The Dysfunction Chronicles

First there was Angela's Ashes.  Then The Glass Castle, and Hillbilly Elegy.  Now on the best seller list is Educated by Tara Westover, which I just finished reading.  What is there about these narratives of messed up families that draw us in? Are they just train wrecks that we can't look away from? Or are there things to be learned from them, to stretch one's consciousness out of the familiar comfort zone? I'm going to go with that thought.

Commonweal Conversations report

Commonweal Conversations panel for the Chicago 5/29/18 event: from left to right: Meaghan Ritchey, Commonweal's Community and Events Manager, who organized the event and introduced the panel; Dominic Preziosi, Commonweal's Executive Editor, who interviewed Cardinal Cupich; and Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago.

As I mentioned a couple of months ago, I had registered for a Commonweal Conversations event: Commonweal Executive Editor Dominic Preziosi interviewing Cardinal Blase Cupich.  The event took place this evening at Loyola University's Water Tower campus in Chicago.  Here are some brief notes about the event:

The moral implications of hearing loss in the drive-thru window

Last week, The Boy casually mentioned he'd been in the ER a few days earlier with a ruptured eardrum. I frightened him with scenarios of septicemia until he finally called his primary for a referral to an ear specialist.

"Yeah," he said laconically, "Dr. Sherman said it might heal on its own, but probably I'll need a surgical repair. He had diagrams and everything."

Like me, The Boy has a high threshold to pain and discomforts, which explains why he ignored ear aches for the past year. Turns out that exposure to the noise in the coffee shop plus wearing a headset for the drive thru turned up to "max" had busted a a drum already stressed from 12 years of marching band and jazz combos. A tendency to wax build-up created a perfect storm for poor Mr. Eardrum.

Moral dilemma for today

This occurred on Memorial Day, but it has nothing to do with Memorial Day, except insofar as it was triggered by a cookout.

We've got ha'Pence

  Vice President Mike Pence popped in on a gathering of a ministerial group called Watchmen on the Wall at the Hyatt (not Trump) in Washington and uttered these astonishing words:

"I truly do believe that other than the service of those who wear the uniform of the United States, especially our cherished fallen, the ministries that you lead, the prayers that you pray, are the greatest consequence in the life of a nation."

 The  Veep proudly displays a Bronze Star medal in his Washington office. It's his father's, from the Korean War. The draft having been conveniently abolished, young Mike never had to serve. But there is nothing like the patriotism of a chicken hawk when it comes to....

 ... Well, what did Mike mean by those odd words to the preachers?

Perpetual Adoration

Our parish started their program of perpetual adoration in 1999.  Originally I hadn't planned to take part, but kind of guilted myself into it.  The pastor was really pushing it hard, and I knew we had to have a critical mass of parishioners sign up to make it fly.  And we were a smaller parish than some; about 700 households at that time. So I did commit to a weekly hour, telling myself that I could give it up if it didn't work out.  I still have the same hour I took then, 3:00 on a Thursday afternoon.

Walk with me

This is my homily for today, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Cycle B.  The readings for the day are here.  Assigning the deacons to preach on Trinity Sunday is an old pastor's trick :-).

News and views: Sports and race

News: this week, a couple of news items hit the virtual news stand at the intersection of sports and race:

• The Milwaukee police department is under fire this week, after the department released body camera footage of an incident from last January, in which a group of white officers tackled and tased Sterling Brown, a rookie on the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team.  Brown apparently had driven to a local Walgreen's late at night and parked his vehicle across two handicap parking spots.  This CBS News report provides some of the body cam footage (both video and sound) and also provides some additional background: this is not the department's first racially charged incident in recent years.  And, in a development that would surprise nobody from Chicago, it seems that the video contradicts the official police reports filed by the officers involved in the incident.
• The NFL has announced a new policy regarding the fraught issue of players kneeling during the national anthem before games.  As described in this Associated Press article, "the NFL announced Wednesday that players can stay in the locker room during "The Star-Spangled Banner" but must stand if they venture onto the field.  Not doing so will result in a fine against the team."  The article also reports that Donald Trump was happy to pour some gasoline on the fire: he "suggested Thursday in a Fox interview that 'maybe you shouldn't be in the country' if you don't stand for the anthem."

