Welcome to Monday. Were exorcisms the right response to protesters' removal of statues of Franciscan missionary Junípero Serra? NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters says the implosion of the Trump presidency has the feel of the fifth act in a Shakespearean tragedy. And NCR editors call for a post-Trump truth commission.
San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone's latest battle is against Satan, who he calls "the evil one." Cordileone performed the rite of exorcism as a response to the removal of statues of Franciscan missionary Junípero Serra at Golden Gate Park June 19, and later at Mission San Rafael, north of San Francisco on Oct. 12.
When the statues toppled, Cordileone sprang into action. Flanked by parishioners, priests and nuns praying the rosary, he conducted exorcisms at both places. The prelate called the acts blasphemous and sacrilegious.
Cordileone dubbed the protests the work of a small, violent mob. "We cannot allow a small unelected group of lawbreakers to decide what sacred symbols we display to foster our faith," Cordileone said at the San Rafael exorcism.
Reactions varied from shock and anger directed against the vandals to suggestions that the exorcisms might be more appropriate at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers where immigrant children are kept in cages and the federal agency faces allegations that 16 women were sterilized without informed consent.
Read more of the article here.
More background:
After watching President Donald Trump's 46-minute rant last week, NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters notes that the implosion of the Trump presidency has the feel of the fifth act in a Shakespearean tragedy, the psychological and moral failings of the characters bringing about death and destruction.
"I would not push the analogy too far," Winters writes. "Hamlet was noble, and the love between Romeo and Juliet was pure. There is nothing noble or pure about Donald Trump and the cast of characters who are joining him in his bunker for the final scene of the drama."
Read the rest of Winters' column here.
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Final thoughts
Dan Schutte, composer and NCR board member, has created weekly video Advent reflections. You can find his reflection for Week 2 here. If you want to catch up, you can find the whole series here.
Until Tuesday,
Heidi Schlumpf (filling in for Stephanie Yeagle)
NCR Executive Editor
[email protected]
Twitter: @HeidiSchlumpf
