It dominated the world's attention in 2003. How it will end has yet to be determined. U.S. President George W. Bush urged the invasion and liberation of Iraq as a necessary war — against the opposition of Pope John Paul II, nearly all bishops, most theologians and the leading nations of the world. British Prime Minister Tony Blair joined him with great willpower despite grave political damage at home.
The two leaders warned of weapons of mass destruction; where have these weapons gone? Did we attack too late or too early? They warned about al-Qaida; so far strong ties have not been established. Much has gone well in Iraq — there are new liberties, new opportunities, the brutal tyrant Saddam Hussein was thrown down from his throne and some bishops report life is easier for the Church in Iraq now.
To commemorate Jan. 1, when the Pope delivers his World Day of Peace message, the Register asked several experts to look at the decision to go to war and answer a few questions with the benefit of hindsight: Was it just? Was it prudent? Was it necessary? Did it help secure the peace or end it?
Edited by John Zmirak
A Clear and Present Conjecture
In leading the United States into war in Iraq, I do not believe our government lied — about weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein's supposed link to al-Qaida or anything else. Nevertheless, our top people — starting with the president — wanted a war to overthrow Saddam so badly that they put much more weight on the evidence than it could bear.
In some ways I don't blame them. Although I opposed the war, I also took for granted the existence of the weapons of mass destruction. But I reasoned that weapons of mass destruction were Saddam's version of a deterrent and, as such, not a threat unless he was attacked. That made them an argument against war.
Administration officials now defend their decision on the basis of what Saddam might have done at some point in the future if we hadn't moved against him. That way of arguing is much too conjectural when the question is the morality of a war.
Nation A isn't entitled to attack Nation B on the basis of what A thinks B might possibly do somewhere down the line. A “just war” requires a clear, demonstrable, proximate threat. There was none in Iraq. Church people who strenuously defended the morality of going to war should be voicing regrets at having been so self-confidently wrong on that crucial point.
Of course, the war had other objectives, too: overthrowing an evil tyrant and thereby setting the stage for a peaceful, democratic Middle East.
These were and are desirable outcomes. But neither is of the kind recognized in classical just-war theory, although someone might plausibly argue that they ought to be. And a stable, democratic Middle East is nowhere now in sight. Will it arise? Come back in a decade. By then we might know if the war helped or hurt.
Because we were mistaken to go into Iraq, it doesn't follow that we ought to get out. Cutting and running would do immense harm, not least to Iraqis who've chosen to cooperate with us. The United States is morally obliged to try to set things right. How long that will take and at how great a cost in lives and treasure are anybody's guess.
Russell Shaw is a writer and journalist in Washington, D.C.
Augustine and Aquinas Supported Preventative War
The war against terrorism is not solely a philosophical issue for me. My son-in-law, a young man I admire greatly, is a Marine lieutenant who spent several months in Iraq this year and is likely to do so again next year. So like many Americans today, I also have some personal interest in what transpires in the Middle East.
Yet for all the daily risks and continuing debates about going to war, I still believe President Bush made the right decision. Our inability to find weapons of mass destruction to date is troubling. But Iraq seems so systematically cleansed of these devices, which a year ago everyone — including the French, German and other opponents of the war — agreed Saddam Hussein had in large numbers, that for me the failure of the search is like the dog that didn't bark. Something is very fishy, even if the Bush administration might have misused intelligence to make its case.
Saddam was willing to face war, which has led to the demise of thousands of ordinary Iraqis, his two sons, many coalition forces and his very regime. I find it hard to believe he deliberately played with U.N. inspectors for no reason. Someday we might know what those reasons were and where the weapons went.
Just a few weeks ago Tariq Aziz, that good Catholic boy who lied for Saddam in various high posts, revealed to interrogators that Saddam told him to go ahead with developing long-range missiles. Perhaps lying again now to protect himself, Aziz claims he warned Saddam that U.N. sanctions did not permit it. Saddam, he now says, overruled him, arguing that long-range missiles were fine as long as they didn't carry weapons of mass destruction. Oh, and Aziz says, Saddam had been assured by scientists that chemical and biological programs could be quickly reconstituted.
It might be a sad fact that feints and jabs like these led to war, but in the terror climate in which we now exist, we should be clear where the responsibility lies.
The world wants to see the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, particularly in the hands of states with track records of using them, such as Saddam's Iraq. For all the Catholic talk of last resort and the “presumption against war” in recent decades, a fuller reading of the just-war tradition shows that figures such as Augustine, Aquinas and Vitoria allowed for bellum offensivum (offensive war) and preventive action — in limited conditions — to punish, deter and sometimes prevent known malefactors. In fact, they argued such wars might be the sovereign's duty as protector of innocent life.
The Middle East might be for the moment more unstable, but the “stability” of recent decades was rotten and needed strong measures beyond the dialogue and diplomacy that have failed to produce any lasting results in the past.
Dictators around the world now know there could be a sharp price for flouting international agreements, not merely years of windy U.N. Security Council debates over what threatening powers might or might not possess in the way of weapons of mass destruction and what measures might be taken. Developing prohibited weapons now puts you in the crosshairs.
We might wish the global situation were different, and we might wish we had other means available for dealing with it. No good alternatives existed before we liberated Iraq and none have emerged since. The road ahead is still hard and we might fail. But we have tried to produce change on a scale that at least has a chance of meeting the threat.
Robert Royal is president of the Faith & Reason Institute in Washington, D.C.
Ignoring Just-War Teaching
I was a (tentative) supporter of the war in Iraq, because I feared Saddam Hussein might give weapons of mass destruction to a terrorist organization for use on an American city.
These fears were stoked by statements from Vice President Dick Cheney: “Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.” See also former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer: “We know for a fact that there are weapons there.”
I accepted the administration's absolute certitude that the weapons were there. In a nuclear age, this meant to my mind that the war met the following crucial criterion of just-war teaching: The damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave and certain.
But the weapons the administration assured us were there have never been found. And now, weirdly, defenders of the war indignantly deny the administration ever portrayed the threat in Iraq as imminent. Yet these defenders seem to overlook the fact that in deflecting the “imminence” claim, they effectively insist the threat we faced was neither grave nor certain.
Another dictum of just-war teaching: All other means of putting an end to the danger must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective. The New York Times reported on Nov. 6 that Iraq tried to cut a deal with the United States before the war to admit all arms inspectors and prove to the United States that no such weapons were present. We ignored the offer. So much for war as last resort.
“Yes,” war supporters say, “but Saddam did violate U.N. Resolution 1441.”
To which I reply: The United Nations itself wanted inspections, not war, to deal with Saddam. If we're invoking the United Nations as the “competent authority” and granting its judgments the force of law, then by what logic do we flout its authority ourselves? And if we can do that, why can't Iraq?
Finally, just-war doctrine says the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. Of course, we can't know the future. But given that most of the Islamic world sees man's relationship with God as that of master and slave — and, unsurprisingly, gives birth to fanatics and despots from Iran to Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia to Algeria — the postwar Iraqi chaos is at least as likely to breed a new Islamic theocracy as a constitutional republic.
So I find that for many war supporters just-war criteria don't seem to matter. No, the threat was not grave or certain, as war supporters themselves now insist. Nor was war the last resort. Nor are appeals to the United Nations coherent when they simultaneously invoke and despise its authority.
No, what matters is that we won. We removed a tyrant — and the end justifies the means.
Doesn't it?
What happens when China decides Taiwan is an “imminent threat,” or North Korea decrees that South Koreans must be “liberated?” With international law and just-war principles thrown away, we'll have nothing to answer these situations but naked force. I fear we have cut down all the laws to get at the devil — and we will soon have to face him.
Mark Shea (www.markshea.blogspot.com) is senior content editor for CatholicExchange.com.
Grandiose Goals Gone Sour
“Even when men are plotting to disturb the peace, it is merely to fashion a new peace nearer to the heart's desire. … It is not that they love peace less, but that they love their kind of peace more. ….. When [men] go to war, what they want is to impose on their enemies the victor's will and call it peace” (St. Augustine, The City of God).
The Bush administration's foreign-policy team invaded Iraq to impose their “kind of peace” upon the Middle East. By overthrowing Saddam Hussein's brutal regime, they expected to accomplish great things: 1) create a model Arab democracy in Iraq its neighbors would emulate; 2) deter any hostile regime from acquiring atomic weapons; 3) ease Israel's terrorism problem by overthrowing a dangerous enemy; and 4) guarantee the United States and its allies a reliable oil supply, allowing us to end our dependence on unstable Saudi Arabia.
Alas, none of these grandiose goals appear near to accomplishment. Baghdad in 2003 is a far cry from Philadelphia in 1787.
Although their land was “the cradle of civilization” 6,000 years ago, post-invasion Iraqis seem little interested in dialoguing about democratic institutions. While genuinely relieved to be rid of Saddam's regime, Iraqis are not gratefully accepting moral and constitutional instruction from us. They respect our firepower but not our way of life.
Iraqi conventional military resistance collapsed in late April 2003. However, the American “victor's will” has not yet brought a better peace. Guerrilla war waged since President Bush officially announced victory May 1 has accounted for more than two-thirds of American troop casualties, now totaling more than 9,000 dead, wounded and medically evacuated. There are enough American troops in Iraq to form a large target for attack but not enough to impose order.
A year ago, Bush's advisers assured him confidently that Iraqis would welcome American and allied troops as liberators. Military victory would “transform the Middle East” by overawing its neighbors with American firepower. Victory over Iraq would make our way of life irresistible to the Arabs. They would then abandon their “backward” Muslim traditions and habits. Our zealous democratic imperialists shrugged off Pope John Paul II's fervent warning that an Iraqi invasion might trigger a war of civilizations between Islamic and Western peoples.
Although our Iraq conquest turned sour, we can thank God that no general war between Islam and the West has yet broken out. Bush's advisers urge him to deepen and widen the war. Democratic opponents and hostile European allies demand he do public penance for sinfully invading Iraq.
Bush should ignore those zealous alternatives and adopt an Augustinian approach. First, recognize that military power by itself cannot transform a country. Second, announce that American troops will withdraw by a fixed date. Third, allow an Iraqi provisional regime under U.N. auspices to assume power. This policy will allow us to salvage “a better peace” for both Iraq and America.
Yes, we removed a dangerous dictator. But Saddam's capture will not render the Iraqi resistance any less lethal or determined. It's time to hand over authority to a U.N. command and pull out.
Christopher M. Gray is a contributing editor of ORBIS, the journal of the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
The Fruit Is Liberation
Was Operation Iraqi Freedom a “just war”? The vast majority of 25 million liberated Iraqis would say Yes.
Speaking at the United Nations on Dec. 17, Iraq's foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari said: “The United Nations … failed to help rescue the Iraqi people from a murderous tyranny that lasted over 35 years, and today we are unearthing thousands of victims in horrifying testament to that failure.”
The Chaldean Catholic bishop of Kirkuk, Louis Sako, said in November “the fruit [of the war] is, in fact, liberation.”
This war was morally justified for many of the same reasons that compelled President George H.W. Bush to liberate Kuwait in 1991. If that war was morally justifiable, so too was the effort to enforce the terms of its cessation.
For 12 years, the United States and the United Nations waited for Iraq to comply with the cease-fire it had accepted to end the Gulf War in 1991. Without Iraq's compliance, the war was not really over, nor could real stability be achieved — witness the continued brutality toward the people of Iraq, threats to neighboring countries and constant attacks on coalition aircraft.
Iraq was in breach of 17 U.N. Security Council resolutions designed to keep it from becoming a threat. Iraq remained a state sponsor of terrorism (even attempting to assassinate a former U.S. president) and a murderous totalitarian regime.
Last year, President George W. Bush said the United Nations’ viability and credibility were at stake if it failed to enforce the resolutions Saddam Hussein routinely flouted. The moral force of the international community — a vital principle of international order — was at risk. Surely this is a “just cause” according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “The damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations [is] lasting, grave and certain.”
Opponents to the war assert that Iraq did not present an imminent danger to America. Just-war teaching, however, does not demand that one be in imminent danger before taking action.
The horrible slaughter of Sept. 11, 2001, shows that to wait for a threat to become imminent is to wait too long. Bush made clear that our purpose was to prevent the development of an imminent threat from Iraq.
One might legitimately undertake a whole host of actions, including military ones, to ensure that one's existence is not, in fact, threatened. It is highly irresponsible and immoral to allow conditions to degenerate to the point where one's very survival is imperiled and to take action only then — when it might be too late.
This necessary and just war will prevent the wars that would most likely have resulted from our failure to act — wars spurred on by the perception of our enemies and their terrorist allies that neither the United Nations nor the United States was willing to enforce a morally legitimate international order.
The war addressed a great evil that could not be removed by any other means. The force used was proportionate. The speed and precision with which this war was fought undoubtedly saved countless lives on both sides. The professionalism, courage and compassion of our forces exemplified the conduct of a just war.
With more than 260 mass graves found so far, how could one look an Iraqi in the face and tell him it was “immoral” for the United States and coalition forces to remove Saddam?
Robert R. Reilly served as senior adviser to the Ministry of Information in Iraq and is a former director of the Voice of America.
----- EXCERPT: A REGISTER SYMPOSIUM ----- EXTENDED BODY: John Zmirak & Russell Shaw & Robert Royal & Mark Shea & Christopher M. Gray & Robert R. Reilly ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: New Jersey Closning Bill:Worst in The World? DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:TRENTON, N.J. — Right before Christmas, by a vote of 41-31, the New Jersey Senate passed the nation's most liberal human-cloning bill.
Masked as a cloning “prohibition” bill, the legislation would in fact make it legal to clone a human embryo and implant an embryo in a womb — so long as the clone would be killed and his or her parts used in the pursuit of medical “progress.”
“This bill is not about curing people, this bill is about big special-interest groups giving big financial contributions to legislators to do their bidding,” New Jersey Right to Life Committee's public and legislative affairs director, Marie Tasy, said of the legislation.
Gov. James McGreevey has promised to sign the bill into law.
The legislation caught the attention of the U.S. bishops. Spokesman Richard Doerflinger called the legislation “deeply disturbing” and more extreme than any other cloning law in the nation, including the human embryonic cloning-for-research legislation passed in California in 2002.
As Wesley Smith, author of The Culture of Death, has spelled out, the bill's “terms would make it legal in New Jersey to create a human cloned embryo, implant it in a willing woman's womb, gestate it through the ninth month and only require that the cloned fetus be killed before it becomes a ‘new human individual,’ e.g., at the very point of birth. This means that [the] law would expressly permit implantation and gestation for any amount of time before the cloned fetus becomes a ‘new human individual’!”
That's why the opponents of the bill, now passed by both houses of the New Jersey Legislature, have dubbed it a “clone-and-kill” bill.
In a December letter to McGreevey, three Republican members of the New Jersey U.S. congressional delegation — Reps. Chris Smith, Mike Ferguson and Scott Garrett — called the bill the “most extreme and ethically flawed pro-cloning legislation in the country.”
The congressmen wrote: “This legislation will launch New Jersey blindly into the vanguard of terrible human-rights violations and grisly human experimentation. We are literally facing the prospect of creating a human clone and implanting this cloned baby into a woman's womb. Once this happens, nothing can stop the world's first human clone from being born and starting a horrible new era of human history.”
‘Science Prevails’
The fight over the bill was a yearlong process — the state Senate passed the legislation about a year before the assembly passed it Dec. 15.
Despite the unprecedented nature of the bill, the fight put pro-lifers and other anti-cloning politicians on the losing side of an emotional debate. The bill's sponsors and supporters brought in paralyzed actor Christopher Reeve to testify in support of the bill and used the names of Republicans Orrin Hatch and Nancy Reagan, who both support therapeutic cloning — though neither weighed in on this specific bill — to get Republicans to support the bill. Though no Republicans voted against the bill in the state Senate last year, only one voted for it in the Senate earlier this month.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for New Jersey to show the rest of the world that we intend to promote medical progress rather than stifle it,” Richard Codey, one of the state Senate's Democratic leaders, told the New York Times after the vote. “In the end, truth and science have prevailed.”
Democratic assemblyman Neil Cohen told his colleagues the cloning bill “is not the most significant law we'll write this session — but this century.”
Gerard Bradley, a constitutional-law professor at the University of Notre Dame, agrees that the legislation is monumental.
He's warned its effects promise to be “breathtaking, unprecedented and widely regarded as morally disastrous. These effects include, most notably, a commercial market in the body parts of fetuses and the birth of an unlimited number of ‘cloned’ babies.”
New Jersey's Catholic bishops strongly opposed the legislation, saying the only way to obtain embryonic stem cells for research “is to kill the living human embryo.”
“We believe it is more important than ever to stand for the principle that government must not treat any living human being as research material, as a mere means for benefit to others,” the bishops said in a joint statement last February, when the bill had passed in the Senate but was still pending in the Assembly.
“We support research on adult stem cells,” they said. “Adult stem cells come from adult tissue, placentas or umbilical-cord blood and can be retrieved without harming the donor.”
“Not only do the creation and destruction of human embryonic stem cells violate the sanctity of human life, but they also violate a central tenet of all civilized codes on human experimentation beginning with the Nuremberg Code,” they added. “In effect, these acts approve doing deadly harm to a member of the human species solely for the sake of potential benefit to others.”
Doerflinger, deputy director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities objected to the legislation's regulation of payments for the use or transfer of “embryonic or cadaveric fetal tissue for research purposes pursuant to this act.” He sad this clearly extended its sweep beyond cloning of human embryos solely to harvest their stem cells while they are still in an embryonic stage.
“This confirms that the bill is intended to allow creating and aborting fetal humans to obtain their tissue, specifically their stem cells,” he said.
Doerflinger criticized the legislation's treatment of “valuable consideration” paid for embryonic or fetal tissues. The language mirrors federal law in allowing service fees while banning the outright buying and selling of such tissues, he said.
Paying for Parts
He added, however, that experience with the existing federal law on fetal tissues has shown that fetal-tissue traffickers “have been able to advertise the availability of various fetal organs and tissues for pay, publish price lists for different body parts or even intact fetuses, and in brief do everything involved in selling such organs and tissues as long as they call it a ‘fee’ for services instead of a sale price.”
Meanwhile, a Massachusetts company said Dec. 16 it has succeeded in cloning an embryonic unborn child but was able to repeat the process. Advanced Cell Technology said it was able to grow unborn children to the 100-cell blastocyst stage using a process called parthenogenesis, which uses only a human egg but no sperm. The company would use the unborn child, which they don't think will grow to term, as a source of stem cells for treating disease.
And the Diocese of Wilmington, Del., is launching a major grass-roots effort to enlist Delaware residents to defeat a state bill that would permit the cloning of human embryos for use in bio-medical and agricultural research.
In January 2002, President George W. Bush asked Congress to pass a federal ban on all human cloning. Different versions of a ban are currently under consideration, leaving Congress in a stalemate on the issue.
Cloning opponents hope the 2004 elections will make passage of a complete ban more possible come 2005.
Kathryn Jean Lopez is the editor of National Review Online.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Kathryn Jean Lopez ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Killer Compassion DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:SOMERSET, N.J. — Father Florian Gall's friends grieved when he died of cardiac arrest in a New Jersey hospital earlier this year.
They're grieving again after news reports that Father Gall, the 68-year-old episcopal vicar for Hunterdon County in the Diocese of Metuchen, N.J., might have been murdered.
Laboratory tests show the heart medication digoxin was used in a potentially lethal dose in an “unauthorized external administration of the drug, probably either by injection or drip-bag,” the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office said. Digoxin is used to regulate the heart rate by slowing the pulse.
A 43-year-old nurse, Charles Cullen, has confessed to killing as many as 40 patients during his almost 20-year nursing career. In talking to law-enforcement authorities, Cullen admitted to being guilty of killing many critically ill patients to put them out of their misery, according to media reports.
When he heard the news that his friend, who was the longtime pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Whitehouse Station, N.J., had been murdered, Father Douglas Haefner's first reaction was anger.
“He was a very good priest,” said Father Haefner, the pastor at St. Matthias Church in Somerset, N.J. “He was, in the best sense of the word, holy. He was a well-integrated man. Prayerful. The Eucharist was the main focus of his life and spirituality.”
He was also a shy man who didn't hold grudges, Father Haefner said.
“I think Florian would want to see justice served in this case,” he said, “to punish the crime but to forgive the sinner. He would truly be a man of the Gospel.”
Cullen is being held in a psychiatric hospital near Trenton, N.J., while investigators in Pennsylvania, where Cullen also worked, and in New Jersey were evaluating his claims and re-examining the deaths of patients in the medical facilities that employed and often fired him.
“There is something wrong with a belief system and a society that says that the way you eliminate suffering is to eliminate the one who suffers, the sufferer,” said Sister Patricia Talone, a moral theologian and the vice president of Mission Services for the Catholic Health Association of the United States.
Suffering
Dr. Michael Brescia is the executive medical director of Calvary Hospital in the Bronx, N.Y., which takes care of cancer patients near-ing the end of their lives. He views suffering — and the one who suffers — in a way quite different from Cullen.
“I have patients who no have faces,” he said. “It's as if a bomb blew up their face. The tumor has taken away their face. It's disfigured. They're in agony.”
He said oftentimes the patient wants to die. There's also a constant battle with the insurance companies to beg them for the money to continue caring for the patients, he said.
“Culturally, this is what the Pope meant when he talked about there [being] a culture of death,” Brescia said. “Whenever things get very tough, very difficult, when the solutions seem very hard, when it's economically difficult, then you choose the easy route.”
But at Calvary Hospital there's a different culture at work — a culture of love, he said.
“We believe that no one has the power to kill someone because they're suffering,” Brescia said. “What we choose, rather than euthanasia or assisted suicide, is love. We believe that if you love your patients enough you can relieve their suffering by having competent, courageous and compassionate staff — not to unnecessarily and purposely prolong suffering but rather to treat it in a way in which the patient, the individual, does not suffer.”
“The problem,” he continued, “is that some people are misguided. When they see someone suffering, rather than taking the route of love, they take the route of death. They choose death over love.”
Brescia's philosophy is in tune with Catholic theology. According to the U.S. bishops’ “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services,” life is “a precious gift from God,” and humans “are not the owners of our lives and hence do not have absolute power over life. We have a duty to preserve our life. … Suicide and euthanasia are never morally acceptable options.”
Conventual Franciscan Father Germain Kopaczynski, the director of education at the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Boston, said many physicians today do not even take the Hippo-cratic oath, which offers an ideal of how doctors should treat patients.
The center has come up with its version of the oath, which includes a passage that prohibits the administering of a lethal dose of medicine — even if a patient asks for it — or performing or omitting any act with the “direct intent to end a human life.”
“The Hippocratic oath has nothing to do with the Christian religion and has everything to do with human reason, coming to a conclusion that killing people, whether at the beginning of life or at the end of life, is unacceptable in a truly human society,” Father Kopaczynski said. “And of course we've lost sight of that once we let in the floodgates of abortion. We had to expect that we would want to kill at the end as well as in the beginning and pretty soon it will be in the middle, too.”
The majority of nurses are respectful of life and of people, said Diana Newman, the past president of the National Association of Catholic Nurses. But sometimes there are people who “buy into” killing someone else as a way to assist them, she said.
“Unfortunately, it's just the devaluation of life,” she said, adding that people sometimes take the view that they're in charge of life and not God. “That's an unfortunate point of view, which can infiltrate our profession.”
Carlos Briceno writes from Seminole, Florida.
----- EXCERPT: The Death of Father Gall And 40 Others ----- EXTENDED BODY: Carlos Briceno ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Getting Iraqis Back on Their Feet DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:Frank O'Farrell, a specialist with the U.S. Army Reserve's 411th Civil Affairs Battalion, has been stationed in Baghdad since March.
As a business manager in civilian life, Frank O'Farrell's skills are being put to ready use in helping to reconstruct Iraq, specifically overseeing much of the work at a compound housing displaced persons.
His tour of duty, originally scheduled to end in April, will be extended until October.
O'Farrell spoke with Register correspondent Joseph Pronechen on a Thanksgiving visit to his family in Niantic and Danbury, Conn.
How did you come to join the Army?
I had first enlisted in the Army at age 20, served, then opted out after about five years. I'm 32 now. My rejoining was related to Sept. 11 and all succeeding it. I wanted to do more than just put a bumper sticker on my car and wave a flag.
I don't regret the decision. As many negatives as it's brought being away, it's been a good decision. I'll do my job and make the time count as much as possible. I'll definitely make the most of the extra six months.
What are your duties in Baghdad?
I'm in charge of a project located in an old military prison complex, not the nicest of places. As soon as the regime collapsed, everyone there scattered. Now the people in there are mostly urban poor — squatters who found the place out of necessity. And others came who found out they didn't have to pay rent.
We have about 900 civilians in our compound now. It's named Hillsdale and next to the United Nations’ compound.
What happened when you arrived at the compound?
We got close to all the people there. We took lists of their names, the names of all the children in the family, where they were from, the schools they attended and their previous employment. We wanted to see if there was any way we could help them get work.
What did you do about the basic necessities after the war ended?
Our job as soldiers in a civil affairs battalion is to help the government — to have local elections, get the electricity, sewers and water going again. It's to get their people back on their feet.
That's why I came back. Civil affairs is the reason I'm back in the Army. [I was looking for] a unit with such a positive spin. Our job is reconstructing what was broken, bringing back a sense of normalcy and peace to the people affected.
Besides restoring basic necessities, how are you progressing in helping these people in your charge?
I look after my projects that are centered on these people and making life better for them. We're building an irrigation system so there's water for them to start planting. We're building a bakery so they can bake for themselves and also be generating some money for themselves by baking for others. They'll actually build, staff and run the bakery themselves.
We have a permanent medical facility in the compound [helped by funding from various international sources].
How do you find the attitude of the Iraqi people you see? Is it hostile?
Not all the people are hostile there. When we are driving in a convoy there — always in a minimum of two to three trucks — if you wave, everyone will wave back. If you don't wave, they don't either. For the most part, people are genuinely glad we're there.
There are 900 people in the compound, and I don't feel the slightest bit exposed or threatened. The people know us and know we're doing good things. They didn't see positive change right away. They first saw negative change by the looters in the first two months. And you can't go to a generating plant and just turn the switch and get lights back on [immediately after damage from the war.]
Now we're showing them positive changes rather than explaining to them the way it can be. Even in the smallest baby steps the thought is to show them a bit of democracy. We created a council — a council of 13, gave them a voice and left it up to them what projects to do.
And that led to …?
We've done major cleanup projects in the place, and we've gotten funding to build a school across from the compound.
How many children in Hills-dale will it help?
There are 250 kids in the compound. At the same time, with the school we're helping the permanent neighborhood and children there beside these transients.
Do you see religious problems from militant Islam?
The Shiite ghetto is a big rectangle in Baghdad. It's an incredible slum. That's where the problems are. The people are very poor and very easily swayed by their religious leaders. It's always a threat one of the powerful religious leaders can call people to rebel.
I think it should definitely be the focus of the American leadership to create solid ties with the local religious leadership.
Is what the media report here the same as what you see going on there?
I didn't get a real good grasp on what the media are dishing out here, but others told me the general idea is that there are questions like why are we there, that we shouldn't be there, that morale is low.
But in my opinion, from what others tell me and from what I see, the morale is not bad. Of course everyone would rather be home more so because of the time of the year, Thanksgiving and Christmas. But that attitude is the same if you're off at school or away working. So it's more the time of year.
Joseph Pronechen writes from Trumbull, Connecticut.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Inperson -------- TITLE: Texas Law Ensures Women's Right to Know - and a Booklet Spells It All Out DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:AUSTIN, Texas — Pro-lifers are celebrating a new law that is taking effect in the new year, calling it a breakthrough in pro-life legislation after a months-long battle regarding the content and tone of a new brochure called A Woman's Right to Know.
The booklet's frank discussion of abortion could save lives, they say.
“This is the strongest, most-truthful brochure of its kind in the country,” said Elizabeth Graham, executive director of the Texas Right to Life Committee.
Beginning Jan. 1, any woman seeking an abortion in Texas is required to wait at least 24 hours after making an appointment and receiving the 21-page brochure. The bill was passed by the Texas Legislature last spring and signed into law by Republican Gov. Rick Perry.
Abortion advocates view the bill as a step away from what they call “a woman's right to choose.”
“We believe a mandatory delay in receiving an abortion is an unfair burden for women,” said David Seldin, director of communications for NARAL Pro-Choice America in Washington, D.C.
Similar so-called informed-consent laws were passed in Minnesota and West Virginia last spring, and at least 20 other states enforce laws that require informational brochures and 24-hour waiting periods for abortions.
The Texas brochure contains 18 vivid, full-color photos of an unborn child beginning at four weeks’ gestation. Each photo shows two weeks of developmental progress up to and including the 38th week of gestation. Each picture is accompanied by descriptions of the baby and explanations of what the child might be doing.
“The hands can make a fist with fingers,” says a bullet-pointed item that accompanies the 10-week photo.
The brochure was published by the Texas Department of Health, which brought in six physicians to devise content. State health officials appointed two of the physicians while legislators who sponsored the bill appointed four. The legislators took recommendations from the Right to Life Committee on which physicians to appoint, and the writing process commenced in June.
“It became a brutal fight, trying to get this document to reflect the legislative intent,” Graham said.
Others close to the battle who did not wish to be quoted said staff members at the health department tried to water down the booklet in an effort to make abortion appear safe to the mother and painless to the child.
Struggle
“It wasn't an easy task,” admitted Doug McBride, spokesman for the Texas Department of Health. “We had no delusions about the fact that we were in one of those situations in which we could not possibly make everyone happy, and we stood a good chance of making nobody happy. It's obviously a very emotionally charged issue.”
Fighting about the wording of the brochure became so intense at one point, Graham said, that legislators who supported the bill asked the governor'd office to intervene.
“Higher-ups in Texas government finally stepped in and told the Department of Health that the document needed to reflect the intent of the legislation, which was to inform women truthfully about abortion,” Graham said.
McBride would neither confirm nor deny that the health department had its hand slapped for trying to dilute the brochure to such a degree that the governor stepped in.
“That may be the case,” McBride told the Register. “Again, this was obviously a hot-button topic — a red-flag issue.”
Seven pages of the brochure are devoted entirely to the physical risks to women who undergo various types of abortion procedures, and “death” is listed as a possibility associated with each procedure. Breast cancer is also listed as a risk that might be enhanced by abortion.
Another section explains the emotional trauma faced by women who get abortions.
“Some women have reported serious psychological effects after their abortion, including depression, grief, anxiety, lowered self-esteem, regret, suicidal thoughts and behavior, sexual dysfunction, avoidance of emotional attachment, flashbacks and substance abuse,” the brochure states.
Two paragraphs that describe the dilation and extraction method of abortion — a late-term procedure done after 16 weeks’ gestation — describe how the doctor grasps the child'd foot with a tool and delivers the all parts of the baby except for the head.
“While the head is kept in the birth canal, scissors are used to make a hole in the back of the head, a tube is inserted, and suction is applied,” the brochure states. “The contents of the unborn child'd skull are suctioned out, the bones of the head collapse, and the child is delivered dead.”
Law's Effect
Mary Spaulding Balch, director of state legislation for the National Right to Life Committee in Washington, said little is known about the effect of the laws that establish waiting periods and standardized information.
“What we do know is that in these states a woman is no longer making a decision in an informational vacuum,” Balch said. “Without this, you have a woman who'd in a crisis situation making a decision without sound, objective information. This takes her out of the pressure situation for 24 hours and gives her noninflammatory, unbiased information with which to make an informed choice.”
Seldin of NARAL said it'd offensive to women to suggest they seek abortions without having informed themselves about the risks and realities of the various procedures. He said many of the new informed-consent laws are in states that have one or two clinics. The result is that some women have to travel great distances for abortions.
Though the jury is out on what effects informed-consent laws will have on overall abortion trends, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that in 1992, the first year one such law was enforced in Mississippi, about 1,210 fewer abortions were performed in the state.
The study found that the number of Mississippi women who traveled that year to the neighboring states of Tennessee and Alabama to receive abortions climbed by only 228.
“In Texas we are expecting an immediate reduction of 15% to 20% in the number of abortions,” said Graham of Texas Right to Life. “Long term we're expecting an even higher reduction of 40% to 50%. When women are told of the risks, and they think about the possibility of causing their child pain and are given time to think about it, things change.”
Wayne Laugesen writes from Boulder, Colorado.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Wayne Laugesen ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Media Watch DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:Bush Hedges on Homosexual Marriage
Bush told ABC correspondent Diane Sawyer it should be left to each of the states to regulate “legal arrangements” between couples.
“The position of this administration is that whatever legal arrangements people want to make, they're allowed to make, so long as it'd embraced by the state or start at the state level,” the president said.
However, Bush seemed to draw a dotted line between civil unions (such as those in Vermont and California) and legal marriage.
“If necessary, I will support a constitutional amendment that would honor marriage between a man and a woman, codify that,” he said.
Analysts described his remarks as an attempt to satisfy religious conservatives without infuriating liberals. Bush admitted the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, designed to prevent the creeping acceptance of “homosexual marriage,” might already have been vitiated by recent Supreme Court decisions. If that proves to be the case, he said, a constitutional amendment might be necessary.
Lingerie Bowl Flushed
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Dec. 17 — At the time, it seemed like a good idea to organizers: Two teams of sexy models would play football outdoors in January wearing only lingerie as a half-time pay-per-view stunt at the Super Bowl.
The antagonists, Team Dream and Team Euphoria, were to include former Playboy centerfold girls, and the whole event would be sponsored by Dodge and DaimlerChrysler.
But the companies behind the chilly spectacle were blind-sided by the wave of angry criticism that arose from female customers — who registered their protests with local Dodge dealers, threatening a boycott if the underwear event took place.
At a Midwestern meeting, Dodge dealers swapped stories of the negative feedback they'd gotten from soccer moms over the event and notified the parent company, DaimlerChrysler.
After a fumbled attempt at compromise that entailed “form-fitting boy shorts and sports bras for the models, along with helmets, shoulder pads and mouthpieces,” the whole event was ruled out of bounds by DaimlerChrysler, the Associated Press reported.
Admitted Child Abuser Beaten to Death
A retired priest and admitted child molester, Joseph Pilger, 78, was found beaten to death at his home in Lexington, Ky., Dec. 5, according to The New York Post.
After an autopsy, police declared the death a homicide and launched an investigation.
In 1995, Pilger had confessed to molesting three altar boys between 1968 and 1969, when he served as their pastor in Morganfield, Ky. He was sentenced to five years probation.
Pilger had lived alone until the last month of his life, when a young man moved in with him. That man, who was not named, is gone, along with Pilger'd car.
Pilger'd death came four months after the prison killing of former priest John Geoghan in Massachusetts.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Federal Committees Vote to Allow Over-the-Counter Sale of Pill DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:WASHINGTON — “Twenty-seven upstanding young men. Thirty-six million sneaky little sperm.”
“So many men. So many reasons to have backup contraception.”
These are slogans from the new ad campaign for Plan B, a drug known as the “morning-after pill” that is taken in tablet form within 72 hours of intercourse without contraception to thwart a pregnancy.
The ads feature groups of young college-age men and imply that college girls will be sleeping around — and not using contraception.
Now the FDA is considering a proposal by the Women'd Capital Corp., the distributors of Plan B, to have “emergency contraception” available over the counter. And two federal advisory committees voted Dec. 16 in favor of the proposal that could soon make buying the tablets as easy as buying aspirin.
But the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops thinks American women and girls could take life-threatening risks if the FDA approves that vote.
“American women and children do not deserve this reckless experiment on their lives,” said Cathleen Cleaver Ruse, a spokeswoman from the bishops’ conference'd Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities.
What's more, women and girls who take the drug — a synthetic hormone called levonorgestrel that has been available with a doctor'd prescription since 1998 — might not even know it can cause an early abortion.
“It is marketed and advertised as a contraceptive, but it works both before and after conception, and that is very meaningful to many women who would not take it if they knew,” Ruse said.
Emergency contraception, often confused with the abortion drug RU-486, is promoted as an “oral contraceptive.”
But Ruse noted that emergency contraceptives have 11 different modes of action on a woman'd reproductive system. Five of them are contraceptive and could prevent the union of egg and sperm. Six of them are abortifacient and create an artificial hormonal environment inside a woman'd body that is hostile to a new embryo and causes it to abort.
The abortifacient nature of the drug prompted the bishops’ conference to issue a letter to the FDA'd Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee and the Advisory Committee on Reproductive Health objecting to the proposal to make the “morning-after pill” available over the counter. They argued it would “conflict with a trend in law and medicine that recognizes the human embryo as a human subject and a patient deserving protection.”
Immoral, Dangerous
But the bishops are not solely concerned with the immorality of emergency contraception. They noted that it poses significant health risks, especially increased risk of ectopic pregnancy, a potentially fatal condition in which a baby begins to develop in the fallopian tubes rather than the uterus.
Medical Mission Sister Hanna Klaus, an obstetrician and gynecologist from the Natural Family Planning Center of Washington, D.C., one of about 40 presenters to the advisory committees, presented data that supported the bishops’ position.
She said the U.K. Committee on Safety in Medicines issued a warning, echoed by New Zealand'd public health system, after it discovered that 5.9% of unintended pregnancies were ectopic after taking emergency contraception.
“To make a drug that has the potential of increasing the rate of ectopic pregnancy fivefold available without medical supervision is the height of medical irresponsibility,” Sister Klaus said.
Sister Klaus also cited increased rates of sexually transmitted diseases in America, including a 20% increase in the incidence of chlamydia in the state of Washington since 1998 when Plan B was made available over the counter there.
Another presenter, Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for America, criticized the lack of study on long-term effects and multiple use of emergency contraception.
She hopes the plan to make the drug available over the counter can be prevented by a new law signed by President Bush on Dec. 3. The Pediatric Research Equity Act, with bipartisan support and endorsed by Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., would require that the drugs be tested on children and adolescents before it is marketed to them — something that was not done with PlanB.
In reply, Dr. Sandra Kweter, the FDA'd deputy director for new drugs, remarked that the agency, when it comes to contraception, makes no distinction between youths and adults.
“If preteens can get pregnant, physically, they are the same as adults,” Kweter said at the hearing.
Hager Speaks
But Dr. David Hager, a member of the Advisory Committee on Reproductive Health who was pilloried for his pro-life views when he was appointed by President Bush last year, disagreed.
He told the Register he voted against the proposal because of his concerns about the “lack of adequate long-term follow-up” and the lack of age restrictions on the drug. If it were to be freely available over the counter, teens and preteens, who would be least likely to understand complications of the drug, would be taking it without medical oversight or parental knowledge.
Hager cited the FDA'd own data from a study of 656 adult women who took emergency contraception.
“Fully one-third of them did not understand that the drug was to be taken only in an emergency and they were confusing it with regular contraceptives,” Hager said.
Among the “low literacy” group of adults, only 46% understood it was not for repeated use. One-quarter of all the women in the study did not understand they should go to a doctor if they experienced persistent abdominal pain — a sign of ectopic pregnancy.
The chairman of the Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee, Louis Cantalina, also voted against the proposal, citing the FDA study as a “failure” and the literacy levels for understanding complications of the drug as “horrible.”
But a majority of presenters and panel members clearly viewed doctors, parents and even pharmacists as barriers between women and the drug.
Dr. Vivian Dickerson, presidentelect of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, urged panelists to support “a public health imperative to increase access to emergency contraception.”
Several members of the National Organization for Women — including one who said she had taken emergency contraception on six different occasions — testified that they took the drug after a condom broke but that it was not conveniently available.
A representative of Barr Laboratories, the Pomona, N.Y.-based company that is currently acquiring the rights to distribute Plan B from the Women'd Capital Corp., said the company intends to curb repeated use of the drug by making it costly — about $30 per use.
At the end of the day panelists voted 23-4 in favor of making the drug available over the counter. The FDA is expected to decide whether to follow the vote sometime in February.
Celeste McGovern writes from Victoria, British Columbia.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Celeste McGovern ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: John Paul's 2004 World Day of Peace Message: 'Peace Remains Possible' DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:VATICAN CITY — Pope John Paul II released the text of his 25th World Day of Peace Message on Dec. 16. The day is formally celebrated by the Church on Jan. 1. The following is excerpted from the Holy Father'd remarks.
My words are addressed to you, the leaders of the nations, who have the duty of promoting peace!
To you, jurists, committed to tracing paths to peaceful agreement, preparing conventions and treaties that strengthen international legality!
To you, teachers of the young, who on all continents work tirelessly to form consciences in the ways of understanding and dialogue!
And to you, too, men and women tempted to turn to the unacceptable means of terrorism and thus compromise at its root the very cause for which you are fighting!
All of you, hear the humble appeal of the Successor of Peter, who cries out: Today, too, at the beginning of the new year 2004, peace remains possible. And if peace is possible, it is also a duty!
Practical Initiative
… In the 25 years of pontificate the Lord has thus far granted me, I have not failed to speak out before the Church and the world, inviting believers and all persons of good will to take up the cause of peace and to help bring about this fundamental good, thereby assuring the world a better future, one marked by peaceful coexistence and mutual respect.
Once more this year I feel bound to invite all men and women, on every continent, to celebrate a new World Day of Peace. Humanity needs now more than ever to rediscover the path of concord, overwhelmed as it is by selfishness and hatred, by the thirst for power and the lust for vengeance.
The Science of Peace
The 11 messages addressed to the world by Pope Paul VI progressively mapped out the path to be followed in attaining the ideal of peace. Slowly but surely the great pontiff set forth the various chapters of a true “science of peace.” … Each of these messages continues to be timely today. Indeed, before the tragedy of the wars that at the beginning of the third millennium are still causing bloodshed throughout the world, especially in the Middle East, they take on at times the tone of prophetic admonishments.
A Primer of Peace
For my part, throughout these 25 years of my pontificate, I have sought to advance along the path marked out by my venerable predecessor. At the dawn of each new year I have invited people of good will to reflect, in the light of reason and of faith, on different aspects of an orderly coexistence.
The result has been a synthesis of teaching about peace, which is a kind of primer on this fundamental theme: a primer easy to understand by those who are well disposed but at the same time quite demanding for anyone concerned for the future of humanity. …
We Christians see the commitment to educate ourselves and others to peace as something at the very heart of our religion. For Christians, in fact, to proclaim peace is to announce Christ who is “our peace” (Ephesians 2:14); it is to announce his Gospel, which is a “Gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15); it is to call all people to the beatitude of being “peacemakers” (see Matthew 5:9).
Teaching Peace
In my message for the World Day of Peace on Jan. 1, 1979, I made this appeal: to reach peace, teach peace. Today that appeal is more urgent than ever, because men and women, in the face of the tragedies that continue to afflict humanity, are tempted to yield to fatalism, as if peace were an unattainable ideal.
The Church, on the other hand, has always taught and continues today to teach a very simple axiom: Peace is possible. Indeed, the Church does not tire of repeating that peace is a duty. It must be built on the four pillars indicated by Blessed John XXIII in his 1963 encyclical Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth): truth, justice, love and freedom. A duty is thus imposed upon all those who love peace: that of teaching these ideals to new generations in order to prepare a better future for all mankind.
Teaching Legality
In this task of teaching peace, there is a particularly urgent need to lead individuals and peoples to respect the international order and to respect the commitments assumed by the authorities that legitimately represent them. Peace and international law are closely linked to each another: Law favors peace.
From the very dawn of civilization, developing human communities sought to establish agreements and pacts that would avoid the arbitrary use of force and enable them to seek a peaceful solution to any controversies that might arise. Alongside the legal systems of the individual peoples there progressively grew up another set of norms, which came to be known as ius gentium (the law of the nations). …
This process was greatly accelerated with the birth of modern states. From the 16th century on, jurists, philosophers and theologians were engaged in developing the various headings of international law and in grounding it in the fundamental postulates of the natural law. This process led with increasing force to the formulation of universal principles that are prior to and superior to the internal law of states and that take into account the unity and the common vocation of the human family.
Central among all these is surely the principle that pacta sunt ser-vanda: accords freely signed must be honored. This is the pivotal and exceptionless presupposition of every relationship between responsible contracting parties. The violation of this principle necessarily leads to a situation of illegality and consequently to friction and disputes that would not fail to have lasting negative repercussions. It is appropriate to recall this fundamental rule, especially at times when there is a temptation to appeal to the law of force rather than to the force of law.
One of these moments was surely the drama that humanity experienced during the Second World War: an abyss of violence, destruction and death unlike anything previously known.
Respect for Law
That war, with the horrors and the appalling violations of human dignity it occasioned, led to a profound renewal of the international legal order. The defense and promotion of peace were set at the center of a broadly modernized system of norms and institutions. The task of watching over global peace and security and with encouraging the efforts of states to preserve and guarantee these fundamental goods of humanity was entrusted by governments to an organization established for this purpose — the United Nations organization — with a security council invested with broad discretionary power. …
New International Order
It must be acknowledged, however, that the United Nations organization, even with limitations and delays due in great part to the failures of its members, has made a notable contribution to the promotion of respect for human dignity, the freedom of peoples and the requirements of development, thus preparing the cultural and institutional soil for the building of peace.
The activity of national governments will be greatly encouraged by the realization that the ideals of the United Nations have become widely diffused, particularly through the practical gestures of solidarity and peace made by the many individuals also involved in nongovernmental organizations and in movements for human rights.
This represents a significant incentive for a reform that would enable the United Nations organization to function effectively for the pursuit of its own stated ends, which remain valid: “Humanity today is in a new and more difficult phase of its genuine development. It needs a greater degree of international ordering.” States must consider this objective as a clear moral and political obligation that calls for prudence and determination. …
Scourge of Terrorism
Today international law is hard pressed to provide solutions to situations of conflict arising from the changed landscape of the contemporary world. … The scourge of terrorism has become more virulent in recent years and has produced brutal massacres that have in turn put even greater obstacles in the way of dialogue and negotiation, increasing tensions and aggravating problems, especially in the Middle East.
Even so, if it is to be won, the fight against terrorism cannot be limited solely to repressive and punitive operations. It is essential that the use of force, even when necessary, be accompanied by a courageous and lucid analysis of the reasons behind terrorist attacks. The fight against terrorism must be conducted also on the political and educational levels: on the one hand, by eliminating the underlying causes of situations of injustice that frequently drive people to more desperate and violent acts; and on the other hand, by insisting on an education inspired by respect for human life in every situation: The unity of the human race is a more powerful reality than any contingent divisions separating individuals and people. …
Church's Contribution
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). How could this saying, which is a summons to work in the immense field of peace, find such a powerful echo in the human heart if it did not correspond to an irrepressible yearning and hope dwelling within us? And why else would peacemakers be called children of God, if not because God is by nature the God of peace? Precisely for this reason, in the message of salvation the Church proclaims throughout the world, there are doctrinal elements of fundamental importance for the development of the principles needed for peaceful coexistence between nations.
History teaches that the building of peace cannot prescind from respect for an ethical and juridical order, in accordance with the ancient adage: “Serva ordinem et ordo servabit te” (preserve order and order will preserve you). International law must ensure that the law of the more powerful does not prevail. Its essential purpose is to replace “the material force of arms with the moral force of law,” providing appropriate sanctions for transgressors and adequate reparation for victims. This must also be applicable to those government leaders who violate with impunity human dignity and rights while hiding behind the unacceptable pretext that it is a matter of questions internal to their state.
In an address I gave to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See on Jan. 13, 1997, I observed that international law is a primary means for pursuing peace: “For a long time international law has been a law of war and peace. I believe it is called more and more to become exclusively a law of peace, conceived in justice and solidarity. And in this context morality must inspire law; morality can even assume a preparatory role in the making of law, to the extent that it shows the path of what is right and good.”
Down the centuries, the teaching of the Church, drawing upon the philosophical and theological reflection of many Christian thinkers, has made a significant contribution in directing international law to the common good of the whole human family. Especially in more recent times the popes have not hesitated to stress the importance of international law as a pledge of peace, in the conviction that “the harvest of justice is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:18). This is the path the Church, employing the means proper to her, is committed to following, in the perennial light of the Gospel and with the indispensable help of prayer.
Civilization of Love
At the conclusion of these considerations, I feel it necessary to repeat that, for the establishment of true peace in the world, justice must find its fulfillment in charity. Certainly law is the first road leading to peace, and people need to be taught to respect that law. Yet one does not arrive at the end of this road unless justice is complemented by love. Justice and love sometimes appear to be opposing forces. In fact they are but two faces of a single reality, two dimensions of human life needing to be mutually integrated. Historical experience shows this to be true. It shows how justice is frequently unable to free itself from rancor, hatred and even cruelty. By itself, justice is not enough. Indeed, it can even betray itself, unless it is open to that deeper power, which is love.
For this reason I have often reminded Christians and all persons of good will that forgiveness is needed for solving the problems of individuals and peoples. There is no peace without forgiveness! I say it again here, as my thoughts turn in particular to the continuing crisis in Palestine and the Middle East: A solution to the grave problems that for too long have caused suffering for the peoples of those regions will not be found until a decision is made to transcend the logic of simple justice and to be open also to the logic of forgiveness.
Christians know that love is the reason for God'd entering into relationship with man. And it is love he awaits as man'd response. Consequently, love is also the loftiest and most noble form of relationship possible between human beings. Love must thus enliven every sector of human life and extend to the international order. Only a humanity in which there reigns the “civilization of love” will be able to enjoy authentic and lasting peace.
At the beginning of a new year I wish to repeat to women and men of every language, religion and culture the ancient maxim: “Omnia vincit amor” (Love conquers all). Yes, dear brothers and sisters throughout the world, in the end love will be victorious! Let everyone be committed to hastening this victory. For it is the deepest hope of every human heart.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Vatican -------- TITLE: Media Watch DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:Information Technology for Peace
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE, Dec. 16 — The Holy See has proposed at a recent international forum that information technology be transformed into an instrument of peace.
The Vatican Information Service reported on a talk by Archbishop John Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, at the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva, Switzerland, Dec. 11.
Media networks such as the Internet, Archbishop Foley said, “can serve the culture of dialogue, participation, solidarity and reconciliation without which peace cannot flourish. Instead of featuring violence, immorality and superficiality, [these media] could foster a more open and respectful use of information technology to build better reciprocal knowledge and respect and to foster reconciliation and a more fruitful relationship among peoples of different cultures, ideologies and religions.”
“Technology is a means,” Archbishop Foley said. “We are responsible for using it so that, in this communication age, the search for truth and true freedom might be advanced among all peoples.”
Cardinal: Trial but No Death Penalty for Hussein
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Dec. 16 — Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and an outspoken critic of the U.S. war in Iraq, told the Associated Press the captured Saddam Hussein should face trial for his crimes against his people and neighboring countries.
However, he said, Saddam should not face the death penalty — a punishment that is part of Iraqi law but is not available to tribunals associated with the United Nations.
It is still unclear in which venue Saddam'd trial will proceed. The cardinal also criticized the United States for televising footage of the defeated dictator'd dental exam, saying the video portrayed Saddam “like a cow.” Cardinal Martino professed “compassion” for Saddam, whom he called a “destroyed man.”
As for Saddam'd capture, Cardinal Martino was skeptical it would bring peace to Iraq, saying: “It seems illusory to hope that it will repair the drama and damage of the defeat against humanity which war always is.”
Singer Criticizes Church at Vatican Concert
ANANOVA.COM, Dec. 16 — Hip-hop singer Lauryn Hill, while performing at a Dec. 13 Christmas concert attended by leading cardinals in Rome, interrupted her performance to criticize the Church'd handling of sexual-abuse allegations.
“I did not come here to celebrate the birth of Christ with you but to ask you why you are not in mourning for his death inside this place,” she said. “God has been a witness to the corruption of his leadership, of the exploitation and abuses … by the clergy.”
According to news site Ananova.com, Hill told the crowd she did “not believe in representatives of God on earth.”
“Last year Lauryn Hill stepped onstage at Carnegie Hall and admitted to the crowd that her life was ‘a mess,’” commented Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights President William Donohue in a news release. “Judging from her latest outburst in Vatican City, nothing seems to have changed. … Hill'd personal problems do not justify her rants against the Catholic Church.”
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Vatican -------- TITLE: The Mystery of Christmas DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:Register Summary
Pope John Paul II met with 7,000 pilgrims in the Paul VI Hall on Dec. 17 for his last general audience of the year. He shared his reflections on the season of Advent as Christians everywhere awaited the coming of Christ.
The Holy Father characterized Advent as “a powerful proclamation of hope, which deeply touches our lives, both personally and as a community.” He said people everywhere yearn for a world with greater justice and unity. Unfortunately, this often is not the case.
“Various kinds of obstacles, disagreements and difficulties burden our life and, at times, almost crush it,” he noted. Yet the mystery of Christmas assures us that God is with us, he said. “For this reason, we must never feel alone. He is near to us, and he became one of us by being born in the womb of the Virgin Mary. He shared our pilgrimage on earth, thereby assuring us that we will attain the peace and joy to which we aspire from the depths of our being.”
“The meaning of Christian hope, of which Advent is a reminder,” the Pope said, “is one of confident expectation, active availability and joyful openness to an encounter with the Lord. He came to Bethlehem to remain with us forever.”
“Believe me, the Kingdom of God is at hand; your Savior will not delay his coming.” These words, taken from today'd liturgy, express the climate of our eager yet prayerful preparation for celebrating Christmas, which is now close at hand.
Advent keeps alive our anticipation of Christ, who will visit us with his salvation and bring to fulfillment his Kingdom of justice and peace. The remembrance every year of the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem renews in the hearts of believers the certainty that God is faithful to his promises. Advent is, therefore, a powerful proclamation of hope, which deeply touches our lives, both personally and as a community.
God With Us
Everyone dreams about a world that is more just and united, where suitable living conditions and peaceful coexistence make for more harmonious relationships among individuals and peoples. Often, however, this is not the case. Various kinds of obstacles, disagreements and difficulties burden our life and, at times, almost crush it. The strength and courage of our commitment to do good are in danger of yielding to evil, which, at times, seems to have the upper hand. It is especially during these moments that hope comes to our assistance. The mystery of Christmas, which we will relive in a few days, assures us that God is Emmanuel — God-with-us. For this reason, we must never feel alone. He is near to us, and he became one of us by being born in the womb of the Virgin Mary. He shared our pilgrimage on earth, thereby assuring us that we will attain the peace and joy to which we aspire from the depths of our being.
A Broader Vision
This Advent season highlights a second element of hope, which concerns the meaning and value of life in a more general way. We often ask ourselves: Who are we? Where are we going? What is the meaning of what we do on earth? What awaits us after death?
There are goals that are undoubtedly good and honest: the search for improved material well-being; the pursuit of ever more advanced social, scientific and economic achievements; and a better fulfillment of our personal expectations and our expectations as a community. But are these goals sufficient to satisfy the deepest aspirations of our hearts?
Today'd liturgy invites us to broaden our vision and to contemplate the wisdom of God, who comes from on high and is able to embrace the ends of the world, preparing everything “with gentleness and strength” (see the respon-sorial antiphon).
May a spontaneous cry spring then from the Christian people: “Come, Lord, do not delay.”
With Us Forever
Finally, it is worth highlighting a third characteristic element of Christian hope, which the season of Advent clearly points out. Advent, and especially Christmas, are a reminder to man — who rises above the events of each day to seek communion with God — that God is the one who took the initiative to come to us. By becoming a baby, Jesus took on our nature and established his covenant with all mankind forever.
We can conclude, therefore, that the meaning of Christian hope, of which Advent is a reminder, is one of confident expectation, active availability and joyful openness to an encounter with the Lord. He came to Bethlehem to remain with us forever.
So, dear brothers and sisters, let us nourish these days of immediate preparation for the birth of Christ with the light and warmth of hope. This is my wish for you here present and for your loved ones. I entrust you to the motherly intercession of Mary, who is the model and support for our hope.
Happy Advent and merry Christmas to you all!
(Register translation)
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Vatican -------- TITLE: Holy Father'd Schedule Includes Speeches and Blessings DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:Pope's january: Baptizing babies,ordaining bishops, conferring palliums
Though January will be a very busy month for the Holy Father — including general audiences, the Sunday Angelus, a concert in the Vatican and his annual address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See — three traditional events are missing from his calendar.
The episcopal ordinations he customarily confers on new bishops on the Jan. 6 feast of the Epiphany, the baptism of a number of babies on the feast of Our Lord'd Baptism and his presence at St. Paul'd Outside-the-Walls on Jan. 25 for the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will be omitted.
Nonetheless, the month promises to be a full one, with many audiences and events already on his agenda while others are still in the planning stages.
For the 26th time in his pontificate, Pope John Paul II was scheduled to preside at a Eucharistic celebration in St. Peter'd Basilica at 10 a.m. on Jan. 1, solemnity of Mary and the 37th World Day of Peace.
On the feast of the Epiphany, as he recites the Angelus from his study window overlooking St. Peter'd Square, the Pope will enjoy a colorful and festive spectacle as the square is filled with tens of thousands of faithful who come to see the immense and very evocative Nativity scene set up in front of the obelisk and the 100-foot-high Christmas tree, decorated with gold and silver balls and thousands of lights, both of which remain in the square until the end of January.
Also in St. Peter'd Square on Jan. 6 is the folkloristic and traditional procession of costumed figures, depicting in particular the three magi who, accompanied by musicians, come from various parts of the Italian region of Lazio.
Italians celebrate Jan. 6 as “la befana,” a corruption of the word epiphany, and often it is on this day that gifts are exchanged. La befana is typically depicted as a witch and is said to bring nice gifts to good children and coal to bad children.
Every year in early January the Pope meets with the members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See to offer his greetings for the new year and to deliver a speech, seen by many as one of the most important of the year. This much-awaited talk, which looks at the lights and shadows of the world, region by region, in the past year, will be delivered Jan. 12.
At 6 p.m. on Jan. 17 in the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father is scheduled to attend a concert dedicated to the theme of reconciliation between Jews, Christians and Muslims. The concert, featuring Maestro Gilbert Levine directing the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, was organized by the Holy See'd Commission for Religious Relations with Jews, the Pontifical Councils for Promoting Christian Unity and for Interreligious Dialogue, and with the support of the Knights of Columbus.
Pope'd January: Baptizing babies, ordaining bishops, conferring palliums
An especially delightful moment for the Holy Father occurs each year on the Jan. 21 feast of St. Agnes, when he blesses several babies brought to the apostolic palace by the Trappist Fathers who raised them at the Abbey of the Three Fountains in Rome. A lamb is the traditional symbol of St. Agnes, the virgin-martyr who died about 350 and who is buried in the basilica on Via Nomentana that bears her name.
The Sisters of St. Cecilia weave the wool shorn from the lambs into the palliums that are bestowed annually by the Pope on newly named metropolitan archbishops on the June 29 feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles. The palliums are kept in a special coffer beneath the Altar of the Confession until they are conferred by the Holy Father.
John Paul'd message for World Communications Day will be published Jan. 24, feast of St. Francis de Sales, bishop and Doctor of the Church, who was proclaimed patron of Catholic journalists by Pope Pius XI in 1923. The theme for the 2004 message, announced this past September, is “The Media in Families: A Risk and a Richness.”
In addition to these traditional appointments, many single and group audiences are scheduled for the Holy Father, including with bishops from several regions of France, in Rome for their quinquennial ad limina visit, and participants in various congresses and meetings. Among them will be those attending a seminar Jan. 30 organized by the Pontifical Council for the Laity on the theme “Men and Women: Diversity and Reciprocal Complementarity.”
Joan Lewis works for Vatican Information Service.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Joan Lewis ----- KEYWORDS: Vatican -------- TITLE: Archbishop Fitzgerald in India: Church Must Preach Gospel to Everyone DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:NEW DELHI, India — Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, visited India in early December.
During the trip, he spoke with Register correspondent Anto Akkara, discussing issues such as dialogue and conversion that have inflamed religious tension recently in India and elsewhere in Asia.
What is the purpose of your visit to India?
This visit is in response to the participation of the Sikh leaders in the Prayer for Peace on Jan. 24, 2002, because the jatedar [chief priest of Sikhism, the predominant religion of the inhabitants of the Indian province of Punjab] of Amritsar came with a delegation to take part in the Prayer for Peace. So, we thought it would be appropriate for us to return this visit and consolidate the relations between ourselves and Sikhs.
What is your impression of Sikhism? Is there an affinity with Christianity — such as in the charity works Sikhs carry out?
First of all, it is good to emphasize that Sikhism is a monotheistic religion. The Sikhs believe in one God, and it provides an important point of contact between us and also between Muslims and Jews.
There is the principle of equality. The principle behind the langar [common meal in Sikh temples] emphasizes that “first eat together and then you pray.” When you eat together, you mix with everyone; there is no special place for anyone. This is an experience of equality. I think we can find this also in Christianity when we put so much emphasis on the dignity of the human person.
There is also the aspect of charity of the Sikhs with the gurud-waras [Sikh temples] willing to feed so many people and offering hospitality. There is also the idea of voluntary service, which is very strong in Sikhism. People come and clean the temple and serve others. It is all done by volunteers. It can be an example for us, too.
India has been known for its religious plurality and tolerance but the last few years have seen India making international headlines as a result of the actions of fundamentalist groups. Is this a major concern for the Church?
The concern of the Church is there. As you say rightly, this is the action and policy of a few people. I think the great mass of the Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs are quite happy to live together. Though there are communal conflicts that break out from time to time, I think this is because the people are misled.
So, the task of interreligious dialogue is to try to build up relations in such a way that these conflicts don't break out. We have to see that the communities are immunized to elements that come from outside. The process of education, learning and communication is very necessary for this.
Evangelization is a sensitive subject in India even for some theologians — there are theologians who say they are not interested in the conversion of X or Y but the conversion of the larger society, saying, “Let us forget about conversion and let us live in peace.” Is this relativism among theologians here a serious concern for the Church?
The Church has received a commandment from the Lord to go and preach the Gospel to all the nations and make them disciples in all nations. This is part of the mission of the Church and this is not to be sacrificed.
I don't think we can set aside the desire and attempt to bring people into the Church. This is not forcing people to come into the Church but telling them what the Church is, what the message of the Gospel is and what Jesus Christ has done for us as well as following the lead of the Holy Spirit, who will lead people in this direction.
Christians are a micro-minority compared with Hindu, Muslim or Buddhist majorities in most Asian countries. Some theologians say those in the Vatican do not know the ground reality here and that it is difficult to preach that salvation lies in Christ only. What is your advice to them?
We say that because we are Christians. We know that other people are not necessarily going to accept that. This is our faith. We are not asked to deny our faith.
If we are Christians, we have to declare that. If they want to cease to be Christian, then they are free. If they want to be faithful Christians, then they have to believe Jesus Christ is lord and savior.
There are different ways of stating this. I think there is a difference between dialogue and conversation with people and our own theological reflection on our faith. We have to be clear in our own mind.
Freedom of religion has become a political issue here. When the Holy Father expressed concern about anti-conversion laws earlier this year, Hindu groups said the Pope was “interfering in the internal affairs of India.” How do you react to this charge?
It [religious freedom] is an issue in many parts of the world — in China and different parts of the world where there is problem with human rights. Religious freedom is one of the basic human rights.
