There has been such a torrent of worthwhile commentary on the Vatican’s attempt to exert control over America’s religious women, that I have made not attempt to keep up with it all (still less to report it). One piece that…
Tag Archive for Church History
My Catholic Vision of Marriage.
Tomorrow, Catholic priests across England and Wales will read to their parishioners a statement from Archbishops Vincent Nichols and Peter Smith, presented as “the Catholic vision of marriage”. I respect and value the rational, courteous tone of this letter, which…
Tina Beattie’s Traditional, Catholic Vision of Marriage (for all).
Replying to Fr Timothy Radcliffe at the Tablet, theologian Professor Tina Beattie begins with a deeply traditional Catholic view of marriage. Long before the Church saw the purpose of marriage as procreation, it was seen as a sacramental union which…
A Royal, Same - Sex Church “Marriage”, in Seventeenth Century England.
Amidst the hysteria over the “redefinition” of marriage, we should remember that in fact, redefinition of marriage and its terminology have been a constant feature of social and theological history. As one thought - provoking illustration, I offer you an…
An Authentic, Catholic History of Marriage
With British bishops on the attack against proposals for gay marriage claiming that they are defending “traditional” marriage, it is important to remember that their representation of marriage history is misleading. When Mexican bishops made similar false claims about the…
Valentine’s Day: Same Sex Lovers in Church History
For St Valentine’s day,we should remember the same sex lovers (a surprising number of them) who feature in Scripture and in the history of the Catholic Church. In the list below, I do not not claim that the relationships were…
Saints Polyeuct and Nearchos, 3rd Century Lovers and Martyrs.
The Roman soldiers, lovers and martyrs Sergius and Bacchus are well known examples of early queer saints. Polyeuct and Nearchos are not as familiar- but should be. John Boswell (“Same Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe“) names the two as one…
Remembering Fr. Howard Hall, Pioneer of Catholic LGBT Ministry
From a personal recollection by Francis DeBernardo, of New Ways Ministry: Father Howard Hall, one of the pioneers of LGBT ministry in the Catholic church, has passed away from pancreatic cancer. Fr. Hall was instrumental in developing diocesan ministry to…
Bless the Prostitutes
Do you remember the San Francisco Archbishop serving communion to a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence who was dressed in drag during a mass in the Castro? Well, this reflection from Milk and Honey reminds me a bit of that very same thing……
Catholics Should Support Civil Partnerships, in Church.
At the Catholic Herald, William Oddie is on another rant about Archbishop Nichols and civil partnerships. As usual, he stokes the fires of his and his readers’ anger with several misrepresentation of facts, but buried in the hysteria he quotes,…
