First, Donoghue in Atlanta, in a letter to his clergy last week: (no link available)

“At the celebration of the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, the rite of the Washing of the Feet is optional. Where it is celebrated in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, it is my decision that the rubric of the Roman Missal shall be observed, that is, that twelve men (viri selecti) should be chosen from the community to take the part of the Apostles during this rite, other directions in the Paulist ordo, or any other liturgical publications notwithstanding. The “Mandatum” or Washing of the Feet, should be explained to the faithful as a representation of Christ’s linkage of the institution of the Eucharist to the establishment of the Ordained Priesthood, and the burden of service placed upon those who are called to the Priesthood, in keeping with the events described and recalled in this most solemn Mass.”

It’s another endless discussion, but I have a difficult time understanding this. If the idea is that Christ, in washing the feet, was passing on this sense of service to priests, then shouldn’t those having their feet washed be priests and seminarians? How is the washing of the feet of laymen communicating this symbolism?

Then, in Oakland, Bishop Vigneron disallows an ad

A publication for East Bay Catholics refused to run an advertisement and notice announcing a university-sponsored seminar that gathers scholars to discuss the Catholic Church’s future.

As publisher of the Catholic Voice, Bishop Allen Vigneron of the Oakland Diocese rejected running an ad and notification item for the one-day University of San Francisco seminar, “Imaging the Future Church.”

In a March 1 letter to the East Bay chairman of the Voice of the Faithful, Vigneron explained that his decision was based on critical comments on church doctrine he heard from group members.