For the Pope, as the head of the Church, his role is to proclaim the faith and confirm his brothers in their faith. This is one aspect of our faith and we believe in human dignity and that also includes belief in religious freedom. The Holy Father has been consistent in his pronouncements on this.
Anto Akkara writes from New Delhi, India.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Anto Akkara ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Media Watch DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:Iraq Bishop: ‘The Serpent's Head Has Been Crushed’
ASIANEWS.IT, Dec. 16 — Iraqi Catholic bishop Rabban al Qas, who hails from the long-suffering Kurdish region of northern Iraq, lauded the capture of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein as a “moment of joy for all Iraqis,” the Internet news agency AsiaNews reported.
Bishop al Qas said the capture marked the start of the “peaceful rebuilding” of Iraq, assisted by what he called a “liberating” military occupation. In a message to Pime, the Italian missionary organization, the 54-year-old bishop declared: “The serpent'd head has been finally crushed.”
Bishop al Qas noted that despite his manifest crimes, Saddam'd human “dignity must be respected.” However, he called on Saddam to confess his crimes — to admit the thousands he murdered or tortured and the millions who died in wars he launched.
“Even Christian forgiveness,” the bishop said, “presupposes confession and atonement.”
One-Day Siege at Colombia Cathedral Ends
MISSIONARY NEWS AGENCY, Dec. 15 — A 28-hour protest in the cathedral of Colombia'd capital city of Bogoá ended Dec 10.
The symbolic “occupation” of the church was conducted by relatives of hostages being held prisoner by the terrorist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Some 30 family members of kidnapped people locked themselves in the cathedral, according to the Missionary News Agency, trying to call attention to their relatives’ plight.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe promised renewed negotiations with the hostage-takers, explaining that his own Conciliation Commission would meet with a delegate of the guerillas to seek freedom for the prisoners.
Uribe'd promise came on the heels of a presidential meeting with Cardinal Pedro Rubiano Sáenz of Bogotá, president of the Colombian bishops’ conference.
“I believe we all have the duty to help,” the cardinal told the Missionary News Agency. “These are people who were abducted five, six or seven years ago.”
French President Seeks to Ban Religious Symbols
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Dec. 17 — In an attempt to shore up the militant secularism that has marked the French Republic since its revolutionary birth — and a reaction to large-scale Islamic immigration — French President Jacques Chirac has announced he will support a bill in Parliament that would ban Islamic head scarves and other personal religious emblems, such as Jewish yarmulkes and large crucifix pendants, in public schools.
The bill would also permit companies to ban these symbols in the workplace if they choose.
“Secularism is one of the great successes of the Republic,” Chirac said in a national address, reported by the Associated Press. “It is a crucial element of social peace and national cohesion. We cannot let it weaken.”
The passage of the law is seen as likely, according to the Associated Press. French Islamic groups have denounced the measure as an attempt to stigmatize the large and growing Muslim population in France.
Chirac rejected a proposal to add the Jewish holy day Yom Kippur and the Muslim feast Eid el-Kabir to public-school calendars. And a proposal earlier this year to extend government support to private, mostly Catholic schools in France was shelved after mass demonstrations by French leftist organizations.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Iraq Symposium DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:This week the Register looks again at the war in Iraq. There are good reasons to do so. In the age of terrorism, old ways of thinking about just-war theory will have to be updated to account for enemies who fight in loose networks rather than from nations. But new ways of thinking about war-making will also have to be scrutinized. We need to make sure the horror of war isn’ t entered rashly, and that prudence and principles guide us even in the age of terrorism.
The week of Jan. 1 is also the week of Pope John Paul II'd World Peace Day address. His remarks address some of the key questions raised in our symposium.
Robert Royal writes about giving teeth to our warnings about weapons of mass destruction, and Chris Gray looks at the larger implications of offensive war. But where we see the most direct disagreement is regarding the question of international law.
Russell Shaw writes: “Nation A isn't entitled to attack Nation B on the basis of what A thinks B might possibly do somewhere down the line. A ‘just war’ requires a clear, demonstrable, proximate threat. There was none in Iraq.”
Robert Reilly writes the opposite: “Opponents to the war assert that Iraq did not present an imminent danger to America. Just-war teaching, however, does not demand that one be in imminent danger before taking action. The horrible slaughter of Sept. 11, 2001, shows that to wait for a threat to become imminent is to wait too long. Bush made clear that our purpose was to prevent the development of an imminent threat from Iraq.”
Mark Shea'd remarks are almost a rejoinder to the exchange: “What happens when China decides Taiwan is an ‘imminent threat,’ or North Korea decrees that South Koreans must be ‘liberated’? With international law and just-war principles thrown away, we'll have nothing to answer these situations but naked force.”
It is precisely international law that is at the center of the Pope'd World Peace Day message.
“In this task of teaching peace,” he writes, “there is a particularly urgent need to lead individuals and peoples to respect the international order and to respect the commitments assumed by the authorities that legitimately represent them. Peace and international law are closely linked to each another: Law favors peace.”
The Holy Father goes on to give cautious but unmistakable support to the United Nations and the U.N. Security Council as arbiters of disputes between nations.
The Pope is no fool. He understands the limitations of the United Nations and even says, “Today international law is hard pressed to provide solutions to situations of conflict arising from the changed landscape of the contemporary world.”
But he also knows what Robert Reilly notes: That U.N. Security Council resolutions were at the heart of the matter in the conflict with Iraq. The war was all about international law.
Iraq was in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. The United States invaded Iraq in order to put teeth in these resolutions, in order to strengthen international law. And we did: Saddam Hussein is captured and will be tried by his own people. This would never have happened if the U.N. Security Council had had its way — a fact that sheds doubt on the council'd efficacy.
But, at the same time, the United States invaded without the authorization of the U.N. Security Council. It would appear, paradoxically, that the United States violated international law to enforce international law. Was the United States forced to do this because an ineffectual United Nations was falling down on the job? Or did the United States inflict the kind of damage to international law it will later regret?
That'd the question at the heart of the debate.
Mark Shea ends his symposium piece makes a reference to the Robert Bolt'd A Man for All Seasons that might be worth spelling out:
“Roper: So now you'd give the Devil benefit of law!
“Thomas More: Yes. What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?
“Roper: I'd cut down every law in England to do that!
“More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you — where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? … I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety'd sake.”
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Opinion -------- TITLE: Letters DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:Mass Confusion
Regarding “The ‘New’ Liturgy at Age 40: What Happened to the Vatican II Mass?” (Dec. 7-13):
I was perplexed by comments made by Capuchin Father Edward Foley of Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, regarding sermons 40 years ago compared to today. He said, “Back then they gave sermons, so it could be on somebody'd moral agenda, it could have been on a current dogma, it could have been catechetical; it didn't have to have any connection with the liturgy. That'd radically different.”
Father Foley is absolutely correct when he'd says it'd “radically different.” However, his implication is that it is radically better. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The argument is that the Novus Ordo Mass — with its greater emphasis on homiletic connections to Scripture — has been an improvement. I'm afraid Catholics today, by and large, do not understand Sacred Scripture any more than they did 40 years ago, and I would argue they understand less. Why? Because the thousands of poorly formed priests in our sanctuaries today are more likely to misinterpret the Mass readings than give us a true account of their meaning. This is compounded by the problem of poor translations.
Sermons 40 years ago could have been about “somebody'd moral agenda,” but that agenda was the moral teaching of the Church. That is radically different than the immoral agenda pushed by numerous dissenting priests who use the pulpit to sow dissent from Catholic teaching and disciplinary practices.
As a revert (I returned to the Church six years ago) I was someone who wanted desperately to learn the faith, doctrinally and morally. Before long, I was discouraged by the complete absence of any discussion of the beautiful doctrinal and moral truths of our Holy Catholic Church. I had to re-learn my faith from publishers, and that is a minefield requiring guidance by an orthodox spiritual director.
I long to hear good sermons. I long to hear dynamic and forceful preachers teach the faith from the pulpit. I long to hear one priest, just one, mention the possibility that some of us may end up in hell because we will die with unrepented mortal sin on our souls.
Even if Father Foley were correct that today Catholics are more “biblically conversant” than 40 years ago, there is little evidence that Catholics today have a greater knowledge of Church teachings and a desire to grow in holiness. I think the opposite is true. We are dumber and weaker in our faith today precisely because no one is teaching us. Give me dogmatic sermons over poor interpretations of Sacred Scripture any day.
Ken Skuba Sugarloaf, Pennsylvania
Old Mass, New Mass
I thoroughly enjoy every edition of the Register. I read each one cover to cover!
With respect to “The ‘New’ Liturgy at Age 40: What Happened to the Vatican II Mass?” by Ellen Rossini (Dec. 7-13), I am concerned about the implication that one Mass is qualitatively better than the other. I fear this conclusion is all too frequently the product of selective memory or historical revisionism. My life spans both the pre-Vatican II and the post-Vatican II eras, and I would like to offer the following observations.
I could be wrong, but I suspect the reason the priest had his back turned to the people was that, in those days, there was a greater sensitivity to the real presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Because the tabernacle was located at the center of the altar, the priest was necessarily put in the position of either turning his back to the people or turning his back to Jesus.
To suggest Roman Catholics went to Mass for centuries without ever understanding what was happening is just plain silly. Virtually every Catholic carried a missal, which had the Latin on one side of the page and the English translation on the other side.
One obvious advantage of the Latin Mass seems to be continually overlooked. For those of us who travel, Latin made it possible for us to participate in the prayers of the Mass anywhere in the world. Now we must speak the vernacular (local language) or be sidelined, unable to participate. I know this might come as a surprise to many in the “American rite,” but there are actually places in the world where English is not the local language.
While I do not necessarily advocate returning to the Latin Mass, I think the Second Vatican Council had sound reasons for retaining some Latin.
Jerome R. Bishop
Voice of the What?
The three priests who issued a letter to their parish might have suspicions about the Voice of the Faithful movement based mainly on the movement's doctrinal ambiguity, but there is an even greater danger in its aim to completely “restructure” the Church (“‘A Pastoral Letter From Your Priests,’” Commentary, Dec. 7-13).
Voice of the Faithful would arrogate to themselves the privilege of interviewing candidates for bishoprics and approving their appointments outside the norms of canon law, seemingly usurping the traditional roles of the congregations in Rome and of the Pope himself. In other words, the Voice of the Faithful would be running the Church in this country. Its animus against bishops is based on exaggerated generalizations and unwarranted accusations that would be hard to prove even under civil law. It even claims some sort of gnostic insight to what Christ's will would be insofar as restructuring the Church.
All this might very well be academic as the bishops themselves move forward in establishing policy and lay-review boards to prevent future occurrences of abuse. So much media attention was given to the problem that I dare say cases will be very rare in the future. The Voice of the Faithful movement, like reactionary movements of the past, might already be growing in irrelevancy, as I believe most Catholics by now want to put all this behind us.
Lawrence Petrus Rocky River, Ohio
Renewers
Your editorial “The Renewal Is Under Way” (Dec. 7-13) focuses on an optimistic view of the direction of the Church in America. Although you speak admirably concerning the laity, you fail to mention a serious obstacle to renewal: the lack of Catholic education of the laity through the homily concerning critical topics of birth control, abortion, homosexuality and chastity before marriage.
We live in a culture of death. We are daily bombarded by the media with a lifestyle contrary to Catholic teachings. Yet the laity is at the mercy of the media because the majority of bishops and priests do not preach about these topics. Having lived in four dioceses in 15 years and never hearing a homily on any of these issues during Sunday Mass, I can understand why the Catholic laity are silent on these issues, why as many Catholics as Protestants choose abortion, why the vast majority of Catholic spouses contracept and why many [couples] live together outside of marriage.
It is troubling to see our religious leaders speak out so bravely on a national level when they do nothing on the local level to promote true Catholic identity. Is it any wonder public opinion is not with our bishops and priests on these issues? Perhaps some dissent from Catholic teaching and others fear the pews will be emptied once the faithful hear the true message.
But to really change the culture of death, our religious leaders are going to have to fulfill the true calling of their vocation and become the leaders of Catholic renewal. Anything less spells disaster.
Michael Aiello, M.D. Canton, Ohio
The writer is a past president of the Catholic Medical Association.
Morning-After Misery
The looming possibility of women being able to buy the “morning-after pill” over the counter rather than by prescription is just another example of the hostility of our culture toward life, especially the most vulnerable of all life, the unborn.
One of the ways the Plan B pill works is by preventing a fertilized egg from implanting to the wall of the uterus. If human life does not begin at the moment of conception, when all of the DNA needed to create a complete human being is fully present and beginning to work, when does it begin? Women need to know that when taking the “morning-after pill,” one of the possibilities of the way it works is by preventing their newly created child from thriving by not allowing it to implant properly in the uterus.
Andrew Achziger Greeley, Colorado
Choose Something
At last, good news! The National Organization for Women and the “abortion-rights” people have finally given up on being “pro-choice.” The U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives and the president have chosen. They chose to outlaw partial-birth abortion — the killing of partially born children. Now the pro-choice people are against that choice.
To choose is a transitive verb, meaning it carries an object. It is idiotic to be pro-choice unless one says what is being chosen or chosen against. I (we) must be pro-choice something. When it comes to the unborn child, one is either pro-choice life or pro-choice death.
Consider this family situation: The father is an alcoholic, the mother is syphilitic. One child is deaf, one child mentally retarded, another child is deaf and one child is born dead. The mother with syphilis is pregnant again. Question: Should she have an abortion? Choose life or death. If you choose the abortion, then you have just aborted Beethoven.
Father Patrick J. O'Doherty Queen of Peace Church Ocala, Florida
Correction
A quotation in Thomas Szyskiewicz's article about Archbishop-designate Raymond Burke of St. Louis in the Dec. 21-28 issue was wrongly attributed to the archbishop. It said Archbishop Burke, when he was bishop of LaCrosse, Wis., told Wisconsin state Sen. Julie Lassa, who supports legal abortion, that she could not call herself Catholic and to refrain from receiving the Eucharist. Bishop Burke did not make this statement. The Register and author apologize for the error.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Opinion -------- TITLE: Death Penalty Clarification Needed DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:The worldwide coverage given to Cardinal Renato Martino's remarks on Saddam Hussein and the death penalty has revealed the need for a clarification of the Church's teaching on the death penalty.
Cardinal Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, has a reputation for rhetorical extravagance that sometimes exceeds the bounds of theological precision.
Nevertheless, at a press conference a few days after the capture of Saddam, he gave the impression that Catholic teaching would oppose the execution of the Iraqi dictator. Many international news outlets reported that Pope John Paul II himself was opposed to Saddam's possible execution.
Is it the case that the Catholic Church is against all recourse to capital punishment, even for cases such as Saddam's? Cardinal Martino at least implied as much. The Holy Father's many statements and requests for clemency for death-row inmates seem to confirm that implication.
Yet the matter remains ambiguous.
As all knowledgeable commentators recognize, the Church teaches that the state has the right to administer capital punishment — an ancient teaching embraced by the full breadth of Catholic tradition. Yet John Paul and, following him, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, have indicated that the death penalty should not be used. The bishops of Canada and the United States have also made this teaching their own.
The ambiguity in need of clarification lies in the arguments the Holy Father proposed in No. 56 of the 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), which were later inserted into the definitive edition of the Catechism, in Nos. 2266 and 2267.
“Legitimate public authority has the right and duty to inflict punishment proportionate to the gravity of the offense,” the Catechism says in No. 2266 on penalties in general. “Punishment has the primary aim of redressing the disorder introduced by the offense.”
Traditionally, the death penalty has been justified on those grounds — namely, that some crimes are so heinous that the only proportionate punishment that would redress the injustice suffered would be execution.
A secondary argument in favor of the death penalty was that it would ensure public safety by preventing the criminal from committing further crimes.
“The Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor,” the Catechism says in No. 2267. “If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means. … Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities that the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm — without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself — the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not practically nonexistent.”
It is the Church's clear teaching that if it is possible to keep society safe without the death penalty, then the death penalty should not be used.
Yet nothing is said in the Catechism about the first reason for the death penalty — the proportionate penalty aimed at redressing the disorder. Observing the Holy Father's repeated statements and requests for clemency, it seems he does not think the first reason justifies the death penalty. But he has never said as much, and saying so would be difficult to square with the Catholic tradition. So the matter has been left deliberately ambiguous, with the Church appearing to be against all executions for stated reasons that do not address all the reasons for which executions are done.
Saddam's notoriety will make this ambiguity harder to maintain. If the primary reason for capital punishment is still valid — proportionate punishment — it is clear that his crimes merit the death penalty. If the Church judges otherwise, she will have, in effect, resolved the current ambiguity in her teaching by stating, in effect, that no crime merits the death penalty as proportionate punishment.
Saddam also puts the Catechism's teaching to the test on the secondary reason — public safety. The Catechism explicitly teaches that public safety is a permissible reason for execution if no other means would ensure public safety. In effect, the current Catholic teaching is that the death penalty would be more permissible in the Congo, for example, where public security measures are not as sophisticated as, for example, in Belgium.
An imprisoned Saddam in an Iraq still under reconstruction would likely pose a threat to public safety. His loyalists might attempt to raid the prison to free him in the first months of shaky Iraqi sovereignty. Allowed visitors for humanitarian reasons, Saddam might use them to direct further violence, as Mafia bosses continue to run their families from prison. In short, the public-safety considerations in the Catechism would allow for Saddam's execution.
If the Church nevertheless opposes Saddam's execution on public-safety grounds, too, then it would appear the criteria in the Catechism do not apply in practice and that states should never have recourse to the death penalty. “Practically nonexistent” would then have to be read as simply “nonexistent.”
The trial and punishment of Saddam might well be a clarifying moment for Catholic teaching.
Father Raymond J. de Souza is a chaplain at Queens College in Kingstown, Ontario.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Father Raymond J. de Souza ----- KEYWORDS: Commentary -------- TITLE: On Saddam's Capture DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:The capture of Saddam Hussein on Dec. 13 is an occasion to reflect on the military and political purposes of the United States since Sept. 11, 2001.
The first question that had to be asked after the World Trade Center attacks was, clearly, “Who was causing these fanatical yet deadly operations?” Was it merely a one-shot strike or did it portend a systematic effort to destroy us?
Obviously, no particular nation declared war on us, though a rather large group of Muslim operatives — often claiming world-conquest aspirations, motivated, in their view, by Islamic religious purposes — did show they meant business.
They proved able to cause havoc in modern cities even without modern weapons or delivery systems. Generally speaking, under the aegis of Osama bin Laden, an international group, evidently employing covert bases in several Muslim countries, did claim responsibility.
And they proved that, with influence all over the world, they could cause graphic destruction. They could not be ignored. We officially call the perpetrators “terrorists,” as if they belonged to some new-fangled third-world country. For both political and religious reasons, we do not officially acknowledge the existence of a religious source that must itself be reckoned with.
A modern state, indeed any state, is first responsible at a minimum for the physical protection of its own people. In the case of the United States, it is in practice responsible for the protection of many nations and peoples, perhaps of the civilization itself.
The official documents of Al-Qaeda and others leave no doubt that more than the United States can be objects of their terror. One can talk of “peaceful means” or diplomatic “initiatives” to solve such problems. These have their place, but they are not necessarily initiatives that, when the chips are down, in fact protect anyone.
Contrary to a popular saying, war does solve some problems that a failure to fight only makes worse. In today's circumstances, there are times when proportioned but effective and powerful military response is called for and prudent, to prevent both immediate and long-term attacks.
The U.S. government recognized that in spite of variously motivated criticisms from all over the world, it was not free to ignore this threat from a new kind of enemy, one not itself a nation-state, one having bases in many areas.
A strategy had to be developed on a worldwide basis and quickly. The first principle of this strategy was that any national state that involved itself with supplying, harboring or encouraging the “terrorists,” instead of stopping them, would itself be considered an object of war. This is how both Afghanistan and Iraq came into the calculation.
The second principle, implicit rather than explicit, was that the closed political and socially intolerant world of Muslim states had to be changed in certain basic premises. Some form of a more open society had to be developed in which non-Muslims were not persecuted or given second-class status and in which the people of the Muslim countries themselves could have a better chance to govern their own states.
If a Muslim-populated state that found a different economic and political model could arise from within Islamic states, the key step could be taken to transform the inner workings of the Muslim world that has proved so rigid and narrow.
The elimination of the tyranny of Saddam made this effort at least a hope and possibility in Iraq, not unlike the efforts in Germany after World War II.
Ultimately, this change involves a theoretical question of the truth of Islam, but this question is rarely acknowledged even by Christians — especially by Christians.
Whether these military and political efforts can continue to be successful depends largely, as the Islamic terrorists themselves recognize, on the “staying power” of democratic societies, particularly the United States, notorious for concentrating on themselves and usually slow to see or back up long-range programs that see further down the line than the next election. It has been the strength of President Bush to proceed with a determined will, careful, plodding in a way but relentless.
He seems to be under no illusion that there is a real enemy with a real desire to undermine our society. He knows certain armed elements have to be contained or eliminated if the physical safety of the American and other people can be guaranteed. It is no accident further attacks have not taken place.
They have been largely prevented.
There is not much glory in preventing such attacks, but it is the foundational work that must be undertaken if we are to be free and safe. In this sense, there are many heroes we will never hear of.
Helping Saddam
After Saddam's capture, someone on the radio said, “The world is waiting to see how the United States treats Saddam.”
“Typical propaganda,” I thought. One might wonder why so few worried about how Saddam treated his own people and why no one but the United States and its too-few allies were willing to do anything about it. That Saddam was captured suggests the American policy of steady, careful information acquisition and military action works.
What would have happened had we not gone into Iraq? Would international pressure or peaceful means have changed the regime? I, for one, judge that it is naïve to think so. There is a legitimate hope that Iraq can set up a different kind of regime. Indeed, it is doing so. The terrorists now have to prove they can still react, so we should not be surprised if they do. But they also know they will not be left alone to enjoy their terror.
One final thing that might be noted. Many young, sometimes very young, Muslim men have killed themselves to kill others in suicide attacks. Mostly those who are killed by these attacks are women, children and innocent citizens.
Saddam did not imitate this example. He did not go down in flames killing others. Bin Laden has not followed this example, either.
This terribly immoral quasi-religious practice about the nobility of killing innocents does not get the condemnation it deserves. But neither does the example of leaders who choose their own lives prove anything but that even they think this sort of violent death in killing others is wrong, at least for themselves.
The capture of Saddam is a major event. He will still have many admirers and sympathizers. We should not be overly astonished by that. Those who think we should have done nothing or should have done something else remain mostly unconvinced by any military or political success.
Those of us who think we would not be safe by doing nothing think the action made sense. In the end, a tyrant has been removed from power in the only way, for all practical purposes, he could have been removed. This is no small feat.
Father James Schall is a professor of political science at Georgetown University.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: James V. Schall, SJ ----- KEYWORDS: Commentary -------- TITLE: Warning: Polygamy Will Be Legal in 2004, Incest by 2009 DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:And now for a little prophecy.
In 2004 the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that challenges the existing laws against polygamy in Utah — let's call it Green v. Utah.
Citing its decisions in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey (1992) and Lawrence et al v. Texas (2003), the court will strike down Utah's statutes against polygamous unions.
Within five years the Supreme Court (again citing Casey and Lawrence) will also strike down all laws banning homosexual marriage, prostitution, pedophilia, pornography and bestiality as unconstitutional.
What is the cause of this dismal prophecy?
Not long after the court decided its landmark pro-homosexual Lawrence et al v. Texas (2003), Utah polyga-mist Tom Green geared up to challenge the Utah law citing Lawrence as precedent — correctly I should add.
Green was convicted in 2001 of violating Utah's bigamy laws — four times over, since he claimed five wives — and he is now bent on reversing the decision and clearing his name. As Green's attorney John Bucher argued, Green's polygamy “doesn't bother anyone, [and with] no compelling state interest in what you do in your own home with consenting adults, you should be allowed to do so.”
A little background. While the Mormon Church banned polygamy more than a century ago (in a deal to grant Utah statehood), there are an estimated 30,000 such polygamous unions in the West. A rather significant class, to say the least.
But, happily for Green et al, the days of anti-polygamist discrimination are numbered, and Green and his attorney correctly view Lawrence as the judicial ax fit to fell what they consider to be an egregious violation of the constitutional rights of polygamists in all 50 states.
How so?
Well, in Lawrence, the court jettisoned, in one fell swoop, the Judeo-Christian moral tradition and the legal tradition of stare decisis (rule by precedent) by which that moral tradition has had its life in the judicial interpretation of law. It did so in the name of affirming homosexuality by federal judicial fiat, specifically rejecting its own recent precedent in Bowers v. Hardwick (1986).
But as polygamist Green rightly notes, the reasoning of the majority in Lawrence (led by Catholic Justice Anthony Kennedy) spells the end of all legal restrictions in regard to sexuality and marriage. In Bowers the court argued that “decisions of individuals relating to homosexual conduct have been subject to state intervention throughout the history of Western civilization. Condemnation of those practices is firmly rooted in Judeo-Christian moral and ethical standards.” Thus, states could indeed legislate against homosexual acts, whether public or private.
In Lawrence, less than 20 years later, the court suddenly found that this moral tradition was inconsequential and hence nonbinding as a mode of interpreting law.
Instead, Kennedy led the court in presenting a newly minted judicial coin, the emergent awareness doctrine: “In all events we think that our laws and traditions in the past half-century are of most relevance here. These references show an emerging awareness that liberty gives substantial protection to adult persons in deciding how to conduct their private lives in matters pertaining to sex.”
Emergent awareness, so the argument goes, trumps “Judeo-Christian moral and ethical standards.”
And so the court discovered that homosexual acts fall under Fourteenth-Amendment protection, which guarantees that no state shall “deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law.”
From homosexuality to polygamy? What possible connection could exist? Witness the slide, friends. First of all, as with the moral prohibition against homosexuality, the legal origin of anti-polygamy laws is almost exclusively Christian and hence ripe for dismissal as irrelevant via the emergent awareness doctrine.
Second, in affirming homosexuality in Lawrence, the court held up, as a kind of judicial principle for interpreting the word “liberty” in the Fourteenth Amendment, the infamous assertion that “at the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe and of the mystery of human life. Beliefs about these matters could not define the attributes of personhood were they formed under compulsion of the state.”
This statement, as Kennedy reminds us in Lawrence, refers directly to the “constitutional protection [afforded] to personal decisions relating to marriage, procreation, contraception, family relationships, child rearing and education.” Well, what could be more personal and hence protected than the right of six people, one man and five women, to be married by common consent?
To make the point, allow me to present the words of Kennedy in Lawrence. As a little game, see if you can see any reason to exclude polygamy. “When homosexual conduct is made criminal by the law of the state, that declaration in and of itself is an invitation to subject homosexual persons to discrimination both in the public and in the private spheres.
“The Bowers’ court was, of course, making the broader point that for centuries there have been powerful voices to condemn homosexual conduct as immoral, but this court's obligation is to define the liberty of all, not to mandate its own moral code.”
Doesn't criminalizing polygamy subject polygamists to discrimination? And again, powerful voices condemning polygamy are no concern of the court, whose only obligation is not the mandating of morality but defining the liberty of all, including polygamists.
In overturning Bowers, Kennedy asserted that the dissent in Bowers by Justice John Paul Stevens has now been given life in Lawrence. “[T]he fact that the governing majority in a state has traditionally viewed a particular practice as immoral is not a sufficient reason for upholding a law prohibiting the practice; … [I]ndividual decisions by married persons concerning the intimacies of their physical relationship … are a form of ‘liberty’ protected by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.” Prepare for the return of polygamy.
As for the other half of my prophecy, listen to the scathing words of dissenting Justice Antonin Scalia:
“State laws against bigamy, same-sex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation, adultery, fornication, bestiality and obscenity are likewise sustainable only in light of Bowers’ validation of laws based on moral choices. Every single one of these laws is called into question by today's decision; the court makes no effort to cabin the scope of its decision to exclude them from its holding.”
Benjamin Wiker writes from Steubenville, Ohio.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Benjamin D. Wiker ----- KEYWORDS: Commentary -------- TITLE: Two Thumbs Up DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:Spirit & Life
Dear Children,
Mom and I are fairly picky about the movies we recommend for you to see. Mom's fancy runs to musical comedies. I like the science fiction.
Of course, we both like movies where the priest (usually Bing Crosby or Gregory Peck) is a good guy who is wise and overcomes evildoers.
So you might be a bit surprised when I tell you that the one film I hope you'll see in 2004 is a Mel Gibson thriller. It has some very bad people in it and lots of blood, suffering and gore.
It doesn't turn out the way you might hope (at least in the short run). And there really isn't much suspense, since you've heard the story before and know how it ends. To top it off, I expect it will be R-rated for violence.
I'm talking about The Passion of the Christ, the story of the last hours of the earthly life of Jesus. I admit that I have not seen the film — which makes me as qualified to praise it as are those who have not seen it but are bashing the movie. I have seen the trailer for the movie and heard Gibson talk about it. I can hardly wait to see it.
Criticism of The Passion seems to center around the concern that it will stir up anti-Semitic feelings and that it will foster some sort of conservative, pre-Vatican II Catholicism. Several friends (some of them priests) who have seen previews of the film assure me this is not the case.
Letters to My Children
The movie is based on a strict, honest interpretation of the Bible, down to the detail of being presented in the original language spoken at the time.
But let's be honest. Christ suffered for all our sins; the people directly responsible for him being on the cross were the folks running things in Jerusalem at the time. They were primarily Jewish or Roman, not Chinese, Russian, American Indian or Mexican. That is historical fact. It also is a fact that we all share the guilt, blame and need for salvation.
The details of the story are neither conservative nor liberal but very well established in the Gospels. My guess is that The Passion is the closest you will ever get to being an eyewitness to Christ's crucifixion.
As the film previews clearly show, this is a richly textured film of shocking reality. It is not a pretty film; a crucifixion was not a pretty event. In this film, the makeup, special effects and realism are on a par with the best Hollywood can offer. (Wes Craven and Sam Peckinpah would be proud.)
Gibson is a fine actor who has made some very entertaining films and made a heap of money. I think he is doing a great service to Christians to underwrite The Passion.
Frankly, nobody would have blamed him for skipping the whole thing, given the criticism he is receiving. Fact is, there are folks who would love to keep the movie from gaining wide distribution. They want to keep it away from the public.
Perhaps they fear many people will for the first time hear and see a story that is both compelling and salvific.
So go see The Passion of the Christ. Don't wait until it comes to the dollar theater — pay full price at the first-run cinema with the wide screen and fancy stereo. Please go back and see it a second time.
And don't forget that we're all part of the story.
Jim Fair writes from Chicago.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Jim Fair ----- KEYWORDS: Travel -------- TITLE: 'House of God, Gate of Heaven' DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:The first thing you notice is the silence. It is not the kind of dead quiet you find in some of the enormous, old churches of Europe — the decommissioned ones now presented to tourists as artifacts of a bygone age.
No, the silence inside Chicago's St. John Cantius Church is felt. It's a palpable presence.
Of course, Christ is really present here, body, blood, soul and divinity. But there's something else here, too. The history of the parish is alive in this silence, engaging all the senses. The smell of candles and incense is sweet; the soaring spaces and rich ornamentation, a feast for the eyes.
I believe it's always been this way in here. And yet there's no doubt that, nestled in a newly gen-trifying neighborhood on Chicago's West Side, St. John Cantius has seen its share of change. More interesting, however, than the row of new condominiums across the street or the restaurants and shops in the neighborhood has been the transformation of the parish itself.
Once slated for likely closure due to dwindling attendance, the large Renaissance-Baroque church has experienced a hearty rebound to become one of the most-respected and beautiful jewels of the Chicago Archdiocese.
The church, with its recently restored clock-tower steeple and copper-roofed belfry, was originally founded in 1892. During the next 25 years, the parish grew from 25 parishioners to more than 23,000. In addition to the beautiful edifice, they also built a parish school, a rectory and a convent for the School Sisters of Notre Dame who taught here.
The intrusion of several expressways through the once densely populated Polish neighborhood caused a steady decline in area and parish population. By 1988, the church had been reduced to only a handful of mostly elderly people assisting at Mass each Sunday.
Enter Resurrectionist Father C. Frank Phillips, the present pastor, who upon his installment promptly instituted a return to the liturgical roots of the Church. With that, the parish re-grew quickly as a large influx of new parishioners from many other neighborhoods and the suburbs began to attend regularly.
The issuance of Pope John Paul II's motu proprio apostolic letter Ecclesia Dei that same year allowed the opportunity to reintro-duce the Tridentine Mass (1962 Missal) to the parish on a weekly basis. The traditional Mass became the centerpiece of the renewal of St. John Cantius as probably the most beloved “commuter parish” in Chicago. It has also become a favorite pilgrimage destination.
Peace Pervades
The soaring façade of the church towers from the level of the street immediately makes one cognizant of the purpose of the structure. The deep carving high above the entrance proclaims Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, declaring that this is “all for the greater glory of God.” The church cornerstone reads, “Awesome is this place: It is the House of God and the Gate of Heaven.”
Upon entering the nave, one is immediately struck by the peace that pervades the entire interior. St. John Cantius is a church of warmth and beauty, liberally decorated in wood, carvings and other items of sacred art. Christ rises in glory high above the main altar in power and majesty. Two tall angels, one on either side of the sanctuary, bear large candles as if to escort Jesus and herald his presence. The floor of the church is a mosaic depicting the symbols of the Church in many colors. Craftsman relied on intricate pieces of many types of wood to create this work of art. Amazingly, no colored stains were used in constructing the inlaid hardwood floor images.
Among the many outstanding works of art here is a striking image of Our Lady of Czestochowa, prominently raised at the front, leftside altar. At the north and south side-altars are a carved 19th-century Pieta from Bavaria and an actual scale replica of the world-renowned Wit Stwosz altarpiece from Krakow, Poland. Both were commissioned for this church.
It's never just the “same old thing” at St. John Cantius. For one thing, the illuminative effects of the resplendent stained glass from Europe change with the time of day and the seasons. For another, a variety of artworks brought in for various holy days and liturgical seasons ensure that every visit to the church is unique.
The second floor of the church houses a 250-year-old Italian presi-pio (a large, intricate Nativity) that is truly worth the climb — especially on or around the solemnity of the Epiphany (Jan. 4). Originally slated for the Vatican, it was instead donated to St. John Cantius, where it is on permanent display. The church's second-floor museum room also displays more than 1,000 authentic relics of saints.
While the art and architecture of the parish lends a hand, a visit to St. John Cantius quickly becomes a moving spiritual pilgrimage. Dedicated to a truly authentic celebration of the liturgy in all of its forms, great care is taken at St. John Cantius to adhere to all of the rubrics established by the Church. In addition to the opportunity to assist at the glorious Tridentine Mass, you also have options for the Novus Ordo Mass offered in both English and Latin each Sunday.
It is sometimes said by visitors that they have never experienced the Mass said with such care, reverence and attention to detail. In any event, a visit to the parish can never be considered complete without attending one of the Masses offered by the priests of the Society of St. John Cantius, the new religious community that supports this diocesan parish.
Before you end your visit, stop by the lower-level Café San Giovanni for some of the best chili in the area. There you can meet the wonderful, warm people of this very special parish church — a church in which God's presence is so unmistakable amid the sacred silence.
Len Pacek writes from Orland Park, Illinois.
----- EXCERPT: St. John Cantius Church, Chicago ----- EXTENDED BODY: Len Pacek ----- KEYWORDS: Travel -------- TITLE: When Grace Sings, Blessings Abound DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:Sometimes Nancy Greenhaw gets a little confused about what, exactly, God wants from her.
Usually the confusion doesn't last long.
Case in point: When Grace, her ministry's praise-and-worship band, was recording its second CD, one singer left and another died suddenly. So Leticia Darrow, who sings, writes lyrics and plays the keyboards, turned to her mother and asked her to fill in.
“You have to sing this part,” she told Nancy.
“Not me. I can't do it. I'm not good enough,” Nancy replied.
Finally, she agreed. “I started practicing,” Nancy recalls. “I kept practicing.”
But she was confused. “Lord, you put me in this position, but you didn't give me a voice,” she remembers thinking. “This is not logical. This is not like you. I really hate my voice. What is the deal?”
About a year later, after much prayer, Nancy figured it out.
“We have to be careful with the words we say,” says Nancy, who, along with her husband, Lloyd, founded Grace Ministries, a lay music and preaching ministry based in St. Petersburg, Fla. “I realized I had put a curse on myself. This is one of the things I teach about: what our worth is in the Lord. It's not in who we are or what we have, but it's in the Lord. He can change us if we're open.”
So after apologizing to God, she thanked him for her voice and asked that he strengthen it. She has no doubt God answered that prayer. “Now, when I hear my voice, I think, ‘Gosh, that doesn't sound like me.’”
Changed by Grace
These days, Nancy and Lloyd do and say a lot of things that would have been far out of place for them just a few years back. Back in the mid-1980s, they were cultural Catholics. Then they got involved in the charismatic-renewal movement. Their lives changed, they say, when they were “baptized in the Holy Spirit.”
At the time, the Greenhaws were living in Baton Rouge, La. Lloyd was earning “a lot of money” as a salesman of automotive equipment. They lived in an upscale neighborhood and drove flashy sports cars.
The couple moved to Florida for business reasons in 1987. They lived in Treasure Island, near St. Petersburg, in a spacious house on the waterway. They owned a cabin cruiser and a smaller fishing boat. Life was good.
Then one day, a priest visited their parish and said, “You have to give God permission to work in your lives.” Three months later, the business hit an insurmountable roadblock. They ended up losing their home, their cars, their boats, their savings and their health insurance.
The women of Grace: Nancy Greenhaw (left), Natasha Darrow (standing), Leticia Darrow (sitting) and Janie Scheiber.
‘One soul for each tear’
For each tear that I cry, I'm asking you to free
One soul for your kingdom, for all eternity
You're calling me to trust; my purpose now is clear
Join my pain to yours, and give me one soul for each tear
Soul by soul, tear by tear, Let me serve you Lord
Soul by soul, tear by tear
— from the song “Soul by Soul” on Grace's CD Ocean of Mercy
“It was the best thing that ever happened to us,” Nancy says. “The Lord wanted for us to be totally for him and to work for him.”
A friend told them about what life was like in the mission fields. Nancy and Lloyd started leading retreats. They visited Jamaica and saw poverty. Their prayer life deepened. And slowly, over time, they felt the call to becoming lay Catholic evangelists.
“When you come to an experience of God, and you know he's real, then that colors your whole worldview,” Lloyd says. “Now success is not measured in monetary gain, but rather success to me is measured in where you go when you leave this earth — whether you go to heaven or to hell.”
Trusting God
For the past 12 years, the two have lived on faith, relying on money donated when they preach and play music along with their jobs as coordinators for Renewal Ministries, a Catholic evangelism organization based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
“It takes faith, which is a call to trust God,” says Peter Herbeck, Renewal's vice president and missions director. “If you don't know God you can't really trust him. You don't trust someone you don't know. Lloyd and Nancy and the family know the Lord. They know his provision. They know he's faithful.”
Nancy and Lloyd have given their testimonies and evangelized in front of thousands across Africa, including Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. They and the Grace band have also preached and played praise-and-worship music at retreats, parish missions and youth conferences across the United States. They rely on God for everything — including good health, since they don't have health insurance.
“We're disgustingly healthy,” Lloyd says with a laugh. “He's our insurance plan and our provider.”
“One of the things that strengthens our ministry is the fact that we're a couple,” he adds. “We're called by God together. The sacramental aspect of our marriage is a strong witness to what we're doing, as is the fact that we live by faith. It ought to be an encouragement to other people that, if God is legitimately calling you, he will provide for you. In 12 years, we've not missed a meal.”
Lloyd and Nancy drive across the country in their donated motor home with other band members: their daughter, Leticia Darrow, who often brings along some of her nine children; Leticia's husband, Ric, who operates the sound system; and Janie Scheiber, a vocalist and song-writer.
Leticia and Janie, who has six children, are often so busy being moms that they write music on the fly — on napkins, McDonald's bags or, in Janie's case, singing the lyrics into her voice mail, Leticia said. The group has produced four CDs and is working on one for teens.
Leticia says playing in front of teens is especially fulfilling. “You go into a room where there's a bunch of young people looking at you like, ‘My mom made me be here. This is boring. I'm going to make your life miserable,’” she says. “By the end of the day, they're raising their hands, singing and laughing, and they're coming up to you, saying you've changed their lives forever. There's no price tag you can put on something like that.”
Carlos Briceno writes from Seminole, Florida.
For more on Grace Ministries, including samples of the music of Grace, go to www.thenewevange-lism.org. To order CDs, e-mail graceministries @ ij. net.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Carlos Briceno ----- KEYWORDS: Arts -------- TITLE: Weekly Video/DVD Picks DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:Peter Pan (2000)
It might seem heresy to baby boomers with fond memories of Mary Martin singing and flying on NBC, but this beautifully produced A&E restaging of the musical, starring gymnast-turned-actress Cathy Rigby, eclipses the beloved 1960 Martin kinescope in almost every way.
The reworked script is both funnier and truer to J.M. Barrie's story, and sets, effects and choreography are more lavish and better done. Rigby, a fine actress and singer, might be less technically polished than Martin; but not only is Rigby — with her athletic build and tomboyish physical and vocal performance — a much more credible boy than the womanly Martin, but Rigby's spectacular acrobatics and physical exuberance elevate the role to a new level, too.
Pan's personality is also truer, for Pan, though fearless and merry, is also vain and heartless, having no mother to teach him otherwise. He wants Wendy for a mother, but Wendy can't become a mother without first becoming a wife, and Pan refuses to accept her in that role. Barrie's themes of childhood magic and selfishness, and of grown-up roles and responsibility, are well served in this retelling.
Casting, notably Paul Schoffler as Mr. Darling/Hook and little Drake English as Michael Darling, is first-rate.
Ideal entertainment for the whole family.
Content advisory: Mild swashbuckling action.
Peter Pan (1953)
For millions of children and adults, Disney's Peter Pan is the only Peter Pan, and while it's neither the best retelling of J.M. Barrie's nursery tale nor the best Disney cartoon of the era, it is, fortunately, a decent enough example of both. Barrie's whimsical inventions (a St. Bernard for a nursemaid, Peter Pan's separable shadow) and most magical moments (the Jolly Roger taking flight) work well in an animated context.
The tunes are cheerful if not outstanding; “You Can Fly” is probably the most memorable of the bunch. Equally significant the-matically is “Your Mother and Mine,” resonating with Barrie's theme that Neverland, while a magical place, is also a rather heartless place, for there are no mothers there. (Note how even the pirates, lurking outside the Lost Boys’ hideout waiting to capture them, are affected by Wendy's ode to motherhood, and Smee weeps uncontrollably over his “Mother” tattoo.)
As MGM did with The Wizard of Oz, this retelling of Peter Pan shifts the story's magic from the real world to the world of a child's imagination.
Now it is Wendy, not Mrs. Darling, who sees Peter and catches his shadow, and the children, instead of vanishing for days on end, are now found drowsing in the nursery — as if they dreamed the whole thing.
Content advisory: Mild swashbuckling action; exaggerated American Indian stereotypes.
Peter Pan (1924)
One of the best silent films for the whole family, this magical production of Peter Pan is true to both letter and spirit of J.M. Barrie's nursery tale.
Largely retaining theatrical trappings from the author's own stage-play version of the story, the film incorporates some location shooting and charming special effects, bringing Neverland to the screen in a unique way.
Continuing a stage convention that would extend to subsequent film versions, Pan is played by a petite woman, teen-aged Betty Bronson, who brings tomboyish energy and dash to the role.
Ernest Torrence blusters as Mr. Darling and sneers with foppish malevolence as Captain Hook, and Mary Brian makes a charming Wendy. The stage flying effects work just as well onscreen, and George Ali reprises his delightful costumed animal performances from the stage as Nana and the crocodile.
Going beyond stage-bound productions, this Peter Pan includes the flying Jolly Roger, close-ups of Tinker Bell and a unique scene in which materials for a house gathered by the Lost Boys magically assemble themselves around the unconscious Wendy. (One curiosity is Hollywood's unabashed Americanization of Barrie's British sentiments, including changing phrases such as “English gentlemen” to “American gentlemen” and replacing the Union Jack with the Stars and Stripes!)
Content advisory: Mild swashbuckling action, including a scene in which Pan kills a number of pirates in silhouette.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Steven D. Greydanus ----- KEYWORDS: Arts -------- TITLE: Weekly TV Picks DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:All times Eastern
SUNDAY, JAN. 4
Franciscan University Presents
EWTN, 7 p.m.
Tonight's guest, Dr. Wanda Franz, president of the National Right to Life Committee, discusses the growing number of medical studies that prove what pro-lifers have long said: Abortions not only kill babies, but they also deeply harm their mothers, and any subsequent brothers and sisters, physically, psychologically and spiritually.
SUNDAY, JAN. 4
Secrets of the Viking Warriors
National Geographic Channel, 9 p.m.
This two-hour premiere special presents the latest theories on why Viking seafarers burst forth from Scandinavia in the mid-eighth century and attacked coastal England, Ireland and the rest of Europe for the next 300 years. Examination of a 1,100-year-old Viking ship and a lab-created ship model uncovers naval technology advances that aided the Norsemen. But some experts think the Vikings’ main consideration, aside from plunder, might have been their pagan myth about entering Valhalla, an abode of slain warriors.
MONDAY, JAN. 5
Battlefield Medicine
History Channel, 7 p.m.
This documentary shows us the physicians, nurses, stretcher-bearers, ambulance-drivers and combat medics who have rescued and treated wounded soldiers throughout history.
TUESDAY, JAN. 6
Reporters at War
Discovery Times, 8 p.m.
This special covers war correspondents past and present, examining the nature of their high-risk assignments. Advisory: Necessarily involves scenes of warfare.
TUESDAY, JAN. 6
Nova: Mars, Dead or Alive
PBS, 8 p.m.
Takes an in-depth look at the U.S. space mission that soon is to parachute the Spirit, a Mars rover, onto the red planet's Gusev Crater, a possible dry lakebed. The Spirit has made a seven-month, 300 million-mile journey since its launch last summer.
THURSDAY, JAN. 8
Top 5 Food Fads
Food Network, 9 p.m.
This fun show not only picks the five biggest food fads to hit the U.S., but it also names the top fad diets — and surveys vintage houseware for good measure.
FRIDAY, JAN. 9
Save Our History: The Star-Spangled Banner
History Channel, 7 a.m.
This show discusses the latest painstaking effort to preserve the original Star-Spangled Banner, the huge American flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to compose our national anthem when he witnessed its survival of a British naval barrage in the War of 1812.
SATURDAY, JAN. 10
The New Yankee Workshop
PBS, 1 p.m.
At historic Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts, host Norm Abram finds a beautiful 200-year-old butterfly table made of cherry and shows us in detail its perfect drop leaves and wing-like supports.
Dan Engler writes from Santa Barbara, California.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Dan Eastern ----- KEYWORDS: Arts -------- TITLE: Meet the New Vatican Point-Man on Education DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:Father J. Michael Miller, a priest of the Congregation of St. Basil and president of the University of St. Thomas in Houston, has been named secretary to the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education.
Archbishop-designate Miller, 57, will be ordained an archbishop Jan. 12 and will hold the second-highest position in the education congregation under its prefect, Polish Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski.
A native of Ottawa, he is familiar with Rome. From 1992 to 1997 he served in the English section of the Vatican's Secretariat of State. A prolific author and a specialist on the papacy and modern papal teaching, Archbishop-designate Miller has written The Shepherd and the Rock: Origins, Development and Mission of the Papacy (1995) and the Encyclicals of John Paul II (2001). A Latin American scholar, he speaks Spanish, Italian, French and German.
In December he spoke with Register correspondent Ellen Rossini.
You joined the faculty of the University of St. Thomas in 1979 and became its president in 1997. So that's where most of your career in higher education has been spent.
It sure has been. I taught a semester in Mexico at a seminary, the Seminario Regional del Sureste in Tehuacan, and then when I was in Rome I taught two years at the Gregorian as an adjunct when I was working there. I taught seminars on the teachings of Pope John Paul II.
Describe the University of St. Thomas.
It was founded in 1947 as a Catholic co-institutional university. We have nearly 5,000 students, with 2,000 undergrads.
For undergraduates we have a very strong liberal arts core curriculum, which includes a 24-hour bloc in philosophy and theology. We're the only center that offers the doctorate in the study of St. Thomas [Aquinas], in our Center for Thomistic Studies.
We also provide the academic formation for our seminary, in our school of theology, which is one of the two theologates in the state of Texas.
Can you tell me the situation there with the mandatum, which is required of Catholic theology professors?
There's a privacy thing in this. When the bishop does it, he does it with the individual; it's not something that is reported back to the university. But [we've learned] the bishop offered everyone the mandatum. And in our ads we are able to say that everybody has the mandatum. It's a requirement now to be hired.
What is the scope of the Congregation for Catholic Education?
It tries to implement the Pope's vision for education at the primary and secondary levels, less directly, and at the university level, more directly. It also has concern for seminary formation. It has a fairly broad, three-fold competency.
How can your experiences at the University of St. Thomas help you to fulfill this task?
The experiences of being in higher education in the United States and the way American universities operate, I think, can be helpful to the Holy See. There are other models of university education that are more European and tend to be far more specialized than the kind of undergraduate education that is so common in Catholic schools in the United States.
The idea of a residential university that sort of takes care of kids — that just doesn't exist in most parts of the world. I think it might be helpful to have someone on the team, so to speak, who brings that both from personal experience, having attended universities like that and administering one.
How was your time in the 1990s in Rome?
I [also] studied there in the ‘70s. Rome is a wonderful city; you have a tremendous sense of the universality of the Church, the wonder and the beauty of the Church, the Church seething with activity and life. We get a little used to crisis talk in the United States, and in Rome you see that crisis means they have too many seminarians for too few seminaries.
You get a much broader perspective on the life of the universal Church than we often have here. We think everything is kind of downhill and collapsing, and you forget the good things and the signs of the new springtime. You get that in Rome. Rome is, after Houston, the best place to be.
What do you see as the biggest crisis in Catholic education?
I think that varies. The crisis in North American and West European societies [would be] secularization, antagonism toward religion, diffidence to the truth. There's a huge intellectual background and culture that our students absorb even when they've come from Catholic schools. The society influences them to a kind of “nice-ism,” a relativism, a skepticism toward truth. It's the air they breathe. They don't mean ill by it, but it puts an extra challenge in the mix for Catholic education, which is dedicated to the cause of truth.
It's the mind-set that is there. Among ordinary kids — there are more sophisticated movements that affect a small percentage — but most kids are just nice kids, and they have a hard time with some of the tough intellectual form that is also part of the Catholic intellectual tradition.
So you have the challenge of speaking truth in an age where there is no sense of truth.
Exactly. It's not that they passionately believe — they don't passionately believe in much of anything, they don't even passionately believe in what they do. All the edges have been overly softened.
We live in a world of opinion, and you're the master of the opinion. Nobody can contradict how you feel. So statements like, “I think,” “I believe,” “I argue that,” “I am convinced that” — all those are harder for the kids.
It sounds like we need a new revolution in Catholic education.
We need to, beginning with the family, buttress them with a new language that is built on more solid ground. If you don't have that, it's harder for you to absorb the intellectual part of the Catholic tradition. They get it from their family and from their schooling. That's why sound Catholic education is so important. And if the family is not there, it can't do much.
What energizes you? What are the opportunities, the bright lights in Catholic education?
It's a great field in which you can do so much, if you have some clear ideas, if you're willing to work with people. You do have to understand where people are coming from. No one is really convinced simply by imposition of someone else.
When the Catholic intellectual tradition is really lived in an institution and people are really enthused by it, you can see that it changes kids’ minds and hearts. You see the result. That's why people stay in universities all their lives. They do see people change.
So there's the element of evangelization, then?
Some schools put everything on the input, like you have to be perfect when you come in. A few places can do that, but for mass Catholic education, that's not what it's about. To have a criterion — you get to a Catholic school because you go to Mass — no, a lot of kids probably don't go to Mass when they're in high school and you hope that by Catholic education that they'll go out going to Mass. It really has a broader evangelical role.
Ellen Rossini writes from Richardson, Texas.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Ellen Rossini ----- KEYWORDS: Education -------- TITLE: Natural Family Planning as Marital 'Spice' DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:The Missing Cornerstone
by S. Joseph Tham, M.D.
Circle Press, 2003
144 pages, $11.95
To order: (888) 881-0729
www.circlepressusa.com
History is a study not only of time but also of timing. Think of 1968 — a time of campus unrest, anti-war protests and the sexual revolution. In that sweltering summer of pronounced social upheaval, Pope Paul VI issued Humanae Vitae (On Human Life). The encyclical entered a world that, for the most part, was not ready to hear the Church's traditional teaching on marriage and contraception.
But the prophetic document has stood the test of time. After more than three decades of broken marriages and crippled lives, a plague of sexually transmitted diseases, some 40 million abortions in the United States alone and population-control agendas worldwide, the wisdom of the Church's teaching is getting a second hearing.
Part of the reason is that, increasingly, the teaching is being phrased in the idioms of our time — the personal and the progressive. Pope John Paul II has led the way; his personalist philosophy appeals to our “Me Age” by translating traditional concepts into modern, person-centered language.
The Missing Cornerstone, a compendium of personal accounts of couples who have switched from contraception to Church-approved natural family planning, follows the Holy Father's communications model. It doesn't preach. It persuades. Written by a physician who once prescribed contraceptives, the book — subtitled Reasons Why Couples Choose Natural Family Planning in Their Marriage — tells the story of the author's own switch and that of his patients, backing it up with solid medical and scientific facts.
The author calls natural family planning the missing cornerstone upon which a healthy and peaceful society must be built. “When I began to work with couples who were using natural family planning,” he writes, “I saw how the theory of this message — when put into practice — yields marvelous results.”
“That tiny pill,” says one wife of oral contraceptives, “takes the love out of the loving. Essentially, it contradicts God's natural law by separating the procreative from the unitive.” Adverting to the pill's abortifacient properties, she adds: “What is most tragic is that it can actually prevent a healthy fertilized egg, a conceived human being, from attaching to the uterus.”
Highlighting the positive elements of natural family planning, Tham calls it a “precious jewel” that adds spice to marriage. “S-P-I-C-E is a clever acronym for the Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Communicative and Emotional aspects of NFP,” he says.
The best parts of the book are an explanation of the difference between contraception and using natural family planning to postpone pregnancy, a reprint of a pastoral letter by Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver and an interview with Drs. John and Lyn Billings, who developed a method of natural family planning.
The book's only drawback: some rather glaring typos. It compensates for its lack of polish with the story of Tham's compelling conversion. Born in Hong Kong, he emigrated to Canada at age 15. After earning a medical degree, he practiced family medicine and encountered many patients, including teen-agers with their mothers, who asked for various forms of contraception. Though Catholic, he was unsure about the Church's teaching.
He explains, “I knew of no Catholic doctors who did not prescribe the pill. I had my training in two Catholic hospitals in a city and they did not differ much in practice from the rest in this regard except they did not offer abortions. … I approached several priests and they all I gave different and sometimes contradictory answers. Most said that it was alright; others said no.
Troubled by his ‘ conscience, he eventually stopped prescribing contraceptives and learned natural family planning. His conversion led him to deeper prayer and faithfulness, which in turn led him to give up his medical practice and join the Legionaries of Christ, the order that publishes the Register. He is studying for the priesthood with the Legionaries, with whom he will be effective — judging by this effort, anyway — in joyfully spreading the truth of the Church's teachings.
Stephen Vincent is based in Wallingford, Connecticut.
----- EXCERPT: Weekly Book Pick ----- EXTENDED BODY: Stephen Vincent ----- KEYWORDS: Education -------- TITLE: Campus Watch DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:Expertise and Morals
The programs will go beyond other schools’ science and pre-med programs, giving students a look at bioethics, dignity-of-life situations and issues such as suffering, the newspaper reported.
“Some of these things are not offered in other universities’ programs,” said James Peliska, professor of chemistry and biology who is setting up the new programs. “Our graduates will have not only expertise but morals.”
Ave Maria University opened in September with 100 students and expects to have 300 next year, 400-500 in 2005 and up to 1,000-1,200 when the school's permanent campus opens in 2006.
New School?
The Phoenix-area daily said cultural changes in the diocese could include a greater emphasis on the bishop's part on religious institutions, including a university. Plans for such a school have been in the works for years, the newspaper said, with little progress.
Currently there is no Catholic college or university in the state of Arizona.
Inmate Grads
The three-year-old program, involving the prison, the Catholic college and private industries, is believed to be the only one of its kind in the country, the paper reported.
The industries pay half of each of its inmate employee's tuition. It's up to each inmate, who earns minimum wage, to pay the other half.
“Thank you for believing in all of us,” said Michael Bess, one of the seven graduates. “Thank you for shedding a little light in this dark area of society. “
Honored Franciscan
Father Henry will remain president of the school while he serves as vicar provincial, which is second only to the minister provincial in governing the Franciscan province. His term begins Jan. 7.
The Province of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is the largest Third Order Regular province in the world, with more than 150 members.
Essay Contest
THOMAS MORE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS, December — Students applying to the Merrimack, N.H., college as full-time freshman or transfer students for the 2004-2005 academic year are invited to enter an essay contest.
Up to four winners will receive a four-year, half-tuition scholarship.
In their essay, students must explain how Thomas More's death affirms his life's work of unifying faith and reason. Essays must be postmarked by Feb. 4, and winners will be notified by March 4.
For more information visit www.thomasmorecollege.edu.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Education -------- TITLE: Sibling Self-Solutions DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:Family Matters
Q
When it comes to sibling conflicts, the standard advice from experts is, “Stay out of it. Let them work things out themselves.” What do you think of this advice?
A
I think it is misguided, unworkable and dangerous. Other than that, I believe it has merit.
By their very nature, children are partially socialized and partially moralized human beings. And the younger they are, the more unfinished the formation. Indeed, sometimes even with age maturity comes slowly. Some adults remain quite incompletely socialized all their lives. In general, though, the average kid is much less grownup than the average grown-up.
The advice, “Let siblings solve their own clashes,” assumes a degree of maturity, or “conflict-resolution skills,” few children have. On paper the advice might sound reasonable, even appealing: Let children learn as they go. Or, more precisely, as they go after each other. In real life, it seldom works that way. Two or more childish beings are likely to flail about, driven by self-interest, toward a resolution where only one wins. If mutual cooperation came naturally, there wouldn't be so many high-priced motivational speakers trying to teach adults how to interact in a win-win way.
The notion is unworkable. Unless your children are comparable in age, size, intellect, feistiness, willfulness, altruism and on and on and on, the fight will not be fair. The more dominant child will resolve things in his favor. This is Human Nature 101. No 10-year-old boy is going to say to his 6-year-old sibling, “Okay, let's try to work this out. You are my flesh and blood, so I need to be aware of your needs, not just my own. You take the game first and play with it as long as you like. I'll wait until you're finished before taking my turn. After all, I was 6 once, so I know just how you feel.”
If you have a child like this, I'd agree that you should let him work it out. In fact, I'd say: “Let him raise himself.”
In the world of real kids, self-love is much stronger than sibling love. Only with much time and guidance, by a parent and not a sibling, does a child learn to inhibit his self-interest and act cooperatively with others.
The “solve-it-themselves” advice is dangerous. Even if Harmony and Justice eventually do get good at resolving their disagreements, how much damage will take place in the meantime as they learn to cooperate via youthful trial and error? How many names called? How much volume, nastiness and emotional turbulence? Hurt feelings and hurt bodies? The sibling bond is strong and can weather a lot of assault. But that doesn't mean the assault is good or strengthens the bond.
There is one way to help siblings solve it themselves. You set the conditions within which they are permitted to work it out. For example, your house rule might be, “Any mistreatment of a brother or sister brings discipline.”
Teaching children how to treat each other with kindness and respect is not a brother's or sister's job. It is ours. True, they do learn some from each other. But the prime socializ-er of a child is a parent, not another child. You are much better at being a parent than they are — despite what they might sometimes say.
Dr. Ray Guarendi is the father of 10, a psychologist and an author.
He can be reached at drray.com.
Reach Family Matters at familymatters@ncregister.com
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: DR. Ray Guarendi ----- KEYWORDS: Culture of Life -------- TITLE: RELIGION RISES ON CAMPUS DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:Facts of Life
In a study recently conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute of the University of California at Los Angeles, 77% of students surveyed said they pray, while 73% said a religious tradition helped to shape their identity. “College is the first time you're asked to look at your world and come to a conclusion independently about it,” commented Vanessa Baehr-Jones, president of a student-fellowship group at Tufts University in Boston. “Religion can help shape what meaning that will take.”
Source: Tufts Daily, Dec. 8 Register illustration by Tim Rauch
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Culture of Life -------- TITLE: Odds Are, You'll Break That Resolution DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:… if you don't ask Mary to help you keep it
Many are the New Year's resolutions that go belly-up before the end of January.
That doesn't mean Catholic families shouldn't set spiritual goals as the annual calendar turns. It just means they'd do well to ask, in the same breath, for the resolve-strengthening intercession of a powerful prayer partner: the Blessed Mother.
“She's always our advocate if we ask things of God through her,” says Brenda Zimmerer of Denton, Texas, who offers a real-life parallel on how such prayer works. When her children urge her to “ask Dad” if they can do this or that, she says, she doesn't necessarily hit her husband with the request right away.
“I wait until the right moment,” she explains. “In the same way, we can go to our Blessed Mother [any time], and she goes to God at the right moment. Anything we ask for our spiritual growth gets top priority from her.”
Husband Alan builds on the analogy. “It's like any mother wanting the best for us,” he says. “Mary is constantly leading us to Jesus, so we have to stay close to her.”
One resolution the Zimmerers have managed to keep, thanks to the Blessed Mother's helping hand, is praying a family rosary every day with their three boys and two girls, ages 2 to 20.
And speaking of the family rosary, could Catholics raising kids come up with a better aspiration?
Father Kevin Barrett, international chaplain of the Apostolate for Family Consecration (www.familyland.org), doesn't think so. In fact, he sees the family rosary as a “high-priority resolution.”
Pope John Paul II has urged all Catholics to pray the rosary, notes Father Barrett, and for two specific intentions: world peace and the salvation of the family.
“Our Lady of Fatima said war is a punishment for man's infidelity,” says Father Barrett, who notes Mary's connection of world peace with the rosary.
With a rosary resolution, families would play a vital part in bringing about world peace. “It's in our hands,” he says, “because Mary said that, if enough people pray the rosary, she would bring peace to the world.”
Mary's Model
Not all agree on January as the best — or the only — time to set spiritual goals.
“I've never taken New Year's resolutions seriously,” says Father Robert Fox, founder of the Fatima Family Apostolate now connected with EWTN's Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament in Alabama. “The New Year's resolution has become more or less a joke.”
Instead, he sees constant need for true resolve. “We have to make resolutions to improve our life, to get closer to Jesus every time we go to confession,” he explains. “We have to have a firm purpose of amendment and a resolve to move away from sin.”
