Arlington bishop’s ‘silence’ draws ire

That was the headline on a lengthy article in the Washington Post Feb. 14 about the open letter of CTA Northern Virginia to Bishop Paul Loverde. It gave enormous metropolitan circulation to CTAers’ complaints that after two years as bishop, Loverde still hasn’t allowed altar girls (he had them in his previous diocese), ignores their letters seeking a meeting, and forced a retreat house to cancel talks by Diann Neu, Mary Hunt and Mary Lou Sleevi for fear they would “pollute the water of truth.” The Post reporter also quoted other progressive Catholic grievances with Loverde: his ruling that only men may have their feet washed in Holy Thursday liturgy, his ban on sharing the Communion cup at Mass, and the overriding focus on abortion in weekly sermons.