No To Married Priests in the Amazon Region Where Desperately Needed

I'm disappointed in Pope Francis' decision to not follow the guidance and wishes of bishops of the Amazonian region of the world who wanted and needed,  men of excellent virtue for a married clergy, for the sake of giving the people there better access to the sacraments. No to a married clergy in neglected areas of the world, no to making Eucharist more readily available to the poor people of the Amazon.
The Protestants in the Amazon region, must be thrilled..... more Catholics poorly served in that area of the world, will just join the Protestant churches where they are being "fed." This is already happening.....and will sadly continue.
I cannot believe this is what the Holy Spirit wants. ...for poor, marginalized people to be deprived of the sacraments, especially Eucharist. Does the hierarchy of the Church believe that the bishops and priests of the Amazon have made this request lightly or do they live everyday with the reality of Catholics lacking access to the sacraments and pastoral care?
Very sad to me...the Church seems out of touch with realities in the modern world. Young people (the nones) are leaving the church in record numbers. They are distancing themselves from all institutions, not only the Catholic Church......As the elderly die in our church, who will take their place?
There are real problems in our Church and giving in to the request of bishops in the Amazon, who are on the ground, who know the needs of their people and saying "no" we can't help you, is not forward thinking or compassionate, in my humble opinion.
NJA

Should We Be Afraid? Maybe

The Coronavirus which has killed over one thousand people in China and sickened thousands is a zoonotic disease. That means it jumped from animals to humans. Experts believe that it originated in bats, jumped to pangolins (a scaly mammal) and then to humans in a poorly regulated, wet marketplace, in Wuhan, China. In that marketplace, where there were dead and live animals, it was a place where viruses can spread.
The good news is that hopefully there will be a vaccine in the coming months and the strict measures the Chinese government has taken to stop the spread of the virus will work and the pandemic will stop.
But what frightens me is what if another zoonotic disease jumped from animals to humans and was deadly....for everyone....that's a very scary scenario, like a horror movie plot.
That could be the end.
Of course as Christians we have to live in hope. Hope should cast out fear.
But humankind is careless. We've been careless with creation. There is a lot of pride and greed in this world.
We need to respect the natural world and have greater understanding of the conditions that cause zoonotic diseases to thrive.
The unthinkable could happen. It's not that far fetched. I hope and pray it doesn't.
I try to be hopeful. I try to surrender my fears to God. But maybe even God can't save us from ourselves or our carelessness or greed.
NJA

UPDATE: Apparently experts now believe that the coronavirus originated in bats but then jumped not to snakes, as originally reported but to pangolins, a scaly mammal and then to humans. Pangolins are considered the world's most trafficked animals....sadly they are being hunted to extinction. Their keratin scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

"Deaths of Despair" the Working Class in America and the Church

After reading the disturbing article in the New York Times titled, "Who Killed the Knapp Family" by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn which highlighted the decline in the working class in America due to job loss, failed policies and drug and alcohol addiction, I wondered if the Church/churches in America could do more.
According to a Nobel Prize winning economist and his wife who coined the phrase, "deaths of despair,"  to describe the surge of deaths from alcohol, drugs and suicide in the working class, they said, "The meaningfulness of the working class life seems to have evaporated," according to Angus Deaton and Anne Case.
Low paying jobs, despair, an apparent lack of constructive social services and feeling left out of prosperity and upward mobility has caused immense problems.
What does the Church have to do with this tragic scenario? I think its an opportunity for the Church to become involved in helping people to find meaning and meaningfulness not only through prayer, Mass and praise and worship but also putting together opportunities along with civic organizations, and government support, to provide job training and learning courses to alleviate despair.
The Church needs to be relevant to people's lives. It needs to look for opportunities to be of service and help those in need. It needs to restore credibility
and one way to do that is do have sensible, realistic programs that provide needed services that can improve people's lives and help the children who are being so damaged by this situation.
If people are in despair and are turning to drugs and alcohol, that is an opportunity to tell people, we can help. We know ways to fill your despair with hope, with courage, with resources that can help.
That's what Jesus would do. He would find ways to heal and give people hope.
NJA

Christmas 2019

Another Christmas has past. There is nothing better than a well done Christmas Liturgy. What's better than hearing a well rehearsed choir sing "Silent Night," on Christmas Eve, in a beautiful, well decorated Church, with family. For me, it doesn't get much better than that.
Christmas is such a beautiful feast, if only all God's children could appreciate the significance of Christmas and what it means for humankind. If only all God's children had enough to eat, a place to call home, people who care for them and a place to worship God.
If only the very rich would do more to help the less fortunate.
If only there was peace on earth and good will towards all.
If only there was more tolerance and understanding and the teachings of Jesus were lived out and acted upon by all Christians.
If only care for the earth would be of concern to all and Pope Francis' encyclical, "Laudato Si-On Care for our Common Home," be appreciated and given priority.
It could happen. Perhaps in the future, humankind will finally get it right.
Christians have to live in hope and so I hope and pray the future and that the next decade in particular will be good and healing for the earth and good for all God's children.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
NJA

