Is Kylie Bisutti to be admired?
I am not entirely sure. For the record, I did not know who this person was until yesterday, when I read her interview about giving up a top modeling career to live a “Christian life.”
My first thought was that this is admirable. After more research, I am not so sure.
Kylie Bisutti (The Associated Press)
The battle cry over church and state has been fought relentlessly since the Founding Fathers decided the United States would be a secular nation.
The modern concept of a wholly secular government is sometimes credited to the writings of English philosopher John Locke, but the phrase “separation of church and state” in this context is generally traced to a January 1, 1802 letter by Thomas Jefferson, addressed to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut, and published in a Massachusetts newspaper.
(By AP graphics)
I’ve had a couple pastor wives suggest that I do a story on what they go through supporting their husbands in the church.
Of course, the same goes for pastor husbands, as York County is home to a large number of female pastors. Being the supportive spouse when your husband or wife is needed at all hours of the day and night, is often preoccupied with supporting others emotionally, and works nearly every Sunday can be difficult.
Ann Seitz-Brown, right, helps her husband, the Rev. Timothy Seitz-Brown say goodbye to worshippers following a Sunday service last year. (YDR file photo)
This is a story I have planned for early to mid-June. I home to explore several themes. Mainly, how pastor spouses deal with sharing their partner with the congregation? What special things do you do to keep your marriage healthy? Where do you draw the line? Do you assist your spouse pastor with his church duties? What do you see the spouse role as? What has been the hardest thing to deal with?
Do you have a story to share with me on this topic? Email me at jhilton@ydr.com, or call me at 771-2024.
Meanwhile, here “Seven Things Pastors’ Wives Wish They Had Been Told Before They Became Pastors’ Wives,” courtesy of The Christian Post
1. I wish someone had told me just to be myself. “I am a people-pleaser by nature, so for me, not being prepared to handle being a pastor’s wife with my personality was a heavy burden to carry early in our ministry.”
2. I wish someone had prepared me to deal with criticism of my husband and me. “It was hard to deal with negative experiences, conflicts, or criticisms, especially in relation to my husband and our area of ministry. So I would harbor feelings of resentment when it came to ministry and my man.”
3. I wish someone had reminded me that my husband is human. “I wish someone had told me that my husband could not be God for me. I was disillusioned at first to find out that he indeed is just a man.”
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4. I wish someone had told me that others were watching us (the glass house syndrome). “Even though they are watching us, we don’t need to be controlled by what they expect of us.”
5. I wish someone had told me there are some really mean people in the church. “I was really surprised. I had to learn not to pay too much attention to them or they would get me down.”
6. I wish someone had told me how much my husband needs me to build him up. “I need to be his cheerleader. Dealing with critics in the church is difficult. He needs to hear that I respect him now more than ever.”
7. I wish someone had told me that my schedule will never be normal again. “Your husband will be very busy. Expect that. But come alongside him in the areas of time management and organization.”
Here we go again with more fascinating news on gay rights straight from the American psyche.
This time, it’s a new Washington Post-ABC News poll revealing surprising support for gay inclusion in the Boy Scouts of America.
This photo taken Monday shows a close up detail of a Boy Scout uniform worn by Brad Hankins, a campaign director for Scouts for Equality, as he responds questions during a news conference in front of the Boy Scouts of America headquarters in Irving, Texas.(Photo: Tony Gutierrez, AP)
The BS National Council will gather later this month to vote on a plan, unveiled a few weeks ago, which would allow gay scouts but maintain a ban on gay scout masters. In splitting the decision, the group may be trying to modernize while continuing to appeal to a diversity of views on homosexuality — seven in 10 scout groups are chartered by religious institutions.
Not surprisingly, the poll reveals partisanship in the results. A full 68 percent of Democrats and 61 percent of independents oppose the Boy Scouts’ ban on gay leaders, while 61 percent of Republicans support the plan.
I blogged recently about my disdain for the Boy Scouts’ half-hearted compromise. Do you think the Council should go all the way and permit gay people to participate in all aspects of scouting?
Regardless of how you feel about homosexuality and same-sex marriage, you should know the name Tom Ogletree.
Just because he’s an interesting guy who had a choice to make. That choice pitted his family against his faith. And he choose his family.
Thomas Ogletree
Back to Ogletree. A United Methodist Church pastor, Ogletree is a Frederick Marquand Professor Emeritus of Theological and Social Ethics at Yale University Divinity School.
