Remembering John McDermott
John McDermott, 70, a veteran activist in civil rights and urban issues, died in Chicago Aug. 17. He was an early supporter of Call To Action and gave the keynote address at the annual conference in 197?. Mr. McDermott worked intensively with CTA during the 1980s when the organization was at odds with the management style of Cardinal John Cody. He was the executive director of the Catholic Interracial Council in the 1960s, founder of the award winning Chicago Reporter newsletter on racial matters in the 1970s, and chairman of a committee to promote unbiased campaign tactics in Chicago elections in the 1980s. "He was a great promoter of the fact that lay people had to be active in the world and reform the world," said his wife Therese. Mr. McDermott is also survived by three sons.

A patron saint of dissent?
The Vatican's historical commission is investigating the possible beatification of Savonarola, a 15th-century Dominican who was excommunicated by the pope, hanged and burned in Florence for seeking reform in the church. The move is in response to Pope John Paul's call for repentance for the church's "intolerance and even the use of violence." (We are not making this up.) Savonarola defied the orders of Alexander VI, probably the worst pope in history, to cease advocating change, accusing the Vatican of hypocrisy and calling for an ecumenical council to halt abuses. Reaction to the investigation is positive so far. Cardinal Piovanelli of Florence said it would be great idea to have a Mass of beatification on the very spot where he was burned in 1498 -- thus marking the 500th anniversary of his martyrdom.

Kudos to resigned, laicized, married, Black priest
An Orthodox Catholic Church in Madison, WI, has conferred a lifetime achievement award on a laicized Catholic priest in Texas. Clifton Ransom, Jr., was honored for his advocacy on behalf of blacks, women, gays and married clergy in the church. Bishop Paul Strong of the Church of the Moors said the award may help reaffirm the corporate unity of the Catholic churches of the East and West, which have been separated for more than 900 years. Ransom, now married, was the first black ordained to a Texas diocese, in 1968.

Catholic Church ordains two women!
A bishop of the Old Catholic Church in Germany ordained two married women as priests in May. The ceremony took place before a packed congregation in a 17th-century church in Konstanz. "Is it not truly painful that the church has taken almost 2,000 years to finally come to the conclusion that women should be brought into the highest service of the church, just like men?" said the ordaining prelate, Joachim Vobbe. The Old Catholics, numbering about 230,000 worldwide, broke off from union with Rome in the 1870s in protest of the proclamation of papal infallibility at the First Vatican Council. They are considered schismatics "outside" the church, said a Vatican spokesman.

Christian Coalition sued
The Federal Election Commission July 31 filed a suit against the Christian Coalition, saying it illegally promoted several Republican candidates, including George Bush, Newt Gingrich, Jesse Helms and Oliver North. The suit accused CC of using voter guides, mailngs and telephone campaigns to support the election of the candidates, actions that amounted to illegal campaign contributions. Both Republicans and Democrats on the FEC voted to sue. The case is expectedly to go all the way to the Supreme Court.

We miss John XXIII
Richard McBrien, in his syndicated column, measured the harshness of Bishop Bruskewitz's recent excommunication decree against a rule of thumb laid down by John XXIII. The revered pope told the opening session of Vatican II:

Nowadays, the Spouse of Christ prefers to make use of the medicine of mercy rather than of severity. She considers that she meets the needs of the present day by demonstrating the validity of her teaching rather than by condemnations.

Responsible disagreement
Those who hope Cardinal Bernardin's Common Ground Project will allow discussion of women's ordination are heartened by the presence of theologian Elizabeth Johnson CSJ on Bernardin's committee. Writing in Commonweal last Jan. 26, Johnson laid out the norms for responsible disagreement with church teaching that promotes the common good of the Church. She concluded: Over the years, informed, responsible disagreement has been a gift to the church whereby the criticism born of love has empowered growth. In my view, the recent noninfallible statement about the alleged infallibility of the tradition about women's ordination calls for just this sort of respon