Nuns and guns

Apropos of the last few threads about school shootings and capitalism ...

A group of nuns (including the Dominicans in Adrian, Michigan, who send me updates) bought stock in a gun company and forced it to file a report on how its weapons have been used in school shootings, and what it is doing to make guns safer. They've been trying to tweak corporate consciences for the last 20 years. Read more here.

More information on the group's other activities through the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center is here.

A couple of additional thoughts on Oeconomicae et pecuniariae quaestiones

Yesterday I posted on the Holy See's new document on the financial system and the 2007 financial crisis, Oeconomicae et pecuniariae quaestiones.  In this separate post I'd like to make a few additional observations  that have been spurred by the document.

Economic and financial prudence

Pop quiz time: who wrote the following quotes:

"Profit should be pursued"

"Economic activity cannot be sustained in the long run where freedom of initiative cannot thrive."

"The financial dimension of the business world, focusing business on the access of money through the gateway of the world of stock exchange, is as such something positive"

"Money in itself is a good instrument, as are many other things at the disposal of the human person, as a means to order one's freedom and to expand one's possibilities."

Was it:

a.  Friedrich Hayek
b.  Ludwig von Mises
c.  Milton Friedman
d.  Alan Greenspan

Sorry, I can't fake shock anymore

 Last Wednesday one of the guys in our group said we can’t be missionary disciples if all we offer is  cynicism and sarcasm.

 I was interrupted in taking his words to heart Friday when I heard about the Santa Fe shooting. My reaction was: “OK, roll out the candles and flowers and teddy bears for the standard makeshift memorial, and let’s hear the expressions of  ‘thoughts and prayers’ from the great and good so we can get back to cleaning our weapons for next time.

 “I mean, 10 dead in a school shooting is so routine we can react without taking our minds off the Preakness.”

 Now that is sarcasm. I would argue that sarcasm and cynicism are not the same thing. A cynic has given up on the issue. But a user of sarcasm has given up only on arguing with irrational people; he is trying to deal with them some other way. Cynicism is despair; sarcasm is a sign that hope weakly remains.

 For example, the Parkland kids calling b.s. on “hope and prayers” pushed that knee-jerk meaningless to the edge of the stage. The president got by (barely) without  it:

Preaching to the royals [Updated]

Well, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are married, so we can all exhale.  I elected not to roll out of bed at 4 am to watch the live coverage.  When, pursuant to the invariable custom in our home, I did emerge from behind the bedroom door to be beset by starving cats at the still-ungodly morning hour of 6:30 or so and switched on NPR for a spot of news, already there were reactions to the homily being reported.

Deacons: who are these guys, anyway?

On May 12, the Chicago Archdiocese ordained 19 men to the diaconate.   The archdiocesan newspaper, the Chicago Catholic, provides a little bio and headshot for each of them.

This is the so-called "permanent" diaconate; these are not the seminarians on the road to priesthood.

My class (2004) also was a class of 19, although in my day that was the English-speaking class; there was a separate ordination for Spanish-speaking men.  I think (but am not certain) that they ordain both language groups in a single ceremony now.  Still a good-size class.

Based on the sketches of each guy, I'd say this is a pretty typical ordination class: the ages range from early 40s to mid 60s; some diversity; most are husbands and fathers.  A handful work full-time for the church but most don't.  Some are certain what ministry they'll be doing, while others seem to have no idea :-).  Some are in the city, some are suburban. 

I think it's interesting and exciting.   It brings back memories for me; formation was a blessed time in my life.  I'll try to post more about that when I get a chance.

If you can spare a prayer for these guys and their wives, children and grandchildren, I'm sure it won't miscarry.

