Things end

This is my homily for today, the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B.  The readings for today are here.

The Kyle Rittenhouse Trial

I am not going to say too much about the trial, since it is being discussed in the media ad infinitum.  This is a good short article in The Week.  It had this to say:  

"My side or demographic group innocent, yours guilty" is a tempting conclusion to draw in a period of intense political division and disagreement over who is the reliable narrator of basic facts. But it is not an approach likely to lead to justice." 

Homecoming

Earlier this week, I visited my hometown to attend a funeral at the parish church where I was baptized, confirmed and served as an altar boy.  The brief episode stirred some thoughts and emotions.  

Honor among rascals

Offhand, I can't think of anything that better encapsulates today's Republican Party: this is from a new book by ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl, as reported by Axios:

On his last day in office, after boarding Air Force One, "Trump took a call from Republican party chair Ronna McDaniel. ... He told McDaniel he was done with the Republican party. This is according to multiple sources familiar with the conversation," Karl said.

• "'I'm done,' Trump told McDaniel from his office on board Air Force One. 'I'm starting my own party.'"
• "'You cannot do that,' McDaniel told Trump. 'If you do, we will lose forever,'" Karl said, quoting the conversation.
• Republican leaders told the former president that if he left, they would stop paying his legal fees and give out for free Trump's email list, "an asset Trump makes millions on renting out to candidates," per Karl.
• By the following week, Trump decided against leaving the GOP.

So to recap: Trump was perfectly willing to personally bring about the destruction of one of the country's two major political parties.  For their part, the party elders, all of whom presumably loathe Trump, decided that continuing to dance with the devil was preferable to losing a few elections while trying to rebuild the party on the basis of principle and policy.  And what stayed Trump's hand: devotion to conservative principle?  Reluctance to dismantle a 160 year old party?  Reverence for the heritage of the Party of Lincoln?  No, it was the possibility of losing mailing-list rental income, and having to pay his own lawyers.  

Pardon me while I go retch.

Creative Solutions to the Housing Crunch

 The costs of either renting or home ownership have skyrocketted lately, due to a lot of factors. Housing costs have outstripped incomes, and many families are hard put to keep a roof over their heads.  Read on for some innovative approaches by government and businesses:

Great Video on Climate Change

 

Don't Choose Extinction

Where Justice and Charity Meet

 After a dozen years away from Catholic pews, I doubt that I will ever return. But there are two things that I think are the biggest pluses of Catholicism in our current world - Pope Francis (may he live to be 100) and the church's Social Justice Teachings. Sadly,  it seems that most Catholics ignore both the Pope (even if they "like" him) and few even know much about the church's Social Justice Teachings. In fact, it seems that the majority of Catholics have little interest in justice - they give money, and used clothing, and food to the food pantries, but they vote for those who don't work for justice - at least not for "justice for all", as it says in the Pledge of Allegiance.  The trumpian faction create hate storms aimed at those whose communities don't experience "justice for all" and try to raise awareness by the symbolic gesture of "taking a knee". The right wing has made this into a gesture of hate for America and lack of respect for the soldiers who have died in our many wars. Another right wing lie. It is a symbolic way to raise awareness of the reality that America has a long way to go before it offers "justice for all". A majority of white Catholics support trump and the GOP politicians in that wing of the party (the whole party at this point for all practical purposes)

I subscribe to Richard Rohr's daily emails, and also follow the RR group on FB .  Here is yesterday's post