This dissertation examines the encounter of a large cadre of 103 Roman Catholic priests from Ireland and their Mexican parishioners. Scholars have not explored this rich historical juncture. This is the first study to do so. Primary and secondary sources, as well as numerous oral history interviews provide the evidence that supports the thesis that the Irish priests and the Mexican people shared something of a common consciousness, resulting from similar histories, worldviews, and cultural values. This counters the prevailing scholarly opinion which excoriates Euroamerican churchmen of that time for misunderstanding and neglecting their Hispanic flock. Standing apart in this respect, most priests from Ireland--unlike clergy from other backgrounds-- were sympathetic to folk traditions and experienced a synergy with Mexican people which enabled them to adapt and learn from Hispanic communities.
Yet for all that Irish priests and Mexicans shared in common, these pastors failed to see or at least address the social, economic, and ecclesiastical discrimination which Mexicans daily experienced or challenge the systems which kept them subservient. Paradoxically, these clergy accepted Mexican people, but they also accepted the racist structures which marginalized them.
This historical moment is unique for two reasons. In the mid-twentieth century Irish-born priests were ubiquitous and constituted the largest number of Catholic missionaries in the world. Today there are scarcely enough priests to supply the parishes of Ireland. Similarly, in the mid- twentieth century Mexicanos and Mexican Americans were almost without exception Catholic.
Today this can no longer be taken for granted. These shifts presage the end of an era for the Church in Arizona. Nationally, they correspond to the denouement of long-standing U.S. Irish ecclesiastical establishment and herald the ascendancy of an Hispanic Catholic Church.
In reconstructing this history salient themes emerge: ethnicity, religion (official/popular), power relations, prejudice/discrimination, and the discovery of common ground amid differences. This matrix gives rise to a complex crisscrossing of trajectories of Catholics and Protestants (in society), Irish and Mexican Catholics (in the church), priest and parishioners (in the parish). It holds lessons for the future.
Inside of evangelicalism, there are many young adults frustrated with dating. Generally, they are taught to go to the Bible for answers. However, when they find no explicit roadmap to figure out how to get to marriage, they are left confounded in their romantic pursuits. How is one supposed to figure out if they are ready to marry, and how shall they know when they find someone they should consider for marriage? And who gets to speak into these habits and the beliefs that undergird their outworking? This paper explores such questions through interviews with couples, both dating and married. The interviews are compared and contrasted. The patterns that emerge from each interview are put into conversation with the other interviews. The findings expound on the overlap of the interviews and note degrees of resonance and dissonance between them. The implications of the themes are then outlined, best practices for the premarital experience are briefly noted, and areas for further study are identified.
In 2010, the Catholic Church excommunicated Margaret McBride, a nun and ethics board member at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona. McBride was excommunicated latae sententiae, or automatically, for approving a therapeutic abortion, which is an abortion that is required to save a pregnant woman’s life. McBride approved an abortion for a woman who was twenty-seven years old, eleven weeks pregnant with her fifth child, and suffered from pulmonary hypertension, a life-threatening condition during pregnancy. Following McBride’s decision, St. Joseph’s lost its affiliation with the Catholic Church, which it had maintained since the late 1800s. Affiliation with the Catholic Church required that the hospital abide by Canon Law, which is the law of the Catholic Church. Under Canon Law, abortion is serious wrongdoing that could result in excommunication, as it did in the case of McBride. McBride’s excommunication illustrated the impact that affiliation of Catholicism with hospitals had on patients’ ability to receive comprehensive reproductive health care.
This paper lays the groundwork for future research while exploring the landscape of the organ’s possible secular uses. The organ’s relationship to secularization is defined through the interdisciplinary lens of secular studies, bolstered through an exploration of its past. This thesis analyzes the use of the organ in secularized churches in the United States through case studies of fourteen organs in thirteen former churches. While these examples reveal some promising adaptive reuses of church buildings and their organs, the prevailing conclusion is that the instrument’s future is severely endangered. There are few paid secular positions and insignificant educational opportunities that stem from secularized churches. The public lacks exposure to the instrument because of the infrequency of organ-related events.
Yet because the organ’s principal aesthetic is not Christian but communal, the instrument has the potential to thrive in secular contexts. This reframing and often literal repositioning requires stronger leadership: organizations and individuals promoting the organ must be proactive in working with the new owners of secularized churches to help them incorporate the instrument in new, revitalized contexts. A dynamic future for the organ requires the creative work of many.