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?