Catégorie : Vie de l’église

On Capitol Hill, a handful of Republican lawmakers are threatening to reduce or eliminate funding for Catholic Charities and other faith-based groups who offer aid to immigrants at the Southern border.

The members of Congress, who are echoing the campaigns of deeply conservative Catholic groups that vow to « #defund the bishops, » have already succeeded in inserting their agenda into legislation passed by the House earlier this year. Another attempt to zero-out appropriations for a key Department of Homeland Security program supporting faith-based border efforts is awaiting a vote in Congress.

In December, Republican Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas, who serves on the House Judiciary Committee, penned a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. In the letter, co-signed by Reps. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin and Jake Ellzey of Texas, the lawmakers complained that the Biden administration was « allowing non-governmental organizations … the freedom to aid and abet illegal aliens. » In addition, lawmakers also sent letters to Catholic Charities, Jewish Family Service and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service demanding they preserve documents « related to any expenditures submitted for reimbursement from the federal government related to migrants encountered at the southern border. »

Contacted by Religion News Service at the time, Anthony Granado, vice president of government relations at Catholic Charities USA, said, « We have not seen such a level of direct … attack against Catholic Charities USA. »

In May, when Gooden penned another letter to Mayorkas, this time with Rep. Tom McClintock of California and Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, they accused the NGOs that use federal funds to aid immigrants of creating an « incentive » for illegal immigration and demanded access to a broad swath of records about DHS funding practices.

Days later, Gooden published an open letter to House colleagues that accused NGOs, including faith-based groups, of abusing their tax-exempt status by « play(ing) a disturbing role in the inflow and spread of illegal immigration throughout the country. »

Gooden, who worships at a Church of Christ congregation, expressed particular frustration with FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program — which is transitioning to an effort titled the Shelter and Services Program — that reimburses NGOs and local governments for offering certain aid to migrants. He singled out a number of faith-based groups in his solo letter, such as Jewish Family Services and LIRS, but criticized Catholic Charities at length.

For his part, Tiffany recently called for Catholic Charities USA to testify before the Judiciary Committee to explain « what they’re doing down on the border to facilitate this illegal immigration, » according to Bloomberg Government.

In a phone interview last week, Lee Williams, chief programs officer for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, called the lawmakers’ allegations « preposterous » and « dangerous. » He also pointed out that LIRS aids immigrants after they are processed and released from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, work that is funded by private money.

Catholic Charities, for its part, receives ample government funds annually and operates as a network of local charities. In addition to anti-poverty programs, Catholic Charities also works with immigrants — including efforts to offer humanitarian aid to migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border.

It’s work that, not long ago, Republicans in Congress nearly uniformly praised. In 2014, amid a spike in border crossings by unaccompanied minors and mothers traveling with children, a delegation of Republican lawmakers led by talk-show host Glenn Beck visited a Catholic Charities respite center based in a church in McAllen, Texas. Sen. Ted Cruz, East Texas Rep. Randy Weber and then-Rep. Louie Gohmert, among others, toured the center and, in Beck’s case, donated toys to children.

« I want to thank Catholic Charities that are working to care for these children and care for these families, » Cruz told reporters at the time.

Weber was similarly effusive, quoting Scripture while describing the center’s work as a fulfillment of « the church’s role. »

Mistrust of faith groups that work with immigrants, but in particular Catholic Charities, has been growing in right-wing circles since at least February 2022, when CatholicVote, a conservative political group, sued the Biden administration in an effort to acquire copies of « all communications between the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol » and various Catholic bishops and Catholic Charities entities — including the respite center in McAllen.

The antipathy for Catholic Charities came up again last summer, when Michael Voris, founder of the conservative Catholic website Church Militant, interviewed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a self-described Christian nationalist and former Catholic who converted to evangelicalism. Voris, whose organization has referred to Catholic Charities as an « enemy of the people, » complained to Greene about the American bishops supporting immigrant aid through religious agencies such as Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities. Greene responded by framing the work as « Satan controlling the church. »

Most recently, in Washington on July 20, members of the Deposit of Faith Coalition, a group of activists who object to the direction the U.S. Catholic bishops are taking and accuse them of « standing with Marxists, » called on Congress — and particularly appropriations committees — to stop granting contracts to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Charities.

