WHERE IS THE SCANDAL?

From ETHICSDDAILY.com:

Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, R.I., demanded that CHA remove St. Joseph Health Services of Rhode Island from its membership rolls, calling its affiliation with CHA “embarrassing.”

In a March 29 letter to CHA President and Chief Executive Officer Sister Carol Keehan, Tobin said CHA had “misled the public and caused serious scandal for many members of the church.”

The CHA supported the health care bill, saying it would not increase public funding of abortion. The U.S. Catholic bishops disagreed, and urged the bill’s defeat.
....

CHA spokesman Fred Caesar said Tobin’s request was granted and that one other hospital said it may not renew its membership in the association, but no others have left. Caesar declined to name the hospital, or where it is located.

The CHA represents more than 620 Catholic hospitals and 60 health care systems in the U.S.

No one asked me, but I'd say that the bishop's letter is embarrassing. The RCC bishops' opposition to the health care reform bill was misleading, embarrassing, and scandalous.

STORY OF THE DAY - QUIET DANCING

Her feet moved like small creatures over
the floor, quiet & unconcerned with
anything but the business of dancing.


From StoryPeople.

IN THE BLOOMIN' GARDEN - 3 - CATKINS

 

Catkins, the wormlike male flowers from an oak tree, blanket the ground. They fall after releasing their pollen. Photo by BILL FEIG.

From the Advocate:

Local allergists are theorizing that the bitter cold winter here has triggered an especially intense pollen season this year — and unpleasant symptoms for allergy sufferers.

“This year has been one of the worse seasons I’ve ever seen,” said allergist Dr. James M. Kidd III.

He’s been in practice for 28 years.

Kidd said that he did his medical training in Wisconsin, a place with distinct seasons, and he would see a surge in the spring pollen there, following heavy winters.

“We had a very cold winter” here, Kidd said.

In this area, trees actually start pollinating in late January, he said, but the heaviest tree pollen falls between March 15 and March 31, he said.

“Patients oftentimes will have a lag time and won’t see symptoms until several weeks later,” he said.

Louisiana trees with a high pollen count — a measure of how many pollen spores are prevalent per cubic meter of air — are the oak and the cypress, Kidd said.

We have both cypress and oak trees in our yard. The catkins were all over, covering great swaths of the driveway. The pictures below were taken after the initial clean-up. The yellow pollen from the flowers lands and clings to everything outside, plants, garden furniture, etc. The powder-like pollen even sticks to the window panes.

Grandpère and I both had a bout of either a spring cold or allergies a few weeks ago, that had us frequently sneezing with runny noses. The pollen could have been the culprit.

The flowers look like little brown caterpillars once they fall. I'd never thought much about them before this year's plague. I knew that the catkins were flowers from our oak trees, but I never knew their name until I read the article in the Advocate a few days ago.

 

 

PLEASE PRAY...

for my friend Tom who had surgery for a brain tumor on the Monday after Easter. Tom is home now, but his recovery is slow. The tumor is diagnosed as a "glioma - low-grade malignant", and Tom will need 6 weeks of radiation. His partner is stressed right now, and both need our prayers.

O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant Tom the help of your power, that his sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
....

Heavenly Father, giver of life and health: give strength to those who care for Tom in his needs, that they may have confidence in your loving care; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer, pp. 458, 459. Second prayer adapted.)

A COUPLE OF MAXINES FOR YOU...

...so that you'll behave yourselves today.

 

 

From Doug long ago. I came across these two cartoons while I was deleting trash in Picasa, and I had to share.

YA GOTTA LOVE IT

The lesbian teenager from Mississippi who challenged her school district's ban of same-sex prom dates will serve as grand marshal of the annual gay pride march in New York City.

Organizer Heritage of Pride, Inc., announced Wednesday that Constance McMillen will appear in the parade on June 27.

It commemorates the 1969 Stonewall riots in which patrons at a Greenwich Village gay bar fought back against a police raid. The 18-year-old senior says she's honored to be part of the celebration.

Go, Constance! Justice served in the here-and-now Kingdom.

I loved reading the story with my breakfast. What an upper to start my day.

Here's the sad story of the arrangements made by Constance's classmates and their parents at prom time.

As the good book says:

For everything there is a season...

...a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A BRAVE PRIEST

From Boston.com:

An East Longmeadow priest called yesterday from his pulpit for Pope Benedict XVI to step down, demanding greater protection of children and greater accountability from the Catholic Church hierarchy.

