Sash Wars V: The Empire Slaps Back

By ( articles ) | May 02, 2005

It's nearly that time again. The Rainbow Sash Movement is gearing up for its Annual Pentecost Disruption ("This simple act is a public dialogue that counters those who promote hate in God's name..."), and we can pretty well anticipate the nature of the media coverage both pre- and post-stunt. It'll be interesting to see which bishops cave and which don't -- especially given Cardinal Arinze's clarification:

Rainbow Sash wearers, the Cardinal says, are showing their opposition to Church teaching on a major issue of natural law and so disqualify themselves from being given Holy Communion.

Notice the ambiguous Romanisms and hard-to-parse curial wording? Neither do I. Hint: look for "pastoral implementation."