Addressing the crowd from a podium at the National Press Club that read « #DefundtheBishops, » Sheena Rodriguez, head of Alliance for a Safe Texas, insisted that Catholic Charities was one constellation of groups « incentiviz(ing) mass illegal migration worldwide » and « creating a modern-day slavery scheme. »

The gathering attracted only a small crowd, but their ideas have gained a footing on Capitol Hill. In April, Rodriguez was invited to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on border security, arguing that unaccompanied minors at the border were being mistreated under the Biden administration.

After her testimony, Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, pointed out that Rodriguez was among the crowd that surrounded the U.S. Capitol when rioters attacked the building on Jan. 6, 2021, although there is no evidence Rodriguez entered the building that day. She had also taken part in the Christian nationalism-themed Jericho March at the Capitol the day before.

The movement to defund Catholic agencies also found its way into the GOP’s signature border security bill passed in May, known as the Secure the Border Act. It included a provision that would cut all funding to the Shelter Services Program.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opposed the Secure the Border Act for multiple reasons, including how it treats DHS funding streams to NGOs. The bishops sent a letter to lawmakers urging them to vote against it. Sr. Donna Markham, a Catholic nun who oversees Catholic Charities USA, also wrote a letter to congressional leadership at the time decrying the proposed cuts, saying they would « dismantle the public-private infrastructure currently in place to manage the humanitarian crisis at the southern border and its impact throughout the country. »

The bill passed the House largely along party lines, with Gooden, Tiffany and Weber all voting in favor.

The bill has little chance of passing the U.S. Senate, where Democrats enjoy a majority, but Gooden’s movement persists: Last month the House Appropriations Committee unveiled a DHS appropriations bill, which, like the border bill, eliminates funding for the Shelter and Services Program.

Markham said in a statement to RNS that the work of respite centers along the U.S.-Mexico border should be uncontroversial and invited members of Congress to tour their facilities.

« This work is humanitarian and motivated by the teachings of the gospels; it is not political, and it should not be controversial, » Markham’s statement read.

« God will get you for that! »

That was one of my mom’s favorite retorts when we teased her as children. I would counter, saying that she called on God only because she couldn’t think of a better comeback. « Why make God do all your work? » (If we’re lucky, God will get us caught up in the divine trajectory.)

Our play had nothing to do with the serious theological discussion, but it did reflect some worn-out concepts of karma or God’s rule in the world. A simplified explanation of the Hindu idea of karma says that good actions will bring a person a good future, and bad will bring bad. We know that Jesus tried to free people from that type of thinking. He taught that illness was not the result of sin (John 9) and that those who followed him would suffer as he did. So much for religion as an insurance policy!

Once we move beyond the idea of God as the fixer or avenger of evil, where are we to go? Today’s reading from the Book of Wisdom starts us off on a path toward a wonderful alternative. 

« There is no god besides you, who have care for all. » How different might the world be if we made that our credo? If that were the one thing we really believed? Wisdom’s author goes on with more descriptions of what God is like: Divine power generates justice, God’s strength engenders lenience and finally, « You gave your children good ground for hope. » 

In Jesus the Forgiving Victim: Listening for the Unheard Voice, Theologian James Alison suggests this summary of Jesus’ message: « I know that you find it very difficult to believe that God loves you … you are inclined to be frightened … you are inclined to run from death [and] engage in all sorts of forms of self-delusion and self-destruction. You find it difficult to imagine that things really will be well and that you are being held in by someone who is utterly trustworthy. All this I know. » 

Keeping that in the back of our mind, we might approach today’s readings as an invitation to a renewed sense of God and ourselves. After hearing Wisdom’s description of God’s immensity as the source of God’s lovingkindness, we turn to Paul’s teaching about prayer. 

Paul says, « We do not know how to pray as we ought. » Now there’s a comedown for all of us celebrating the liturgy and singing our hearts out! What are we supposed to think? Might Paul be reminding us that we tend to look toward God on our own terms (the « God will get you » mentality, for example) — and that there’s a better, truer way available to us? 

Paul says, « The Spirit intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. » Wow! That’s what prayer is supposed to be? Inexpressible groanings? That’s the same word Paul used in what we heard last week (July 16) as he talked about the longing of all creation to come into fulfillment. If Ignatius of Loyola were asked about this, he’d tell us that we can only get in touch with our deepest desires with the help of God’s Spirit and that our deepest desires ultimately lead us to union with God. No wonder we groan! It’s no small feat to reach that depth, to be in touch with the longings at the heart of our very being.

