Mining Polymetallic Nodules From the Bottom of the Sea: Pros and Cons

 I came across an interesting article in Wired Magazine recently,  The Mining Industry’s Next Frontier Is Deep, Deep Under the Sea | WIRED.  The article was about polymetallic nodules. I had not previously been aware of these nodules.

"...One March day in 1873, some of these subaqueous artifacts were dragged for the first time into sunlight. Sailors aboard the HMS Challenger, a former British warship retrofitted into a floating research lab, dredged a net along the sea bottom, hauled it up, and dumped the dripping sediment onto the wooden deck. As the expedition’s scientists, in long trousers and shirtsleeves, eagerly sifted through the mud and muck, they noted the many “peculiar black oval bodies” that they soon determined were concretions of valuable minerals. A fascinating discovery, but it would be almost a century before the world began to dream of exploiting these stones."

A quick (and pessimistic) prediction about Donald Trump

Data: Axios research; Timeline: Jacque Schrag/Axios

This diagram appeared in an Axios newsletter I receive each afternoon.  As you can see, it compares the dates of upcoming legal events for, and related to, Donald Trump, to the GOP 2024 presidential primary calendar.

Feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne

 

I have always liked this painting by Leonardo DaVinci of St. Anne, Mary, and the child Jesus.  Sts. Joachim and Anne are the patrons of grandparents.  Also St. Anne was my mom's patron saint; her Confirmation name.  Appropriate since she had twelve grandchildren. And my sister's twin sons were born 40 years ago today.  Appropriate for me too, now that I have grandchildren. Mom  visited the shrine of St. Anne de Beaupre in Quebec when she visited friends in Canada.

I like the DaVinci picture because of the softness and love of the faces. And it is a reminder that Jesus had a family, and that Mary had parents.

On Bodily Autonomy

There is an interesting article on the NCR site today, by David E. Decosse, Dobbs, abolition and women's right to bodily integrity | National Catholic Reporter (ncronline.org)  He discusses the Dobbs decision, slavery, and abolition; but not in the way we have usually seen those subjects related to one another.

We may not agree with the author in every respect, but the article is well thought out, and worth discussing.

From the article: 

Barbie

I see that the Barbie movie is set to be released July 21.  So a few reflections on a doll which has enjoyed one of the longest runs of popularity, 64 years. I had one of the early Barbies (not the original one in the striped swimsuit), and Barbie and her stuff still appear on my youngest two granddaughters' Christmas wish list.  But she's really not the same doll, she has morphed and evolved since 1959, when she was first sold. 

In the early sixties, she was all the rage among the pre-teens.  Everyone had one. Except me (or so I thought). My mom didn't approve of Barbie, said she wasn't going to buy me one.  She thought that it was a toy company ploy to get girls to keep buying stuff. That it encouraged materialism, and besides, no one's body actually looked like that. She wasn't wrong about those things. But my favorite cousin had one, and my friends all had one.  So Mom said I could have one if I bought her with my allowance, or birthday money. Well, birthday money was already spent.  I had an allowance of 50 cents a week, so I decided to go that route.  

Open, deep, well-ordered hearts

This is my homily for this past weekend, the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A.  The Sunday readings are here.

How do you decide what to read?

I subscribe to too many news sources and journals - more than I can keep up with.  One of them is a print magazine known as The Deacon (formerly known as Deacon Digest, I believe).  Yes, there is a magazine for every interest group, even deacons.

Everyone around here knows I am a deacon.  I mention it, on average, once every four or five sentences.  The casual reader might conclude that I have an interest in, perhaps even passion for, the diaconate.  And they'd be right.

Based on that knowledge of what makes me tick, you might expect that I would devour every issue of The Deacon from front to back.  But so far, it hasn't worked out that way.

I received an email today promoting content in The Deacon.  I'd genuinely like to know: would any of these teasers motivate you to click through and read the article?  Here they are:

Doing a Postmortem on the Pandemic

I ran across an interesting piece by Matthew Yglesias, What I got wrong about Covid - by Matthew Yglesias (slowboring.com).  It sparked an examination of what we did right, and what we did wrong, during the pandemic. Covid isn't over yet, but we are past what we would call the pandemic phase.

From the article:

Francis picks Father Martin to be voting delegate at Synod UPDATED!

 UPDATED:  I have added some additional columns to the table to show how the composition of the Synod looks if one spreads the appointees out over the regional elected members.  I have also added a column for those who are cardinals, and identified how Francis appointments effected their participation.

Pope Francis’ picks for the synod are in

and suggest this will be a Vatican meeting like no other!

Categories	Original Groups	Papal	Total	Non bishops	Total	Cardinals
Ex officio
Vatican Departments	14	6	20		20	10 & 3 & 3
Council for Synod	17		17		17	11
Continents	5		5		5	2
Staff	4		4		4	1
Patriarchs	6		6		6	5
Elected
Africa	43	3	46	10	56	1
North America	9	6	15	10	25	1 & 3
South America	38	8	46	10	56	1 & 3
Asia	25	1	26	10	36	7
Europe	48	23	73	10	83	1 & 3
Oceania	5	1	6	10	16	0
Oriental	20	1	23	10	33	1
Religious	10
Appointed
Papal	50
from nominees
Women	35
Male Non Bishops	35
Total	364	49		70		56

The role of the Vatican Departments has been trimmed back to 14 ex officio. However Francis added another six appointments. He also added three former Vatican Cardinals, and made three of the ex officio department heads cardinals. Was this designed to insulate Francis from the accusation that he is leaving the Curia out?

