NEW ORLEANS (LA)
The Times-Picayune
By Theodore P. Mahne, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on June 13, 2014
There was a telling moment this week during the New Orleans gathering of the Roman Catholic bishops from across the United States, which hinted at the shift in tone among the leadership of the church.
The 250 bishops, archbishops and cardinals assembled at the Cabildo and on the slate walkway of Jackson Square leading to the St. Louis Cathedral on Wednesday afternoon. They were preparing to celebrate the official opening Mass for the annual spring meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Also on the plaza was a group of demonstrators, a not-uncommon sight whenever leaders of a faith, government or industry convene, usually amid chants shouted from behind police barricades.
This demonstration, however, was different. There was no police phalanx and no shouting. Consisting of about a dozen members, mostly middle-aged and older (like many of the bishops), the demonstrators quietly held up banners calling for the church to ordain women to the Catholic priesthood, a point of doctrine that popes have repeatedly said is unchangeable.
As the bishops prepared for the grand procession into the historic cathedral, several walked over to the crowd with smiles on their faces and hands outstretched. The discussions were necessarily brief, but friendly and dignified on both sides.
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