TRY LEADING BY EXAMPLE

What do I want to say about the temper tantrums of Archbishops Rowan Williams and John Sentamu that I have not already said elsewhere? Not much.

As the Guardian reveals in a leak from the notes of the late dean of Southwark Cathedral, Colin Slee, who was present at the meeting to choose a bishop for the Diocese of Southwark:

The document reveals shouting matches and arm-twisting by the archbishops to keep out the diocese's preferred choices as bishop: Jeffrey John, the gay dean of St Albans, and Nicholas Holtam, rector of St Martin-in-the-Fields in central London, whose wife was divorced many years ago. Eventually Christopher Chessun, then an assistant bishop, was chosen.

As I've already said, I'd like to have smacked the two archbishops, but that's resorting to violence. On second thought, I'd send them to their rooms without their supper to contemplate their bad behavior.

Unfortunately, the two men are not toddlers, but rather "mature" men in positions of power and influence, and their actions have consequences, grave consequences.

Slee described Williams shouting and losing his temper in last year's Southwark meeting, which left several members of the crown nomination committee, responsible for the selection of bishops, in tears.

Slee also in effect charges the church with hypocrisy, stating that there are several gay bishops "who have been less than candid about their domestic arrangements and who, in a conspiracy of silence, have been appointed to senior positions". The memo warns: "This situation cannot endure. Exposure of the reality would be nuclear."

How the Church of England continues to function in such a vast and hypocritical conspiracy of silence, remains a mystery to me. And that the Archbishop of Canterbury has the chutzpah to lecture our bishops in TEC on how to run a church is beyond my understanding. Perhaps he should try leading by example.

MADPRIEST HAD IT FIRST

The Guardian published a blockbuster of a revelation by Colin Slee from beyond the grave. MadPriest had the link first, and I believe he'd want you to comment over at OCICBW. Of course, I could be wrong.

A WONDERFUL DAY WITH IT AND BP

Grandpère, moi, BP, and IT (Photo courtesy of IT)

On Monday, Grandpère and I headed to New Orleans to have lunch with IT and BP who were in town for a microbiology conference. Yes, IT is an award-winning microbiologist with quite an impressive curriculum vitae. If I thought about her awesomeness too much, I'd probably be intimidated from having a conversation with her, but we've had online conversations for some years now, and I think of her as my good friend and favorite atheist. When I was in Anaheim, CA, for General Convention 09 of the Episcopal Church, I had the very great pleasure of meeting IT and BP for the first time in real life, and they are both delightful women and great company. I'm pleased that IT and BP got to meet GP, as most of my blog friends don't have the pleasure, unless they visit down our way, because he is not the traveler that I am, and he minds the home front while I journey here, there, and not quite everywhere.

In the photo above, you see the four of us outside Herbsaint Bar and Restaurant, on St Charles Street, one of my favorites of my many favorite restaurants in New Orleans. I can't think of one way that the combination of the company at lunch and the food served us could be improved. What an enjoyable two hours! Good company, good food, good wine, good conversation, good laughs - as we say in Cajun land, what better way to pass a good time?


Moi, BP, IT, and the matron of honor at their wedding

Yes, the gentleman on the right, a colleague of IT, insisted that he be called the matron of honor, so I said, "Please, I must have your picture with IT and BP!" So. There he is - the lovely matron of honor.

The picture was taken at the reception in honor of IT and her award, which was for her service in promoting the status of women in the field of microbiology. Of course, there was more food and drink at the reception, but I was still full from lunch, so I ate only a few pieces of fruit. Later that evening, when we were in our room at the B&B, I regretted my decision not to have more, because, once we were showered and dressed for the night, I discovered that I was very hungry. Neither GP nor I was willing to get dressed again to go for late night take-out, so I stayed hungry.


