In anticipation of Joan Chittister’s DOR speaking engagement on June 25, here are two of her “theological” insights:

Dogmatism will always get you there. Ask a Catholic. We’ve been there. We do it well. It was dogmatism that split us in the first place in the 16th century. It’s dogmatism, this whole notion that there is a truth–one eternal and unquestionable truth. This means that we have to close our mind to whatever the Holy Spirit, whatever the impulses of a creating God is creating.

But I do not believe that just because you’re opposed to abortion, that makes you “pro-life”. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking. If all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed and why would I think that you don’t? Because you don’t want any tax money to go there. That’s not “pro-life.” That’s pro-birth. We need a much broader conversation on what the morality of pro-life is.

I didn’t know that my morality is deeply lacking for opposing the killing of children. Or that it was dogmatism that caused the Protestant revolution.

And, of course, truth can’t be eternal and unquestionable. Especially if you’re a famous dissenter.