Another Day in the Archdiocese

By Mitchell

My apologies for the light blogging last week. I spent the week trying to catch up on my self-imposed deadline for editing the final draft of Graveyard of the Elephants. (And my apologies also for not having updated the Hadleyfiction site as promised; I hope to have something up this week, but we have a lot on our plate here in the Hadley household so I'll make no guarantees.)

Now, one of the reasons why I'm so far behind in my editing schedule is that every time I plan to scale back blogging for a week or two so I can work on the book, something comes up here in the archdiocese that thrusts me into the middle of breaking stories. I was lucky to get away with time to edit four chapters last week; this week I may not be so fortunate.

Take, for example, this story - the Rainbow Sash's annual dalliance with the Eucharist at the Cathedral. It was hardly a surprise; many of us here in the archdiocese view Pentecost with a mixture of anticipation and apprehension. Actually, it wasn't as bad this year as it has been in some years past. AdoroTeDevote has her usual excellent commentary.

This business about the Rainbow Sash has been one of the most frequently cited examples nationwide of the problems that exist here in the archdiocese. Which is why this story is so intriguing. I heard these rumors at least a week ago; at our Catholic blogger meeting on Saturday night (more about that later), virtually everyone in the room had heard the rumors. None of us had really said anything about them, because really that's all it is, a rumor. Notice how even in discussing the rumor I don't say what it is? I'm hearing a lot of things from a lot of different sources, but nothing definite. Therefore, I'll defer to this public source, one I'd generally considered a credible one.

I tend to be cautious in my reporting. I think of it as being responsible, and that's not meant as a slam at anyone who is less cautious than I am. Most often, it's because they've got much more reliable information than I do, and are therefore in a better position than I am to write about it. But for those of us who've held back on this, should it turn out to be true, I'm sure we'll be kicking ourselves for not having felt more comfortable in going with it. There was this post, for example, that convinced me early on that the rumors might be credible. And did that post have anything to do with this even more cryptic one?

I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Over the last week I've become more convinced that something is up around here, but it's something I'm not yet privy to, except for what I read elsewhere. For virtually my entire life, patience has been a trait with which I have not been blessed. Here is merely an opportunity for me to refine my habits.

But stay tuned, folks. If you've been introduced to this site because of our coverage of previous events in the archdiocese, you might want to stick around; I suspect there might be more to report. (Because even if there isn't, that will be a story in itself.)

UPDATE: Gerald at The Cafeteria is Closed has an excellent roundup of coverage - from the WaPost at that! - of the Rainbow Sash at the Cathedral.