What I wish Nikki Haley had said

Everyone has heard by now about Nikki Haley's New Hampshire gaffe. The question seemed to catch her off guard; she probably wasn't thinking she'd have to discuss the Civil War in a New Hampshire town hall. And then she hemmed and hawed around, and said "something something capitalism freedom". It was the next day before she said the "s" word, slavery. 

The commentary everywhere wonders if that is enough to cook her goose, campaign-wise. I don't know, I guess we'll see. I think  one comment that I read had it right,  that it was a South Carolina answer in a New Hampshire context.

Ohio Governor Vetoes Transgender Heathcare & Sports Bill

 

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoes transgender healthcare, sports bill

Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed House Bill 68 on Friday, a piece of legislation that would have banned healthcare professionals from providing gender-affirming care to transgender minors and ban transgender females from playing girls’ sports if it passed.

“I believe this is about protecting human life. Many parents have told me that their child would not have survived - would be dead today - if they would not have received the treatment they received from one of Ohio’s children’s hospitals,” Gov. DeWine began on Friday. “I’ve also been told by those who are now grown adults, if it weren’t for this care, they would have taken their life when they were teenagers.”

“Parents are making decisions about the most precious thing in their life - their child,” he explained. “And none of us should underestimate the gravity and difficulty of those decisions. These are gut-wrenching decisions, these are gut-wrenching decisions that should be made by parents and should be informed by teams of doctors who are advising them.”

“But ultimately, these tough, tough decisions should not be made by the government, they should not be made by the State of Ohio,” DeWine said to the media.

H.B. 68 will go back to the lawmakers and DeWine’s veto could be overridden despite the rules his administration plans to draft up.

There were sufficient votes for the bill that it could be overridden; however, DeWine has made a great case for not doing that.

Wolcum Yole

The week between Christmas and New Year's always makes me think of this song in Benjamin Britten's "Ceremony of Carols", which we sang in both high school and college during the holiday season:

The Lyrics:

Wolcum, Wolcum
Wolcum be thou hevenè king
Wolcum Yole!
Wolcum, born in one morning
Wolcum for whom we sall sing!

Wolcum be ye Stevene and Jon
Wolcum Innocentes every one
Wolcum, Thomas marter one
Wolcum, be ye, Good Newe Yere
Wolcum Twelfth Day both in fere
Wolcum, seintes lefe and dere
Wolcum Yole!

Candelmesse, Quene of bliss
Wolcum bothe to more and lesse
Wolcum be ye that are here
Wolcum Yole!
Wolcum alle and make good cheer
Wolcum alle another yere
Wolcum Yole! Wolcum!

The saints on the liturgical calendar this week are Stephen (Dec. 26), John the Evangelist (the 27th), the Holy Innocents (the 28th), and Thomas a Beckett (the 29th, an optional memorial).

Of course yesterday (the 26th) we listened to "Good King Wenceslaus", because it was the "Eve of Stephen". and the frost was cruel where we are!

Wikipedia had this to say about Britten's choral composition:

Happy Christmas Eve

"Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
This bird of dawning singeth all night long;
And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad,
The nights are wholesome, then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,  So hallow'd and so gracious is the time."

William Shakespeare, from Hamlet

My mother used to say that lost things could be found on Christmas Eve.  She was talking about relationships.  I was thinking she got that bit from Shakespeare, too, but I couldn't find the quote.

Anyway, I wish all of you a happy and blessed Christmas!

Donald Trump Disqualified from Colorado's Ballot (Updated)

https://news.yahoo.com/donald-trump-disqualified-colorados-primary-123830524.html

WASHINGTON − "Colorado's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that former President Donald Trump may not appear on that state's presidential primary ballot next year, marking the first time a court has embraced a theory that the former president disqualified himself from a second term by attempting to overturn the 2020 election."

Breaking: the Holy See gives permission for blessings of those in same sex relationships - UPDATED

The update, along with the original post, are below the break.

A brief and depressing observation about politics.

 David Zimmerman at National Review:

With less than a year to go before Election Day, former president Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden in head-to-head matchups in all seven major swing states.

A newly released Morning Consult poll shows Trump maintaining a strong lead over Biden in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, and North Carolina. Trump’s lead over Biden in Georgia (6 points) and North Carolina (9 points) is outside the margin of error, while his lead in the other five states is within the margin of error and ranges anywhere from 2 to 4 points.

