Of course, I’m talking about church festival season. It began last night at St. Florian Parish, West Milwaukee. It will continue through Sept. 12 when the annual event at St. Gregory the Great, Milwaukee, concludes. In between, enough raffle tickets, brats, beverages, music and other sensory stimuli to provide an enjoyable Catholic experience.
Now we’re talkin’: It was great to read Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn’s remarks about former Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano’s handling — or mishandling — of clergy sexual abuse cases when the latter was Secretary of State. He is currently dean of the College of Cardinals.
It’s not what Cardinal Schonborn said, but the fact that he said it. When one’s peers start calling you out publicly, that’s transparency. Bishops throughout the world should take note.
Simplify the controversy: All the finger pointing and debating about Marquette University’s hiring and un-hiring of Dr. Jodi O’Brien as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences can be settled in one thought: In the term “Catholic university,” note which word comes first.
Half price, half effort? Given the way the Brewers are playing during this homestand, are they of the mind that since many of the tickets are half price, their effort should be half price, too?
Speaking of the Brewers, in my last post I mentioned the “policy” of the team when it comes to picking up cans in their parking lots. Turns out Waste Management is one of the team’s in-park sponsors, and they do run a scoreboard message telling fans to use the recycling bins shaped like beverage bottles, along with the basic Dumpsters painted green and yellow. Not only are the containers fancy, but they provide drunk fans with an attractive receptacle into which they can throw up if they imbibe too many of those $6.75 beers.
The point is, there’s still a bunch of garbage accumulating on and blowing around the perimeter of the ballpark area. One announcement during a game and a bunch of brightly appointed containers aren’t going to do it. Hey, the guys in the bullpen aren’t doing much…
Catholic quote of the week: Writing in the May 17 issue of America magazine regarding things bishops have learned from the clergy sexual abuse crisis, Bishop Blaise Cupich stated: “Resorting to a conspiratorial interpretation of attacks and adopting a ‘circle the wagons’ approach only prolongs a problem and does nothing to settle it or heal the victims.”
Catholic question of the week: Speaking to priests of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Archbishop Timothy Dolan asked: “Is the priesthood ever more powerful than when we are simply with our people?”
Holy day: Sunday is World Communications Day. Talk to someone but, more importantly, listen to someone.
