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Bridget O’Brien

@bridgetemob.bsky.social
2K followers 445 following 7.8K posts

Philadelphian, Chicagoan, Catholic lay minister • she | her “And having answered so I turn once more to those who sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer and say to them:”

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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 4h
Honestly though Amen.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 4h
“Bless me Father for I have been an embarrassment. It’s been ___ since my last confession. Once in college I was on the phone with my roommate and at the end of the conversation I said, ‘Bye, love you,’ and it wasn’t a confession or anything; I just only ever talked to my parents on the phone.”
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 4h
They need to make a sacrament of reconciliation but instead of forgiving sins it’s forgiving the times you were an embarrassing dumbass. Like being publicly wrong about Nehemiah, or waving back at the person a block away who’s excited to see the woman 20 feet behind you.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 4h
Said something inaccurate about Nehemiah in a staff meeting this morning so that’s going to haunt me until the day I die. Did anyone comment on it or give any sign of recognizing that I was wrong? No. Will I ever again in my life be able to think about Nehemiah without burning shame? Also no!
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 8h
"The Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person, and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2267).
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 8h
"All Christians and people of good will are today called to work .. for the abolition of the death penalty, legal or illegal, in all its forms. ... Let us keep in mind that not even a murderer loses his personal dignity, and God himself pledges to guarantee this" (Francis, Fratelli tutti, 268-269).
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 8h
"In addressing some of the many grave violations of human dignity today, ... one should also mention the death penalty, for this also violates the inalienable dignity of every person, regardless of the circumstances" (Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Dignitas Infinita 34).
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 8h
"Dignity ... belongs to every human being simply by virtue of existing, of having been willed, created and loved by God. No sin, failure, humiliation or exclusion can diminish the profound value of a human life that God has willed and called into being" (Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas 52).
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Jonathan Heaps @jonathanrheaps.bsky.social · 9h
*staring at all my broken plates on the kitchen floor* The fault lies not in our shards, but in our shelves.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 9h
Yeah, the way that campus ministry at non-Catholic universities is run has shifted a lot in the past (10? 15? 20?) years.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 10h
I love Chicago desperately, but as someone who used to live in the Boston area, every year at Marathon time I think, "You call this a marathon? That's cute." I have never and will never run a marathon; anyone who runs even 20 feet of Chicago has done more than me. But.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 10h
I am incandescently angry at the thought of the men who make up Catholic campus ministry at Cornell publishing an 11-page "pastoral letter" in response to the crisis of sexual assault that seemingly fails to acknowledge ANY work by feminist theological ethicists. www.osvnews.com/cornell-cath...
osvnews.com
Cornell Catholic ministry calls on students to witness to faith amid university sexual assault case - OSV News
As Cornell University grapples with a high-profile sexual assault case, Catholic leaders on campus said they are responding with "prayer, pastoral care, and renewed commitment to the formation of Cath...
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 12h
EXACTLY.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 12h
Leo's insight here is correct: when someone says "Why read my baby a book when I can just make an AI clone of my voice and press play?," they are training themself not to see that child as a person worthy of attention. That is a tragedy.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 12h
"Reading stories to a child, offering company to an elderly person and arranging a home so that it is welcoming are simple gestures often rooted in family life. They teach us to value care at a societal level and train us to recognize others as persons worthy of attention" (Magnifica Humanitas 114).
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 13h
I very deeply know it is not good to become a person who responds to social problems by quoting popes at them, but leftishly but:
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 13h
Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put into my arm, and do not be unbelieving, but believe!
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 13h
Literally just came from leading a staff discussion of MH.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 13h
I'm so deeply bone-tired of seeing things like this and having the general response be to shrug and say, "Well yeah but it's HIM, what do you expect?"
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 13h
Ryan Burge's latest newsletter is about the size of the 100 largest United Methodist congregations in the US. These are SO wildly different across denominations.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 18h
Oh it’s ~so~ sweet when the mouth is closed AND YOU CAN’T SEE HIS WEAPONS.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
“I’m just a sweet cuddly friend who would never bite someone who sneezed; why would anyone want to murder ME?”
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
It only just tonight occurred to me that when my cat is a real jerk, I can in fact calmly say to him “I would like to murder you” and it will have no negative impact on him, because he is a cat and does not speak English.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Mine were boring (nothing that felt invasive to me) and basically correct, except that it misidentified a family member I buy gifts for as my own child.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
I’m not ready to draw any conclusions from this. But it was very obvious.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