Perhaps folks would find that news sufficiently depressing on its own.  But what depresses me is my expectation of how this will play out: Trump's lead over Biden inevitably will narrow as we get closer to the 2024 election.  And then Biden will win on election night.  And then we'll have 2020 all over again, with Trump claiming that the election was stolen from him, and masses of our fellow Americans will believe him.

Francis at 87

 Many of the news stories have been headlining this with something like the Pope plans not to be buried in the Vatican.  There is much humor and some truth in those titles since much of the time since he became Pope, Francis has fought against being buried by the Vatican bureaucracy.

However, Saint Mary Major, the Lateran Basilica (the Cathedral Church), and Saint Paul Outside the Walls are all extra-territorial parts of the Vatican City State. 

Pope Plans to be Buried in Saint Mary Major

Pope Francis says he wants to be buried in the Rome basilica of St. Mary Major, not in the grottoes of the Vatican like other popes, so he can be near his favorite icon of the Madonna.

Francis, who turns 87 on Dec. 17, also said he never thought about resigning this year despite a series of health scares. He said he has a trip confirmed to Belgium next year and visits under consideration to Polynesia and his native Argentina.

"It is true that all journeys are now rethought," Francis told N+ of Mexican broadcaster Televisa. "If they're close by, they can be done. If they're farther away they are rethought. There are limits."

It was Francis' first interview since his latest bout of acute bronchitis, which forced the cancellation of a trip this month to Dubai to participate in the U.N. climate conference.

I don't think it was an accident that this interview was given to a Mexican broadcaster right before the celebration of Our Lady of Guadlupe

Pope: Our Lady of Guadalupe reminds us to welcome virtues 

In his homily for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pope Francis focused on the miraculous image preserved on the tilma, or cloak, of St Juan Diego, to whom Our Lady appeared.

“It is the image of the first disciple, of the mother of all believers, of the Church herself,” the Pope said, “which is imprinted in the humility of what we are and what we have, which is not worth much, but which will be something great in the eyes of God.”

The Pope went on to reflect on the “small task” Mary gave to Juan Diego, to gather some flowers. “The flowers, in mysticism, signify the virtues that the Lord instils in the heart, they are not our own work,” he explained.

This image on the tilma, he concluded, is a simple message, needing no explanation. “It is a message that protects us from so many social and political ideologies” that often seek to use the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe to justify themselves. But, the Pope said, the message of Guadalupe does not tolerate ideologies of any kind. “Only the image, the tilma, the roses,” remain.

Pope Francis probably sees himself, as like the humble Juan Diego who has come "from the ends of the earth" (as he said on the balcony), to enable the Church to see through simple virtues the image of the pregnant Virgin.  One could say that is what synodality is all about. Much of Francis ministry has been giving us simple images and phrases.  

Colleen Dulle has a fine analysis article in America"

Pope Francis is turning 87. Is it time for him to slow down?

Guadalupe / The Wexford Carol

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patroness of the Americas. Even before Pope Francis, in the days of Benedict, the Pope celebrated this day with Mass in the early evening Rome time so that it can be live at noon Eastern time for the Americas.  (check EWTN and Vatican Youtube for the transmission)

The Hispanic tradition is to begin the celebration either at Midnight (which is what they are did at Los Angelos) or at dawn. The local bilingual parish opens its doors at 5a.m. There is a steady stream of people coming with roses, and the singing is non-stop until the 7pm. evening Mass. 

Ireland had its own traditions.  In the case of the 12th century Wexford Carol almost forgotten by the rural village . America has the story

This Irish Christmas carol was once nearly forgotten. Now it’s newly famous.

Below are some YouTube versions of the carol:

What comes after the war? (Updated)

I am thinking of Colin Powell's "Pottery Barn rule"; his admonition to George W. Bush in 2002 in relation to the decision whether to invade Iraq.  "You break it, you own it."

The war between Israel and Hamas can't last forever, and Israel hasn't made public any plans about what they intend to do after it is over.  Except, they have said that they aren't going to occupy Gaza.  Biden has said that they shouldn't occupy Gaza.  But in the short term, who is going to pick up the pieces?  They have said that they don't want UN forces to do it. Eqypt doesn't want Gaza. None of the Arab neighbors want it. But you don't get to just walk away from chaos that you helped cause, even if the other side started it.

