An early Christmas deadline this week, made a little lighter by SNL’s good-natured ribbing of Tim Tebow and his very public relationship with Our (shared) Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Seriously, it was funny without being mean. Almost as funny is Torie Bosch’s Slate reflection on the Elf on the Shelf phenomenon, in which George Orwell meets ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. I’ve seen the elf in action, watching my 2-year-old niece inform the household elf that her 5-year-old brother was not sharing.
In the category of not funny at all is the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s decision to disinvite two Episcopalian priests and a Presbyterian minister from an ecumenical vespers service at the Castro’s Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church. The three, all gay or lesbian, are prominent supporters of the participation of gay and lesbian people in the life of the church, which for them includes marriage. Can Christians not pray together without agreeing on this matter?
Better news: Kateri Tekakwitha got the green light for canonization, with a miracle attributed to her intercession. She will be the first indigenous person from North America to be raised to the altars. (Can that be right?)
DotCommonweal has two interesting bits of Vatican news: First, the pope’s noting “the importance of seeking adequate mechanisms for the redistribution of wealth” (yes, he said redistribution). Second, the still unacceptably low number of women in positions of decision-making authority in the Vatican. The current number is two (2).
We can do better than that.