And we should decide to model our lives on Mary's example. “Mary is the perfect Christian, the model of everything the Church is and hopes to become,” Father Fox adds. “Devotion to her immaculate heart means essentially living the Christian life and living the Christian virtues.”
Msgr. F. Joseph Harte, founder and director of Mary, Queen of the Universe Shrine in Orlando, Fla., agrees. “Every day is a new conversion,” he says. “In
Luke's Gospel, Jesus tells us to take up our cross each day and follow him. It begins with a desire to do God's will, and we learn acceptance of God's will from her.”
Mary resolved to do God's will always. She accepted God's will through the angel's message and then went in haste to help Elizabeth.
“She didn't lose any time,” Msgr. Harte notes. “That's what a resolution is: to live life in accordance with God's will. As Queen of the Universe, she's in a hurry to help us, too, if we trust in God's divine providence.”
Asked how such resolve might be translated into familial action, Msgr. Harte responds: “The greatest gift you can give a child in their younger years, before 10, is to teach them to pray. When you teach them to pray the rosary, you give them a gift that lasts a lifetime.”
For his part, Alan Zimmerer sees Mary helping even in nonspir-itual resolutions if they're for our overall benefit. “Mary wants what's best for us in general — making a resolution to lose weight for health or taking a class to improve our mind,” he observes. “Mary would play a significant role in nudging us to improve any area that may be lacking in our own life.”
Mark Miravalle, a theology professor at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, points to the site of Christ's first public miracle — the wedding at Cana (incidentally, the second luminous mystery). “Wine at a wedding is pretty practical,” Miravalle says. “So we shouldn't limit Our Mother's assistance to just spiritual needs.
“The spiritual is what gives us the strength to incorporate practical strength into our lives,” he adds. For example, the daily rosary is the spiritual fruit that leads to more patience with our children or seeing it's not the government but we who are responsible for the poor.
Here's a thought to ponder on Jan. 4, feast of the Epiphany: Were the Magi resolution-makers after seeing the Holy Family?
“There's no question that being in the presence of the Infant changed their lives,” Msgr. Harte notes. “They had an awareness of what was right and what was wrong. They were directed by the angel and didn't go back to Herod.”
The remains of the three kings — Casper, Melchior and Balthazar — are venerated in the Cathedral of Cologne, Germany, Father Barrett notes. “It's believed they all became Christians and died a holy death.”
He offers a clue in the symbolism of their gifts. They honor Jesus as priest, prophet and king. The gold represents their good deeds, frankincense their prayer and myrrh, a traditional burial spice, acknowledges that Jesus “would be our sacrifice, the Lamb slain for our redemption.”
Brenda Zimmerer reflects that “perhaps they were inspired to spread the good news because they actually got to see it. They made a resolution to tell as many people as possible that the Messiah was born and they had an angel talk to them.”
The three kings kneeling down and worshipping the child in the manger “made a wonderful act of faith,” says Father Barrett, who adds that we have that same opportunity to show our faith. “We go into church, see a piece of bread and adore Jesus because he said it is himself.”
“The more we adore our Eucharistic Jesus, the more the Blessed Sacrament radiates changes in our lives,” Miravalle says.
And, like Mary's intercession, the more our devotion helps us keep our resolutions.
Alan Zimmerer ties this into his own New Year's resolution to spend more time in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
“The three kings came and knelt before the ‘Blessed Sacrament’ in real life,” he says. “I'm sure that had a significant impact on their life. If we do that, Jesus will develop us into the people he wants us to be.”
Mary wouldn't have it any other way — in January and throughout the year.
Joseph Pronechen writes From Trumbull, Connecticut.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Joseph Pronechen ----- KEYWORDS: Culture of Life -------- TITLE: His 'Personal Best' Has Nothing to Do With a Race Time DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:Priest Profile
“Good morning, Father!” the kinder-gartners at St. Anthony's summer school in Washington, D.C., chant in unison as 39-year-old Father Gregory Coan strolls into their classroom.
For the next 20 minutes, the newly ordained priest commands the kids’ attention, calling each child by name as he pops questions on the life of Christ, the Mass and the rosary. After the visit, he bounds up three flights of stairs to the parish memorial hall, where two of the 15 first-and second-graders raise their heads from a crossword puzzle to greet him. “This,” Father Coan says, “is a much harder crowd.”
Father Coan is no stranger to crowds that aren't easily impressed. His father is a doctor, his mother a nurse. And his paternal grandfather was a world-class runner. In 1929, Carl Coan came within two seconds of matching the then-world record for the indoor mile, 4:12.
That was a family legacy young Gregory wanted to build on. Father Coan recalls going on jogs with his dad by early grade school and, by his first year of high school, setting a goal for himself: beat his grandpa's near-record run.
In his senior year at Gonzaga High School in Washington, D.C., young Coan ran the region's fastest mile, 4:13. This led to his being recruited to run for the nationally ranked University of Virginia. It was there, in his sophomore year, that he realized his longtime athletic goal: He beat his grandfather's time by four seconds.
After graduating, he took a job as head coach of track and crosscountry at Wagner College in Staten Island, N.Y. All the while, he was shaving seconds off his 5,000-meter and indoor-mile time.
“Running had become my No. 1 priority,” Father Coan recalls. “In college and afterward, I kind of drifted away from going to Mass and receiving the sacraments regularly. But I did keep praying the Our Father every night.”
Then, on Dec. 13, 1993, his comfortable routine — along with his string of personal-best run times, which were adding up to a serious shot at the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team — was shattered.
While playing a game of pickup basketball, he came down hard after jumping high for a rebound. “As soon as I landed,” he says, “I knew I had broken my foot.”
“I was so mad,” Father Coan continues. “I kept pounding the floor. People thought it was because of pain, but it was more out of anger at my own stupidity.” Weeks of rest and rehab followed.
The Sunday after the cast came off, he decided to test his progress by hobbling a mile and a half to Mass at the nearest church, Our Lady of Good Counsel. “I had become a Christmas-and-Easter Catholic,” he says. “But, as soon as I walked in, something — I don't know what — said, ‘You're home.’”
As his foot healed that spring of ‘94, a new door to professional advancement opened when he was named head coach of the crosscountry team at George Washington University. Glad to be back in his hometown, Coan led his team over familiar paths. He also returned to the confessional for the first time in 12 years and began going to daily Mass.
“It was that year, while praying the rosary one night, that I felt the call to the priesthood,” Father Coan remembers. “I thought just being back in Church was causing that, and that it would go away, and I was hoping it would go away.”
“I loved coaching,” he adds, “and I thought God had given me a good life. Now he was taking it away? I thought, ‘Lord, why are you doing this?’ But after a while, when the call wouldn't go away, I thought, ‘How could I not follow him?’”
The rest is history in the making — for the Coan family and for the Catholic Church in America. Father Coan was ordained in May 2003 as one of the Washington Archdiocese's nine graduating priests — up from just one in 1999 and part of a class of approximately 500 nationwide.
The Long Run
In October, with several months as a full-time parish priest under his belt and a few new strands of gray amid his black hair, Father Coan returned to the North American College in Rome for a final year of graduate studies. He hopes that, someday, he might return to a college campus, perhaps as a campus minister.
“He loves parish work and is very much a people person,” says Msgr. Richard Burton, pastor of St. Anthony's in Washington, where Father Coan spent his summer assignment. “He was in the front seat all summer.”
Reflecting on his first few months in the priesthood, Father Coan turns to the language of running: “With running, every day you have to get up and run, cold or rain. You've got to be in season all year round. Now my holy hour is just something I do. I know I have to be there, even if I don't necessarily feel like anything's going on. God is training me, filling me with his strength.”
“He's a prayer warrior,” says his friend and fellow student in Rome, Father Phillip Kaim. “The center of his day is oriented around the Eucharist.”
Father Coan's last Mass at St. Anthony's was the 11:30 Mass on the last Sunday of September. The church was packed.
Near the end of his departing homily, Father Coan looked up from his text to the people he had come to know. “All of our vocations are chosen for us by God, which he calls us to, and which it is up to us to answer,” Father Coan said. “We are all called to do great things in the name of Christ.”
Just before Father Coan gave the blessing at the close of the Mass, first a few parishioners, and then the entire church, rose to their feet. Father Coan knew it was not the ovation of the finish line but the encouragement at the starting blocks.
Soren Johnson writes from Washington, D.C.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Soren Johnson ----- KEYWORDS: Culture of Life -------- -------- TITLE: Prolife Victories DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10, 2004 ----- BODY:Fewer Abortions
LIFENEWS.COM, Dec. 10 — Abortions in Pennsylvania have dropped for the first time in three years.
A Pennsylvania Department of Health study showed the Keystone State's abortion rate rose slightly in 2000 and 2001, but in 2002 it declined 4.5%. The total number of children who died from abortion in 2002 was 35,167 — or 1,653 fewer than the previous year.
The Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation attributed the decline to a decrease in the number of facilities registered to perform abortions in the state, along with the success of Real Alternatives, a state-funded program that offers alternatives to women contemplating abortion.
Not Welcome
CATHOLIC CITIZENS OF ILLINOIS, Nov. 20 — The Diocese of Rockford, Ill., has found a way to keep pro-abortion speakers off Church property.
In response to requests by state Sen. Patrick O'Malley, R-Palos Park, that a policy be instituted, the diocese released the following statement:
“In the Diocese of Rockford, permission to speak at or use diocesan, parish or institutional property shall not be granted to individuals who hold any view that is contrary to the Catholic magisterium's moral teaching and practice.”
O'Malley had previously attended a protest outside St. Xavier University in Chicago, the watch group reported, where former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar, an abortion supporter, spoke to students about his “moral compass.”
Out of the Bag
CNSNEWS.COM, Dec. 12 — Abortion supporters’ controversial strategies for advancing the anti-life agenda are now part of the Congressional Record.
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., introduced on Dec. 8 memos that revealed the pro-abortion Center for Reproductive Rights’ strategy for promoting abortion worldwide, unedited, into the official record of proceedings and debates of the U.S. Congress.
The Center for Reproductive Rights had tried to stop — via legal action — the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute from releasing the memos but were stymied by Smith's actions.
The documents, clearly not meant for public consumption, the news service reported, included such notes as “We have to fight harder, be a little dirtier.”
Right to Life
BBC, Dec. 10 — If a French woman whose fetus was wrongfully terminated has her way, all unborn children in Europe will have the right to life.
In a mix-up during a 1991 doctor's visit, Thi-Nho Vo was given the wrong procedure by a doctor who perforated her uterus and caused her 6-month-old unborn baby to die.
The doctor, Francois Golfier, was eventually convicted of involuntary manslaughter. He appealed on the grounds that the fetus was not a human being and therefore not protected under criminal law. The court ruled in his favor.
Vo is fighting that decision based on Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees a right to life.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Culture of Life -------- TITLE: A Sea of Volunteers Surrounds Terri Schiavo DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:CLEARWATER, Fla. — They have demonstrated and made phone calls, sent out hundreds of e-mails, researched and brainstormed. And they have prayed.
They are tired, and they are worried — tired of being labeled religious fanatics and worried about the indifference to the value of a human life.
They are a group of volunteers who have been helping the parents of Terri Schiavo, a 40-,year-old disabled Florida woman who suffered brain damage after collapsing in 1990 and has been kept alive ever since with the help of a feeding tube.
For the past several years, Terri has been at the center of a bitter legal battle between her husband and legal guardian, Michael Schiavo, and her parents, Robert and Mary Schindler.
The courts have found Terri to be in a “persistent vegetative state,” which her family denies. They believe she might be able to recover if given the proper therapy. Her family also disputes Michael Schiavo's contention that Terri told him she never wanted to be kept alive by artificial means.
Michael Schiavo has asked the courts to order the removal of her feeding tube even though she can breathe on her own and is not in a coma. In mid-October the tube was removed, thus beginning the slow process of starving her to death. Six days later, however, an emergency bill dubbed “Terri's Law” was hastily written and passed by the Florida Legislature. It gave Gov. Jeb Bush the authority to order that the tube be reinserted.
The next major step in the legal battle, which could occur in the next several months, is for a Circuit Court judge to rule on the constitutionality of the new law.
One of the volunteers, Mary Lewis, said she thinks there's a spiritual battle going on.
“It's a war between good and evil,” she said.
Lewis became a volunteer during spring 2001 when she read in the news that Terri's feeding was stopped, though the tube was left in place (feeding was resumed two days later). Lewis' daughter suffered a brain injury when she was a baby, but Lewis knows brain-injured people can be helped. That's why she felt “something horrible” was happening when Terri's feeding was stopped, and she wanted to help.
Lewis' job as a volunteer is to be a disability advocate. She sends out e-mails and gathers research. She made signs that were used by some people who went to demonstrate outside the hospice when Terri's feeding tube was about to be pulled in mid-October.
One of Lewis' fears is that a lot of people who are vulnerable will end up being put to death in this manner one day rather than getting the help they need, she said.
Another volunteer, Pamela Hen-nessy, acts as a liaison between the media and the Schindler family. She said she decided to get involved in fall 2002 after listening to a radio program. She did some research about Terri's situation and felt compelled to help.
“It's really frightening,” Hen-nessy said. “It's abandonment. If you ask me, I think it's murder, taking someone's food and water away from them.”
With her experience in marketing and advertising, she sends out e-mail advisories to the media and has developed and maintained the family's Web site, www.terrisfight.org.
After some brainstorming sessions with others, she also created an online petition to Gov. Bush asking him to intervene. About 150,000 people petitioned him between mid-July and mid-October, she said.
As the marketing manager for a technology company in Tampa, Fla., Hennessy already has a full-time job. But volunteering has become like a full-time job as well. Since March, she estimated she has volunteered seven days a week, sometimes for several hours per day. In October, when Terri's feeding tube was removed, it wasn't unusual for her to be up from 5 a.m. to midnight, she said.
She gets approximately 100 to 200 e-mails a day from people across North America and around the world, including the United Kingdom and South Africa. The e-mails come from doctors who have offered to evaluate and take care of Terri free of charge, rehabilitation facilities that have offered to take Terri in if her parents can get Michael Schiavo to agree to it, concerned nurses and people willing to go grocery shopping for the family or run errands.
Hennessy said she doesn't have a faith affiliation.
“I consider myself a humanitarian,” she said, adding that some people have tried to paint people who side with the Schindlers as “crazy right-wingers” and “fanatics.” She said that's far from the truth.
“They're everything under the sun,” she said. “There are disabled people. There are women. There are people with Christian faith. There are Jewish people. There are people who see it as a huge wrong and want to help to put it right.”
Terri's family is Catholic, and Msgr. Thaddeus Malanowski has been visiting her for more than three years. In October, after Terri's tube was removed and it was thought she would die soon, he was prevented from giving her last communion.
Michael Schiavo and his attorney, George Felos, have alluded to the supporters of the Schindler family in past interviews. In a late October appearance on CNN's “Larry King Live,” in response to a question as to why the Schindlers want their daughter to live, Michael responded: “Mr. and Mrs. Schindler know exactly what condition she's in. They were there in the beginning. They know exactly the position she's in. But now they're being — now they're being fed all this information from these right-to-life activists that's fueling their little flame. They know exactly the position Terri's in.”
In a story that appeared last August, Felos said the parents are being driven by ideology, with the financial support of “fanatic” proponents.
“This case really is about ideology,” Felos told the Cybercast News Service. “It's about the ideology of the parents and their attempts to impose their will on Terri. The Schindlers are being supported financially, their lawyers are being paid by the fanatic anti-choice, right-to-life proponents in this country.”
But Cheryl Ford, another volunteer who lives in the Tampa area and is also a registered nurse, decided to see what was going on the day Terri's feeding tube was removed.
When she arrived at the hospice, she found the media, people with signs, people praying and disabled people in wheelchairs with “saddened, worried and distressed expressions,” she said. Police were blocking entrances and checking who went in and out of the building. Ford said she felt like she was in the middle of a dream.
As a Catholic, she believes humans don't have the right to decide when someone else should die. When she went home that day, she sent e-mails to nurses across the country asking for their help and support. Since then, she said she has collected research that fills two binders, each about 3 1/2 inches thick, which she has shared with the Schindlers' attorney, Patricia Anderson.
She helped organize a celebration for Terri's 40th birthday Dec. 3 and put together a photo collage for the party. Hundreds of well-wishers from all over the world have been e-mailing their photos, and she figures once she's done putting them all together it will fill the size of a door.
Ford also receives approximately 200 to 300 e-mails a day.
“I never know when the one e-mail will come in to help the Schindlers, so I feel this responsibility to open them,” said Ford, a mother of three who assists her husband, a dentist, and is the chief executive officer of an elder care agency in Seattle.
These examples of support, which have come at different levels from several hundred volunteers, have been immensely helpful to the Schindler family, Robert Schindler said.
“I can't even begin to express what they've meant to me,” he said. “They've done so much. They've given us, my whole family, so much support and encouragement. That's what kind of keeps you going. We do have some bad days. If you see the information coming out of the courts — that can be very discouraging how the courts have treated Terri. And these people have all been there to give us the strength to continue.”
Carlos Briceno writes from Seminole, Florida.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Carlos Briceno ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: IMMIGRANT NEEDS AND SOVEREIGNTY CLASH AT MEXICAN BORDER DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:TUCSON, Ariz. — On Dec. 23, Pope John Paul II spoke of the “hopeless journey of immigrants.”
He could have been talking about the Arizona Sonoran desert.
Although the exact number is unknown, the Department of Homeland Security estimates there are 9 million illegal immigrants living in the United States, with as many as 6 million Mexican nationals among them. Drawn by the promise of work, they cross the border by the tens of thousands each year, leaving the bodies of the hundreds who died along the way behind them in the desert.
One of them was José Luis Hernandez Aguirre, the youngest of six children living in Mexicali, just south of California. His sister, Sonia Canett, told Catholic Relief Services Mexico that the 25-year-old was a construction worker with a wife and two children, ages 1 and 7.
“He was not able to make enough to support his wife and children and our mother,” she said.
“He moved to Mexicali to find work in a maquiladora plant,” she said, referring to a foreign-owned factory in Mexico. “I went with him to the factories to look for work, but no one would give him a job. Finally, he gave up and decided to go to the United States with his brother Jaime.”
After borrowing $1,000 from friends and relatives to pay the smugglers, José and Jaime and four others crossed the border on June 18, 2001. “The next day, my brother Jaime called us in Mexicali and told us José was lost.” Sickened and exhausted by the heat, Jaime turned back, but José was determined to continue.
“Four days later, on June 22, they told us that José's body had been found, along with one other man in the group. The other three migrants in the group are still missing,” Canett said. “When I was crossing the border back into Mexico with the coffin of my brother in the back of a truck that a friend lent us, I passed a group of migrants getting ready to start across the desert. I made them come and look at José's body in the coffin.”
The Tucson District of the U.S. Border Patrol responded to stories like José's with Operation Pipeline, which completed on Dec. 22 after interceptions of illegal immigrants dropped from 320 to 23 people per day.
The numbers reflect a success for the operation, which since its inception Nov. 17 apprehended 3,028 illegal immigrants and smugglers, impounded 127 vehicles — including nine stolen in the Tucson area — and confiscated 4,835 pounds of marijuana.
“It has been going great,” Tucson District's public information officer, Charles Griffin III, said halfway through the operation. Covering Pima, Santa Cruz and Cochise counties, Griffin said the operation has effectively closed the pass through the Huachuca Mountains and surrounding area to immigrant-smugglers.
“If the gradual integration of all immigrants is promoted, there is less of a risk that immigrants form ghettos where they are isolated from the social context, which sometimes results in the desire to gradually take over the territory,” the Pope wrote.
“This is an area that hasn't been hard-hit before,” he said.
But as the Border Patrol, a division of the new Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security, closed another hole in the border that runs from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean, Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson joined with others in working for reform of U.S. immigration law. In mid-November, Bishop Kicanas was elected to the board of directors for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, which was created by the U.S. bishops in 1988.
Bishop Kicanas, whose diocese extends from the border to the Santa Catalina Mountains south of Phoenix, is calling for a change in the economic and political engine that drives more and more Mexicans to attempt the dangerous trek to find jobs and a better life in the United States.
More border patrol operations are planned for this year if the number of border crossings starts to rebound.
Sovereignty vs. Dignity
“Because of our location, border questions are part of our day-to-day life,” Bishop Kicanas said. “Therefore, the Church is interested in responding to the immigration issue in a way that respects the right of nations to enforce their borders and maintain their sovereignty but also respects the right of people to work, housing and human dignity.”
The bishop noted it isn't merely a Mexican problem.
“The Holy Father has consistently reminded us that we are not independent nations,” he said. “We lean on each other, interact with each other and we are responsible for each other.”
The Pope issued his message for the 90th World Day of Migrants and Refugees on the theme “Migration in the Perspective of Peace” on Dec. 15. He recognized both the right to emigrate and the right not to emigrate.
“It is up to governments to regulate the flow of migrants with full respect for the dignity of people and the needs of their families, keeping in mind the needs of the societies that accept these migrants,” the Holy Father said in his letter. Migrants, he said, can “offer a valid contribution in order to establish peace. Migrations can facilitate exchange and understanding among cultures, as well as among people and communities.”
“If the gradual integration of all immigrants is promoted, there is less of a risk that immigrants form ghettos where they are isolated from the social context, which sometimes results in the desire to gradually take over the territory,” the Pope wrote.
The World Day of Migrants and Refugees will be celebrated throughout 2004 in local churches on a date established by the respective bishops conferences.
According to Bishop Kicanas, three issues need to be addressed.
“First is a humanitarian response,” he said. “There's desperate poverty and a lack of human dignity right across our border. Second, we need to educate people in this country about why people, in the face of danger, are willing to make the trip. They aren't criminals or terrorists, they just want to care for their families.”
“The third issue is, obviously, legislative. We must look at our border immigration policy,” he said. “Businesses here need workers and continue to hire [illegal] immigrants. There's also the question of family separation created by the current immigration policies. We can't separate families, because that leads to nothing but problems.”
Meanwhile, other groups are attempting to decrease the number of deaths in the desert by direct action. Church Without Borders, operated by the mission office of the Diocese of San Diego and the Maryknoll Lay Missioners, works among the people along the Chihuahua-Texas border and coordinates tours of the Brownsville -Matamoros area to “show the reality of the border experience.”
The Diocese of Las Cruces, N.M., operates the Family Unity and Citizenship Program to protect the human rights of immigrants by helping them legally enter and stay in the United States.
The Rev. Robin Hoover, pastor of the First Christian Church in Tucson and president of Humane Borders Inc., is coordinating an effort to maintain water stations along the U.S. side of the border.
Although opposed by ranchers overwhelmed by the litter and vandalism caused by the influx of immigrants and barred from the Tohono O'odham Indian Nation — which is struggling to pay for the cost of recovering bodies and investigating deaths on the reservation — Hoover said providing water is the single most important thing anyone can do to save lives.
“Last year, we had 205 known deaths of immigrants, and two-thirds of them were in Arizona,” he said.
Although the water stations are controversial, Hoover said they are effective.
“I can show you a map of water station locations and places where they've found bodies and it's obvious that very few people die near water stations,” he said.
The long-term solution is immigration reform, he contends.
“Year after year, despite a redoubling of efforts to stop them, the number of immigrants remains the same,” he said. “It's obvious the policies aren't working. Until they do something about the fundamental migration itself, all we'll get is more and more of the same.”
Philip S. Moore writes from Vail, Arizona.
----- EXCERPT: Death In The Desert ----- EXTENDED BODY: Philip S. Moore ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Dollar-a-Dinner at Knights Table Restaurant DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:BRAMPTON, Ontario — Each day the Knights Table, a restaurant in the large Toronto suburb of Brampton, serves on average 175 full meals fit for a royal court.
The cost? One dollar, or in most cases, free.
The restaurant began in 1990 when Cecil Peters took his daughter Theresa for ice cream. In the shop he saw someone rummaging through the garbage for food. Peters' son Arthur remembers his late father's words: “This shouldn't be happening here.”
Within months, as a member of the Knights of Columbus and head of the Father Clair Tipping Council that spans both St. Marguerite d'Youville and St. Anthony of Padua parishes, Peters and the council founded Knights Table to feed the poor and homeless.
Since that modest start, this social-justice apostolate has grown so that last year Knights Table served 54,000 meals.
Diners such as Tex, who has been coming to Knights Table for more than 12 years, sing its praises.
“I love this place and the people here,” he said. “They help me. The food is fantastic. It's homemade.”
Brian, another regular in his 40s, contrasts it to impersonal facilities he's been to in different cities.
“It's more like going home to dinner when we were kids,” he said. “Here, there's more dignity. They come and serve you [at the table].”
Current Grand Knight and volunteer Larry Griffin finds the apostolate even affects children. On Christmas Eve he watched an 8-year-old daughter serve dinner with her family, then give a gift to a poor child. On Christmas Day both families returned.
“When the daughter asked the other little girl how she liked the gift,” Griffin said, “she said she gave it to another child less fortunate than herself. I was awestruck.”
It's the kind of story operations manager Ray Marentette hears regularly. He's a retired school administrator who volunteers more than 60 hours weekly. He treats the homeless, the working poor, the downtrodden, the immigrants, the addicted and the disabled at the Knights Table with all the affability of old friends.
“I believe the Lord has sent me to do his work in the community,” Marentette said. The Knight joined the apostolate three years ago when he moved to Brampton. Mar-entette's administrative background was just the ticket to guide the move to a restaurant facility now twice the size of the original, which was already outgrowing its space.
Knights Table gets regular donations such as skids of meat from major food markets, daily pizza from a chain and fresh corn from farmers. There's enough to regularly distribute food in the poorer subsidized housing areas, too.
Gifts From the Poor
Unexpected gifts come from the poor themselves.
After Marentette donated food to a native reservation with a fish farm, “two times they sent a truck with a half-ton of frozen filets to us,” he said.
Weekly, volunteer Jim Walker delivers a van full of bread products to the families in subsidized-housing townhouses.
On a recent trip that included bananas, one woman surprised him before he left. Her daughter ran to Walker's van “carrying one perfect, golden, hot banana pancake,” he said. “It was one of those God's-at-work-here moments. I had come to feed them. The cook was feeding me in return. She was nourishing my soul and giving me back something in kind.”
As Knights Table grew, so did volunteerism. While the Knights of Columbus council operates the apostolate, churches of all denominations and students from Catholic and public schools join in for an average 654 hours daily volunteer time.
Father Wayne Manne, council chaplain and pastor of St. Marguerite d'Youville, points to the effect on eighth-graders from several of the five schools in his charge.
“I've seen the impact it's had on young people in humanizing the poor, putting a face on them, [hearing] Jesus' call in the Gospel of Matthew that what you do to the least of them, you do to me,” he said.
Yet when he arrived in the area, he “initially questioned whether it was appropriate to have a Knights Table in a suburban area like Brampton rather than in Toronto,” he said. “It wasn't on the routes migrant people normally take.” But soon he saw the council “responding to a very genuine need” not being addressed.
To serve today's needs, there's now a paid full-time chef, executive director and weekend manager. Money for costs such as rent and utilities comes from donations, fund-raisers and a Trillium Foundation government grant of $165,000 over three years, which helped buy a much-needed truck.
“We're a food bank, a clothing center; we're many aspects in that one building,” Griffin said. “We want to move to the next level to help the less-fortunate people to get a shower, a suit and that job interview.”
More Than Food
Regular visitor Brian can't forget one recent incident.
“I had a pretty rough year,” he said, describing job-related injury that kept him out of work. Unknown to him, Tex told the staff about Brian's birthday. “[They] brought out a cake!” said Brian, still a bit surprised. “It was such a special touch. They go out of their way here.”
He finds more than a meal. “You meet people here,” he said. Friendships form and one helps another. “Tex is like a brother now,” he said. Brian also brings his own blood brother, who is on disability, because “it gets him out to meet people.”
By working with the poorest of the poor in the community, you can motivate people to work with you, Marentette advised.
“All you need to do to start up a food kitchen in your community is to desire to do it, and the Lord is right there behind you 110%,” he said.
The son of the founder underlines this truth.
“It all started,” Arthur Peters said, “when a man stood in a restaurant and saw somebody rummaging for food in a garbage can.”
Joseph Pronechen writes from Trumbull, Connecticut.
www.knightstable.org
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Joseph Pronechen ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Backgrounder: What Led to The National Abuse Report DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:WASHINGTON — A landmark was reached Jan. 6 with the publication of the first national report of diocesan compliance with mandated policies and practices to protect children and respond to allegations of clergy sexual abuse of minors.
Here are some key events that led up to the diocesan audits and the mandated policies and practices they assessed.
1983
The Diocese of Lafayette, La., suspends Father Gilbert Gauthe after he admits having sexually abused at least three dozen young boys and girls. Over the next three years lawsuits against the diocese and the priest's criminal trial and conviction draw national media attention for the first time to the sexual abuse of children by priests.
1985
Several dioceses and state Catholic conferences begin developing policies for responding to sexual abuse allegations.
At their June meeting the U.S. bishops have an extended discussion of some aspects of the problem, including presentations by a psychiatrist, a lawyer and a bishop. A few bishops are given a report by three specialists, labeled confidential, warning that the problem is of crisis proportions and could cost the Church billions of dollars.
In the fall Father Michael Peterson, a psychiatrist and one of the report's authors, mails it to all bishops who head dioceses. Although the bishops have already started addressing many of the issues at a national level through their own internal procedures and structures, several years later the report is leaked and its recommendations are cited by victims and their lawyers as evidence that the bishops were given a plan to follow in 1985 but simply ignored it.
1986-90
Many dioceses establish stronger personnel policies and training programs to prevent abuse. In fall 1987 the bishops discuss the issue again at a national meeting, focusing especially on canonical issues of dealing with priests accused of abuse.
In a February 1988 statement, the general counsel of the bishops' conference declares the bishops “are deeply committed to addressing such incidents positively, to making strong efforts to prevent child abuse, to repairing whatever damage has been done and to bringing the healing ministry of the Church to bear wherever possible.”
The conference sends bishops guidelines on developing personnel policies to prevent and respond to abuse. Many bishops begin re-evaluating decisions whether to return a treated priest to ministry after therapy or what kind of ministry to permit.
While the numbers of allegations and lawsuits are growing, a new trend develops: As time goes on, more and more of the new claims concern abuse from the distant past rather than recent misconduct.
1992
Allegations begin to mount against James Porter, a former Fall River, Mass., priest who molested children before he left the priesthood in 1974. By year's end the diocese has settled 68 lawsuits against him and he has become the most notorious clerical child moles-ter since Father Gauthe.
Following a daylong discussion of the issue behind closed doors at the bishops' June national meeting, the president of the bishops' conference issues a five-point statement summarizing principles behind the guidelines sent to dioceses four years earlier: Respond promptly to each allegation, remove the offender and provide treatment for him if an allegation is supported by evidence, report incidents in compliance with civil law and cooperate in any criminal investigation, reach out to victims and their families, and “deal as openly as possible with members of the community about this incident.”
At their November meeting the bishops discuss the issue further and a group of bishops meets with adult survivors of abuse. The bishops' Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry forms a subcommittee on sexual abuse, a think tank with nationally recognized experts on it, to make recommendations to the bishops.
The Canadian bishops issue a major study of the clerical child abuse problem in Canada and launch a nationwide effort to combat it.
1993
The new subcommittee on sexual abuse meets for two days in St. Louis and draws up proposals for the bishops to discuss in June. It recommends the bishops form a special task group to address the many complex, interrelated issues — legal, moral, canonical, medical, therapeutic, pastoral, ministerial, administrative — surrounding clerical sexual abuse and its prevention.
Archbishop Robert Sanchez of Santa Fe, N.M., resigns following allegations of past sexual impropriety with two teen-age girls.
At their June meeting the bishops have an extended open discussion of clerical sexual abuse of minors and the conference president appoints an Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse to address the issue comprehensively.
Several years of Vatican-U.S. discussions culminate in a meeting of a delegation of U.S. bishops with Vatican officials and a letter from Pope John Paul II publicly condemning sexual abuse of minors by U.S. priests.
At their November meeting the bishops petition the Vatican for U.S. exceptions to general Church law to make it easier to laicize priests who commit sex crimes against minors.
A young man with AIDS, Stephen Cook, accuses Chicago Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of sexually abusing him when he was a teen-ager.
Porter is sentenced to 18 to 20 years in prison on multiple counts of child sexual abuse.
1994
Cook withdraws his lawsuit against Cardinal Bernardin, admits his claims were based on “recovered memories” elicited under hypnosis by an untrained therapist. The collapse of the Bernardin case after weeks of saturation coverage makes news media more cautious about how they cover such allegations.
Pope John Paul authorizes special U.S. Church laws for next five years extending the statute of limitations on Church trials and penalties for clerics who sexually abuse minors. The age of minority for such crimes is raised from 16 years to 18 years in the United States.
A Boston priest named John Geoghan, frequently accused of inappropriate conduct with children over 32 years of priesthood, is quietly removed from all ministry, and four years later is laicized by special papal decree.
The Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse commissions a survey of seminaries to assess their psychological screening of candidates and formation in sexuality issues.
The committee gives the bishops and media the first volume of “Restoring Trust,” a loose-bound book that includes a detailed evaluation of existing diocesan policies and recommendations for more effective policies. It also provides resources on the nature of pedophilia and possible treatments, care for abuse victims and families, sexual abuse as abuse of power, dealing with media, the role of attorneys and insurers, treatment of victims and offenders, recidivism and other topics.
1995
The committee issues its second volume of “Restoring Trust,” with more resources to help bishops deal with various aspects of the problem.
1996
The committee issues the third volume of “Restoring Trust,” reviewing efforts so far to address the issues more effectively at the national and diocesan levels.
Since June, inspectors looked at 11 dioceses each week.
1997
At the committee's request, a video on boundaries issues in ministry is developed to help dioceses improve formation of Church personnel in understanding of sexuality, intimacy and interpersonal relations.
The committee is reauthorized for three more years and mandated to focus on issues of healing for victims, education and future options for priest offenders.
1998
The bishops attend a symposium on working with victims and healing. Between 1993 and 1998 virtually all dioceses have reviewed their sexual abuse response and prevention policies and updated them in light of the resources provided by the ad hoc committee.
1999-2001
The Vatican extends the special U.S. legislation on clerical sexual abuse of minors for 10 more years.
The committee continues working on education and prevention issues and on diocesan policy reviews. It updates “Restoring Trust” resources and meets with victims and victim advisory groups. Representatives of the U.S. bishops share their experience with representatives of other English-speaking bishops' conferences around the world.
The Pope reserves certain especially serious Church crimes, including clerical sexual abuse of minors, to the immediate jurisdiction of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The new legislation also extends the special U.S. legislation, with slight modification, to the entire Church.
2002
The Boston Globe begins publishing an investigative series Jan. 6 on decades of Boston archdiocesan mishandling of child abuse allegations and the priests who were accused. The most important evidence for the series is the archdiocesan personnel files on John Geoghan, released to the Globe by court order less than two weeks before Geoghan's criminal trial for child molestation.
Geoghan — accused in civil suits of imposing indecent conduct or sexual abuse on at least 130 children and now the third of the country's most notorious clerical predators — is convicted of a single crime Jan. 18 and later sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Within a month the Globe series sparks dramatic policy changes by the Boston Archdiocese, including the removal of 10 active priests under a new “zero tolerance” policy. As the story grows with daily new revelations and as other news media across the country begin similar investigations in their dioceses, the Boston crisis quickly burgeons into a national one.
By April the U.S. cardinals are summoned to Rome for a Vatican summit. The Pope declares there is no place in ministry or religious life for anyone who would harm the young. The Vatican authorizes the U.S. bishops to propose special legislation that would bind all U.S. dioceses to adopt certain policies and practices to prevent and respond to clerical sexual abuse of minors.
Meeting in Dallas in June, the bishops adopt a “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” and special legal norms, subject to Vatican approval, to assure that all dioceses adhere to the charter.
A National Review Board is formed to oversee the compliance of dioceses with the charter and to commission two major national studies on the scope of the problem and its causes. A national Office for Child and Youth Protection is formed to help dioceses meet charter requirements and to assess each diocese's compliance.
Dioceses across the country begin the processes of updating their policies, establishing or modifying diocesan review boards, naming outreach coordinators and developing programs for victims and their families, forming or expanding safe environment programs and doing background checks on staff and volunteers who work with children.
In November, as a result of consultations with the Vatican on the June norms, the bishops adopt a revised version of the norms and make minor corresponding revisions in the charter.
In December Cardinal Bernard Law, faced with massive loss of confidence after nearly a year of intense scandal and controversy, resigns as archbishop of Boston.
2003
The Pope approves the norms as law for the U.S. Church.
The Boston-based Gavin Group, composed mainly of former FBI agents, is commissioned to conduct the first independent audit of dioceses to assess whether their policies and practices are in compliance with the requirements of the charter and norms.
Beginning in June, teams of Gavin investigators inspect an average of 11 dioceses a week until they finish the job in November.
2004
The first annual report on the diocesan compliance audits is released Jan. 6.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Jerry Filteau ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: The Challenge of Taking Over a Hurting Diocese Inperson Bishop Thomas Olmsted quickly reached out in the days after his Dec. 20 installation as bishop of Phoenix. DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:The former bishop of Wichita, Kan., led a prayer vigil outside an abortion site Dec. 24 and celebrated Mass in a prison Christmas Day. Bishop Olmsted, who turns 57 on Jan. 21, is a former educator and expert on canon law.
He spoke to Register correspondent Philip Moore about coming to a diocese still coping with fallout from sexual-misconduct accusations as well as the resignation of Bishop Thomas 'Brien following his arrest in a fatal hit-and-run accident.
You've said you started out in a small town, attending a one-room schoolhouse. What took you from there to the priesthood?
The Holy Spirit did. From childhood I felt drawn to be a priest.
Was there anyone who influenced you toward the priesthood?
My family, first of all. I was raised in a family where praying was as natural as breathing. We went to Mass each week and on holy days went to confession regularly and said the rosary. I didn't have to learn to pray, since praying was something we always did.
You wanted to be a parish priest, but your career went another direction, leading you to study at the North American College in Rome and receiving a doctor of Church law degree from the Pontifical Gregorian University. What happened?
Obedience is what happened. Before you're ordained a deacon, you promise respect for your bishop.
My bishop wanted me to get further education. I tried to argue with him, but he said there was a need for me to study further for the benefit of the Church.
Before you became bishop of Wichita, you were rector and president of the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. Coming from an academic career to become bishop of a largely rural diocese, were you given any special instructions?
When you're chosen as bishop, you're just told that the Holy Spirit calls you to this work. There's usually nothing more said than that.
So I assume that means you didn't get any special instructions with your appointment to be bishop of Phoenix.
No.
It had to be a surprise. You were at your home diocese for only four and a half years.
The time seemed to go very quickly. They were four and a half eventful years.
Any regrets at leaving so soon?
It's God's will, and that's the only thing that matters to me. I'm looking forward to what's ahead and eager to do what God wills me to do.
Phoenix has to be a special challenge. It's the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the United States and has had difficulties, especially leading up to and including the resignation of Bishop 'Brien.
I really don't know the situation that well. First, I want to get to know the priests, since they are my closest collaborators. Then I'll be looking into the pastoral needs of the diocese. I have a lot to learn and a lot of listening to do.
Shortly before the tragedy that led to his resignation, Bishop 'Brien signed a consent agreement with the Maricopa County district attorney's office agreeing to county oversight of the diocese's process for handling accusations of sexual misconduct by clergy and religious. Will you be bound by that agreement?
I'll be looking into three areas in Phoenix: to teach, to sanctify and to govern. The [Maricopa County consent agreement] comes under the category “to govern.” I'll be meeting with the [diocesan] staff in the next few weeks to prioritize the one thousand one things I need to address. That will be one of them, but I'll have to wait until then to consider it.
Your time in Wichita has been marked by a commitment to draw in a wide spectrum of public comment and participation. Has that worked out well for you?
We had a diocesan synod in 2002. That's an important time to look at the riches and needs of the diocese and its parishes. They gather in prayer and reflection and present a list of diocese priorities for the next several years. Once that is finished, they present the priorities and needs to the parishes and families of the diocese. I have been trying to help the parish councils to come to greater participation and vitality in implementing the wishes of the synod.
You most certainly will in Phoenix. Do you have a plan?
I need to get used to the scene there before offering a perspective on that. Mostly I'd say my concern is focusing on the families of the diocese. It's families who are the bread and butter of the local Church.
Overall, what do you want to see grow in the Diocese of Phoenix?
For me, the most important thing is that we're aiming for holiness. If there were a pastoral plan that I plan to follow, it would be the one given by Pope John Paul II in [the 1999 apostolic exhortation] Ecclesia in America. He calls the Church in America to evangelization and holiness, and through the Church, he calls us all to holiness in our families and our lives. That's the overall thing I would hope to keep in the back of my mind as I respond to the pastoral challenges and needs there.
Is there anything you are hoping for?
I welcome the prayers of the people as I make the transition. I always was aware of the need for prayer, but I feel it especially as I focus on the challenges ahead.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Media Watch DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:Hasta La Vista, Henry VIII
THE NEW YORK TIMES, Dec. 29 — The recent decision by the Episcopal Church USA to flout the official teachings of the Anglican Church — not to mention the millennia of tradition and scriptures underlying them — by ordaining a man in a homosexual relationship as a bishop has helped clarify the loyalties of many Christians, according to The New York Times.
The paper reported that members of Episcopalian parishes around the country have begun an exodus to Rome — noting one Dallas parish that lost 25% of its members, almost all to Catholic parishes.
One recent convert, Fort Wayne, Ind., neurologist Shari de Silva, said, “It breaks my heart. I think the Episcopal Church is headed down the path to secular humanism. … The advantage of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that there is a central authority that tends to hold the Church together, and unfortunately the Anglican experiment… lacked that.”
Priest Dies at Christmas Mass
THE NEW YORK POST, Dec. 27 — Franciscan Father Anthony Fedell, 63, who served at St. Leo's Church in Elmwood Park, N.J., collapsed while saying Mass on Christmas Eve, The New York Post reported. The priest suffered a heart attack, never regained consciousness and died two days later.
Father Fedell was a talented organist and pianist whose love of music and good humor had earned him the title “the Franciscan Victor Borge,” after the late musical humorist.
“Music was his whole life, and to suddenly come into the arms of the Lord at that particular moment would have made him very happy,” said Father Cassian Miles of the Franciscan province to which Father Fedell belonged.
Some 300 parishioners had been present when Father Fedell collapsed just after announcing a Christmas carol. A doctor and a nurse who sang in the choir rushed to attend the priest, the paper reported, as parishioners offered prayers for him.
Lieberman on Abortion
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Dec. 27 — Even as his own viability as a contender for the Democratic nomination comes under question with the surge of Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., has started worrying about the viability of unborn fetuses — but only in order to reaffirm his support for legal abortion.
The Manchester Union Leader had run an interview quoting Lieberman saying science has pushed back the time when a fetus may be considered “viable” and therefore potentially worthy of some legal protection.
“To me, Roe v. Wade said that in the stages up to viability [of the fetus], the state basically cannot intervene in a decision a woman makes to go forward with a pregnancy or not,” The Union Leader quoted Lieberman as saying. “But after viability, the state can regulate that choice because the interest of the fetus goes up.”
Perhaps to avoid a feminist backlash, Lieberman was quick to clarify his position, commenting on the story afterward: “I did not say nor do I believe that Roe should be looked at again, revisited or reconsidered.”
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Media Watch DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:Mobile Pope Phone for Brits
INDEPENDENT CATHOLIC NEWS, Dec. 23 — Every day, the Holy See Press Office sends out a papal Thought for the Day based on Pope John Paul II's homilies, speeches or other messages to cell-phone users around the world.
The service has been available for some time in Italy and will soon begin in the United Kingdom, according to Independent Catholic News.
The cell-phone company Acotel has contracted with the Holy See Press Office in Rome to provide the service, which can be activated by sending the text message “Pope On” to the phone company.
“Since the service was made available in Ireland, we have received several enquiries and seen a high level of interest from the U.K. about if or when the papal Thought for the Day would be available,” said Ciaran Carey of Acotel. “I am delighted now to be in a position to answer that question and say that it is available.”
Berlusconi Denies Predicting Vatican Attack
REUTERS, Dec. 28 — A controversy is brewing in Italy over whether or not Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi actually told a journalist he had solid information about a planned terror attack on the Vatican on Christmas, Reuters reported.
The Milan paper Libero published an interview Dec. 27 quoting Berlusconi claiming he'd received “precise and verified news of an attack on Rome on Christmas Day … a hijacked plane above the Vatican … an attack from the sky.”
Within hours of the story's appearance, Berlusconi denied ever making the statements to the paper, which is considered conservative and friendly to the prime minister.
There were no incidents at the Vatican on Christmas or any reports of attempted attacks, Reuters noted.
The British newspaper The Guardian quoted Rome mayor Walter Veltroni, who said he received a similar warning.
“Many of us spent the afternoon of Dec. 24 working,” Veltroni said, “but without feeling the need to reveal things it had been agreed should remain confidential.”
Russian Patriarch Wary of Welcoming John Paul
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Dec. 28 — Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow is not yet ready to welcome Pope John Paul II to Russia, a country the Pope has long wished to visit, the Associated Press reported.
The Russian Orthodox leader insists relations between the churches must improve, by which he means Rome must curtail the rights and activities of Eastern-rite Catholics in Ukraine and Latin-rite Catholics in Russia.
“Our meeting with the Pope may take place only if the problems that have clouded the relationship between our churches are overcome,” Patriarch Alexei told the newspaper Gazeta.
The patriarch accused the Catholic groups, which are in communion with Rome, of increasing “their expansion into traditionally Orthodox eastern and southern Ukraine,” adding, “To our deep regret, there are still not enough grounds to speak about changes in the Vatican's position and any positive improvements in Orthodox-Catholic dialogue.”
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Vatican -------- TITLE: Italians Tackle Unregulated In Vitro Fertilization Industry DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:ROME — When you hear the term Wild West in Italy these days, people aren't referring to spaghetti Westerns. They are more likely thinking of the Italian in vitro fertilization industry, which until now has never been regulated.
But Parliament passed a controversial bill Dec. 11 that finally pulled in the reins — and far more sharply than many had expected.
The new legislation prohibits heterologous fertilization, or donations of sperm or eggs from third parties. It limits in vitro fertilization techniques to heterosexual couples, married and cohabiting — excluding homosexual couples, single women, surrogate mothers, women who want to conceive with sperm from a deceased spouse or grandmothers who would carry their own grandchildren.
The law prohibits genetic tests on embryos to see if genetic diseases have been transmitted. It also proscribes cloning or experimentation on embryos.
Perhaps the most outstanding features of the bill are that embryos cannot be frozen any longer, and in vitro fertilization procedures can only be used to produce three embryos per couple. All of the embryos must be implanted in the womb. Women cannot refuse implantation once the eggs are fertilized. If none of them results in pregnancy, the couple cannot use in vitro fertilization again.
The measures are bound to prevent situations where thousands of “spare” embryos are kept in frozen storage indefinitely — and sometimes are forgotten or destroyed.
“I see [the law] as very positive,” said Father Gonzalo Miranda, dean of the bioethics school at the Pontifical Regina Apostolorum University, the Legionaries of Christ's university in Rome. “I am against artificial fertilization because it is an offense against human life — but at least this protects the embryo as much as it can.”
Bishop Elia Sgreccia, vice president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, was more qualified regarding the legislation. He stressed that any law that allows for in vitro fertilization is not morally licit.
“Everyone knows — and it is good to repeat it — that for the Catholic view of life and procreation,” the child must be conceived “within a conjugal act of love,” Bishop Sgreccia told Vatican Radio. “A law that allows conception in a test tube is never considered licit.”
At the same time, Bishop Sgreccia noted that Catholics and non-Catholics had worked together to limit “the damages that can come not only from the 'Wild West' situation that existed until today but by artificial procreation in its various technologies, which increasingly multiply.”
“What has been achieved is no joke,” he said. Yet, “we cannot say that the law is in keeping with Catholic morality, or that it is perfect in all its points.”
The in vitro fertilization industry went unregulated for so long because Italian governments typically do not stay in power very long, making it very difficult to pass laws of significant complexity. Consequently, despite Italy's Catholic culture, there has been half a century of unregulated public and private assisted-fertility programs.
This has allowed anomalies such as the 63-year-old woman who gave birth nine years ago with a donated egg. The woman was helped by Dr. Severino Antinori, who has gained international notoriety for his stated ambition to produce a human clone.
Embryo's 'Rights’
The new bill divided Italian politicians along religious lines rather than party affiliation. Members of the center-left opposition found themselves voting with members of the center-right government and vice versa.
Deputy foreign minister Margherita Boniver, a member of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's ruling Forza Italia Party, called the legislation a “burqa law,” invoking the image of the shroud-like veil used by Afghan women under the Taliban regime. Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of Italy's World War II dictator and a right-wing member of parliament, vowed to have the legislation repealed. Marco Pannella of the Radical Party argued that the bill would lower Italy's already low birthrate.
Despite such criticisms, the bill has widespread public support — especially among Catholics.
“This is not a 'Catholic' law, which can be confusing,” said Dr. Marina Casini, head of the bioethics school at the prestigious Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome. Her father is the president and founder of Italy's pro-life movement. “Catholics have clear guidelines on these issues in Donum Vitae [the 1987 Vatican instruction on the beginnings of human life] and [Pope John Paul II's 1995 encyclical] Evangelium Vitae [The Gospel of Life]. You cannot substitute conjugal love with 'techniques.’”
“That being said, this law is appreciated by Catholics because it defends the rights of the embryo. Before this, it was a 'Wild West' — everything was done,” Casini continued. “Now this gives order.”
Another pro-life aspect is the deference given to the human embryo. The bill speaks about the embryo's right to life, its right to protection and its right to have parents because of its right to a sound psychological and existential identity. It also speaks about the embryo's right not to be manipulated and its right to its own genetic identity.
“It is an enormous conquest to speak about the embryo,” Casini said.
Italians who support abortion are nervous about the focus the bill gives to the rights of embryos.
“It is clear that there will have to be some rethinking on the abortion law,” said Casini, referring to the 1978 legalization of abortion in Italy.
Law's Origins
But how did such a radical law on in vitro fertilization come to pass? Apparently, pro-life groups in Italy have been working behind the scenes on this bill for years.
“Some say that Italy is a 'retrograde' in Europe because of this bill,” Father Miranda said. “But Germany has a similar law. Spain also passed a law in November that limits a couple to three embryos and stops the freezing of embryos. In the preamble to the Spanish law, it says that the freezing of embryos is a 'grave and urgent' problem. This shows that modernity does not mean 'no limits.' To put limits is actually progress, not retrograde.”
The bill, which passed the Italian Senate by a 169-92 vote, is expected to be rubber stamped in the lower Chamber of Deputies before being signed into law.
Though some newspapers chose to highlight the bill's critics, most Italians appear happy with this new law because they feel uncomfortable with in vitro fertilization procedures.
“I think in vitro fertilization goes against human nature,” said Simona Vicari, a stay-at-home mom of two young girls. “If you can't have children, you have to accept the situation. And if you really desire children badly, you should adopt.”
Sabrina Arena Ferrisi writes from Rome.
(Zenit contributed to this story.)
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Sabrina Arena Ferrisi ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Media Watch DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:Vietnam's Catholics Come in From the Cold
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, Dec. 24 — The long-persecuted 8 million Catholics of Vietnam are getting a respite, according to Agence France-Presse.
The news agency noted that the appointment in September of Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man, archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), to the College of Cardinals was not met with the usual harshness by Vietnam's communist government but with congratulations from its foreign ministry, which called it “good news for Vietnamese Catholic followers.”
The country's deputy prime minister, Vu Khoan, on Dec. 23 met with Cardinal Pham Minh Man. The meeting was reported by Vietnam news this way: “Congratulating Man on his appointment, the deputy prime minister reaffirmed the Vietnam communist party and government's consistent policy of respecting religious freedom.”
While the policy has been far from consistent, it seems the Vietnamese government wishes to mend fences with the Church, Agence France-Presse suggested.
The news agency quoted a diplomat on the scene who said, “This meeting is highly significant. Things are getting much better. Now the next step is the establishment of diplomatic relations between Hanoi and the Vatican.”
French Muslim Girls Look to Catholic Schools
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Dec. 18 — In an attempt to deal with the fallout of large-scale Islamic immigration into France, the anticlerical government of that country is likely to enact a law prohibiting students in public schools from wearing any religious insignia: Muslim heads carves, Jewish yarmulkes or visible crosses.
The Associated Press pointed to an ironic fallout of the decision: It could drive Muslim girls into private Catholic schools, where their religious freedom will be respected.
“It's a choice that risks being unavoidable in many cases,” said Fouad Alaoui of the Union of Islamic Organizations of France. “There will be either girls who don't accept expulsion and they will take off their scarves … or there will be those who don't take them off. I will ask them to join private Catholic schools.”
The Associated Press noted that in heavily Muslim areas of France, such as Marseilles, Catholic schools are already up to 70% Muslim.
Mexican Cardinal Cleared of Money-Laundering
VOICE OF AMERICA NEWS, Dec. 27 — It's official: There is no evidence to support the charges of money laundering that had been thrown at Cardinal Juan Sandoval of Guadalajara, Mexico.
Voice of America News reported that Mexico's deputy attorney general, Jose Vasconcelos, has dropped the inquiry after investigators came up empty.
The charges were made by a former attorney general, who the cardinal suggested was motivated by a desire to cover up the previous Mexican government's possible involvement in the 1993 murder of Cardinal Sandoval's predecessor, Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo.
Cardinal Posadas was gunned down during the daytime at a Guadalajara airport in a shootout the former government insisted was simply a crossfire between rival cocaine gangs.
But Cardinal Sandoval has persistently pressed for a new investigation by the government of President Vicente Fox, the first Mexican leader not to belong to the once-unchallenged Party of Institutionalized Revolution.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: John Paul on Sex Abuse DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:The Register is sending this issue to the printer shortly before the bishops' conference's National Review Board releases its report on diocesan compliance with sex-abuse guidelines. The timing leaves us unable to comment on the specifics of that report.
What we can offer instead is a brief overview of Pope John Paul II's thinking on this subject.
On page 4, we've printed “John Paul's Year in Review,” recalling how the Pope confronted the world on the subject of peace in 2003. John Paul's 2004 will see him in discussions about the U.S. bishops' handling of the sex-abuse scandals.
Starting in March, the Holy Father will start meeting U.S. bishops in their ad limina visits. The visits give bishops a chance to speak directly with the Pope. Each country's bishops get a turn every five years.
This year's ad limina visits by American bishops will be the first such encounters since the clerical sex-abuse scandal shook the Church in the United States.
Recently, the Pope raised the subject of sex abuse with Philippine bishops on their ad limina visit. The Catholic Church in the Philippines has been rocked by a handful of well-publicized accusations of sexual abuse or misconduct against priests and two bishops.
John Paul used the opportunity to condemn abuse by priests — but also to call for a Christian way of dealing with accusations of priests.
Bishops must “always be just and always be merciful,” he said. “True discipleship calls for love, compassion and, at times, strict discipline in order to serve the common good.”
The bishops should work openly and publicly, he said.
“Dear Brothers, Shepherds of God's Holy People,” John Paul concluded. “It is of the utmost importance that openness, honesty and transparency should always be the hallmark of everything the Church does, in all her spiritual, educational and social undertakings, as well as in every aspect of her administration.”
The U.S. bishops have led the way in openness in their National Review Board report. As Bishop Wilton Gregory is fond of saying, the report puts the Catholic Church at the forefront of other institutions when it comes to forthrightness about the sex-abuse problem.
But in addition to discussing how sex-abuse cases should be handled, the Holy Father spoke to the Philippine bishops about the root causes of the problem. His words echoed what he said when he spoke to American cardinals at the height of the sex-abuse scandal in April 2002.
He told the U.S. cardinals that lay people “must know that bishops and priests are totally committed to the fullness of Catholic truth on matters of sexual morality, a truth as essential to the renewal of the priesthood and the episcopate as it is to the renewal of marriage and family life.”
When he spoke with the Philippine bishops, he made this line of argument much more explicit. He encouraged them “to ensure an ever more complete and permanent formation for your priests.”
He added: “Your lives and those of your priests should reflect an authentic evangelical poverty and detachment from the things and attitudes of the world, and the value of celibacy as a complete gift of self to the Lord and his Church must be carefully safeguarded.”
His concluding words spelled out what must be the next stage of the U.S. bishops' attack on sex abuse in the priesthood: a careful look at what is being taught in seminaries.
“Behavior that might give scandal must be carefully avoided,” the Pope told the Philippine bishops, “and you yourselves must diligently investigate accusations of any such behavior, taking firm steps to correct it where it is found to exist. Here, too, seminary formation is very important, for the convictions and practical training imparted to future priests are essential for the success of the Church's mission.”
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Opinion -------- TITLE: LETTERS DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:Passionate Performer
Thank you for the truly inspiring interview with Jim Caviezel (“How The Passion Changed Him,” Inperson, Dec. 21-Jan. 3).
Recounting his physical suffering playing Jesus in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ would have been enough to move anyone deeply. But the way he humbly expressed his determination to attend daily Mass and receive Communion reflected well Our Lord's parable about the leaven.
He said, “It always comes down to that — what does the Lord want?” Perhaps we can see a prophecy of the magnificent results of this film in the months to come.
George Herman
Deerfield, Illinois
Be Not Afraid of Galileo
Regarding “Excommunicated for Scientific Beliefs” by Dermott Mullan (Commentary, Nov. 30-Dec. 6):
Galileo, or at least his followers, were wrong. Why has no one said so? Oh, I don't mean on the astronomical point of the Earth revolving around the sun. I'm referring to the far-greater issue of the Earth being the center of the universe.
Nor do I need to rely on what is obvious only to Catholics, that the Earth is central because it was and is home to Christ, for whom the universe was created, and was home to Mary, his mother, Queen of the Cosmos. Is there a Catholic ready to say there is another Christ or another Queen of the Cosmos?
Instead, I will point out for believers and unbelievers alike the obvious fact that creation, or, if you will, evolution, reaches its zenith in complexity, not simplicity. The stars, from largest to smallest, are little more than clusters of hydrogen atoms.
If one of those stars had a carrot growing on it, it would be quantum leaps ahead of all the others, evolutionarily. The Earth has far more. It has man, an intelligent, free-willed and eternal creature — the most complex in God's creation.
There's more. As the center of creation and evolution, the Earth and its inhabitants came to be only because the remainder of the universe unfolded exactly as it did. The chance for life as we know it was so remote that had there been a shimmer of some star a trillion light years away, a trillion years ago, Earth would likely not have been. The universe had to develop exactly as it did in order for man to show up. In that sense, the entire universe has its meaning in setting the stage for the emergence of life on Earth.
Yes, Galileo was right — but only regarding an astronomical detail. The Church was wrong, but only insofar as she, like the Apostles during the storm on Lake Galilee, panicked, in this case thinking that the truth of the Earth's centrality was threatened. It was not. The Holy Spirit is still with us. Earth and man are central and will remain so. Let's not be afraid to say so.
Hugh McGrath Jr.
Metairie, Louisiana
Deliverers of Death
It is a tragedy that Charles Cullen, the “Angel of Death,” has admitted to killing 40 or so patients who were under his care (“Killer Compassion,” Jan. 4-10). Cullen became a nurse to help people, not kill them.
As tragic as this is, Cullen is a piker compared to the doctors who are sworn to do no harm yet kill millions of innocent, unborn babies through abortion.
Gerard P. McEvoy
Coram, New York
Coffee Conundrum
In “Catholic Relief Services' 'Coffee Project' Strives for Global Justice in Every Cup” (Dec. 14-20), you admitted the overproduction of low-grade coffee was what had driven down coffee prices.
Given that, would it not make more sense to help farmers get out of coffee and into something that offers better prices?
Julie A. Robichaud
San Antonio, Texas
Silence vs. Salacious Stories
Regarding “Christmas Means 'Skin' at Abercrombie & Fitch” (Dec. 14-20):
I am disappointed with the Register's article. Since the underlying premise is that Abercrombie & Fitch thrives on the bad publicity from their scandalous catalogs, why is the Register giving front-page coverage and a free advertisement — one-third of page 10 — to this commercial purveyor of immorality?
The vivid descriptions are not necessary to promote a boycott. One does not have to visit Abercrombie & Fitch or page thorough its magazine to get a full sense of the naked truth — one can read all about it in the Register! Was there nothing more newsworthy?
My sons (10, 12 and 15) grab the Register before I have time to peruse it. Their first comment was “yuck.” Please be more careful about the content. Reading those descriptions in a national Catholic publication can be far more damaging to your readers than you realize.
Mary Camara
Houston, Texas
Mass for America
To all daily communicants in the Roman Catholic faith:
You read in the paper today about what is going on in America and the world. Things are very scary and I have often thought about what could be done. This thought came into my head the other day.
I am a daily Mass-goer and communicant. There must be millions of Catholics attending Mass and receiving holy Communion daily and I wondered if we could become of one heart and one mind.
For instance: Before Mass, offer the Mass and holy Communion up to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary for this great country, America. For one thing, pray that we remain “one nation, under God.”
We could pray for an increase for priestly vocations and then include our personal intentions.
Can you imagine the millions of Masses being offered up daily in the country? We will be of one heart and one mind!
If we do this to protect this country, you will see the results in the national elections in 2004. Copy this letter and send it to your bishop.
John L. Naughton
Brick, New Jersey
Premature Symposium?
While admirable in its intent, I found your symposium (“Did The War In Iraq Secure The Peace?” Jan. 4-10), entirely premature and below the journalistic standards I have come to expect from the Register.
Conferring a symposium of any sort on whether peace has been secured in Iraq in less than one year ignores the abundance of historical evidence that meaningful impact (and equally meaningful assessments) in “similar” global conflicts take years, not months. Thus, devoid of any reasonable quantity of facts, you left your authors in a position to merely speculate and add excessive interpretive reasoning to substantiate their positions.
This less-than-desirable approach was especially evident with the anti-war authors, each of whom left out material facts in an effort to appear more resolute in their conclusions. As we stare at the next decade of battling this new breed of foe, it will be increasingly important to examine just-war theories, international peacekeeping effectiveness and the principles we apply to assure we strike the right balance between prudent precaution and excessive aggression.
I can only hope that, in the future, the Register allows sufficient time for the collection of meaningful facts before attempting this type of analysis.
Rich Beckman
Newnan, Georgia
Editor's Note: Certainly, once all the facts are out about Iraq, it will be much easier to assess the war. But we don't think it's a good idea for Catholics to hold off their discussion of important national questions until the discussion has passed into the history books. Yes, waiting would prevent Catholics from saying the wrong thing — but it would also prevent them from saying anything at all until it is too late.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Opinion -------- TITLE: The Fate of Frozen Embryos DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:In past months, you have run several articles in the Register and Faith & Family magazine in support of embryo adoption. The choice to run these articles springs from your steadfast commitment to safeguard the sanctity of human life. For this you should be highly commended.
