of advice for his successor.

Turcotte noted that he’s a bit of a joker; he’s known for his affable disposition and media savvy, such as using hockey examples to illustrate points about religion. But his successor is apparently a more intellectual, serious individual.

The elder cardinal says that difference in character is welcome.

“He doesn’t have the same personality as me and that’s a good thing,” said Turcotte, noting that he was also different than his predecessors.

“I am myself and he’s going to be himself. He’s more calm than I am. I like to make jokes and he’ll have to learn to make jokes,” Turcotte said with a laugh.

“But he’s going to be Christian Lepine, and that’s a good thing.”

In addition to his personal disposition, Turcotte is also known for having taken a public stand against abortion, famously returning his Order of Canada after pro-choice activist Henry Morgentaler was named to the order in 2008.

A Quiet Revolution-era priest, Turcotte remembers a time when the Catholic faith was a way of life in Quebec. Today, with church attendance paltry and this society staunchly secular, the priestly vocation requires a lot more faith.

“It’s important to have a church that convinces people — it’s the most difficult thing to do. We have to get away from the past and live with the future,” Turcotte said.

“I’m not a prophet, I don’t have a crystal ball. But I have faith, and I’m sure that things are going to change.”

Turcotte said he was happy to be shedding the pressure of being archbishop and to be getting out of the limelight.

He said he leaves with some regrets. He admitted to making errors, without being specific about any of them. He said he did his best.

“For me it’s important to live in the present; the past is finished,” Turcotte said.

Turcotte says he will be focusing on his health and personal time. He also wants to have time to pray and to get caught up on his television-watching. But Turcotte says he will continue to work for the church, which is facing a shortage of priests in Montreal.

“Many of my priests are pastors of two, three, four parishes,” Turcotte said, “so I’m going to help if I’m able to do so.”

Turcotte said Montreal has a very generous clergy with priests who rarely take their retirement before 75. Others work into their 80s, Turcotte said.

While announcing that he was accepting Turcotte’s resignation, the Pope also announced that Turcotte will remain administrator of the diocese until Lepine formally takes over.

New archbishop, new attitude atop Montreal Catholic diocese

Enlarge Image

Mgr Christian Lepine smiles as he is introduced at a news conference Wednesday, March 21, 2012 in Montreal after being named the new archbishop of Montreal by Pope Benedict XVI. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

MONTREAL – As Montreal’s populist archbishop calls it a career, his cerebral successor enters at a time of dwindling numbers at the pews and a shortage of priests.

Archbishop Christian Lepine was named to the post this week by Pope Benedict XVI and says he’s ready to be open and listen, and to be proactive and spread the gospel to families and youth where they live.

Lepine, 60, takes over from Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte, who held the post for 22 years at Canada’s second-largest Catholic diocese before announcing his intention to retire last year after he turned 75, the mandatory age of retirement according to church rules.

Lepine treaded carefully in his first media appearance, saying he’s humbled to have been chosen for the job.

“It’s a great task, but it’s not something I can do alone,” Lepine said Wednesday. “With God, with prayer, and with other bishops, with priests, with other laypeople, we can do it.”

Turcotte’s resignation was accepted on Tuesday, at the same time as Lepine’s promotion.

Lepine was ordained in 1983, was a pastor at various Montreal-area churches and spent two years at the Vatican. He was named auxiliary bishop last year.

Lepine said his goal is to reach out and unite people. He explained that on controversial issues, his approach will be based on respect for the person and focus on dialogue and listening rather than on confrontation.

“We live in a society where there is often opposition, contradiction and it makes it difficult for people to come together and discover as human beings, we share the same values,” Lepine said.

“I think the church has a role to learn to bring people together.”

Asked about the place of the church in a secular society, Lepine said he hopes the church has “the freedom to speak and give its message.” He said the separation of church and state is “good” in the sense that it accepts freedom of religion.

Turcotte said he is glad to let Lepine, a Montrealer, take over the job in a community he knows well. He says Lepine brings an infusion of youth despite his 60 years.

