One of the odd and (I think) quite interesting about the rise of Catholic Blogs and the Catholic Internets in general is the awareness of the doings of various dioceses and even parishes – and the high interest in such doings by people who don’t even live there and will never even visit. We know about their liturgies, their renovation wars, and so on. There’s St. John Cantius in Chicago, Assumption Grotto in Detroit, the Church of Our Saviour in Manhattan, the Paulist Center in Boston, St. Mary’s in Greeneville, St. Mary’s by the Sea in Orange County and….St. Joan of Arc in Minneapolis.

Ah, St. Joan’s, the question mark, the challenge. How to understand a Church that calls itself "the Catholic Church" in which two parishes like St. Joan and St. Agnes can exist in the same Archdiocese  – healthy diversity or mass confusion?

And what’s up with a parish that for years regularly substitutes non-Scriptural readings for the second reading during Sunday Mass (yes! It’s 1972 all over again!)  and utilizes lay homilists in some form or other no matter what. As well as other things that amount to "We’re on our own here." ?

Mitchell Hadley passes on this tidbit from this week’s JOA bulletin:

Call to Action Minnesota: Womenpriests Celebrate the Eucharist. On Saturday, September 23, 4-8 pm. Call to Action invites you to a Eucharistic Celebration with Regina Nicolosi presiding. Rev. Nicolosi was ordained as a womanpriest this summer. Following the Eucharist is a presentation by SJA parishioner Dr. Dorothy Irvin on "Ancient and Contemporary Models of Womenpriests and Deacons". Supper is included. FFI contact Judy McGuire at 612.927.6825.

No, JOA isn’t hosting the event (I don’t think) but it’s, er, publicizing it, as well as the fact that a parishioner is participating. Well.

On a related note, in Archbishop Dolan of Milwaukee’s latest column, he addresses 3 hot topics in his see: Maguire, the Pittsburgh 12, and Call to Action, and then turning to signs of hope within the Archdiocese.