TRAVEL & PILGRIMAGE

THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC WEEKLY MARCH 4, 2013 $3.50 OF MANY THINGS

PUBLISHED BY JESUITS OF THE UNITED STATES ope Benedict XVI’s announce - the most casual Roman Catholic that ment on Feb. 11 that he will Mr. Wills’s views are definitely hetero - “renounce the ministry of dox and probably heretical. I don’t use PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER P John P. Schlegel, S.J. of ” stunned the church that last term in a desultory fashion. In EDITOR IN CHIEF and set the media scrambling. America fact, the word heresy is too casually Matt Malone , S.J. was no exception; we were equally sur - invoked in popular ecclesiastical dis - prised and just as frenzied. In the 48 course. I am personally loath to say that EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT hours after the news broke, our editors any person—liberal, conservative, what - MANAGING EDITOR gave more than two-dozen interviews ever—is or is not a Christian solely Robert C. Collins, S.J. to the secular press. because of his or her theological beliefs. DIGITAL EDITOR Providing commentary and assis - But it is not really Mr. Wills’s Maurice Timothy Reidy tance to the media in times such as unorthodox views that give us cause to LITERARY EDITOR these is an important part of America ’s question his Christian commitment; it Raymond A. Schroth, S.J. mission to interpret the church for the is his manifest lack of charity. What POETRY EDITOR world and the world for the church. Mr. Wills said on “The Colbert James S. Torrens, S.J. America ’s editor at large, James Martin, Report” was insensitive; frankly, it was ASSOCIATE EDITORS S.J., made several media appearances, insulting, not just to me and not just to Kevin Clarke Kerry Weber including one on “The Colbert Report,” priests but to millions of sincere, faith - Luke Hansen, S.J. the satirical news program on Comedy ful Catholics. The fact that Mr. Wills is EDITOR AT LARGE Central hosted by Stephen Colbert, the a Catholic is not relevant here; his bap - James Martin, S.J. actor and comedian who plays a dan - tismal certificate is not a license for ART DIRECTOR gerously dimwitted, reactionary version incivility. We would not tolerate this Stephanie Ratcliffe of himself on the weekly program. kind of behavior in a non-Catholic. ASSISTANT EDITOR S Also appearing on the show that Why do we tolerate it in Mr. Wills? Francis W. Turnbull, S.J. night was Garry Wills, a onetime Jesuit Every day, in almost every conceivable Olga Segura and protégé of William F. Buckley Jr., language, millions of Catholics take part COLUMNISTS who has moved steadily leftward over in eucharistic liturgies, in prayers before Angela Alaimo-O’Donnell the course of his Pulitzer prize-winning the Blessed Sacrament, in processions Colleen Carroll Campbell career. Mr. Wills has just published a and eucharistic devotions, all manifesta - John J. Conley, S.J. new book, the thesis of which is easily tions of a deeply held, millennia-old Daniel P. Horan, O.F.M. James T. Keane gleaned from its title, Why Priests? A belief that in the Eucharist mere bread John W. Martens Failed Tradition. and wine do indeed become the body Bill McGarvey Mr. Colbert asked the author why the and blood of Christ. This is our faith; Margot Patterson priesthood is a failed tradition. Mr. Wills this is the faith for which we live and for Michael Rossmann, S.J. responded: “Well, they continue to pre - which many of our forebears died. BUSINESS DEPARTMENT tend to turn bread and wine into the Mr. Wills may disagree with how CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER body and blood of , which doesn’t the eucharistic mystery has been tradi - Lisa happen.” When Mr. Colbert mentioned tionally expressed in philosophical or that the Eucharist is “a mystery,” Mr. theological terminology; he may even 106 West 56th Street Wills responded: “No, it’s a fake.” A very dissent from the substance of that New York, NY 10019-3803 awkward three-second pause ensued. teaching or from any Catholic teaching, Ph: 212-581-4640; Fax: 212-399-3596 Some longtime watchers of the show for that matter; that is his prerogative. E-mail: [email protected]; noticed that a shocked Mr. Colbert, a He is not entitled, however, to wantonly [email protected] devout Catholic in real life, nearly broke insult us with claims that our sacra - Web site: www.americamagazine.org. character. But Mr. Wills wasn’t fin - ments are “invented,” that our priests Customer Service: 1-800-627-9533 ished: In the remaining two minutes of are merely “pretending” or that our © 2013 America Press, Inc. the interview, he went on to say that the most cherished gift is somehow “a fake.” priesthood and the papacy should be Mr. Wills does not necessarily owe us Cover: Pope Benedict XVI attends a Feb. 11 meeting with cardinals at the abolished and that the sacrament of the an account of his unorthodox views. He Vatican announcing he will resign at sick is “an invented sacrament.” does, however, owe us an apology. the end of the month. CNS photo/ Now it should be obvious to even MATT MALONE, S.J. L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters CONTENTS www.americamagazine.org Vol. 208 No. 7, WHole No. 5002 MARCH 4, 2013