I co-organized a day-long teach-in on Catholic solidarity with immigrants that took place this past Saturday. A noticeably significant majority of attendees (from college age to retiree) were women. I keep thinking about this.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Guys I hate the time of year that I don’t leave work until the sun has set.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
"board duties" -- it really did take me a moment to realize you meant that you are on the board and not that you are the designated cutting board crafter.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Higher ed institutions don’t have the freedom to act as quickly against perpetrators of sexual assault as they can against students who repeatedly violate alcohol policies. That is absurd; it’s also the direct result of federal policy.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Cornell absolutely deserves anger and criticism, but a lot of the coverage and response has ignored the ways the first Trump administration changed the Title IX process in ways that require universities to act in ways that are less supportive of survivors.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
It is!
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Anne M. Carpenter @catholickungfu.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Something that hasn't left my brain is a thing my colleague told me about St. Oscar Romero: for the disappearances, he created a legal aid office to just track as much info as they could, so that one day people could look back and figure out what happened. Proved invaluable.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Drafted & deleted a probably-ill-advised personal disclosure post, and instead I’ll say: If the coverage of Cornell brings up these sorts of memories for me, who has not experienced the worst forms of sexual assault, I am praying for all those who have experienced more violent forms of assault.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
“Advocacy for immigrants belongs to every single disciple of Jesus, and it is, in its truest sense, an act of divine worship.”
archchicago.org
Homily of Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, at Celebrating a City of Welcome, where Catholic Solidarity and the Journey of Migration Meet - Statement - Archdiocese of Chicago - AoC Portal
If you walk through the streets of Chicago, you hear the story of the entire world. You sense it in the rhythm of the ‘L” train, in the scents drifting from neighborhood bakeries, and in the languages...
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Amazing to think that “the majority often votes in ways that are unwise or morally bad” is a new challenge for democracy.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Facilitators: Sorry, we didn't realize there was a Catholic Edition, which is what we should have given you all! Book: HELLO YOU TYPE-A PAPIST.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Is this corporate seminar calling me a papist?
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
I had to do Gallup / Clifton / Whatever It Is Called Now Strengths for a work-related thing. They gave us a ~Christian ministry~-specific Strengths book that gives you scripture passages for each of your strengths. The first passage it gave me: James 2:14ff. That's great! I love James. But also:
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Congrats, Brendan.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
www.archchicago.org/en/statement...
archchicago.org
Homily of Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, at Celebrating a City of Welcome, where Catholic Solidarity and the Journey of Migration Meet - Statement - Archdiocese of Chicago - AoC Portal
If you walk through the streets of Chicago, you hear the story of the entire world. You sense it in the rhythm of the ‘L” train, in the scents drifting from neighborhood bakeries, and in the languages...
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
and be willing to advocate for those brothers and sisters who have walked thousands of miles just to find safety, shelter, and a future for their children.”
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
“As we raise our voices in prayer inside these walls, we must be in tune with the loud cries for justice in our streets and the quiet, heavy sighs of immigrant families,
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The Cardinal’s homily is VERY worth reading. “Let our North Star always be the firm conviction that our advocacy for immigrants belongs to every single disciple of Jesus, and it is, in its truest sense, an act of divine worship.”
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
And I’m grateful for the opportunity to be exhausted by good work. There are many ways mission-driven work can exploit people—but at heart, there IS something fundamentally human about work, and I am grateful to get to do human work with other humans in service to our siblings and our God.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I’m grateful to work somewhere that supports staff with strong maternity leave (it should be more; it should be national). I’m grateful for my two co-hosts, who are incredible women & ministers in Chicago. I’m grateful for the ~180 people who came. I’m grateful for the Cardinal’s powerful homily.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The church where I work co-hosted a teach-in today: “City of Welcome: Catholic Solidarity and the Journey of Migration.” I went from supporting the work of one of my team members on this to serving as our site’s host due to my team member’s maternity leave, and I am so exhausted & so grateful.
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Jonathan Heaps @jonathanrheaps.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
How many local models hath the Pope?
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Rich Raho @richraho.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
“Advocacy for immigrants belongs to every single disciple of Jesus, and it is, in its truest sense, an act of divine worship.” - Cardinal Cupich
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Texts from friends.
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Bridget O’Brien @bridgetemob.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
This is not an apologia for Olah, whom I absolutely read with suspicion. But let's ground our responses in accurate reading, please.
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