Declining birth rate in US

NPR is reporting that, for the second year in a row, the birth rate in the US declined sharply.  2017 witnessed the fewest number of live births in the US since 1978.  That year, the total US population was about 225 million, a hundred million fewer than today.

Winners, Losers, and Surprises from Tuesday's Primaries

From this article on the Vox site:
"Tuesday's primaries featured the crucial state of Pennsylvania plus a smattering of contests in the not-so-crucial states of Nebraska, Idaho, and Oregon.

The realities of a complex array of races with their own local dynamics defy the construction of pat narratives. Left-wing Democrats won some races and lost others, while in other cases, former insurgents have not been entirely embraced (or co-opted) by the establishment."

The Making of the Deporter-in-Chief, 2018

 Did you know that President Obama, once known as the "deporter-in-chief," dismissed from the country more than  twice as many people, in his prime years of 2010 and 2011, as the Great White Father's administration deported last year? You wouldn't if you spent most of your time with Republicans who get their attitudes from Fox and radio talk. I knew about Obama's title, but I had no idea of the discrepancy -- more than 300,00 human beings vs. fewer than 150,000.
 Bloomberg, picking up from a report by the Migration Policy Institute, notes that President Trump is getting all the credit/blame for doing half as much about illegal/undocumented people. And that is true. The Hispanic community in Palm Beach, which consists of naturalized citizens, green card holders, people in Temporary Protected Status, and third generation Americans. That community is currently suffering much more anguish and fear than it did when Obama's Immigration and Enforcement Service rode the range.

For the man who influences everything

 Monday was a wonderful day for Sheldon Adelson. One might say that Mother's Day was followed by Godfather's Day.
 And who, you ask, is Sheldon Adelson? He is the casino owner the President of the United States can only wish he had been able to be: Chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp., which makes him owner also of successful gambling emporia in Macau, Singapore and Bethlehem, PA. He has been a huge backer of Republican political candidates. Just the other day, he took $30 million out of petty cash and tossed it into the GOP pot to hold the House of Representatives in the fall. Paul Ryan had dropped in on him a couple of days earlier. Wisconsin House members always did hang out in Las Vegas.
 And Adelson is a huge supporter of Israel. As a matter of fact, Republicans who want his money have to do honor not only to Adelson but to Bibi Netanyahu.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem

A) Why is there widespread support in the U.S. for moving the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, as NPR is reporting just now?

B) How will it benefit the U.S. to move the embassy to Jerusalem? 

C) How will the move benefit Israel if it heightens tensions with Palestinians?

D) What is the train of thought that leads President Trump to proclaim that this will help stabilize and bring peace to the region?

I don't get it. Israeli soldiers are shooting stone-throwers with live ammo. Over 50 are dead now. This seems like a big disaster politically, globally, and from a p.r. point of view. What am I missing.

It's our turn

At our parish, the wives of deacons preach on Mother's Day weekend.  Here is what my wife Therese preached earlier today.

The Old Evangelization

"... you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
--- Acts of the Apostles, 1:8, part of the First Reading for the Solemnity of the Ascension

Some old-time religion, Catholic style, broke out at a recent school mass at Incarnation School in Palos Heights, IL.  From the Palos Patch:

PALOS HEIGHTS, IL -- Parents at a south suburban Catholic elementary school that is slated to close permanently in June are enraged over remarks made by a monsignor to students during mass, which they claim were verbally abusive and bullying ... The Incarnation parents say their children will all have to start at new schools in the fall and already feel bad enough without being berated publicly by a church authority figure.

How, you may ask, did the good Monsignor fill these young Catholics with the joy of the Resurrection during this Easter season?

Robot ethics

A couple of days ago, Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, got the kind of reaction that every hi-tech visionary craves when s/he demonstrates cool new technology.   But amid the clamor of oohs and aahs and whoops and hollers, we can just barely discern the uneasy murmur of ethics qualms.

