I can explain the loud explosion followed by the sound of a moist splat this morning at approximately 11:00 AM Eastern Time. That was the sound of my brain exploding out of my skull when I read what John L. Allen reported from the Synod of Bishops in Rome.
The pressure started to build as I read Bishop Salvatore Fisichella's comments about Christianity being a "religion of the Word" as opposed to a "religion of the Book." And then, instead of switching screens to feed my virtual goldfish, I kept reading down to the very last bullet point wherein Bishop Filippo Santoro of Brazil is reported as having raised the "issue" of Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist. Here's what he has to say about us:
"by themselves, and in themselves, [they] do not arouse an encounter with Christ, [but rather] can end up exacerbating the bureaucratization of the church."Oh really? So much for seeing Christ in one another. I guess this means holding and distributing the Eucharist doesn't count either. Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison.
