Dear Amy: I am a retired Catholic priest. For the most part, I have enjoyed these late-life years, especially as the pace of life has eased up. However, one difficulty I’ve encountered stems from my years in active ministry.
Washington
Advice | Ask Amy: Retired priest struggles with Catholic critique
This couple decided to stop attending church services. I felt this was their decision to make and have never criticized or judged them for it. However, invariably during our evenings together they steer the conversation to their gripes about the Catholic Church. I’ve gone so far as to meet privately with them, letting them know how uncomfortable I am with their behavior during something I consider an informal gathering of friends. All to no avail. I usually end up leaving these dinners feeling angry and depressed.
These folks have been great friends for many years, but I’m at my wits end trying to figure out how best to deal with the situation. Should I just give up and decline future invitations?
Father Confused: I can only imagine the pressure you might feel to always respond to uncomfortable situations in a way that basically protects others. Because you have retired from the formal part of ministry, it might not be necessary for you to be so discreet about your concerns when something bothers you. My point is that although you will always be a priest, you absolutely have the human right to react publicly to topics, behavior or comments that bother or offend you.
If this happens again at a social occasion, you can say a version of, “Naturally, this is a very difficult topic for me, but I realize that my presence seems to trigger a discussion about the failings of the institution I’ve devoted my life to. I’ve mentioned this privately but I understand now that bringing it up is just too tempting to avoid, so I’ll take this as my cue to say good night.” This is also an issue you might raise with your own pastoral counselor.
Dear Amy: Last year, I witnessed a tragic hit-and-run incident involving a car and a pedestrian. The pedestrian did not survive, and the incident deeply affected me. After learning the victim’s name through local press coverage, I engaged in a brief email exchange with the organizer of an online fundraiser for the person’s survivors. I’ve never met the deceased, but I’ve been seeking a deeper sense of closure and feel that paying my respects at their resting place would be meaningful. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to locate this information.
Considering the sensitivity of the matter and my limited connection to the victim, I wonder if it would be appropriate for me, a stranger, to ask the friend of the deceased who organized the fundraiser about the burial location. I am committed to approaching this with utmost respect for the feelings and privacy of those close to the victim. What is your advice?
Mourning: I can imagine the deep sadness and lingering confusion you might feel after witnessing this crime. I also appreciate your concern and your stated desire to be sensitive toward the survivors. As someone who has experienced the sudden, violent and traumatic loss of a family member, I would vote “no” on any stranger seeking out the gravesite, even someone with your compassionate and respectful intent.
However, there is no universal response to loss, and this victim’s family might feel and respond differently. Reach out to the person who organized the fundraiser, and prepare yourself to accept whatever answer comes your way. I strongly urge you to see a counselor specializing in trauma in order to continue to process the longer-term effect of witnessing this terrible event.
Dear Amy: “Looking” was frustrated by dating apps. I found it interesting that you didn’t suggest seeking the help of a matchmaker. I am in the process of getting certified; professional human matchmakers can help people the apps leave behind. I’ve been happily married to my loving husband for almost 31 years. We met in a karaoke bar. Ha!
Love Love: This would make a great Broadway musical.
© 2024 by Amy Dickinson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.
On September 11, 2025, after 11 years at the Washington Post as an editor and columnist, I was fired via email.
In the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk killing, I did what I have always done— and was expected to do — as a public voice and columnist on race, gender, and culture: I commented on America’s racial double standards in public discourse when it comes to political violence. You can read my posts below.
And then this post of mine:
The very next day, I was fired from my job at the Washington Post without so much as a conversation.
According to the termination letter from the Post, the company cited these two Bluesky posts, claimed that I disparaged white men, accused me of ‘gross misconduct’, and that my Bluesky posts “potentially endanger[ed] the physical safety of our staff”.
You can read the letter for yourself here.
In October, along with the Washington Post Guild and the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, we filed a grievance against the Post, challenging the termination.
So, I have some updates…
The arbitration hearing will be this Thursday, June 4, in Washington, D.C.
As the last remaining Black full-time staff columnist in the Washington Post’s Opinions section, I was very aware of what my firing represented for diversity in newsrooms.
While newsroom diversity is absolutely critical, it is not the only principle at stake. I am fighting for journalists’ rights to do their jobs, to comment on matters of public concern without fear of censorship, retaliation, or political pressure.
