Will the Real Biden Please Stand Up?

 My discipline, social psychology, emphasizes that while behavior is strongly determined by the social situation,  people usually view behavior as determined by personal characteristics such as personality, attitudes, beliefs and values. We habitually view people as agents of their own behavior rather than looking at the environmental influences.

As the media begins interpreting the Biden administration it is amusing how they are interpreting him. It is like the old television show in which panelists where asked to determine by questions which of three guests was the real X. The questions ended with the host asking for the real X to please stand up.

I started  thinking about this from the following article from The Civilta Cattolica, representing the mind of the Vatican since 1850, because it is read by the of office of the Vatican Secretary of State before being published by the Jesuits. The author is an American Jesuit

The United States from Trump to Biden: From insurrection to inauguration

This Commonweal Blog vs Cleveland Commonweal Local Community

Today is the fourth anniversary of NewGathering. 

Our first posts were on March 9, 2017. Thanks are due to everyone, both those who put this blog together and those who have kept it running.

On March 6, 2017 I signed up for the Cleveland Commonweal Local Community.

So I thought it might be interesting to compare the two.

Pope Francis' Trip to Iraq

 There has been a lot of media coverage of the pope's trip to Iraq, including articles in NCR and America Magazine (if you can get past the paywall). 

In an NCR article, Pope Francis "... urged Iraqi Christians not to lose hope and not to seek vengeance over their suffering during the brutal Islamic State regime, in a pair of poignant and dramatic visits March 7 to churches that were desecrated and destroyed by the terrorist militant group."

"Standing amid piles of the sand-colored brick rubble of four churches in a square in Mosul, under ISIS control from 2014 to 2017, the pontiff lamented the "tragic consequences of war and hostility," but said the desire for peace "can never be silenced by the blood spilled by those who pervert the name of God."

Have you ever heard of this organization? and its parish survey? UPDATE

An Eight Minute Introduction to the Survey by my Pastor

evidently this is being done everywhere in the Diocese of Cleveland

Faithful asked to participate in survey to assess spiritual health of parish life

Dan Cellucci, CEO of CLI, said the survey is a pilot program funded by an endowment. “The goal is to help parishes and priests thrive in ministry,” he said.

The Cleveland Diocese is one of 40 in the United States and Canada to participate in the survey. He estimated 1,500 parishes are involved, amounting to more than 250,000 parishioners. The survey is available in 14 languages.

He first connected with the diocese a few years ago while teaching a sabbatical class in Rome. Father Dan Schlegel, diocesan vicar for clergy and religious, was in the class and they stayed in touch, Cellucci said. He also has had a long relationship with Philadelphia Archbishop – and former Cleveland Bishop -- Nelson Perez, who participated in a CLI leadership program during the early years of his priesthood in Pennsylvania.

Saenz and Cellucci said the seeds for the survey were sown a couple of years ago, while Archbishop Perez was still leading the Cleveland Diocese. The idea was presented to and approved by the Presbyteral Council and other diocesan leaders before the survey was offered. Because of the grant CLI received, there is no cost for the diocese to participate in this survey.

The Disciple Maker Index (DMI) is a survey tool, created by Catholic Leadership Institute to:

• Allow parishioners to reflect upon their spiritual growth and discipleship;
• Identify the ways in which the parish effectively supports that growth and look at opportunities to support that growth more in the future;
• Provide valuable input to help pastors and parish leaders make decisions and plan effectively;
• Help pastors and parish leaders have a sense of where to focus their evangelization efforts.

The Disciple Maker Index Survey

Today I got an e-mail from my parish with a link to take the Disciple Maker Index Survey. I found that I came out very well in the reflections on my spiritual growth and discipleship. At the same time the parish came out very poorly since I haven't been there for a year. There was nothing in the survey about the pandemic. Now it is possible that by giving the survey they have always been giving they might detect effects across parishes. However without a pre and post test it will be very difficult to tell what is peculiar to a parish or an effect of the pandemic.

I had never heard of this place or this survey. They say they consult widely across the country. Has anyone seen or heard of them? They originated in Philadelphia area.

Catholic Leadership Institute

We won't all be vaccinated by May

President Biden has made headlines with his announcement that (to quote the NY Times news story) "there would be enough doses of the coronavirus vaccine available for the entire adult population in the United States by the end of May".  It's wonderful news.  It left me with the uplifting feeling that maybe we've finally tossed the lasso over COVID-19 and are cinching it tight.  It's the kind of news that helps explain, at least on a psychological level, why some states are lifting COVID restrictions already.

But. 

Vaccine Ethics, Again

You may have seen Jim McCrea's email share of this article on the America site.  It discusses a statement by the archdiocese of New Orleans questioning the morality of accepting the Johnson and Johnson vaccine because of the use of a cell line derived from an abortion that occurred decades ago. Presumable their archbishop wrote the statement, though it was unsigned. 

Should Governor Cuomo resign?

Governor Cuomo is being tossed about in a sea of scandals.  Should he try to ride out the storm?