Happy Ascension Day

Some dioceses celebrate the feast of the Ascension of the Lord today, others on this coming Sunday.  Ours celebrates it today.  So happy feast day to everyone.
I have always liked this poem, Ascension Day, by Sheila Kaye Smith:

Willow Creek leadership apologizes to women who have reported issues with former pastor [Updated 5/10/2018]

I've posted a couple of times over the past month about the issue now roiling Willow Creek Community Church, the enormous and nationally prominent non-denominational evangelical megachurch located northwest of Chicago.

Amazon: Threat or menace?

Margaret Steinfels offered this link in another thread by NYT writer David Leonhardt about Amazon.

Read and discuss.

The Devil You Know-UPDATE MAY 10

Gina Haspel, currently serving as Acting-Director of the CIA, will appear before the Senate tomorrow. She is nominated for the top job, and as David Ignatius sums up in the WashPost, she has been endorsed by many, if not most, of the previous directors.

She was involved in at least one of the torture bases during the Bush Administration and is reported to have destroyed evidence of those practices at the behest of another officer. I remind you of Abu Gharib (a torture center for the U.S. Army) and other examples of the U.S. government's decision to use torture as a mechanism of the war on terror. Attorney General John Yu cooked up a legal defense and Bush-Cheney and other elected officials approved it. As we know from the Nuremberg Trials and International Law, legalizing the illegal and reprehensible doesn't make it legal. So whatever Haspel has to say in her own defense is no defense.

David Ignatius acknowledges all of that, and yet creates an opening for the Senate to confirm her. His argument is that she is a knowledgeable Russia hand and has proven cooperative with the Mueller inquiry. He hints at but does not discuss another case that has been made by others: if she fails, Trump will nominate someone far more dangerous than she (Tom Cotton has been rumored, but there may be a long-line of deplorables waiting in the wings). Ignatius is always well-informed on foreign policy and the CIA, but if that's because he's an alum or covert officer, then one may suspect it's also that he fears even darker secrets in the hands of the Trump Administration.  "Dirty Hands" as someone once wrote.

ProPublica has an extensive look at Haspel's career and involvement in the Thai dark site used to interrogate prisoners.

LobeLog has a naysayer on Haspel that doesn't depend on the torture question: "She’s not a swamp-drainer.  She’s a swamp thing.--The author is alluding to her long years doing whatever it is the CIA does, and which it carefully keeps us from knowing about.

May 10 ROLLCALL has a summary of McCain's, Nay, on Haspel, and a rundown of how the votes are deciding and undeciding.

5 simple lessons about Christianity

As you know, I post the texts of my homilies here, and I'm always grateful for any discussion or criticism that arises from them.  In this case, I'd like to refer you to a homily that was written for today, and presumably preached today, by Dr. Frederick "Fritz" Bauerschmidt.  Like me, Fritz is a deacon - I believe he is in the Baltimore Archdiocese. Unlike me, he is also very learned in theology: he is chair of the Theology Department at Loyola University in Maryland.

Fritz is also a clear and concise writer.  He posts from time to time at the Pray Tell liturgy blog.  In this case, he posted the text of today's homily.  It is here.  Even though he knows a lot, this one, like all of the homily texts he posts, is extremely approachable.  Enjoy.

Things I learned about moving on from my mother's cat

I didn't want another cat, I really didn't, and certainly not my mother's finicky cat, Daisy. Nonetheless, when push came to shove, I couldn't bring myself to take Daisy to the cat rescue center after Mom died. Daisy made my dad smile eight years ago, just before he slipped into a coma. And Daisy was my mother's chief companion until Mom died in early April. So here she is, taking a nice nap on my bed.

Fr. Martin: bridge-building in a time of (culture) war

It has been nearly a year since Rev. James Martin, SJ, probably best-known as Stephen Colbert's Catholic chaplain, released the book pictured here.  It's both ironic and sad that a message intended to, well, build bridges has become such a lightning rod for controversy.

US bishops on climate change, or, Stuff that shows up in my mailbox

I'm pretty sure we all knew that Pope Francis is no slouch on climate change and the duty to protect God's creation, but what about the US bishops?