Delta Variant: A More Severe Illness that Spreads as Easily as Chickenpox UPDATED

 While this is a theoretical article, the theory is very plausible.  If you have many vaccinated people in an environment in which the virus is circulating strongly because there are also many unvaccinated people, then soon or later the virus will discover how to get through the vaccine barrier among the vaccinated. 

UK scientists believe it is 'almost certain' a coronavirus variant will emerge that beats current vaccines

The Delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox,

The delta variant of the coronavirus appears to cause more severe illness than earlier variants and spreads as easily as chickenpox, according to an internal federal health document that argues officials must “acknowledge the war has changed.”  The document is an internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention slide presentation, shared within the CDC and obtained by The Washington Post. 

The Pillar Plot Thickens UPDATED AGAIN!

UPDATE Michael Sean Winters weights in 

Pillar: Shoot for the stars and land in the gutter 

It takes a special kind of sinister skill for men trained as lawyers but acting as journalists to violate journalistic ethics and act in total disregard for the values that inform our legal system – all at the same time.

Among the values upon which our Western legal systems, both civil and ecclesiastic, are built is an abhorrence of unjust searches and seizures. The government needs a warrant to invade the privacy of your home or your phone. Issuing a warrant requires the government to demonstrate probable cause to believe evidence of a crime will be found. We allow criminals we are quite sure committed heinous acts to go free if the evidence against them was tainted by an improper search. What probable cause did Flynn and Condon have to ruin the career of a priest who committed no crime?

Location-based apps pose security risk for Holy See

The use of location-based hookup apps by officials or employees of Church institutions could present serious security problems for the Church, even at the level of the Holy See’s diplomatic and international relations.

The use of such apps within the Vatican City State could be a point of vulnerability in the Holy See’s efforts to defend itself from cyberattacks and other intelligence-gathering exercises in recent years.

Latinos and evangelical christianity - implications for the future

A new generation of Latino Protestants is poised to transform our religious and political landscapes.

https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/07/latinos-will-determine-future-american-evangelicalism/619551/

 There is an interesting article in the Atlantic about the increasing numbers of evangelical Latinos (for the first time, fewer than 50% of American Latinos identify as Catholic according to Pew).

The Catholic church in the US has been counting on the Latinos to "save" the church, to populate the pews and the schools.  The Democrats have been counting on them to shore up their voting base.  But - what if both are wrong?

Thoughts?

Facebook and Congregations

 As the pandemic developed, I noticed that my two local parishes which had started on Youtube had migrated to Facebook.  However in order to view services on Facebook, you are required to log in which of course enables both Facebook and the parish to know who is watching. Since I don't intend to become part of Facebook, it  essentially meant that they lost me as a viewer of their worship services. One of them has come back to YouTube.  I sent them a congratulatory e-mail. 

Facebook Wants You to Connect With God. On Facebook.

America vs The Pillar

 America has posted two great articles on The Pillar story raising many important questions about how the data was obtained, the ethics of its use, and the future of information gathering and journalism.

Since America has asked about the hidden agenda of The Pillar, I naturally asked about the hidden agenda of America as a Jesuit publication. Namely that America seeks to limit and discredit the exposure of gay networks in the Church.

Gay Networks

Jesuits have on their tombstones three dates: the date of their birth, their entrance in the Society of Jesus, and their death. Nothing about the date they took vows, or their ordination. The importance of entrance into novitiate, even if one eventually leaves, has become apparent to myself (and others) in the way some (but not all Jesuits) treat anyone who entered the Jesuits as one of OURS. 

This was very evident to me more than two decades ago when a Jesuit discussed with me his ministry with all the openness that might be expected to a fellow Jesuit. As a part of that he confided that the American Assistancy (i.e the group of  American provinces) was controlled by a gay network and that choice of ministries very much depended upon whether you were part of that network. This was all before the sexual abuse scandal reached national prominence and before Don Cozzens raised the homosexual issue in his book on priests (that scuttled any hopes he might have had as a seminary rector to become a bishop, he subsequently took an academic position).

May Perpetual Light Shine Upon Him

 My dad passed away on July 14.  He was 93 years old. His funeral was Tuesday, July 20.  This is a link to his obituary: Gene Nielsen Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information (prairiehillsfuneralhome.com)

USCCB gen sec Burrill resigns after sexual misconduct allegations

Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, former general secretary of the U.S. bishops’ conference, announced his resignation Tuesday, after The Pillar found evidence the priest engaged in serial sexual misconduct, while he held a critical oversight role in the Catholic Church’s response to the recent spate of sexual abuse and misconduct scandals.

Pillar Investigates: USCCB gen sec Burrill resigns after sexual misconduct allegations