I would, however, like to offer for your consideration another view concerning embryo adoption. Because this issue is so abstruse and because it deals with frozen embryos, which never should have been conceived in vitro in the first place, ordinary moral intuition is not a sure guide. We must resort, then, to the magisterium for guidance.
Regarding the unity of marriage, Donum Vitae makes this statement, which bears on the licitness of embryo adoption: “The fidelity of the spouses in the unity of marriage involves reciprocal respect of their right to become father and mother only through each other.” This right of each spouse to become a parent only through the other cannot be violated. Yet the implantation of one couple's child in the womb of another married woman does just that.
Donum Vitae states, “in consequence of the fact that they have been produced in vitro, those embryos that are not transferred into the body of the mother and are called ‘spare’ are exposed to an absurd fate, with no possibility of their being offered safe means of survival that can be licitly pursued.” This means there is no morally licit means of saving an embryo that is not implanted in the mother. If embryo adoption were justifiable, there would be a possibility of offering them a safe means of survival that can be licitly pursued. But Donum Vitae does not allow for this.
So, what advice should be given a woman who is contemplating the adoption of one of these little human beings? Because the most authoritative statement we have precludes the licitness of this practice, she should decide against it. “But,” one might say, “a child's life is at stake.” This is true, and there could be no more noble motive for adopting an embryo than saving a human life. But the end, no matter how exalted, never justifies all means. This, sadly, is why the fate of the child is absurd.
I appreciate your consideration of this issue, on both sides of which there are Catholics of good faith who are committed to protecting all human life.
LORI MURPHY
Cheshire, Connecticut
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Commentary -------- TITLE: Catholic Institutions and The Sadness Of Mediocrity DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:Recently, in a thoughtful address to U.S. bishops, Chicago Cardinal Francis George warned of a disturbing tendency within the Catholic Church.
The Church runs many fine schools, colleges, hospitals and corporate works of charity. These institutions all make valuable contributions to the surrounding culture. The problem, according to Cardinal George, is a tendency to make these contributions on the culture's own terms. There is no longer a clear confessional purpose — a sense of discipleship — in many Catholic organizations. The idea is to blend as much as possible with the secular culture.
It is a serious problem. Call it a lack of supernatural outlook or the internal secularization of the Church.
Simply put, there is a hesitancy to be Catholic. The implicit assumption in some Catholic institutions is that the culture has more to teach the Church than vice versa. The result is an attitude neatly summed up in the question asked of prospective teachers in a certain
Catholic private school I know: “You're not too Catholic, are you?” Part of the problem is that in recent decades many Catholic organizations have scrambled to modernize, to do their work professionally. And this is a good thing. It is obvious that a Catholic school or hospital should be run with professional savvy and that whatever sound methods are out there should be ours.
G.K. Chesterton's adage that if a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly is not a good motto for a Catholic institution. We should be running schools and hospitals that are at least as good as any other, if not better.
But, as Cardinal George points out, the “profession-alization” of Catholic institutions has come at a steep cost. While busying themselves in their appointed tasks, many Catholic educators and administrators have lost sight of an essential truth: They are part of the Church, and the Church is not like the world. It is the Body of Christ. Even in the conduct of its institutional operations, the Church has to be different. Before anything else, she is on a mission that transcends her mundane tasks, however important they may be.
In many Catholic institutions, there is a flight from Catholic specificity, from the doctrines and practices of the Church. In their place is put a kind of generic Christianity that is hardly distinguishable from bourgeois liberalism's understanding of the common decencies. There is no sense of sharing in the Church's evangelical mission or in the universal call to holiness. On issues where the Catholic Church's position is unpopular, political correctness often trumps doctrine.
Catholic education has been especially the victim of this trend of secularism. Recently, the newly arrived pastor of a Catholic parish that runs a parochial school made a discovery. The teachers as a matter of policy don't teach the Catholic children how to make the Sign of the Cross. Why? Don't even ask. Suffice to say there are parties in the Church today who are just discovering the educational fads of the '60s, at the time when the rest of the world is largely abandoning them.
There is no more unhappy person than a mediocre Catholic priest.’
Cardinal George argues that “the primary crisis at this moment, and always, is a crisis of discipleship, of conversion to Jesus Christ individually and socially within his body, the Church.” Catholic institutions need to undergo an examination of conscience. What is our primary mission? Are we genuine disciples, or are we simply professionals who happen to have a “Catholic” label? Do we understand that our first duty is our own personal conversion, that our work ought to be an overflow of the interior life before it is anything else?
The French Catholic novelist Georges Bernanos once wrote a very hard saying: There is no more unhappy person than a mediocre Catholic priest. Dare one also apply this to Catholic institutions?
Whenever I visit a genuinely Catholic school or college — one that is unabashedly loyal to the magisteri-um and teaches the fullness of the faith — I am struck by the bright, good cheer on the campus, both among students and faculty. Thomas Aquinas College in California is an example.
I have had a quite different experience on campuses that have dropped virtually everything except the label “Catholic.”
Heterodox Catholicism is indeed “an exhausted project” — and these days seems to suffer a kind of mood disorder.
We have to relearn that secular strategies and practices are not an end in themselves, that bishops are not simply chief executive officers, that Catholic colleges are called to have a shared devotional life, that mere human contrivance is not enough to run a parish, that in the long run no amount of professionalism makes up for a lack of holiness.
Christ came as a sign of contradiction. If a Catholic institution is comfortable with an increasingly post-Christian environment, it ought to ask itself what it is really about.
George Sim Johnston, author of Did Darwin Get It Right?, writes from New York.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Commentary -------- TITLE: Is Marriage Discriminatory? DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:The national public debate on same-sex marriage has certainly now begun in earnest following the decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Court in November, which stated, “The right to marry means little if it does not include the right to marry the person of one's choice” — even if that person is someone of the same sex.
This decision is similar to one made by an appellate court in Canada in June. Belgium and the Netherlands have recognized same-sex marriage for a couple of years. Then there are the “civil unions” legally recognized in places such as California and Vermont. Homosexual unions certainly now inescapably confront us as a society.
It is simply astounding how many people today apparently do not understand that a marriage is necessarily a relationship between a man and a woman — between persons, that is, belonging to different, though complementary, sexes.
The origin of human marriage arose, necessarily, out of the way men and women, respectively, are made: “Male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). Moreover, the reason God created males and females is also given right there in the book of Genesis; it is implicit in the commandment that God immediately gave to the first man and woman: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth …” (Genesis 1:28).
The differentiation between the two sexes, in God's plan for the human race, thus came about for the express purpose of perpetuating the species (“filling the earth”). The marriage of a man and a woman, therefore, necessarily looks toward their possible children. It is precisely for this purpose, the book of Genesis informs us further, “that a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). The one-flesh union of man and wife involves a unique way of giving themselves to each other based on their complementary sexuality. By its very nature, however, this form of self-giving also has the potential of creating new life.
Thus, the union of the two sexes in marriage naturally brings about the human institution that is found among all peoples at all times and places, since the beginning of the human race, namely, the family. Made up of man, wife and the children they bring into the world, the family is the primary and original way human beings come to live together and are also best able to flourish. The family is prior both to society and the state.
Because infants and young children are dependent for so long after birth, they require stable and committed parents for their nurture, upbringing and education. Because of the well-being of the children, therefore — but also for the well-being of the man and wife themselves — the marriage that founds a family is intended to be a permanent union: “What God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Matthew 19:6, Mark 10:9).
We need to remind ourselves of these simple truths at a time when so many people seem to have abandoned the very idea of what marriage is and necessarily has to be. The Massachusetts court could not “identify any constitutionally adequate reason for denying marriage to same-sex couples.” But the reason, of course, is that homosexual unions are not marriages! Up until recently, most of us probably thought that everybody understood that. It seemed to be as obvious as it was natural that marriage had to be a relationship between a man and a woman.
Now, however, the very idea of what is “natural” seems to have unaccountably disappeared from the minds of many. As a result, the Massachusetts Supreme Court finds itself arbitrarily redefining marriage by saying: “We construe civil marriage to mean the voluntary union of two persons as spouses to the exclusion of all others.”
It obviously takes it for granted here that there is nothing fixed or established that marriage simply is. Instead, marriage is supposedly what the court “construes” it to be. But no court can just arbitrarily redefine marriage as something other than it is. If marriage is something that can be redefined as a relationship between two homosexuals, then it can be redefined in other ways as well. On what logical grounds, for example, can “all others” be excluded from a “voluntary union” that is itself nothing more than a willed personal relationship? Why cannot individuals will to enter into other personal relationships and call them marriages?
Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret — You may throw nature out with a pitchfork, but she will keep coming back.
Thus, the decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, as Archbishop Sean O'Malley of Boston remarked, “defies reason” and represents a rejection of “an understanding of marriage tested over thousands of years and accepted nearly everywhere as the key to a stable society.”
Regardless of what people today might have come to believe about them, therefore, homosexual unions are disordered and unnatural. They go counter to the natures of men and women as God created them. Sexual acts between persons of the same sex are counterfeits of the one-flesh union on which true marriage is based. Homosexual couples are incapable of achieving this one-flesh union.
Moreover, homosexual acts are necessarily sterile. They cannot result in the procreation of children. Thus they cannot be the basis of any true family but, again, can only be a pathetic counterfeit of one.
For all these reasons, homosexual unions are not only unnatural, but they are also immoral. This is the question almost nobody wants to talk about today. Ever since the sexual revolution of the 1960s, our society has determinedly dropped any idea of moral disapproval of anyone's freely chosen sexual behavior.
It is not that morality or moral disapproval themselves have been dropped, because smokers, those who harm the environment or “discriminate,” continue to incur severe moral disapproval. It is only on matters related to sexual behavior that moral disapproval is now held to be “judgmental” and therefore out of bounds.
That is one of the reasons why same-sex couples are suddenly viewed so widely with equanimity, as if their conduct were the most natural thing in the world and just another lifestyle choice. Hardly anybody is prepared to condemn them when almost no other type of sexual behavior outside of marriage is any longer condemned either. And that is surely why judges in Massachusetts and Canada have been able — so far! — to get away with ruling that homosexual couples ought to be able to “marry.” For society to acquiesce in such rulings, however, will eventually mean the end of marriage.
How is it all going to end? Can our society go on defying nature and morality indefinitely?
The ancient Roman poet Horace wrote, “Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret” (“You may throw nature out with a pitchfork, but she will keep coming back”). We certainly have to hope he was right about that. But unless and until nature does reassert herself, we surely have to oppose so-called same-sex marriage in every way possible.
Kenneth D. Whitehead, the author of One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic: The Early Church Was the Catholic Church (Ignatius Press), writes frequently on Church affairs from Falls Church, Virginia.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Kenneth D. Whitehead ----- KEYWORDS: Commentary -------- TITLE: Peter Pan Has Finally Grown Up DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:When James M. Barrie's play Peter Pan opened in London 100 Christmas Eves ago, critics and theatergoers alike embraced the work as thoughtful adult entertainment — with something extra for the kids who might come along.
Rich in metaphor and psychological insight, the original Peter Pan was as far from the “cutified” Disney version as the real St. Nicholas is from the overstuffed Santa impersonator posing for pictures at the mall. Now, thanks to a 20-year odyssey on the part of producer Lucy Fisher, Peter Pan has finally been brought to the big screen in a telling that would surely make J.M. Barrie proud.
For older children and adults, Peter Pan offers a metaphorical level of enjoyment that is truly rare in the movies but which defines great works of art.
Essentially, the story from the original play and novel belongs to a 12-year-old girl named Wendy Darling. Played charmingly by first-time actress Rachel Hurd Wood, Wendy comes to the attention of her disapproving dowager Aunt Millicent (Lynn Redgrave), who insists it is high time her niece grows up and stops rough-housing with her younger brothers, John and Michael.
Wendy's parents, played wonderfully by Jason Isaacs and Olivia Williams, reluctantly agree to entrust their daughter's coming of age to Aunt Millicent. Wendy is reticent about leaving the carefree happiness of the nursery for the harried exigencies of the adult world. The movie unfolds as Wendy's imagination helps her weigh childhood against adulthood, making a case that each has its joys and terrors. “The magic of the story is that you never know whether Neverland is real or a place in Wendy's mind,” actor Isaacs noted. “Told she has to 'grow up,' Wendy goes to this place in her imagination where she meets these two creatures. One represents eternal childhood without of hint of maturity. The other represents cynical adulthood, without an ounce of playfulness.”
Staying true to the original Barrie production, neither Peter Pan nor Hook are the heroes of this movie. In his first starring role — and one that will make him a star — Jeremy Sumpter brings to his Peter not only a rakish sense of adventure but also a thorough rejection of seriousness, commitment and responsibility. Barrie pre-sciently anticipated the psychological syndrome that would be coined in the 1970s in commenting on Peter's flaws, “All children grow up — that is their tragedy — except Peter Pan — that's his.”
Hook, too, is an extreme character, representing the worst things adulthood can mean: power, greed, treachery and even murder. While there are some comical nuances in Isaacs' performance (as in most productions of the story, he plays both Hook and Wendy's father), director P.J. Hogan noted that he wanted to avoid making Hook farcical. “I wanted Hook to be genuinely scary,” he said. “You don't trust him and he is the stuff of nightmares, like the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz.”
Hogan was inspired by the fact that his young sons always want the stories he reads them to have a touch of real darkness. “Kids can see what is around them and that there are evil things out there in the world,” he said. “They want stories to help them understand and deal with it.”
This new version of Peter Pan has drawn some criticism from secular and religious critics for its underlying themes of romance between Wendy and Pan and even between Wendy and Captain Hook.
I heard one Christian writer dismiss this side of the film as “typical Hollywood fare that has to bring sex into everything.” One of the secular critics at the film's press junket actually insinuated that the obvious attraction between Wendy and Hook was perverted because Hook is played by the same actor who plays her father.
One of the problems with living in a perverse moment of history is that people get so sullied they can no longer recognize innocence. Peter Pan has a strong theme of the beauty of first love.
Movie critics, saturated by graphic sexuality, look at 12-year-old Peter and Wendy in the beauty of first attraction and they see eroticism. It's very twisted. The fact is, the theme of first love is absolutely drawn from the original Barrie play and is not a Hollywood gloss.
First love is characterized by innocence and wonder. Wendy, as a young girl on the verge of womanhood, flirts with both Pan and Hook, experiencing the good things that both childhood and adulthood have to offer. The pivotal turning point in the story comes as she tries to get Peter to move out of the whims of childhood and into a more serious relationship.
Wendy imposes the image of her father on Captain Hook because, as a 12-year-old girl, her understanding of manhood cannot be divorced from her father. It's all part of the central metaphor of the original story, which the movie wonderfully preserves. There is nothing sexy about this movie. What is sexy are the times, which poison every discussion of love and attraction between people.
Another positive theme in the movie is a validation of the traditional model of family. The Darling home is warm and loving, with parents who are deeply committed to each other and to their children. The end of the story finds the group of Lost Boys rejecting their play-filled all-male community for adoption by a father and a mother. I suppose because I am infected with the constant advocacy of homosexuality everywhere, I found this part of the storyline particularly exhilarating.
Peter Pan is a wonderful family film of the kind for which Christian parents are always clamoring. Beautiful to look at with a wonderful adventure, children will be thrilled to experience this production. Because it is also a romance and a story with powerful human themes, adults will also find much here to enjoy.
The only question is, if Hollywood can do this kind of thing, why doesn't it do it more often?
Screenwriter Barbara Nicolosi is the director of Act One: Writing for Hollywood. She writes from Los Angeles.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Barbara Nicolosi ----- KEYWORDS: Commentary -------- TITLE: A Steadfast Spirit DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:Our 18-year-old daughter has been praying to grow in virtue. Without her realizing it, I think the Lord has been helping her develop a steadfast spirit — which, to my thinking, is as important a virtue as any.
Megan asked the Lord specifically for the virtues of detachment, patience and tranquility. Boy, was she brave. But she thought she was ready to handle whatever God sent her way. Her first answer to prayer was the temporary breakdown of her car. She was used to unlimited transportation, so this “detachment” from her freedom was not easy. Now she had to depend on us to get were she needed to go.
Next came a test of her patience and peace of mind: She lost her 12-page senior paper. The computer disk on which she'd stored the assignment suddenly stopped working. Her paper, the fruit of hours of hard work, was lost forever. Her initial response was, understandably, one of tremendous frustration. But then she remembered her prayer. Not only was God testing her response to this situation, but he was evidently throwing that detachment thing at her again, too.
Wow. A three-virtue lesson. I once heard that St. Teresa of Avila said to God as she fell into a puddle: “If this is the way you treat your friends, it is no wonder you do not have very many.” My daughter thought the same thing. She wrestled with the temptation to quit praying for virtues all together. But she finally surrendered her will and decided to stay steadfast. She knew the end was greater than the means. So back to the keyboard she went, tired but no longer angry. And guess what happened as a result? The next few frustrating situations that came her way didn't throw her for such a loop. She learned that the situation itself is usually not the test. More often, the true test is how you respond to the situation.
Praying for virtue might appear dangerous. Walking through that fiery furnace that God uses to purify us of our attachments to sin takes great courage. It takes a steadfast spirit. But what happens if we stop praying for virtue? We know it crossed Megan's mind. Who wants to heap troubles upon troubles on top of themselves? But God's ways are not our ways. He knows the little suffering we might endure for our sanctification is a small price to pray for everlasting life in the fullness of his presence.
Often it is not easy to live our Catholic faith. We need a steadfast spirit not only to accept the challenges the Lord sends our way but to also make the right choices in our daily doings. The question I often pose to my children when they are making choices is, “Would you feel comfortable inviting Jesus to watch this movie or show with you, or to be with you in this situation?” If the answer is No, you should not be doing it.
I need to ask myself the same questions. It takes a steadfast spirit to walk that narrow road that leads to heaven. We need to be steadfast to protect our purity and live a life that witnesses Christ's love to the rest of the world. Sometimes it is difficult to accept the challenges and the crosses our Lord hands us to help us to grow in virtue and holiness. But, with God, all things are possible. With his grace we can stand firm.
Be steadfast and grow stronger in your resolve to live your Catholic faith. It's the right choice.
Jackie Oberhausen writes from Fort Wayne, Indiana.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Travel -------- TITLE: What a Difference a Year Makes DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:Just about a year ago, my wife, Mary, and I walked around one of the most beautiful old buildings in Bridgeport, Conn.
Stepping inside, we sighed as we found the Cathedral of St. Augustine little more than an empty shell.
Ten months later, just after Thanksgiving, we returned. This time, we had to catch our breath. Here was a gleaming, truly majestic sanctuary — a house of God well worthy of the title “cathedral.”
What a difference a year makes, at least when the year is spent making lovingly reverent renovations. From the regilded cross high atop the single Gothic spire to the floor of the magnificently reappointed interior, St. Augustine's is awe-inspiring, top to bottom. We wondered if those who laid eyes on the church when it was newly built stopped to marvel over such a grandly physical statement of the Catholic faith.
Architect Henry Menzies of New Rochelle, N.Y., spent two years designing the renovations. He wrote recently that he was guided by Bridgeport Bishop William Lori's desire to “bring back something of the Gothic splendor of the original church in a beautiful, contemporary vernacular.” Menzies said he wanted his design to echo that of the great cathedrals of history, which spread the Gospel through sacred art and architecture.
The altar and the gleaming gold tabernacle behind it caught our eyes first. Then the new Carrara marble statues of the cathedral's patron and the Holy Family called out for closer inspection. From there it was on to the original, gold-highlighted capitals and rosettes, part of the original neo-Gothic 19th-century design by legendary church architect Patrick Charles Keely. Surveying the surroundings, we sensed that all the visual cues to God's presence within were joining together like the members of a celestial choir singing his praises in perfect harmony.
Golden Tabernacle
St. Augustine's stands out among the 600-plus churches and cathedrals Keely designed in the 1800s. The first Mass was celebrated in 1864, when this, the first Catholic church in the area, must have cut quite an imposing figure. It rose atop a city hill and was built of stones from the Pequonnock quarry in another part of the city, near what later became known as St. Mary's by the Sea.
In the sanctuary, the 4-ton, 24-foot-high bronze baldacchino over the main altar was crafted in lower Manhattan. Menzies said he was inspired by the baldacchino in St. Patrick's Cathedral. For all its weight, this one soars and curves gracefully upward to the very top, where a 3-foot bronze Archangel Gabriel sounds his trumpet for the Last Judgment.
The altar itself is a feast for the eyes. Made of dark green marble on a base of limestone and Breccia Pernice marble, it bears a gilded inscription to remind all of what takes place here: pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus (Christ our passover is sacrificed for us). A traditional crucifix suspended overhead presents this same narration without words. The cross is made of the same wood used in the sanctuary, and the corpus of Christ was hand-carved in Italy by Pius and Stefan Malsirer.
Directly behind the altar, a golden tabernacle gleams. Designed with neo-Gothic lines by Menzies, it was made in Madrid, Spain. We're reminded of who reposes within by the door's relief of Christ the King. And the green marble table on which it rests is inscribed Ave Verum Corpus — Hail True Body.
We were astonished many times over by the superlative master craftsmanship in Old World style throughout. Behind the tabernacle, the magnificent reredos is a huge three-paneled triptych of Gothic arches crafted from Honduran mahogany. The arches frame panels with the Holy Spirit as a dove and adoring angels facing the tabernacle. Everything is in Italian mosaics that reflect and radiate light.
For the sanctuary, green Italian marbles form a sea of diamond checkerboard flooring. But the main altar stands on a parquet wood floor to distinguish this most holy space. The cathedra, the bishop's chair, carved with designs including clusters of grapes, is an antique used by all four bishops of Bridgeport.
Next we turned attention to the chapels on either side of the sanctuary. We learned that their stunning statues were newly carved of white Carrara marble from the same quarry Michelangelo used. One chapel contains a glorious, larger-than-life Holy Family. The serene pose of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph and Jesus as a babe is softly bathed with indirect lighting.
Genius Doctor
In the other chapel there's a larger-than-life-sized Carrara statue of St. Augustine. After our visit, Menzies told me he got the idea for this depiction from a Botticelli painting. The sculptor who recast the vision in three dimensions was Francesco Federigi (who also did the Holy Family). Augustine sits at a table, his bishop's miter off, an open book or Bible before him. The Doctor of the Church — one of Western civilization's most celebrated geniuses — ponders intently. He faces the altar contemplating the Mass and giving silent example to worshippers.
Next we walked the Stations of the Cross, all three-dimensional and quite large masterpieces dating to the late 1800s. Msgr. Kevin Wal-lin, the cathedral's pastor, saw them years ago in the lower church of St. Frances of Rome Church in the Bronx. They were brought here and master artist Henryk Krzeminski superbly restored and repainted them.
All the stained-glass windows along the nave, from the legendary Mayer studio in Munich and installed in St. Augustine's more than a century ago, have now been restored. With regal reds, brilliant blues and glittering golds, they caught our eye long enough to draw us deeply into the scriptural and saintly scenes represented.
There's more, too much more to describe in so small a space. Suffice it to say that, in one short year, St. Augustine's has been transformed into a masterpiece for the glory of God. It's like a prayer of praise and thanksgiving that no words could possibly express. Say Amen, somebody!
Joseph Pronechen writes from Trumbull, Connecticut.
----- EXCERPT: St. Augustine Cathedral, Bridgeport, Conn. ----- EXTENDED BODY: Joseph Pronechen ----- KEYWORDS: Travel -------- TITLE: When Virtually in Rome ... DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:Prior to a month or so ago, I hadn't been to the Vatican's Web site — vatican.va — since the publication of Ecclesia de Eucharistia, Pope John Paul II's encyclical on the Eucharist in its relationship to the Church. That was last spring.
Why the reticence over the most authoritative of all Catholic Web sites? Well, my relationship with the Vatican site in the past had been a difficult one.
For one thing, when I was putting together my last book, Catholics on the Internet 2000-2001, the Vatican site changed its Web address at least twice. This forced me to keep updating the many links I had to the site. Not an insubstantial hassle, that. Plus the content, good as it's always been, had been difficult to navigate — and much of it has been redundant with content on other, easier sites. Bottom line: The site hadn't distinguished itself as one of the more user-friendly sites on the Internet. It was important but not indispensable.
Then came word that the Vatican had revamped its site. I had to see for myself. Sure enough, improvements abound.
The first thing to catch my eye was a colorful, artistic banner at the top. It was marked “The Redemptoris Mater Chapel.” I clicked on it and was whisked inside the chapel used by the Holy Father for his annual spiritual retreats. It, too, has recently been renovated; in fact, it was completely redone with mosaics on the walls and ceiling as a gift to the Holy Father for his 50th anniversary as a priest. Offered the choice between Flash and Shockwave for my virtual tour, I chose the latter. I was impressed with the entire presentation but especially with the capability to pan around the chapel and zoom in on various mosaics.
Back at the main page, I liked the link labeled “Latest.” Unlike similar links at many other sites, this one really does give you the most up-to-date information on what's going on with the Holy Father, the Church, the Vatican and the Web site.
Another welcome addition: You now have the capability to cross-reference the Bible, the Catechism and the Code of Canon Law. Click on any one of these and you can enable active links to the other two; this allows you to easily pull together related quotes, citations, footnotes and bibliographic material from those three major sources. Soon, we're told, papal documents will be added as well.
The “Paths of the Spirit” link on the main page brings you to selected writings of the Fathers of the Church and the saints. When I clicked on the link, nothing was listed in English. However, when I scrolled down to the bottom and selected “Search,” I was able to search by author or month. Choosing the “Saints” link brings you to a page listing all those canonized and made blessed by John Paul. For some, not all, you can see a photo or read their biography.
The “Liturgical Year” mouse rollover link brought me to a page with a circle depicting the various seasons the Church recognizes. There are links to the Pontifical Musical Chorus of the Sistine Chapel and the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music for each season. Music can be downloaded and played in MP3 format. By choosing a season and the year, you will find yourself on a page indexing the Holy Father's comments for that time. You may also find television clips and a seasonal greeting.
World Youth Day, Peter's Pence and other links contain photos of the Holy Father in action as well as related links and commentary. You will want to check them out, especially if you attended any of these events.
There are many other nooks and crannies to explore here, including a section marking the 25th anniversary of John Paul's pontificate.
All in all, it seems clear the Vatican is following through on the Holy Father's address to the diocesan directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States on Feb. 21, 2003.
“The growth of the Internet in recent years provides an unprecedented opportunity for expanding the Church's missionary outreach,” he said that day, “since it has become a primary source of information and communication for so many of our contemporaries, especially the young.”
Brother John Raymond, co-founder of the Monks of Adoration, writes from Venice, Florida.
----- EXCERPT: Surfing the Vatican's newly dynamic Web site ----- EXTENDED BODY: Brother John Raymond ----- KEYWORDS: Arts -------- TITLE: Weekly Web Picks DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:Looking for work -paid or voluntary — at the service of the Church? Here are some sites to help you locate opportunities.
Catholic Careers (catholiccareers.com) allows you to search by region, job category or keyword or to submit your resume.
Catholic Relief Services (catholicrelief.org) was founded by the U.S. bishops to assist the poor and dis-advantaged outside the country. Check out the “Get Involved” drop-down list and other menu links.
The Catholic Worker (catholicworker.org), founded by Dorothy Day — whose cause for sainthood has been introduced — has 185 communities dedicated to nonviolence, voluntary poverty, prayer and hospitality for the homeless, exiled, hungry and forsaken. Catholic Workers continue to protest injustice, war, racism and violence of all forms. See their “Volunteer Opportunities” link.
Catholic Extension (www.catholicextension.org) promotes the Catholic faith in U.S dioceses where resources are insufficient. Although not a volunteer group per se, it helps support good works in this country.
The Christophers (christophers.org) were started by Maryknoll Father James Keller, who believed that God gives each individual a particular task in life. Their motto: “It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.” Not a bad maxim to live by in these dark times.
For local opportunities, see your diocesan Web site (linked at usccb.org/bishops.htm). Get involved today!
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Brother John Raymond ----- KEYWORDS: Arts -------- TITLE: Weekly Video/DVD Picks DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:Russian Ark (2002)
Motion pictures are built by editing -by joining scenes, and often moments within scenes, that were shot sepa-rately. Sometimes the shoots were mounted weeks or months apart, or in separate locations.
Some directors have experimented with extended takes (unbroken shots that last for several minutes), but this approach has never been sustainable for much more than 10 minutes at a time, due to the running time of a canister of film.
Once the advent of digital video freed filmmakers from the constraints of physical film, it was only a matter of time before someone made the first feature film entirely in one take, without a single edit or cut. Russian Ark, Aleksandr Sokurov's experimental art-house meditation on Russia's cultural heritage and current identity crisis, has the distinction of being that film.
Though casual viewers with no special interest in either film history or Russian history might be bored to tears, for serious film students Russian Ark is a must-see. Sokurov's achievement is notable not only for being the first film shot in one take but also for offering a striking antithesis to the Soviet montage cinema of early Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein. Eisenstein's edit-driven approach was forward-looking and characterized by decisive, revolutionary action, reflecting Marxist optimism about the future. By contrast, Sokurov's film is awash in nostalgia and dream-like passiveness, reflecting the lack of a clear way forward for contemporary Russia.
For 96 trance-like minutes, Sokurov's camera drifts from room to room in the Hermitage, a St. Petersburg monastery turned art museum — a repository (or “ark”) of Russian culture. The film is also adrift in time, wandering back and forth among the centuries, with thousands of costumed extras representing 200 years of Russian history. Torn between wistful reveries of long-gone Russian glory and an uneasy awareness of the long shadow of European hegemony, Russian Ark is a dream-like meditation on the soul of Russian culture from which the viewer finally awakens, stirred but not transformed.
Content advisory: Nothing objectionable.
Father Goose (1964)
Cary Grant cheerfully plays against a lifetime of typecasting in this modestly entertaining romantic comedy with • comic echoes of The African Queen and Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison, directed by Ralph Nelson (The Lilies of the Field).
Grant plays Walter Eckland, a boorish, unkempt boozer corralled into doing plane-spotting duty on an uninhabited South Pacific island during World War II. Just when he thinks his situation can't get any worse, his world is invaded — not by the Japanese but by seven French schoolgirls and their prim schoolmistress, Catherine Freneau (Lesie Caron). Needless to say, their presence puts a decided cramp on Eckland's relaxed lifestyle and sparks of more than one fly between Freneau and Eckland as they clash over living arrangements and Eckland's drinking.
The opposites-attract formula works well, as Freneau with her strait-laced persona is humanized by unexpected foibles and insecurities, and Eckland's degenerate character is slowly redeemed by a rediscovered sense of decency and chivalry.
Content advisory: Comic use of alcohol and inebriation; some wartime danger. Probably okay for most kids.
Platinum Blonde (1931)
Frank Capra directs this early screwball comedy, a reverse Pygmalion story about a working-class reporter named Stew Smith (Robert Williams) who marries a society girl named Ann Schuyler (Jean Harlow) but afterward has second thoughts about her efforts to improve him.
This theme of romantically linking an upper-class society girl and a man beneath her station would become a popular device in screwball comedies, appealing to Depression audiences both as escapist entertainment and as satire of the idle rich and celebration of the hardworking poor.
Ironically, the rich come off a bit better in Platinum Blonde than in some later screwball comedies. Though the viewer is meant to identify with Stew's working-class values, Ann can be surprisingly sympathetic and decent, e.g., loyally siding with her husband against her parents.
Unfortunately, the class divide is finally too great. Unspoken expectations prove an impediment to the marriage, and Stew's supportive gal-pal reporter friend Gallagher (Loretta Young) waits patiently in the wings.
Content advisory: Romantic complications; comic inebriation and brief comic violence; remarriage after divorce.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Steven D. Greydanus ----- KEYWORDS: Arts -------- TITLE: WEEKLY TV PICKS DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:All times Eastern
SUNDAY, JAN. 11
Childhood Memories Unwrapped
Food Network, 10 p.m.
This new special will stir up baby boomers' happy memories of their favorite candy, gum and other “fun foods” of the 1950s and '60s. It also displays food toys such as the EZ Bake Oven and the Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine. Re-airs Jan. 17 at 5 p.m.
MONDAY, JAN. 12
The Journey Home
EWTN, 8 p.m.
Tonight's guest is Cardinal Avery Dulles, a convert from Presbyterianism who became a prince of the Church. Re-airs Tuesday at 1 a.m. and 10 a.m., and Saturday at 11 p.m.
TUESDAY, JAN. 13
Mission: Organization
Home & Garden TV, 2 p.m.
A couple enlists experts to neaten and organize their home office and garage.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 14
High Voltage
History Channel, 9 p.m.
This special focuses on a special breed of unsung heroes: the power company linemen who risk their lives to build, string and service electrical-transmission towers. Some of the structures are 250 feet high and carry 700,000-volt wires.
THURSDAY, JAN. 15
Live from Lincoln Center
PBS, 8 p.m.
In the Kaplan Penthouse at Lincoln Center, violinist Joshua Bell appears with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Bell becomes only the second violinist featured on this program in the past quarter-century; the other was the renowned Itzhak Perlman.
THURSDAY, JAN. 15
All American Festivals
Food Network, 10 p.m.
This special highlights the tradition, in Mexican heritage, of making tamales for Christmas. Held in early December in Indio, Calif., 22 miles east of Palm Springs, the Annual Indio International Tamale Festival features a big parade and, naturally, zillions of tamales with fillings from meat to sweet.
FRIDAY, JAN. 16
Hey, Rookie, Welcome to the NFL Regular Season
ESPN, 9:30 p.m.
The acronym “NFL” stands for National Football League, of course, but gridiron aficionados say it also means “Not For Long.” You'll see why during this look at how hard it is to make an NFL team and how much harder it is to stay there for any length of time.
SATURDAY, JAN. 17
World Police and Fire Games
CBS, 2:30 p.m.
Started in 1985, these biennial games bring together police and fire services from around the world. As you'll see in this tape of the 2003 games, held July 27-Aug. 3 in Barcelona, the events range from the sedate (chess) to the vigorous (triathlon and “toughest athlete alive”). The professional-skills competitions include orienteering, martial arts, and rifle, pistol and shotgun events.
Dan Engler writes from Santa Barbara, California.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Dan Engler ----- KEYWORDS: Arts -------- TITLE: Omaha School Provides Christmas Meals to Needy Families DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:OMAHA, Neb. — Hundreds of Catholic high school students in Omaha spent about 40 hours organizing and distributing 200,000 pounds of food at Christmas for Operation Others.
This year, Operation Others, a 35-year-old project, was expected to reach close to 1,200 Omaha families as well as 340 Native American families on reservations in Nebraska and South Dakota.
Operation Others is unique because it is primarily student run, said Marie Angele, campus minister at Daniel J. Gross Catholic High School.
“It's a fabulous project,” she told The Catholic Voice, newspaper of the Omaha Archdiocese. “I think it's a wonderful way for the Catholic high schools to work together.”
A core group of 25 students met every Wednesday since September to organize larger group meetings, design T-shirts and plan fund-raisers. This year the group raised $30,000.
Bill Laird, a theology teacher at Creighton Prep High School and coordinator of Operation Others since 1982, said he loves spending time with the students and seeing them work so hard.
“My favorite part about Operation Others is the fact that the students have fun working their tails off to help other human beings,” he said. “The opportunity for me, personally, to hang out with this group of young people is part of what keeps me going.”
Angele said the project teaches students what it means to be Catholic and helps them develop leadership skills.
Members of the Operation Others project from Catholic high schools in Omaha, Neb., provided 200,000 pounds of food to 1,200 families at Christmas. (Photo by The Catholic Voice)
“As Catholic schools, we want to be mindful of the justice issues and help students understand that they have benefited from many blessings in their lives, and from those blessings, by sharing, they can help others,” she said. “I think that's really essential to our faith of loving one another.”
Eighteen-year-old Katy Hovermale, a senior at Angela Skutt Catholic High School, got involved with Operation Others last year when she was asked to be on the core team.
“It is one of the most awesome things in the whole world. I love it,” she said. “Being able to help all those people, knowing that you are responsible for making someone else's Christmas better makes you feel so awesome.”
She said Operation Others is not only about serving others but also about building relationships with other students and with the families they visit.
Hannah Lefler, a senior at Daniel Gross Catholic High School, agrees.
“On delivery day, the families are just so excited and they invite you in for hot chocolate,” she said. “I've just met so many people and made so many new friends.”
‘Calling Day’
With the help of Catholic Charities, the students received the names and addresses of several families who would benefit from the food delivered through Operation Others. They also sponsored a daylong “calling day” during which people could call a hot line, available in English and Spanish, and request the food.
Ed Kult, a theology teacher at Creighton Prep, took the information and designed a detailed database that included maps and tally lists. In fact, the project is so organized that Kult, who spends nearly 200 hours working on the project, said they average only four “no finds” on delivery day.
When the students' Christmas vacation begins, they spend the first day organizing food items and the next day filling boxes. The following day, after 7 a.m. Mass, between 400 and 600 students, alumni, families and friends arrive at the delivery site to distribute the boxes to the assigned families. They all meet again the next day to clean up.
“You're going on no sleep, but you never really feel the tiredness until you get home on the last day,” Hovermale said.
Operation Others has become a community-wide effort, with several Omaha companies donating bread, boxes and the refrigeration space needed for the food.
“I'm stunned by it every year,” Laird said.
Doug Peters said his life has been changed by Operation Others. The Creighton Prep senior, who is in his third year with the program, said he loved it from the start because “it just felt good to do something to help other people out instead of just spending my time after finals at home watching TV.”
Operation Others reaffirmed his faith and his desire to major in social work in college, he said.
“When you see all the kids that will come down after finals on the weekend right before Christmas and deliver food to the families,” he said, “it's amazing.”
----- EXCERPT: Doug Peters said his life has been changed by Operation Others. ----- EXTENDED BODY: Lisa Schulte ----- KEYWORDS: Education -------- TITLE: For Perpetual Students of the Faith DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:Living The Mysteries: A Guide For Unfinished Christians
by Scott Hahn and Mike Aquilina
Our Sunday Visitor, 2003 288 pages, $12.95 To order: (800) 348-2440 www. osvpublishing. com
When is a person's Catholic education complete? After confirmation? When RCIA is completed? Eighth grade?
In the early Church, baptism was followed by a period of continuing education in the faith. This ongoing catechesis was called mys-tagogia. Lacking that, the faithful might go along with the practices of the Church while maintaining or even promoting beliefs inimical to the Catholic faith. The need for such instruction is no less great today. In fact, as our society becomes increasingly secular and antagonistic toward religion in general and Catholic Christianity in particular, the need for a faith that is both understood and lived becomes more important.
Living the Mysteries by Scott Hahn and Mike Aquilina can help. The book is divided into a seven-week program. For each day in that period, a short reading is offered from the Church's greatest teachers — Sts. Augustine, Ambrose, Pope Leo the Great or John Chrysostom, for example. These selections have been translated into language that is readily accessible to the average reader yet true to the depth of meaning found in the original. The topics range from the Eucharist to the need for ongoing conversion to the joys and challenges of living a sacramental life.
The authors also provide short introductions to each daily excerpt. This introductory material provides background information to assist the reader to a fuller understanding of the passage that follows. For example, introducing an article concerning the feast of Pentecost by St. Leo the Great, the authors write: “On the first Pentecost, the coming of the Spirit lit up the minds and hearts of thousands. Now they could understand, and now they could speak with understanding, to help others understand. Now, with the fire of the Spirit of Christ, they had pierced the veil of the mysteries. This fire blazed from person to person to consume whole families and, soon, entire lands. The Holy Spirit had come to renew the face of the earth.”
One thing that repeatedly amazed me was how often these ancient teachers said things that resonate with relevance even today. For example, in a section of the book that deals with Christian marriage, St. John Chrysostom says: “After marriage you are no longer two, but one flesh … [therefore] 'mine' is a cursed and abominable word” in marriage. I — and every married person — would do well to reflect on that passage.
Catholic education also involves much more than spiritual geniuses cramming facts into the heads of neophytes. Catholic teaching is meant to lead the individual both to deeper love of God and greater service to neighbor. Following each daily teaching selection, Living the Mysteries provides the reader with useful tools in sections such as “Take it to Prayer,” “Learn it by Heart” and “Apply it to Your Life.” They're clearly keen on the idea that, just as information is indispensable, so practical tips and encouragements are vital if the Catholic is to cultivate a rich and life-changing faith life.
This book can be used for individual study, but its format allows for other uses. For example, each week focuses on a particular topic, which makes it ideal for a group study over a seven-week period. The book also could be used in a family setting. The short daily selections could be read before family dinner.
The suggestions for applying the teaching to Catholic living would make for fine dinner discussion. And the prayer-starter provided by the authors gives good material to end the discussion and the meal.
It's 2004. Do you know where your Catholic education is?
Regis Flaherty, editor in chief of Emmaus Road Publishing, writes from Pittsburgh.
----- EXCERPT: Weekly Book Pick ----- EXTENDED BODY: Regis J. Flaherty ----- KEYWORDS: Education -------- TITLE: Campus Watch DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:‘Friendly' Debate?
TOWNHALL.COM, Dec. 16 — They both came from the same institution, but their jobs are now worlds apart.
Edward Gillespie, chairman of the Republican National Committee, and Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, are both alumni of the Catholic University of America.
The two will engage in a debate hosted by the university March 18, with George Stephanopolous, host of ABC's “This Week,” moderating. It will be the first time leaders of the two parties will meet for a debate.
Gillespie graduated from the university with a bachelor's degree in politics in 1983, and McAuliffe graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science in 1979.
True Calling
THE COLUMBIAN (Wash.), Dec. 25 — Sharon Heidland had everything a college student could want: smarts, boyfriends, a volleyball scholarship to the University of Nevada. But in the end, she realized, it wasn't enough.
Heidland left her promising career in communications after college to join the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. Now Sister Miriam James Heidland spends much of her time in quiet contemplation at Our Lady of Guadalupe Convent in Dunseith, N.D., a town of 739 residents.
“Thanks be to God,” Sister Heidland said. “I found the meaning of my life, and I found it at 22 years old.”
All Girls
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, Dec. 22 — All-girls schools are better than coed ones, according to a survey of 1,600 girls who attend all-girls Catholic schools in the Chicago area.
The anonymous Internet survey, whose results were released Dec. 19, found 89% of girls said it's easier to concentrate on classes at an all-girls school; 81% think it's easier to express themselves at an all-girls school; 72% have never or rarely experienced difficulty with peer pressure; and 64% have never or rarely experienced issues with self-esteem at their school.
The survey was a part of a marketing campaign called “Together4You,” launched by seven schools last fall. Its goal, the paper said, is to promote single-sex education at a time of declining enrollment and school closings.
Discriminating?
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Dec. 17 — A pro-life group was banned from the Catholic Gonazaga University in Spokane, Wash. It sounds like a contradiction, especially to law student Ashley Horne.
Horne and a fellow law student decided to start the Pro-Life Law Caucus in the fall to support pro-life causes and a crisis-pregnancy center in the Spokane area. The club requested affiliation with the Student Bar Association, which, among other things, entitles it to money from student fees.
But the association refused to recognize the club, saying its policy to only allow Christians in leadership positions was discriminatory.
Interreligious
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, Dec. 11 — John Borelli, former associate director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the U.S. bishops' conference, has been named special assistant to the president for interreligious initiatives at the university.
Borelli has also been a consultor to the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Among his duties, according to a press release, will be “to coordinate Georgetown's contributions to interreligious understanding.”
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Education -------- TITLE: Love the Incompetent DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:Family Matters
Q
My wife has trouble dealing with her subordinates who seem to make the same mistakes over and over again, no matter how many times she points them out.
A
We're still brain storming. So far we have the guillotine idea. We also have the grin-and-bear-it model. We really need a third option here.
You make an essential point about charity. As Christians we must not only get things done, but we also have to do them charitably. St. Paul gets to the heart of this in 1 Corinthians 13: Without charity, even faith and hope are null and void. Anything without charity, without Christ, is just a gong clanging.
The question is, does a charitable response mean we roll over and permit or tolerate incompetence?
It can't mean that, since poor performance by your subordinates means you, as a supervisor, will be incompetent and could fail in your responsibilities. Plus poor work causes undue suffering and limits opportunities for others. If a teacher doesn't teach well, the students and the school suffer. If a cranky employee scares customers or investors away, then everyone in the firm I has fewer opportunities ' to improve and grow. Incompetence is not just an annoyance or imperfection to be endured. Important tasks go unfulfilled, which has an exponentially negative impact on many people — customers, investors, superiors, fellow employees and their families.
Christ wants us to be charitable, but he also wants us to be intelligent, determined and astute in exercising our responsibilities (Luke 16:8.) The first place to turn is prayer. Ask Christ to give her the grace so she can make the types of changes she needs to make to help others improve and succeed. What does Christ want her to do for this organization and for this person? Has she done everything within reason to help motivate the other person to succeed? Is she committed to spending the time and money to do the reading and attain the training to become the best possible leader and motivator she can be?
Are you also asking for the grace to be as supportive of your spouse as you can be? Perhaps you can give her more time, encouragement and resources (books, tapes) to continue to develop her leadership and people-management skills.
Since grace needs nature, encourage her to talk to her human resources department or a consultant to be sure prudent, protective steps are taken to protect the employee — and to protect her and her organization. The employee should have a job description with performance expectations and evaluations. Deficiencies and expected changes should be clear. Warnings and milestones should be documented. A plan toward probation and/or termination should be clearly spelled out.
Should termination become inevitable, she needs to be as generous with resources and energy as she can be in helping the employee with severance, job finding and personal morale.
Art Bennett is director of Alpha Omega Clinic and Consultation Services in Vienna, Virginia, and Bethesda, Maryland.
Reach Family Matters at familymatters@ncregister.com
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Art Bennett ----- KEYWORDS: Culture of Life -------- TITLE: Spirit of America DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:Facts of Life
Gallup religion polling finds that a majority of Americans say religion is very important to them. Close to 6 in 10 adults attend church at least once a month; only 10% never attend.
Source: The Gallup Organization, Dec. 5 Illustration by Tim Rauch
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Culture of Life -------- TITLE: What Price, Physical Perfection? DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:Wintertime, and the snacking is easy. For many, so is the stressing out over what America's favorite indoor pastime might do to the figure.
No one feels more pressure to measure up than teen-age girls. In myriad ways overt and subtle, the culture tells them at every turn to slim down and shape up — or else. The messages find a way to get through even to girls raised in homes where entertainment media is carefully screened.
“Unfortunately, attractiveness equals happiness for many girls,” says Lindsay Boever of Tahlequah, Okla. She knows because she's been there.
As a young college student a few years ago, Boever struggled with an unhealthy, immoderate concern for her physical appearance. Though she never had a weight problem, she found herself unduly influenced by media images of physical perfection and became excessively anxious about her body and her physical appearance.
Boever reports an unpleasant feeling of intense competition and scrutiny among her peers, particularly with regard to maintaining a thin figure. She believes being considered thin or attractive can become such a great source of pride and obsession for young women that they will go to extreme measures to attain physical perfection.
“I was more consumed with what I looked like when I went to Mass than I was with what was going on there,” she says of her younger years. “I think [obsession with appearance] is a great tool of the devil in our society.”
Boever learned a more balanced approach to her body through her Catholic faith. She discovered that, despite the popular culture's drumbeat of self-worship, true happiness and self-worth comes through accepting God's immeasurable love and focusing on loving service to others.
Today, as a mother herself, she says, “If I can teach [my children] anything, I hope to teach them that it's not all about yourself. It's about serving others.”
Get Real
Patricia Murray, a pediatric nutritionist in Manchester, N.H., says she's seen an increase in the number of young women with serious eating disorders — particularly anorexia and bulimia. She is alarmed by the current trend of teen-agers striving for bodily perfection, often at great cost to their physical and emotional well-being.
What she finds most disturbing, however, is that even very young children from otherwise healthy, intact families are not immune to the influences of the popular culture in this area.
“I see 8-year-olds who tell me they are on a diet,” Murray says. “Something is definitely wrong with that.”
Murray believes that mothers who use a practical approach to the issues of physical health and body image with their daughters can combat the negative influences of media images of female perfection. She encourages parents to teach their children not to diet but to eat a variety of nutritious foods in moderation and to get adequate exercise. And she emphasizes the importance of helping children to distinguish between fantasy and reality.
“Moms can point out the differences between pictures in magazines and real bodies,” she says. “Even if they are not overweight, most people do not have 'perfect' bodies and they need to accept what God has given them.”
Murray adds that a young woman's difficulty accepting her body is often symptomatic of a larger problem.
“Something is missing,” she says. “They hope that, if they are perfect, they will be loved and accepted.”
Suzanne Fowler, founder of Light Weigh, a Catholic weight-loss ministry, agrees that magazines, advertisements and television images encourage young women's dissatisfaction with their bodies.
“It didn't used to be required that women be so thin,” Fowler says. “Women today are bombarded by images of false perfection. Models' bodies are enhanced by surgery or computer editing and they give us a false ideal.”
Through her work with Light Weigh, Fowler encounters many women who have risked their health using trendy diets in an attempt to lose weight and achieve physical perfection. “Ultimately it's an attempt to be accepted,” she explains.
Fowler believes that young girls are especially vulnerable because “they've got a tremendous spiritual hunger.” Through her weight-loss program, she attempts to teach people that “God loves them with an intense, unconditional love, right now, no matter how much they weigh.”
Once people recognize the value of God's immense love, she says, they are less likely to seek love through food or physical perfection and are better able to maintain healthful, moderate eating habits.
Fowler recommends that parents, especially those raising girls, should be aware of their children's attitudes and actions toward food and their bodies.
“They should watch for changes in their children's eating habits, which might indicate a problem,” she says. “It is important to teach our children that their bodies are a gift and they are to be cherished.”
Father Robert Matya, pastor of Catholic Campus Ministry for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, echoes Fowler's thoughts.
“The No. 1 thing that influences how people feel about their bodies is what the media tells them they are supposed to look like,” he says. “When young people find that their own bodies don't meet this ideal, it creates many problems and can even lead to depression.”
Rather than looking for worldly acceptance and seeking self-worth through physical perfection, young people need to recognize that, irrespective of their outward physical appearances, they are made in the image and likeness of God, Father Matya says.
He is quick to point out, however, that this does not mean our physical bodies are unimportant.
“We must be good stewards of our bodies,” he says. “This means eating well and getting proper rest and exercise.”
Pope John Paul II agrees. An avid hiker and skier in his younger years, the Holy Father likes to repeat with St. Paul, “Glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20). He's often pointed to recreational sports and healthful exercise as good ways of doing this. “Sports are an important moment for guaranteeing the balance and total well-being of the person,” he once said in an address to an international convention held during the Jubilee for the World of Sport.
And, although the Pope encourages young people's involvement in sports, he cautions that “a true athlete must not let himself be carried away by an obsession with physical perfection.”
Father Matya, too, stresses the importance of finding a balance between physical fitness and empty obsession with material perfection. He warns that young people who seek acceptance and happiness through physical attractiveness will always be disappointed.
Instead, he advises, we can all find true happiness and personal fulfillment through a relationship with our Creator.
“Know that you are a child of God,” he says. “That is where your true identity is found. That is where you will discern your self-worth.”
Danielle Bean writes from Center Harbor, New Hampshire.
----- EXCERPT: How to help girls tempted to diet young ----- EXTENDED BODY: Danielle Bean ----- KEYWORDS: Culture of Life -------- TITLE: A 'Total Vision of Man' for the Third Millennium DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:Prolife Profile
The Theology of the Body International Alliance, known by its members as TOBIA, is a year-old youngster on an ageless mission.
“TOBIA strikes me as what the early Church was like,” says member David Sloan of Atlanta, who focuses his local theology of the body apostolate on dating, courtship and the single life. Like early Church emissaries “who went from city to city share with each other their story, news, passion and fire,” he says, “TOBIA does that. We believe this theology of the body is the New Evangelization — the way the Lord will reach people in our time, era, culture.”
From her home base in Cheyenne, Wyo., the alliance's founder, Anastasia Northrop, clarifies its mission.
“We are a support network providing resources for those striving to evangelize the world by means of Pope John Paul II's understanding of the human person, explained in his works Love and Responsibility and The Theology of the Body,” she says. “Our aim is to lead every person to an encounter with Jesus Christ.”
The Theology of the Body International Alliance is like the hub of a wheel, she adds. National, local, regional and international groups link to it like so many spokes, each devoted to studying and spreading the message of the Holy Father's theology of the body, which he presented in a series of Wednesday audiences between September 1979 and November 1984. A profound thinking-through of the mystery of marriage and sexuality, the teachings were inspired by Pope Paul VI's 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae (On the Regulation of Birth). This instructed Catholics to consider how contraception compromised the “total vision” of man that God intended his people to have.
Just hearing about the alliance is enough to ignite listeners to become added “spokes.” (So far the group has chapters in 26 states and five countries.) A case in point is Melanie Anderson, a student at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Anderson says that, after reading a book by Christopher West, she “wanted to learn more.” She found Northrop's Web site and phoned her. Northrop guided Anderson in starting a theology of the body study group last semester at her campus' Newman Center. In their talks, Northrop mentioned the Pope Day celebration for John Paul's papal anniversary. “Melanie got totally excited and they had a whole week of activities,” Northrop recalls.
For that week's evangelization day, Anderson and her group handed out materials on the dignity of women from New York member Peter McFadden's Web site, excerpts from Love and Responsibility and Bible verses underlining the Church's teaching.
“The purpose was not just to hand stuff out,” Anderson says, “but to educate people on the Pope's teaching and who he was. If TOBIA wasn't around, it wouldn't have happened at all.”
That's true of the next day's surprise, too: The campus' daily newspaper carried a front-page color photo of participants praying the rosary. As a result, Anderson says, the school chaplain's eyes were opened “to our role in evangelization.” He will train a core group to evangelize on campus next year.
Anderson notes the study group is “already reaching and changing people's lives. They're going to confession and wanting to share this good news with other people.”
The idea for the Theology of the Body International Alliance has roots in Northrop's work with her family's ministry, Our Father's Will Communications in Cheyenne. On her widespread travels to tape various speakers, she met many people excited to be studying the Pope's teachings on human love and sexuality. Northrop herself started a study group in 2001, then began to discover theology of the body groups in full steam around the country.
“Through our traveling, I met different contacts and key people,” she says, “like Peter McFadden, Jen Messing in Minnesota, David Sloan in Atlanta and Monica Ashour in Dallas.”
Everything built to the first meeting of the alliance in Dallas in January 2003. Northrop says 40 people came from six different states to discuss “how we could implement the theology of the body in different areas: with marriage preparation, the media, pro-life, young adults and teens.” By the time of last summer's meeting in Denver, attendance had nearly doubled.
Because the groups had slightly different focuses — for example, Dallas was discussing Christopher West's tapes, some were using a study guide Northrop developed on the original unity of man and woman, and another focused on dating and courtship based on the Pope's teaching — the mission quickly became clear.
“TOBIA is not meant to be something else that people have to do,” Northrop says. “Every group has its own mission, its charism, but TOBIA is meant to be a network where we could be a support to one another in evangelizing theology of the body.”
“For example,” she says, “if I get a call from someone who needs information on marriage preparation, I refer them to Peter McFadden. On dating and courtship, to Dave Sloan. Regarding teen activities, to Jen Messing.”
This support network is one of the major benefits of the Theology of the Body International Alliance “so we don't have to individually reinvent the wheel,” Northrop says. “We can find out who's working in that area already and use the resources that they're already creating in these areas.”
At the alliance's meeting in Denver, Sloan, who describes what he does as “pre-pre-Cana work” forming singles “so by the time they're engaged they're ready to embark on the journey to marriage,” met McFadden, who works in pre-Cana.
“Peter shouldn't have to begin teaching them what they should have known already,” Sloan says. “We began integrating those two programs. That's what TOBIA makes possible.”
Even the acronym TOBIA worked out in the association's favor. Northrop says it's a reminder of the book of Tobit with its story of the Archangel Raphael helping young Tobiah and Sarah through courtship and marriage.
Already on the boards is a forum for April 23-24 “about implementing the theology of the body into everyday life,” Northrop says. “We'll bring in the psychology, how men and women live it out differently.”
The alliance is already looking to World Youth Day 2005 in Germany.
“It would be a wonderful opportunity,” Northrop says, “because the theology of the body is a whole new way of presenting the Gospel message. Some think it's just a message about sexuality. But this is basically to do what love means. It's also so fundamental. If people don't understand basics, what it means to be a man or a woman, I believe it's difficult to get very far in the basic life of holiness, being fully alive as a Catholic person.”
Northrop describes how the Theology of the Body International Alliance fully integrates the universal call to holiness. Participants at Denver also took time to share poetry, music and Sunday liturgy. She even took a group hiking in the style of John Paul's younger days.
“Her international organization has great potential for promoting the theology of the body and helping young people who have the vocation to the sacrament of matrimony to live out the teaching of the Church on human sexuality and enriching their participation in a strong family life,” says Cheyenne Bishop David Ricken, who describes Northrop and her family as very committed Catholics.
“What's exciting about it,” Bishop Ricken continues, “is seeing young people having such great interest in this theology because it will be their generation that needs to provide an example of a healthy sexuality, provide a model of how this theology can enrich married life, the dignity of the human body and human sexuality.”
Joseph Pronechen writes from Trumbull, Connecticut.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Joseph Pronechen ----- KEYWORDS: Culture of Life -------- TITLE: Prolife Victories DATE: 01/04/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 4-10,2004 ----- BODY:Free Speech
LIFENEWS.COM, Dec. 16 — A Denver woman can again display her pro-life signs in public.
A federal district judge Dec. 15 said police were wrong to ticket Wendy Faustin for displaying signs that read “Abortion Kills Children” above a freeway overpass.
Police had tried to stop Faustin at least four times, LifeNews.com reported, and at one point thumbed through a manual in search of a law she might have broken. None was found.
Faustin had continued to carry her signs even while the case was in the courts and said police hadn't bothered her since the case was originally filed.
Teens Say 'No’
A survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released in mid-December showed the teen-age birthrate has declined 30% in 10 years to a historic low of 43 births per 1,000.
The paper cited education — including abstinence education — as one reason for the decline.
“I look at these declines as evidence teen-agers across the country are embracing the idea of abstinence until marriage,” Leslee Unruh, president and founder of the Abstinence Clearinghouse in Sioux Falls, S.D., told the paper. “Young people today want something more than just jumping into bed.”
Pro-Lifers Winning
THE WASHINGTON TIMES, Dec. 16 — Citing the passage of the partial-birth abortion ban as evidence, the newspaper declared in an editorial that pro-lifers are winning the battle against abortion.
More people than ever before consider themselves pro-life, the editorial stated, noting Gallup polls in the last 11 years showed those who said abortion should be “legal under any circumstances” dropped from 34% to 23%.
Pro-lifers drummed up more support in the public debate about partial-birth abortion, the editorial said, with images of the violent procedure shocking the public.
New ultrasound images of babies in the womb convinced the public even further, leading the editorial to conclude: “Pro-abortion strategists have lost the argument over whether a life is in fact a life before birth.”
Planned Protest
WORLDNETDAILY.COM, Dec. 23 — Pro-lifers were scheduled to protest Planned Parenthood's “Choice on Earth” greeting cards outside several offices Dec. 28, the feast of the Holy Innocents.
Picket signs with such phrases as “Planned Parenthood Kills Children” and “Planned Parenthood: Satan's Little Helpers” were to be displayed at the protests, according to a statement from the Christian Communication Network.
“Planned Parenthood is mocking the birth of Christ (Peace on Earth) by celebrating the abortion (Choice on Earth) of unborn babies,” the statement said. “This shows incredibly poor taste and ethics.”
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Culture of Life -------- TITLE: Abuse Audit DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:WASHINGTON — The bishops of the United States have received a “good but incomplete” grade on their first report card to evaluate how well they are fulfilling their 18-month pledge to protect young people from clergy sexual abuse.
The first nationwide audit of dioceses was released to the public Jan. 6. The grades are mixed, ranging from a few cases of non-cooperation to full compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People approved by the U.S. bishops’ conference in Dallas in June 2002.
An executive summary of the audit report, which includes summaries on individual dioceses, can be found on the bishops’ Web site, www.usccb.org, or can be obtained from diocesan offices.
“This was an unprecedented step by the Catholic Church in this country in a matter like this,” said Bishop Wilton Gregory of Belleville, Ill., the bishops’ conference president, at the press conference presenting the report. “The audit's results represent solid progress on the journey toward fulfilling the vision set out by the charter. I believe these findings show we bishops are keeping our word.”
The audit report recommends beginning an apostolic visitation of diocesan seminaries and religious houses of formation, which was ordered by the Vatican and the charter itself.
The report advises that relevant lay professionals should inspect seminaries, that the results of their visits be published and distributed to the laity and that the bishops’ conference should prepare a report for laity that describes the bishops’ plan for ongoing formation of priests.
Ninety percent of the 191 dioceses audited are essentially complying with the charter, the team of 54 auditors concluded. The audit was headed by William Gavin of Boston, a former FBI assistant director in New York.
Fifty-seven dioceses received “instructions” for actions needed to comply, and 125 dioceses received one or more “recommendations” for additional or changed procedures to improve compliance. A majority of the dioceses — 129 — also received “commendations” for having enacted abuse-prevention policies prior to the Dallas meeting.
The report, published by the bishops’ Office of Child and Youth Protection, noted that a total of 131 instructions and 297 recommendations were made to the dioceses during the audit, and more than half of them have been addressed.
The areas most noted for needing improvement were pastoral outreach to victims, diocesan lay review boards, safe-environment programs and background investigations of personnel and volunteers who work with children.
The report concluded with more than 70 general recommendations to develop the charter in order to further guarantee children's safety, said Kathleen McChesney, director of the bishops’ child protection office.
These include implementing the charter at the parish level, where most Catholics deal first with concerns of abuse; establishing a method to measure the effectiveness of safe-environment programs by no later than 2006; and asking dioceses to provide an annual report on the number of allegations of sexual abuse reported during the year and the disposition of each case.
Also, the report proposed that guidelines be developed for the ongoing supervision of clergy offenders.
While there was no summary report to show the number of offenders removed from ministry throughout the United States — those numbers were available only in the individual diocese reports — a preliminary count by Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a Chicago-based advocacy group, found that 150 Catholic priests from 56 dioceses who were removed or retired facing credible sexual-abuse allegations have moved to other dioceses or out of the country.
Locating Offenders
One problem that dioceses faced was finding accused offenders. “There are instances of clergy who, after being accused of sexually abusing a minor (or, in some cases, an adult), cannot be located,” says the report.
“Each of these individuals should be held to answer these accusations, but the greater concern is that they may be a danger to a minor,” the report says. “Therefore, every possible attempt must be made to locate the alleged perpetrator and direct him back to the proper venue to respond to the complaint. This is even more critical when outstanding criminal or civil charges exist.”
“It's presented a huge problem, not only for the [U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops] but for the Conference of Major Superiors of Men [a national organization for religious-order priests and brothers], who are in a different category altogether,” McChesney said. One-third of U.S. priests are in religious communities.
Michael Bland, one of the 12 lay members of the bishops’ National Review Board, said the audit provides an important baseline for the annual reports that will follow.
