Just Because You're Paranoid, Doesn't Mean They're Not Out to Get You

You may have read this article, from Jim McCrea's email thread.  I wanted to bring it over here and discuss it a bit:

"While district of San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat, has hailed the University of California Health System as embodying the state's progressive values, he has also lambasted its contracts with facilities that he said forbid gender-affirming and abortion health care."

"These contracts often include partnerships with Catholic-affiliated institutions like Dignity Health, the largest hospital provider in California, which, according to its website, "agree[s] not to perform certain services like elective abortions, elective sterilization or in-vitro fertilization."

"Wiener has said these restrictions "endanger lives" and, now, he wants to pass legislation that would bar UC Health from contracting with hospitals that prevent UC physicians and medical students from providing reproductive and LGBTQ-inclusive care, including: contraception, tubal ligation, abortion, gender-affirming care and treatment for incomplete miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy."

"...Senate Bill 379 would ensure that, moving forward, UC Health would only affiliate with hospitals that will allow its staff to provide all necessary care. The bill cleared the Senate Health Committee in late April and is scheduled to be heard May 10 by the Senate Committee on Appropriations."

Vatican sends letter to U.S. bishops:

 

Don’t rush the debate on Communion, politicians and abortion

Against the Republican Bishops plan to win the political game against the Democrats by scoring touchdowns against Democratic politicians, Pope Francis has just moved the goalposts outside the stadium.

Of course he can say that he did not do that personally. However his Jesuit head of the Congregation on the Doctrine of the Faith obviously regards his position as a mandate from the Pope under the Jesuit's vow of personal obedience to any mission of the Pope. And as a Jesuit he is required to have total unanimity with his superior by manifesting any doubts he might have about how to proceed in this mission.

1. The bishops are preparing a document which will require two-thirds approval by the bishops plus Rome before it becomes policy for all the bishops. Essentially the CDF has made it clear that near unanimity will be required for approval by Rome, i.e. this must unite all the bishops. When Ratzinger was head of the CDF under JP2 he gutted the authority of bishop conferences by maintaining that they could only teach as the college of bishops by unanimous vote. The CDF is regarding this document as more of a doctrinal than a disciplinary document. 

2. The  deliberations about this must be conducted in a serene manner. Francis has made clear that synodal government is not a parliament  but rather a discernment of the will of the Holy Spirit. Yes there will be differences of opinion. These must be honestly faced. But they must find a way that transcends the differences to bring about unity. He declined to implement the recommendations of the Synod of the Amazon on married priests and women deacons even though they had the required number of votes precisely because they polarized rather than brought about unity. 

3. The deliberations must involve actual personal dialogue with Catholic politicians. The bishops must understand why Catholic politicians are pro-choice and what understanding they have of the Church's teaching. The CDF letter calls them pro-choice rather than the bishops favorite word pro-abortion. In other words, the bishops cannot deny communion to a straw man.

4. The document cannot apply just to politicians but must apply to all the faithful.  While most of the bishops might be willing to have some other bishop confront a politician, and many might be willing to do it themselves, few are going to be willing to confront Catholic Democrats in the parishes. Those could retaliate to even the possibility by withholding their financial support. Is not going to happen.

5. The document cannot apply just to abortion  but must include other issues that disqualify people from communion.  What are they? Evidently more than life issues like euthanasia and the death penalty.  What are the chances that the bishops would agree on what these might be. Probably zero.

6. The bishops must consult with other bishops conferences around the world and get their No Objections.. Now that might not be difficult if the document was just about abortion and just about politicians. But are other bishops conferences around the world going to agree to including laity and a bunch of other issues. Again zero chance.

With this long road ahead are the bishops going to be willing in June to approve by majority vote the development of a document to be presented to them in November.?  Before this document most people thought they would. Now it is up for grabs. since the CDF has raised all these additional requirements for ultimate success.

Mother's Day Angst

I had a nice Mother's Day, hope any NG readers who are moms did as well.  Our older son and wife came for lunch, and sprung for take-out, so we didn't have to prepare a meal, which was appreciated. It was especially appreciated that now we can get together, since the adults are fully vaxed.  2020 was a long year without much in person family contact.  Our family celebrations of Mother's Day and Father's Day tend to be pretty casual, with visits or phone calls, and small gifts; not a big production.

