Truth, penitence, and the Gospel of forgiveness: a view from the other side
An initial contribution to a reserved discussion Castellano • Français James Alison’s contribution to a “Chatham House Rules”...
19 mins read
Texts
Evangelisation, Diversity and Conscience – some brief notes
On diversity and evangelisation: the new “we” which is what Catholicism is all about, the “we” out of every people and nation and tribe and tongue, depends on all of us learning to preach the Gospel in the first person.
8 mins read
Belonging and being Church: what’s Catholicism all about?
Belonging matters more than life or death. It gives us our approval, who we are to be. It is the hardest thing in the world to receive your approval and thus your sense of belonging from “Your Father who is in Heaven” rather than from those who can give you a quick fix.
16 mins read
How to recognize a tantrum
So many Catholics are dodging the tantrum and hewing to Our Lord. The responsum is unlikely to dissuade us from blessing God as we find God blessing us.
3 mins read
Pope Francis backing same-sex unions isn’t a surprise. But it’s still a big deal
There are no major points of doctrine at stake, nothing in the Creeds, putting at risk the shape of our salvation. And there are no real scruples about the apparently hostile Biblical texts since fundamentalist readings are in any case officially disapproved by Church authority.
5 mins read
The dangerousness of the good
The word “Christian” has been sullied. It is no longer the adjective it should be, describing a series of attitudes and ways of being reminiscent of Christ, but a noun which carries with it a fake claim to righteousness, a pretext for freedom from social and legal responsibility, a justification for harsh positions unsubmitted to reason. I suggest that the word “sinner” be brought back into circulation instead.
47 mins read
Some musings concerning the phrases “objectively disordered” and “intrinsically disordered (or evil)” in current Church discourse regarding LGBT issues
Unless you can convince gay people that gay sex is automatically wrong because they aren’t really gay, and therefore aren’t acting according to their real nature, you have failed to maintain the prohibition.
6 mins read
Brought to life by Christ
As it turns out, my mind is of little importance. What is important is who has changed my mind. Both the big Who and the many, many secondary whos and whats we all represent for each other.
20 mins read
Facing down the wolf: a gay priest’s vocation
Lies and violence in the heart of family and church life. That’s where my testimony begins. For whatever reason of God’s own, I have received the formal commission to live this reality as a priest... failure is one of grace’s preferred building sites.
9 mins read
Queerology podcast
James discusses his faith journey, René Girard and mimetic theory, the scapegoat mechanism, Sacred (or Holy) vs. Mysticism (or Mythification) of Divine as churches crumble, intelligence of victim, and grace and growth.
1 min read