John J. Mclain Tom Cornell
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Nov. 17, 2008AmericaTHE NATIONAL CATHOLIC WEEKLY $2.75 The Chaplain Controversy JOHN J. MCLAIN TOM CORNELL Selective Conscientious Objection Gregory D. Foster Thomas More Returns to Broadway Michael V. Tueth EAN HAD A HEART AS WIDE as his then this man, like each of us, was creat- broad Celtic smile. Though actu- ed in love by God with an inviolable dig- America ally our cousin, he lived among us nity God never revoked. Published by Jesuits of the United States as our brother, a noble soul who “That is a radical idea,” I later Sroutinely performed the quiet deeds of thought. “God is not the moving target. generosity the world depends on yet We are. His love is constant. It is our sins Editor in Chief rarely notices. In 1995, at the age of 29, that distance us from God’s love. But that Drew Christiansen, S.J. one of those deeds cost him his life. is not God’s choice. In fact, it is his sor- He had taken as a roommate a trou- row.” What a grace this was. I felt I had EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT bled, down-on-his-luck acquaintance who at last found an idea that was just big Managing Editor in a blind, drunken rage shot Sean three enough to accommodate the seemingly Robert C. Collins, S.J. times with a rifle and then committed impossible: my forgiveness of Sean’s Editorial Director suicide. The news of the murder tore killer. So I prayed for him. I prayed for through us like a Category 5 hurricane of the grace to see him as God saw him. Karen Sue Smith anger and sorrow, prompting one of my And in time, in my mind’s eye, God Online Editor brothers to say that if Sean’s killer had revealed a man who knew no love. Maurice Timothy Reidy not committed suicide, “I would have Chronically desperate, fatally lonely, he Associate Editors killed him myself.” I don’t actually think panicked and made a terrible choice. Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J. that’s true, but it is an understandably Until his last breath, however, God loved George M. Anderson, S.J. human reaction. In order to cope with him as much as he does any of us. And Dennis M. Linehan, S.J. the sense of helplessness every loss that, it seemed to me, was worthy of my James Martin, S.J. entails, people sometimes imagine that effort to forgive this man. In fact, it James P. McDermott, S.J. they are capable of anything. demanded it. Matt Malone, S.J. I did not consciously feel angry until a Jesuits like to say that the Catholic James T. Keane, S.J. couple of days after the murder, when the faith is “a faith that does justice.” That is Peter Schineller, S.J. woman who true, but in owned the house isolation that Literary Editor where Sean had phrase fails Patricia A. Kossmann died appeared in Of Many Things to capture Poetry Editor the living room the truly James S. Torrens, S.J. of my aunt and uncle to deliver some of radical nature of our Christian calling. Sean’s belongings. She offered some The reason for our hope is that our faith Assistant Editor words of comfort to us and then told us is ultimately the faith that does forgive- Francis W. Turnbull, S.J. that she had to get going, as she also ness, the faith that reconciles, even and Design and Production needed to bring some things to the fami- perhaps especially in the face of injustice. Stephanie Ratcliffe ly of the man who had killed Sean. “They Not every act of justice is an act of for- too are grieving,” she said, “as they have giveness. Yet every act of forgiveness is BUSINESS DEPARTMENT also lost a son.” an act of justice. The work of justice is a Publisher I thought this remark, though not constitutive element of Christian living, Jan Attridge malicious, was nonetheless insensitive. but forgiveness is our distinctive calling, It enraged me at first, but even after for it contains the possibility of conver- Chief Financial Officer my anger had slowly receded, it lin- sion and true creative change. After all, Lisa Pope gered in my memory for years. I fig- the greatest act of forgiveness in history Marketing ured out eventually that what unsettled took place on Calvary in the midst of the Eryk Krysztofiak me most about the remark was that it greatest injustice in history, and this sin- was true. Another father and mother gle act of mercy continues to transform Advertising had lost a son, surely one of the most humanity. Julia Sosa formidable sorrows a human being can In the end, I don’t know what justice