Cincinnati, Ohio, where I grew up, is a very Catholic city. Or at least, it has been. But while I was being raised in a Catholic family, attending Catholic schools, playing Catholic sports, and hanging out with Catholic friends, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati was experiencing severe setbacks. Its challenges have only increased in recent years, as the number of priests and parishioners has declined.
This decline was severe enough that, two years ago, the archdiocese launched a program called “Beacons of Light” that entailed a large-scale restructuring of church life throughout the area under archdiocesan jurisdiction. After initial research and planning phases, the program went into effect earlier this year.
I explore all of this in an essay (see subscription info below) for the most recent issue of the Lamp. A new publication with a decidedly Catholic aesthetic, the Lamp is a welcome addition to the ranks of arts and letters. Its output thus far has been both thoroughly enjoyable and reliably unpredictable, running the gamut from Italian political philosopher Giorgio Agamben’s reflections on how Covid lockdown measures may have initiated a new form of biopolitics to a symposium on hell that included entries from both Tucker Carlson and Bill Kristol — and plenty more in between. You never know exactly what you’ll get in an issue of the Lamp, other than that you’ll come away from it aesthetically and spiritually enriched.
My essay for the Lamp provides background on the context that made Beacons of Light necessary, assesses its logistical implications, and attempts to identify what has led the Archdiocese of Cincinnati to its current state. I also mix in historical information about Catholicism in Cincinnati (legend has it that the first McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish was made there, as Lenten meal) and personal reflections that arise from the realization that the Catholic upbringing I thought was completely normal may now become more of a counterculture.
But it’s not all pessimism. Despite the challenges the archdiocese faces, I believe that it has plenty of strength for internal renewal. There are already signs of this, in fact, in rising generations of young, serious priests and in the large families that populate faithful churches.
At any rate, please subscribe to the Lamp to read my essay in full. You won’t regret it. (Especially if you snag one of its ongoing deals.)