He previously served as dean of Yale Divinity School (1990–96) and the Theological School at Drew University (1981–90). He was director of graduate studies in religion at Vanderbilt University (1978–81).
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The late Bishop Joseph McFadden impressed me with his faith and commitment to serving the Catholics of central Pennsylvania.
I reflected a little about my interaction with him in this post Thursday, the day McFadden died suddenly in Philadelphia from a heart attack.
The Most Rev. Kevin C. Rhoades, Bishop of Harrisburg, presided at a 2005 Mass at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in New Freedom and a dedication of the church’s new parish center and outreach building. Here, Rhoades blesses the new parish center. (YDR file photo)
I liked Rhoades when he was here, and always considered him a potential cardinal. I may be wrong about his career arc, since Rhoades’ current post, the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, is actually smaller than Harrisburg.
Nevertheless, Rhoades is still breaking new ground. In 2011, he became the first bishop to give the OK for an iPhone app.
The program, “Confession: A Roman Catholic App,” was developed as an aid “for those who frequent the sacrament and those who wish to return,” a press release explained.
Rhoades was 46 when he was made bishop of the Harrisburg diocese. His relatively youthful exuberance was felt throughout his six years in the position. By contrast, McFadden was 63 when he became bishop.
The process is expected to be long, likely a year, before a new bishop is named. The Harrisburg post is the first bishop position that new Pope Francis will oversee from start to finish.
Pennlive had a nice summation of the entire process Sunday.
The Rev. Robert M. Gillelan Jr., a former priest at Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in York, was named interim leader of the Diocese on Monday.
I have never met “Father Bob,” but he seems to be in the mold of McFadden — that is, highly competant, soft spoken and committed to getting things done and keeping the diocese running smoothly.
The hope here is the diocese takes its time to find a promising future leader, someone with the vision and energy to guide local Catholics through the next decade.
Someone like Rhoades.
Do you have a thought on what the profile of the next leader of the diocese should be?
I had nearly gotten to my desk this morning when I took a quick look at my work email on my Smartphone.
The time was 9:51 a.m. and I had a fresh email from Joe Aponick, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg.
The subject line read: Death of Bishop McFadden.
Bishop McFadden preaches to the congregation at Brougher Chapel on York College’s campus for Ash Wednesday. DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS – KATE PENN
YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS -
The email contents confirmed the shocking news. McFadden died very suddenly earlier in the day after he fell ill while at a conference in Philadelphia.
We quickly got a story on www.ydr.com and the condolences poured in. Bishop for just three years, McFadden was well liked.
I can’t say I knew him that well. We had a phone interview last year about the Catholic Year of Faith campaign and I met him in person in February, when we talked about new Pope Francis.
I came away from that with one memory of McFadden. We were able to talk as he met every parishioner on their way out the door. I remember the bishop for his strikingly easygoing manner with everyone from 8 to 80.
His go-to move was a firm handshake accompanied by a quick, hearty “how ya doin?” He must have said it 50 times that night, as Brougher Chapel on campus was packed full.
I remember watching him and thinking, “he reminds me of someone I’d want to grab a beer with.” That’s a common refrain to distinguish someone as having everyman qualities. But it surprised me to be thinking it about a Catholic bishop.
But to me, that was Joseph McFadden. A guy who related easily.
Rest in peace.
It seems stories of sexual abuse by Catholic priests continue to surface from time to time. And accusations of bishops shielding priests won’t go away either.
I wrote last year about Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City, who went on to become the first and only U.S. bishop convicted of misdemeanor failure to report a priest suspected of child sex abuse.
The latest cover-up allegation comes from New Jersey, where Newark Archbishop John J. Myers is under fire for allowing a priest to attend youth retreats and hear confessions from minors in defiance of a court-ordered lifetime ban on ministry to children.
Fugee was convicted in 2003 of criminal sexual contact for allegedly fondling a 14-year-old boy’s genitals on two occasions. Three years later, an appellate court vacated the verdict, ruling the trial judge should not have allowed jurors to hear the part of Fugee’s confession in which he described himself as homosexual or bisexual.
The rest of the confession was not called into question.
Rather than retry Fugee, prosecutors allowed him to enter a rehabilitation program for first-time offenders, on the condition that he undergo counseling for sex offenders and sign an agreement barring him from any work in which children are involved. The archdiocese’s vicar general, on behalf of Myers, signed the agreement as well.
“It’s complete craziness that the church can let this happen,” John Santulli, 38, a father of two at St. Mary’s, told the Religion News Service. “I’m a softball coach, and I need a background check just to get on the field.”
