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At Mirror of Justice, Rick Garnett responds to my piece yesterday about hiring and firing of LGBT Catholics in ministerial positions. As always, Garnett's thoughts are important to consider, but I continue to think he misunderstands the proper relationship the Church should take to legal advice, and also the degree to which the Church should resist the urge to see others as opponents, even if they see themselves as such. That said, Garnett is no bomb thrower and there is a difference between an opponent and an enemy.
The best kind of liberal is one who looks to the past to retrieve ideas that worked before and might work again. This article in the LATimes discusses a proposal to have the US Post Office conduct basic banking services, as it did formerly, to help lower income people avoid the predatory behavior of some commercial lenders. I know people complain about the postal service, but I think they do a great job and have never had a problem with them.
The Holy Father gave a splendid sermon yet again this morning, as Rome celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany. This is the money quote, and it points to the Holy Father's different hermeneutic, first outlined in Evangelii Gaudium, and reiterated beautifully here:
The Magi mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew are a living witness to the fact that the seeds of truth are present everywhere, for they are the gift of the Creator, who calls all people to acknowledge him as good and faithful Father. The Magi represent the men and woman throughout the world who are welcomed into the house of God. Before Jesus, all divisions of race, language and culture disappear: in that Child, all humanity discovers its unity. The Church has the task of seeing and showing ever more clearly the desire for God which is present in the heart of every man and woman. This is the service of the Church, with the light that she reflects: to draw out the desire for God present in every heart. Like the Magi, countless people, in our own day, have a “restless heart” which continues to seek without finding sure answers – it is the restlessness of the Holy Spirit that stirs in hearts. They too are looking for a star to show them the path to Bethlehem.