At this point, Jesus’ words in the Gospel come as a comforting assurance. Knowing that weeds grow in the midst of wheat, Jesus tells us not to worry about failures. God’s reign is like the mustard seed — a dynamic that can’t be stopped. It’s like yeast, an energy that permeates everything with which it comes into contact. Although we want to do good (and sometimes not), the future is not of our making. Everything — past, present and future — comes from the God who cares. God is beckoning us. The Spirit’s groaning within us promises that there is more coming than we could ever ask or imagine. 

Today’s Liturgy of the Word invites us to wonder and believe in God’s care. Believing that the weeds will come to nothing, we can marvel at growing wheat; a sprouting mustard seed; the intoxication of yeast. Let us abandon contentment with limiting images of God and assumptions that we know how to pray. It’s time to let creation sweep us into awe at what is bigger, more beautiful, deeper, broader — more of everything than we can imagine.

The Spirit is waiting to come to our aid. To the extent that we allow it, God will do the work of drawing us into an ever-expanding future and we will reflect more and more of the God who loves us into growth. God will do the work — not for us, but with and within us.

The October 2023 Synod of Bishops should include the voices of women who have discerned a sincere call to the Catholic priesthood, said women’s ordination advocate Kate McElwee in a recent guest commentary for NCR. Following are NCR reader responses to her opinion with letters that have been edited for length and clarity. 

The answer to how long women must wait for ordination to priesthood is probably: forever. I was a committed, enthusiastic convert to Catholicism and served in four parishes as a lector, eucharistic minister, parish council member and RCIA director. I also facilitated sessions at a diocesan pastoral ministry formation center.  

After 33 years, I left the Catholic Church, something I never thought I would do, and joined the Episcopal Church. I left for various reasons, but the primary reason was the failure to accept the reality that some women are called to the priesthood, and the only obstacle for them is their gender. Lest anyone imagine that only women leave for this reason, I know men who have as well. One said to me, « I’ll go back if the Catholic church ever values my daughter as much as it values my son. »

Our Episcopal diocese has a female bishop who was raised Catholic. She told me she felt a call to ministry as a priest and knew it could never happen in the Catholic Church. When she came down the aisle of my parish church, wearing a miter and a warm smile, carrying her crozier, I felt such joy at being part of a church that welcomes everyone’s gifts.

ELAINE CHILCOTE
Oakmont, Pennsylvania

***

Really Kate? If Christ had wanted women as priests, he would have ordained some when he selected his apostles. I, as a woman, was embarrassed to see the photo in your article of women seeking ordination, with the red dresses and umbrellas. Women seeking ordination might do well to consider showing respect for themselves and the traditions of the Catholic faith.

JOANN HENNINGSEN
Mesa, Arizona

***

I believe that holy orders should be opened up to all moral Catholics, but the Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC) looks like the Anglo-Saxon-led West — which is to say it looks more like Catholicism’s past than Catholicism’s present and future. 

The demographic shift taking place within the Catholic Church necessarily involves a theological-ideological shift as well. What exactly does/will that shift mean for WOC’s goals? That question is important. I’d be interested to know how much of what the WOC is advocating has popular support outside of the collective West, among the people of God on the continent of Africa where the church is not in a state of decline.

JEFFREY JONES
Hamburg, New York

***

One of the more welcome outcomes from the synod would be the opening of the permanent diaconate to women. That step will allow the faithful to acclimate to what will be for some a radical change. If women were admitted to the diaconate, in short order that change will be seen as less revolutionary and more evolutionary and accepted as the new norm. Similarly, since we have married men in the permanent diaconate, having married priests would not be seen as radical from the perspective of the faithful. Certainly, some clerics will be apoplectic at the thought but their influence in the domestic church, as in the worldwide church, is waning.

McElwee speaks eloquently about discerning the voice of the Spirit. I think the Spirit is telling the church to evolve in accord with the culture of the 21st century, which ironically will reflect the character of the church in the 1st century. Married priests were common until the 12th century, so a married priesthood, similar to a female permanent diaconate, would have historical precedence. Perhaps the Spirit wants us to revisit our past as we discern our future.