And this is a battle well worth having.
I am thankful for the support of the Washington Post Guild, my lawyers at the Washington Baltimore News Guild, as well as Norman Eisen and the legal support from the Democracy Defenders Fund.
And of course, I am deeply grateful to my readers, followers, friends, mentors, and the industry peers who have supported me throughout my career and through what has been one of the most personally and professionally challenging periods of my life.
The stakes are high, but I’m ready.
Let’s go.
-Karen
Jordan Selesnick won the Regional Championship at SCG CON Washington DC with Azorius Momo on Sunday.
Creatures (25)
Lands (21)
In a field packed with Izzet Prowess and Mono-Green Landfall, Selesnick put the power of Azorius Momo on display — proving the power of strong metagaming and mulligan decisions. Selesnick regularly dug for better opening hands in tight matchups, allowing his deck to have starts similar to those in Modern as opposed to Standard. After an 8-1 start on Day 1, Selesnick cruised to the No. 1 seed in the Top 8 with a record of 12-1-2.
Once in the Top 8, Selesnick only dropped a single game in route to a dominant performance. He defeated Stephen Snelson, on Izzet Spellementals, 2-1 in the quarters before clean 2-0 wins against Alexander Kans, on Selesnya Aggro, and Matt Xu, on Mono-Green Landfall.
Selesnick showed off both types of powerful draws the Momo deck can have in the finals, blinking a Quantum Riddler into play on Turn 2 in Game 1, and landing a copied Sage of the Skies on Turn 2 in Game 2. With the fast starts and utility offered from Starfield Shepherd, Selesnick had no problem navigating the mid-games for fast wins facing down strong starts from Xu.
Creatures (20)
Lands (26)
Selesnick took home $20,000 and the title of champion, while Xu earned $10,000. The Top 32 finishers earned invites to the upcoming Pro Tour in Amsterdam, though Selesnick and Xu also punched their tickets to the Magic World Championship.
Izzet Prowess made up almost 25 percent of the 1,198 players on Day 1, followed by Four-Color Control at 10 percent, thanks to its strong showing in the most recent Regional Championships. Mono-Green Landfall was next at just under nine percent, while Mardu Discard and Dimir Excruciator rounded out the Top 5 decks.
Day 2 consisted of 285 players that reached 18 match points on Day 1. See how the archetypes converted below.
View the Top 8 decklists from the Regional Championship. For all the decklists from the event and final standings check out the Melee page for the tournament.
SCG CON will be back in action next in Las Vegas on June 26-28.
LONGVIEW, Wash. (KPTV/Gray News) – Officials say they have found the remains and identified all of the missing workers following a chemical vat implosion at the Nippon Dynawave paper mill on Tuesday.
The Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office released the names of those killed, bringing the death toll to 11:
- 52-year-old Gilbert Bernal of Kelso, Oregon.
- 29-year-old Tyler Covington of Castle Rock, Oregon.
- 27-year-old Brad Covington of Castle Rock, Oregon.
- 48-year-old Robert Wilson of Clatskanie, Oregon.
- 54-year-old Dale Miller of Portland, Oregon.
- 35-year-old Jared Ammons of Longview, Washington.
- 38-year-old Braydon Finkas of Cathlamet, Washington.
- 26-year-old Clinton Doran of Kelso, Oregon.
- 51-year-old John Forsberg of Longview, Washington.
- 58-year-old Norman Barlow of Vancouver, Washington.
- Dillon Miller, taken to a Portland hospital; coroner has no other information.
Officials say a 900,000-gallon tank containing a highly destructive chemical called white liquor imploded at the facility just after 7:15 a.m.
Roughly 600,000 gallons of the substance rushed through work areas at the plant on Tuesday when the tank ruptured.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson called it “the deadliest industrial tragedy in modern Washington state history.”
Multiple people, including a firefighter, were injured and taken to area hospitals for treatment following the implosion. Some of those injured were also brought to the Oregon Burn Center.
Investigators were looking into what caused the tank to implode in the first place and whether there’s a risk of it happening again.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board said it would begin an investigation into the implosion after the recovery efforts are concluded.
Officials said some of the chemical had made its way into the Columbia River and they have received reports of dead fish near the site’s spillways.
The Washington State Department of Ecology and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were monitoring air and water quality and working to assess any other environmental impacts.
Copyright 2026 KPTV via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
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