The church’s top leader has not been truthful, said the Rev. James Scahill of St. Michael’s Parish, violating an important tenet of the faith. His strongly worded sermon echoed sentiments he shared with parishioners several weeks ago, but this time, he spent more time and spoke with greater conviction on the controversial subject.
....

“If we cannot get a pope that’s going to give us the truth, then our church is dead,’’ Scahill said.

Mark Dupont, a spokesman for the Diocese of Springfield, was quick to distance the diocesan leadership from the comments made by Scahill.

“It in no way represents the position of the bishop,’’ Dupont said. “We find his statements to be unfortunate.’’

Scahill, he said, has not properly recognized measures to ensure safety undertaken by the American Catholic leadership, which has “led the world in their efforts,’’ as well as steps the Diocese of Springfield took over the years to deal with the issue of sexual abuse.

Below is a video interview with Fr. Scahill.



H/T to Paddy Anglican for the video.

MARCIAL MACIEL OF THE LEGION OF CHRIST

From NOLA.com by Bruce Nolan:

Jason Berry, the New Orleans writer, reported this week that the founder of the Legion of Christ, a global order of Catholic priests, for years deployed lavish gifts and envelopes of cash to powerful Vatican cardinals and other officials to win support for his work before his eventual exposure as a predator.

Berry said the gifts help explain why the Rev. Marcial Maciel Delgollado and his fast-growing order enjoyed powerful allies at the Vatican, even after nine men filed formal charges in the late 1990s that he had sexually abused them as young seminarians.

The two-part report on Maciel’s gifts, published last week and Monday in the National Catholic Reporter, comes after the Legion’s admission last year that the charismatic Maciel led a secret life, fathered a daughter in his native Mexico and supported her and her mother with donations diverted from the Legion.

The order has also acknowledged that Maciel molested the seminarians. And it has not disputed the claims of two men in Mexico who said they are his sons by a second woman, also supported by donations to the Legion.

Jason Berry covered the child abuse stories in south Louisiana back in the 1980s. Links to stories by Berry from 1985 in the Acadiana Times on Gilbert Gauthé, a notorious priest-abuser are here and here.

Berry has also published books on the subject:

Lead Us Not Into Temptation

Vows of Silence

"CONFRONTING SEXUAL ABUSE IN THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH"

In an essay at the Daily Episcopalian, Ann Fontaine addresses the recent history of child abuse in the Episcopal Church and the policies which have been put in place to prevent further abuse and to address current allegations of abuse.

General Convention began to act. In 1985, a resolution passed to request Dioceses to conduct workshops on recognizing child sexual abuse. In 1991, a Committee on Sexual Exploitation was established. During this period several women clergy and some attorneys who had been providing legal counsel for abuse victims/survivors developed training for Bishops and other leaders to teach the church about the issue and how to deal with perpetrators and victims/survivors. It was clear that TEC did not have canons or procedures to guide this work, so several of us proposed a resolution for the next General Convention.

The bishops did not think the time was right for this action but we pressed ahead. The women of the Episcopal Church – Episcopal Women’s Caucus, Episcopal Church Women, Daughters of the King, and others mobilized to lobby both Houses and to talk their bishops about the importance of immediate action by the church. Abuse victims/survivors came to testify, often the first time they had told their stories in public. 1997 saw a number of resolutions including the revision of Title IV (disciplinary canons) passed. (The history of resolutions is here.) The Bishop’s Pastoral Office led by the Rt. Rev. Harold (Hoppy) Hopkins was a key supporter of funding, education, developing training and facing the issues of abuses and exploitation.

How refreshing to read that the influence of the women's groups in TEC sped along the process of getting workable resolutions passed. Rome, are you listening?

Ann's entire essay is well worth a read.

PORNOGRAPHY FOR THE BLIND

From the Telegraph:

A pornographic magazine for the blind has been launched - complete with explicit text and raised pictures of naked men and women.

The book, the brainchild of Lisa Murphy and called Tactile Minds, is designed to be 'enjoyed' by the blind and visually impaired - and is on sale for £150.

Among the 17 raised images include a naked woman in a 'disco pose', a woman with 'perfect breasts' and a 'male love robot'.

The magazine is pricey, but I expect that a good many sighted folks will want a subscription.

Leave it to Lapin to send me the LOL link early in the morning.

Photo by Lisa Murphy.