by Mary E. Hunt
The egregious breach of decency that led a Catholic parish priest to deny Communion to a lesbian woman at her mother’s funeral has received widespread and well-deserved condemnation. Even the Archdiocese of Washington DC admitted that the priest had violated their policy. In a little note, a vicar promised Barbara Johnson and her family that he would celebrate a Mass in memory of her mother.
by Mary E. Hunt
The Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER) offers condolences to Barbara Johnson of Washington, DC, on the death of her mother. We support Ms. Johnson in the face of pastoral insensitivity shown by the priest who presided at the funeral mass for her mother. To deny the Eucharist to the daughter of a Catholic mother at her funeral is beyond any excuse or explanation.
Catholic voters will have a chance to express their commitment to women at the ballot box.
Progressive bishops in denominations that have strong conservative wings have a nearly impossible job.
by Mary E. Hunt and Anne Lacher
“Never a dull day at the WATER office!” The frequency of this comment’s appearance here at WATER has increased drastically in the last week or two, and it seems to be directly related to the appearance of Ann-Cathrin Jarl.
Hailing from Uppsala, Sweden, the Rev. Dr. Ann-Cathrin Jarl was the Director of the Diocese Conference Center in Stockholm for four years. She served most recently as Chaplain to the Archbishop of the Church of Sweden [Lutheran] before her retirement in 2011.
Congratulations to our proud former WATER intern Mary Ann Kaiser! She is the honored recipient of the Jane Maxwell Morris Fellowship from Austin Seminary!
by Mary E. Hunt
Feminist studies in religion are a hot commodity in the current political turmoil. So-called women’s issues are front and center in the debates. The long settled question of contraception has been snatched from mothballs for conservatives’ purposes. But there is such a dearth of feminist religious voices, so little room in masculinist journalist and clerical discussions to get a word in edgewise, that almost anything we add to the conversation is useful. Whoever expected that our training would be so valuable?
By Diann L. Neu | The final word is love.
By Mary E. Hunt
I want to eat for breakfast whatever Joan Chittister eats. She pumps out books at lightening speed, or else she has a lot of elves out there in Erie, PA who help. Three recent ones include “40 Stories to Stir the Soul,” “A Monastery Almanac,” and “Songs of the Heart.”
By Mary E. Hunt
The happy hoopla surrounding the lifting of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell had a shadow side. Close inspection revealed a lot of partners and spouses of LGBTIQ military people who had been cloaked in secrecy and euphemism (“Meet my cousin”) for years. Now they, too, can come out. But they remain second-class citizens whose marriages don’t count because of the Defense of Marriage Act.