CHARLES A. LEGUERN
Granger, Indiana

***

Once again, the obligatory women’s ordination rant. While I agree women should hold whatever offices in the church men do, it ain’t gonna happen during Pope Francis’ pontificate. He continues making major changes in the church, but women’s ordination is a bridge too far. 

McElwee seems oblivious to the degree of controversy the synod is raising among the clergy, and the laity the clergy have stirred up. The synodal process needs to be able to crawl before it can walk. Why would McElwee want to kneecap an already hobbled church? To force the issue is to evoke a reactionary negative response. Why would Pope Francis waste any goodwill he has with bishops pushing an issue that will fall flat? Even if he did allow it, how many bishops would participate? 

What makes McElwee think women are going to enter ministry and do as they please? The clerical hierarchy is a pecking order. 

There may be value in keeping women’s ordination in front of readers. That being the case, the effort needs to be realistic. While the article has emotional appeal, it’s not practical when dealing with church realities. 

MICHAEL J. MCDERMOTT
Texas, United States

The United States endured a record number of mass killings in the first half of 2023, according to a new analysis. The report came in tandem with news that at least four people were killed in a mass shooting in Hampton, Georgia, south of Atlanta, on July 15.

A database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University defines a mass killing as an incident where four or more people are slain, excluding the assailant, within a 24-hour period. The database has tracked such violence dating back to 2006.

The 2023 record displaced the previous record set in 2022 of 27 mass killings, set in the final half of the year, continuing a record pace for such events. James Alan Fox, a criminology professor at Northeastern University, told The Associated Press that when he began overseeing the database about five years ago, he never thought the numbers would increase as they have.

« We used to say there were two to three dozen a year, » Fox said. « The fact that there’s 28 in half a year is a staggering statistic. »

According to the report, with only one exception, each of those mass killings in the first half of this year involved guns. The lone exception was a fire set by an arsonist in Monroe, Louisiana, that killed four people.

The database covered mass killings up through June 30. The Hampton mass killing was the 31st mass killing in the U.S. for 2023, underscoring the pace of these slaughters in American public life.

The mass shootings events are just some of the violent events with multiple casualties involving guns that have become more common in the U.S. in recent years. In May 2022 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, a gunman armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle killed 19 children and two teachers. In response to the Uvalde shooting, Congress passed a modest gun safety bill — the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act — that expanded the background check system for prospective gun buyers under 21 years old, closed a provision known as the « boyfriend loophole, » banning domestic abusers from purchasing firearms regardless of their marital status, and funded new investments in mental health resources.

While President Joe Biden has touted that legislation, he also has called for additional measures, including an assault weapons ban and universal background check legislation. Either measure faces unlikely odds in a divided Congress, where Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House, and where Democrats have a narrow majority in the Senate and would have to overcome a potential filibuster.

Susan Liebell, a professor of political science at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, told OSV News that mass killings make up just a small part of nationwide gun violence that is taking its toll on the population.

« They are about 1% of all shootings in the United States, » she said.

Citing data from the gun violence archive, Liebell said that in the eight hours prior to the interview with OSV News, 121 people were killed with guns while 317 were injured in the U.S.

« They’re from everywhere, » Liebell said of the victims. « They’re not from just large cities. They’re all over. »

Liebell said Americans’ understanding of the Constitution’s Second Amendment has shifted through the country’s history. It was originally crafted in response to early Americans’ concerns about standing armies following the Revolutionary War.

« We have, or some portion of the public has decided, that guns equal freedom; that there’s some sort of a right to bring a gun into the public space, private spaces, » she said. « And that narrative of mixing liberty with the Second Amendment is something very, very new. »

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has called for a total ban on assault weapons, a term that refers commonly to military-style semi-automatic rifles, shotguns and pistols fed by ammunition magazines of various capacities. For instance, most AR-15 rifles, the civilian version of the M-16 military rifle, come with 30-round magazines, but manufacturers have developed larger capacities for the semi-automatic platform, including capacities up to 40, 60, or even 100 rounds. These tactical-style weapons allow a shooter to maintain a steady rate of fire uninterrupted by the need to reload until the magazine is depleted.

A March 27 Washington Post demonstration showed how a shooter with a semi-automatic weapon could discharge a fully loaded 100-round magazine at a steady rate within 30 seconds. A shooter with a 10-round magazine could discharge 30 rounds within the same timeframe, with magazine changes taking 7-8 seconds, before the shooter resumed firing.

