by Father Michael J. LynchIn the past, the invitation to a Passover Seder seemed rare, but now these kinds of invitations to Christians to join in the telling of the story of liberation are common. Similarly, the invitations to “Iftar” (the breaking of the fast) are multiplying. In New York City alone this season, there were multiple Iftars on almost every evening of Ramadan, which spanned from May 5 to June 4. Any person of goodwill was welcomed to break the fast at sundown.
POPE FRANCIS’S recent motu proprio on sexual abuse, “Vos estis lux mundi” [You Are the Light of the World], was a welcome addition to Church law, as world Catholicism seeks to heal the wounds of abuse victims, promote chaste living, foster mutual accountability within the Body of Christ and restore the credibility of the Church’s leadership. The response to the motu proprio by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, ably summed up that document’s achievement:
by Lucia A. SilecchiaIN THESE WEEKS when spring gives way to summer, many celebrate the Ordinations of new priests – new shepherds who, in these difficult days, commit the rest of their lives to the sacred service of God and the people of God.
Given the seriousness with which the post-Watergate Washington Post takes itself, it seems unlikely that its editors strive for hilarity in devising headlines. Whatever their intention, though, they managed to make me laugh out loud at breakfast on May 20, when the headline on the jump from a page-one story about former vice president Biden’s current campaign read: Biden’s team says there’s no need for Democrats to stampede toward the left.
As I recently celebrated the second anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood, two things came to mind. In one sense, I felt that my ordination took place only yesterday and in another, it seemed as if I have been a priest my whole life. Hence, the mystery of the priesthood! In a priest’s life, no two days are ever the same.
IN THREE WEEKS, a panel of senior judges will hear Cardinal George Pell’s appeal of the unjust verdict rendered against him at his retrial in March, when he was convicted of “historical sexual abuse.” That conviction did not come close to meeting the criterion of guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt,” which is fundamental to criminal law in any rightly ordered society. The prosecution offered no corroborating evidence sustaining the complainant’s charge. The defense demolished the prosecution’s case, as witness after witness testified that the alleged abuse simply could not have happened under the circumstances charged — in a busy cathedral after Mass, in a secured space.
Scary prayers are good but tough. They remind me of the road I still have to travel. They dispel comfortable illusions.And on most days, they are exactly what I need.
ON MAY 8, the Library of Congress and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars co-hosted a tribute to Dr. James H. Billington, who died last Nov. 20.
by Maureen Pratt“PRAYER, LISTENING, A HEART for advocacy and not being afraid of pushing doors open when they seem to be closed.”
How could this death surprise me? Vanier was 90 years old, ill and living in a nursing home. But there are some people who make this weary world more bearable. We want to know they walk among us. How can you leave us, Mr. Vanier?