“In June 2002 we didn't know if every diocese had a lay review board. We didn't know if a diocese had victim-assistance coordinators,” said Bland, a survivor of clergy sexual abuse who works with the victims’ assistance ministry of the Archdiocese of Chicago. “I think in some ways that's what made the audit remarkable — I think it shows a remarkable commitment from a number of Church leaders to provide a safe environment for children and to deal with allegations with compassion and healing.”
Victims Groups React
Some victims’ advocates question whether the audit is all it purports to be — a credible and independent scrutiny of how bishops are now working to protect young people from clergy sexual abuse.
“Fundamentally, we think the process was very, very flawed and is being dramatically misrepresented,” said David Clohessy, national director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
“To a degree, we feel like the focus was on paperwork, policies and procedures, which have never been the crux of the problem,” he said. “No priest molested a child because of a nonexistent or poorly crafted code of conduct. So to a degree — without being too critical — we have to question whether they measured the right things in the right way.”
National Review Board member Robert Bennett said he was “a little troubled” by the negative response.
“It's not perfect; it's a start. Nobody's declaring victory,” he said. “But this was the first time I know of in my lifetime that bishops permitted large number of ex-FBI agents to go into their offices. You've got to give credit where it's due. Children are safer today then they were a year ago or two years ago.”
Nonparticipants
Nearly all U.S. dioceses participated in the charter compliance audit.
Two dioceses, St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands and the Armenian Exarchate of New York, were not audited due to scheduling difficulties, Gavin said.
The Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, is in ongoing litigation, which prevented Gavin's team from conducting interviews and gathering information according to the audit design, he said.
The charter compliance audit is the first of two reports being released early this year that address the clergy sex-abuse crisis. A second major report on the nature and scope of the crisis will be publicized Feb. 27 by the National Review Board.
The Diocese of Lincoln, Neb., was one that received an “instruction” from the auditors to provide information for that study.
But according to an official statement from the diocese, it has not participated because “that study has been found, in the opinion of diocesan officials and others, to contain inherent flaws that make it an inaccurate instrument and thus is harmful, not helpful, to the proper dealing with the problem of sexual misconduct.”
Ellen Rossini writes from Richardson, Texas.
----- EXCERPT: Report says 90% of Dioceses Comply ----- EXTENDED BODY: Ellen Rossini ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Roe v. Wade+ 31: Partial-Birth Ban Heads for Court DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:WASHINGTON — When pro-life advocates gather for the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., this week, they will still be cheering the partial-birth abortion ban victory of last fall when President Bush signed a bill that took Congress more than eight years to pass.
But the ultimate fate of that law — the first federal rollback of the Roe v. Wade decision that is marked by the annual march — is still in question. Legal scholars say legal challenges will likely take it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Within hours of Bush's signing the bill Nov. 5, federal judges in New York, Nebraska and California issued temporary restraining orders blocking the law from taking effect. The three separate legal challenges, all brought by abortion groups and individual abortionists, will be heard March 29.
The hearings will address the injunctions as well as the merits of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 itself. The U.S. Senate passed the bill Oct. 21 by a vote of 64-34 three weeks after the House passed its own version on a 281-142 vote.
The first legal ruling against the new law came less than an hour after Bush signed the legislation when a federal judge in Nebraska issued an order that applies only to four abortionists licensed in 13 states.
Then Planned Parenthood Federation of America, its San Francisco affiliate and the City of San Francisco challenged the new legislation in federal court. A Jan. 8 ruling by U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton makes San Francisco the first local government in the nation to enter the court battle over the constitutionality of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003.
Planned Parenthood's attorneys did not return calls to the Register for comment.
And the National Abortion Federation, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, challenged the law in a New York federal court. The federation said in a statement that the injunction blocking the new law “confirms that it was reprehensible for lawmakers to push through a ban that will harm women in need of critical medial care. By refusing to include a health exception, lawmakers demonstrated that they are willing to trade women's health and to flout the Constitution for political gain.”
In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a Nebraska ban on the procedure in Stenberg v. Carhart, saying it was unconstitutional because it did not have an exception for the health of the mother and it could be construed as banning other abortion methods.
Ohio Upheld
But the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act contains a lengthy medical-findings section declaring that partial-birth abortions are never necessary to protect the health of the mother.
“What the authors of the federal ban tried to do was to come up with a better evidentiary basis, showing that it's never medically necessary to use [partial-birth abortion],” said Richard Myers, professor of law at Ave Maria School of Law in Ann Arbor, Mich. He said the bill provides better evidence so that “we can say we're not jeopardizing a mother's health.”
About 30 states have passed bans on the procedure, but in many cases they've been overturned in court. A panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, however, upheld an Ohio ban Dec. 17.
That decision has buoyed pro-life advocates in Michigan, also part of the 6th Circuit, where they have just launched a drive to collect more than 250,000 signatures to overturn pro-abortion Gov. Jennifer Granholm's veto of a bill that would ban partial-birth abortions.
Ed Rivet, legislative director of Right to Life Michigan, says Granholm erred in vetoing the Legal Birth Definition Act in October.
“The governor missed a great opportunity to have this legislation enacted because it is asking the courts to consider the state's authority to define some outer parameter to abortion as well as a means to end partial-birth abortion,” he said. “Abortion has to end somewhere. If we can see you, you're born enough to be seen, you should be born enough to be protected by law.”
The Michigan House of Representatives passed the legislation by more than a two-thirds majority in September, but the Senate fell one vote short of the required “super majority.”
High Court Again
Legal scholars say the three suits challenging the federal bill, together with challenges to the partial-birth abortion ban in Ohio, might be rolled into one and addressed by the Supreme Court.
Even though the new legislation addresses the two objections previously set forth by the court — exceptions for the health of the mother and distinguishing partial-birth abortion from other abortion methods — it still might not pass muster at the high court, Myers said.
With the issue of abortion, “it seems that the usual rules go by the boards,” he said. “Unless you get some changes in personnel [at the Supreme Court], it's pretty much a long shot.”
The U.S. Department of Justice pledged to defend the new bill, however, saying in a November statement that it “will continue to strongly defend the law prohibiting partial-birth abortions using every resource necessary.”
“As President Bush pledged [during the signing ceremony],” the Justice Department reiterated, “‘By acting to prevent this practice, the elected branches of our government have affirmed a basic standard of humanity, the duty of the strong to protect the weak. The wide agreement among men and women on this issue, regardless of political party, shows that bitterness in political debate can be overcome by compassion and the power of conscience. And the executive branch will vigorously defend this law against any who would try to overturn it in the courts.’“
Despite the challenges to partial-birth abortion bans across the country, Ave Maria's Myers said efforts to enact legislation have had a positive, educational effect.
“It has focused people's attention on what goes on with an abortion, and they're horrified — as they should be,” he said. “People then think, ‘Is this really any different than a regular abortion, even though these other methods are still legal? Maybe they shouldn't be because now we're realizing what's at stake with an abortion.’“
“It's helped focus the attention on the fact that there's a baby here, which shouldn't be a huge surprise, but a lot of times people don't want to face reality,” he said. “These efforts have encouraged people. You read about how many more young people are now pro-life. They're saying this is what abortion means; if this is legal, we don't want to be part of that. It's had a useful educational effect.”
Patrick Novecosky writes from Ann Arbor, Michigan.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Patrick Novecosky ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- -------- TITLE: Who Might Be Out There? DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:“Child, look at the heavens and the earth and see all that is in them; then you will know that God did not make them out of existing things. In the same way the human race came into existence.”
— 2 Maccabees 7:28
PASADENA, Calif. — In 1938 panic gripped the United States when Orson Welles broadcast his radio dramatization of the War of the Worlds, a story of hostile Martians invading New Jersey.
Martian life is again in the news, but this time it is a vehicle from Earth — NASA's Spirit probe — that is looking for signs of simple, nonconfrontational life on Mars.
The probe and the images it has sent back to Earth have captivated the imaginations of millions, and even Vatican astronomers are applauding NASA's effort. Jesuit Father George Coyne, director of the Vatican Observatory, told Catholic News Service the successful landing was “a huge breakthrough.”
The Spirit probe will search the planet's surface for water or traces of past water in order to help determine whether life exists or could have existed on the “Red Planet.”
“The idea is to follow the water” in search of life, said Ernest Koeppen, owner of La Canada, Calif.-based Digisync Media. Koeppen's company has worked closely with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other organizations involved in the mission to provide streaming Internet video from the probe.
“This is a very popular project,” he said.
“Water is needed for life, and such a discovery would open up all-new questions as to is there life there now or had there been once upon a time,” Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, an astronomer at the Vatican Observatory, told Catholic News Service.
Father Coyne said there is even more at stake.
“What would be truly incredible would be to discover life on Mars that's independent of life on Earth,” he said.
He explained that in the early stages of planets’ formation, a lot of material was exchanged between Mercury, Venus, Mars and Earth.
“So it is conceivable that life may have transported itself in these primordial exchanges when pieces of planets plummeted into each other,” he said.
“But what if scientists were to discover life that has nothing to do with the DNA we have here on Earth?” he asked. “That would mean life is absolutely abundant in the universe. If life had two beginnings, one here on Earth and one on Mars, then statistically life could have emerged millions of times elsewhere beyond the solar system.”
Odds Are High
While the project is looking for simple life forms, not the terrifying, bellicose Martians of the War of the Worlds, projects such as SETI, the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence, quietly continue, and Mars probes have once again focused attention on the fact that scientists believe it possible life could exist beyond Earth.
Some Catholic thinkers have weighed in on whether there is extraterrestrial life, what kind of life there might be and what its relationship to the Creator might be like. Scientists such as Father Coyne, believe we might not be the only intelligent life in the universe. The Church has not taken a definitive stance on the issue.
In a statement he provided to the Register, Father Coyne explained that his calculations indicate that at least 1,017 Earth-like planets are likely to exist in the universe.
As a result, he stated: “If we emphasize the word ‘might,’ then it makes eminent sense to think of extraterrestrial intelligent life.”
But Ben Wiker, who teaches theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville and is a Register columnist, believes Father Coyne is misguided. Wiker cited two books, Rare Earth by Donald Brownlee and Peter Ward, and the forthcoming Privileged Planet by Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards, which argue the possibility of extraterrestrial life is almost zero.
Wiker argued in a November 2002 Crisis magazine article that the theory of extraterrestrial intelligent beings was begun by the atomists in ancient Greece — men whose purpose was to rid the world of religion. That is yet another reason to be skeptical of the entire idea, he said.
He also worried that speculating on the theological effects of the discovery of extraterrestrials — which he considers, at best, highly unlikely — would be dangerous.
“I think such speculation is entirely worthless, or better, simply pernicious. As the history of such speculation amply shows, all it has ever done is cause the warping of essential theological doctrines,” he said.
Moreover, he argued, it is not the role of religion to keep up with the latest scientific theory.
“Think how foolish we would appear today if the Catholic Church had modified its doctrine of redemption to make room” for creatures who allegedly live on the sun, Venus, Mercury, Mars and the moon, he wrote.
Star-gazing Father Coyne explained to the Register that his astronomical calculations indicate that at least 1,017 Earth-like planets are likely to exist somewhere in the universe.
However, Father Coyne has been quoted as saying that while the idea of extraterrestrials would pose “many questions,” science does not “destroy the believer's faith but stimulates it.”
Another View
One of those questions, Father Coyne said in an interview with the Register, is, “If Jesus Christ is true God and true man, could he also be true God and true Martian”?
Dominican Father Thomas O'Meara, a theologian who teaches at the University of Notre Dame, believes discussing both the possibility of extraterrestrials and theological implications is fair game, and he indicated the theological fallout of such a discovery would be minor.
“It isn't a challenge to any of the teachings on the New Testament drawing on the Old Testament,” he said.
According to Father O'Meara, the Bible “describes God's plan for our planet, not planets we don't know anything else about.”
For historical support, Father O'Meara cites St. Bonaventure, who wrote, “[God] was able to make a hundred such worlds, and still one embracing all of them.” He also pointed out that the 15th-century Franciscan Guillaume de Vaurouillon was the first to raise the issue in the context of the redemption.
Father O'Meara further explained that St. Thomas Aquinas “affirmed” that a divine person “could be incarnate in another species.”
In Father O'Meara's opinion, “perhaps a million times, God has said as in Genesis, ‘Come, let us make new beings in our own image and likeness.’“
The Dominican said he is inclined to believe the statistics touted by various scientists indicating a high likelihood of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, and he said he believes their estimates to be “quite conservative.”
“Christian faith should not presume to decide whether there are other free beings in the universe,” the theologian has written. “That does belong to discovery and science. For believers, however, this remains a possibility first because God is free to lead creatures on other planets in a development of life and of intelligent life.”
Wiker, however, in his article, after listing many now-debunked theories of extraterrestrials — including that they might live on the sun, the moon, Mars, etc. — offers this caveat to those who believe in the possibility of extraterrestrials: “The best remedy for theologians so inclined is a long, deep draught of the elixir of history, especially the history of science, where it becomes evident that today's verities are often tomorrow's absurdities.”
Andrew Walther writes from Los Angeles.
(Files from Catholic News Service, Zenit news agency and the Associated Press contributed to this report.)
----- EXCERPT: MARS PROBE REVIVES THEOLOGY DEBATE ----- EXTENDED BODY: Andrew Walther ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Bishops Hail Bush Plan For Illegals DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:WASHINGTON — President George Bush wants to bring “hardworking men and women condemned to fear and insecurity” from the shadows of American society.
He is calling on Congress to reform the nation's immigration laws by transforming approximately 8 million illegal immigrants into “temporary workers” and possibly putting them on track for permanent residency and citizenship.
The president announced his plan at a White House press conference Jan. 7.
The plan would expand the nation's guest-worker permit program — previously restricted to a few high-tech and medical-care occupations considered critical to the American economy — to any skilled or unskilled worker who can show proof of employment in the United States.
The three-year temporary-worker permits would be renewable for an as-yet-unspecified number of years and would allow the guest workers to bring their families to the United States during the term of their permit. Temporary workers could also travel legally between the United States and their home countries.
While in the country, they could pursue permanent residency under an expanded immigration quota — now at 1 million people per year — or they could accrue Social Security benefits, payable outside the United States to those who choose to return to their native land.
The plan was proposed prior to the president's meeting with Latin American leaders at the Summit of the Americas in Monterrey, Mexico, Jan. 12-13. It is especially important to Mexicans, who account for more than half of all illegal migrants in the country, as well as Central Americans, who have made the expensive and dangerous trip north to find work in the United States.
‘Very Interesting’
The proposed reform is short of the general amnesty sought by Mexican President Vicente Fox, who called the Bush plan “very interesting.” It has been greeted with cautious support from immigration advocates and Catholic Church leaders along the border with Mexico, who praise the principles outlined in Bush's speech but say they will need to see the details as the plan is approved by Congress.
“This is a great start and an important shift in thinking,” said Auxiliary Bishop Jose Gomez of the Denver Archdiocese. “It's short on specifics, and it may not go far enough, but it acknowledges our economic realities and the dignity of immigrant workers.”
Bishop Gomez, born and raised in Mexico, served as a priest for the Opus Dei prelature in Spain and Mexico until moving to Katy, Texas, in 1987 to minister to the Hispanic community along the Texas-Chihuahua border. He has been a longtime advocate of immigration reform and said that after the disappointment of post-Sept. 11 policy, “this proposal shows real courage.”
“President Bush was a popular governor with Texas Hispanics for a reason,” he said. “He's a decent man who tried honestly to understand their concerns. So I don't think he needed much of a push in coming up with this latest proposal. It's consistent with the way he's usually operated.”
“Opportunities offered by work in the United States are a magnet for anyone who wants to build a better life,” Bishop Gomez continued. “They need work and we need workers.”
Taking a more critical view of the president's proposal, Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C., said it amounts to a reward for those who break the law, both the workers and the companies that employ them.
“They are at pains to say that this isn't amnesty, but it accords legal status to illegal aliens,” he said. “So it's really an amnesty.”
Krikorian also warned that, despite a provision that companies make a good-faith effort to fill positions domestically, the proposal “provides for the importation of millions of new foreign workers by opening up the U.S. labor market to anyone else around the planet.”
In the name of compassion for immigrants, this pits the poor against the poorer, he said.
“Employers can import workers from anywhere,” he said. “You can have Nigerians being brought in to replace Mexicans because they'll work for less.”
“The solution is not amnesty, which will just encourage more immigration,” he said. “We need to start enforcing the law.”
Krikorian points to the 400,000 illegal workers each year who either normalize their status or return home.
“This number is being overwhelmed by the 800,000 new illegal immigrants who come every year,” he said, “but if you enforce the law, the number of illegal workers will decline, through attrition.”
Positive Plan?
“It's what the president's proposal doesn't say that is concerning immigration and human-rights organizations in Mexico, said Erica Dahl-Bredine, country manager for Catholic Relief Services’ Mexico Program in Tucson, Ariz.
“All of the Mexican representatives I've talked to, across the board, agree that this is a positive development,” she said, “but there still is a lot of skepticism about whether the United States is committed to meaningful reform.”
“The president made a good step forward by acknowledging the contribution that immigrants have been making, but nobody is sure the proposal itself goes far enough,” she said. “They want to see whether there will be meaningful worker protection and a path to citizenship or if this will just create a permanent underclass.”
Specifically, Dahl-Bredine said, they want to know more about the permit-renewal process.
“There's a lot of concern about undocumented workers opening themselves up to deportation at the end of three years,” she said. “If there's no guarantee they can stay, there's not much incentive to come forward.”
For Bishop Ricardo Ramirez of the Diocese of Las Cruces, N.M., the president's speech was “very beneficial. His words were very magnanimous,” the bishop said, “but it will be interesting to see what Congress does with this.”
The diocese, which borders Mexico, is at the forefront of efforts to assist undocumented workers in obtaining legal status. Because of this, Bishop Ramirez said he is concerned about the lack of a specific process for moving from temporary worker to permanent resident.
“It's hard to judge because nobody seems to have seen anything [in detail], but it doesn't seem to go far enough,” Bishop Ramirez said. “Say they get a temporary visa; what happens after that?“
“It's still a Band-Aid approach that doesn't cure the situation,” he said. “However, I think this could be the opening of a door, and that could be significant. Once the door is open, it may open even wider in the future.”
Philip S. Moore writes from Vail, Arizona.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Philip S. Moore ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: He's Back at the Supreme Court - Marching DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:Joe Scheidler, sporting his trademark black fedora, is a familiar sight at the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C.
Scheidler is national director of the Pro-Life Action League, a Chicago-based organization that focuses on nonviolent direct action such as sidewalk counseling, demonstrations at abortion sites and confronting pro-life politicians. It also brings the abortion issue to the public via the media.
A racketeering charge brought against him by the National Organization for Women 17 years ago, which was upheld by lower courts, was reversed last year by the U.S. Supreme Court in an 8-1 decision. He spoke to Register correspondent Bob Horning about his pro-life work.
Tell me about your family growing up.
I was raised in Hartford City, Ind., a town of 7,000 not far from the Ohio border. My father was an entrepreneur. He had six different businesses going at one time, from owning theaters to farming to running an ice-and-coal company. My mother taught elementary school before the six of us came, then again after we were grown.
Both of my parents were devout Catholics. Whenever we traveled, we would look for a church to attend Mass — sometimes very early in the morning — and every day at home we prayed together. When my mom held up the rosary, that meant all conversation stopped and it was time to pray. My dad had two brothers who were priests, and my mother's brother, Leo Pursley, became the bishop of Fort Wayne, Ind., in 1956.
Are there any incidents that stand out from your youth?
When I was 6 years old, the Lindbergh baby kidnapping was the center of national attention for months. Charles Lindbergh was a worldwide hero because of his solo transatlantic flight. Their son had been taken for ransom and later found dead.
Somehow that incident instilled in me a compassion for babies who are mistreated and a need to defend the helpless. Maybe because whenever my mother had a new baby, it was a time of great celebration. It grieves my heart to know that children are being abused. These babies who are aborted are “my” children. It is very personal for me.
What got you into pro-life work?
At one time, I thought I was called to the priesthood. But four days before ordination I realized I didn't really have a vocation. I wrote for the South Bend (Indiana) Tribune for a while and taught speech at the University of Notre Dame. But I didn't really know God's plan for me.
Then when abortion was legalized in 1973,I knew I would spend the rest of my life fighting it. I hate injustice. I can't stand it. That's what had motivated me to march with Martin Luther King Jr. I can look back now and see how God was preparing me for this work.
Marchers in D.C. this week will be celebrating the passage of a federal partial-birth abortion ban. What effect do you think the law will have?
It won't save many lives. One reason is that it can't be enforced because there is no one to monitor the doctor. Secondly, it will probably be ruled unconstitutional.
Nevertheless, it is good press. As a result of the debate on partial-birth abortion, people have been shown how ugly abortion is, and they begin to question those politicians who could vote for such a procedure. It keeps the abortion issue alive politically and in the public eye.
What kind of an approach should we take toward ending abortion?
Whatever happened to that old song, “Onward Christian Soldiers”? I look at abortion protesters as God's warriors, fighting evil. After all, we are the Church militant. There is a lot of evil out there, and we are in a war until death. The worst evil there could be is for a woman to kill her own child. There is an American holocaust going on.
We have to tell the truth and get others to face the truth. Graphics aren't popular, but it's too late to be nice. We go out on the highway, 150 of us, and line up, holding posters that graphically illustrate the consequences of abortion so that later when people hear or read the word “abortion,” they see those pictures in their mind. Abortion is ugly.
The other side says you are doing this because you want to deprive women of choice.
I would fight against abortion just for the women, even if I didn't believe in the humanity of the baby. We love women; they don't. Those who have come over to our side after working for abortion providers will tell you the motive behind abortion is money, not concern for women.
What is the future of the pro-life movement?
First, let me say that I believe we are on God's side, which means that ultimately we will win. The time will come in America when abortion will no longer be legal. I probably won't see it, but it will happen. Some day people will look back and envy us because we fought this battle.
The number of abortions has gone down steadily over the past 10 years. There are fewer clinics in operation, fewer doctors doing abortions. Young people are getting serious about this because they know they have survived abortion. One-quarter of their peers are not here. They are going to be great priests, great lawyers, great fighters against evil. We are winning youth, clergy, mothers. And as the laity are becoming more active, they are pushing the clergy to become more active also.
How can the average Catholic or Christian be involved?
People have power in America. That may sound corny, but it's true. I encourage everyone to go to an abortion site and just stand there. You don't have to do anything. Just your presence will be the conscience of the father and mother rushing in to kill their baby.
“Women suffer terribly from abortion. Abortion is destroying our nation, our marriages and our relationships, which means it is destroying women. We offer them real help.”
Recently, a lady who had an abortion said she would never have another one because of seeing a man kneeling in the snow, praying at an abortion site. Guards at the clinics tell us that they have to let women out the back door when these women decide against killing their baby as a result of seeing Christians praying at the site.
We can't depend on Congress. And we can't wait for the priests and bishops. They may not get involved. We are the Church militant. We need to preach the Gospel with our life.
Bob Horning writes from Ann Arbor, Michigan.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Bob Horning ----- KEYWORDS: Inperson -------- TITLE: Secretariat for the Church in Latin America Encourages 'One America' DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:LIMA, Peru — When Holy Cross Father James Phalan met Fiorela in a hospital in Lima, Peru, several years ago, she was 10 years old and sick with leukemia.
Neither she nor her family knew how to pray the rosary. But that changed after Father Phalan handed them the beads and taught them the prayers.
Fiorela soon loved to say the rosary, and so she asked Father Phalan to bring more beads for the other children in the cancer ward. She taught the other kids herself before she died, said Father Phalan, who has been based in Lima since 1990.
As the director of the Family Rosary Apostolate, which is sponsored by Holy Cross Family Ministries, Father Phalan understands why people develop a special devotion to the Blessed Mother. It also explains why he's so grateful to the Secretariat for the Church in Latin America, which is a part of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Every year since 1966, usually during the third weekend of January, the secretariat has sponsored a Sunday collection that has raised and distributed nearly $100 million in grants to support pastoral programs approved by local bishops in Central and South America, Mexico and the Caribbean.
In 2002, Father Phalan's apostolate received a $24,000 grant that allowed it to buy and distribute 200,000 plastic rosaries along with instructional brochures throughout Peru, Father Phalan said.
For millions of Catholics throughout the countries where the secretariat provides grants, their needs are often far greater than the funds raised, which has been averaging about $6 million for the past several years, said Daniel Lizarraga, the secretariat's executive director.
A lot of them are poor, uneducated and living in countries that are often marred by violent political struggles. A lot of them also don't live in areas that have the kind of resources Americans are accustomed to and often take for granted.
“Many of us have a local church that has a roof and walls,” said J.L. Drouhard, the director of the missions office for the Archdiocese of Seattle. “There are Catholic schools nearby. There's a hospital clinic. But in Latin America that's not the case in many places, so how can we, on a Sunday morning, sit in our comfortable, well-lit, well-heated or well-air-conditioned church and not feel some sort of solidarity with our fellow Catholics in Latin America, who may not have that ability to gather together for a liturgy or not have access to a full religious education program or youth ministry for their teen-agers?“
That's why the secretariat funds projects that include the following categories: catechetics, religious education, evangelization, pastoral, development of lay leadership, seminary formation and deacon preparation.
Evangelization
One of the biggest challenges the Church faces in Latin America is the various Christian denominations that are preaching their own brand of religion, Lizarraga said.
“The local churches are trying to find ways to respond effectively in evangelizing those who are within and inviting people to return to the faith,” he said.
The Church in North and South America is still responding to Pope John Paul II's 1999 apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in America (The Church in America). The document calls upon Catholics in the two Americas and the Caribbean to foster a closer bond and to experience conversion, communion and solidarity. It also encourages them to view themselves as being part of “a single entity” — one America.
Because of the political and economic turmoil common in many South American and Caribbean countries, many young people there grow up with a lot of despair, Lizarraga said.
“They're trying to search for some sense of hope in their lives and their communities, and often the only existing place they can do that is the Church,” he said. “If the [local] Church is not able to or doesn't have the resources to do that, it's our responsibilities, as brothers and sisters in the United States, to share some of our blessings.”
But the blessings can also be a two-way street, he added.
“Anyone who has gone to Latin America will know the deep sense of faith that people have there,” he said, “and that's what I think we in the North can receive.”
Carlos Briceño writes from Seminole, Florida.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Carlos Briceņo ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Media Watch DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:Lieberman and the Unborn
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Jan. 4 — The most conservative Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., declared in a Jan. 4 interview with the Associated Press that if elected his first official act would be to lift current restrictions on government funding to stem cell research, which destroys human embryos.
“These restrictions aren't compassionate,” Lieberman said. “They're not fair. They're cruel. On the first day I enter the Oval Office, I will repeal the Bush restrictions on stem cell research. And I will work to create an American Center for Cures to help find cures to the chronic diseases that now afflict 100 million Americans and cost us $750 billion a year.”
Complainants File Flurry of Clergy-Abuse Lawsuits
Complainants trying to meet a legal deadline had filed the suits by Dec. 31, pushing many plaintiffs to make a decision or lose their chance to sue.
Many of the new litigants now live outside California, attorneys told The Oakland Tribune, and might have only recently heard of a state Supreme Court decision enforcing a statute of limitations on decades-old abuse allegations.
Sister Barbara Flannery, chancellor of the Oakland Diocese, told the paper a complete count of civil suits against the local Church would be announced “as soon as the dust settles from Dec. 31.”
“We were expecting this,” she said. “For some people, it takes a long time to come forward.”
She added that all of the complaints she'd received so far were against men already removed from ministry.
The War on Children
UEXPRESS, Dec. 27 — Maggie Gallagher, in her syndicated column published by the Web site UExpress, publicized a conspiratorial document from the Center for Reproductive Rights, a pro-abortion group.
The memo outlines a strategy for creating a “right” to abortion recognized by international law and imposed through the United Nations. Sound fantastical? It's right there in black and white, in a document obtained by Austin Ruse of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, who sent it to Gallagher.
She characterized the pro-abortion plan's goal: “[T]o quietly get quasi-judicial tribunals, a.k.a. human-rights commissions, to start to create an international right to abortion that can then be imposed on vulnerable poor countries dependent on international aid.”
The Center for Reproductive Rights has tried to suppress the information, threatening Ruse with legal action for citing it.
But Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., has already read the entire memo into The Congressional Record. Smith called the plan a “Trojan Horse of deceit,” which shows “how abortion-promotion groups are planning to push abortion here and abroad, not by direct argument but by twisting words and definition.”
Smith pointed to a section in the document that admits, “There is a stealth quality to the work” of legalizing abortion internationally “without a huge amount of scrutiny.”
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Roy Moore and Bill Pryor Grapple Over Ten Commandments Issue DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:MONTGOMERY, Ala. — It's unusual to have a state's chief justice roll a two-and-one-half ton monument of the Ten Commandments to the state courthouse.
It's also unusual to have an attorney general prosecuting a chief justice.
But all of this has has happened in Alabama, and it continues to happen.
After Chief Justice Roy Moore commissioned a large monument of the Ten Commandments to be placed in the lobby of the state courthouse in Montgomery, Ala., he was sued in federal court for First Amendment violations.
The federal court, both on the district and appeals levels, ruled against Moore, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case. He was ordered to remove the monument to some other place, but he refused.
The state ethics board held a hearing at which Bill Pryor, the state's attorney general, acted as prosecutor and found him in violation of state standards. Moore was removed from the bench.
The case got even more interesting last month.
Moore has appealed his removal to the state Supreme Court. All of the court's members subsequently recused themselves from the case, and a court was appointed by the governor through the random drawing of names.
The reason for Moore's refusal? He was sworn to uphold the rule of law, he told the Register, and the law does not forbid the display of the Ten Commandments in a public, taxpayer-funded building. (Indeed, the Supreme Court displays them.)
What is also strange about the case is that both Pryor and Moore are considered conservative Christians — Pryor a Catholic and Moore a Baptist. Both have had their share of confrontations with other branches of the government (Pryor's nomination to the Federal Court of Appeals has been held up because of his pro-life positions. He would not comment on those proceedings for the Register.)
Not long ago, Pryor had defended Moore when Moore was a district judge and had a carving of the Ten Commandments in his courtroom. But that has all changed with the federal court order. The two are now very much at odds and both are citing Scripture to support their side. Moore claims Pryor's change is politically motivated because of the stalled federal nomination, a charge Pryor flatly denies.
“This has nothing to do with that,” he said. “What it does have to do with is a nine-member federal court unanimously ruling against him” and all the other courts doing the same as well. Pryor described Moore's attitude as, “He's the only one who's right; everyone else is wrong.”
“Christ said we have a duty to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's,” Pryor told the Register. “How we decorate Caesar's courthouse is up to Caesar.”
Like Daniel
Moore should be upholding the rule of law, Pryor argued, not defying a judge's order because he doesn't agree with it. By comparison, would a police officer refuse to read a suspect the Miranda warning because he disagreed with the Supreme Court's decision in Miranda v. Arizona?
“Is he going to follow his own view and risk not getting a conviction on a technicality?” Pryor asked.
Pryor noted that other Ten Commandments cases have been ruled in favor of those wanting to keep the monument. Their approach, he said, has been to talk about them as part of the heritage of lawmaking in the Western world.
Moore has a problem with that.
“They're saying the right way to go about it is to deny God and make it historical and secular,” he said. “I'm saying the right way to go about it is to acknowledge God and his sovereignty.”
“You can't affirm the state's authority over God and confront [the state] at the same time” when it doesn't acknowledge God's authority, he said. “It's like Daniel, or Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,” he added, who said God had authority over the state and were willing to pay with their lives for it.
Moore is unhappy with how the media have reported on his case. One item that particularly rankled him was the report that he moved the monument into the courthouse in the middle of the night. It was not stealth, he said, but the failure of a company to deliver the monument by 6 p.m.
The next day, he said, he had an unveiling ceremony with media present.
But Moore is also unhappy with Pryor and considers the attorney general nearly traitorous.
What the two men do agree on is that the courts have largely turned into un-elected legislative bodies.
“Courts are to interpret the law,” Moore said, “not make the law.”
And Pryor called himself “a vociferous critic of judicial activism.” How one confronts that is where they differ.
Stephen Krason, a professor of political science and legal studies at Franciscan University of Steub-enville and president of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists, commented that a century ago, people “would not have given a second thought to a judge putting the Ten Commandments into a courtroom.”
But in the post-World War II period, “The Supreme Court has been trying to secularize the law and the country.”
Perhaps a more productive way to confront the issue, Krason said, is for the branches of government to work the way they're supposed to in the system of checks and balances. Congress is not helpless before the courts, Krason argues. In fact, he calls it a “first among equals.”
“The legislature is pre-eminent in a republic,” he said.
Article III of the Constitution, for instance, gives Congress the authority to establish — and disestablish — the lower courts. And besides that, “Congress controls the purse strings,” he added.
Additionally, the decisions any court makes are not “self-enforcing,” Krason said, and are binding only on the two parties that appear before it. The courts do not “have the power of the purse or the sword.”
Theoretically, then, Krason argued, a president could decide he would not enforce a court's decision “if some egregious and unconstitutional judicial position were taken.”
While this is not a mainstream view, Krason said, it is something that has to be considered, since “we're deferring all these cultural questions to the courts.”
Thomas A. Szyszkiewicz writes from Altura, Minnesota.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Thomas A. Szyszkiewicz ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Media Watch DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:The Pope's Right-Hand Men
The Washington Post reported just before Christmas on this group. Since their base of operations is the papal residence in the Apostolic Palace, they are widely known in Rome as “the Apartment.”
Those who populate the Apartment, according to the Post, are Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state; Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, the Pope's chief of staff; Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, John Paul's private secretary; and Cardinal Camillo Ruini, head of the Italian Bishops’ Conference.
The paper cited Catholic historian Giorgio Rumi, who said, “It's like a family in which the patriarch is tired. The rest of the family helps out, but always respecting the fact that the patriarch is in charge. It would be odd if it was any different.”
The Post also suggested reports about the Pope's health are mistaken, citing papal biographer George Weigel, who had dinner with the Holy Father the week before Christmas and found him “strikingly stronger than in October.”
Pope Unafraid of Terror at Vatican
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Dec. 29 — Reacting to reports that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had received terror threats against the Vatican — which Berlusconi later denied — Cardinal Renato Martini, head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said Pope John Paul II is not worried.
“This Pope has never been afraid of anything. Otherwise, he never would have done and said all that we have seen and heard” throughout his pontificate of 25 years, Cardinal Martino said, according to the Associated Press.
The cardinal admitted security in Vatican City had been increased in response to global terrorism but insisted the phenomenon of terror also must be attacked at its roots — in the political conflicts and inequities that drive men to resort to such evil means.
Holy See Tightens Up Liturgical Norms
For instance, the popular term “Eucharistic minister” is no longer to be used but rather the original, correct title, “extraordinary ministers of holy Communion.” The intent is to emphasize the doctrinal fact that the priest saying a Mass, acting in persona Christi, alone effects the mystery of transubstantiation.
In the new 100-page “General Instruction for the Roman Missal,” the Vatican has attempted to impose more order and consistency in the worldwide practice of the liturgy.
The Latin version of the document was approved by Pope John Paul II three years ago, but the English edition approved by the Congregation for Divine Worship was only issued in March 2003, the Inquirer reported, and is just now beginning to be implemented in dioceses such as Philadelphia.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Vatican -------- TITLE: Walk With Mary During the New Year DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:Register Summary
Pope John Paul II met with 6,000pilgrims during his general audience in Paul VI Hall on Jan. 7, his first general audience of 2004.
In his teaching, the Holy Father pointed out that the Church's celebration of the Christmas season centers on the mystery of Christ's incarnation and Mary's divine motherhood.
“The Christmas season renews our awareness of this mystery, presenting the Mother of the Son of God to us as sharing in the culminating events of salvation history,” he said.
As the Virgin Mother of the Incarnate Word, Mary was from the beginning closely associated with her Son's saving work.
“Mary's whole existence is deeply connected to that of Jesus,” he noted. “She is the one who offers Jesus to mankind at Christmas. At that supreme moment when his redemptive mission was fulfilled on the cross, it was Jesus who offered the gift of his own mother to every human being.”
John Paul ended the audience by urging the faithful around the world to entrust themselves to Mary's motherly protection during the coming year.
“Alma Redemptoris Mater … Mother of the Redeemer …” It is with these words that we invoke Mary during the Christmas season, using an ancient and moving Marian antiphon that continues with these words: “Tu quae genuisti natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem — To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator.”
Mary, Mother of God! This truth of faith, which is deeply connected to our Christmas celebrations, is emphasized in a special way in the liturgy for the first day of the year, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Mary is the Mother of the Redeemer; she is the woman whom God chose to carry out his plan of salvation, which is at the center of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Divine Word.
Mother of God
A humble creature bore the Creator of the world! The Christmas season renews our awareness of this mystery, presenting the Mother of the Son of God to us as sharing in the culminating events of salvation history. The age-old tradition of the Church has always considered the birth of Jesus and Mary's divine motherhood as two aspects of the Incarnation of the Word. “In fact,” confirms the Catechism of the Catholic Church, quoting the Council of Ephesus, “the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly ‘Mother of God’ (Theotokos)” (No. 495).
All other aspects of Our Lady's mission are derived from the fact that she is the “Mother of God.” These aspects are emphasized by the titles with which the community of Christ's disciples throughout the world honors her. First and foremost are the titles of “Immaculate” and “Assumed into Heaven,” since she who would bear the Savior surely could not be subject to the corruption that is the result of original sin.
Moreover, the Virgin Mary is invoked as Mother of the Mystical Body, that is, of the Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, referring back to the patristic tradition expressed by St. Augustine, affirms she “is clearly the mother of the members of Christ … since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of its head” (No. 963).
Mary Our Mother
Mary's whole existence is deeply connected to that of Jesus. She is the one who offers Jesus to mankind at Christmas. At that supreme moment when his redemptive mission was fulfilled on the cross, it was Jesus who offered the gift of his own mother to every human being — that precious heritage of our redemption.
The words of our crucified Lord to John, the faithful disciple, constitute his testament. He entrusts his Mother to John and, at the same time, entrusts the apostle and every believer to the love of Mary.
In these last days of the Christmas season, let us pause to contemplate in the crib the silent presence of the Virgin next to the Child Jesus. She shows for us the same love and the same concern she had for her Divine Son. Therefore, allow her to guide our steps during the new year, which Providence gives us to live.
This is my wish for all of you in this first general audience of 2004: Sustained and comforted by her maternal protection, that we will be able to contemplate the face of Christ with new eyes and walk more quickly along the path of goodness.
Once again, happy new year to you here present and to your loved ones!
(Register translation)
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Vatican -------- TITLE: Beginning 2004 Strong, With the Mother of God DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:I moved from the United States to Rome three weeks before the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II's pontificate. I attended the celebrations — the Mass commemorating his election, the consistory, the signing of the post-synodal exhortation Pastores Gregis, the beatification of Mother Teresa.
They were bittersweet celebrations.
We all rejoiced in the countless blessings God has provided the Church through this pontificate. Yet we also saw a physically exhausted Pope, unable to read his speeches. Was God signaling the end of his Vicar's mission on earth?
Two months later, God gave us a different signal. At St. Peter's Square I saw the Pope addressing the faithful, from his balcony or from his office window, on Dec. 21, 25, 26 and Jan. 4. Words were distinctively uttered, and his voice reminded us of his previous, healthier years as Pope. He celebrated the long Christmas Eve Mass and presided over the Jan. 1 Mass with no sign of tiredness.
The most convincing expression of John Paul's vitality these days was his first general audience of the year Jan. 7. More than 6,000 people crowded Paul VI Hall to hear the Holy Father and receive his blessing. He constantly waved to the pilgrims with his right hand.
More than 100 performers of the American Circus, who were in Rome for the Christmas period, delighted the Pope with their songs. John Paul patted the children, some of whom were dressed up as clowns, and smiled repeatedly at a juggler-clown's performance.
The Pope was notably at ease. He shook hands with about 100 people and blessed about 50 newlywed couples one by one. He took pictures with several groups, including children's choirs from Poland, the 60 consecrated women of the Regnum Christi movement present in Rome and the 44 newly ordained Legionary of Christ priests. He was visibly happy when more than 500 Legionaries of Christ, most of them seminarians, went onto the stage of the hall to be closer to him.
The next day, Jan. 8, the Holy Father received Ivo Sanader, the new Croatian prime minister, in a private audience. He also received representatives of Polish academic communities of Wroclaw and Opole, who bestowed on him the Academic Golden Laurel for the 50th anniversary of the defense of his thesis in order to become a professor in the school of theology at the Jagiellonian University.
What gives John Paul so much energy these first days of the year?
We might find a hint to the answer in the Pope's address at his first general audience of 2004.
The address was a meditation on the “Mother of the Redeemer,” as we invoke Mary at Christmastide, with an ancient and moving Marian antiphon, Alma Redemptoris Mater. “Mary, Mother of God!” the Pope said, “This truth of faith, profoundly connected to the Christmas celebrations, is particularly evident in the liturgy of the first day of the year, the solemnity of Mary Most Holy, Mother of God. Mary is the Mother of the Redeemer; she is the woman chosen by God to realize the salvific plan centered on the mystery of the Incarnation of the Divine Word.”
This humble creature who bore the Creator of the world was “co-participant” in the culminating events of the history of salvation. “It is she who offers Jesus to humanity at Christmas,” the Pope noted, but on the cross “it will be Jesus who will make a gift of his Mother to every human being as a precious inheritance of redemption.” Thus, Mary stays with us as she stays in the crib next to the Child Jesus.
“The same love, the same concern she had for her divine Son, she reserves for us,” the Holy Father said. “Let us allow her, therefore, to guide our steps in the New Year, which Providence gives us to live.”
This last exhortation might reveal part of the secret of the Pope's current good health. As we know, John Paul's deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin has been for him a constant source of energy and inspiration.
In Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, to be released Feb. 25, Jesus seems to draw part of his strength to endure unspeakable sufferings from his look at his Mother. In the movie Mary accompanies her Son step by step, from the moment of his trial at the Sanhedrin to his last breath on the cross.
Maybe the suffering Pope draws some of his strength from looking into the Mother's eyes at the Christmas crib. Maybe the celebration of the solemnity of the Mother of God on the first day of the year made him feel more sustained and comforted.
Maybe that's part of the reason why he chose such a topic for his first general audience of 2004.
Legionary of Christ Father Alfonso Aguilar teaches philosophy at Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum in Rome.
aaguilar@legionaries.org
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Alfonso Aguilar, LC ----- KEYWORDS: Vatican -------- TITLE: In Moldavia, Romania, an Ancient Faith Struggle With Modern Changes DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:SABAOANI, Romania — In the valley of the mountains of Eastern Romania between the land of Dracula and the fringes of Slavic Russia lives a small but tightly bounded Catholic community whose faith has often been compared to the world's first Christians.
Moldavia has overflowing churches. In the village of Sabaoani, the church accommodates 1,000 people, yet Sunday Mass fills so quickly that crowds are forced outside into freezing temperatures.
“The faith here is so strong you can feel God,” a visitor commented during morning Mass.
There are 260,000 Catholics in Eastern Romania, a predominantly Orthodox country of 22 million. Moldavia produces 100% of the country's clergy.
Clergymen suggest a strong faith always existed in Eastern Romania, though they will admit that after decades of suffocating communist persecution, new life has been breathed into the Church during the last 10 years.
Communism placed heavy controls on the Church, limiting its movement within its own four walls. Father Cornel Cadar of the Diocese of Iasi describes the policy as “obey or be destroyed.”
Those who resisted ended up in chains, such as Bishop Anton Durcovici of Iasi, who ultimately succumbed to torture inside the “Black Room” at Sighetu political prison. Sighetu became the coliseum for many of Romania's holy men, whose bodies have still not been recovered.
The apostle Andrew is believed to have brought Christianity to Romania by in the first century.
Though the schism of 1054 split the Church between East and West, many in Romania remained faithful to the pope.
Centuries of Tartar invasions killed off or hauled away into slavery much of the Catholic population. But beginning in the 18th century, a huge wave of Catholics escaping their own persecutions in Transylvania on the western side of the Carpathian Mountains began seeping in and repopulating Moldavia.
Insulting Term
These immigrants, who possessed their own dialect and traditions, were quickly referred to as Csángó (pronounced chango). The term is not always welcomed.
“I prefer not to be called that,” said Silva Domoc from Sabaoani, the largest Catholic settlement. “We don't call ourselves this. We are Romanian Catholics.”
To Catholics, the term Csángó is an insulting one that labels them “foreigners.” The word, of Hungarian origin, was applied to the new immigrants from the fallacious logic that since Hungarians are Catholic, these Romanian Catholics were Hungarian, too.
A story in a Bucharest newspaper sums it up: “Seeing a group of black students coming out of a Roman Catholic church, a woman exclaimed in bewilderment, ‘What, now the black people are Hungarians, too?’“
Today, as modernization slowly dissolves the old traditions, with it goes the Csángó identity.
Veronica Tanaru, 64, remembers that when she was growing up everyone in the area spoke the Csángó dialect. Today the language is comprehended by only a small and dwindling elderly population.
Tanaru still believes in the traditions and has been conducting a personal crusade to preserve some of the old ways. She has collected traditional hand-woven clothing and artifacts, some dating back 200 years. Her plan of creating a performing-arts program dissolved after she realized the old traditions just couldn't compete with the excitement of television and hip-hop.
Even the most basic traditions, which survived centuries of war and famine, are fading. Tanaru recalls how Csángós used to preserve a traditional gown that was never used until their burial day — a custom dating back to ancient times based on the belief that the dead will wear the garments in which they were buried on the day of their resurrection.
“My grandmother was a very modern women,” Tanaru said. “When she died we dressed her in her traditional gown with a modern set of clothes over it. She loved her modern clothes and we thought to give her the opportunity to choose which she would prefer to wear in the afterlife.”
Modern Problems
But today the biggest concern of the Catholic Church in Moldavia is less about saving dusty old traditions than addressing the region's crippling poverty and rising unemployment.
Officially, the average net income stands at $150 per month, but people in the streets laugh at this exaggeration.
The majority of people in the 200 Catholic localities in Moldavia work in agriculture, which Sabaoani mayor Valeria Dascalu says earns them only enough for food.
This poverty has created a vast exodus of young people such as Eugene Robu, who spent five years working in Israel. Only after a suicide bomber took the life of a friend did Robu return home.
Such young men and women, returning with foreign currency and new ideas, are changing the face of Moldavia's traditional Catholic villages.
Twenty years ago Sabaoani was a simple village of single-level homes with wood-carved porches and straw roofs, but that face is all but gone, replaced by a juxtaposition of old and new Western-style architecture.
Another innovation is specifically American — baseball. The girls at Sabaoani High School were so thrilled with the new game that between their studies, daily church services and caring for their younger siblings, they started a team.
Though their equipment is second-hand, their spirit is strong: Last season, the hardworking young girls from the little Catholic village shocked the entire nation by taking home the Romanian championship.
Chuck Todaro is based in Bucharest, Romania.
Cause Started for Moldavian Martyr
NISIPORESTI, Romania — Bishop Petru Gherghel of Iasi on Nov. 25 opened the cause for sainthood for a young Moldavian woman, Veronica Antal.
At 16, Antal wished to become a nun and help children, but such simple dreams of religious service were impossible in the early 1950s under Romania's communist rule.
But while her dream of a religious vocation was denied, she became a secular Franciscan tertiary and demonstrated her faith by walking five miles every day to receive holy Communion.
On Aug. 24, 1958, the 24-year-old was returning from Mass to her village of Nisiporesti when a young man tried to rape her.
Antal resisted and was stabbed 42 times. All the while, she never let go of her rosary, which was found after her death clasped tightly inside her palm.
Antal's deep faith and humility made her an immediate heroine to the impoverished and oppressed Moldavian Catholics.
And today, nearly 50 years after her death, people still lay flowers regularly along the side of the road where she died and local Catholics make pilgrimages there every Aug. 24.
— Chuck Todaro
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Chuck Todaro ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Media Watch DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem?
AGENCY FRANCE-PRESSE, Dec. 31 — News reports based on archives from the 1940s reveal that Catholic countries in the wake of World War II attempted to create an international authority for the city of Jerusalem — to be governed by Catholic nations, not the United Nations.
Agence France-Presse revealed Dec. 31 that in 1948 the governments of Italy and Spain approached the Irish government with this proposal. Spanish leader Francisco Franco first proposed the initiative after a vote by the U.N. General Assembly that attempted to extend U.N. authority to the holy city, which was soon divided between the nascent state of Israel and Jordan.
Previously classified documents released by the Irish government included a proposal by Franco that “Spanish, Portuguese and Irish representatives to the Holy See should make separate and concerted demarches to the Vatican suggesting that if any form of international regime were to be established in the Jerusalem area, the mandate should be entrusted to Catholic countries.”
Spain's goal was to maintain free access to Christian holy places, which it did not trust the United Nations to guarantee, the report noted.
The Spanish initiative stalled in Dublin, where the government deemed the plan “ill-conceived and unrealistic.” Irish officials also privately worried about offending international Jewish opinion at a time when it still officially aspired to regain from Great Britain the six counties of Northern Ireland.
British Catholic Agency Aids Earthquake Victims
INDEPENDENT CATHOLIC NEWS, Dec. 29, 2003 — The British-based Catholic Agency for Overseas Development has given more than $180,000 to Islamic Relief Worldwide to benefit victims of the deadly Dec. 26 earthquake in Bam, Iran, according to Independent Catholic News.
The natural disaster afflicted a region containing approximately 200,000 people, killing some 10% of residents and rendering tens of thousands of others homeless. Much of the city of Bam was built of mud bricks, the traditional construction material in the earthquake-prone region.
The city's two largest hospitals collapsed in the quake, killing many of Bam's doctors and nurses, and leaving the remaining health facilities overwhelmed. Many patients had to be treated in the rubble-strewn streets or removed to neighboring towns. All essential services, such as water, power and communications, were knocked out, leaving residents exposed to bitter winter conditions.
Tim Aldred, emergency officer for the agency, told the news site: “The current priorities are to provide the survivors with temporary shelter and medical assistance and to meet the most immediate basic needs.”
New Diocese Created in Mexico
MISSIONARY NEWS AGENCY, Jan. 3 — The Catholic Church in Mexico is reshuffling the territories of several dioceses in Mexico, creating a new bishopric in Irapuato, Guanajato.
The new diocese will consist of territory taken from the Archdiocese of Morelia and the diocese of León, according to the Missionary News Agency. The diocese contains more than a million people, most of them Catholic; 65 parishes; 107 diocesan priests; 43 religious fathers; and 204 religious sisters.
The first bishop of Irapuato is José de Jesús Martínez Zepeda, who has previously served as auxiliary bishop in Mexico City.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Mother Teresa vs. Roe v. Wade DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:This year, the Church calendar gained a new intercessor for the unborn: Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She is a rare saint in that she was alive when abortion was legalized in the United States and actually wrote a letter to the U.S. Supreme Court about its Roe v. Wade decision. On the 31st anniversary of that Jan. 22, 1973, decision, we can count on her powerful intersession.
From Mother Teresa's February 1994 letter to the U.S. Supreme Court:
“America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed a great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father's role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts — a child — as a competitor, an intrusion and an inconvenience. It has nominally accorded mothers unfettered dominion over the dependent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters. And, in granting this unconscionable power, it has exposed many women to unjust and selfish demands from their husbands or other sexual partners.
“Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity. The right to life does not depend, and must not be contingent, on the pleasure of anyone else, not even a parent or sovereign. The Constitutional Court of the Federal Republic of Germany recently ruled: ‘The unborn child is entitled to its right to life independently of its acceptance by its mother; this is an elementary and inalienable right that emanates from the dignity of the human being.’
“Americans may feel justly proud that Germany in 1993 was able to recognize the sanctity of human life. You must weep that your own government, at present, seems blind to this truth.”
Other quotes from Mother Teresa about abortion:
“Life is a gift that God has given us. That life is present even in the unborn. A human hand should never end a life. I am convinced that the screams of the children whose lives have been terminated before their birth reach God's ears.”
“I am sure that all people know deep down inside that the little child in the mother's womb is a human being from the moment of conception, created in the image of God to love and be loved. Let us pray that nobody will be afraid to protect that little child, to help that little child to be born. Jesus said: ‘If you receive a little child in my name, you receive me.’“
“For me, life is the most beautiful gift of God to mankind; therefore people and nations who destroy life by abortion and euthanasia are the poorest.”
“Please don't kill the child. I want the child. I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted and give him or her to a married couple who will love the child and be loved by the child. At our children's home in Calcutta alone, we have saved more than 3,000 children from abortion. These children have brought so much love and joy to their adoptive parents and have grown up so full of love and joy.”
“By abortion, the mother kills even her own child to solve her problems. And, by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. That father is likely to put other women into the same trouble. So abortion leads to abortion. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love but to use violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.”
“We must not be surprised when we hear of murders, of killings, of wars, of hatred. If a mother can kill her own child, what is left but for us to kill each other.”
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Opinion -------- TITLE: Letters DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:The Worth of Saddam's Soul
Regarding “Death Penalty Clarification Needed” by Father Raymond J. de Souza (Commentary, Jan. 4-10):
As Christians, we are called by God to hate evil. But attach a human face to that evil and you've got a problem. Christians are obligated to rise above evil and conquer it with the power of good. We are to hate evil actions but not the person committing them. In other words, we must hate the sin but love the sinner. Christ was very emphatic about this when he said, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
We have just seen the capture and arrest of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Millions of people around the world are calling for his death, including many Christians. Fighting evil with more evil can never produce anything good. Instead, we should be praying for the soul of this man, that he might experience a conversion before it's too late for him. By doing so, not only will we be assisting a needy soul, but we will also be comforting Our Lord, who said to St. Faustina, “The loss of each soul plunges me into mortal sadness. You always console me when you pray for sinners. The prayer most pleasing to me is prayer for the conversion of sinners” (Diary of St. Faustina, No. 1397).
We all know of Saddam's atrocities. But what some might not know is that Saddam was born into a difficult life as an unwanted child whose own mother tried to abort him herself before his birth. His stepfather also abused him emotionally and physically.
But if none of this makes it easier to care about what happens to Saddam, perhaps this will: Our Lord said to St. Faustina, “the greater the misery of a soul, the greater its right to my mercy … On the cross, the fountain of my mercy was opened wide by the lance for all souls — no one have I excluded” (Diary, No. 1182).
So how much is Saddam Hussein's soul worth? The price of Christ's blood. No human soul is worth less.
Janine E. Schutt Bremerton, Washington
Saints Alive
Regarding “The New Year's First Saints: The Vatican Clears Path for Four (Jan. 4-10): I have some corrections to offer regarding Augustus Czartoryski, Eusebia Palomino and Alessandrina da Costa.
Augustus Czartoryski: Please note the correct spelling of his first name. He was a Polish prince, the son of Princess Maria Ampara of Spain. He was born Aug. 2, 1858, and died April 9, 1893. He attempted to enter the Salesian Society four times and three times he was refused by Don Bosco, who thought a prince would have a hard time adjusting to the austerity of the Salesian life. The fourth time he applied, he was finally accepted by Don Bosco after having recourse to Pope Leo XIII, who told him to tell the founder the Pope said he was to become a Salesian. Embracing the poverty of the Salesian Society with all his heart, he was a model novice and avoided discussing his life prior to entering. He was ordained April 2, 1892. Shortly after his ordination, he began to show signs of tuberculosis and was nursed by Venerable Andrew Beltrami (another holy Salesian). His last words were, “Jesus Christ, my master.”
Eusebia Palomino: She did not belong to the “Institute of the Daughters of Mary of Perpetual Help” but the Institute of the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians, founded by St. John Bosco and St. Mary Mazzarello.
Alessandrina da Costa: She was not a “lay member of the Union of Salesian Co-Workers” but a member of the society of apostolic Life, which at the time was called the Pious Union of Salesian Cooperators (it is now known as the Association of Salesian Cooperators).
The main work of Salesian cooperators is geared toward the young and the poor. A number of the more recent popes were Salesian cooperators, among them Pope Pius XII and Blessed John XXIII.
Thank you for publishing such an excellent paper. I read it cover to cover every week.
Brittany Marie Harrison Lake Villa, Illinois
Courageously Counter Contraception
Talk about the moral dilemma involved in the inducing of labor (“Induction Procedures Raise Moral Dilemma,” Oct. 19-25).
There is a greater dilemma pro-life activists have to face concerning Catholic Hospitals.
Here are the pro-life activists picketing against abortion and all attacks on life while Catholic hospitals are involved in distributing contraceptives.
One of the bishops at the recent bishops’ meeting actually called contraceptives the “silent killer,” which is a perfect name for contraceptives.
We are told, “It's the law of the land!“
Let us pray for our bishops to have the courage of St. Peter, who responded to the Sanhedrin when told not to preach about Jesus: “We must obey God rather than man” (Acts 5:29).
Ann Downey
Tucson, Arizona
Bias in the Register?
I was very disappointed to see the article “Vatican's War Warnings Confirmed” by John Thavis of Catholic News Service in your Dec. 7-13 issue.
This is the kind of biased article I would expect of The New York Times. The Iraqi infrastructure is not destroyed, it is being rebuilt by the United States. The hardships on civilians have not increased; the overwhelming majority of the people are glad we are there. And most importantly, Iraqi men, women and children no longer have to worry about being taken away in the middle of the night to face torture or execution.
While the minority of those who are engaged in terrorism get all of the attention, I would hope the journalists at the Register would give a more balanced presentation and include all of the facts. The country is much better off without a murderous psychopath as dictator.
Shawn Grubbs
Fort Wayne, Indiana
On Holidays in Europe
Your news brief “France to Cancel Pentecost Holiday” (Media Watch, Dec. 7-13) says the feast is still marked in Britain by various traditional celebrations. Alas, this is not really so.
Whitsunday, as it was known here, ceased to be an official holiday some years ago. We now have the “Late Spring Bank Holiday,” which sometimes coincides with Pentecost and sometimes not, and we also have a holiday on May 1, but the Whitsun weekend has officially disappeared and you will not see it mentioned in a diary or calendar. There are local rural traditions, such as you mention, but the big events such as Manchester's “Whit Walks” are a thing of the past, and the name Whitsun is fast disappearing as it is no longer associated with a holiday weekend.
The irony is that we are always being told that we should standardize life across Europe, and one of the useful things we have in common is the calendar, centered on the traditional round of Christian seasons. Britain abolished many holidays at the Reformation while much of Europe kept them. Now, just when it would make sense for us all to enjoy them together, separate countries are abolishing various Christian feast days one by one — while inventing new secular ones.
Here in Britain there is talk of our having “Trafalgar Day” to give us an extra holiday so the number of our holidays keeps up with the rest of Europe! It is hardly likely to foster friendship with the French.
Joanna Bogle
New Malden, Surrey
England
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Opinion -------- TITLE: Two Thumbs Up on War DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:Your symposium “Did the War in Iraq Secure the Peace?” (Jan. 4-10) gave President Bush two out of five positive backings and, in my opinion, these two were the ones based most on faith and reason.
Having a symposium on the front page of your paper with a large photo of the president looking like he is on trial I think does more harm than good. However we the people feel about this, it is something that has happened. It will take many years to see the results in Iraq and in this world.
We as Catholics need to thank God that we have a good, moral president and we have to start learning how to come together as a group when we vote. There is enough confusion among Catholics and fostering these kinds of debates only adds to it. The only criteria when we vote is to ask if the candidate is for life — then everything else will fall into place.
Our state, New Jersey, has just passed a most reprehensible bill on cloning embryos. This in spite of our parish sending in 1,500 petitions, plus letters and phone calls to our governor and state Assemblymen. Massachusetts has passed same-sex marriage legislation. Do Catholics know about the constitutional amendment our pro-life representatives are trying to get through Congress that would override the states’ same-sex legislators? Are they encouraging our president in these matters instead of debating whether he did the right thing in Iraq? And do Catholics know how the United Nations has, for years, been pushing contraceptives and sterilization to the poor countries? Do we really want the United Nations to take over in Iraq?
We have a crucial year ahead of us. Let us hope and pray that Catholics will do the right thing in November and that your Catholic newspaper can help educate rather than divide your readers.
Marie Salvato
Brick, New Jersey
Was the war in Iraq prudent? Was it necessary? Most all of the articles [in the Register symposium] emphasized the question of whether or not Iraq actually had weapons of mass destruction. The more important question, and one that is very seldom discussed, is: Does a mass murderer's reign need to be ended? To me the answer is a resounding Yes.
Bob Dalton
Parker, Colorado
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Commentary -------- TITLE: Why They Marched On Washington DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:America will never forget. On Aug. 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. marched on Washington with 300,000 demonstrators.
It was hot. There was no place to sit. Bathrooms were scarce. Yet that didn't seem to matter.
These Americans marched for justice and liberty for all in a country plagued at the time with apartheid-like structures of racism and oppression.
Millions of Americans followed the march on Washington by radio and television. King, a 34-year-old preacher, stood before the nation echoing again and again, “I have a dream.”
He quoted the Bible and the Declaration of Independence.
He exhorted America to “let freedom ring from every mountainside.”
After describing his dream, the American dream, he ended by shouting in a powerful sermonic tone, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!“
Marchers that day witnessed a historical event. It marked a turning point in the battle for human rights and civil rights.
For instance, Geneva Mays, a retired federal worker for the Department of Transportation, was there that day. She said, “I always admired King, so I was waiting for him to speak. From where I was seated I could see his notes. He sort of pushed them aside and started speaking extemporaneously about this dream and his vision for America. I was blown away. I was listening to this man and feasting on every word he said. After the march was over, I wanted to make a difference.
Suzy Karpel Gebhardt recalls the spirit that dominated the march: “My family was 1 involved in the civil-rights movement. I came to the march with a group of youth from a summer camp from New York. We were all involved in the civil-rights movement. It was an integrated group. Violence was the furthest thing from our minds.”
America has come a long way since the 1963 civil-rights march. Few dispute that claim. Yet social justice continues to be a very contentious issue in America. With the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, many contend that America is now a just society. Others argue that's simply not true in practice. Social injustice still exists. Who's right?
To answer this question demands a clear understanding of social justice.
American culture takes its understanding of social justice from traditions of common law, legal positivism and economic liberalism.
Consequently, American justice is more procedural than substantive. To many of us, justice means every American should be offered a fair process. But the result or outcome of the process isn't necessarily “just” when judged against an objective moral standard.
When it comes to justice, the American legal culture emphasizes notions such as “due process of law” or “equal protection under the law.” On the economic front, American justice means equal opportunity, open competition and nondiscrimination. So, a just economic system affords everyone the chance to compete without taking into account the result of the competition. Many Americans hold to this legalistic vision of social justice. They say it's fair.
But is it? The Church's social doctrine maintains that social justice is much more than a fair process. Social justice, from an ethical standpoint, begins and ends with a respect for the dignity of human beings, created in the image of God. This is the objective moral standard to measure whether a social or economic situation is just or unjust.
Respect for human dignity, for many, comes across as a rather vague and impractical criterion when trying to determine a just or unjust situation.
