What fills your heart about the Catholic Church? How, guided by the Holy Spirit, could we nurture that experience at Saint Patrick Parish, in the Archdiocese of Seattle, and in the world? - Our musical traditions. Let’s keep welcoming Gregorian chant, plainsong, folk music, spiritually-oriented rock ’n roll, hip-hop, hymns, and any other form of musical praise to the diviine! - Our prayer traditions, both contemplative and lively. We such have a wealth of ways to grow in love with God that anyone can find something that works for them. - Same for sacraments. - Parishes like St. Pat’s that live out the gospel both in the larger world and with each other. Other intentional communities. - We have many dedicated clergy, monks, and sisters all over the world who really care about making the world go better. I am awed when I think about the dedication of clergy and nuns serving poor communities in Central America. In the U.S. the “Nuns On The Bus” approach was brilliant. In our own community we have so many dedicated nuns. - The firm commitment of laity to the Gospel and of being the hands and feet of Christ in the world. - Many of our schools and universities are places of discovery and transformation. - So many cultures with different music, art. - If every Catholic-connected piece of land were cared for according to Laudato Si, this planet would be healed. I’d love to see our Archdiocese as a leader in this area. - When we do advocate according to the Gospel. Same for direct service. - St. Pat’s: do more ritual, Mary connection.
· What disturbs or breaks your heart about the Catholic Church today? - The stubborn refusal to allow any kind of flexibiity that would include women and non-celibate leadership. It’s bad enough on its own, but then the hierarchy uses the lack of celibate men priests as an excuse to close vibrant parishes like St. Pat’s. We have had women as pastoral administrators. They have been placed in parishes dealing with substantial conflict and have done well. There is clear historical precedent for having women deacons. And when parishes are required to merge, it’s so hard on our aging priests to be expected to serve an even larger congregation. How are they going to avoid strokes and other stress-induced health conditions? Often the Spirit has placed the answer to our problems right under our noses. This is one of those times. - That the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference has shown no leadership on addressing the climate crisis and instead has seemed to go out of its way to support climate change denial. With climate anxiety being the major mental health stressor for youth, they shouldn’t be surprised when youth continue to leave the Church. And what a huge insult to the Creator! - That the Church continues to fight married couples’ use of birth control. As a therapist, I see the damage that both children and parents experience when parents have too many children or don’t get a say over when they have them. My own mother, despite being a careful practitioner of NFP, had an unplanned pregnancy and ended up on bedrest when I was 4 months old. That long stretch of being unattended to until she miscarried twins has had profound negative effects in my life. Couples are told to put God in charge of how many children they have. But God gave us discernment. We don’t tell people to avoid doctors when they are sick for fear of getting in the way of God’s will. Why is the important area of procreation different? Also, our use of resources is depleting our planet. If we do have more than a few children, we need to commit to decreasing our use of resources to match those of a sub-Saharan African or Asian Indian family. - The distortion of sexuality. Women continue to be seen as the cause of any sexual harassment or assault that they experience.
- The poor treatment of GLBTQ people. Even if a leader believes it is wrong to be gay, there is absolutely no excuse for threatening and marginalizing this group of people or holding beliefs that they are pedophiles. I know a lot of GLBTQ/non-binary people. They are just as, if not more, competent in committed relationships as heterosexuals. Their children turn out the same way other couples’ children turn out, except that the experience of being hated makes everything difficult. Through the ages the Church has had shifting views on gay relationships. Jesus spoke very little about sexual behavior but volumes against hypocrisy, stealing, and mistreating people with less power. Let’s see the Church pursue the same agenda, including holding the financial sector of Vatican City accountable. - Continued minimizing of the challenges people of color face from racism. If the Catholic hierarchy called out racism with a unified strong voice, change would come. It’s the least we can do given our history of harming so many ethnic groups. I am angry that Fr. Junipero Serra, who was responsible for the enslavement and beatings of so many Native Americans, has been rewarded with canonization. He is not the kind of role model we need.