The outgoing archbishop says he had plenty of advice for his successor.

Turcotte noted that he’s a bit of a joker; he’s known for his affable disposition and media savvy, such as using hockey examples to illustrate points about religion. But his successor is apparently a more intellectual, serious individual.

The elder cardinal says that difference in character is welcome.

“He doesn’t have the same personality as me and that’s a good thing,” said Turcotte, noting that he was also different than his predecessors.

“I am myself and he’s going to be himself. He’s more calm than I am. I like to make jokes and he’ll have to learn to make jokes,” Turcotte said with a laugh.

“But he’s going to be Christian Lepine, and that’s a good thing.”

In addition to his personal disposition, Turcotte is also known for having taken a public stand against abortion, famously returning his Order of Canada after pro-choice activist Henry Morgentaler was named to the order in 2008.

A Quiet Revolution-era priest, Turcotte remembers a time when the Catholic faith was a way of life in Quebec. Today, with church attendance paltry and this society staunchly secular, the priestly vocation requires a lot more faith.

“It’s important to have a church that convinces people — it’s the most difficult thing to do. We have to get away from the past and live with the future,” Turcotte said.

“I’m not a prophet, I don’t have a crystal ball. But I have faith, and I’m sure that things are going to change.”

Turcotte said he was happy to be shedding the pressure of being archbishop and to be getting out of the limelight.

He said he leaves with some regrets. He admitted to making errors, without being specific about any of them. He said he did his best.

“For me it’s important to live in the present; the past is finished,” Turcotte said.

Turcotte says he will be focusing on his health and personal time. He also wants to have time to pray and to get caught up on his television-watching. But Turcotte says he will continue to work for the church, which is facing a shortage of priests in Montreal.

“Many of my priests are pastors of two, three, four parishes,” Turcotte said, “so I’m going to help if I’m able to do so.”

Turcotte said Montreal has a very generous clergy with priests who rarely take their retirement before 75. Others work into their 80s, Turcotte said.

While announcing that he was accepting Turcotte’s resignation, the Pope also announced that Turcotte will remain administrator of the diocese until Lepine formally takes over.

Pod people: Time for liberal Catholics to quit?

In recent weeks, there have been a number of major news stories that have — to one degree or another — pivoted on the sharp doctrinal divisions among American Catholics. Think religious liberty vs. the Health and Human Services rules. Think about the case of Father Marcel Guarnizo and the Buddhist-Catholic-artist-gay-activist Barbara Johnson.

In the midst of all that, the top brass at The New York Times decided to accept an extremely blunt advertisement from the Freedom From Religion Foundation that, well, urged liberal and nominal Catholics to walk out of the pews that they were rarely if ever visiting anyway.

The overarching image? Liberal Catholics, argued this advertisement, are like wives caught in abusive relationships who are afraid to try to escape. The text contains virtually every image that you would ever see in classic anti-Catholic literature. Here’s a key clip from a longer version of the basic text:

You’re better than your church. So why? Why continue to attend Mass? Tithe? Why dutifully sacrifice to send your children to parochial schools so they can be brainwashed into the next generation of myrmidons (and, potentially, become the next Church victims)? For that matter, why have you put up with an institution that won’t put up with women priests, that excludes half of humanity?

No self-respecting feminist, civil libertarian or progressive should cling to the Catholic faith. As a Cafeteria Catholic, you chuck out the stale doctrine and moldy decrees of your religion, but keep patronizing the establishment that menaces public health by serving rotten offerings. Your continuing Catholic membership, as a “liberal,” casts a veneer of respectability upon an irrational sect determined to blow out the Enlightenment and threaten liberty for women worldwide.

You are an enabler. And it’s got to stop.

If you imagine you can change the church from within — get it to lighten up on birth control, gay rights, marriage equality, embryonic stem-cell research — you are deluding yourself. If you remain a “good Catholic,” you are doing “bad” to women’s rights. You’re kidding yourself if you think the Church is ever going to add a Doctrine of Immaculate ContraCeption.