face. It was also true that their son was was or might have been for Sean and his 106 West 56th Street a murderer. killer. Only God now knows that. But in New York, NY 10019-3803 And that is what I kept thinking: both my grief I did come to know that forgive- Ph: 212-581-4640; Fax: 212-399-3596. of those things were true; this man was a ness is the final measure of our love for E-mail: [email protected]; murderer, and he was more than a mur- one another. And though it is sometimes [email protected]. derer. He was a son, but he was more said that the forgiveness asked of us is Web site: www.americamagazine.org. than a son. His was a monstrous act, but beyond the human, the opposite is true: Customer Service: 1-800-627-9533. he was not a monster. Above all he was forgiveness is the most human act we can © 2008 America Press, Inc. not merely the sum of the acts that perform, for it springs from the truth of brought about the collision of our lives. who we are: children created in the image Cover art Reuters/Pool/Earnie Grafton. And all of this was true because if God of an all loving and forgiving Father. Copyright retained by the San Diego was who my faith revealed him to be, Matt Malone, S.J. Union-Tribune. www.americamagazine.org Vol. 199 No. 16, Whole No. 4835 November 17, 2008 Articles 12 Showing God’s Face on the Battlefield 9 John J. McLain A chaplain explains why he served. The Chaplain’s Dilemma 12 Tom Cornell Can pastors in the military serve both God and government? One War at a Time 16 Gregory D. Foster The case for selective conscientious objection Current Comment 4 19 Editorial The Living Gospel 5 Signs of the Times 6 Ethics Notebook 8 Campaign Illnesses John F. Kavanaugh Theater 19 A Man for All Seasons Michael V. Tueth Bookings Mystery Man Gale Swiontkowski 22 Book Reviews 25 JFK and the Unspeakable; Sister Teresa Poem 26 Notes on a Shameful Usage Art Schwartz Letters 29 The Word 31 The Last Judgment Daniel J. Harrington This week @ Commentary on Barack Obama's victory and the Catholic vote, on our “In All Things” blog. Plus, a roundtable discussion of “A Man for All Seasons,” and America Connects America’s reviews of the original play and film. All at americamagazine.org. Current Comment tion, however, and not just because it is the first daily Recruiting Father Mulcahey newspaper to make a wholesale move to the Web. (The Many issues of America in recent years have carried Monitor will make the switch in April, when it will begin advertisements by one or other branch of the U.S. Armed publishing a weekly magazine to complement its daily Forces recruiting military chaplains. Some readers have Web content.) The Monitor is one of the most successful questioned whether a Catholic magazine should publish of a dwindling breed of small publications that cater to such advertisements. audiences underserved by the mainstream media. The The editors of America do not support many of the Monitor was founded as a response to the yellow journal- government’s current uses of the military. We have spoken ism of the early 20th century, and over time it developed critically many times about the invasion of Iraq, the use of expertise in international reporting. Today, it maintains rendition, the use of torture, the notion of preemptive war eight foreign bureaus, more than some major metropoli- and many other troubling policies. Yet even if one dis- tan newspapers. That The Monitor is church-financed (it agrees with the Bush administration’s uses of the military, is sponsored by the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in does that mean that members of the military do not Boston) is a reminder that religious groups can play an deserve pastoral care? Obviously not. important role even in a crowded media landscape. The Helping call attention to the need for military chap- Catholic media would do well to keep an eye on The lains is not the same as endorsing our government’s use of Monitor’s great experiment. the military, any more than providing pastoral care in an unstable foreign country implies approval of the junta cur- rently in control there. If anything, doubts about the Take, Break, Share, Love... ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan intensify our con- “Mad Men” is an Emmy-award winning series about cern for the men and women who are called upon to carry advertising executives in the early 1960s that just wrapped out their missions at the risk of both their lives and at up its second season on AMC.