God gave us two ears & one mouth for a reason

Dialogue: a discussion between representatives of parties of a conflict that is aimed at resolution.

This, in a word, is what I was hoping to find in the world of blogging. I am not sure if this is what is really going on and it has made me start to ponder a few things.

I found the blogs through an e-mail that was sent to me, from a rather progressive friend, as her example of the “evil, nasty, un-Christian people who have the audacity to call themselves Catholic” (her words, not mine!) My friend was referring to postings from the blog Ten Reasons regarding Joan Sobala, and some of the “changes” she has made to the parishes she is now “pastoral administrator” of.

I will admit that my initial reaction was that my friend was right, and then I started to read a little more, find more blogs, to do a little research and a lot of praying and soul-searching. The conclusion that I came to was that there are a lot of people out there, especially in our Diocese, who are hurting because of the actions of the people in leadership positions. I can understand and empathize with you all. I, too, have been deeply hurt by the actions of supposedly “pastoral” people, ordained and lay alike.

What was starting to make me uneasy though was the venom, hatred and animosity from both sides. Certainly not “dialogue” in any sense of the word. So I decided that I would create my own blog, and hoped that I would be able to facilitate some of the dialogue that I am looking for.

My initial foray into the “blog world” was not very positive. I have a tendency to be very passionate and emotional and I find that very hard to covey in writing. I have been trying very hard to make sure that any comment that I post to another’s blog is respectful, even when I have a different opinion. Because we are talking about religion, I understand that emotions are going to run high. Yet, I have to wonder, does either side really want true dialogue?

In a recent comment over at Cleansing Fire, I spoke of Sacred Heart Cathedral because it is what I know. Members of my family have been parishioners there since the early 60’s and the church had changed a few times (the church from the late 60’s when my parents got married looked nothing like the Cathedral I joined in the early 90’s and now the most recent renovation.) There are parts of the Cathedral that I really love, and there are things that I think are horribly wrong, but the bottom line is, what is done is done.
Enough money has already been wasted; let’s learn to work with what we’ve got.

Now, I am neither naïve nor trying to be provocative, as I was accused by one commenter, in thinking that I was not going to illicit very strong response, I was hoping to receive response, not reaction. Please understand I am not trying to diminish anyone’s pain. Being hurt by the church is a deep wound that takes a long time to heal, I know all too well!

But what can we do now, with what we have got.
Let us have a true dialogue and listen to one another, and try to come up with a resolution.

Peace to all!