NEBRASKA
National Catholic Reporter
by Joshua J. McElwee | Nov. 10, 2012
Lincoln, Neb. —
The meeting doesn’t come across as anything abnormal.
Eleven people sit on couches and wooden chairs in a friend’s front room. The furnishings are typical, if a little orthodox. On one of the walls, painted a cool purple, hangs a painting of Mary and Jesus, Christ wearing a crown of thorns, blood flowing down his face.
As you enter, across from the doorway hangs a silver crucifix. It features an emaciated savior, a miniature replica of the style seen grasped by Blessed Pope John Paul II in photos from around the world.
These are not details that would immediately indicate that several people in the group have been deemed by their bishop to be excommunicated from the Catholic church.
The 11 in the room are members of Call To Action Nebraska, the state-level affiliate of the 25,000-member national church reform group. They come from each of the three dioceses of the wide state, marked by rolling hills in the east and the open fields of the plains to the west.
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