Above is the chocolate fountain at the reception. I was told by the others that the chocolate was not hot, so I'm not sure how the fountain of chocolate was kept flowing. I have a hilarious picture of Grandpère with chocolate lips, but he will not allow me to publish the photo. He says it makes him look silly. Of course! That's the idea of posting the picture - for a laugh. But I am a submissive wife, and I never go against GP's wishes.

After we left the reception, we went for a walk along the Mississippi River (It was high.) and sat for a while to watch the tricky maneuvering by the ferry pilot as the ferry crossed from New Orleans to Algiers and back again. The strong currents in the river make guiding and docking the boat quite a challenge. Watching the river flow, along with the obvious movements of the water due to the currents, was quite restful and nearly hypnotic for me. The Mississippi is a mighty body of water, and one comes away from a close-up view with great respect for its power.

Then, BP, IT, and a new friend, also a microbiologist, walked us to catch the St Charles streetcar back to our B&B. I love riding the streetcar with the windows open, the breeze blowing in, and the rocking back and forth, as the car rides the tracks. I once rode the streetcar to school and to work every day, so there's a bit of nostalgia associated with rides.

Our rather effusive good-byes, before and after we had boarded the streetcar, our waving, blowing kisses, and taking photos, provided amusement for our fellow passengers on the streetcar. No doubt, they thought we were a little crazy, which may not be all that far from the truth.


Above is the Sully Mansion B&B in the Garden District in New Orleans where we stayed the night.

What a lovely afternoon and evening with our friends. I hope it will not be too long before we see IT and BP again.

PS: I forgot to tell the story of our invitation to the reception in honor of IT. BP sent us an invitation without IT's knowledge, and we were supposed to be surprise guests if we attended. But BP neglected to tell me the invitation was a surprise, so I responded to IT, and the surprise element was ruined. However, all worked to the good, because, had we kept the surprise, we would not have lunched and spent the afternoon together.

FIRE ALARM

You never have to change the batteries!

I'm putting one in every room!

Safety First!

You don't have to thank me for this information;

I do this as a public service..

Nevertheless, I thank Ann. Brilliant.

PLEASE PRAY...

From Kirstin at Barefoot and Laughing:

Damn.

I’m not a mutant. The doctor at UCSF called about an hour ago. Not quite sure what happens next. UCSF will take my scans to their neurologists on Thursday, and they’ll say whether or not I’m eligible for gamma-knife. If I am, we do it, and cytotoxic chemo. (I don’t expect to be eligible; I’ve been told I have too many tumors.) If I’m not, he says ipiluminab is the best bet. I can get that through Kaiser or UCSF. I'd rather have him keep treating me, so that's what I think we’ll do. (My MediCal covers it. My doctor at Kaiser looks depressed every time he sees me. This one still has enthusiasm, and knows so much more of the current research.)

Kirstin has courageously fought melanoma for three years now. Please pray for Kirstin and all those who care for her.

Please pray for those who died in the recent tornadoes in Joplin, Missouri, in Minnesota, in Oklahoma, and in Arkansas. Pray for all who loved the people who died. Pray for those who lost everything.



Photo from The Huffington Post.

Counterlight posted horrifying videos, two filmed live during the tornadoes and one showing the aftermath.

MR AND MRS POTUS WITH THE QUEEN AND THE PRINCE

Oh my! What a wonderful picture. Ours look good even without the ribbons and medals.

Photo stolen from Leonardo at Eruptions at the Foot of the Volcano, who is over the rainbow. He credits the photo to the AP.

And from Paddy Anglican: POTUS and ME in Moneygall, Ireland....



Here I am showing President Obama the parish records showing his Irish ancestry.

And from USA Today:

After basking amid one of the most affectionate audiences of his presidency Monday in Ireland, Obama arrived here to be feted by a queen and three generations of princes.

He and first lady Michelle Obama were welcomed at Buckingham Palace, where they were given a six-room suite last occupied by Prince William and his bride, Kate Middleton, on their wedding night.