I came across this piece by Moises Salinas Fleitman,A Marshall Plan for Gaza & a Three State Solution | Moises Salinas Fleitman | The Blogs (timesofisrael.com) and it is the only solution that makes sense to me from a humanitarian point of view, that is, to carry out a sort of Marshall Plan. From the article:

Holiday Movies

 'Tis the season for watching holiday movies. As with all movies, everyone has their likes and dislikes. My siblings and I don't always enjoy the same films. One thing is predictable; that most movies my youngest sister recommends, my husband absolutely can't stand. Case in point, "Meet Me in St. Louis". Actually I didn't much like it either, it's a retro thing that didn't time travel well. 

So we have a siblings Facebook page which we use to communicate things that we might need to share or discuss in common. One of my brothers got on the page last week and recommended a holiday movie that he enjoyed, "Feast of the Seven Fishes". 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_the_Seven_Fishes_(film)

I had low expectations, this brother and I don't often go for the same things. But we thought, what the heck, might as well try it. It turned out that all five of us and our spouses watched it and enjoyed it. It's a little gritty around the edges, but funny and touching. 

I tend not to like the Hallmark Christmas movies, a little too saccharine. Some that I do like are "It's A Wonderful Life", "The Christmas Story", " The Sound of Music" (the original one with Julie Andrews), and "The Fourth Wise Man".

Do any of you have favorite holiday movies that you recommend?

Pope to Theologians: Demasculinize the Church (UPDATE)

UPDATE:

OFFICIAL ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF TEXT AND REMARKS

The text is not much longer than the impromptu remarks.

First he reiterates the general approach he wants theologians to take.

Turning then to your more specific task, in my Letter addressed to the new Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, I emphasized that today “we need a way of thinking that knows how to convincingly present a God who loves, who forgives, who saves, who liberates, who promotes people and summons them to fraternal service” (1 July 2023). You are required to address this need in a qualified manner, through the proposal of an evangelizing theology, which promotes dialogue with the world of culture. And it is essential that you theologians do this in tune with the People of God, I would say “from below”, that is, with a privileged gaze for the poor and the simple, and at the same time “on your knees”, because theology is born kneeling, in adoration of God.

 Then he applies this to their project on "the Trinitarian and Christological faith confessed by the Council of Nicaea, which we are preparing to commemorate 1700 years after its celebration, coinciding with the Jubilee called for the year 2025."

He notes the lack of women in the group;

But there is something about you that I do not like; pardon my sincerity. One, two, three, four women: poor women! They are alone! Ah, excuse me, five. We must advance in this.

I am not sure that women will be very pleased by his next remarks:

The Church is woman. And if we do not know what a woman is, what the theology of a woman is, we will never understand what the Church is. One of the great sins we have had is to “masculinize” the Church. And this is not solved by the ministerial path; that is something else. It is resolved in the mystical way, the real way. Balthasar’s thought has brought me so much light: Petrine principle and Marian principle. This can be debated, but the two principles are there. The Marian is more important than the Petrine, because there is the bride Church, the woman Church, without being masculine.

 He explicitly says that demasculinizing the Church is not solved by admitting women to ministry!   His mystical way is in fact just another version of masculine/feminine cultural polarity made popular by a theologian Balthazar, which has influenced JP2 and B16.

Personally, I do not think that imagining ourselves as brides of Christ, whether we are men or women is very helpful. A young woman religious at ND said that while she often imagined herself as the bride of Christ, she wondered how men could.  I responded that I usually do not think of Jesus as either Lord, King, or Spouse but as my Teacher and Friend. 

Of course, I think that women could also see Him as Teacher and Friend. We might also see Jesus as our Brother, and each other as Children of God. I think this is the practical way forward if we wish to have a less masculine Church. In today's culture we can imagine both women and men as teachers, friends, and siblings while Lords and Kings are male. The spousal imagery which is present in both Old and New Testaments is simply confusing. The spouse of the Old Testament was simply another version of a Lord and King.   

The International Theological Commission is part of the Roman Curia and advises the Vatican doctrinal department on theological issues. The pope appoints its members, and women have been allowed to become members since 2004.