Short Takes: December 8th, 2016

Three quick noteworthy items for today…

1. Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception! You can find a nearby Mass for this holy day of obligation by checking masstimes.org.
2. Read past the headlines
   A new Vatican document, “The Gift of Priestly Formation,” is making headlines for affirming the Vatican’s 2005 instructions that “the Church … cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practise homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called ‘gay culture’.” Although the news media seems bent on reducing the document to a “ban on gay priests,” we suggest you read further. The document presents a rich vision for the renewal of priestly formation, including human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral formation. Worth reading. Click here.
3. Women at the Vatican
   Nearly 20% of the Vatican’s workforce is female and, according to Crux correspondent Inés San Martin, some of them have banded together to form a new women’s association, “Women in the Vatican,” headed by L’Osservatore Romano editor Tracey McClure. It’s a new and noteworthy development. Crux has the story here.

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