They were fawned over at Westminster Abbey, greeted warmly at No. 10 Downing St. and, finally, lauded at the first state dinner thrown here for a U.S. president in eight years.

Gosh. The Obamas may decide to stay "over there".

JESUS AND MO - CHEAP

Click on the strip for the larger view.

FromJesus and Mo.

STORY OF THE DAY - DOWN TIME

I can read minds, she said & I said, OK
& she said, Do you want to know what
you're thinking? I said no thank you. I
don't do stuff like that on weekends.

From StoryPeople.

Dedicated to someone who shall be nameless who has told me on more than one occasion to stop thinking.

PADRE MICKEY SPEAKS

Read Padre Mickey's post on the rapture that didn't happen. What he writes is wise and compassionate. Besides, he posted the beautiful icon below.



Padre Mickey is not only fun and games and music, you know. He's a good priest and a good pastor. Read what he has to say.

"THE JOHN JAY DOCUMENT 2011 – REALITY REVISED"

Thomas Doyle provides excellent commentary on the recently released John Jay report on clerical child abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. I suggest you read his entire critique, but below are excerpts from his fine essay.

Fr Doyle studied all the reports on clerical abuse, including information from more than 6000 victim's attorneys. Regarding the "Woodstock Defense" in the latest John Jay report, Fr Doyle says:

The victim support groups and plaintiffs' attorneys here and abroad are seeing a significant increase in victims who were violated in the fifties and even the forties. As one of my astute friends remarked, these are the victims from the Big Band era so what does that constitute, the "Benny Goodman" defense?

There you have it!

Further:

Those who see the main conclusions from the Executive Summary as support for the bishops' blame-shifting tactics are probably right. Yet these conclusions are only a part of the whole story and in some ways they are of minor relevance. The finding that the majority of cases occurred in the 1960s and 1970s can be quickly challenged. It is more accurate to say that the majority of cases reported in the post 2002 period involved abuse that took place in the period from the sixties to the eighties. Its way off base to assume that the majority of incidents of abuse happened during this period. Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald founded the Paraclete community in 1947 to provide help to priests with problems. From the beginning he was treating priests with psycho-sexual issues and in a letter to a bishop he said that 3 out of every 10 priests admitted were there because they had sexually molested minors. Fr. Gerald wrote that letter in 1964. Unfortunately it is difficult if not impossible to do a study of abuse victims between the 30's and the 50's but Fr. Gerald's information leaves no doubt that sexual abuse by priests was a significant phenomenon long before the free-wheeling 60's and 70's. The one constant that was present throughout the entire period from before the 60's to the turn of the millennium has been the cover-up by the bishops and the disgraceful treatment of victims. The John Jay researchers were commissioned by the bishops to look into the reasons why priests molested and violated minors. They were not asked to figure out why this molestation and violation was allowed to happen. That would have been deadly for the bishops and they knew it. (The author's emphasis)

Hallelujah! Fr Doyle emphasizes the distinction between when incidents are reported and when the incidents actually took place, which is a vital distinction to be made.

Fr Doyle adds that while the report was commissioned by Roman Catholic bishops in the US and, in some areas, the researchers give the bishops a pass when they should not get a pass, the report is, by no means, a whitewash. He lists sections of the report which are quite critical of the responses by bishops to the disclosures of clerical abuse. I ask again that you please read the critique in its entirety.

From the National Catholic Reporter:

Tom Doyle is a priest, canon lawyer, addictions therapist and long-time supporter of justice and compassion for clergy sex abuse victims.

The public disclosures of child abuse in my Roman Catholic Diocese of Houma/Thibodaux began to come to light in the latter part of the 1990s. The "boiling point", as Fr Doyle names it, was reached in the rest of the US in 2002. The national press paid scant attention to the scandal in south Louisiana dioceses at the time the "boiling point" was reached here. I suppose the media thought what was happening in our area was nothing more than an aberration in a swampy backwater.