Consumerism Is Alive and Well-In Me and Others-Advent 2019

Incredibly Black Friday shoppers spent $7.4 billion dollars online. On Cyber Monday holiday shoppers spent $9.4 billion dollars online (that was up almost 20% from last year).  From November 1st-December 2nd 2019, holiday shoppers have spent 81.5 billion dollars. People are not only buying more items, they are buying more expensive items.
Before I go on, I have to admit that I love to shop. I love to buy presents for other people and I also like buying things for myself. I also like giving stuff away, which I often do.
Having said that, it appears that Pope Francis' call in his Advent homily to "resist the dazzling lights of consumerism, which will shine everywhere this month, and believe that prayer and charity are not lost time, but the greatest treasures," will need more teachings.
He also said, "The meaning of life is not to accumulate." That, of course, is so true. But the bottom line is that, like me, a lot of people like to shop. Even spiritual/religious people, who believe they can (at least I think I can) be spiritual/religious and find time for prayer, Scripture study, volunteer work, Mass, spiritual reading and religious TV shows (as well as Netflix) and still find time to shop.
Am I defending shopping? Yes, I am.
Should faith-filled people spend more time in prayer, in worship, engaged in spiritual reading, bible study and doing good? Of course.
Can we all find a balance? I hope so, because people are not going to stop shopping, especially when Amazon makes it so easy and with one click the item or items are at your front door, the next day.
So as the world becomes more technological and more and more people shop online, people of faith can only hope and pray that people find space for God, time for prayer and for helping others.
Giving Tuesday, the movement described as the "biggest generosity movement of all time," is gaining traction and people are not only donating money but helping others and volunteering. So that's good news.
A Blessed Advent!
NJA

The USCCB Meeting in Baltimore Is Impressive But More Disturbing Allegations from the East Coast

I've watched segments of the USCCB Fall meeting airing on the Catholic Faith Network over the past few days. I was impressed with the good initiatives and plans the bishops of the United States discuss, vote on and try to put into place.
Their work seemed thoughtful, intelligent and timely. Yet as some bishops mentioned, how do they reach the families and "nones" who don't come into Church. They will have to make better use of social media and advertising of all types, because the Catholic Church does have something very good to offer society, when it is lived out to its fullest and in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ. And the uncertain world we live in and its people,  need Jesus and His holistic, compassionate and meaningful teachings now more than ever.

Late last night I received a blast email from the Diocese of Brooklyn stating the startling accusation made against Bishop DiMarzio from 40 years ago. Just like that, even though Bishop DiMarzio is in Rome with other bishops as part of meetings with the Pope, his life has been thrown into chaos, having to come home to the Brooklyn Diocese to deny (which he has already done) and fight these allegations that he abused an altar boy,  40 years ago.
Bishop DiMarzio was near retirement and now this. Having worked in the DOB for many years I know Bishop DiMarzio as a hard worker, faithful to the mission of the Church and there was never any talk of any inappropriate behavior.  I was totally shocked at the news as I'm sure all past and present employees and parishioners from the Diocese were.
Bishop DiMarzio believes he will be fully exonerated. The man Mark Matzek, now 56, claims he was  molested by the bishop and another priest (who has since died) when he was a student at  St. Nicholas School and Church in Jersey City, NJ.  He has hired a high powered and famous lawyer to represent him, Mitchell Garabedian. He is suing for over 20 million dollars.
And so the saga of child sex abuse, destroyed lives and the fallout from it, continues. The lives ruined are so sad to read about.
Please God end this horrific chapter in the life of the Church.  And may the Holy Spirit make holy the Church which does so much good and yet is so flawed as well.
NJA

What Will Pope Francis Decide on Married Priests in the Amazon? What Will the Holy Spirit Decide?

As reported in the New York Times (front page on Sunday) and other news outlets as well, at the conclusion of the Amazonian Synod in Rome, bishops from the Amazon region have advised Pope Francis to allow the ordination of married men (of proven virtue) as Roman Catholic priests in this vast and challenging region of the world.
Sadly right now, people of the Amazon region, who are dealing with an array of problems, do not have a sufficient amount of priests to minister to them. I was disturbed to learn recently that many can only receive Eucharist three times a year due to the lack of priests. That is unacceptable to God and all others of good conscience. Besides the sacraments being deprived, they also lack pastoral care. It's simply unjust.
What would the Holy Spirit recommend? I hope and pray that Pope Francis prays and fasts during the coming months, before making a recommendation.
Mandatory celibacy is a Church law, not a doctrine and church laws can be changed.
In my humble opinion, this law is hurting the church and it's evangelizing efforts.
For some, the discipline works and helps foster spiritual growth, but for others it's too restricting. Not all can live without companionship, love, nurturing touch, and the comforting presence of another in one's life. Why can't there be an Order of Married Priests, so you can have both celibate priests (if that is their call) and married priests. Not one or the other but both options.
So let's see what Pope Francis decides. According to what I've read, "the pope is expected to respond to the proposals by the end of this year."
If he decides to keep the status quo, then he can just assume that Protestant evangelicals will continue to evangelize (along with their wives), in the Amazon region and Catholicism will continue to lose Catholics to Protestantism. That's the reality and that is what the bishops from the Amazon region have spoken of to the Pope and others.
This is not about a liberal or conservative point of view or the purity and theology of the priesthood.  This is about people who deserve better from the Church. They deserve Eucharist, Reconciliation, they deserve to have caring, thoughtful priests in their midst to perform baptisms, marriages and celebrate Mass. Whether they are married or not, does not matter to the people of the Amazon. They only want and need and deserve spiritual and religious fulfillment and communion with God through frequent Holy Communion.
NJA