Faith and Attitudes Toward Covid Vaccination

 

Religious Identities and the Race Against the Virus:

 Engaging Faith Communities on COVID-19 Vaccination

The above is a link to the full report, which has an executive summary. However there is also a webinar including slides which can be accessed here: Faith-Based Approaches Can Positively Impact COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts.  The first thirty minutes of their ninety minute program is a fine graphical presentation much of which I have summarized in one chart below.

Attitudes Toward Vaccination (%)

	Acceptor	Wait and See	Only if required	Refused
Americans	58	19	9	14
Democrats	73	15	6	6
Independents	58	20	9	13
Republicans	45	32	12	23
		Hesitant
Jewish	85	10		5
White Catholics	68	23		8
White Mainline	63	24		13
Unaffiliated	60	28		12
Hispanic Catholic	56	34		10
Mormon	50	33		17
Black Protestant	49	32		19
While Evangelicals	45	28		26
Hispanic  Protestant	43	42		15
White: 4 yr. degree	77	16		7
Black: 4yr. degree	66	25		9
Hispanic:4yr degree	66	26		8
65 and older	79	13		7
50-64	58	27		14
30-49	48	35		17
18-29	49	33		18

My Comments

"Tis the Season for Change (updated)

May is usually the time when we find out about impending changes at the parish and diocese level.  This past weekend I was visiting family in my hometown, which is in the Grand Island Diocese.  At the Saturday evening Mass, their pastor made the announcement that Msgr. James Golka, of Grand Island had been named as the successor to the retiring bishop of Colorado Springs, CO, Bishop Michael Sheridan.  The pastor said, "We of the Grand Island Diocese are honored that one of our own was chosen as bishop of Colorado Springs.  We congratulate him, and wish him all the best. But his shoes will be hard to fill, especially as clergy are already so thin on the ground here."

Update: On the subject of clergy assignments, be sure to read the article from The Tablet on Jim McCrea's email feed, "The None-Makers: Is Anybody Minding the Store?"

Is the Pandemic Here to Stay?

 A wake up call this morning! 

My comments:

1. This is a global problem. As long as there are places in the world in which the Virus is raging, it will mutate. Those mutations often will favor ease of transmission as in the B.1.1.7 virus. They may cause worst cases as in the B.1.1.7 virus.  They may be more vaccine resistant  which does not seem to be the case in terms of the B.1.1.7 virus.  Our only options are to vaccinate everyone every where, or to drastically curtail travel to and from the USA. Since neither of these options are likely, a virus that is both more resistant to the vaccine and easily transmissible will likely reach the US very quickly before we are on the alert. 

2. This is a US problem. We have been unwilling to engage in the severe lockdowns, intrusive tracking of cases, and quarantining of people that have enabled other countries such as China and New Zealand to contain the virus without vaccines.  We have done a very poor job of doing all the testing, and analysis of test swabs that could enable us to detect new dangerous forms of mutations, some of which could originate here as well as being quickly imported from other countries. 

3. We have been unwilling to mandate vaccinations, or  require people to show proof of vaccination in to order to enter into buildings, or to engage in outdoor activities without social distancing. We have a libertarian problem in that many people are unwilling to alter their behavior for the benefit of others. 

4. With the present variants of the virus, children to not seem to be primary sources of transmission of the virus, nor in most cases do they get severe cases. That could all change if the virus becomes more like the seasonal flue. With the new variants of the virus severe cases have migrated to younger and  younger people, they may eventually cause severe cases in children. So ultimately we will not be safe until we have vaccinated children.

5. For the foreseeable future each of us personally will be safe only in bubbles of people whom we know have been vaccinated. We will not be safe in large meetings nor in places where  masks and social distancing are not practiced. These will all be areas of virus transmission. 

Are we going to continue Mass with masks and social distancing without congregational singing for the foreseeable future since we are likely to have some unvaccinated persons in the congregation?  Or are we willing to institute Masses with singing reserved for the vaccinated? 

6. If at any time in the future any where in the world the virus mutates in to a form that is highly resistant to present vaccines, we will have to go back into social isolation until new vaccines are developed, that would take another year, and then another six months to be administered.

Reaching ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Unlikely in the U.S., Experts Now Believe

Are Americans too insular?

I recently read an article in The Atlantic that makes an argument that I have made many times in recent years -  America needs to learn from others in order to "make America Great Again".   Americans need to travel more, and not in group tours or cruises if they can afford to travel independently (generally independent travel is significantly less expensive than tours, at least the "high" end tours).. They might as well go to an Imax for travel movies- except that the Imax theaters don't have as good of food as even most street carts do in other countries.

https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/07/to-make-america-great-again-we-need-to-leave-the-country/259653/