Some were shocked, shocked to see the Times leadership publish this ad and wondered if the nation’s most prestigious newspaper would accept a similar item that, well, urged progressive or moderate Muslims to flee their ancient and dangerous faith. Sure enough, one of the usual suspects quickly produced an advertisement that, in terms of images and rhetoric, was a line-by-line tribute and/or satire of the anti-Catholic screed. Click here to see it.

To no one’s shock, this anti-Muslim screed was rejected by Times executives.

(Cue: audible yawn) All of this was highly predictable, of course.

However, I thought there was an interesting subject lurking just below the surface of these boiling waters. Here’s the key question: Why DO so many doctrinally liberal people remain members of the Catholic Church? Why don’t they do the logical thing and join, oh, a visually Catholic Episcopal parish down the block? I once put that question to Andrew Sullivan in an online exchange and there was immediate silence on the other side of that exchange in cyberspace.

At the same time, statistics produced by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life have made it clear that millions of people are leaving Catholicism — roughly four people headed out the Catholic doors for every one who comes in through conversion. The bottom line: One in 10 American adults is an ex-Catholic, of one form or another. Many simply join the masses of unchurched Americans. Many head to conservative churches and a few head into liberal Protestantism. Click here to see the specifics.

While surfing through some reactions to the anti-Catholic ad in the Times, I bumped into some America commentary by theologian Tom Beaudoin, who teaches at the Jesuit-run Fordham University in New York City. He is currently doing research into “deconversions” among what many call the “secular Catholics” on the doctrinal left.

Pay close attention:

Whatever one thinks of this ad, it seems to mark a particular moment in the unfolding history of the Catholic Church in the United States. That a full-page ad in one of the most influential newspapers in the country would ask members of a major religious group to walk away from that group is an extraordinary occurrence.

I hope that before people take sides pro or con on the ad, before the tendency to separate into “evil vs. good” or “good vs. evil” here, we might be able to take this opportunity for some serious thinking, and ask: What is happening with religion in general and Catholicism in particular today that would make such a moment possible?

The ad trades on the newly widespread awareness that Catholicism is shedding adherents: that most Catholics live on the “lower” end between moderate and marginal affiliation, instead of high affiliation, and that a great many are actively disaffiliating. It trades on the widely understood distance between most Catholics’ beliefs and practices and official teaching on certain matters. Most important, as far as I can tell, is its remarkably confident appeal to a kind of personal agency that would make Catholics, who so often see religion as something akin to an ethnicity, walk away from it.

Whatever you think of the Freedom From Religion Foundation advertisement, and whatever you think of Fordham, the Jesuits and what not, the numbers indicate that there is a huge story looming over these debates (and I’m not talking about the wisdom of ad policies at the Times).

Once again, we are dealing with the myth that there is one body of Catholics in America with one set of beliefs. Truly, the spirits that drive the various camps within American Catholicism are legion.

Beaudoin responded to my emails and discussed what he sees happening on the Catholic left. That conversation became the hook for my Scripps Howard News Service column this week and then the weekly GetReligion “Crossroads” podcast. Here’s a bite or two of what the Fordham theologian had to say:

“Secular Catholics are people who were baptized as Catholics, but they find it impossible to make Catholicism the center of (their) lives, by which I mean Catholicism as defined by the official teachings of the church,” said Beaudoin. For these believers, there are “things that they learned about faith from Catholicism. Then there are things they learned from their jobs, from school experiences, from their music and from their favorite movies.

“They are hybrid believers and their faith comes from all over the place.”

And what about those Pew Forum numbers?

In the end, it’s impossible to ignore this mass of “secular Catholics” because it’s such a large chunk of today’s church, he said. In some parts of America, various kinds of “secular Catholics” now constitute a clear majority, while those who affirm traditional dogmas and doctrines are a minority.

