My World of Religion, Politics, Entertainment and Social Issues

Dear Blog Visitors: Since Bishop Matthew Clark has been fairly cordial with me, concerning my work toward reform and my recent ordination as a married priest, I thought I would take this opportunity to promote his new venture into podcasting. The following is the link for Bishop Clark's podcast page: http://www.dor.org/podcast/ I also do a monthly podcast for CORPUS (the national association for an inclusive priesthood). Simply go to the CORPUS website at www.corpus.org and select my recording. (There is also a library at the site of recordings I made the past two years.) If you have been following my adventures since my ordination on December 10, you know that I am in a process of discernment, concerning the possibility of my joining Spiritus Christi Church (independent of Rome). Please keep me in your prayers as I continue to discern. (I will probably end up joining, since my long-time diocesan pastor will still not allow me to receive Communion unless I renounce my ordinatio...

Dear Blog Visitors: I hope all of you had a wonderful Passover and Easter week. While the two celebrations don’t intersect each year, it is always a blessed event when they do, especially in consideration of the fact that one of the highlights of the Easter Vigil liturgy is the powerful Exodus reading that depicts the liberation of the Jews from their bondage in Egypt. If you have followed my blog postings the past few months, you are aware that I am in what can perhaps be described as a state of limbo, in reference to my parish membership. While on paper, I continue to be registered as a parishioner at Blessed Sacrament Church in Rochester, New York, I am not allowed to receive Communion there, due to my recent ordination as a married priest. To recap, although I have heard nothing official from either the Rochester Diocese or the Vatican concerning my official status in the Roman Catholic Church, there have been statements from a few canon lawyers and bishops to the effect that by...

Dear Blog Visitors: A good friend asked me a few days ago if I still had a copy of a feature article I wrote a couple years ago, entitled 'The Emancipation of Catholic Women.' I found I had saved it and then sent it to her. Since I find that this topic remains timely, I thought I would post the article to my blog as well. Since my ordination as a married priest on December 10, 2006, I have been contacted by a few of my former female classmates from St. Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry. Some continue to fight for more inclusivity in the institutional church. Others have either moved to other denominations or have joined Spiritus Christi Church in Rochester. In any event, much more work needs to be done toward securing the rightful place for women at the Eucharistic Table. Here is my article on 'The Emancipation of Catholic Women.' THE EMANCIPATION OF CATHOLIC WOMEN by Ray Grosswirth, M.A., M.Div I am writing this in honor of International Women's Mo...

Dear Blog Visitors: I always look forward to the Triduum, for it gives us an opportunity to celebrate the mystery of our faith. This year's Triduum will be a new experience for me, for I will be attending liturgies at Spiritus Christi Church (Catholic but independent of Rome). Spiritus Christi is a wonderful parish community, where Christ is truly present amongst each person who walks through the door. Most appealing to me is that artificial barriers to a sacramental life do not exist at Spiritus Christi. So, this may indeed become my new spiritual home, especially since I am not allowed to receive Communion in a diocesan parish, for the simple reason that I was recently ordained a married Catholic priest. Would Christ bar me from the Communion Table because I am a married priest? I think not! Although I have chosen an alternative for my Holy Week celebrations this year, I hope the Vatican won't mind my offering a critique on Good Friday Intercessions. (This critique is m...