We all know the commandment, "Honor thy father and mother." We've also been schooled to respect our elders. But we also know reality. Older people may have less energy than the young, but they have more resources, such as life experience.

I am Catholic deep in my heart, though I don't practice in the accepted ways. I know there are many like me, waiting for a community modeled on the community around Jesus, who, in my view, didn't intend to found a religion but to inspire a sane and beautiful way of life.

Clare, Lady Poverty has found a home in your simplicity. May you be held and protected in your golden silence. May your meditation touch the world. Mother Church needs you!

The structures of the Church at the Vatican levels are a tight knit and closed system, especially so when it comes to the transfer of power from one pope to the next. However, the process is not based on anything in the founding years of the Church.

We should look to the Second Vatican Council for guidance and wisdom as we seek to make our house a place where no door is ever locked, but only awaiting a knock.