Fired nuns speak out

3 older nuns were replaced as campus ministers by younger "peer ministers" while a 73 year old nun at one campus was kept in place. The 3 fired nuns are claiming age and gender discrimation. What is really going on is part of a larger story within this diocese and the Church in general. The job shifting really doesn't have to do with age and gender so much as orthodoxy and tradition. The Diocese is trying to reach the young college age students and keep their faith alive. The nuns, from interviews in the past, seem to be concerned with interfaith services, social justice and counseling. The Catholic teachings and traditions did not have a special place of value at least from I have read. The Diocese seems to want to focus on the type of ministries that have worked throughout the country, with a focus on Church traditions, sacraments and teachings. Although I am very sympathetic to anyone who loses their job, the 3 nuns will not be in danger of being homeless, as their orders are able to support them and they will find work. Although I am very interested in seeing this Diocese overcome its horrible past under Bishop McGann, I would hate to see the Church treat people as corporate America treats people. So, although this sounds like a good move on the part of Fr. Barr, I had hoped the nuns were treated fairly. One fact that I have not seen before confirms that the Church has been more than fair:

"Moreover, Dolan said, the bishop, who met with the sisters in September, offered to rescind their terminations, keep them on the diocesan payroll and the diocese would find them a job -- but not in campus ministries."

"It's really not rescinding if you're not offering us a position within campus ministries," Riordan said. "This is the job we wanted to do and we didn't want to take away other people's jobs in the diocese."

This sounds just like Bishop Murphy - he would rescind their terminations, keep paying them and find them other jobs. What could be more Christian than that? That is certainly not treating these nuns like "dirt" as one of the nuns claimed. It sounds like the Bishop bent over backward to help the nuns out, but they just couldn't take being replaced. I could understand the feelings involved, but ultimately this is going to help keep campus ministry in line with the New Evangelization.

"Father James Williams hasn't forgotten his own prom at Chaminade High School.

'Afterward, we went to the diner, and then we went home," he said. "I think we went to the beach the next day.'

Ah, innocent youth, circa 1987!"

Ellis Henican in Newsday on the Chaminade non-prom story.

The other story in today's Newsday quotes junior Sean Rober, the blogger at Fac ut Gaudeam.

"Why the Pope is better than Elton John" at Relapsed Catholic

Newsday.com has on the front page: No Prom for Chaminade High School

Amy Welborn linked to Fac ut Gaudeam on the cancellation of Chaminade High School's proms.

Dan at Shrine of the Holy Whapping (a fellow Chaminade grad), asks the $1,000,000 question -

"This culture of unmediated affluence is in some sense a dark side of the "American dream" removed from recourse to the moral and social teaching of the Church. In that sense, this particular issue ought to raise some thoughts among Catholics about why the Church in the Northeast is so dessicated compared to the Midwest and some parts of the South. Did the same comfort and affluence help to foster the general stifling of a distinctively Catholic culture and of evangelical zeal after the second generation or so of immigrants?"

While I applaud the schools for dropping the prom and trying to fight the culture of excess, I hope Kellenberg and Chaminade can come up with an alternative event. As Andrew Cusack comments on the post at the Shrine, students need to be taught how to behave at a formal event. For Chaminade men, a formal dance is especially important, what with being cooped up with no female students for 4 years! Anyway, both Kellenberg and Chaminade have Senior Proms that will continue - students from both schools go to a local nursing home and host a formal dinner/dance with the elderly residents. The students host the event and act as dates for the seniors. It is a popular event and I have yet to hear of any stories of excessive spending on food, limos or drink.

This post on Liturgy by Fr. Jay Scott Newman is just awesome. I found it via Off the Record.

"Remember that every liturgy leaves chronological time and enters kairotic time. In chronos we say Good Morning; in liturgical kairos we say Dominus vobiscum. If we do not depart from the texts of the Church, then we stand a fair chance of taking the people with us into the never ending liturgy of the New Jerusalem. This is also why SLOW walking, talking and gestures are important. Same with hiding street clothes under sacred vesture. Ditto for the athletic shoes of the altar boys."

I have attended very few Novus Ordo Masses where the above type of stuff is understood. Please go and read the entire post, it is very good.

CIA Realizes It's Been Using Black Highlighters All These Years

This headline from The Onion is funnier than the actual article.

Tommorrow night is the Faith on Tap session featuring John Zmirak. Any locals in their 20's or 30's might wish to attend. Those from NYC can take the LIRR and get off at the Wantagh RR Station, and the Wantagh Inn is right across the street. This time Mr. Zmirak will speak on his book - The Bad Catholic's Guide to Good Living