I just had the opportunity to hear former Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend speak about her compelling new book, Failing America’s Faithful: How today’s churches are mixing God with politics and losing their way. (More is at http://www.kathleenkennedytownsend.com.) People who recall hearing her on the 2002 gubernatorial campaign would be surprised with her ease at addressing her vision for repairing the world in a life outside of politics.

She believes that the church has failed America. She does not discriminate when it comes to churches. Rather, she’s talking about all of Christianity. When there are millions of poor and needy Americans, right- wing churches are focused on dividing this great nation with peripheral issues such as abortion and gay rights rather than fighting to help those left behind.

She does not just target those conservative churches. She is essentially pushing for an overall reformation to focus attention on more important social issues at time when she believes the “Catholic church is afraid of women.”

As the eldest daughter of the late Sen. Robert Kennedy says, “Churches have become more concerned with what people do with their bodies than they do with their souls.”

After her talk, KKT signed my book with a question: “Why can’t the Christian’s be more like the Jews?”  I proudly accepted her book.

She was referring the Jewish edict of tikkun olam, or repairing the world. She wants the church to focus on the calling to help its neighbors with the Jewish ideal of social justice.

Coincidently, Conservative Judaism made an historic announcement this week that they will ordain gay rabbis. http://www.jtsa.edu/cjls/eisenletter.shtml.  It was only this past December that – with no small amount of controversy—they agreed to allow their rabbis to officiate gay wedding ceremonies.

This is further evidence for me that Judaism, despite its roots in a more than 3,500-year-old code, continues to grow and evolve. While the Reform and Conservative movements may bend, they don’t break.  Those movements make Judaism relevant to so many of us today while still wrestling to conform with a set of laws that God imposed upon us through Moses. Likewise, we respect Orthodox Judaism. In short, we’re all still part of one community with one general set of goals.

The Catholic Church with all its tzuris of late could use a little reformation itself. Hopefully KKT’s vision will be realized and the Church can emulate the good aspects of Judaism.

It’s a curiousity how Kathleen Kennedy feels that the Catholic Church fears women, whereas Judaism did not even allow females to study the Torah. It had little to do with fear, and plenty to do with discrimination. Women were not valued or welcomed to share in the Torah’s offerings.I know Jewish women in their 70’s who didn’t experience a bat mitzvah until much later in life. Many of them are disengaged participants in the temple;  never having been encouraged to nurture a deep spiritual life.

A former Jew converted to Christianity, Geraldine Wolf, is the beloved Bishop of Rhode Island’s Episcopalian church. In Christianity she was favored by a prestigious and holy appointment, for which her flock is grateful. The Jewish Temple is made more complete by female Rabbi’s.

Maryland’s Cardinal Keeler believes in a strong relationship with Jews, but he is firmly rooted in his faith and doctrine. Change does not come easily and homophobia exists in spite of leaps of faith.

My, how the mighty have fallen. For her to marginalize issues such as abortion shows how out of touch she really is.