What does respect for human dignity mean? Besides that, how can it be put into practice?
Respecting human dignity merely means fostering in society a fraternal sense. The Second Vatican Council's document on the Church in the modern world, Gaudium et Spes, explains how to respect the dignity of others: “Everyone should look upon his neighbor (without any exception) as ‘another self,’ bearing in mind above all his life and the means necessary for living it in a dignified way.”
If we really learn to see others as another self, we would take an extraordinary interest in the plight of the unborn, the sick, the poor, the ignorant and the elderly. To see others as another self serves as the best antidote against the radical individualism of modern culture.
All of this entails the notion of human solidarity. As human beings created by God, we share the same origin, the same nature and, for Christians, the same common redemption in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Consequently, to see others as another self implies an objective reality. It's not just a metaphorical image.
For this reason, we should be willing to share our spiritual, material and cultural goods with others to build a more just society.
Social justice, in its deepest sense, cannot be achieved solely through legislative or regulatory action by the state. As a relational virtue, social justice presupposes freedom.
State action, of course, plays a crucial role since the law can encourage, uphold and reward justice and equity in private relations. This would create a culture favorable to virtue. Ultimately, social justice requires conversion of hearts. People with converted hearts would apply the values of the Gospel to the social order.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day reminds us all to keep working for the American dream. That is, one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.
Legionary of Christ Father Andrew McNair writes from Wakefield, Rhode Island.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Andrew McNair LC ----- KEYWORDS: Commentary -------- TITLE: The Eucharist and the Poor DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:In following closely a campaign for trustee of Catholic schools, I was struck by the repeated assertion — made publicly and reiterated by the media — that it is not particularly important for Catholic students to attend Mass “every single week” as long as they are sensitive to the needs of the poor and are involved in social-justice activities.
Those who identified with this view called themselves “moderates” and encouraged the potential voter to regard their opposition in such terms as “conservative,” “fearful,” “judgmental” and “pre-Vatican II.”
It is hardly uncommon for people running for office to flatter themselves with positive-sounding labels while unfairly smearing their adversaries.
Such tactics, needless to say, are themselves inconsistent with social justice. Nevertheless, because of the Catholic context in which the campaign was conducted, this “moderate” view is most serious and warrants special attention.
Indeed, it warrants Scriptural analysis. What can we learn from the New Testament about the relative importance of the Eucharist and social justice? Surely they are both important. But to the true Catholic, is one more important than the other in such a way that one should precede the other? The order of importance is often critical, as our word “preposterous” indicates. For putting things in reverse order (prae + posterius, putting “before” that which should be “after”) is disordered and therefore preposterous.
The horse should precede the cart; the commandment to love God takes precedence over the commandment to love one's neighbor.
Multiplying Loaves
In John 6 we read about Christ's multiplication of the loaves and fishes. And though this miracle is rightly accepted as a quintessential example of sensitivity to the poor and social justice in action, it was but a prelude to something more important.
Jesus said to his followers: “Do not work for food that cannot last but work for food that endures to eternity” (John 6:27). Then, when people said, “give us this bread always,” Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life.”
Such a seemingly cryptic answer led to much complaining among those in his audience. Jesus spoke again: “I am the living bread that has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever, and the bread that I shall give is my own flesh for the life of the world.”
Hearing this, people proceeded to argue with each other. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they said. Jesus continued: “I tell you most solemnly, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you.”
Upon hearing this, people said, “This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?“
Jesus knew, of course, that this first public announcement of the Eucharist would not be easy to accept, even among his followers. He watched as first the masses, then the elite and finally his own disciples left him. “What about you,” he said to his chosen apostles. “Do you want to go away, too?” And then Jesus enunciated something that was tragically prophetic: “Have I not chosen you, you twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.” He was referring, as John tells us, to Judas Iscariot, the man “who was going to betray him” (John 6:71).
Food for the belly is easy to accept. The five thousand were grateful for the loaves and fishes. They were grateful enough to want to make Jesus their King. But he would be a Bread King, and one of their own design, not that of the Father. This is also what Satan proposed when he tempted Christ — turn stones into bread, gratify people's immediate desires. Bread for the belly makes sense. It will have unfailing appeal. But bread for the soul! Is it not more practical, more expedient and more understandable to have social justice without having to bring in the Eucharist?
But Jesus would not accept a kingship based on a delivery system of instant and limitless food. On this day, Judas Iscariot was particularly opposed to the notion of the Eucharist, and his rejection of it was a precursor to ominous events.
As Bishop Fulton Sheen states in his Life of Christ: “The Gospel tells us the astounding story that Judas broke with Our Divine Lord the day he announced the giving of his flesh for the life of the world.”
The announcement of the Eucharist, after the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, was also a foretelling of the first Eucharist at the Last Supper. But it was also the announcement of Judas’ rejection and the foretelling of his betrayal of his Master. Citing Bishop Sheen once again: “At this promise of the Heavenly Bread, Judas cracked; and at the giving of the Eucharist on the night of the Last Supper, Judas split wide open and betrayed.”
It seems reasonable to interpret John 6 as an un-rebuttable argument for placing the importance of the Eucharist ahead of that of social justice. In no way, however, does this proper ordering diminish the importance of social justice. Moreover, this argument is made even stronger when we examine the conduct of Judas in the interlude between the announcement of the Eucharist and the Last Supper.
Six days before his crucifixion, Jesus went to Bethany to the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There, Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary, regaled him a great dinner. It was on this occasion that Mary, showing great honor to Jesus and anticipating his burial, poured very costly ointment on him and wiped the feet of her esteemed guest with her hair (John 12:1-4).
Judas’ Tears
Judas Iscariot, observing this act of apparent extravagance, said, “Why wasn't this ointment sold for 300 denarii and the money given to the poor?” John tells us that Judas was not at all concerned about the poor, despite his show, because he was, in reality, a thief who welcomed the opportunity to steal more money from the apostles’ common fund (John 12:5-7). Commenting on Judas’ hypocrisy, Giuseppe Ricciotti states in his The Life of Christ, “The disciple of mammon still wants to wear the uniform of the disciple of God.”
Putting on the mask of charity, Judas feigned an interest in the poor. His love for money prevented him from appreciating the beauty and significance of Mary's actions. There would be no time for Jesus to be properly oiled and perfumed immediately after his death. There would be an abundance of time to tend to the needs of the poor.
Judas’ preoccupation with money reaches its nadir when he accepts 30 pieces of silver from the chief priests to betray Christ. He did not, as we know, share his newly acquired wealth with the poor but flung the coins back at the priests and went out and hanged himself. At the Last Supper, while there was still opportunity for repentance and conversion, he left before the first Eucharist and, immediately after, as John records, “Satan entered him” (John 13:27).
The outline of Judas’ “discipleship” shows a regression from being an apostate to a thief to a traitor to a suicide. Concomitant with his tragic slide were his hollow declarations of social justice. It is reasonable to argue that there is a moral logic to this slide that begins in an act of apostasy. By rejecting the very life of Christ present in the Eucharist, Judas falls back into the dark recesses of his own isolated ego. He offers lip service to the poor but is unaware of his own poverty of soul. Thus isolated, he becomes desperate. He clings to money, abandons friends and finally, finding no solace in mere materiality, takes his own life.
Judas may well be the most tragic figure in all of human history. We remember his end and are both puzzled and horrified. How could someone chosen by Christ and so proximate to him be so completely un-Christlike! But we often neglect the genesis of his tragedy. And that genesis is the cold rejection of the life of Christ that is present in the Eucharist.
Social justice is a divine mandate. It cannot be ignored. But the life for Christians that animates their social-justice activities is Christ's own life, for without him we can do nothing (John 15:5). The Christian mandate is clear: First avail yourself of his life, then bring that very life to others. Everything begins and has its vivifying root in Christ. If one is performing acts of social justice, how much more fruitful would these acts be if they were animated by the Bread of Life? We cannot sustain the effect without constantly renewing the cause.
To put it simply, the advice given to Catholic students that the Mass is optional and of less significance than social justice is preposterous.
Dr. Donald DeMarco is professor emeritus at St. Jerome's University and adjunct professor at Holy Apostles College and Seminary.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Donald Demarco ----- EKYWORDS: Commentary -------- TITLE: To Tango With a Galloping Horse: A Convert's Story DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:Our mother was born on an Arkansas farm in 1918.
There was no electricity, no indoor plumbing and no Catholics for a hundred miles in any direction. But there was a simple, almost primitive Christian presence in the Taylor household that upheld, celebrated and lived by the same truths the Church has honored for 2,000 years.
When she was 18 she had had enough of Depression-era farm life and struck out on her own to the seemingly endless possibilities embodied in Los Angeles.
She didn't strike out completely on her own, mind you.
After all, this was the 1930s, and proper young ladies did not just move off the farm and go to the big city completely on their own.
One of her older brothers was already in Los Angeles and able to keep an eye on her. She stayed in a small hotel on Friar Street in the suburb of Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley that catered to proper young women. She lived with an elderly lady roommate to further secure propriety.
My mom met a man, a co-worker of her brother's in a grocery store in the San Fernando Valley, a place that was then just a few small towns connected by fewer main roadways. Details of their courtship are lost in the ether of untold tales, but they didn't know each other long before they knew they wanted to get married.
Our dad came from a strong Catholic family that traced its lineage straight back to the “Holy Land” (see: Ireland). And our mom came forth out of under-churched Southern Baptists. Not exactly the stuff of Shakespearean tragedy, but again, this was the 1930s and our dad was probably the first Catholic our mother ever met in person.
Needless to say, feathers were ruffled on both sides of the Mason-Dixon. There was a story about a letter being written by my mother's father and sent to our dad with regard to my grandfather's opinion about Catholics. It was less than enthusiastic.
The “good” Catholics on our dad's line of the division were also worried about the concept of a “mixed marriage.” But despite the difficulties, a little more than a year before Hitler decided to take a left turn into Poland, in a U.S. economy that was still on its knees even after almost eight years of New Deal attempts to fix it, living in a world filled with uncertainty and even danger, our parents were married.
When our mom accepted our dad as her husband she also decided to accept his faith as well. She took instruction in the faith from both the pastor of our church, the same church we 10 children were all baptized in, as well as instruction from one of our dad's older brothers, Father John.
We 10, the issue of this marriage, came to the Church by accidents of birth. Our mom came into the Church by an act of will and an act of love for our father.
She did not always have it easy being a convert. I know she at times felt like an outsider as more “authentic” members of the Church from my dad's side of the family made subtle and at times overt jibes about her Southern roots.
She was too tough and stubborn to let that stuff bother her for long, and she received some measure of justice in the fact it was she who took care of our dad's parents in their old age. The Southern Baptist girl showed not a few of our “good” Catholic relatives the meaning of family love, sacrifice and giving.
And no matter how often we teased her about her “convert” status as opposed to our “official,” out-of-the-shoot Catholic status, one thing was clear: Our mom would be Catholic for longer than any of her 10 children.
She took the foundation her parents built and constructed a home on it within the bosom of the Church. She was as dedicated to the Blessed Mother and the rosary as any woman coming off a boat at Ellis Island from County Kerry ever could be. Her embrace of the faith was a conscious act, and I believe to this day it continues to have a residual effect on her children's journey of faith, even if at times we don't all always have a total understanding of it.
There were more than a few adages and pet sayings she used with reckless abandon around our household.
One of her little gems was, “It takes two to tango.” This social commentary usually followed the breaking up of some kind of fight.
But I think it also applied to our mother, even if she didn't know it. It took two people living within the embrace of the sacrament of matrimony to say Yes to God when it comes to children.
Our mom would bear the lion's (or in her case, the lioness’) share of this burden as she willingly and joyfully carried to term 10 babies and endured the pain and sorrow of losing an 11th baby before life could secure a firmer grasp. And she did the best she could as those 10 babies grew up and at various times loved her, hurt her, needed her, comforted her and were comforted by her.
And she did this all with dignity, whether she was driving a country squire station wagon well past its prime, patching the worn-out knees of our school uniform corduroys or stuffing the hole at the bottom of our “school” shoes with pieces of cardboard.
And if we ever complained about these less-than-perfect amenities, she would just keep moving and let us have it right between the eyes with her most famous saying, “It'll never be noticed on a galloping horse, and that's the kind we ride.”
There were more important things in this world than the right car, the right clothes or the right footwear.
They were family and love of the Church, and that was a gift our mother bequeathed to us all.
Los Angeles writer Robert Brennan will continue this series in future issues.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Robert Brennan ----- KEYWORDS: Commentary -------- TITLE: Know Jesus? Know Church DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:“ I'm into loving Jesus. I'm I not into theology or reli-I gion.”
The young man in his early 20s uttered these words politely but passionately. Moments earlier, Mike had explained he had now been “saved” for “two years and five months.” Mike, an evangelical Protestant, is dating Meg, who was raised Catholic. They now attend an Assemblies of God Christian Center together. Frustrated and upset, her parents asked me if I would talk to the young couple and answer their questions about the Catholic Church.
I'm not the most sensitive and tactful guy, but I knew I'd have to bite my tongue a bit and speak carefully if any good was to come of the meeting. That became even more apparent when I arrived and found that several other people had been invited, including their pastor.
Mike's comment was one that I could appreciate, even though it was as naïve as it was well inten-tioned. Words such as theology, religion and dogma aren't very popular these days. After all, isn't theology for geeks? Aren't doctrine and dogma for people who are uptight and rigid? As for ritual and tradition, isn't it obvious that such things hold people back from experiencing the fullness of the Holy Spirit? “Religion is man's attempt to reach God, while true Christianity is about God reaching out to man,” Mike explained to me.
This is more than a matter of semantics. At a deeper level, these attitudes reflect a certain tradition and way of understanding the nature of the Church. During the three-hour conversation I sought to convey that the Catholic Church isn't opposed or contrary to an intimate relationship with God but is at the heart of the Father's plan to offer his life to us through his Son and in the power of the Holy Spirit. As St. Paul tells us, the Church is “the household of God” and the “pillar and foundation of truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). There is no competition between Jesus and the Church, just as a man doesn't choose to love his wife instead of his children or vice versa.
But this view of church is difficult for some (though not all) Protestants to appreciate. Many evangelicals are wary of much talk of “church,” instead focusing far more on the individual's personal response to God. The problem isn't in what is emphasized but in what is pushed aside or ignored altogether. Yes, Jesus wants to have a deep and abiding relationship with us. But how does he convey that life-giving relationship to humanity? Through his Mystical Body, the visible Church.
Mike's pastor seemed to appreciate this point. But he bristled at what he thought was the “anti-Protestant” actions of the Catholic Church in refusing holy Communion to Protestants. This was, he insisted, an indication that the Catholic Church doesn't believe he's really a Christian. Actually, it indicates that the Catholic Church doesn't believe that he is Catholic. Receiving holy Communion is a declaration that we are in true and full communion with both God and his Church.
Put another way, theology matters. St. Augustine declared that theology is “faith seeking understanding” — an activity that every Christian should pursue as best he can. Following Jesus is necessary, vital and central. And following Jesus involves adhering to all of his teachings, including the establishment of one Church, which has a specific structure of authority, sacraments and tradition. As Dominus Iesus, the 2000 Vatican declaration on the Salvific Universality of Christ, also notes, “The Lord Jesus, the only Savior, did not only establish a simple community of disciples but constituted the Church as a salvific mystery.”
Love Jesus? Then love the Church.
Carl E. Olson, editor of Envoy magazine and author of Will Catholics Be ‘Left Behind’?, writes from Eugene, Oregon.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Carl E. Olson ----- KEYWORDS: Travel -------- TITLE: A Sign of Contradiction in the City That Never Sleeps DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:In the heart of Manhattan's business district, St. Agnes Church has few resident parishioners.
Yet the seven Masses each weekday are filled with midtown workers — and Sunday worshippers come from the area's many hotels and from all parts of the city's five boroughs plus Long Island and Westchester County, N.Y., and New Jersey.
They come for the reverently offered Masses, homilies that reach the head as well as the heart, a regular confession schedule, traditional devotions including the rosary twice a day and Sunday celebration of the Latin Tridentine Mass. On the first Friday of each month, the local Knights of Columbus council conduct an all-night vigil before the Blessed Sacrament. Year-round, a homeless shelter and soup kitchen are run out of the church's basement.
“It's exciting being a part of this parish,” says Father William Elder, who lives in the rectory and works as a judge on the archdiocesan tribunal. “John Paul II called New York City the capital of the world, and St. Agnes is in the heart of New York. For a priest, there is a great opportunity to preach the Gospel in the heart of what the Pope calls the culture of death. Yet you also get to see so many signs of life and light in the hearts of the people who come here.”
At 43rd Street between Third and Lexington Avenues, St. Agnes is famous for more than its location. Irish patriot Eamon De Valera was baptized there. Archbishop Fulton Sheen preached his “Last Seven Words” sermons on Good Friday from the church's pulpit, with crowds filling the upper and lower churches and spilling out onto the street to hear the famed preacher over loudspeakers. That street is now named in honor of the archbishop, though few New Yorkers use the name, preferring the simpler “East 43rd Street.”
The church in which the archbishop preached is no longer there because of another well-known, albeit sad, event. On Dec. 10, 1992, a five-alarm fire blazed through the century-old church, leaving only charred wood, parts of the marble high altar and the red-brick exterior. The New York Daily News headlined the “agony” of St. Agnes as news traveled around the globe about the homey little church that was loved seemingly by millions who stopped into St. Agnes while passing through New York.
The fire, traced to a faulty wire, broke out shortly before the weekday evening rush hour, when fortunately few people were in the church. Then Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, nearby when he heard the news, rushed into the church and made sure people got out safely. A sacristan and priest removed the Blessed Sacrament from the tabernacle. Thousands of people missed their trains and buses home that evening to stand in the cold, hoping the beloved church, dedicated in 1877, could be saved. Homeless men and women, who had sought shelter and solace there, were turned away for once, and some of them sat on the sidewalk, weeping.
Five years later, after haggles over insurance and questions over design, a new St. Agnes Church rose from the ashes, anchored by the two brick towers from the old structure. The new church, with an Italian Renaissance façade, was something of an anomaly, drawing breath from the past and looking, as many remarked on first sight, unmistakably like a church.
The interior is graced with many traditional elements, including marble floors; an altar rail where communicants may kneel while receiving the Blessed Sacrament; a large, gold tabernacle resting at the center aisle; a panoply of saints in wood and paint; a raised pulpit located outside the sanctuary; confessionals; and real wax candles that burn and melt. Carved above the sanctuary are the Latin words of consecration: “Hoc Est Enim Corpus Meum … Et Calix Sanguinis Mei.”
The centerpiece of the sanctuary is a three-panel mural depicting the young St. Agnes, a third-century martyr — feast: Jan. 21 — being led by the Blessed Mother into the heavenly court. Other panels contain images of saints of the early Church, including St. Augustine (being baptized by St. Ambrose), St. Irenaeus, St. Christopher (carrying the Christ child) and St. Sebastian. To name just a few of the many statues, there are ones of St. Thomas More, the Irish martyrs of the 16th and 17th centuries, St. Pius X, New York's own St. Elizabeth Seton, the Jesuit North American martyrs and Pierre Toussaint, whose cause is being advanced.
No Place Like It
Cardinal John O'Connor dedicated the new St. Agnes Church on Jan. 17, 1998.
Msgr. Eugene Clark shepherded the parish through the fire and rebuilding before being reassigned to nearby St. Patrick's Cathedral. The new pastor, Msgr. Anthony Dalla Villa, served only a short time when he collapsed and died of an apparent stroke while offering Mass. The pastor now is Father Richard Adams.
“There is no place else like St. Agnes,” says Madonna Guevarra, president of the parish's Legion of Mary. “It is like a sanctuary in the middle of Manhattan. I know any time I go there, we will have good priests to guide us and set a good example. And so many people go there just to find a little peace and sit in a nice church.”
The heart of St. Agnes for the past two decades, she says, has been Father William Shelley, parochial vicar. More than 50 years ordained, he still goes strong, overseeing the homeless shelter, working with the Legion of Mary, praying in front of abortion sites and in the nearby Grand Central subway station and writing the weekly bulletin.
A stickler for history, Father Shelley wrote recently, “With the help of a total of 42 volunteers Friday night and Saturday morning, we had the 1,092nd successive [soup kitchen] since Dec. 11, 1982 … feeding the 183 homeless and hungry who could get through last weekend's snowstorm.”
A bookstore is located in the rear of the church, selling many traditional volumes as well as more popular books and periodicals, an array of rosary beads and other sacramentals.
Stephen Vincent is based in Wallingford, Connecticut.
----- EXCERPT: St. Agnes Church, New York City ----- EXTENDED BODY: Stephen Vincent ----- KEYWORDS: Travel -------- TITLE: Ten Reasons I Liked Going to the Movies in 2003 DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:The year just passed proved a mixed bag for Catholics at the movies.
The Church seemed to come under attack with inordinate frequency (The Crime of Father Amaro, The Magdalene Sisters, Luther, The Statement) even as Hollywood pumped up the volume on family-friendly entertainment (Elf, Cheaper by the Dozen, Secondhand Lions).
The good news was that, if you looked with a discerning eye, you could certainly find plenty to enjoy amid the cinematic morass.
My picks for the 10 best movies of 2003:
1 THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
The triumphant finale to Peter Jackson and company's historic three-part adaptation is perhaps the most awesome spectacle ever filmed, and the most ambitious and emotionally affecting of the trilogy. From the rugged beauty of Minas Tririth to the thrilling sequence with the mountaintop beacons, from Eowyn's showdown with the witch-king to Samwise's final act of devotion on the slopes of Mount Doom, the film's tribute to J.R.R. Tolkien's world exceeds all reasonable hope. Tolkien's Catholic themes, including echoes of the harrowing of hell and purgatorial atoning for sins, are at their most overt here.
Content advisory: Some depictions of intense and sometimes bloody battle violence; scenes of menace and grotesquerie involving orcs and other “fell creatures”; a single crude expression.
2 THE SON (LE FILS) Morally and spiritually the year's most richly challenging and inspiring film, The Son has a documentary-like restraint that makes for comparatively demanding viewing at first, but the difficulty of the first viewing becomes irrelevant in light of its rewards. The Dardenne brothers’ hand-held camera closely follows a middle-aged carpenter working with troubled teens as he focuses on one particular boy. A nearly religious parable of humanity, falling and grace, The Son's achievement is one of showing, not telling —telling much more would diminish the showing (though many reviews will rob you by doing just that).
Content advisory: A few objectionable phrases; references to remarriage after divorce and extramarital pregnancy. French with subtitles.
3 FINDING NEMO The hallmarks of Pixar's virtually perfect craftsmanship — narrative tightness, witty dialogue, satirical humor, note-perfect emotions, eye-popping graphics — are all here, but there's also a magic that defies analysis. A coming-of-age fish story that has as much sympathy and compassion for parental anxieties and tribulations as for childhood frustrations and fears, Nemo is both about an overprotective father learning to give his child room to grow and face his own challenges, and about a disillusioned child again seeing his dad as a hero. Note the pro-life resonances of an early scene depicting the parents’ loving concern for their unhatched offspring.
Content advisory: Animated high excitement and menace; parental separation theme. Could be frightening to sensitive youngsters.
4 MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
Eschewing the anachronistic modern-day attitudes and dumbed-down moral conflicts Hollywood usually brings to period pieces, Peter Weir's thrilling first film from the popular historical novels of Patrick O'Brian allows its heroes to talk and argue like intelligent adults of their own time and place. Set on a British frigate in the Napoleonic wars, the film is breathtakingly authentic, from the creak of the timbers to the matter-of-fact Christian milieu of its protagonists.
Content advisory: Bloody scenes of battle violence and field surgery; a suicide; somewhat profane language; a couple of rude jokes and brief obscenity.
5 SHATTERED GLASS Among stories of journalistic corruption, first-time director Billy Ray's intelligent, riveting fact-based drama of the rise and fall of Beltway hotshot Stephen Glass (Hay den Christensen) stands out for its strongly ethical stance and for its riveting depiction of Glass’ ability to insinuate himself to his co-workers while ingeniously covering his tracks. Peter Sarsgaard is brilliant as the editor forced to confront Glass’ fraud while beleaguered by office politics. Some may wish Ray had focused more on Glass’ motivation, but the film doesn't need Catch Me If You Can psychoanalyzing: It knows that what finally matters isn't why Glass lied but that he did.
Content advisory: Some obscene and profane language; a few crude references; a depiction of drug abuse.
6 WINGED MIGRATION One of cinema's most valuable functions is to show us things we would never otherwise see. If you want a narrator to tell you all about the diet and mating habits of birds, watch Animal Planet on cable TV; if you want to see birds as you've never seen them before, here's the film for you. The filmmakers insinuate the camera's eye so intimately into the midst of airborne birds that one can almost count the hair-like barbs on the feathers. Other shots are staggering for the sheer number of birds on the screen. It's a mesmerizing meditation on the wonder of creation.
Content advisory: A few images of birds in distress; a fleeting image of a dead bird.
7-8 (Tie) SPELLBOUND / OT: OUR TOWN
A pair of uplifting documentaries about young students working and studying for an hour of onstage stress and glory, Spellbound and OT: Our Town have different styles and different rewards. Spellbound is an endearing, heartbreaking, satisfying look at eight young spellers from various socioeconomic backgrounds competing with more than 200 other kids at the Washington, D.C., National Spelling Bee. OT is an inspiring account of inner-city youth at a demoralized high school known only for basketball and race riots, who — despite no money or existing program — take on the challenge of staging Thornton Wilder's Our Town. Both films celebrate achievement, grace under pressure and self-respect; OT is also about community and culture, while Spellbound honors family and parents in a story of competition and personal achievement.
Content advisory: Spellbound — Nothing problematic. OT: our town — Harsh social milieu includes recurring obscene language, references to suicide, teen pregnancy, etc. Mature viewing.
9 THE GOSPEL OF JOHN It's not “based on” the Gospel of John, it is the Gospel of John — visualized and enacted, and to that extent interpreted and glossed, but not “adapted” in the usual sense. Combining the visual engagement of a biblical epic with the textual fidelity of the Bible on CD or audio-cassette, The Gospel of John is a unique hybrid of the literary and dramatic — an approach that offers unique benefits as well as inevitable trade-offs. It's not perfect, but the gist of the biblical message comes to life in a unique way, with special credit to solid production values, strong acting and engaging narration by Christopher Plummer.
Content advisory: Passion narrative violence.
10 THE GUYS A small, intimate meditation on grief and loss in the days after Sept. 11, The Guys is clearly a product of the period it documents. Based on a stage play by a New York writer drawing on her own experiences helping a fire captain compose eulogies for fallen comrades, the film's lack of artifice makes it a quietly moving experience. The Guys captures how the horror of evil strips away our spiritual complacency: We want to bargain with God, yet we have nothing to offer and can settle for nothing less than everything. Slow and somber, The Guys is rewarding to viewers not put off by its austerity.
Content advisory: A few crass expressions; reflections on death and grief.
Steven D. Greydanus, editor and chief critic of DecentFilms.com, writes from Bloomfield, New Jersey.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Steven D. Greydanus ----- KEYWORDS: Arts -------- TITLE: Weekly Video/DVD Picks DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:Open Range (2003)
An archetypal Western tale of itinerant cowboy heroes (Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall) standing up to a bully- I ing cattle rancher, Open Range is an unapologetically straightforward throwback to the mythology and iconography of the classic Western. It's an uncluttered tale of honor, loyalty, freedom and frontier justice.
Duvall and Costner aren't whitewashed heroes and their deadly confrontation with their enemies is more than a little tainted by vengeance. Still, somebody has to stand up to the murderous antagonist — and federal authority is too far away. It's rough justice but the only sort of justice that's available.
Religion gets little attention: Burying a comrade, the heroes make no mention of his or their beliefs except to express anger toward God for allowing the tragedy. Later, though, there's a countervailing moment when one of the heroes is urged to thank God for another life being spared and expresses some openness to this proposal.
Ultimately, Open Range is a bit like Charley himself: Competent, flawed, unglamorous, grim but not unhopeful, it gets the job done. It's not a great movie, but after 10 years since Hollywood's last stabs at the genre, it's nice to see even a decent one.
Content advisory: Strong, sometimes deadly violence and gunplay; some crude language, profanity and a crass expression of anger at God; a few minor sexual references. Mature viewing.
Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)
James Garner brings a variation on his “Maverick” persona to this classic satirical Western that even more than Destry Rides Again does for Westerns what The Princess Bride did for fairy-tale fantasy: It honors the genre's conventions and clichés even as it spoofs them.
Garner plays Jason Mc-Cullough, an easy-going, self-assured drifter who wanders into a rough-and-tumble frontier town looking to make a little extra money on his way to Australia. He winds up taking on the unenviable job of sheriff. Of course there's a bullying clan of ranchers (headed by My Darling Clementine's Walter Brennan, who's hilarious) to contend with; other challenges include rowdy cowboys, an unfinished jail building that lacks bars in the windows and cell openings, and the mayor's beautiful, spirited but mishap-prone daughter Prudy (a very funny Joan Hackett).
Though McCullough prefers, like Jimmy Stewart in Destry, to use his brains instead of his fists, he's not averse to using force when necessary. He's never at a loss, and his methods are as clever as they are unorthodox. True to the genre, he cleans up the town — right down to a climactic sight gag with an explosive impact (if an inadvertent one) on operations at the local house of ill repute.
Content advisory: Sporadic, sometimes deadly gunplay; mostly slapstick fisticuffs; occasional minor profanity; a bit of discreet off-color humor involving a bordello.
Oklahoma! (1955)
Oklahoma! was the first of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical collaborations, and it changed the face of musical theater. Breaking from both traditional musical comedies and Gilbert-and-Sullivan-style operettas — in which character and story were secondary to show-stopping production numbers and comedy — Oklahoma! for the first time placed lyrics and dance at the service of story and character development.
After The Sound of Music, Oklahoma! is the best-loved Rodgers and Hammerstein film adaptation, deservedly so. Many of the songs are worthy classics, including “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’” and “Everything's Up to Date in Kansas City” (a couple of omitted songs were dicier and aren't missed, and a few lyrics have been sanitized as well).
Leads Gordon McRae and Shirley Jones (in her first role) bring ample charm as well as strong singing to the depiction of frontier romance as a battle of the sexes with plenty of fraternizing with the “enemy.” Charlotte Greenwood is perfection as the irrepressible Aunt Eller, and Rod Steiger's Jud Fry is both more human and creepier than usual. The story effectively debunks Jud's nasty antisocial isolation and fantasy fixations, instead extolling healthy social engagement.
Content advisory: Romantic complications; a few suggestive lyrics and references; some menace; content relating to the antagonist's licentiousness (references to indecent materials in his possession; a symbolic dance sequence evoking his disordered inner state).
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Steven D. Greydanus ----- KEYWORDS: Arts -------- TITLE: Weekly TV Picks DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:All times Eastern
SUNDAY, JAN. 18
Homestead Holdouts
Home & Garden TV, 9 p.m.
This special profiles six homeowners in urban areas who are resisting all offers to sell their modest properties to make way for large projects.
MONDAY, JAN. 19
Blessed Margaret of Castello: Patroness of the Unwanted
EWTN, 9 p.m.
Rejected, shut away and finally abandoned by her parents in Italy for being blind, lame and malformed, Blessed Margaret (1287-1320) refused to become bitter and instead loved and served God and neighbor for all her 33 years.
TUESDAYS
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
Familyland TV, 8 p.m.
Enemies of the family mock this sitcom — a sure recommendation for it. From 1952 to 1966 on ABC, it featured a real-life family, Ozzie and Harriet Nelson and sons David and Ricky, in their actual home and was a pleasant blend of fiction and reality.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 21
Drive-Thru
History Channel, 1 p.m.
This show surveys the history of U.S. gas stations, drive-in and fast-food restaurants and other “car-related commerce.”
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 21
The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer's
PBS, 9 p.m.
A 90-minute special profiles six Alzheimer's patients and their families, and a half-hour follow-up recommends resources. Catholic viewers’ perspective will include a prayerful concern that every patient's God-given worth and right to life be respected.
THURSDAY, JAN. 22
March for Life: Live Coverage
EWTN, 11 a.m.
Most of the news media will downplay and even ignore the 200,000 right-to-lifers expected at the annual March for Life in our nation's capital — but not EWTN, which is providing six hours of live coverage, interviews and panel discussions. Re-airs at 10 p.m.
SATURDAY, JAN. 24
IR: Prescription for Murder
A&E, 5 p.m.
This “Investigative Reports” tells the story of Harold Shipman, an English physician described as “expressing an interest in euthanasia” and convicted in 2000 of murdering 15 elderly but healthy patients of his. From 1974 until his arrest in 1998, he compiled a total of 236 suspected victims.
SATURDAY, JAN. 24
Hands on History: Louisville Slugger
History Channel, 5 p.m.
With spring training still a month away, get a midwinter helping of baseball as host Ron Hazleton charts the history of Hillerich & Bradsby, the baseball-bat maker. The firm's famed Louisville Slugger white-ash bats got their start in 1884 when, the story goes, Bud Hillerich, 17, made one for local big leaguer Pete “The Louisville Slugger” Browning, who promptly swatted three hits with it.
Dan Engler writes from Santa Barbara, California.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Dan Engler ----- KEYWORDS: Arts -------- TITLE: NET Energizes Student's Faith DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:ST PAUL, Minn. — The Twin Cities’ newest teen hot spot isn't the Old Navy store at the mall or the trendy nightclub downtown but a converted gymnasium in West St. Paul known as the NET Center.
More than a thousand kids cram into the center on the first Saturday of every month to listen to Catholic speakers, sing at the top of their lungs and celebrate Mass together in a program called Lifeline. They come from all over the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and as far away as the Dakotas, Wisconsin and Iowa for an experience many describe as life-changing.
Joe Roueche, outreach coordinator for NET Ministries, came up with the idea for Lifeline in 1995 as a way to make his organization more visible in the archdiocese, he said.
NET (National Evangelization Teams) Ministries is an international youth ministry based in the Twin Cities that challenges young Catholics to love Christ and embrace the life of the Church, according to the group's Web site at www.netusa.org.
NET Ministries offers training in youth ministry and leads more than 1,000 retreats each year for youths across the United States, Canada and Australia.
Lifeline started small, with about 150 teens attending the first event. But every year since then attendance has skyrocketed, Roueche said.
Last year, an addition to the NET Center was built to accommodate more than 1,000 people.
“I think we're booming,” Roueche said. “We just open the doors and they show up.”
Roueche said he believes several factors have boosted Lifeline's attendance; they include the lack of parish-based programs for young people and Pope John Paul II's 1993 visit to Denver for World Youth Day.
Teens also enjoy the dynamic speakers, peer testimonies, light-hearted skits that send a spiritual message, camaraderie and contemporary Christian music, Roueche added.
“We make sure we have people here who can speak to youth, who have that gift,” he said. “You can have the best message, but if they can't hear it or get it, that's tough.“
Roueche doesn't underestimate the power of music to reach teens, but Lifeline is more than a concert, he said.
“The music might be what gets them here initially, but the truth is what keeps them coming back,” Roueche said. The Mass is always the pinnacle of the evening, he added.
Teen Volunteers
It takes a small army of volunteers to make such a huge event run smoothly. About 80 to 100 people, including 25 teens, help out at Lifeline every month, doing everything from selling T-shirts to handing out snacks to serving at Mass.
The teens, who commit to volunteering for one year, also are encouraged to attend a four-day retreat over the summer. Roueche said he has seen many of the volunteers grow spiritually from the experience.
“Two or three of the volunteers are giving serious thought to seminary life when they graduate,” and some of the girls are considering religious life, he said.
In addition, one Lifeline a year focuses on discerning vocations. Archbishop Harry Flynn of St. Paul and Minneapolis celebrates Mass, with clergy and religious from many orders present. At the end of the night, those who are open to religious life are invited to approach the stage for a blessing.
“Every year, 200 to 300 kids come up,” Roueche said. “It's amazing.”
Teen volunteer Anna Carter, a parishioner at Holy Trinity in South St. Paul, started attending Lifeline a couple of years ago when friends invited her, she said.
“The first year I was coming here, I came not as much for God but to hang out with my friends,” she told The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
“At school, no one acts like a Christian, and you just kind of are like, ‘Is there anyone who shares the same faith as I do?’” the Hill-Murray junior said. “You come here and everyone is alive in their faith. It's really great, really encouraging.”
Nick Vandenbroeke, a teen volunteer who attends Guardian Angels in Chaska, said he likes the energy of Lifeline.
“You feel more free to express yourself,” he said. “You can put your hands up here.”
Information
www.netusa.org
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Julie Carroll ----- KEYWORDS: Education -------- TITLE: Faith, Finances and Final Wishes DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:Finish Faithful: How to Create a
Lasting Christian
Legacy for Your Family
by Mark Henry
Christian Legacy Press
127 pages, $15
To order: (480) 423-5632
mhenry2000@juno.com
When it comes to teaching about money issues, my primary emphasis has been on encouraging people to learn about tithing, budgeting and the basics of proper money-management skills — with an eye trained on immediate financial circumstances. But, of course, that's not all there is to good stewardship.
It's also vitally important to look further down the road and ask: Where will our resources go when we're not around to manage them? Or, more broadly, what type of financial legacy will we pass on to our family and the world around us?
With Finish Faithful: How to Create a Lasting Christian Legacy for Your Family, Catholic attorney and accountant Mark Henry helps families begin to answer those kinds of questions. Henry has more than 20 years of experience in estate planning and wealth management, and it's clear he brings that experience to bear in this book.
Henry begins by walking the reader through the concept of Christian stewardship — what it is and why it is important. He describes the responsibility each believer bears as a steward of the resources God has given him, comparing and contrasting stewardship with ownership, and he explores some of the ways a rightly ordered attitude of stewardship can enhance one's life in Christ.
Then he describes how a family can put in place a Christian-legacy will, which provides a stewardship approach to estate planning. He gives examples of ways parents can hold a “family-legacy meeting” in order to decide what is most important to them and pass it on to their children.
Finish Faithful also addresses issues of morally responsible investing. Henry appropriately encourages people to avoid investing in companies that participate in the culture of death. While this is becoming easier with the availability of certain screened mutual funds, there may be situations where participation in these funds is neither realistic nor required. (An example could be employer-based retirement or pension plans where the company won't make these options available.)
In a section on the basics of estate planning, he raises the following interesting questions: “Catholic families need to look beyond these basic estate-planning goals and consider special faith-based planning considerations. How much wealth does my family really need? Does God want me to leave my entire estate to my family or is he calling me to provide financial support to worthy Catholic ministries? What impact would a large inheritance have on the character formation and initiative of my children?“
Henry moves on to discuss the issue of health care directives and the growing acceptance of euthanasia in our society. I found myself personally relating to Henry's discussion, as my father passed away a few months ago and we were confronted with some of the end-of-life issues Henry speaks of in these pages.
The author shares his own touching story about his father's later years — including his coming back to the faith in the midst of his physical suffering. He notes how society's openness to hastening death through euthanasia can take away precious time God might have used to bring reconciliation to the victim. The recent events surrounding Terri Schiavo should also provide impetus for us to all make our plans clear for our family members — plans that are true to our Catholic faith.
The whole end-of-life health care area is a difficult and complicated one, as our family experienced with my father. (Incidental to the present discussion, I found the National Catholic Bioethics Center to be of immense help during my own father's last days. This would be an invaluable resource for anyone dealing with a dying family member; see the center's Web site at www.ncbcenter.org.)
In Finish Faithful, Mark Henry has provided a great service to Catholic families. He's put together a resource that will help make the sometimes-difficult decisions around end-of-life issues a little easier. And he's outlined a balanced, biblical model of truly Christian stewardship. You might say the book is a smart investment.
Phil Lenahan is director of finance at Catholic Answers in El Cajon, California.
----- EXCERPT: Weekly Book Pick ----- EXTENDED BODY: Phil Lenahan ----- KEYWORDS: Education -------- TITLE: Campus Watch DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:New President
Carol Mooney will assume her post as the school's 11th president June 1, the college announced Dec. 26. She will succeed current president Marilou Eldred, who plans to retire at the end of the school year.
Mooney has been on the faculty of the Notre Dame Law School since 1980. She graduated from the law school in 1977 after earning a bachelor's degree from St. Mary's in 1972. Since 1996 she has served as a university vice president and associate provost.
Optimistic
During the 1990s, the student body had dwindled, the administration decided to dip into its endowment for building improvements and the school had to endure several public-relations blunders.
Now, applications at the school have tripled and classes are teeming with students. Father Michael Garanzini, the university's president since 2001, has worked to close a $34 million budget gap and whittle away at a $224 million debt.
A new recruiting effort in the Chicago area has yielded 1,900 freshman, compared with a senior class of 880 students.
Founder Dies
Brother Fontaine served as president from 1946 to 1958 when the school was known as Marian College. It became Marist College in 1960.
At one point in his life Brother Fontaine served as assistant general of the Marist order in Rome and as a personal envoy to both Blessed Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI. He also worked to establish Marist schools around the world.
Women's Day?
Of the 125 Catholic school systems in the National Catholic Education Association, 79 of them — 63% — are headed by a woman superintendent. That's in contrast to public school systems, where 85% are led by men, who make up only one-quarter of the teaching workforce, the newspaper reported.
One reason for the difference, the paper suggested, was the long history of women teaching in Catholic schools. For generations, nuns ran the schools, which were founded by their orders.
100 Years Old
One hundred years later, as the college celebrates its centennial, the school continues to provide those opportunities as one of the only all-women institutions left in the country.
Graduates of women's colleges make up only 2% of overall women graduates, the paper noted, but they represent more than 20% of women in Congress and 30% of a Business Week list of rising female stars in corporate America.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Education -------- TITLE: Prevention Group's 'Mistake': Ordering Secular Holiday Messages DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:MOODUS, Conn. — Father Gregoire Fluet was confused.
Something that appeared on a Catholic-based program's Web site was encouraging him to make Christmas a secular holiday.
Father Fluet, the pastor of St. Bridget of Kildare Church in Moodus, Conn., was on the Internet several days before Christmas, reading a bulletin that appeared on www.virtus.org.
Virtus, which derives from Latin and means moral strength and excellence, is a brand name for best-practiced programs designed to prevent wrongdoing within religious organizations. The National Catholic Risk Retention Group created the programs, including Protecting God's Children, which helps people who work with children recognize, prevent and report sex abuse.
Almost 80 archdioceses and dioceses, including Father Fluet's, the Diocese of Norwich, are in the process of implementing Protecting God's Children as a way to meet the mandate set by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to protect children from sexual abuse.
The following is some of what Father Fluet read in the bulletin under the headline “Holidays Provide Opportunity to Reinforce Antidiscrimination Policies” in the “Best Management Practices” section of the Web site:
“Review your usual holiday display and revise it to be more secular or inclusive. Have an office holiday (or end-of-year) party, not necessarily a Christmas party. Give end-of-year-bonuses rather than Christmas bonuses. If your organization answers the telephone with a holiday greeting, use ‘happy holidays’ instead of ‘Merry Christmas.’“
The bulletin also says the holiday season is an appropriate time to take a refresher course on the federal Title VII's prohibitions against religious discrimination or harassment along with an organization trying to accommodate an employee's religious beliefs.
Father Fluet said he is not “a troublemaker” and he “fully supports” Virtus, saying it's an “excellent” program that makes up “one component of the answer that we need to have about a very, very serious situation.”
But getting advice to take Christ out of Christmas went a bit too far for him.
“I've got a problem with someone telling me to make my celebration of Christmas secular,” he said. “I have a problem with that. Period.”
Father Fluet wasn't the only one who complained, but he was one of a few. Fewer than 15 other people did as well, according to Jack McCalmon, director of Virtus’ programs and services.
He explained that the “Best Management Practices” bulletin is not a core part of Virtus’ curriculum but a free bonus section that is written broadly for the majority of American workplaces.
The organization that supplies the bulletins, the Agos Group, also does a lot of work for secular organizations.
“It was a mistake,” he said, to have sent this bulletin to be read by people who work for Catholic organizations.
To prevent it from occurring again, McCalmon said an editorial board will review the articles that go out to the Catholic community and a notice stating that the bulletins are meant for the workplace in general will be added.
Virtus tries to make sure its programs are consistent with the teachings of the Church, he said.
“If we're going to quote canon law, we're going to bring in a canon lawyer,” he said. “If we're going to deal with things dealing with spirituality, a lawyer wouldn't write it. We would get a priest to write it, or we would have at least a priest look at it.”
In an apology that appeared on Virtus’ Web site, Jeff Lester, managing editor of the site, emphasized the importance of the birth of Jesus Christ.
“[It] is a founding event in the formation of our beliefs,” Lester wrote. “Therefore, in a Catholic environment, the message ‘Merry Christmas’ is not only expected but encouraged and, frankly, required. After all, the message of Jesus Christ is our mission and our purpose for existing as a Church.”
Carlos Briceño writes from Seminole, Florida.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Carlos Briceņo ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Costly Cash Advances DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:Family Matters
Q
I recently used my credit card to withdraw cash at an ATM and was surprised at how high the fees were. Can you explain how cash advances work with the average ATM?
A
Don't feel too bad. I recently found myself caught in similar circumstances, and it's worth an article so our readers can avoid making the same mistake we both made.
On a recent Saturday, I took my oldest daughter to an Irish dance competition. I normally carry very little cash. In this case I had nothing, so we looked for an ATM to make a $20 withdrawal in order to pay for entry fees and lunch. With what I know now, I regret not having withdrawn the money from our bank ahead of time.
Using my credit card (rather than my bank's ATM card), we asked for $20. When the ATM notified me of a $1.50 transaction fee, I wasn't pleased, but I half expected it. What I wasn't ready for was my credit card bill when it arrived a few weeks later. Included was a $3 processing fee, plus a finance charge of $.50 on the average daily balance of $7.85. All in all, I paid $5 in order to take . out $20. That's the equivalent of 25% interest just for the day and more than 9,000% annualized!
When using an ATM, there are a number of issues to consider. First, unless the ATM belongs to your bank, you will probably be charged just to access the machine. That's what the $1.50 fee was for. The second issue relates to using a credit card at an ATM and the difference between how purchases and cash advances are handled. For years, Chelsey and I have used our credit cards for convenience, always paying the balance in full each month. Not ever having used my credit card for a cash advance, I thought the host bank's fee of $1.50 would be the only charge.
The fine print of our credit-card agreement explains that purchases aren't assessed a finance charge as long as the entire balance is paid off each month. Cash advances, on the other hand, are subject to different rules — including the transaction fee of $3 and finance charges, which accrue based on the transaction date. You'll want to read your credit-card agreement and make sure you avoid any regular cash advances if the fee is anything like what I experienced.
In order to avoid getting caught with no cash on hand, I encourage you to maintain an envelope in the home with sufficient funds to pay for goods and services where a check or credit card isn't accepted. You can replenish this on a weekly or monthly basis.
One of the problems with using too much cash is the difficulty in remembering how it was spent. Make sure you know where your cash is going. You can either record how it was spent on the envelope or you might know that cash purchases are limited to one spending category. For example, since Chelsey and I pay for groceries and gas with our credit cards (paying the balance in full every month), we know that our cash spending is for the occasional meal out. As a result, I can code all cash withdrawals directly to that account.
God love you!
Phil Lenahan is director of media and finance at Catholic Answers in El Cajon, California.
Reach Family Matters at familymatters@ncregister.com
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Phil Lenahan ----- KEYWORDS: Culture of Life -------- TITLE: Healthy Hispanics DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:Facts of Life
A new study published in the current issue of the Journal of Epidemiology Community Health suggests that Mexican-Americans are less prone to depression than other ethnic groups. Why? Because their priorities are typically family, spirituality and religion, says Dora Wang of the University of New Mexico. These priorities, she told the Associated Press, “seem to lend balance to stress in their lives and uplift their spirits.”
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dec. 29 Register illustration by Tim Rauch
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Culture of Life -------- TITLE: There's No Business Like Faith-Based Business DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:Priest Profile
“Teach us, good Lord, to labor and not ask for any reward save that of knowing that we do your will.”
St. Ignatius of Loyola wrote (and prayed) those words back in the 1500s, but he might well have had today's Catholic entrepreneurs in mind. Small Catholic businesses seem to be popping up all over the place — and few are in it solely for the money.
Operating a Catholic startup “requires sacrifice and a lot of work,” Rita Davidson says. Doing business as Little Flowers Family Apostolates, she and her husband, Mark, sell sacramentals, books and educational materials out of their home in Lanark, Ontario. (They're on the Internet at www.lffa-ollmpc.com.)
“People try to get in on it, thinking it's a big cash-in,” Davidson says. “Well, it isn't. It's a ministry. In order to be successful, you must believe that God wants you to do this.”
The company began in 1996 as an outgrowth of her previous home-based business, which sold natural foods and environmentally safe products. In preparing for her daughter's first Communion, Davidson began to fall in love with her Catholic faith. The led her to question the moral underpinnings of the natural-foods industry, which inclines toward New Age spirituality.
The reversion experience led her to develop Little Flowers. Her idea: Market materials that can help draw other families deeper into the Catholic faith.
“I realized that we have a vibrant, living, beautiful faith,” she recalls, “and I wanted to help others to grow in love for that faith by developing a Church in miniature.”
Davidson typed, cut and pasted Little Flowers’ first catalog, aiming for no more ambitious a goal than to supplement her husband's income. As it happened, his business failed soon after. The two considered the potential of Little Flowers to support the family. With the last of their savings, they bought a computer and set up shop.
Today it would be a long stretch to say the business is giving the religious-products establishment a run for its money, but Little Flowers is making it possible for the Davidsons to work together at something the whole family believes in.
The Davidsons have six children, from infant to age 17; they all work together to entertain the youngest ones and pack the orders. Days begin early and end late; often there's not much time left for recreation.
“People tell me that they don't know how we do this. I don't know, either,” Rita says. “God gives us the strength and ability to accomplish what we have to get done. There just aren't enough hours and it's miraculous that it all gets done.”
Heavenly Handiwork
The Peterson family started a Christian jewelry business in their Cranesville, Pa., home more than three years ago by doing what they love — working with their hands. Hence the name of their business: Handmaid for the Lord (www.handmaid-jewelry.com).
“The name has a doubled meaning,” Kathleen Peterson explains. “Our patroness is the Blessed Mother, as she gave her fiat in the Annunciation. Since we find great joy in working with our hands together as a family, it was the perfect name.”
Peterson believes that for any Catholic home business to succeed the endeavor must be turned entirely over to God through prayer. That's why, in 1997, the family enthroned the Sacred Heart in their home; the business is an extension of that enthronement. Now prayer is the framework for every business day and they trust that Christ will lead the business wherever he wants it to go.
The second ingredient to success, Peterson adds, is that every member of the family be involved in some way.
At the Peterson house, Julianna, 16, designs and handcrafts about half the jewelry (Kathleen crafts the remainder), updates the Web site, handles the quarterly taxes and helps pack and ship orders. Lillian, 7, helps make the St. Therese Sacrifice beads and assembles the “thank you” packets that accompany each order. While Gerald, Kathleen's husband, doesn't manually work in the business, he supports it with encouragement and pitching in around the house when necessary.
Praying the rosary together nightly is paramount in the Pineda family. That's how Beth and John Pineda got the idea for Regina Caeli Rosaries and Gifts (e-mail: catholic@cox.net). The Nebraska business, begun a year ago, specializes in custom-made rosaries and chaplets, including unique ladder rosaries.
Most of the work — making the rosaries, tending to administrative, bookkeeping and Internet details — is done late at night after the children, ages 6, 4 and 2, are in bed. Although the kids are too young to fully participate in the business, they help by praying the rosary along with their parents for the success of the business. The Pinedas are expecting another child in June.
The mission of Regina Caeli Rosaries and Gifts is to spread devotion to the holy rosary, promote family prayer and to bring Catholics back to the traditional devotions of the Catholic Church.
“We attend a lot of craft shows,” Beth explains. “Our rosaries are pretty and different and they draw a lot of attention. People think they're necklaces and they ask about them. When we tell them that they're rosaries, they're surprised. Then we teach them a little about the holy rosary. Who knows? Maybe one day they'll find their way to the Church by learning about our rosaries.”
The couple sells nearly 80% of their wares on Ebay, a method that has worked well for them.
As with any Internet business, there are some risks involved. The Pinedas never sell anything that has been blessed (because of the chance of desecration), and they strive to verify that their customers intend to use their products appropriately.
They also make certain all their products are true to the Church. For example, they will not make any rosaries or chaplets that are in sports-team or other secularly symbolic colors.
The business is run part time for now — roughly and hour or two each day — but the Pinedas are open to expansion in the future.
According to the National Association of Home-Based Businesses, there are approximately 20 million home-based businesses in the United States. It's impossible to calculate how many of those are Catholic. But it's safe to say that an appreciable number of the ones that are — like the Davidsons’, Petersons’ and Pinedas’ — are reaping rewards most entrepreneurs know not of.
Marge Fenelon writes from Cudahy, Wisconsin.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Marge Fenelon ----- KEYWORDS: Culture of Life -------- TITLE: He's in God's Army Now DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:The way Father Tom Brown sees it, today's young people are often asked the wrong question about their long-term plans.
“Instead of asking young people what they want to do in the future,” the priest says, “we should be helping them to think about what God wants them to do with their lives.”
Now pastor of two parishes some 21 miles apart within the Diocese of Grand Rapids, Mich. — St. Ann's in Baldwin and St. Ignatius in Luther — Father Brown recalls how taking the latter view helped him discern his vocation not so many years ago. He felt a strong desire to become a priest from a very early age, he says. But, after graduating from Wawasee Preparatory School in Syracuse, Ind. (once a minor seminary operated by the Crosier Fathers), he got sidetracked by the allure of the world.
“Instead of focusing on what God might want me to do, I decided to do things my way,” he says. “I got caught up in the American dream — building a career, making money, going after all that the world offers.”
He launched a career in the plastics industry, began rising through the management ranks and joined the Army Reserves. He even got engaged. Yet for all the big things that were beginning to unfold before him, he felt unfulfilled. As the time ticked away, something seemed to be missing.
When that sensation only seemed to intensify with each passing year, he made the decision to quiet his thoughts and desires in order to listen more attentively to what God might be trying to say to him.
“The same thought kept coming up,” he recalls. “There was an awareness that I was not doing what God had wanted me to do. However, to truly discover what God's will was for me, first I had let go of doing what I wanted to do; I had to dismiss what I like to call the ‘my way’ of doing things.”
Realizing he couldn't discern God's call by his own natural abilities, he immersed himself in sacred Scripture. “The more I read the word of God, the more I became aware that one day I would have to give an account for what I had done with my life,” he says. “One day I would appear face-to-face before the Lord.”
Endearing Energy
Once Brown decided to study for the priesthood, he faced many trials. After being turned down at several seminaries, he was finally accepted at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore. He had to complete two years of study at St. Mary's College before he was admitted into the seminary to study theology and complete his preparations for the priesthood.
Finally, on June 5, 1999, Father Brown was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Grand Rapids.
Father Ray Bruck, former vocations director for the diocese and currently the pastor of two parishes nearby, has known Father Brown for years. Asked to comment on Father Brown's call to the priesthood, Father Bruck expressed his admiration for the tenacity Father Brown showed throughout the discernment process.
Father Bruck's respect has only grown as Father Brown has grown into his priestly ministry.
“I have always been impressed by his steadfastness, his perseverance and his hard work,” Father Bruck says. “In the seminary college, he aced all his courses. As a priest, he totally endears himself to the people he serves.”
Prior to being appointed a pastor in June, Father Brown served as the administrator of St. Michael's Parish in Muskegon. Dominican Sister Agnes Mary, a pastoral associate at St. Michael's, praises Father Brown for his generosity, especially to the poor.
“With my own eyes I have seen him take off his winter coat and give it to someone in need,” she says.
Sister Agnes Mary, whose 50-year anniversary in religious life is only a few years away, also says Father Brown is a marvelous homilist. “His preaching leads people to Christ,” she says. She goes on to describe how Father Brown helped the parish construct an Eucharistic adoration chapel.
Sister Agnes Mary also says Father Brown's love of the Eucharist and his delight in celebrating Mass are like spiritual magnets, drawing others closer to the sacred mysteries. “He is a very prayerful priest,” she says. “Father Brown doesn't just say the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass — he prays it.”
Liz Zagar, a St. Michael's parishioner, says Father Brown is “a humble and holy priest. He is totally dedicated to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.”
Zagar also tells how Father Brown started a weekly holy hour while at the same time encouraging parishioners to return to the sacrament of reconciliation. “Before long,” she reports, “there were lines all the way to the back of the church for confession. It was phenomenal.”
Whether it's youth ministry, prison ministry, administering the sacraments, responding to a boating accident in which a life was lost or just being present and listening, whenever and wherever there is a need, Father Brown tirelessly gives of himself, Zagar adds. “He always has time for you,” she continues. “And he always says Yes to any request for priestly service, regardless of the hour.”
God Responds
Father Brown offers daily Mass at his two parishes despite the distance between them. On any given day, he could have one or more funeral Masses to celebrate at either or both parishes. Yet instead of complaining, he relishes the opportunity to bring Christ to his people.
“Celebrating Mass is a joy,” he says. “It is such a privilege, so humbling. Celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the high point of my priesthood.”
When he reflects on his life, with its many twists and turns, he finds it easier these days to lay his burdens on God and simply trust.
“God's grace is so powerful,” he exclaims. “Our Lord is so patient, so forgiving, so ready to respond to our least little attempt to draw near to him.”
What's the most important lesson God has taught Father Brown by the things he's sent into his priestly life? That you must never give up on anyone, regardless of circumstances, he says.
“God is still working in all of us, including those who have fallen away from the faith,” he adds. “We must keep praying for them. We must believe and have hope that the Lord will lead them back home.”
And, in so doing, that he will turn their focus from their wishes for the future to God's will for their life. That's exactly what will happen in many hearts, if Father Tom Brown's prayers have anything to do with it.
Wally Carew, author of A Farewell to Glory, writes from Medford, Massachusetts.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Wally Carew ----- KEYWORDS: Culture of Life -------- TITLE: Prolife Victories DATE: 01/18/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 18-24, 2004 ----- BODY:Right to Know
WORLDNETDAILY.COM, Dec. 30 — Texas’ Women's Right to Know Act will now warn mothers that abortion could increase the risk of cerebral palsy in babies conceived subsequently.
According to the Reduce Preterm Risk Coalition based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Texas is the first state to give such a warning.
The legislation, which went into effect Jan. 1, requires all doctors to make available certain information to women considering abortion.
In addition to cerebral palsy, women are also informed of the risks of premature birth in future pregnancies. The warning also cites the increased risk of breast cancer by those who have had abortions.
Mistake Fund-Raiser
CYBERCAST NEWS SERVICE, Dec. 30 — A NARAL Pro-Choice America fundraiser at a Baja Fresh Mexican Grill restaurant in Washington, D.C., never should have happened, according to the restaurant's chief executive officer.
An employee who was only employed for three months and didn't understand English very well authorized the Dec. 15 event, the company said.
Pro-lifers were particularly dismayed by the event, the news service noted, because Baja Fresh's parent company, Wendy's International, has a long history of promoting positive causes, including adoption.
Baja Fresh chief executive officer Greg Dollarhyde apologized for the mistake and noted that his company only holds fund-raisers for such organizations as schools, youth groups and senior citizens groups.
Bishop for Life
WTNH.COM, Jan. 3 — Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., is not afraid to put the Church's pro-life teaching into action.
The bishop said a Mass for protection of the unborn Jan. 3 and afterward led a group through the streets to Summit Women's Center in Bridgeport.
“Abortion is really the taking of an innocent life in the womb of a mother,” the bishop told the TV news station. More than 200 participants prayed the rosary as they walked to the center, where they stopped, sang and continued praying.
‘Life’ Plates a Hit
The “Choose Life” tag now adorns 34,000 vehicles. Statistics as of Nov. 30 show the plate is on its way to becoming the No. 10 best seller in 2003, raising approximately $700,000 for pro-life causes.
Pro-abortion groups who argue the plates are a rallying cry for the pro-life movement are still in court battling their legality, the newspaper reported, noting the plates are the most controversial ones the legislature has approved.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Culture of Life -------- TITLE: Students Sacrifice To March For Life DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:WASHINGTON — It's an arduous overnight bus trip from Knox-ville, Tenn., to the annual Jan. 22 March for Life in Washington, D.C.
“We always seem to hit snow in the Virginia mountains,” said Paul Dunn III, who serves as project manager for the Knox County chapter of Tennessee Right to Life.
But for the 50 or so pro-life activists in east Tennessee, the 36-hour round-trip event is one they would never miss.
“When you work in the pro-life movement, you sometimes think, ‘Why am I the only one?” he said. “But then you see people from Pennsylvania, New York, Missouri and Wisconsin, and you say, ‘Man this is great! There are a lot of pro-life people around the country.’“
And Dunn,41, said he's noticed something new developing in the past few marches.
“In the last two years there are a lot more young people,” he said.
Part of that youthful trend is Steve Palvisak, a student at the University of Florida. Several other students at his campus pro-life group go every year, so Palvisak realized it was time to get involved.
“I decided to come to see what all the hype is about,” Palvisak said. “Everyone always talks about the march as one of the most inspiring events they've had the opportunity to participate in.”
But coming up to Washington from Florida for cash-strapped college students remained a challenge. So they held a car-wash fund-raiser and were even awarded financial assistance from the student government, which Palvisak said was unexpected because of their pro-life views.
Palvisak said he's marching to awaken fellow Catholics to the issue of abortion when they make important decisions in the upcoming November presidential and congressional elections.
“The pro-life movement made the first big step in the right direction earlier this year with the partial-birth abortion ban passed by Congress,” Palvisak said. “The recent successes are thanks to many activists who, over the past 31 years, have devoted their efforts to exposing the lies that Americans have been told about abortion.”
Palvisak's home state of Florida plays host to a major battle for the open seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Bob Graham.
The pro-life agenda is focused on the U.S. Senate because Democrats have blocked votes on the appointment of several pro-life judges and are stalling on a vote for the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which would recognize two victims if a pregnant woman and her baby were assaulted or murdered.
“The situation has never been better for pro-life activists, but Catholic voters must remember the rights of the unborn when they go to the ballot box this November,” Palvisak said.
With so many young Catholics like Palvisak at the March for Life, organizations such as Youth for a Third Millennium have set up shop, eager to encourage young people to become missionaries of the Gospel.
“They're the future of the world,” said Tony MacDonnell, associate director for the Catholic youth apostolate. “It's important to spend time with them so they can share their faith — share their love — with the world.”
Many Catholic churches in the Washington area put up travelers in the days surrounding the March for Life. And Youth for a Third Millennium is there to preach the faith to young students coming into town — and to residents.
The group also established an Internet café in a hotel near Capitol Hill where students can check their e-mail and speak to priests on hand to answer questions about their faith.
And when Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick gave his annual youth address at the MCI Center in downtown Washington on the morning of the march, missionaries with Youth for a Third Millennium were there to help.