The U.S. bishops have said they support an assault weapons ban similar to the one they supported in the 1994 crime bill, which Congress allowed to expire in 2004. They also support limitations on civilian access to high-capacity ammunition magazines. The same expired crime bill previously banned ownership of magazines with capacity for more than 10 rounds. Other gun regulation measures the bishops support include universal background checks for all gun purchases.

The Catholic University of America has requested emergency meetings with Washington police following two recent off-campus attacks that occurred in the days after the killing of a beloved Kentucky teacher during an apparent robbery that took place in front of a university building.

In a July 18 statement, Catholic University said it had contacted the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department’s Fourth and Fifth Districts « to address the serious concerns we have about the crime that has occurred just footsteps away from our campus. »

The university noted its department of public safety July 17 received a report of a fatal shooting that took place sometime prior to 9:45 p.m near Monroe and 7th Streets in the district’s Northeast quadrant. It was unknown if either the victim or the suspect — who was armed and fled toward the nearby Metro station — had any connection to the university, according to the university’s statement.

The university also learned July 17 that a recent graduate had been violently assaulted July 13 at approximately 4:45 p.m. The victim was attacked by a group of suspects while walking from the Metro station to his off-campus residence.

Both incidents followed the July 5 murder of Maxwell Emerson, 25, a high school teacher from Kentucky who was in Washington at the time to attend a professional development workshop at the Library of Congress. Emerson was slain outside of the university’s Father O’Connell Hall after 8 a.m. that day, with portions of the incident — preceded by an apparent robbery attempt — captured on surveillance video.

Suspect Jaime Maceo (also known as Jaime Macedo) was arrested in connection with the killing July 11. Court records indicated the 22-year-old Maceo had previous run-ins with the law.

The university held a July 6 prayer service for Emerson outside O’Connell Hall, with director of campus ministry Dominican Fr. Aquinas Guilbeau presiding. Catholic University plans to create a permanent memorial to Emerson, noting he was a « beloved mentor to students. »

« The increase in violent crime near our campus is a critical issue that requires serious attention, especially on the perimeter of our campus, » said the university in its July 17 statement.

In a July 14 message, university president Peter Kilpatrick outlined several ways in which the school was currently enhancing campus security.

Among the measures listed were increased foot, car and bike patrols by campus police, with more officers carrying firearms to ultimately ensure « an armed DPS presence on every shift. »

To bolster armed officer presence, Kilpatrick said the university also would contract additional security guards and develop new safety training materials for students, faculty and staff.

A full-time director of emergency services is set to be in place by the fall 2023 semester, with more keycard access points to be installed on university buildings. Improved campus lighting along with expanded safety training and education are also among the initiatives Kilpatrick cited.

The federal Clery Act — named for Jeanne Clery, a student raped and murdered in her Lehigh University dorm room in Pennsylvania in 1986 — requires all colleges and universities participating in Title IV student financial aid programs to report campus crime data, to support victims and to publicly outline campus safety policies and procedures. The 2013 Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act extended the Clery Act requirements to dating and domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and related charges.

Pope Francis’ peace envoy was traveling to Washington on July 17 as part of the Holy See’s peace initiatives for Ukraine, hoping to support humanitarian operations especially concerning children, the Vatican said July 17.

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi’s visit, which lasts through July 19, follows his recent mission to Moscow and an earlier stop in Kyiv, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zuppi is a veteran of the Catholic Church’s peace initiatives and has been tasked by Francis to try to find « paths of peace » between the warring sides.

In Moscow, Zuppi met with Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, as well as Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, who has strongly supported the war.

Francis has taken up Ukraine’s request to intervene where possible to return Ukrainian children transported to Russia following Moscow’s invasion. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Lvova-Belova and Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing them of abducting children from Ukraine. Russian officials have denied any forced adoptions, saying some Ukrainian children are in foster care.

Francis has said he hopes the Holy See can facilitate family reunifications, in the same way the Vatican stepped in to facilitate prisoner swaps.

In a statement on July 17, the Vatican spokesman said Zuppi would travel to Washington with an official from the Vatican secretariat of state. There were no details on who he would see in the U.S. capital.

« The visit takes place in the context of the mission intended to promote peace in Ukraine and aims to exchange ideas and opinions on the tragic current situation and to support initiatives in the humanitarian sphere to alleviate the suffering of the most affected and fragile people, especially children, » the statement said.

