Blog Archives

Homage to Joe Bageant

Posted on June 6, 2013 by freecatholic808 — 11 Comments

This post is dedicated, with thanks, to Pat Gozemba who introduced me to Joe Bageant—one of her heroes. It’s a tiny tavern at the corner of Kent and Fairfax in historic Winchester, Virginia. Despite its name, there is nothing royal…

Tagged with: Blue-collar worker, Brian Patrick, Christine Patrick, Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War, Joe Bageant, Pat Gozemba, Royal Lunch, Virginia, Winchester, Winchester Book Gallery
Posted in Class warfare, Faith, Feeding the Hungry, Fighting Poverty, I BLOG, Justice, Middle Class, Uncategorized, Workers' Rights

We,the Body of Christ

Posted on June 3, 2013 by freecatholic808 — 2 Comments

Corpus Christi Sunday Mass at St. Stanislaus Kostka R.C. Church, built in 1891 on the Strip in Pittsburgh. The presider reminds us that the body of Christ is both the sacrament we receive and our communion with each other as…

Tagged with: Andrew Greeley, Corpus Christi, Pittsburgh, St. Stanislaus Kostka, Strip District
Posted in I BLOG, Uncategorized

Looking for the “Doorway to Compassion,” LGBT Catholics Find Doorway to Cathedral Closed

Posted on May 5, 2013 by freecatholic808 — 4 Comments

Reporting on today’s symbolic protest in New York against Cardinal Dolan’s recent likening of LGBT Catholics to “dirty hands” that needed to be washed clean, Joseph Amodeo describes how the group who simply wanted to enter the Cathedral with charcoal-blackened…

Tagged with: "dirty hands", Cardinal Dolan, Joseph Amodeo, Pharisee, Pope Francis, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Whited sepulchres
Posted in Equality and Faith, I BLOG, LGBT Catholics, Uncategorized

Building the Beloved Community: Hawaii, Malaysia and Beyond

Posted on May 3, 2013 by freecatholic808 — 2 Comments

The world that Puanani Burgess gets her audiences to visualize as she talks to them about “Building the Beloved Community” is peopled with her children and grandchildren, her husband and other family members and neighbors from her beloved rural Wai`anae.…

Tagged with: "dirty hands", Anwar Ibrahim, Cardinal Tim Dolan, General Election, Hogan Entrepreneurs, LCWR, Malaysia, Najib Razak, Poha and Popo Principle, Pope Francis, Puanani Burgess
Posted in Cardinals, Equality and Faith, I BLOG, LGBT Families, Uncategorized, Women in the Church

Malaysia Elections May 5: Churches Respond to Anti-Christian Campaign

Posted on May 2, 2013 by freecatholic808 — Leave a comment

Reproduced here is a commentary by Bob Teoh that appeared in the MalaysianInsider.com and MySinChew.com May 2. Links have been inserted to provide background. Stung by the incendiary anti-Christian campaign in the run-up to Polling Day, Bumiputera churches in Sabah…

Tagged with: Allah, Anglican Church in Malaysia, Archbishop Bolly Lapok, Barisan Nasional, Bible-burning, Bumiputera, Christian Federation on Malaysia, Malaysia, PM Najib Razak, Sabah, Sarawak
Posted in Christians in Malaysia, Free and Fair Elections, I BLOG, Malaysia General Elections, Politics and Religion, Uncategorized

Reform Immigration…and Repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery

Posted on April 15, 2013 by freecatholic808 — 2 Comments

Republican Senator Marco Rubio was all over this weekend’s media platforms, talking about immigration. The need for reform is urgent, he said. The political calculus and the polls are irrelevant, he said. Good. Then let us look to the week…

Tagged with: Bishop Kicanas, Catholic social teaching, Chaminade University, Immigration, Lynette Cruz, Mackey Marianist Lectures, Marco Rubio, Mock burning of papal bulls, Tony Castanha
Posted in Catholic Social Doctrine, I BLOG

Emma’s Revolution: “Peace. Salaam. Shalom.”

Posted on April 7, 2013 by freecatholic808 — 2 Comments

Being at the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu yesterday evening was a very catholic experience. Not a sign of the cross anywhere, but plenty of light and air in the room, illuminating issues that go to the heart of Catholic…

Tagged with: climate change, Death Penalty, drone warfare, Emma Goldman, Gary Johnson, GMO, Karen Kahn, Middle East, Pat Gozemba, Pat Humphries, Sandy O, Suzanne Young, Tambry Young, women's ordination
Posted in I BLOG, Uncategorized

Passover Seder to Easter: Letting Go of Odious Orthodoxy

Posted on April 1, 2013 by freecatholic808 — 4 Comments

It was my first Passover Seder. Our host, Karen Kahn said it would be a celebration of liberation, not of religious orthodoxy. She and her wife, Patricia Gozemba have been warriors for many causes, from LGBT rights to clean air,…

Tagged with: Discovery doctrine, Easter, Episcopal Church, Karen Khan, Passover Seder, Pat Gozemba, Pope Francis, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Timothy Dolan
Posted in Easter, I BLOG, Indigenous peoples, Passover, Quakers, Uncategorized

A Pope from Hawaii? Bring on the mischief.

Posted on March 17, 2013 by freecatholic808 — 4 Comments

South America, Argentina, Hispanics and a soccer team, have claimed him as their own. Maybe, one suggested, God is an Argentine? Perhaps we can make the case that Pope Francis is really from Hawaii. Wasn’t that the spirit of aloha…

Tagged with: Dirty War, Habemus Papam, Hubris, Iraq, Network, Paul Ryan, Pope Francis, Sr. Simone Campbell, St. Francis of Assisi
Posted in Equality and Faith, I BLOG, LGBT Families, Ordination, St. Francis of Assisi, Uncategorized, US Bishops, Vatican

Pope Francis: Reason to Hope

Posted on March 13, 2013 by freecatholic808 — Leave a comment

From beyond the boundaries of Rome, taking the name of that most beloved, most radical of saints, given to the grand signifying gesture, dedicated to simplicity and love for all of creation. Yes, there’s reason to look to Cardinal Jorge…

Tagged with: Argentina, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, St. Francis of Assisi
Posted in I BLOG, Papal Conclave, Uncategorized, Vatican