“We're simply responding to the Holy Father's call in Denver in ‘93 to go in the streets and preach the Gospel like the first apostles,” MacDonnell said.
Other Marches
Washington attracts the largest pro-life march on the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade court decision, but it's not the only one. More than 7,000 people march on the state capitol grounds in St. Paul, Minn., including Darla Meyers from nearby Hudson, Wis.
She's witnessed a surge of involvement in the pro-life movement during the last three years.
“People of God are more willing to ‘come out of the closet’ with their pro-life views, where before, they may have stayed ‘in the closet’ because they had been personally attacked by the pro-abortion rhetoric,” she said.
“Now we are seeing and hearing from people who have just had enough of their own complacency, and through their own prayers, they are realizing that they can make a difference,” Meyers said.
There's another positive development that makes Meyers happy these days.
“Many years ago, I predicted that being pro-life would be ‘popular’ in my lifetime. I have already seen that prediction come true,” she said.
“The reason this is true is that God doesn't give up on his people, God doesn't throw us out and give up on us when we sin,” Meyers said.
Meyers also attributes the growing numbers of young people as a key to the pro-life movement's recent successes.
“I've also realized that our youth are naturally rebellious and question abortion in all forms,” she said. “The chances are very real that our youth are missing a sibling or two or three. And our youth are telling their parents, 'Stop the killing.’”
Joshua Mercer writes from Washington, D. C.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Joshua Mercer ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Persecution in India DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:AHMEDABAD, India — Sitting crammed among Christian leaders inside a tiny room in a downtown hotel in the northwestern Indian state of Gujarat, Rep. Joseph Pitts, R-Pa., asked: “Is he the man we are talking about?“
Arun Christi, a shy pastor who runs Good Shepherd Community Church nearby, wearily acknowledged him.
“Yes, this is the man the Bajrang Dal has threatened to kill if he doesn't stop preaching,” said John Dayal, national vice president of the All-India Catholic Union, of the pastor.
After a weeklong tour of India from Jan. 8-13, members of a delegation of U.S. Congressmen led by Pitts expressed profound shock about the degree of overt persecution of Christians across India.
“We are touched by the suffering of the Christian and Muslim minorities at the hands of Hindu extremists here,” Pitts said.
According to police records, the number of reported attacks on Christians in India increased from seven in 1996 to 380 in 2003. Unofficial estimates put the number as high as 600 last year.
Persecution in India takes the form of direct threats, mob violence, damage to churches, burning of Bibles and even murders. Persecution by official machinery comes in the form of biased laws and regulations and indifference by the police force to pleas of help from Christians.
The four-member congressional team heard a group of people from different communities discuss their fears, battles and efforts toward fostering harmony in the country. The team also visited some sites of anti-minority riots in Gujarat.
The visit was organized by the All-India Christian Council and assisted by Jubilee Campaign, a British human-rights group that lobbies to protect persecuted churches.
“Once back home we will report on the anti-conversion laws, the status of Dalit [lower-class] Christians and the anti-minority violence in India,” Pitts told the Register. He said the team's report would serve as background for American foreign policy toward India.
“We learned about the Dalits, 250 million people who are suffering in almost indescribable, inhumane ways,” he said. “This is a great human-rights tragedy. We have the obligation to bring this to the attention of the national leaders in the United States.”
Most rioters and killers of minority Christians and Muslims are still at large, he said.
Pitts reflected on the provisions of the anti-conversion law recently implemented in Gujarat and its impingement on the freedom of faith and democracy.
“It is strange to see this reversal of human rights in the land of Mahatma Gandhi,” he said.
The other members of the delegation were Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz; Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo.; and Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio. The team also visited a rehabilitation site established by the Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind for the riot victims and handed over keys to free houses to the beneficiaries.
Pitts, vice chairman of the congressional Subcommittee on International Terrorism, Non-proliferation and Human Rights, and his team also visited a massacre site in the Gulbarg Society, where Indian Member of Parliament Ehsan Jaffrey was killed.
Chabot, who had visited strife-torn Rwanda as part of another delegation, said the massacre in Gujarat was probably more gruesome than the one in the African nation.
“Though the numbers vary hugely, the degree of violence and the gravity of the involvement of the administration is vastly disturbing,” he said.
The extremist violence in the states of Gujarat, Orissa, Karnataka and Chattisgarh are continuing to affect the normal lives of Christians and Muslims. At least 4,000 cases of persecution or attack against Christians are pending in the Indian courts.
In India, Hindu extremist groups such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal have a long history of involvement in attacks on Christian missions. Tribals and the untouchable Dalits who are said to have converted to Christianity are often coerced or threatened to re-embrace the Hindu religion while the police watch.
Samson Christian, general secretary of the All-India Christian Council, said, “Last Sunday in Pareva village about 65 miles from here, loudspeakers were used by extremists who propagated hatred against Christians.”
Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, the newly elect president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, wel-comed initiatives on the part of U.S. leaders to learn about the persecution of minorities in India.
“We need to strengthen unity in the Catholic Church to fight against divisive forces,” the cardinal said. “They are trying to destroy the secular and multi-religious fabric of this country.”
“We will fight against all social injustice and communal disharmony,” he said. “Though we are a minority, Catholics can do much for the people. Initiatives from the American team can be helpful.”
Tamil Nadu and Gujarat are the most recent states to enact stringent laws that selectively cripple the freedom of faith of Christians. The central government is planning to apply similar laws across the nation.
Physical violence against Christians continues across the nation, averaging more than 200 cases recorded every year since 1998. Many times more go unre-ported due to fear of retribution.
“We call upon the international community,” said Joseph D'Souza, president of the All-India Christian Council, “to put moral pressure on the government of India to retract from the path of fostering hate.”
Joshua Newton writes from India.
----- EXCERPT: Christian Suffering Shocks U.S. Congressmen ----- EXTENDED BODY: Joshua Newton ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: A Long Road to Recovery for Popular Preacher DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:ORLANDO, Fla. — Father Benedict Groeschel, co-founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, has been known to joke about his death. In fact, he often quips that he looks forward to it.
“The mean age of our community is about 32,” Father Groeschel told the Register last year. “When I pass on it will be about 29.”
Since he was hit by a car Jan. 11, members of his religious community and admirers worldwide have been praying that Father Groeschel's passing won't be anytime soon.
Father Groeschel, 70, was in Florida to give a retreat for 128 priests of the International Institute of Clergy Formation at the San Pedro Retreat House in Winter Park. He had just completed a speaking engagement in California and had arrived at Orlando International Airport. While his traveling companions Father John Lynch and David Burns had gone to get a rental car, Father Groeschel had gone to get food for them. Just prior to 10 p.m., he was on his way back with the food when he was hit while trying to cross a busy roadway just north of the airport.
“He went outside to find a place to buy a hamburger … and was struck by an oncoming vehicle,” said Father Glenn Sudano, community servant (superior) of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.
“Father Benedict was struck on his right side. The impact broke his right elbow and leg in two places,” Father Sudano said. “He also received some injury to the head.”
Father Groeschel was brought to Orlando Regional Medical Center where he has remained since.
Sgt. Brian Gilliam of the Orlando Police Department said Father Groeschel apparently stepped out from in front of a stopped bus and was not seen by the driver of an approaching car.
Despite previous reports, there were not two cars involved in the accident, and the car did not swing out around the bus.
“The bus was stopped in the street, and the car was in the other lane. It appears that Father Groeschel stepped out in front of moving traffic,” Gilliam told the Register.
The driver of the car was not charged, and there are no intentions of charging Father Groeschel, Gilliam said.
The news and requests for prayers quickly spread via the Internet on Jan. 12, so much so that the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and the hospital were inundated with calls from Catholics who know Father Groeschel from television, books and retreats.
Two days after the accident, Father Sudano posted a message at the friars’ Web site, www.francis-canfriars.com, that Father Groeschel had not suffered any damage to his internal organs.
“The bleeding on the brain is not serious and his blood pressure is okay,” he wrote.
On Jan. 14 surgeons operated on his arm. On Jan. 16, they set the broken bones in his leg and implant ed small micro-filters to prevent blood clots from traveling to his lungs, heart or brain.
Father Groeschel's physician told Father Sudano that “he's far from being out of the woods. Anything can happen — pneumonia, infection, heart failure.”
In response, Father Sudano told the doctor, “I don't know if you're a man of faith, but there are many people praying for Father Benedict — and for you!“
“Thank you, we both need [the prayers],” the physician replied.
As of press time, doctors expected that Father Groeschel would remain in the hospital for at least three weeks.
A Life of Service
Father Groeschel was ordained a Capuchin Franciscan priest in 1959. In 1987, he and seven other Capuchins left their order to start the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.
The community, which wears traditional gray habits with rope cinctures and sports the beards of Capuchin tradition, sought to return to Franciscan roots of a life of prayer, penance, preaching conversion, and service to the poor.
The community has experienced extraordinary success. Today it has more than 100 friars as well as a community of a dozen religious sisters in friaries in Harlem, the Bronx and Yonkers, N.Y., as well as in England and Honduras. More than 20 men entered the group last fall.
A psychologist, Father Groeschel has written more than a dozen books, including A Still Small Voice and The Cross at Ground Zero. He travels frequently, speaking at conferences and retreats, and has often appeared on EWTN.
One of Father Groeschel's most recent projects, the Oratory of Divine Love, was created in response to the question many Catholics had been asking recently — “What can we do in response to the sex-abuse scandal?” Launched last May 1, the oratory's primary purpose is prayer.
“Many years ago [New York] Cardinal [Terence] Cooke asked me to get a program going,” Father Groeschel told the Register at its launching. “Now seems to be the time.”
The oratory involves individual prayer groups organized at the local level that gather weekly to pray for reform.
“For the last 30 years we've had a lot of glitzy enterprises but not enough prayer,” Father Groeschel said. “This is the answer not only to the sex-abuse scandals but also to other problems in the Church. I began the reform of renewal 16 years ago and will end my career praying for reform now.”
Well-wishers were quick to praise Father Groeschel for his work and dedication to the Church, and to ask for prayers.
On his Web log, Annunciations, Michael Dubruiel described Father Groeschel as a “humble friar” who has made a difference in the Church in the United States and beyond. Dubruiel, an editor for Our Sunday Visitor Publishing, worked with Father Groeschel on The Cross at Ground Zero.
“Father Groeschel is one of the most powerful voices for the Church in this country and around the world,” said Deal Hudson, publisher of Crisis magazine, in an e-mail. “Not only that, but he's been absolutely selfless in his generosity to numerous Catholic apostolates.”
“He is a tireless worker in so many different ministries and one of the best-known priests in the country,” said Joseph Zwilling, spokes man for Cardinal Edward Egan of New York. “The cardinal is keeping him in his prayers.”
Father Sudano reported that the friars received a phone call from India on Jan. 14, where the Missionaries of Charity “and others gathered about the tomb of Blessed Teresa to pray for Father Benedict.” Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Father Groeschel were friends. A friend expected to fly into Florida from India on Jan. 16 with a special gift from Sister Nirmala, the superior of the Missionaries of Charity — a relic of Blessed Teresa.
“Join me in hoping,” Father Sudano said, “hoping that Father Benedict will get through this. He will have a long via dolorosa ahead of him. Let us not be the weeping women of Jerusalem but help him like Simon and Veronica. Let us not stand by and weep but help him by our prayers. He has helped us; now it's our turn to help him.”
Tim Drake writes from St. Cloud, Minnesota.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Tim Drake ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Nun's Program Gives Hope (And Faith) to Addicts DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Some people questioned whether a program based on prayer and work would cure drug and alcohol addicts. Would addicts want to say three daily rosaries, attend Mass, work in the fields and give up TV?
Our Lady of Hope Community in St. Augustine, Fla., proves they would — for a new life in Jesus.
In October, Our Lady of Hope celebrated its 10th anniversary. It was the first U.S. foundation sponsored by the Comunita Cenacolo, a Vatican-approved public association of the faithful that runs an international network of rehabilitation communities.
The Florida project was co-founded by Bishop Robert Baker of Charleston, S.C., when he was rector of St. Augustine Cathedral-Basilica. He and a group of parishioners and area residents were looking for a program with a strong Catholic orientation to help the desperate men he encountered in food kitchens and shelters.
Bishop Baker recalls feeling strongly that the Blessed Mother wanted to reach out to these down-and-outs. He and his associates prayed rosaries and a novena to Our Lady of Hope.
Shortly thereafter, he was introduced to Sister Elvira Petrozzi and her Comunita Cenacolo through a priest in the Pontifical Council for the Family who considered hers the most successful program he had seen.
“She placed prayer of the Catholic Church, the Mass and the rosary at the center of rehabilitation,” Bishop Baker said. “And she wasn't shy about that.”
Sister Elvira began her religious community in Saluzzo, Italy, in a ramshackle villa on $1 to treat drug-and-alcohol-addicted men.
On average, a person goes through the rehabilitation program for three years — without charge. Private donations always seem to appear when supplies are needed. There are no funding campaigns.
“All we have has been provided for us,” said Albino Aragno, the Italian-born director of the Florida community, which now has 60 male residents. “It's a practical way of prayer.”
In fact, residents end their rosary petitioning St. Joseph to provide for them.
Daily life at Our Lady of Hope is structured, with Mass, community rosary, work on the farm — the men grow their own food — and frequent confession. A priest gives formal catecheses, and there are informal get-togethers and one-on-one encounters where the men learn and live the truth of the Gospel.
“We call it the school of life,” Aragno said.
He describes the life as a basic, simple, monastic way of living. There's no TV, no phone calls and no girlfriends.
“The reality is that happiness doesn't come from a lot of things but from simplicity, dealing with other people, opening up, looking inside ourselves when you don't have a lot of stimulation from the world,” Aragno said. “Living in a place like ours, we address ourselves with truth, we have time to look at ourselves inside and change our life. We fell ‘big time’ outside.”
Now the men fall to their knees for the rosary. Sister Elvira prescribes it three times a day. Praying while kneeling in the chapel gives strength to your will, Aragno explained of her reasoning. “We learn how much peace comes from prayer, and we get strength in front of the Blessed Sacrament,” he said.
“This is really their first contact with prayer that is real, vital and freeing,” Bishop Baker said.
Marty from Texas agrees. A man in his early 20s, he's been at Our Lady of Hope for three years.
“Prayer was real hard at first, going from what you think you want to do outside to kneeling down a half-hour praying the rosary,” he said. But it's given him a feeling of God's presence in his life.
Eucharistic adoration is also practiced both in community and on an individual basis — before or after work.
“In a concrete sense I can see myself better in my adoration times,” Marty said. “And not a day passes wasted. I can see what I did wrong that day and I can change the next day instead of waiting a month or year.”
Marty became a Catholic while in the community. He'd been a Baptist who didn't believe in miracles. But he says he saw miracles at Our Lady of Hope.
Aragno explained that the way Divine Providence provides for the community and the way men's lives change are the big miracles, the ones everyone can see.
Douglas, 41, is from New York and has been at Our Lady of Hope for three years.
“The prayer showed me the truth,” he said. “My main objective was to find the truth. I lost the truth. I believed my own lies. I had no other choice but to turn to God and ask him for all the answers. Now I make life a prayer.”
“Sister Elvira is not afraid to tell us the truth,” Aragno said. She's not worried about offending someone because “she's very determined to crush this old man and rebuild the new man.”
Aragno himself is one of the new men. He went through the program with one of the earliest groups in Florida, spending several years in the community. Sister Elvira then appointed him to direct the community in America and oversee the Latin American houses. And he's now been happily married for six years.
Retired Bishop John Snyder, who gave permission for Our Lady of Hope to open in the Diocese of St. Augustine, commented: “The title of their publication, Resurrection, typifies what you experience out there — men coming back to new life, finding purpose and meaning, finding they're not hopeless and ruined but that the Lord is reaching out to embrace them with his compassion and for giveness and giving them a sense of hope.”
He considers Sister Elvira “another version of Mother Teresa.” Since retiring in 2001, Bishop Snyder celebrates Mass for the community once or twice a week.
“I go out to minister to them, and I'm the one who's ministered to,” he said. “When you see people beginning to get on their feet and understand the mystery of God's love, it touches me as deeply as it touches them.”
Testifying to the success of the program is the way it has spread internationally since 1990. There are 43 houses now with 1,000 people in the program in Italy, Croatia, Ireland and Austria, as well as in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina; and Lourdes, France.
The newest opened about 60 miles from Moscow in late 2003. Some of the houses are for women only, while those in Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Mexico are exclusively for orphans and poor children whose families can't care for them.
In Italy, the Comunita Cenacolo now has a priest, Father Stefano Aragno, ordained in Italy; two deacons being ordained in February; six seminarians; and 25 sisters, plus postulants.
Reflecting on the program, Bishop Baker said he sees how it ties in to the New Evangelization as “a clear demonstration that rehabilitation is found through evangelization that leads to conversion of mind and heart.”
He wants to open a community in South Carolina, and Albino Aragno wants to see a second one in Florida.
As Aragno puts it, “For us the success is not only for a person to stop using drugs but if the person really embraces the ways of God.”
Joseph Pronechen writes from Trumbull, Connecticut.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Joseph Pronechen ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Peace is Deadly Work in Burundi DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:Archbishop Simon Ntamwana knows how dangerous it is to work for peace in Burundi.
The country's first democratically elected president was assassinated in 1993. Former archbishop Joachim Ruhuna was assassinated in 1996. On Dec. 29, Irish-born Archbishop Michael Courtney, the papal nuncio, was assassinated as he passed through a National Liberation Forces stronghold.
When Archbishop Ntamwana of Gitega, Burundi, placed blame for Archbishop Courtney's killing on the National Liberation Forces, the rebel group threatened him with assassination and gave him 30 days to leave the country.
Archbishop Ntamwana is the president of the Burundian bishops’ conference. He recently spoke by telephone with Register staff writer Tim Drake about the situation in his country.
What has daily life been like in Burundi during the past decade?
Burundi has been in a war period since 1993. We have reached a time of mistrust. Burundi has reached a level of poverty everywhere, particularly in the rural areas where the war has been very hard because the population couldn't work. Daily life has worsened a lot. Life has been very difficult in every sector. We are living in turmoil. Most families have lost family members or neighbors.
Since Burundi became independent, groups such as the Hutus and Tutsis have wished to gain power. Each ethnic group has desired to reach power and keep it while excluding the other group. There have been more than half-million people who have died as a result of direct violence, poverty or who have died while fleeing. At least 1 million people are displaced and not living at home.
During the past month we had hoped the war was stopping. All of the factions except for the National Liberation Forces had accepted the peace accord and were willing to implement the cease-fire. We had great hope, but now we are uncertain. We see that the rebel group is still resisting against possible dialogue. We are still mourning the death of Archbishop Courtney, but we would like to speak with the National Liberation Forces and encourage them to dialogue.
Why has the Church been involved in the negotiations?
We're involved in different ways. First, the Catholic Church makes up about 70% of the population. Sadly, Christians have been involved in the killing and the war. Young boys and girls have run away to the war. That has been very sad for us, that Christians have been involved in the violence — even though they know the commandment not to kill, to love one another and to respect life.
We are also involved because we have been victims of this war. It is clear many of the persons being killed are Catholic. The former archbishop of Gitega as well as 15 other priests and religious have been killed in this war. We are in a terrible moment of history and we have condemned the violence.
Since the beginning of this war the Church has been involved in talking about nonviolence, peace, justice and reconciliation.
What has the role of the Church been in negotiations?
The Catholic Church has played a role in the direct negotiations. What we have done since the beginning of the war is encourage the politicians to enter dialogue. Religious groups were not invited to participate, but we worked to convince the other groups to go and speak to one another.
Archbishop Courtney had done just that. He had tried to convince every group of politicians and rebels to talk with the government. He had been a good mediator, so we don't know why this killing has happened.
Have there been any new developments regarding who is responsible for Archbishop Courtney's death?
We just released a 12-page report on the assassination. We think he was killed by the National Liberation Forces people, even though they deny it. Maybe those who killed Archbishop Michael were separated from the central person of the National Liberation Forces, but it is evident that they did have to stay, it. No one was there from the army or any other group.
We are sure that they have done it, but we don't know why. Killing the nuncio is also an attack against the Pope, the Church and each person in the Church. Because I have said this, the leader of the National Liberation Forces condemned me to exile or death if I don't leave within 30 days.
Do you have any intentions of leaving Burundi?
The future of everyone is in the hands of God. It's very dangerous, but I think we have to stay with the people in this particular hour when we are suffering. We have to be very, very clever and wise to avoid that which could be dangerous, but I have to stay.
Are you confident that peace is yet possible in Burundi?
Oh yes, peace is a gift from God and our fellow man. We can hope because we know that God, our Father, is the father of peace. We are created for peace and love, not war.
Our people are tired of the violence. Most of them want to live quietly with one another. Some groups like the rebels and the army haven't been able to stop their feelings of violence because they have been commanded to fight. Our politicians also feel that peace is possible, so we have hope.
Do you see the same thing happening in Burundi as happened in Rwanda in 1994?
Genocide is not a question of numbers but a question of intention. For 40 years different ethnic groups have been killing one another because of origin. If we define genocide as killing people because of their ethnic group, genocide has already happened in Burundi.
Ethnicity is a gift from God. Fighting one another for power and riches has led to the genocide, which continues today in Burundi.
What is the next step for the Church in Burundi?
We should summarize Archbishop Michael's life as a life of witness of love among us. We want to gather his teachings and occasions of meeting people as examples of his courage and his message. We will take that message to our peo-ple.
I found Archbishop Michael deeply convinced that the only way for the future peace of Burundi was through dialogue. His life is an example that can help make us more united around the message of the Gospel that we are truly to love one another.
Archbishop Michael was an apostle of Jesus. He has paid with his life not in a senseless way, but because he was convinced that the way of life was through justice and peace. We have gone too far in this violence, and Archbishop Michael's life and death is a strong sign that we need to stop this war.
Tim Drake writes from St. Cloud, Minnesota.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Inperson -------- TITLE: One Man's Film Campaign Has Bishops' Support, but Studio Is Noncommittal DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — It's a scene you haven't yet seen at your local multiplex and probably haven't caught on video or DVD: half a dozen Irish-Catholic U.S. soldiers, backs bared, bound hand and foot to wagon wheels, defiantly chanting the Hail Mary while being whipped by Anglo-American officers — singled out for punishment due to their ethnicity and religion.
Even movie-savvy Catholics often haven't heard of One Man's Hero, Lance Hool's 1999 film about the San Patricios, a group of Irish-Catholic immigrants in the 1840s who joined the U.S. Army but deserted after suffering religious and ethnic persecution, fled to Catholic Mexico and wound up fighting on the Mexican side in the U.S.-Mexican War. The film, starring Tom Berenger, never got a proper U.S. theatrical release and hasn't been promoted on video and DVD, even in Catholic markets and media.
Thomas Nash is working to change that. Nash is the driving force behind a campaign to get One Man's Hero the exposure he thinks it deserves — and his efforts have resulted in nearly 30 U.S. bishops signing a petition to MGM supporting a new theatrical release for the film in selected American and Irish markets.
A senior information specialist for Catholics United for the Faith, Nash happened to catch the film on DVD with his father on Holy Saturday 2002. Impressed with its moral themes, positive portrayal of Catholic piety, sympathetic view of Irish immigrants battling anti-Catholicism and refreshing lack of objectionable content, Nash did some research on why the film seemed so obscure — and wound up launching a personal campaign on the film's behalf.
What Nash learned is that Orion Pictures — which owned distribution rights for the film for most of the English-speaking world — had been bought by MGM Studios Inc., which showed little interest in the project and eventually wound up dumping it directly to video.
“One Man's Hero has been unjustly stymied by MGM,” Nash told the Register. “The film has become a modern-day metaphor for the story it portrays, with MGM's treatment of the film sadly paralleling that of the U.S. government's treatment of the San Patricios. Indeed, the St. Pats were not welcome in the good ol’ U.S.A. in the 1840s and now a film about them is not welcome here in the third millennium. Well, at least not yet.”
God and Country
But not all Catholics share Nash's perspective. The film's title — an allusion to the expression “one man's hero is another man's traitor” — is particularly apt for the San Patricios themselves: Church leaders in Mexico and Ireland have long considered them heroes, but many others, including many U.S. Catholics, consider the San Patricios traitors or at least criminal deserters.
“As an Irish-American and Catholic,” one blogger wrote recently, “I utterly reject the attempt to deny guilt and shame the [San Patricios] brought upon the Irish immigrants…. The passage of time does not erase treason.”
Nash — also of Irish-Catholic heritage — takes exception to that, arguing that it was the United States that broke faith with Irish soldiers by its unconstitutional refusal to provide Catholic chaplains and punitive approach to those who sought to attend Mass or who refused compulsory Protestant services.
Hool, the film's director, concurs. “There's a debt owed the Irish who have been mis-characterized as villains,” he told the Register. “The bond was broken by America, not them.”
Hool finds MGM's indifference to the film puzzling: “The film got standing ovations in Dublin and Belfast,” he noted, and would likely be a moneymaker in Ireland, so why not release it there?
In the United States, too, Hool said the film was positively reviewed in a number of publications and had been promised a positive write-up in The New York Times — though the review never ran, since the film wasn't released in New York. He also claimed a screening for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars, was very well received — but MGM didn't follow up by pushing for awards consideration.
Is MGM sitting on a pro-Catholic masterpiece? You might not get that impression from the handful of generally lukewarm reviews available online from Web sites such as RottenTomatoes.com, Metacritic.com and IMDb.com. (For the Register's take on the film, see “Video/DVD Picks,” page 12.)
Mixed Reviews
Audience response also has been mixed; some viewers have responded positively to the film's passion and conviction while others are unimpressed with its dialogue, battle scenes and historicity. Sticklers for accuracy have objected, for example, that the film's hero, John Riley (played by Berenger), deserted the American army not as a sergeant, as depicted in the film, but as a private.
But Nash isn't the only one who believes the film deserves a chance to connect with theater audiences. After a screening at last fall's meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C., 29 bishops signed Nash's petition to MGM “respectfully exhorting” the studio to release the film theatrically in selected markets in the United States and Ireland — or to consider selling distribution rights for those areas. Signers included Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Neb., and Auxiliary Bishops Jose Gomez of Denver and Emilio Allué of Boston.
MGM responded to Nash's petition Jan. 9, acknowledging the “impressive signatures” and promising to “direct” the request to “the appropriate executives on our management team.” MGM hasn't responded to the Register's requests for an interview.
How likely is the film to get a theatrical release, given its availability on video and DVD? Neither Hool nor Nash could think of any precedent for a film being successfully released in theaters after first going directly to video. (A small number of evangelical-produced films, such as Left Behind, have deliberately followed this release strategy, with less-than-stellar results.)
But Hool, who said he found the campaign on his film's behalf “flattering,” said there was hope, since it wouldn't cost the studio much money and could potentially be a windfall, especially in Ireland.
And Nash, whose campaign Web site can be found at www.geocities.com/oneman-shero2004, was also hopeful, adding, “Either way, the campaign should help get the film the attention it deserves.”
Steven D. Greydanus writes from Bloomfield, New Jersey.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Steven D. Greydanus ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Media Watch DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:Howard Dean's Curious Christianity
CATHOLIC LEAGUE, Jan. 8 — In a prominent spread in the Jan. 7 Washington Post, Democratic candidate Howard Dean broke new ground in presidential politics: He grounded his support for homosexual “civil unions” in his Christian faith.
Citing what he called “overwhelming evidence” of a “very significant genetic component” to homosexual desires, Dean advanced this view: “From a religious point of view … if God had thought homosexuality is a sin, he would not have created gay people.”
Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights president William Donohue responded in a press release that Dean “is not entitled to hijack Christianity to argue that homosexuality is not sinful.”
As for “Dean's assertion that there is a gay gene,” Donohue noted that “there is no ‘overwhelming evidence’ on the subject either way. That this comment comes from a doctor calls into question more than his politics.”
The week before, Dean had offered a novel interpretation of the Book of Job, questioning whether the biblical text is entirely authentic and repeatedly referring to it as part of the New Testament.
Dean considers himself a Methodist; his wife is Jewish and his children are being raised in that faith.
Archbishop O'Malley Named ‘Most Inspiring Man of Year‘ BELIEFNET.COM, January — The prominent ecumenical online magazine Beliefnet.com has published a survey it conducted of its readers, who named Archbishop Sean O'Malley of Boston the Most Inspiring Person of 2003
The site noted that “O'Malley arrived at an archdiocese in spiritual crisis,” in the wake of sex-abuse scandals and immediately implemented a profoundly pastoral approach to resolving them.
Beliefnet said O'Malley “quickly moved to cut short the bitter legal fight and come to a settlement with the victims” and “began meeting with — and listening to — lay Catholic and victims’ groups.”
The site concluded that O'Malley “took the genuinely Christian approach of confessing the Church's sins” and called him “a rare religious leader who has managed to unite and inspire a wide variety of people.”
It noted that “even those who dislike his conservative views on sexual or moral issues appreciate his heartfelt efforts to restore spiritual credibility to the Church.”
New Orleans Archbishop to Withdraw Textbooks
THE TIMES-PICAYUNE, Jan. 10 — Religious-education teachers in New Orleans will have only a select group of textbooks to choose from when Catholic high school freshmen start classes next year.
The texts will have to be approved by Archbishop Alfred Hughes, who said bishops around the country should follow his example, the New Orleans daily reported.
Most of the religion textbooks in use at Catholic high schools are flawed doctrinally, he said.
In New Orleans, only textbooks that have earned a “judgment of conformity” with the Catechism of the Catholic Church will be allowed. Most high school religion books and perhaps “three-quarters” of the textbook series in use in New Orleans have not earned that certification from a bishops’ committee Archbishop Hughes heads.
Problems with such textbooks, the archbishop said, include their incomplete depiction of the sacraments, describing them as “moments to celebrate things going on in an ordinary life.”
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Bush Addresses Catholic Educators at White House, Pushing Vouchers DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:WASHINGTON — President Bush praised Catholic education in a speech to a gathering of Catholic educators in the East Room of the White House on Jan. 9.
“Catholic schools carry out a great mission — to serve God by building knowledge and character of our young people. It's a noble calling. It's an important part of the fabric of America,” Bush said.
The occasion for the presidential speech was the 100th anniversary of the National Catholic Education Association, which was holding a convention in the nation's capital.
In attendance at the speech were Bishop Gregory Aymond of Austin, Texas, who serves as the association's board chairman; Bishop John Cummins, bishop emeritus of Oakland, Calif.; and Carl Anderson, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus.
“Catholic education in the United States has a rich history and tradition that dates to the earliest settlement of our nation,” National Catholic Education Association president Michael Guerra said in a statement.
Bush's commendation of Catholic education and educators “is testimony to the importance of Catholic education to this nation,” he said.
“By teaching the word of God, you prepare your students to follow a path of virtue and compassion and sacrifice for the rest of their lives,” the president said. “And by insisting on high standards for academic achievement, Catholic schools are a model for all schools around our country.”
Bush highlighted the success of Catholic education, noting that some 99% of the 26 million children currently in Catholic elementary and high schools will graduate and go on to college.
“Even though the per-pupil expenditure per classroom is low,” he noted, “the results are extremely high.”
“You challenge what I call the soft bigotry of high expectations,” the president told the Catholic educators.
“I'm gratified that President Bush has acknowledged the important contribution of Catholic schools to American education,” said Jay Greene, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute's Education Research Office. “Researchers have consistently found that Catholic schools produce better outcomes for low-income and minority students who have floundered in the public system. And Catholic schools are able to improve students’ achievement with a fraction of the amount spent per pupil in the state-operated schools.”
Helping Others
Continuing his administration's commitment to accountability and school choice, the president acknowledged Catholic education's role in serving all children of all denominations and backgrounds.
“An important part of Catholic education is the commitment to serving what our society calls the disadvantaged student, regardless of religious affiliation,” he said. “I appreciate that a lot. These are the students who sometimes in the public-school system are deemed to be uneducable and, therefore, are just moved through the system. The Catholic schools have done our country a great service by a special outreach to minority children, who make up 26% of the enrollment of our Catholic schools. This is a great service to those children and their parents and our country.”
The president also took the speech as an opportunity to recap his administration's work in passing the No Child Left Behind Act and urged the U.S. Senate to pass a $14 million a year plan for government-funded tuition grants for Washington, D.C., families to use in private schools.
The district's public schools, whose students are predominantly black, are frequently referred to as “in crisis” — plagued by inner-city crime and drug problems as well as a corrupt bureaucracy. District of Columbia schools have the lowest scores in the nation on the National Assessment of Education Progress, a standardized test.
But not everyone is on board.
“Beginning the flow of tax dollars to inherently religious schools will violate deeply held religious beliefs about the need for separation of church and state,” said the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “President Bush should actually be concerned about increasing education spending for all students instead of supporting the religious education of some.”
Though the D.C. voucher program is opposed by liberal civil-liberties groups, it has managed to garner some bipartisan support on Capitol Hill — including from the city's Democratic mayor. A District of Columbia school-choice plan passed by Congress in 1998 was vetoed by then President Bill Clinton.
Recognizing Success
Bush's praise for Catholic education is in keeping with an increasing recognition of the success of Catholic schools in the United States and their valuable contribution not only to the lives of their students but also to the whole of education in the United States.
Sol Stern, author of Breaking Free: Public School Lessons and the Imperative of School Choice, has written about “the invisible miracle of Catholic schools,” saying, “Catholic schools are a valuable public resource not merely because they so profoundly benefit the children who enroll in them. They also challenge the public-school monopoly, constantly reminding us that the neediest kids are educable and that spending extravagant sums of money isn't the answer. No one who cares about reviving our failing public schools can afford to ignore this inspiring laboratory of reform.”
With recognition from the likes of the president of the United States, though, that “miracle” is invisible no more.
The stakes in the president's highlighting of Catholic education and support for school choice are high not just for children in the United States but for the administration as well.
“There's a chance that school choice will become for the second Bush term what testing and accountability were for the first: the main driver of overdue reform for American K-12 education,” said Chester Finn Jr., president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and former Education Department official. “Since the president's signature No Child Left Behind Act became law in early 2002, two things have changed: First, Congress is — albeit hesitantly and with much fussing — finally on the verge of okaying a limited voucher program for the District of Columbia, an important precedent for federal policy.”
“Second,” Finn continued, “we're seeing that the public-school-only version of choice embedded in No Child Left Behind simply cannot work in most places. Pushing choice ahead from Washington, however, means that the president must unravel a great political paradox: Democrats who represent its main beneficiaries are joined at the hip with a public-education establishment for which it is anathema; and Republicans who believe in it represent suburban constituencies that are smug about their public schools and loath to open them up to city kids. If George W. Bush can thread that needle, he will be the greatest education reformer ever to occupy the White House.”
Kathryn Jean Lopez is editor of National Review Online.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Kathryn Jean Lopez ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Cardinal Ratzinger: Jesus Is 'A Reality of An Entirely Different Sort' DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:ROME — Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's latest book Fede, Verità, Tolleranza (Faith, Truth and Tolerance), was published late last year in Italian. In the book, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith addresses some of the major issues confronting the Church today — inter-religious tensions, the clash of civilizations and the role of Christianity in resolving such conflicts.
Cardinal Ratzinger was interviewed about these issues in November by the Italian newspaper Il Giornale. The following excerpts from that interview were translated for the Register by Michael J. Miller.
Your Eminence, it has often been said that various religions are all paths that lead to the same God, and so one religion has the same value as another. What do you think of this idea, from a theological perspective?
I would say that, even on the empirical, historical level, this notion is not true, although it is well suited to today's way of thinking.
Ultimately the truth is one, God is one, and therefore all these expressions, which are so different and which were born at various historical moments, are not equivalents but rather are a road on which the question arises: Where are we going?
We can't say they are equivalent paths, because they are in dialogue among themselves, and naturally it seems clear to me that contradictory things cannot be means to salvation: The truth and the lie cannot be ways of salvation in the same sense.
Therefore this idea simply does not correspond to the reality of the world's religions and does not correspond to man's need to find a coherent answer to his serious questions.
Various religions recognize the extraordinary character of the figure of Jesus — it seems it is not necessary to be a Christian to venerate him. Is the Church unnecessary, then?
Already in the Gospel we find two possible positions with regard to Christ. The Lord himself makes the distinction: “What do people say?” and “What do you say?” He is asking: What do they say, the ones who know him secondhand, or in a historical, literary way; and then: What do they say, the ones who know him directly and have had a genuine encounter with him, have experienced his true identity.
This distinction remains present throughout history: There is an impression from outside that has elements of truth. In the Gospel we see that some say, “He is a prophet.” Just as today it is said that Jesus is a great religious figure, or that he is numbered among the avatars (the multifarious manifestations of the divine).
But those who have entered into communion with Jesus recognize there is another reality; he is God present in a man.
Isn't he comparable to the other great personages of the world religions?
They are very different from one another. Buddha essentially says: Forget me, just go along the way I have shown you. Muhammad declares: The Lord God has given me these words, which I hand on to you verbatim in the Koran. And so on. But Jesus does not fall into this category of personages, who are quite evidently and historically different.
Why?
He is a reality of an entirely different sort. He is part of a story that begins with Abraham, in which God shows his face, God reveals himself as a person who is capable of speaking and answering, who enters into history. And this face of God, of a God who is a person and who acts in history, finds its counterpart at that instant when God himself, becoming man, enters into time.
Therefore, even historically, one cannot compare Jesus Christ to the various religious figures or to the Eastern mythological world views.
Why, in your opinion, does a man living today need Christ?
It is easy to discern that the things made available by a world that is only material, or even intellectual, do not answer to the deepest, most radical need that exists in every man, because man has the desire (as the Church Fathers used to say) for the infinite. It appears to me that it is precisely our age, with its contradictions, its desperation, with the thousands who turn to quick fixes like drugs, that plainly illustrates this thirst for the infinite, and the only answer is an infinite love that nevertheless enters into finitude, to the point of becoming a man like me.
Of course it is a paradox that God, the immeasurable, has entered the finite world in human form. But this is just the answer that we need: an infinite response that nevertheless makes itself acceptable and accessible, for me, culminating in a man who is nevertheless the Infinite.
Recently a painful phenomenon came to light in the Italian press: the conversion of many immigrants from Islam, who — besides being in danger — find they are alone, without the support of the Christian community.
Yes, I read about it, and it grieves me. It's always the same syndrome, the tragedy of our wounded Christian conscience, which is unsure of itself.
Of course we must respect the Islamic states and their religion, but nevertheless we must also demand freedom of conscience for those who want to become Christians, and we must also courageously assist these persons, especially if we are convinced that they have found something that is the true answer.
We must not leave them all alone. We must do everything possible, so that in freedom and in peace they can live out what they have found in the Christian religion.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Vatican -------- TITLE: Media Watch DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:Cardinal Tauran: Islam Not as Tolerant as Christianity
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, Jan. 2 — A senior Vatican official called attention to the fact that Christian societies are far more tolerant toward Muslims than Islamic states are toward Christians, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The Australian newspaper cited an interview by the French Catholic daily La Croix with Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, former Vatican foreign minister until last fall.
Cardinal Tauran, a sharp critic of the U.S. war on Iraq, said, “There are too many majority Muslim countries where non-Muslims are second-class citizens,” where Christians are forbidden to build churches or evangelize.
Cardinal Tauran cited “the extreme case of Saudi Arabia, where freedom of religion is violated absolutely — no Christian churches and a ban on celebrating Mass, even in a private home.” At the same time, the cardinal noted, every Christian-dominated state in the world grants Islamic residents religious liberty.
The Herald noted that during last year's celebrations in Rome of Pope John Paul II's 25th anniversary as Pope, several cardinals spoke publicly about the challenge of relations with Islam, suggesting it would be a major issue for the next pope, as the challenge of communism was at the beginning John Paul's pontificate.
Vatican Outraged as Priest Joins Reality TV Show
“This is completely unacceptable and beyond a joke,” Cardinal Ersilio Tonini, the retired archbishop of Ravenna-Cervia, told The Scotsman. “It's a form of challenge to the Church by the program-makers. As for the priest in question, it is irresponsible of him and an insult to his vocation. I strongly urge the priest's local bishop to intervene at once and stop this spectacle.”
The show will lock the priest along with 11 other housemates in a Rome studio modeled on a large private home to compete for the $185,000 prize given to the last remaining contestant.
The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano has called the program “immoral … futile, ambiguous and parasitical … based on empty protagonists that feed a morbid curiosity and transform man into nothing more than merchandise on display on a market stall.”
Pope Will Change His Ash Wednesday Service
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Jan. 10 — In what the Associated Press called “the latest sign of concern over his frail health,” Pope John Paul II has called off the traditional papal Ash Wednesday service, with which the Pope has traditionally begun Lent, personally distributing ashes at the ancient St. Sabina's Basilica.
The Holy Father, who has been notably more robust in his recent public appearances, will instead hold a prayer ceremony and distribute ashes in a Vatican auditorium to mark the holy day, the Associated Press reported, citing Vatican news services.
The change will save John Paul a difficult trip across the city of Rome, which would involve switching vehicles and ascending the Aventine Hill.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Christ's Passion Shows Us the Way to Justice and Holiness DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:Register Summary
Pope John Paul II met with 4,000 pilgrims during his general audience Jan. 14 as he resumed his series of teachings on the psalms and canticles of the Liturgy of the Hours’ evening prayer. His teaching, his ninth in the series, was centered on a short canticle found in 1 Peter 2:21-24.
Christ's passion, the Holy Father explained, is a mystery that frees us from the miseries of our old nature and points us on the road to righteousness and holiness. The Pope urged those present to contemplate the portrait that Peter, the first among the disciples and a “witness to the sufferings of Christ,” depicts in his letter: “He appears as the model we are to contemplate and to imitate — the ‘program’ that we are to carry out as the original Greek says — and the example we are to follow without hesitation, conforming ourselves to what he chooses.”
After our break for the celebration of Christmas, we resume today our meditations on the evening prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours. The canticle that we just heard, which is taken from the First Letter of Peter, dwells on Christ's redemptive passion, which was already foretold at the time of his baptism in the Jordan.
As we heard last Sunday on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Jesus revealed himself from the beginning of his public ministry as the “beloved Son” with whom the Father is well pleased (see Luke 3:22) and as the true “Servant of Yahweh” (see Isaiah 42:1), who frees man from sin through his passion and death on the cross.
In the Letter of Peter to which we have referred and in which this fisherman from Galilee describes himself as a “witness to the sufferings of Christ” (1 Peter 5:1), the passion is remembered frequently. Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb without blemish, whose precious blood was poured out for our redemption (see 1:18-19). He is the living stone rejected by men but chosen by God as the “cornerstone” that holds together the “spiritual house,” which is the Church (see 2:6-8). He is the righteous man who has sacrificed himself for the sake of the unrighteous in order to lead them back to God (see 3:18-22).
Christ Our Model
Our attention now focuses on the portrait of Christ as depicted in the passage we have just heard (see 1 Peter 2:21-24). He appears as the model we are to contemplate and to imitate — the “program” that we are to carry out as the original Greek says (see 2:21) — and the example we are to follow without hesitation, conforming ourselves to what he chooses.
In fact, the Greek verb that is used implies a sense of following, being a disciple and walking in the very footsteps of Jesus. Moreover, the steps of our Divine Master follow a road that is steep and exhausting, as we read in the Gospel: “Whoever wishes to come after me must… take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34).
At this point Peter's hymn outlines an amazing synthesis of the passion of Christ, which is described using words and images from Isaiah that are applied to the figure of the suffering Servant (see Isaiah 53) that our ancient Christian tradition rereads with messianic overtones.
This story of the Passion in the form of a hymn is formulated using four negative statements (see 1 Peter 2:22-23a) and three positive statements (see 2:23b-24), which describe Jesus’ attitude during that dreadful yet grandiose event.
A Model of Trust in God
It begins with a twofold affirmation of his absolute innocence, which is expressed with words from Isaiah 53:9: “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). This is followed by two more reflections on his exemplary conduct, which was inspired by meekness and gentleness: “When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten” (2:23). The Lord's silent patience is not only an act of courage and generosity. It is also a gesture of trust in the Father, as the first of the three positive statements suggests: “He handed himself over to the one who judges justly” (2:23). His trust was total and perfect trust in God's justice, which is guiding unfolding history toward the triumph of the innocent.
Thus we arrive at the culminating point in the account of the Passion that points out the saving value of Christ's supreme act of offering up himself: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness” (2:24). This second positive statement, which is formulated using phrases from Isaiah's prophecy (see Isaiah 53:12), makes it clear that Christ bore “our sins” “in his body” “on the cross” in order to wipe them away.
A Model of Holiness
In this way we, who have been freed from the old man with his evil and misery, can also “live for righteousness,” that is, in holiness. This thought corresponds — although in terms that are, to a great extent, very different — to Paul's doctrine on baptism, which regenerates us as new creatures by plunging us in the mystery of the passion, death and glory of Christ (see Romans 6:3-11).
The last phrase — “By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24) — highlights the saving value of Christ's suffering, which is expressed with the same words Isaiah uses to denote the saving fruitfulness of the pain that the Servant of the Lord suffers (see Isaiah 53:5).
Contemplating the wounds of Christ by which we have been saved, St. Ambrose expressed the following:
“I have nothing in my works with which I can glorify myself, I have nothing to boast about and, consequently, I will glory in Christ. I will not be glorified because I am just, but I will be glorified because I am redeemed. I will not be glorified because I am free from sins, but I will be glorified because my sins have been forgiven. I will not be glorified because I have helped or been helped, but because Christ has been my advocate with the Father and because the blood of Christ was poured out for me. My guilt has become for me the price of my redemption, through which Christ came to me. For my sake, Christ tasted death. Guilt is more profitable than innocence. Innocence made me arrogant; guilt has made me humble” (Giacobbe e la Vita Beata, I, 6, 21: Saemo, III, Milan-Rome, 1982, p. 251-253).
(Register translation)
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Vatican -------- TITLE: Catholic Migrants Targeted in Israel's Crackdown on Illegal Workers DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:JERUSALEM — Just before Christmas, the Israeli government announced it would not round up foreign workers living in the country illegally on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
Although the community of migrants welcomed this short reprieve and took advantage of it by attending church services, it did not solve the workers’ larger problem: Israel's recent decision to lower the high rate of unemployment by expelling illegal workers has caused panic and fear in the migrant community, which includes thousands of Catholics.
Roughly 60% of the country's migrants have neither a current visa nor a work permit. Thousands of them are Catholics from Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. A large percentage are caregivers from the Philippines, and construction workers and farmhands from places such as Romania and Poland. Hundreds of Nigerians, most of them former tourists, clean houses and send their wages home to their families.
According to local clergymen, who spoke to the Register on condition of anonymity, congregations frequented by foreign workers have been decimated by the government's newfound determination to deport illegal workers.
“It's a tragic situation,” said a priest who ministers to foreign workers. “People are afraid to go to church, they're afraid to travel on buses for fear of being picked up by the police. There have been many cases where the police have come to people's homes and forced open the door. It's a kind of persecution.”
Since the start of the crackdown several months ago, the priest said, “a lot of our faithful have been holding religious services at home.” Often, he said, they gather on either a Saturday night or a Sunday night, depending on their work schedule.
“Some of the churches are half full,” the priest said. “I know of some smaller churches, mostly non-Catholic, which have had to shut down entirely.”
The priest acknowledged, “There isn't much we can do about the situation, except to continue to travel to where the people are, to hear their problems even if they don't actually come to Mass.”
Invalid Visas
Some foreign workers traveled to Israel on tourist visas and decided to stay illegally and earn money. Most, however, arrived legally but lost their visas when the person they cared for died or went into a nursing home, or when the worker decided to leave his employer.
In Israel, visas are nontransfer-able, so once a worker is unemployed for any reason, the visa becomes invalid.
Facing international censure for its deportation policy, Israel recently launched a more humane campaign to encourage illegal workers to leave voluntarily. Those who do are granted three months to settle their affairs and leave. Several thousand workers have taken up this offer and more are leaving every week.
Another local priest who ministers to migrants noted, “The problem isn't only for the workers. Consider for a minute the thousands of old and sick Israelis who are being left without caregivers when their helpers are picked up and deported or leave under pressure.”
Paz Bambili, the Israeli director of Bambili, an advocacy organization for foreign workers, said, “Most workers are ready to go home. The problem is that Israeli employers owe them money. Some of these workers are sick. Some of their wives are seven or eight months pregnant.”
Government efforts to force out the workers “have made people live underground like animals,” Bambili said. “These are not criminals; they're normal people like you and me.”
Daniel Seaman, a government spokesman, did not dispute that migrant workers are undergoing hardships.
“It's sad that people must be deported under these circumstances,” he said, but “someone who is here legally has nothing to be afraid of, and no one is being deported for the color of their skin or because they're foreigners. The reason for these drastic measures is that people violated the laws of the state of Israel and have remained here illegally.”
While not defending Israel's deportation policy, Father Michael Blume, undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants, said Israel should not be singled out.
“Many other countries have similar policies about deportation,” he told the Register in an interview conducted over the Internet.
Father Blume said his office, which deals mainly with the pastoral needs of migrant workers, has not received any complaints from Catholics in Israel.
“Nothing special about this in Israel has come to our attention,” Father Blume said. “Most urgent concerns of migrant workers have not been coming from [this] part of the Middle East.”
The Vatican official added that “the problems caused by fear of deportation of Catholic migrants is properly a pastoral concern of the particular churches in Israel. Organizations of Catholic migrants and their pastors should raise this issue with their bishops if they have not done so already.”
Father Shawki Baterian, the chancellor of the Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem, said his office is well aware of the problem and that priests working with the migrant population are doing everything possible to help them.
He did not elaborate.
Pope's Concern
The plight of migrant workers throughout the world is of deep concern to Pope John Paul II, who in his Nov. 20 address to the Vatican's Fifth World Congress on Migrants said helping migrants is both a duty and a blessed opportunity to strengthen the faith.
The Pope noted that the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants is in the process of preparing an instruction that will address “the new spiritual and pastoral needs of migrants and refugees, and present the phenomenon of migration as a way of fostering dialogue, peace and the proclamation of the Gospel.”
Many Catholic migrants in Israel say they wish to remain, not only because they want to earn money but also because living in the Holy Land enriches their faith.
“I love this country. I love the people and the money is great compared with the Philippines,” said Bella, who declined to use her real name, a Catholic caregiver who lost her visa when her employer died and is now cleaning houses without a visa. “I've already sent enough back home to put a down payment on a new house.”
Asked why she doesn't simply take advantage of the government's amnesty program, she shrugs her shoulders.
“I love living in the place where Jesus was born,” Bella said. “I feel closer to him here. This is the Holy Land, and I believe God will help me find another old lady to care for.”
Michele Chabin writes from Jerusalem.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Michele Chabin ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Media Watch DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:New Catholic Web TV Channel Targets Young Italians
PAPABOYS.TV, Jan. 2 — A new online television network has been launched in Italy, created by Catholic youth groups and targeting a youth market, according to a news release from the network, Papaboys.tv.
The Italian-language broadcasts are intended as “an experiment in evangelization” and will feature videos, interviews and eventually entertainment shows. The first broadcast Jan. 1 featured an awards program from the Christmas Village at Rome's Villa Borghese honoring exceptional contemporary Christian music.
In its mission statement, the network cited the Vatican II document on social communications as the inspiration for the project, through which the founders hope to counter the secularizing influence of major media in Italy, where birthrates and rates of churchgoers have been falling since the 1970s.
Cardinal Distinguishes Crucifix From Islamic Scarves
INDEPENDENT CATHOLIC NEWS, Jan. 6 — In France, the secularist government recently banned Islamic head scarves in public schools — for good measure also banning Jewish yarmulkes and crosses worn as jewelry. Now in Germany, concerns over Islamic immigration have led some local authorities to ban head scarves on female students in their public schools.
German President Johannes Rau, keen to avoid the appearance of discrimination, has proposed extending the ban to Jewish and Christian symbols as well. Cardinal Karl Lehmann of Mainz denounced the proposal, insisting that Islamic veils on women were not comparable to the other religious symbols.
Cardinal Lehmann asserted that the Islamic veil was a mark of discrimination against women, while the other religious symbols had not the “slightest trace of political propaganda about them.”
It remains unclear whether the issue will be settled at a national level or by local governments; the Federal Republic of Germany is far more decentralized than neighboring France, where major decisions are customarily made in Paris.
Shakespeare's Church Eaten by Bugs
INDEPENDENT CATHOLIC NEWS, Jan. 6 — The Anglican parish church that witnessed the baptism and burial of William Shakespeare — whom some scholars assert was a crypto-Catholic in Elizabethan England — still stands.
The poet was baptized on April 26, 1564, and buried in the same parish on April 25, 1616. But that church might not stand for long, according to Independent Catholic News, since conservators have discovered both dry rot and death-watch beetles threatening the main trusses of its chancel, which hold the structure up.
The 13th-century parish Holy Trinity, on the banks of the Avon River, is one of the most popular tourist sites in England, where tourism has suffered greatly since Sept. 11, 2001. Major structural elements of Holy Trinity stand in urgent need of repair, according to the Friends of Holy Trinity Church, a group trying to save the building. The group estimates the cost of repairing and restoring the church would be about $275,000.
A trustee of the group reported that repair work on the church's crumbling parapet was nearly complete but that other essential work still needs to be done. The group recently raised approximately $55,000 as a down payment on the work.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: News -------- TITLE: Faith, Politics and Abortion DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:There have always been many factors that might cause a pastor to deny Communion to someone. Heretofore, a person's voting record has not been one of them. That might be about to change.
Receiving Communion is not simply a private act between God and the communicant. When we receive Communion — the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus — we publicly express our union with the body of Christ, the Church. And the Church, in turn, publicly ratifies that union.
But what if the communicant is obviously drunk? What if the communicant left his wife for another woman? What if the communicant makes a living performing abortions? All these circumstances would disqualify a Catholic from receiving Communion.
When it comes to how a communicant votes, the matter is a little more difficult. To what degree does a politician cooperate with abortion by his vote? And what other votes should be off limits? If a communicant supports capital punishment or a war that is unjust, should he be denied Communion?
These are the kinds of questions that have prevented bishops worldwide — including bishops who are pro-life activists — from denying Communion to pro-abortion politicians.
Until a trickle started in the middle of the dam.
In fall 2001, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani first made the argument that abortion is a special case. He commissioned a document described as “a pastoral and sacramental response to the worsening culture of death as well as consistent criteria to deal with this grave moral problem” and sent it to all the pastors in the Archdiocese of Lima, Peru.
The document, in its questions & answers section, reminds pastors that the Church calls abortion “a heinous crime” because “it takes away the life of an innocent creature entitled to be loved by his or her parents and who has been deprived from enjoying the goods of this life, in particular baptism and the graces of Christianity.”
Politicians and other public figures who support abortion, it said, “are committing a grave sin, because they are supporting a crime.”
For this reason, the document instructs: “[T]he pastor who has a parishioner in this condition can deny him or her holy Communion in public after warning him or her in private.”
In January 2003, Sacramento, Calif., Bishop William Weigand echoed Cardinal Cipriani's statement, but he stopped short of formally forbidding politicians Communion. What he couldn't have foreseen was what would happen in the next nine months.
First, the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued guidelines for politicians, spelling out which votes are beyond the pale for Catholics. That helped set some ground rules. Second, the U.S. bishops addressed the matter of abortion and politicians at their November meeting. They set a commission in place that would report in a year.
Now more bishops are starting to deny Communion to politicians. In each case this step is taken only after a bishop has issued warnings to politicians in private.
Bishop Raymond Burke of the Diocese of La Crosse, Wis., (soon to be archbishop of St. Louis) issued these guidelines on Communion:
“Catholic legislators who are members of the faithful of the Diocese of La Crosse and who continue to support procured abortion or euthanasia may not present themselves to receive holy Communion,” he wrote. “They are not to be admitted to holy Communion, should they present themselves, until such time as they publicly renounce their support of these most unjust practices.”
Then, on Jan. 14, New Orleans Archbishop Alfred Hughes wrote:
“When Catholic officials openly support the taking of human life in abortion, euthanasia or the destruction of human embryos, they are no longer faithful members in the Church and should not partake of holy Communion.”
This seems to be the next stage in the Church's battle over the right to life. Catholics can expect more such statements in the future. The bishops conference should ratify the courage these bishops have shown.
And they should start by removing pro-abortion politicians from their own commissions and boards.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Opinion -------- TITLE: LETTERS DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:King Solomon's Cosmology
Regarding “Mars Probe Revives Theology Debate: Who Might Be Out There?” (Jan. 18-24):
The successful landing of the Spirit probe on Mars inspired me to look further into the universe via a sampling of the 100,000 cosmic-vista images from the Hubble space telescope. I didn't see one that was ugly; if it's true that a picture is worth 1,000 words, then our universe is a glorious piece of art. Does this newest [exploration] add heft to the argument that God exists?
Some scientific and theological experts say that little or no attention is being paid to the religious implications of recent discoveries in astronomy. Others claim, however, that many people have moved closer to a personal conviction that some omnipotent force must have masterminded the universe in all its complexity.
We're quite sure Solomon had nothing like a Hubble telescope or even a pair of binoculars to view the night sky, but nevertheless the awesome display of what he could see inspired him when he commented on some of the doubting astronomers of his day:
“For all men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God, and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is, and from studying the works did not discern the artisan; but either fire, or wind, or the swift air, or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water, or the luminaries of heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods. … But yet, for these the blame is less; for they indeed have gone astray perhaps, though they seek God and wish to find him. For they search busily among his works but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair. But again, not even these are pardonable. For if they so far succeeded in knowledge that they could speculate about the world, how did they not more quickly find its Lord?” (Wisdom 13:1-2, 6-9).
AUBERT LEMRISE
Peru, Illinois
New Year, Ever-New Evangelization
The first edition of the year contained some provocative points on which I would like to comment.
I was so happy to read that, in India, Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald confirmed that evangelization “is part of the mission of the Church and not to be sacrificed” (“Archbishop Fitzgerald in India: Church Must Preach Gospel to Everyone,” Jan. 4-10).
I also read with deep, heartbroken empathy the comments of Dr. Michael Aiello never hearing a homily on the culture of death in which we currently live (“Renewers,” Letters, Jan. 4-10).
There we have it! I believe our Church has reached a stage of political correctness where “the traditions of all” are to be taught, completely respected and — goodness forbid — certainly not criticized, much less put under the test of Scripture. Evangelization? Please, let us not bore non-Christians with “I am the only way to the Father.” If we cannot take the former stand, we probably should not look for the latter in this New Year, either.
Edward M. Korleski
Elmhurst, Illinois
Wreck-ovation?
Regarding “The Maine Lady” (Travel: History & Saints, Dec. 7-13):
In your description of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland, Maine, you state that the renowned architect Patrick Keely might have gone to “extra lengths because he knew Bishop Bacon [of Portland] well.” Unfortunately, we will never be able to enjoy the original Gothic high altar because it was removed in a previous renovation. The present high altar has been crafted from a side altar of an older church and is probably greatly inferior to Keely's creation.
How sad it is that, throughout the country, beautiful and expensive altars, pulpits and Communion rails have been removed from many churches because very liberal liturgists have decreed this be done. There is no document from Vatican II that even suggests this wholesale destruction, yet hierarchy and clergy have bought into it with relish.
Most of this “renovation” has been done over the strenuous protests of the long-suffering laity, who are bewildered by the destructive penchant of the clergy. The most recent ill-advised examples are the cathedrals in Rochester, N.Y., Detroit and Milwaukee. Perhaps worst of all is Holy Name in Chicago, where not only was the magnificent high altar removed but the religious stained-glass windows also were replaced with innocuous shards of glass.
May God have mercy on these destructive bishops and priests.
Patrick Rafferty
San Pedro, California
Crying for Leadership
In “Bishops’ Plan: Engage Public Pro-Abortion Catholics” (Nov. 23-29), Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput is quoted: “The first, second, third and fourth steps in a bishop's approach should always be private persuasion.”
I have the greatest respect for Archbishop Chaput. I consider him to be one of the few true leaders and shining lights among our current group of bishops, archbishops and cardinals.
But I respectfully submit that this issue of pro-abortion Catholic politicians has been too long delayed and they should certainly be aware by now of their separation from established Catholic doctrine. There has been enough warning to them of their apostasy. Each day that goes by, their scandalization of the Church increases; each day that goes by ordinary Catholics, already poorly catechized, are influenced by their dissent and led astray; each day that goes by, more ordinary lay Catholics are instructed that private moral beliefs do not carry over to public policy; each day that goes by, additional babies are killed, aided by Catholic politicians’ public moral indifference and defiance of the Church.
The Catechism states, “Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense.” Is not legislative support and action in favor of abortion “cooperation“? Is not participation in debate and favorable votes for abortion “formal“?
Is there really any bishop who, in his heart, doesn't already know what needs to be done? Get on with it! The Church in America is crying for leadership. Where is it?
William F. Brennan
Las Vegas
Language and Logistics
Two items in your Jan. 4-10 issue should be combined for the good of the Church.
The first item was the letter titled “Old Mass, New Mass” from Jerome Bishop reminding all that, when we had the Latin Mass, we were aware of what was going on in the Mass because the missals had the Latin on one side of the page and the English on the other side.
The second item was the article about the influx of Spanish-speaking immigrants in the South and the problem with not only having a shortage of priests but also especially Spanish-speaking priests (“Catholic Parishes in the South Grow With Influx of Immigrants“). Would it not help the situation by having missals with English on one side and the Spanish translation on the other? One problem it would not solve is how the sacrament of reconciliation can be administered with a priest speaking and understanding only English and the penitent speaking only Spanish. I would therefore suggest the bishops in these dioceses assign one or more Spanish-speaking priests to tour the parishes and missions for the sole purpose of hearing confessions.
The above might not solve all related problems, but I believe it would show the immigrants the Church truly cares for them and, hopefully, it would keep them from joining the Pentecostal churches that are after them.
Gerard P. McEvoy
Coram, New York
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Opinion -------- TITLE: Symposium on the Symposium DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:Regarding the Register symposium “Did the War in Iraq Secure the Peace?” (Jan. 4-10):
Thank you for balancing your anti-war positions with thoughtful articles by supporters of President Bush's olicies.
I feel compelled to respond to some of the mistaken assumptions of the anti-war writers. I am particularly erplexed by Mark Shea's essay. He implies that the United States violated international law and just-war rinciples; therefore, countries such as North Korea and China could follow our lead and invade Taiwan or outh Korea using the same justifications we used to invade Iraq. I'm struck by the naiveté of this argument.
Does Mr. Shea believe that international law keeps China and North Korea from invading their neighbors? hese “model world citizens” are kept in check by their own self-interest, including fear of response from he United States. If anything, our war in Iraq will be more of a deterrent to those nations than an excuse.
Shea also cites Saddam's supposed lastminute offer to admit inspectors, which he says we “ignored” to claim this wasn't a war of last resort. If that were a remotely credible offer, opponents of Bush would be all over it. (Why does he even bother quoting The New York Times, one of the most leftslanted papers in the ountry?) Clearly, the supposed offer was not worth anything.