Francis has repeatedly called for an end to the war but has refrained from outwardly criticizing Moscow, part of the Vatican’s tradition of maintaining diplomatic neutrality in conflicts in hopes that it can play a behind-the-scenes role in forging peace.

He has irked the U.S. and its allies by repeating Moscow’s argument that NATO was « barking at its gates, » and seemingly making a moral equivalence between Ukrainian and Russian losses.

He has asserted Ukraine’s right to self-defense but has sharply criticized the weapons industry, saying the provision of arms to Ukraine by the west could be immoral « if it’s done with the intention of provoking more war or selling weapons or getting rid of old ones. »

Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s new Sony Pictures Classics film « The Miracle Club » makes miracles palatable to the secular viewer. 

The film purports that miracles aren’t lightning strikes from God, but rather moments in which ordinary men and women summon supernatural amounts of grace and courage. In short, « The Miracle Club » forgoes the salt of Christianity for the sugar of humanism. While this may lack flavor for some Catholic viewers, it’s a worthwhile appetizer for just about anyone else. 

What is the sweet spot between ideological accessibility and doctrinal adherence? Should we create more films for the Christianity-curious but pew-shy? Is there merit in Catholic-adjacent films that you can watch and discuss with your agnostic and atheist friends? Is Lourdes for everyone? Are miracles for everyone, even nonbelievers?

« The Miracle Club » is set in 1967 Dublin and opens to a sweet and funny sequence of Lily (Maggie Smith), Eileen (Kathy Bates) and Dolly (Agnes O’Casey) competing in a church talent show for the chance to visit the baths at Lourdes, the holy site in France. They hope the visit will give Dolly’s son, who does not speak, his voice. The women win the tickets, and then harangue, threaten and trick their husbands into taking on the housework in their absence. 

But a wrench is thrown in their plans right as they’re about to leave for Lourdes. Chrissie (Laura Linney) returns to their small town, unannounced and unexpected after 40 years in America. Slowly, the film reveals that Chrissie isn’t just an estranged neighbor: She was Eileen’s best friend and Lily’s deceased son’s teenage love. At the encouragement of the local priest and to the dismay of the other women, Chrissie joins the Lourdes pilgrimage at the last minute.

The group goes to Lourdes, and while I won’t ruin the story, I will say that Linney personifies mercy and grace in her portrayal of Chrissie. I had the chance to speak with the actress (« Ozark, » « The Big C, » « Love Actually ») and asked where she encounters mercy, as her tender performance suggests an intimate acquaintance with the virtue. 

Linney told me:

Most of the really important lessons and qualities in my life, I have learned from the theater and from being in the theater. And being in service to the theater … Some people learn them in church, some people learn them in various [other] places but me, it’s the arts. I see mercy in the arts, everywhere.

For someone like me, who considers the theater its own kind of sacred, Laura’s words rang true  and returned me to my original line of thought: Who should tell Catholic stories — and how should they tell them?  

Linney found something big and important in creating this character. And while church and Scripture have always been, and will continue to be, my fount of mercy and justice, I’d be lying if I said secular theater, film, music and art have not also served as paradigms to deepen my understanding of virtue. Perhaps that’s the wrong word. Perhaps films like « The Miracle Club » act more like prisms through which I can examine my own moral absolutism in challenging and important ways.

This film does a commendable job of explaining that the majority of modern-day miracles are, in fact, simply the ways we choose to love and forgive each other — even if the film fails to credit the source of that love and forgiveness.

Some may consider that omission the great weakness of « The Miracle Club. » But maybe it’s  also the film’s great strength. You can take your non-Christian friends to this film and share your faith in a way they will be able to receive. You can find common ground on forgiveness, mercy and grace — words that many people sadly find antithetical to Catholicism, either from personal experience or media-fed perception.

You can use this film as an opportunity, not to talk at your secular friends, but instead, to listen. Where do they believe mercy comes from? Do they believe in miracles? Are they looking for one and, if so, how can you help?

Some Catholic viewers may find it hard to watch a film about Lourdes that references the miracles of St. Bernadette and Our Lady as dubious rumors rather than church-approved apparition. But if you’re looking for films that celebrate Lourdes in its totality, they already exist.

Perhaps it was time for a film that told the story from a new perspective to new audiences. And if Bernadette’s faith could reach even one person from this film, wouldn’t that be a miracle?