Some of these “secular Catholics” eventually leave the church. Others choose to remain on membership rolls, on their own terms, because they find it hard to walk away, said Beaudoin. After all, there are parts of Catholicism that they affirm and they know they can ignore the parts that they reject. They have changed the church for themselves.

From his perspective, Beaudoin said it’s important to believe that this trend is “not the result of lethargy, laziness, relativism, heresy or apostasy. … There will be Catholics who insist on saying that these secular Catholics are falling away from traditional Catholic norms. But I think it would be more helpful to talk about them not as having fallen away from the Catholic faith, but as having created new, evolving spiritual lives for themselves.”

That sound you hear is traditional Catholics screaming in protest.

However, think this over. If roughly 3 to 5 percent of American Catholics are going to confession on a regular or even occasional basis, then how many Catholics are left who are actually attempting to live according to the teachings — most of the teachings, let’s say — of their faith?

I remain convinced that it’s impossible to write about Catholic life today without taking this into account in the vast majority of news stories and columns.

Just saying. Enjoy the podcast.

Vista Latina: Catholic faith is imbued with Latino tradition

Unlike many of the conversations 14-year-old Samantha Gutierrez typically has with her classmates about the things they want and desire out of life, the chatter Wednesday went in a different direction. As the start of the Lenten season, Gutierrez said Ash Wednesday prompted her and her friends to discuss what they were planning to do without for a few weeks.

Considering the sacrifices that Jesus Christ made on the behalf of them, Gutierrez said her personal sacrifice was a just way to repay her debt.

“I feel cool that I came to church and got this (ash) on my forehead,” Gutierrez said. 

Aside from packing the pews, Latinos in the United States have also infused Catholicism with their own brand of distinct religious practices. Latinos are estimated to make up at least 40 percent of U.S. Catholics, according to the uscatholic.org Web site.

“Latinos have been the greatest contribution to bring new life into the Catholic Church in the last 50 years or so,” the Rev. Virgilio Elizondo said.

Noting that Latino-oriented religion is a “festive religion,” Elizondo said Catholics are particularly keen on public demonstrations of faith, such as Good Friday or Virgin of Guadalupe processions.

While such a melding of distinct religious and cultural identities can be difficult to navigate, it also is a powerful starting point for an expanded spirituality from which a more humane mankind may evolve, Elizondo, a University of Notre Dame professor of pastoral and Hispanic theology, said.

“What (Latinos) have been struggling with is a global phenomenon,” Elizondo said. “We have lived the humanity of the future in our own (Latino) experiences.”

Yet, this potential awakening remains elusive for many Hispanic religious adherents, Elizondo said, noting that most people are simply in survival mode trying to manage their lives.

“Most people are beginning to become more conscious,” Elizondo said. “People such as myself can help them.”

In the U.S., nine out of 10 Hispanics identify with one specific religion, making them a “highly religious” group, a Pew Hispanic Center 2007 report stated.

“If (religion) doesn’t speak to our times, it starts to die,” said Nancy Pineda-Madrid, a Boston College assistant professor of theology and Latino ministry.

Hispanic theologians like Pineda-Madrid and Elizondo study the manner in which traditional religion is influenced by contemporary issues.

In order for religious symbolism to remain fresh, adherents will imbue them with additional meaning that doesn’t detract from their historical and traditional meanings. Such a use of religious imagery can be seen in the violence-stricken area of Juarez, Mexico.

Pink crucifixes have become a symbol of the persecution that women there are facing, Pineda-Madrid said.

“They made the symbol of the cross pertinent and relevant,” Pineda-Madrid said. “It’s a complete transformation of a traditional way of looking at it.”

In the past and to this day Latino activists have utilized religious iconography to elevate the conversation about a particular issue, Pineda-Madrid said.

As for Ash Wednesday, it is a time to think about one’s mortality and a reminder that striving toward a closer relationship with God is a never-ceasing process, said Sister Annalisa Burgos, who teaches a religion class at Vincent Memorial Catholic High School in Calexico.