Finally, the inability to find weapons of mass destruction does not mean they don't exist, and we can only act on the information we believe to be true at the time we are making decisions. Monday-morning uarterbacking doesn't change the validity of the reasons for turning to military force.
Thanks for your excellent paper.
YVETTE SCHUE
Andover, Minnesota
Thank you for the thoughtful opinions on the morality of the war in Iraq.
Is there anyone who sees this the way I do? I believe we did the right thing for the wrong reason.
We eliminated a brutal tyrant and mass murderer but not because he is a brutal tyrant and mass murderer. we eliminated him because he allegedly supported terrorism and harbored weapons of mass destruction.
Well, it turns out he did not support terrorism and harbor weapons of mass destruction, at least not any more than many other nations we have not invaded.
In truth, and in simple human solidarity, anyone has the right to stop a tyrant. What we lack is the courage and gumption to do so.
Time and again we have tolerated mass murderers and brutal dictators as long as we were left unscathed.
It is sad that we try to justify the invasion of Iraq by appealing to human rights and fanciful “preventive eterrence” doctrines. Our foreign policy has not changed in more than 200 years. We decide based on our national interest,” i.e., what we think is good for our country, ignoring the needs of others.
Not only does this betray our foundational belief that “all men are created equal,” but it also assumes we an actually know what our national interest is. It's a policy that helped Saddam and other tyrants assume ower in the first place.
I would support unilateral action by our government to eliminate tyrants anywhere in the world.
Our true national interest is freedom for all.
BILL MCKENZIE
St. Louis
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Commentary -------- TITLE: Harmful Habits: The Crisis In Virtue DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:The British Medical Association has just released a rather morbid report, “Adolescent Health.”
If I might be more blunt than the Brits, their youth are increasingly icky — overweight, stupefied by drink and drugs, and epically promiscuous.
Line up a random sample of 10 British youth. Two of the 10 will be overweight or obese, two or three will have had an alcoholic drink in the last week and one of them will have used drugs in the last month. If you line up just the girls, one of the 10 will have the sexually transmitted disease chlamydia. Rather icky, to say the least, and if we burrow beyond these general statistics and into the details of the report, things get even ickier.
Just so our American heads do not swell, the American Obesity Association reports that the “percentage of children and adolescents who are overweight and obese [in the United States] is now higher than ever before. … Today's youth are considered the most inactive generation in history. … Approximately 30.3% of children (ages 6 to 11) are overweight and 15.3% are obese. For adolescents (ages 12 to 19), 30.4% are overweight and 15.5% are obese.”
Need a bit more humility? Well, our own Centers for Disease Control informs us that “between 15% to 20% of young men and women [in the United States] have become infected with herpes by the time they reached adulthood.” Although the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases has been in a slight overall decline recently, “genital herpes continues to increase, spreading across all social, economic, racial and ethnic boundaries, but most dramatically affecting teens and young adults.”
So, you get the point. The British teens are badly off, and ours are hardly (if at all) better. If youth are the hope of the future, then we have cause for despair on both sides of the Atlantic.
Not wanting to give in to despair and also being rather old fashioned, I searched the British Medical Association report for the word “virtue” and was informed by the impartial computer that “no occurrences of virtue were found in the document.” Ditto for “vice.” Needless to say, neither do we find the words fortitude, temperance, chastity, sloth, avarice, lust, gluttony or indeed any of the classical vocabulary of character by which the virtues and vices are identified and categorized.
The lack of the language of virtue in the report is not merely a matter of semantics.
The loss of the language of virtue is a sign of the neglect of virtue in the society, a neglect that has led to the prevalence of vice among the youth. Perhaps “neglect” is too charitable a word. Reading through the report's recommendations, some of the proposed cures betoken a barely suppressed hostility to the language and practice of virtue.
Allow me to focus on one glaring example — sexuality. Rather than speaking of sexual temperance or intemperance, the report gauges sexual activity in terms of “competence.” Thus, the authors lament the fact that “91% of girls and 67% of boys aged 13 to 14 at first intercourse were not sexually competent.”
What criteria define sexual competence for the British Medical Association? Thirteen-year-old boys and girls are sexually competent if they have sex, do so willingly and autonomously, experience no regret and use a contraceptive.
Clearly, their proposed cure is only one more symptom of the disease: A society that seems to have eliminated, by and large, the most important distinctions in regard to sexual good and evil except the most utilitarian. In such a society, youth have nothing to strive for in regard to their sexuality except the more and more frequent “expression” of it. Such aimless sexual expression is the direct result of having nothing at which to aim.
Should we blame the youth, Brit or American, for this? I think not. Before today's youth came on the scene, the natural and proper target for sexuality, marriage, was well on its way to being dismantled. With no defined goal for sexuality, all distinctions between good and bad were removed as well.
Imagine trying to judge an archery contest in which there are no targets. The only criterion of judging left is limited to keeping the contestants from shooting each other or themselves.
There is some cause for hope in the document, however. In regard to the other maladies, it is interesting to note that the British Medical Association has less of a problem with virtue-friendly language. They recognize physical health as the goal of eating and that eating from the contemporary cornucopia of junk food both establishes bad eating habits and leads to bad health. But the definition of a virtue is an excellent habit that contributes to our perfection, and so, recognize it or not, they have stumbled upon the necessity for the virtue of temperance in regard to food.
The same is true, albeit to a lesser extent, in regard to drinking and drugs. In regard to drinking, the British Medical Association recognizes that the continual activity of indulgence establishes a habit of indulgence, a habit that leads quite quickly to harm. As for drugs, they also recognize that some substances cannot be ingested at all but cause immediate harm. In both cases, a little nudge and they would be speaking the language of virtue again.
Perhaps, just perhaps, the recognition of the need for virtue in these areas might lead the Brits — and we Yanks as well — to reconsider the need for virtue in regard to sexuality as well. For the sake of our youth, let's hope so.
Ben Wiker writes from Steubenville, Ohio.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Commentary -------- TITLE: Bishop Burke's Stand DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:In a Jan. 8 letter, Bishop Raymond Burke of La Crosse, Wis. — soon to be archbishop of St. Louis — said: “Catholic legislators who are members of the faithful of the Diocese of La Crosse and who continue to support procured abortion or euthanasia may not present themselves to receive holy Communion. They are not to be admitted to holy Communion, should they present themselves, until such time as they publicly renounce their support of these most unjust practices.” The letter completed a process that began with the bishop's Christ the King pastoral letter, excerpted below.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
In these and in the coming months, politicians are beginning their campaigns for election or re-election to public office in 2004. The start of political campaigns reminds us that we, as Catholics, are called to be faithful to Christ also through our political involvement. Every election gives us the opportunity to discuss the ways our government should lead us now and into the future for the common good.
Forming judgments. Sadly, many Catholics misunderstand the meaning of the so-called separation of church and state in our nation and believe that the Word of God, handed on to us in the Church, has no application to political life. Certainly, our government does not endorse or fund a particular Christian denomination or religion. But, at the same time, we as Roman Catholics have the right and, indeed, the obligation to inform our consciences and political judgments from the teachings of our faith, especially in what pertains to the natural moral law, that is the order established by God in creation.
For example, while the Ten Commandments forbid stealing, no one would believe that laws against theft are an imposition of the Jewish or Christian religions. People of different faiths or of no faith can recognize the natural obligation to respect the property of others. Also, no one would consider Christian opposition to slavery a “religious” issue. Rather, Christians who oppose slavery and other similar evils are acting according to the standard of right and wrong, which has its foundation in our common human nature. …
Safeguarding the most fundamental good. Catholic teaching is true to the natural moral law, which obliges us to protect all human life. In our history as Americans, we sometimes have found reasons to exclude certain populations from the protection of the law. We were always wrong in doing so. How is our present-day exclusion of the unborn, the elderly and the sick any different from our exclusions of the past? The Church's moral teaching merely tells us what we should see with our own eyes, that the children we abort and the sick we “mercy kill” are our brothers and sisters in the human family.
Some will say the defense of innocent life is only one issue among many, that it is important but not fundamental. They are wrong. In the natural moral law, the good of life is the most fundamental good and the condition for the enjoyment of all other goods (see U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics, November 1998, No. 5).
Recall the words of Pope John Paul II on the mission of the lay faithful in the Church and in the world: “The inviolability of the person, which is a reflection of the absolute inviolability of God, finds its primary and fundamental expression in the inviolability of human life. Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights — for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture — is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition of all other personal rights is not defended with maximum determination” (post-synodal apostolic exhortation Christifideles Laici, The Vocation and Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World, Dec. 30, 1988, No. 38b).
The protection of innocent life is not just a political issue, but, much more importantly, it is a basic political responsibility (see Living the Gospel of Life, No. 33-34).
Making consistently the choice for life. Catholics therefore cannot legitimately believe that, if they support programs for the poor and marginalized, this “makes up” for not being consistently pro-life. “Any politics of human dignity must seriously address issues of racism, poverty, hunger, employment, education, housing and health care. … But being ‘right’ in such matters can never excuse a wrong choice regarding direct attacks on innocent human life.
“Indeed, the failure to protect and defend life in its most vulnerable stages renders suspect any claims to the ‘right-ness’ of positions in other matters affecting the poorest and least powerful of the human community” (Living the Gospel of Life, No. 23).
Concern for the plight of the poor must be accompanied by a profound respect for the dignity of all human life. Otherwise, it can be corrupted and all too easily embrace procured abortion and euthanasia as acts of compassion toward the suffering. But it is a false compassion, which seeks to lessen human suffering by eliminating those who suffer. When we allow the killing of those most in need, we do not love the poor as Jesus did, who gave his life as a ransom for many (see Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45 and 1 Timothy 2:6).
The responsibility to defend human life in all its stages falls upon all Catholic citizens. It falls, with particular weight, upon Catholic politicians. A year ago, on the solemnity of Christ the King, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of our Holy Father Pope John Paul II published a document, “Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life” (Nov. 24,2002), which clarifies for Catholic politicians their most serious responsibility for the defense of human life. The document explains: “John Paul, continuing the constant teaching of the Church, has reiterated many times that those who are directly involved in law-making bodies have a ‘grave and clear obligation to oppose’ any law that attacks human life. For them, as for every Catholic, it is impossible to promote such laws or to vote for them” (No. 4a).
Responding morally to unjust laws. Oftentimes, Catholic politicians who hold anti-life positions defend their voting record on the ground that they are following their constituency or the will of the “majority.” One cannot, however, defend an unjust law on the ground of political consensus. We do not consider the “Jim Crow” laws, which discriminated against African-Americans, “just” because the majority of the population supported them.
Catholic politicians have the responsibility to work against an unjust law, even when a majority of the electorate supports it.
When Catholic politicians cannot immediately overturn an unjust law, they must never cease to work toward that end. At the very least, they must limit, as much as possible, the evil caused by the unjust law. John Paul illustrates for us this important moral principle: “[W]hen it is not possible to overturn or completely abrogate a pro-abortion law, an elected official, whose absolute personal opposition to procured abortion was well known, could licitly support proposals aimed at limiting the harm done by such a law and lessening its negative consequences at the level of general opinion and public morality” (encyclical letter Evangelium Vitae, On the Value and Inviolability of Human Life, March 25,1995, No. 73c). The judicial system in the United States allows legislators to limit access to procured abortion, and Catholic politicians are obliged to restrict the scope of this gravest of injustices whenever the opportunity presents itself.
While certainly there are Catholic politicians who have worked diligently to promote the gospel of life through our laws, many have compromised their duty to do so. I joined my voice to that of my brother bishops five years ago in our appeal: “We urge those Catholic officials who choose to depart from Church teaching on the inviolability of human life in their public life to consider the consequences for their own spiritual well-being as well as the scandal they risk by leading others into serious sin. … No public official, especially one claiming to be a faithful and serious Catholic, can responsibly advocate for or actively support direct attacks on innocent human life” (Living the Gospel of Life, No. 32).
Once again and more urgently, I, as bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse, appeal to all Catholics who hold political office to examine your conscience in the light of your duty to protect human life in all its stages. Further, I urge you to resolve to live the gospel of life fully and faithfully in all your legislative activity.
Excerpted from Bishop Burke's
Nov. 23 pastoral letter
“To Christ's Faithful of the
Diocese of La Crosse:
On the Dignity of Human Life and Civic Responsibility.“
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Commentary -------- TITLE: An Allegorical Bus?'s Life: The Need for Catholic Schools DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:Public education does a lot of good. But it cannot teach a proper approach to God, and without God, there is no cogent moral reasoning.
It all eventually falls flat. The result? Individuals with no ability to answer the most fundamental questions about morality. Or, in the sharp words of Southern fiction writer Flannery O'Connor: moral morons. People like the protagonist of my allegory of the bugs …
Some people kill bugs for no good reason. Not me. I kill only when provoked.
What's that fly doing in my house? Swat! Why does that mosquito keep buzzing in my ear? Clap! That bee is threatening my child? Swish (sound of rushing tennis racket).
But maybe I shouldn't take such harsh stances. After all, it's probably just a matter of personal value systems. The insects’ value system revolves around their most immediate needs without regard to any civilized notion of boundaries. My value system, on the other hand, respects private-property rights (that fly didn't), respects other's privacy (the mosquito didn't) and believes in acting kindly toward others (that threatening bee didn't).
There's a clash between my value systems and the bugs’.
It presents quite the quandary. By what right do I impose my values on those bugs?
I guess I can resort to the laws of our nation, which respect property rights and privacy and each person's dignity.
But did those bugs have any input with regard to those laws? Moreover, the laws are passed by a special-interest group (the humankind interest group) and tend to leave out the bugs’ concerns.
Maybe I could appeal to common belief: Everyone thinks humans have a right to kill bugs in certain circumstances. If everyone agrees, then it must be all right. But then again, some people (Tibetan Buddhists, for example) disagree. And I haven't spoken to (any bugs about the matter.
Perhaps I can argue that they're ersonal only bugs, and SCHESKE therefore they have no right to protection and, in fact, are subject to my arbitrary cruelty. Can I, therefore, torture the bugs and kill them en masse for kicks? That strikes me as wrong, and it goes against the admonitions of my parents and teachers while growing up who told me I shouldn't gratuitously kill any living thing, including bugs.
Besides, doesn't the judgment “they're only bugs” entail a system of values? Surely the bugs’ value system doesn't consider themselves as “only” bugs and justifiably subject to summary termination.
I guess I could fall back on the old “might makes right” argument that dates back at least to Thrasymychus in Plato's dialogues. But that's embarrassing. Any dolt can see that might doesn't make right. I once had a friend who as a child was threatened with a thrashing by the neighborhood bully if my friend wouldn't agree with a preposterous assertion. My friend knew the assertion was stupid, but he conceded the point to avoid the beating. That didn't make the bully right.
What to do? I simply don't see a way out of the problem. My value system versus the bugs’ value system.
If I could just appeal to something higher than a mere value system. If there were only a natural ordering of things or something like that. I could appeal to it and reason from it and show why the bugs’ value system is all wrong. I could establish the natural goodness of private property and the importance of dignity and privacy in people's lives. I could demonstrate how the bugs repeatedly violate those goods and how, being creatures of limited intelligence, there is no way to punish them effectively (that is, to teach them how to behave) and therefore that summary execution is a proper response.
But there is obviously no such natural ordering of things. Such thinking implies a hierarchy: higher and lower, good things and bad things, good ideas and dumb ideas, smart opinions and stupid opinions.
A hierarchy implies a great deal of intolerance, and intolerance is bad and therefore cannot be. Moreover, if there were any such thing, its ultimate rationale would tend to lead back to a being that created the natural order, and that raises questions about the ultimate being's nature. At that point, I'd be completely stymied. That great being, after all, could be the Great Bug who zealously protects his own. Then what?
I'd be in a heap of trouble for killing all those bugs, that's what.
I simply can't think my way out of this dilemma. The bugs are harassing me, but I can't concoct a justification for killing them.
And therefore I won't.
But I live in Michigan where mosquitoes are plentiful, flies abound and bees swarm. My life will be miserable. I'll be paralyzed with moral inaction when dealing with bugs, and the effects will redound to the detriment of my life as well as the lives of my wife and children.
Maybe I should go to school, maybe take some of those adult-education courses offered by my local public schools. Maybe then I can find an answer. Problem is, I was taught about personal value systems while in those public schools, and I've heard that they're still teaching personal value systems.
Are there any schools out there who can teach me a way out of this moral mess? Can any schools show me why I shouldn't fear the possible existence of the Great Bug?
Eric Scheske (www.ericscheske.com) is a freelance writer, a contributing editor ofGodspy and the former editor of Gilbert Magazine.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Eric J. Scheske ----- KEYWORDS: Commentary -------- TITLE: Love on Loan DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:I have cooties. I don't mean to alarm anyone, but apparently it's true. The other night, when I tucked my 5-year-old son Ambrose into bed, I leaned in to kiss him good night and was greeted with a stern, “Not on the lips, please.”
This is Ambrose, the same child I cherished and sang to during the months I carried him within me. I nursed him moments after his birth. I counted his fingers and toes, and memorized every dimple and curve of his tiny, perfect body.
Not on the lips? As a toddler, Ambrose used to climb onto my lap and beg, “Tickle love, Mama!” He then squealed with delight as I covered him with kisses and ravaged his belly with “raspberries.” Now he's developed a sudden distaste for physical affection, particularly from his mother.
I am trying not to take the rejection too personally. The first night he issued the admonishment, I froze. My maternal instincts told me to snatch his small body from the bed and clutch him close in spite of his protests. I resisted this urge, though. I swallowed my wounded pride and gently touched my lips to his cheek.
Some days, however, when he wrenches his hand away from mine or squirms his way out of a hug that lasts too long, I can't help but feel that this turn of events is terribly unfair. This is Ambrose, I think. I am his mother. He is my boy and I'll kiss him if I want to.
Eventually, though, I have to admit that, although I am his mother, Ambrose is not mine. Whether I like it or not, he is fast becoming his own little person and he belongs to God alone. When I feel my little boy pulling away from me, my feelings of hurt and indignation make me realize all the more how much each of us owes to God. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,” God tells the prophet Jeremiah. “Before you were born, I dedicated you” (Jeremiah 1:5).
Indeed, God does know each of us perfectly. In perfect generosity he made us and in perfect goodness he loves us unconditionally. More than anyone or anything on earth, our Creator has a claim on us. We belong to him. Despite this fact, however, God doesn't force us to love him in return. Because he loves us, he gives us free will so we might choose to know, love and serve him.
My hurt feelings at Ambrose's rejection make me recognize all the more what a grievous injustice it is for man to turn his back on his Creator and to deny God the devotion he deserves.
Recently, Ambrose and I spent a Saturday afternoon running errands together. We went to the drugstore and the supermarket, then stopped for a snack and a drink. “This is fun,” I told him. “It's like we're on a date.”
When he asked what a date was, I explained that sometimes a boy and a girl go out together to have fun and get to know each other better. Keenly aware of his recent disdain for all things feminine, I teased him a little by telling him that someday he'll probably want to date a girl.
Ambrose nibbled an animal cracker thoughtfully. He was sober as he considered the concept of willingly spending free time with a member of the opposite sex.
If ever I doubted God's generous love and his tender care for even this humble mother's delicate feelings, my confidence was reinspired by what Ambrose said next.
He fixed his gaze on me and said, “I want to date you, Mama.”
I pulled my 5-year-old boyfriend close so he wouldn't see the tears in my eyes. I felt his small heart beating against my chest. I held him just a little bit longer than usual. And I noted that he let me. For now.
Danielle Bean writes from Center Harbor, New Hampshire.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Travel -------- TITLE: Irish Treasures that Dispelled the Darkness DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:When waves of barbarians swept across Europe after the fall of Rome, the lights of civilization dimmed everywhere on the continent — with one exception.
Ireland had slipped beneath the marauders’ radar, for the imperial legions had never ventured there. So it was that Irish monasteries shone beacons of hope and enlightenment on the Dark Ages and, reversing the tide of history, sent missionaries across Europe to rekindle the fires of faith and learning. At home, and on the Scottish island of Iona, Irish scribes preserved the great works of literature. And they copied and illustrated sacred manuscripts.
Most magnificent of these was the Book of Kells, a sublime illumination of the Four Gospels. Today, still radiant after more than 12 centuries, this gem of a golden age draws multitudes to its place of pride at Trinity College in the heart of Dublin. “It was worth the wait,” I overheard a fellow visitor exclaim on a recent visit. This was after we had queued for more than an hour for a look. So glorious is the artistry that it was once believed to have been the work of angels.
Arabesques, spirals and a fantasy of representations — human, zoomorphic and phyllomorphic (plantlike) — embellish the book's exquisite calligraphy, penned in Latin with quills of swans. Some initial letters span the length of the vellum. Smaller capitals jewel the folios with rich pigments and minerals — turquoise, malachite, lapis lazuli — and even beetles’ wings. In some places the gorgeous palette gleams like enamel. Evidently cats were constant companions of the scribes’ long, solitary labors, for a number found their way into the volume.
The Book of Kells survived the pillaging of Vikings and Danes. Theft and later rampages by Cromwell's armies prompted its safekeeping at Trinity College Library in 1661, where today's invading tourists will find Ireland's greatest artistic triumph. It makes an inspiring introduction to the capital's highlights.
From College Green I followed Nassau Street to The National Gallery of Art at the corner of Merrion Square. I had come especially to view The Taking of Christ, a masterful work by Caravaggio.
Caravaggio's Christ
Moonlight only partially reveals the resigned face and entwined hands of Jesus; John the Apostle's head and outstretched hand as he flees in terror, the furrowed brow of Judas, the menacing glint of armor worn by Roman soldiers. The artist portrayed himself holding a lantern, its glimmer ineffectual in the deep gloom of Gethsemane. A compelling close-up of the figures involves the viewer in the intense moment when light and darkness deepen the abyss between trust and betrayal, resignation and flight, good and evil.
For some 60 years, the unsuspected masterpiece hung in benign neglect over the fireplace in the Jesuits’ dining room on nearby Leeson Street. In 1990 it was sent for cleaning to the National Gallery. When Sergio Benedetti saw it, the Italian curator had a hunch he was looking at a rare Caravaggio and not, as was supposed, at one of three imitations. Three years of careful examination entailing travels to three cities —Edinburgh, Rome and Odessa — confirmed that Dublin possessed the priceless original.
“It's the biggest attraction in the gallery, a gift for the world and his wife to see,” Eugene McKiernan, an attendant, told me in a proud brogue. The painting is now on indefinite loan from the Jesuits.
Retracing my steps to College Green, I turned into Dame Street to reach Dublin Castle, once a symbol of tyranny and torture and now a guardian of national treasures. In the castle courtyard, the elegantly restored clock tower, with its contemporary wing, houses an extraordinary collection of art amassed by an American mining magnate. Beginning with Sumerian clay tablets inscribed in 2700 B.C., The Alfred Chester Beatty Library displays the greatest acquisition by a private individual of artifacts and manuscripts from Oriental, Middle Eastern and Western cultures.
It was a quirk of good fortune for the Irish that denied Beatty health insurance in the United States; he suffered from silicosis of the lungs. For that reason, he emigrated to England where he was later knighted by the Queen for his contributions to the Allied cause in World War II. Fortunately, too, he became disenchanted with post-war England and moved to Dublin taking with him his world-renowned collection. Ireland made Sir Alfred its first honorary citizen and gave him a state funeral in 1968. He bequeathed an unprecedented legacy to the nation.
On the library's second floor, the ambient light is reverential and deliberately dim to protect fragile manuscripts and icons of the world's great religions and to heighten the effect of spotlights on works of exceptional beauty and antiquity. The dazzling exhibits include Buddhist and Hindu statues, Japanese scrolls, Chinese books of jade, an array of wondrous Korans inscribed in gold leaf and some of the earliest papyri of the Gospels and The Book of Revelation. Reportedly when a group of Amish visitors beheld the tattered fragment of the oldest surviving Gospel text — St. John's, written in 150 A.D. — they burst into spontaneous song at the words “Woman, behold thy son.”
In 2002 The Chester Beatty Library won the European Museum of the Year Award for both an astonishment of riches and architectural design.
Great Sacrifice
Crossing Dame Street to reach the quays, I took a short bus ride to the Irish National War Memorial Gardens. Though I knew it was considered the most beautiful of the genre in Europe, I had ambivalent feelings about taking in so somber a display. Yet I was deeply moved when I finally visited one morning in springtime. Save for the gardener who was mowing the oval lawn, I had the eloquent memorial all to myself. I thought of the supreme sacrifice of soldiers and the futility of the “Great War,” the war intended to end all wars, as sporadic sunshine lanced clouds of pewter shrouding the peaceful place.
From a domed temple on the banks of the Liffey, avenues of stately trees radiate to an elevation enclosed by a high, semi-circular limestone wall engraved “To the memory of the 49,400 Irishmen who gave their lives in the Great War, 1914-18.”
Originally eight holly trees (now there are bay laurels) stood for the generals surveying the arboretum that represents the rank and file. At each end, two sunken amphitheatres bloom with 4,000 roses — around the central lily ponds they are crimson recalling the blood of martyrs shed in the Colosseum. Four granite bookrooms represent Ireland's provinces. One houses 12 volumes honoring the fallen in hand-written names; pergolas draped with wisteria suggest resting places for the wounded. Yew trees signify the crown of thorns, while two obelisks in brimming basins replicate candles and flank a simple altar bearing the inscription: Their Name Liveth Forevermore. A great stone cross, its arms truncated, towers over all. Notably absent are any military emblems.
The symbolism of death and resurrection suffices. A fitting symbol for Ireland, the land that rose from the ashes of the Dark Ages to lead all Europe to that springtime of faith, hope and love that would culminate in the Renaissance — whose rejuvenating effects resonate to this day.
Marie Whitla O'Reilly is based in Darien, Connecticut.
----- EXCERPT: A day trip to Dublin ----- EXTENDED BODY: Marie Whitla O'Reilly ----- KEYWORDS: Travel -------- TITLE: She Loved the Catholic Faith - and All That Jazz DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:For a long stretch of her life, Mary Lou Williams’ days and nights were filled with the thrills of making great music for appreciative audiences.
But even the music could not squeeze out the emptiness that fast living was carving into her heart. Gambling, marijuana, love affairs and 30 years’ worth of constant work and travel — all of that finally caught up with the gifted jazz composer in 1954. While in Paris, she experienced such an ache in her soul that she withdrew from the world. And, for the first time in her life, she turned away from her music.
Fortunately, she had someone to turn to: God. Williams’ conversion to the Catholic faith several years later at age 47 led her back to making music. This time, it was with an interior peace she had never known before.
Williams’ conversion will be a big scene in an upcoming docudra-ma, tentatively titled “Soul on Soul,” being made by Carol Bash, a Larchmont, N.Y., filmmaker. Bash hopes to have her film telecast on PBS.
“What really moved me about this woman was her life as a black woman,” says Bash, who needs to raise approximately $550,000 to complete the project. “She always seemed to be striving for something great. It always seemed a struggle for her to get the recognition that was due her, and that moved me. And at the end of her life, coming to terms, getting some recognition — all these elements jelled once she found her faith.”
Williams’ struggles began early in life. She was born illegitimate and poor in Atlanta in 1910 to a mother who became an alcoholic and remained indifferent to her daughter's presence. Yet from an early age, Mary Lou exhibited a natural ability for playing the piano. She picked up the basics by simply watching and listening. After her family moved to Pittsburgh, she earned money playing in the homes of neighbors. She was so good that, as word spread, offers came in to play at dances, parties and church functions.
When she was 14, she was hired to play piano with a vaudeville troupe that was touring the country. The big break was especially notable for such a young person and, even more so, for a woman — especially a woman who didn't sing. Her skills grew beyond playing, into composing and arranging, and she officially joined her first band, Clouds of Joy, in 1931. With that band she wrote such popular songs as “Froggy Bottom” and “What's Your Story, Morning Glory?“
As the years went by, Williams wrote and arranged music for such luminaries as Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Ella Fitzgerald.
When she lived in Harlem, her residence became a salon. Many of the jazz greats — Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and others — would stop by to experiment with the “bebop” sound Williams loved and influenced.
In 1952, she went to England for a nine-day tour. She ended up staying in Europe for two years, performing around the continent. This ended with her breakdown in Paris when she was 44.
Her anguish probably came from a variety of factors, according to Bash. Williams had worked and traveled steadily for 30 years, often having money troubles. She gambled. She married twice. She had numerous lovers. She dabbled with drugs. And she hadn't had a big career breakthrough.
So she quit the jobs she had in Europe, came back to New York and withdrew. She stopped playing music. She prayed. She read the Bible. Finally, having been catechized in the Catholic faith, she was baptized and confirmed (along with Lorraine Gillespie, Dizzy's wife) in 1957.
Father Peter O'Brien was a 23-year-old Jesuit seminarian when he met Williams in 1964 at a New York City nightclub. He had previously read about her in Time magazine. The article included a photo of her praying at the Communion rail at St. Francis Xavier Church in New York City. Their friendship blossomed, and he later became her full-time manager from 1970 until her death in 1981.
“The conversion stabilized her,” says Father O'Brien, now a part-time parish priest in Jersey City, N.J., and also executive director of the Mary Lou Williams Foundation. “It added a depth of serenity to what was already extraordinary. It enabled her to reach even more deeply inside herself and produce richer music.”
Some of the sacred music she composed after her conversion includes “Mary Lou's Mass,” which the Vatican commissioned her to write; “Black Christ of the Andes,” which was dedicated to St. Martin de Porres; and “Mass for the Lenten Season.”
Contemporary jazz singer Carmen Lundy has sung “Mary Lou's Mass” many times over the years, including a performance at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., several years ago. Lundy has said Williams was trying to get across that “the essence of life is to do good and to know that good is better … and that there is indeed these two conflicting forces in life. Better to go with what is good and to strive to find ways to always work toward the good of something, because evil is always lurking.”
After her conversion, Williams returned to performing and composing in the secular world, but she made it clear her faith had top billing in her life.
“Many of the musicians would avoid her because she would talk about her conversion and how she found God and how important it is to be good in life,” says Brother Mario Hancock, a Franciscan Friar of the Atonement who met Williams when she stopped to pray at the Graymoor monastery in Garrison, N.Y., in 1960. He adds that he hadn't heard of Williams because he hadn't listened to jazz before — but once he heard it, he understood that “God spoke to her through her music.”
Bash, who says she doesn't “adhere to any specific religion,” agrees.
“I saw what Catholicism did for her in her life,” she says. “I wonder if finding and seeking and being active in that journey of dealing with your spirituality is going to do the same for me in my life.” Stay tuned.
Carlos Briceño writes from Seminole, Florida.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Carlos Briceņo ----- KEYWORDS: Arts -------- TITLE: Weekly Video/DVD Picks DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:Piglet's Big Movie (2003)
The Many Adventures of Winnie Tgltfs the Pooh, the first feature-length Disney Winnie -the-Pooh cartoon, Ic^flyi^ was actually a compilation of earlier animated shorts, all based on episodes of A. A. Milne's classic stories (such as the stories of the honey tree and the blustery day). Subsequent Disney Pooh outings, however, had original stories not based on Milne's work. These lacked the author's special wit and charm.
With Piglet's Big Movie, Pooh finally returns to his roots, bringing three of Milne's original tales to the screen for the first time in an anthology-style story. Framed as a series of flashbacks in a story with Pooh and his friends searching for the missing Piglet, the movie recalls the tales of Christopher Robin's expedition to the North Pole, the house at Pooh Corner, and the arrival of Kanga and Roo in the Hundred Acre Wood. Running through all three episodes as well as the framing story is the film's unifying theme: little Piglet's big heart and heroism.
With some of the author's original verse set to pleasant music by Carly Simon, Piglet's Big Movie is a heartwarmingly gentle tribute to Milne that's appropriate for even the youngest viewers. (One caveat: The end credits feature live footage of Simon singing one of the film's songs; this music-video closing seems inappropriate for the target audience.)
Content advisory:Nothing problematic.
One Man's Hero (1999)
“One man's hero is another man's traitor,” says John Riley (Tom Berenger). To many Catholics, especially in Mexico and Ireland, Riley and his fellow San Patricios — Irish soldiers who deserted the U.S. Army and then fought against it in the U.S.-Mexican War — are heroes. To many Americans, they are traitors.
Who is right? The issues are complex, and historians and faithful Catholics disagree. One Man's Hero is sympathetic to the St. Pats and critical of American Manifest Destiny expansionism and anti-Catholicism.
The film depicts Irish soldiers — many signed up right off the boats from famine-stricken Ireland
— as second-class citizens in the U.S. Army. They are harassed for such offenses as wanting to go to Mass. It shows the connection they felt with Mexico, a Catholic country that, much like Ireland, they saw encroached upon by a Protestant neighbor with British roots.
One Man's Hero is most worth seeing for its remarkably positive depiction of Catholic piety and sobering reminder of a shameful hour in America's past. Unfortunately, it suffers from heavy-handed dialogue and characterizations — and overzealous attempts to find rationales for the protagonists’ actions, down to the cliché that soldiers fight not for a flag or country but for each other. An earnest, flawed film for thoughtful, critical viewing.
Content advisory: Wartime violence and mayhem; execution and brief torture; some crass language and brief profanity.
Lilies of the Field (1963)
Sidney Poitier won an Oscar as Homer Smith, a cheerful, itinerant Baptist handyman who has a chance encounter with a community of ‘ German-Catholic nuns led by stern, iron-willed Mother Maria (Lilia Skala). Mother Maria quickly sizes up this capable man God has sent her way and decides to find something for him to do. How much, and how much she can pay, is unclear — as is the extent to which she is hindered by the language barrier or is hiding behind it.
Tolerant ecumenical respect characterizes the relationship between Smith and the sisters. He gives them English lessons and, in a joyous sequence, leads them in a united proclamation of the Gospel in song, teaching them the Baptist spiritual “Amen,” which narrates the life of Christ. In return, Smith suggests that the sisters might teach him the Tantum ergo, but, alas, the movie doesn't follow up on this.
But Smith does have something to gain from the encounter. The sisters’ austerity isn't for him: “Is that a Catholic breakfast?” he asks dubiously when offered a single fried egg and shows, in a great sight gag, how a Baptist eats a Catholic breakfast. But when Mother Maria's full vision is laid before him, Smith is challenged to confront his doubts and misgivings. Later, there are more subtle lessons about pride.
Content advisory: Nothing problematic.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Steven D. Greydanus ----- KEYWORDS: Arts -------- TITLE: Weekly TV Picks DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:All times Eastern
SUNDAY, JAN. 25
This Week in History: Explorers
History Channel, 10 a.m.
The Explorers Club in New York City celebrates its centennial this year. Josh Binswanger offers a glimpse of its lore and treasures, including the Vinland Map.
MON.-FRI., JAN. 26-30
EWTN Gallery
EWTN, 4:30 a.m., 6 p.m.
Following last week's 31st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, this week's Gallery offerings all deal with the right to life and the virtue of chastity. Monday, “The Women's Center: Changing Lives and Saving Lives.” Tuesday, “Bridging the Tears.” Wednesday, “Love's Bravest Choice.” Thursday and Friday, “To Parents of Teens,” parts 1 and 2.
TUESDAY, JAN. 27
Scientific American Frontiers: Losing It
PBS, 9 p.m.
This new special looks at how to lose weight and keep it off, tries to answer why dieting is so difficult for many and follows 12 people's weight-loss progress.
TUESDAY, JAN. 27
Industrial Wonders: Hoover Dam
The Learning Channel, 10 p.m.
The building of huge Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, 1931-1936, two years ahead of schedule was a testament to American engineers’ ingenuity and know-how but also to the teamwork, “can-do” spirit and raw courage of America's workingmen. More than 16,000 men labored on the dam for an average of 62.5 cents per hour, or $1,825 per year, good money during the Depression. Ninety-six died in accidents, but that total does not include deaths from “natural” causes such as heart attack and heat exhaustion. Today the dam supplies water for tens of millions of Americans in the Southwest.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 28
Live From Lincoln Center: New York Philharmonic
PBS, 9 p.m.
Ricardo Muti, the director of La Scala, conducts the New York Philharmonic in Schubert's Rosamunde Overture, Brahms’ Second Symphony and Mozart arias that feature bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff.
THURSDAY, JAN. 29
House Hunters
Home & Garden TV, 10:30 p.m.
Parents Robert and Julie Burch look for a home in a family-friendly neighborhood.
FRIDAY, JAN. 30
Save Our History: Frontier Homes
History Channel, 7 a.m.
History buffs and home-repair enthusiasts alike will enjoy this tour of pioneers’ abodes around the United States, including post-and-beam timber frames and log cabins back East, Midwestern sod houses and adobe homes out West.
SATURDAY, JAN. 31
Becoming Catholic
EWTN, 2:30 p.m.
Want to become Catholic? Know someone who does? Watch this half-hour series by Father Ed Krause and let him explain the process and answer all your questions.
Dan Engler writes from Santa Barbara, California.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Dan Engler ----- KEYWORDS: Arts -------- TITLE: Davey Case Could Have Wider Effects Than Previously Thought DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:WASHINGTON — The Locke v. Davey case before the U.S. Supreme Court might be about one young man, but the possible consequences of its ruling are no less than “breathtaking,” according to Justice Stephen Breyer.
At the case's heart are a myriad of questions of legality and constitutionality: Should states have any role in funding religious education or training? Should states offering college scholarships exclude from consideration students training for a career in ministry? How can the two provisions of the establishment clause — forbidding state establishment of religion but guaranteeing its free exercise — be reconciled?
The ultimate verdict this spring will likely stir up even more questions. Groups on both sides predict far-reaching effects on issues ranging from the constitutionality of school vouchers to the role of religion in government contracting.
Davey was a high school senior when he was awarded the Washington State Promise Scholarship for use at any public or private college in the state and available to students based on academic merit and financial necessity.
But when Davey declared a double major in pastoral ministries and business management at the Assembly of God-affiliated Northwest College in Kirkland, Wash., the state revoked the scholarship on the grounds that it violated the state constitution.
The issue facing the court is whether a state violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments when it awards and then revokes a state-sponsored scholarship from a student who chooses to study a subject from a religious perspective.
“The question is not, ‘May a state fund a theology student,’” said Phillip Muñoz, a Civitas Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “It can, consistent with the establishment clause. The question is, ‘May a state single out theology majors and not fund them, even if it funds everyone else?‘“
Numerous states do exactly that with provisions in their state constitutions that forbid the use of taxpayer money on religious training or instruction. Named for the 19th-century Republican James Blaine and with roots in anti-Catholicism, the “Blaine amendments” are found in 37 state constitutions, including Washington's.
Several states have successfully used Blaine amendments to block school-voucher programs.
Louisiana is a different story. In that state, which has no Blaine amendment in its constitution, all students are eligible to apply for the Tuition Opportunity Program for Students — even Catholic seminarians pursuing their undergraduate philosophy majors.
“Louisiana does not specifically authorize or support theological or religious study,” said George El-dredge, general counsel for the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance.
However, he notes that the Legislature has passed at least two scholarship programs that specifically excluded students who engaged in theological or religious study, although those programs are Joshua Davey. not active.
Providing that students meet the Fitzgerald/PDI photo) academic criteria established by law, they are eligible to attend Catholic schools such as Our Lady of the Lake College, Our Lady of Holy Cross College and Xavier University.
A ruling against Davey would mean Louisiana's program would have to change.
It would also spell change for North Carolina's scholarship program, which allows limited use of taxpayer money in funding religious education. While there's no provision in the state constitution that forbids spending public money on private religious education, it doesn't mean the state will pay to train students for a religious career.
“There is a prohibition against the intent of the program but not the student,” explained Steven Brooks, executive director of the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority.
For example, he said, if a college offered a program designed to train students in pastoral ministry or even church organ music, public funds would not be I used. But there is I nothing to pro-I hibit students I from using public funds to study I theology or religion — at a public or private university — with Joshua Davey. the intent of (Christopher usmg meir skills to serve a religious institution.
The Bush administration is among Davey's supporters. U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olsen called the state's actions “the plainest form of religious discrimination.”
Walter Weber, senior litigation counsel at the American Center for Law and Justice, the firm representing Davey, foresees a favorable outcome but cautions that the interpretation and implementation will depend on whether the ruling is broad or narrow.
“It's odds-on favor that if Davey wins it will be a narrow ruling,” he said. A narrow ruling would likely only affect state funding of religious colleges or students preparing for a career in ministry.
A ruling against Davey, Weber said, would be an invitation for some to “target and punish” private religious practices. Among the victims could well be school vouchers.
A broad ruling would be more comprehensive. Justice Breyer noted that with such a ruling the government would have to take care not to exclude religious programs in areas such as government contracting and medical programs.
It is comments such as these that make others less certain of an outcome in Davey's favor. Robert Boston of Americans United for Separation of Church and State said the justices’ questions and comments made him change his mind about the court's leanings.
Because the court has upheld aid to religious organizations in the past, he said he initially expected this ruling to continue in that direction.
Now he's not so sure. “It would be a drastic step,” he said. “There would be strong applications for any social services under faith-based initiatives.”
There are plenty of unknowns. Whether a ruling against Davey would apply to students using state funds to take theology or even comparative religion courses but not major in a religious area isn't clear, although Muñoz of the American Enterprise Institute said a ruling wouldn't extend that far. The final decision, though, will be up to the court.
The one thing both sides agree on is that the determining vote will once again come down to perennial swing-voter Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Dana Lorelle writes from Raleigh, North Carolina.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Dana Lorelle ----- KEYWORDS: Education -------- TITLE: We Have Seen the Alien, and He Is Us DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:Not only is anti-Catholicism the last acceptable prejudice in our land, but it also might have been the first: The Puritans carried anti-Catholic tracts with them across the Atlantic. (Presumably, they didn't want to be caught unprepared should “Roman” missionaries be there to greet them upon landing in New England.)
Through out America's history, hostility toward the Church has erupted into riots and attacks — physical as well as rhetorical — on Catholic institutions and religious orders. The antagonism forced Al Smith to abandon his candidacy for president in 1928 and prompted John F. Kennedy to deny during the 1960 campaign that his faith would have any influence over his decisions at all once he was in the White House. It has marked a good deal of Supreme Court jurisprudence regarding religious liberty. And, despite Catholicism's status as the nation's largest religious denomination, cartoonish stereotypes that would have been familiar to the Puritans remain a staple in the media and popular culture.
Although much of that traditional animus is, thankfully, now of only historical interest, all is not well. Contemporary anti-Catholicism has become, as scholar Philip Jenkins has argued, “a significant ideological component of the new liberalism.” The Church's sacramental view of the world, its defense of the natural law and of the traditional family as well as the old bugbears of “hierarchy” and “dual loyalty” continue to make the Catholic faith a shorthand target for everything modern liberalism opposes.
In his new book, Jesuit Father Mark Massa, director of the American Catholic Studies program at Fordham University, considers the range and varieties of anti-Catholic expression in American life. Constructed as a series of historical studies, the book looks at such anti-Catholic phenomena as Jerry Falwell and the Pentecostal movement, the virulently bigoted comic strips of Jack Chick, Norman Vincent Peale on Kennedy's election and the tensions between Catholics and Protestants in postwar America.
According to Father Massa, the Catholic faith challenges the American vision of privatized religion “on a wide spectrum of very public issues that divide the culture. … [The Church] has continued to make very loud and very public statements to morally authoritative teaching in ways that outrage significant segments of the culture.”
As he shows, the Catholic faith was once itself opposed to a largely Protestant public culture with which it nevertheless shared some core beliefs. The contemporary situation is different. Because political liberalism operates from very different premises from Catholicism and because it denies any institution the ability to pronounce on public issues, anti-Catholicism has become more ingrained in elite secular culture.
Father Massa traces anti-Catholicism in large part to the differences between the Protestant imagination and its Catholic counterpart. The Catholic imagination sees creation as a direct echo of the kingdom of heaven: God reaches down and reveals himself to man through the sacramental order he created. The Protestant imagination, which seeks after God mainly through logic and verbal expression, tends to emphasize the corruption of creation by sinful man and, thus, the radical separation between God and humanity. In this view, salvation necessarily requires a rejection of “the world.” In defining these differences, historian David Tracy has described the Protestant imagination as “dialectical” and the Catholic as “analogical.”
Tracy's conceptual distinction is being borne out by a growing body of social-science research showing that Catholics and non-Catholics do, indeed, think differently about a range of issues involving collective morality — the rightful role of government, for example, and the best way to care for the poor. As Father Massa ably explains, these differences remain even as mainline Protestantism loses its influence. Why? Because the liberal imagination that has supplanted the historically Protestant one maintains Protestantism's rejection of Catholicism's sacramental vision.
In his concluding chapter, Father Massa addresses the recent scandals and the role they have had in reviving anti-Catholic stereotypes.
He hopes the Church can restore internal harmony and reconstruct its relationship with America by effectively engaging both types of imagination. Even if that happens, however, Father Massa makes a good case that Catholics will likely remain outsiders in the American experiment for the foreseeable future.
The good news is, our dual status here — as outsiders and insiders — presents us with a unique opportunity to evangelize and catechize our fellow countrymen as no one else can.
Gerald J. Russello lives in Brooklyn, New York.
----- EXCERPT: Weekly Book Pick ----- EXTENDED BODY: Gerald J. Russello ----- KEYWORDS: Education -------- TITLE: Campus Watch DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:Compliant Conferences
Jan. 11 — While the Diocese of Steubenville, Ohio — which includes Franciscan University of Steubenville — was one of 20 dioceses that failed to comply with some rules of the U.S. bishops’ child-abuse prevention guidelines, the university itself was declared in compliance.
Last year the university asked whether its youth conferences were subject to diocesan child-protection regulations. The events draw 6,000 teens to the school every summer.
The diocese found them in compliance. It is policy that high-school students who stay in the dormitories are required to keep their doors open at all times and all sending dioceses must have background checks and child-safety education programs for their chaperones.
Anti-Catholic Proposal?
Jan. 10 — Teams from Catholic schools won eight of the 14 fall sports state high school championships in Kentucky this year.
Now some want to “level the playing field” by banning students who receive financial aid — most of whom attend Catholic schools — from playing sports.
Proposal 13, currently before the Kentucky High School Athletic Association board, would deny eligibility for state competition for anyone receiving state aid. The proposal would ultimately have to be approved by the Kentucky Board of Education before becoming rule.
“The proposal,” said a Catholic Conference of Kentucky news release, “seeks to punish students whose taxpaying parents chose to send them to a faith-based school and need some financial assistance to do so.”
Anti-Catholic ‘Art’?
U.S. NEWSWIRE, Jan. 7 — “Holier Than Thou” is the title of a sculpture at Washburn University in Topeka, Kan., that has spawned a lawsuit filed Jan. 7 by the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Thomas More Law Center.
The sculpture is of a Catholic bishop “with a grotesque facial expression wearing a phallus on his head that is shaped like a bishop's miter,” according to U.S. Newswire.
Despite calls from Catholic leaders around the country as well as a letter from Archbishop James Keleher of Kansas City, Kan., the university has refused to remove the sculpture.
Theology on Campus
KNIGHT-RIDDER, Jan. 6 — Theology on Tap has apparently taken the campus of Columbus State University in Columbus, Ga., by storm.
The secular college in the sparsely Catholic-populated South — but where more and more Catholics are emerging — presents the program through its Neumann Society Catholic group on campus.
Recent topics included “Why Is a Priest Needed for Confession?” and “There's Something About Mary.” Baptists, atheists and Catholics all attend the talks.
A senior at the university started the program after realizing the myths about Catholicism that abounded on campus, the news service reported, such as the thought that Catholics are not Christians and that they worship Mary.
Satellite School
Jan. 1 — Chicago-based St. Xavier University opened a new campus in south suburban Orland Park on Jan. 5.
The $8.3 million, 31,000-square-foot building replaces the 17,500-square-foot satellite campus in nearby Tinley Park.
Currently about 600 students will be located at the new site. By next January, the paper reported, the university is considering bringing its nursing program to the new facility, which holds approximately 1,250 students.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Education -------- TITLE: Sneaky Conceptions? DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:Family Matters
I feel called to have another baby, but my husband vehemently disagrees. We are longtime natural family planning users, and I'm inclined to stop checking my fertility signs without telling him. Would this be wrong? Aren't we called to be generous in the service of life?
We, too, are longtime natural family planning users (as well as certified teachers of the approach) and we've heard this scenario described more than once. A few thoughts:
It was hard for us to accept that every deep desire for a baby does not automatically translate into God's will for our family. Eleven years ago, we were newlyweds and desperately wanted to start having children. We prayed about it, however, and felt like God was asking us to wait. Tom had just started graduate school and Caroline was supporting us through the lucrative profession of Catholic high-school teaching in a high-rent town, far away from both our families. We did postpone pregnancy for a while but got tired of waiting and decided to jump in and start trying.
Nothing happened. After several months, we turned back to the Lord for more discernment and realized he was still calling us to wait. Our deep longing was a good and beautiful thing, but our timing was not the Lord's timing.
We can't determine God's will for your family size. That is between you, your spouse and the Lord. But we can say that it would be wrong to knowingly trick your husband into having a baby. It is contrary to the dignity of the person to use someone as a mere means to an end. Instead, pray hard that you can be of “one heart, one mind, one path” (Jeremiah 31). Ask for intercession from St. Joseph and the newly canonized married couple, Luigi and Maria Quattrocchi.
Prayerfully consider your husband's objections. The Church asks us to weigh physical, psychological, financial and social conditions when praying about family size. Perhaps your husband has legitimate concerns about your situation. On the other hand, you might be able to assuage unfounded fears. You can remind him that children really are “the supreme gift of marriage and contribute substantially to the welfare of the parents” (Vatican II).
Finally, until you can come to unity on this decision, you don't have to squelch your desires. There are many ways to be generous in the service of life. You might consider helping out a new young mother or volunteering at a crisis-pregnancy center. Or you can resolve to be more generous, loving and patient toward the children you do have (Caroline's new year's resolution).
We do not know your age or the age of your children, but perhaps God is preparing your heart for grandchildren. We do know God's plan for us is so much greater than anything we can devise for ourselves. We'll be praying that God's perfect will may be done in your family.
Tom and Caroline McDonald are family-life directors for the Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama.
Reach Family Matters at familymatters@ncregister.com
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Culture Of Life -------- TITLE: Developing a Few Good Men DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:Prolife Profile
Half a century ago, John Steinbeck wrote this about men: “There aren't many of them in the world, as everyone finds out sooner or later.”
And if real, grown-up men — faithful, responsible, reliable men — were scarce in the early 1950s, the societal forces that have taken their toll on the family in the intervening years have only conspired to further decrease the supply.
John Ream, a former bank executive and one-time U.S. Marine, began the Effective Father Seminar program 20 years ago to help stem the proverbial bleeding.
“Since World War II, men have abdicated their roles and responsibilities within the family,” says Ream, who doesn't shy away from allowing his Catholic faith to animate his mission. “We have gone off and said to ourselves that, if we put the bread on the table and the milk in the ice box, if we make the house payment and the car payment, our job is done. That's what the world would have us think. But that's certainly not the job description you find for ‘father’ in the Bible.”
To encourage the biblical ideal of fatherhood, Ream conducts about 20 seminars a year around the country, mostly on weekends and usually at the behest of parishes and local family-life ministries. His talks have taken him to communities in Maryland, Indiana, Arizona, California, Oregon and his home state of Florida, from where he operates the program.
Ream has developed several seminars, each based on the need to educate and support men willing to assume their proper roles within the family, the workplace and the community — with the emphasis definitely on the family.
The seminars offer everyday tips on how to be a responsive, loving husband, father and grandfather; how to balance leadership and compassion; and how to address such delicate issues as holding children accountable, fostering the faith and helping children stand up to peer pressure.
A key, Ream says, is anticipating issues before they come up. “I tell people, ‘Let's look ahead to the time when Jimmy wants to drive, when little Laura gets to be 14 and wants to date,’” he says. “If you wait till the situations arise, you have missed your opportunity to teach your children what is expected of them. You're backpedaling, and you're not fulfilling your role as your family's leader and guide.”
In one of the seminars, Ream seeks to prepare families for the unthinkable. Fathers are asked to imagine that a daughter of theirs has been raped and that a pregnancy has resulted. Various supposed solutions are discussed, ranging from a hospital procedure that would abort the child to the family caring for the child to offering the child for adoption.
“We let people know what the teaching of the Catholic Church is on the various options and why,” Ream says. “Above all, we try to make the situation come alive for them. These are the kinds of problems families face every day.”
Sizing up Suitors
Pedro Pelaez Jr., the father of three daughters, has attended five Effective Father Seminars, each held at his home parish in South Florida. One experience stands out in his mind.
“When I went to the first seminar, I had one big worry. All of my girls are very beautiful, sweet girls,” he says. “I was thinking, what am I going to do when they start dating? What am I going to do when all these boys start hanging around? And the more I thought, the more turmoil I was in.”
So when Ream unveiled the concept of a father interviewing his daughters’ dates, Pelaez was interested. Ream advises fathers to take their daughters’ escorts aside before the first date and tell them how special and loved the girl is to her family, how the father's role is to protect her and how the father is willing to delegate that protector's role to the young man. He asks the prospect to enter into a commitment to protect the girl physically, emotionally and spiritually, for as long as the young man is in her company.
“When I first introduced the idea of interviewing dates to my oldest daughter, she was 8 or 9,” Pelaez recalls. “And she was fine with it. She said, ‘Dad, that's okay. If a boy can't handle that, then they don't deserve to go out with me.’ But years later, when the actual day came, she was less enthused. But I didn't give her a choice. I told her, ‘No interview, no date.’“
So the interview took place. And it was followed by several more in the intervening years.
“It's been a good thing,” Pelaez says. “My daughters give me feedback, and the boys usually feel good about it. They feel like I'm addressing them man to man, giving them a man's responsibility.”
To Be a Man
Ream, whose book Velvet & Steel outlines many of the principles found in the seminars, recalls the moment his ministry began.
“I was traveling five days a week, three weeks a month, and I happened to be listening to a talk show on a Christian radio station,” he says. “They said the average American father spends less than 15 minutes a week with his children. And I'm not talking about meals here, but time spent eyeball-to-eyeball — doing homework, playing ball, whatever.
“While I was driving, I went over in my mind the previous seven days. I was sure I must have spent at least an hour or two with each of my four kids. But I couldn't come up with any more than about a half an hour total, with all of them. I thought, my goodness! I'm losing my children! The coaches, the teachers, the culture is having more to do with my children's lives than I am.”
“I was being as good a dad as I knew how to be,” he continues. “I wasn't failing consciously, but nobody had ever taught me how to be a father. Nobody took me aside and told me what it means to be a man, what it means to be a husband and a father.”
That's what Ream is trying to do with the Effective Father Ministry: give fathers and grandfathers practical tools they can use to fulfill their roles.
Ream never requests a fee from the parishes he serves. He asks only that they cover his expenses. “This is my way of using some of what I have been given to help other people,” he says.
“My ministry is teaching,” Ream adds. “I try to concentrate on the gifts God has given me, making sure I bring those gifts to my family in the community and time where he's placed me. And I hope I am able to help other men do the same.”
Gregory Oatis writes from Perrysburg, Ohio.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Gregory Oatis ----- KEYWORDS: Culture Of Life -------- TITLE: Marital Sunshine DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:Facts of Life
More than 90% of the 4,500 people interviewed in the state-sponsored Family Formation in Florida Survey said a happy, healthy marriage is one of the most important things in life. About 80% said children do better when their parents are married, and two-thirds agreed that government programs to strengthen families and reduce divorce are a “very good idea.”
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: ----- KEYWORDS: Culture Of Life -------- TITLE: Rewarding Good Behavior DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:Two of my friends have diametrically opposed approaches for getting their kids to behave well and accomplish things. One thinks material rewards of various kinds are essential in encouraging good traits and discouraging bad ones.
The other believes the positive reinforcement of knowing a job has been done to the parents’ satisfaction should be reward enough.
Who's right? Let's take a closer look.
Ginny has a reward system for just about everything, from potty training to getting teens not to talk back. I love to visit her home because it's filled with progress charts and inspirations. The daughter of an elementary-school teacher, she grew up with reward systems. It was natural for her to carry on the tradition with her own nine kids, ages 21 to 4.
Ginny gives most of her rewards for short-term goals, like ridding oneself of a bad habit. Once the goal is reached, the reward system is dissipated. Often it has some connection with the liturgical season and can include things like filling a Popsicle-stick manger with yarn “straw” in hopes of finding a Baby Jesus doll asleep in the hay on Christmas morning.
Other times, she'll let her children accumulate points toward the purchase of a treat. A piece of candy goes a long way for practicing the piano well or getting an A on a spelling test. Major accomplishments could earn a trip for an ice cream cone or lunch date.
The best part for her children is when Dad (that's Matt to Ginny) gets home and they can share their successes with him.
“I only use rewards when there is a sincere struggle to accomplish a goal, not as a matter of course,” Ginny explains. “I don't think it's caused the kids to expect to receive something, because I never hear them say, ‘What will I get if I …?’ On the contrary, people often remark how easy our children are to please, in contrast with others they know.”
There have been times, Ginny admits, when rewards have not worked well. She sees these times as learning experiences that taught her something about the child's personality and maturity.
A mutual friend of ours, Mary, is leery of reward systems that include material goods. She thinks individual rewards tend to pit her six children, ages 13 to 18 months, against one another. It dubs one child successful while the other gets angry and feels like giving up. It can also teach children to expect a tangible reward for every chore performed or goal reached.
Rather, Mary and her husband, Tom, use group rewards such as going out to dinner in return for the teamwork required for planting the family garden or finishing certain tasks before Dad gets home from work. Individual rewards come in the form of hugs and verbal praisings. It's only on occasion that they will offer a prize, such as an audio book for the completion of a difficult reading lesson. They might reward their older children by taking their turn at doing dishes, taking them out to lunch or perhaps buying something special they've been wanting. But that's not the norm.
“It's dangerous for parents to use a material reward system,” Mary says. “The whole reason for doing a task becomes connected with a material reward. We try to avoid this type of ‘carrot chasing.’ As for getting them to do anything — we start young with definite expectations. The children feel successful academically and know they are needed, appreciated contributors to the household.”
Bribery Blunders
Dr. James Dobson, the evangelical-Protestant psychologist and founder of Focus on the Family who is popular among Catholics, tells parents not to use reward systems if they are philosophically opposed to them, although he's not opposed to them himself.
He notes that our entire society is composed of reward systems — paychecks for workers, medals of honor for heroic soldiers, watches presented to retiring employees and so on. Using reward systems for children, he says, can help prepare them for the adult world.
When contemplating how to reward children, Dobson adds, parents must anticipate the child's response. Some children respond well with material rewards while others do better with praise, hugs and special time together. It's important to know the child's likes and dislikes in order to choose the most effective reward for that child.
Rewards become bribes, according to Dobson, when they serve as “payoff” for disobedient or irresponsible behavior. He recommends against using rewards when the child has challenged the authority of the parent. For example, if a child is asked to do something by the parent and refuses, it is wrong for the parent to offer a reward to get the child to change his mind. That would be a bribe and would reinforce the child's belligerence. Next time the child is asked to do something, he'll wait for a reward before he does it.
“It is vitally important for parents to understand these principles, if for no other reason than to avoid rewarding unacceptable behavior,” he writes in his best seller Dr. Dobson Answers Your Questions About Raising Children. “In fact, it is remarkably easy and common to propagate undesirable behavior in young children by allowing it to succeed.”
Incentive Clause
Sally Lee, editor in chief of Parents magazine, advocates using incentives rather than bribes, which are usually given out of desperation.
“An incentive,” she wrote in a recent article, “marks consistent progress, encourages kids to change their habits for the long term and is agreed upon in advance rather than negotiated in the moment.”
Regardless of whether or not a parent decides to use a material-reward system, experts agree that verbal reinforcement should permeate the entire parent-child relationship. Parents will see greater progress by investing their energy into praising a child for admired behavior than by reprimanding for undesired behavior.
The ultimate goal, of course, is to form our children into conscientious Christians. To do that, we must nurture their souls as well as their minds and bodies. That means helping them to understand that whatever we do and however we do it must glorify God.
“The child is the very symbol of the soul — unspoiled, open, nonjudgmental, appreciative and loving,” write Mimi Doe and Marsha Walch in 10 Principles for Spiritual Parenting: Nurturing Your Child's Soul. “The child is whole and becomes divided as he grows. Our goal is to keep a spiritual wholeness intact in our children and in so doing help them remain God-centered.”
Pope John Paul II could hardly have said it better.
Marge Fenelon writes from Cudahy, Wisconsin.
----- EXCERPT: ----- EXTENDED BODY: Marge Fenelon ----- KEYWORDS: Culture Of Life -------- TITLE: Prolife Victories DATE: 01/25/2004 12:00:00 PM CATEGORY: January 25-31, 2004 ----- BODY:Register Now to Vote
PRIESTS FOR LIFE, Jan. 6 — Priests for Life has launched its National Christian Voter Registration Sundays project. The Staten Island, N.Y.-based Catholic pro-life group announced the project Jan. 6 along with other Christian organizations. The project's goal is to register voters at parishes across the country.
“The most important issue on which to evaluate a candidate is his or her position on abortion,” said Father Frank Pavone, Priests for Life's national director, “because if a politician cannot respect the life of a little baby, how is he supposed to respect yours?” Upcoming dates for the registration drive are March 7, May 2, July 4 and Sept. 5. For more information visit www.priestsforlife.org.
Minding Maryland
WBAL-TV (Baltimore), Jan. 7 — If the Pro-Life Caucus of the Maryland General Assembly has its way, abortion sites in the state will soon be regulated.
Members of the caucus, which plans to formally organize later this year, intend to introduce the Women's Health Protection Act in the Assembly's upcoming session. The legislation would amend state health codes to require freestanding abortion sites to be licensed and regulated.
The proposal would also require abortionists to report their procedures and any complications from them. Currently doctors are not required to report any information, which pro-life advocates say prevents the public from knowing the dangers of abortion.
Abortion Abstinence
LIFENEWS.COM, Jan. 6 — Health care professionals’ civil right to opt out of performing abortions in Mississippi will be upheld if pending legislation is passed this year.
Pro-Life Mississippi will promote the Healthcare Worker Right of Conscience Act in the upcoming legislative session. Mississippi is one of four states that don't offer protection to employees who refuse to perform procedures on moral grounds.
The group will also back another bill requiring reporting of medical treatments necessitated by abortion procedures.
There were 3,566 abortions performed in Mississippi in 2001, the latest year information is available, LifeNews.com reported. The number of women who had complications is unknown.
A Gain at Georgetown
CHILDREN OF GOD FOR LIFE, Jan. 6 — Georgetown University has ended its use of aborted fetal-cell lines in medical research.
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington contacted the Jesuit-run university in December when he learned from Children of God for Life, an organization that focuses its efforts to combat the use of aborted fetal cells in vaccines, that the cell lines were being used at the school's Medical Research Center.
“I am pleased to tell you,” Cardinal McCarrick said in his letter to Children of God for Life, LifeSite.net news reported, “that Georgetown Medical Center's Tissue Culture Bank is now well aware of the moral problems concerning use of certain cell lines and research involving tissue culture.”
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