The Newark Star-Ledger called for Myers to step down in an editorial, saying the archbishop “has shown a pattern of leniency toward pedophiles, indifference to potential victims, and a haughty disdain for those who dare to question his judgment.”
Enough is enough, isn’t it? Of course, once is enough and that passed a long time ago for the Catholic Church. This is a pattern of behavior that must be highlighted every time it happens.
Do you think penalties should be harsher for church officials convicted of shielding pedophiles?
The announcement by the Boy Scouts of America on a new gay policy slipped by relatively unnoticed April 19. I suspect this was not entirely a coincidence.
It’s common PR practice to release sensitive news on a Friday afternoon in the hopes it gets swallowed up in the weekend news cycle. Not sure who is calling the shots for the BSA, but their PR to date has been pretty textbook.
This photo taken Monday shows a close up detail of a Boy Scout uniform worn by Brad Hankins, a campaign director for Scouts for Equality, as he responds questions during a news conference in front of the Boy Scouts of America headquarters in Irving, Texas.(Photo: Tony Gutierrez, AP)
With a few months on the back burner, BSA announced the details April 19: it would no longer deny membership to youth on the basis of sexual orientation but would maintain its ban on openly gay adult leaders.
The organization’s executive committee made the proposal, which is expected to be presented to the Boy Scouts’ voting members at its May meeting in Dallas. If the policy is approved, it will take effect January 1.
“If approved, the resolution would mean that ‘no youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone.’ The BSA will maintain the current membership policy for all adults,” Boy Scouts public relations director Deron Smith told CNN.
Is this a good move? I don’t see it that way. It’s a typical “let’s see if we can please everyone” compromise. What usually happens is you end up pleasing no one.
If the BSA truly believes Scouts should not discriminate against gay folks, then let all gay people participate. That’s taking a stand.
If they don’t, then keep your policy as it is. You’re a private organization. People will choose to participate or not. The bottom line is, the BSA isn’t trying to be trailblazers here and they aren’t so much interested in ending discrimination as they are trying to reverse declining membership.
According to the blog bsa-discrimination.org, BSA has lost over 643,566 registered Cub Scouts since 1998. Total youth membership in BSA’s traditional programs has declined by approximately 27 percent (965,244 members), since 1997.
As far as the Mormon church goes, the compromise seems to work. The church sponsors the most Boy Scouts of any group in the country.
I guess even the BSA has to play politics, but to me, it resembles the South’s response to integration in the late-1950s. Southern leaders knew blacks deserved full rights, and that they had no choice in the matter, but insisted those rights would come in due time. I recall many an official noting that Southerners needed time to get used to the idea.
That doesn’t strike me as a fair granting of equal rights. It’s more like discrimination light.
What do you think of the BSA compromise?
Fourteen amputees lost limbs in last week’s bombing at the Boston Marathon.
At least one expert suggests they will struggle to make sense of the tragedy in the spiritual sense.
Losing a limb is like losing a family member, the Religion News Service reports. It involves grief and mourning, according to Jack Richmond, a Chattanooga, Tenn., amputee who leads education efforts for the Manassas, Va.-based Amputee Coalition. When one’s body and abilities are radically changed, questions of meaning are suddenly urgent: Why did this happen? Why am I here?
A woman injured in the Boston bombing is wheeled away by medical personnel. (The Associated Press)
Bissonnette works regularly with more than 150 amputees and told the RNS she finds a common pattern. Those who feel positively connected to God and to other people tend to do better in recovery than those who have “hardened” or grown bitter as a result of their injuries.
“You have to (let go of) the life you lived before and forgive for whatever happened to cause the amputation,” said Bissonnette, who was crushed by a tractor-trailer 16 years ago and lost a leg. “It’s tough, (and) if they don’t have some kind of belief, they get hung up in the anger. I’ve noticed that quite a bit.”
Research on other disabilities reaches slightly different conclusions. People of strong faith are no more likely than nonbelievers to accept a neuromuscular disease, according to Jessica Evans, a psychotherapist who published her findings in the Journal of Christian Healing, published by the Association of Christian Therapists.
The difficulty for an amputee survivor of a tragedy like the Boston bombing is they are otherwise unaffected. These victims should go on to live otherwise long and healthy lives. But they will always have a daily reminder that they came face-to-face with evil.
And that has to be a very strong challenge to their faith.
Have you ever had you faith challenged by a difficult circumstance in life?