The Council of the Synod, elected by the last synod plus five continental synod heads does offer the opportunity for their being more influence from the bishops as a whole. The Council of the Synod included eleven cardinals.  All together there are 30 cardinals whose membership was determined by the present or former positions. 

The Patriarchs are those from the Eastern Churches whose office gives them an automatic role in the Synod.

Africa has 43 elected members plus 3 added by Francis and 10 non-bishops for a total of 56 members, most of whom are bishops, only one of whom is a cardinal.

North America started with 9 elected plus 6 added by Francis and 10 non-bishops for a total of 25 members of whom 10 are bishops (Martin is a priest) and 4 are cardinals. Actually they only elected one cardinal. Francis added 3 cardinals.  A much different composition than Africa.

South American started with 38 elected plus 8 added by Francis and then 10 non-bishops for a total of 56 members (same as Africa) of whom 42 are bishops, and 4 are cardinals, three appointed by Francis. Their continental composition is more similar to Africa.

Asia started out with 25 elected members, Francis only added 1 plus ten non bishops. However they elected 7 cardinals!.  Interesting!   Perhaps they decided they  would have more clout in the synod by electing their cardinals?

Europe started out with 48 elected members, slightly more than Africa and South America, but Francis added 23 more members bring them up to 73 members before adding the 10 non bishops. An interesting development especially since Francis has the reputation of being a third world pope. The configuration of the European continent is more weighted toward bishops (and priests, some of Francis appointments were priests). Again Francis appointed three cardinals just as he did in the US and Latin America. Are these cardinals going to be his floor managers if one thinks of this as a political convention.

Oceania started out with five elected, gained only one papal appointment but ten non-bishops.  In other words the non bishops are the majority!

The Oriental churches elected 20 delegates, Francis added only 1, plus 10 non-bishops for a total of 33.  Only one cardinal among them. However one must added in 6 patriarchs of whom 5 are cardinals. 

The papal appointees are a significant block of votes but not much larger than Africa, Asia and the Americas.

Religious seem to me to be very underrepresented in comparison to their role in the church. I think in former times there were ten male religious which was divided now that women religious are included.  I would have given male and female religious at least 20 delegates each; perhaps even better to have given them 30 delegates each

If that I been done I would have appointed 30 lay men and 30 lay women, and created a separate group for 30 parish priests from around the world. 

O well, they have to let the bishops get used to having to deal in synod with non-bishops.

Francis did a good job of balancing out the USA delegation with his picks. Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Baron are articulate spokesperson for the conservative American bishops as are those appointed by Francis to represent progressive views. 

Conservatives are sure to criticize Father Martin's appointment, but it guarantees the LGBTQ community a voice. 

Francis also gave the conservative critics of synodality a potential strong voice in terms of Cardinal Muller the former CDF head.

But with his usual political astuteness Francis appointed the recent CDF head, a middle of the road Jesuit to be a delegate.  The new CDF appointee is an Argentinian theologian that is the closest thing to a Francis theologian. He automatically gets a seat.

Let the conservatives cry that Francis is changing doctrine, and he can point to the presence of three CDF heads who are likely to disagree on many things.

Francis also appointed conservative German bishops to offset the liberal choices of their bishop's conference.

The synod will meet in both this October and October 2024 with the same people! Could be the beginning of a very interesting year in church history!

What they find in Trump

One of the great topics at NewGathering for the last eight or so years has been: What is it that those voters see in Donald Trump?!

Today, New York Times columnist David French gives an insightful answer: Trump voters find something in the MAGA brother- and sister-hood that is not visible to those of us outside the club: joy.

My Independence Day reflection

I wrote this very brief reflection for our parish bulletin.  It was published this past Sunday, July 2nd.  

This didn't occur to me when I wrote it, but upon reading through it in the bulletin on Sunday morning, I realized I had landed more or less in the same spot as the American bishops on the question of religious liberty.  I'm fine with that: I've never thought the bishops were wrong to raise these concerns in the wake of the Obamacare contraceptive mandate.  I should add that my little reflection doesn't touch on any current events.

At any rate, here it is:

The Prayer of Archbishop John Carroll for the Inauguration of George Washington

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

My husband was the deacon for this morning's Mass. He ran across this prayer by Archbishop John Carroll for the inauguration of George Washington: (https://jmahoney.typepad.com/jim_mahoneys_blog_sacred_/2020/11/prayer-on-election-day-november-3-2020.html) . 

My hot takes on the Supreme Court's four big decisions

Some quick comments on this term's four most highly-anticipated Supreme Court decisions, in ascending order of liberal controversy: