From the mail bag

by Dennis Coday

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dcoday@ncronline.org

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This was in the mail bag today, from Rita Dwyer, Saginaw, Mich.

Dear Editor:

I was fortunate enough to attend the American Catholic Council in Detroit [June 10-12]. It was great!

In case you are doing an article on it [Editor’s note: See below.] you are welcome to use my enclosed cartoon. I believe you are the only paper who would print it!”

It is a little bit of an inside joke, explained by Jerry Filteau’s report from Detroit:

The June 10-12 American Catholic Council meeting closed with a Sunday Mass that provoked controversy before and after, with Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron prohibiting his priests and deacons from participating on penalty of laicization.

Despite Vigneron’s threat, council co-chair Janet Hauter said in an e-mail to NCR after the meeting, “The estimate we had was 100 [Detroit archdiocesan] priests as they were recognized by others. Interestingly -- and somewhat humorous -- some registered under pseudonyms, so we had [the late German Jesuit theologian] Karl Rahner and [the late French Dominican theologian] Yves Congar and others.”

“Fear is an ugly thing, isn’t it?” Hauter added. “We did hear, however, extreme gratitude [from the Detroit priests who attended] for stepping out, giving the priests hope.”

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