Prayer, fasting and almsgiving are the three components of the Lenten season that practicing Catholics will focus on, Burgos said.  

“The ashes are a reminder that we are pilgrims and everything we do should point us toward God,” Burgos said. “We’re supposed to be better people when the Lenten season is over.”

Calexico resident Gilbert Vasquez said he wasn’t planning on attending the Liturgy service at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church on Wednesday. As someone who has had his fair share of trials and tribulations as a result of drug dependency, the 45-year-old said he stills feels close to God.

“I ask for forgiveness for whatever I may do throughout the day that may harm someone,” Vasquez said, before ducking inside the rectory hall to have his forehead anointed with ashes.

Staff writer Julio Morales can be reached at 760-335-4665 or at jmorales@ivpressonline.com

Is righteous Rick Santorum too scary to be President?

Rick Santorum speaks with a Catholic stridency rarely seen in British politics (Photo: EPA)

Perhaps it is because I was brought up as a middle-of-the-road English Catholic – show up on Sundays, eat fish on Fridays (more expensive than meat now, of course) and don’t ever sing the hymns too loudly (that’s a vulgar habit Anglicans have) – that I find Rick Santorum so, um, well …scary.

Mr Santorum has been surging to the fore in the Republican nomination contest these last two weeks, riding high in the Rustbelt on a combination of his religious convictions and a blue collar, son-of-an immigrant backstory that resonates with the slump-hit voters of the American Midwest.

But in truth it is the religious part of the Santorum package that has me quailing like a choirboy caught swigging on the altar wine – and yes, Bless me Father, in that regard, I have sinned.

The latest Santorum pronouncement to send shivers along the pews is his remark this weekend that pre-natal testing (amniocentesis) is part of an Obama-backed plan to “cull the ranks of the disabled in our society” through the rising number of abortions that result from the tests.

The language is brutal (and, in point of fact, truthful) but more than that, it is Mr Santorum’s righteousness that risks alienating him from the popular mind.

Unlike the thrice-married Mr Gingrich (his fellow Catholic candidate) Mr Santorum is no hypocrite, which is exactly my point. I rather like hypocrites, I find them comforting since they remind me of myself and almost everyone else I know.

But Mr Santorum is moral tungsten. He has a child, Bella, with the usually-fatal genetic disorder Trisomy 18 and six other living children to prove that he has always practiced what the Catholic church preaches when it comes to contraception.

Were I a practicing Catholic I’m sure I’d admire Mr Santorum’s trueness to the teachings of Rome, but to me, even for Catholics, these must be intensely personal moral choices (particularly for women) and not the stuff of point-scoring on the campaign trail.

Personally, I can’t escape the whiff of the witch-hunt about Mr Santorum, who is of a breed of Catholic unfamiliar to us English: a man of the strictest Catholic theology (he’s a big fan of Opus Dei, for example, and sent his children to an Opus Dei affiliated school in Washington) whose message is transmitted through a distinctly evangelical amplifier.

Perhaps it is just my Benedictine education (even the monks at my school admitted they were scared of the Jesuits and their ‘pressure-cooker’ spirituality) but I’m afraid I can’t find much that’s terribly sympathetic or merciful in Mr Santorum, and I’m not sure that’s a particularly good quality in a man who wants to assume the awesome responsibilities of the US presidency.

Catholic families getting smaller

I’m sure that the Obama administration’s free contraceptive mandate was made in order to pander to some feminist group or other, but the fact remains that 50 years ago, at every Catholic Mass, the first several rows of pews were taken up by families of eight, nine or more — the mother demurely pregnant, and the proud father beaming on his brood. Such a sight is seldom seen in Catholic churches these days.

Have married Catholics stopped having sex? Has Catholic fertility plummeted? Or are more Catholics using contraceptives?

If the bishops can’t keep their own flock off the pill, what’s the big deal? I’m just asking.

James J. McGill, Sheffield Lake