ARTICLES 13 A HISTORIC DEPARTURE Reflections on Benedict XVI’s surprise decision Drew Christiansen • James Martin • Vincent J. Miller Sidney Callahan

16 WHAT NOW? Experts respond to common questions on the papal transition. Thomas J. Reese and Kenneth E. Untener

22 TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH Faith at work around the world Chris Herlinger

13 COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 4 Current Comment

5 Editorial Point of Departure 6 Signs of the Times

10 Column Portrait of a Lady Margot Patterson 26 Faith in Focus Ignatius’ Way Chris Lowney The Godfather Brian Harper 32 Poem Mary of Sorrows Diane Vreuls 36 Letters 22 38 The Word Lost and Found John W. Martens

BOOKS & CULTURE 31 IDEAS The unorthodox faith of Robert Frost BOOK REVIEW The Myth of Persecution

ON THE WEB ON THE WEB Continuing coverage of the papal transition , including video reports from Catholic News Service and a podcast with John W. O’Malley, S.J. Plus, a slideshow of photos from the Ignatian camino in . All at americamagazine.org. 26 CURRENT COMMENT

a fanciful place. The pool’s five porticoes mentioned in Revelations in Los Angeles John’s Gospel were often considered mere symbols of the The recent revelations contained in the court-ordered five books of Moses. But excavations later uncovered a release of documents relating to the of minors pool in Jerusalem featuring five porticoes. St. Peter’s tomb by clergy in Los Angeles might, at first glance, seem to be a in Rome is another “reputed” location that ended up being case of “nothing new.” Sadly, for many Americans, the sex - precisely where legend had placed it. ual abuse of minors by some priests is no longer a surprise. Of course many legendary sites have absolutely no basis But the release of these records marks one of the few times in fact. But legendary sites deserve the benefit of the doubt that reams of documents are available for public viewing— for several reasons. First, people in antiquity (and in the in this case, on the archdiocesan Web site. The files, which Middle Ages) did not move around as much as we mod - José Gomez said make for “brutal and painful erns, and so when pilgrims arrived, it was easy for locals to reading,” should be read by every concerned priest, sister, point out where something had happened. Second, the brother and Catholic lay worker, not to mention more extraordinary the event the more likely it would be and . They detail decades of outrage by par - recalled. (The brother of the woman with the hemorrhage ents, as well as efforts by well-intentioned priests and oth - would have remembered where his sister was healed.) We ers to remove abusive priests from ministry. The records may underestimate the accuracy of oral traditions and the also appear to show attempts to shield abusers from the intelligence of our ancestors. The next time someone sniffs proper law enforcement agencies. This is a rare opportuni - at a legendary holy site, don’t sniff back. ty to trace from its earliest days the way that such horrific crimes affect an individual, a family, a community. Impunity on Trial Also new is Archbishop Gomez’s decision to limit “The guerrilla is the fish. The people are the sea. If you can - Cardinal ’s “administrative and public” not catch the fish, you have to drain the sea.” That was the duties. While Cardinal Mahony is still a priest in good memorable, inhuman policy of Efraín Ríos Montt during his standing, he will no longer preside at confirmations, a typi - bloody tenure as political overseer of Guatemala’s brutal civil cal function of retired bishops. Archbishop Gomez also war in 1982. That conflict officially ended in 1996. More accepted the resignation of Bishop Thomas Curry, the aux - than 200,000 were killed over decades of bloodshed, which, iliary bishop of Santa Barbara. Typically, bishops defend it must be noted, was aided and abetted by the policies of their predecessors; in this case Archbishop Gomez felt it successive administrations in the United States. necessary to hold these leaders accountable, thinking this is Guatemala’s Law of National Reconciliation helped pre - more in line with what Catholics expect. The example of serve the peace in 1996 and offered amnesty for “political Cardinal Bernard Law serving for many years as archpriest crimes” committed during the war; but it excluded , of a high-profile church in Rome following his resignation torture and other offenses not subject to statutes of limita - seemed unjust to many. Those who commit crimes of tion under international law. It was still a bit of shock on abuse should face the law; those in authority who fail to Jan. 26, however, when a Guatemalan judge ruled that Mr. respond adequately should similarly be held accountable. Ríos Montt could finally be brought to trial. At the age of 86, he will be forced to account for ordering the killing of My Kingdom for a Hearse more than 1,700 Mayan villagers during his 18-month The recovery of King Richard III’s body, which had lain reign. under a parking lot in Leicester, England, for over five cen - The trial will be notable for a number of reasons. The turies, is a gentle reminder that legendary locations often first is that it is happening at all. It represents the first have some basis in fact. Richard’s body was thought to domestic prosecution of a one-time head of state on charges have been located near a church not far from Bosworth of genocide, suggesting that international tribunals are not Field, the site of his death during a battle against Henry the only avenues for justice. Mr. Ríos Montt’s postwar career Tudor, and there it was. Many visitors to the Holy Land, is a perfect example of why it is so difficult to pursue such Rome and other holy sites know this phenomenon. They cases when the victims are co-nationalists of the offenders. are often reminded by guidebooks that legendary sites may The general avoided arrest for years by taking advantage of be more historically sound than one suspects. Until the congressional immunity, Guatemala’s weak judiciary, the 19th century, for instance, many scholars believed that the nation’s reluctance to confront its past and, frankly, fear. pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed a paralyzed man, was The general’s impunity has finally come to an end.

4 America March 4, 2013 EDITORIAL Point of Departure

n the middle of the 12th century, Pope Eugenius III, are necessary.” Thus Pope Benedict overwhelmed by the pressures of his office, sought the XVI and Pope John Paul II Icounsel of Bernard of Clairvaux, a fellow Cistercian answered the same question differ - and future doctor of the church. Bernard’s advice to ently: Should an ailing pope resign? Eugenius took the form of a short treatise, which he called We should avoid the temptation to the “Book of Consideration.” The work became a spiritual pronounce judgment on the choice of classic and has been esteemed for centuries by Eugenius’s either man, especially as his choice relates to the other’s. successors, including Pope Benedict XVI. The current Prayerful discernment is a deeply personal exercise. Two supreme pontiff has called Bernard’s work “required reading people can reach very different conclusions in outwardly for every pope.” Benedict has also said that one passage in similar circumstances; God speaks in each human heart in particular enjoys a special meaning for him: “Let emperors an utterly unique way. and others who have not been afraid to be worshipped as Pope Benedict spoke from his heart on Feb. 11. The divine enjoy that opinion,” Bernard writes to his pope. “As statement was characteristically humble. The pope is natu - for yourself, consider that you bear the title of ‘supreme’ not rally introverted; the shoes of the fisherman have not always absolutely, but relatively.” Pope Benedict takes this passage fit him comfortably. To be sure, he suffers in comparison to to mean that a pope should remember that he “is not the his charismatic predecessor. But there is something more: successor of Emperor Constantine but rather the successor Five years old when the Nazis came to power in his native of a fisherman.” Germany, the pope witnessed first hand the destructive As pope, Benedict has never forgotten that he is the power of a cult of personality. One can easily see why, given successor of Peter, the weak, sometimes even foolhardy this experience, the pope can become visibly uncomfortable Galilean fisherman who denied the Lord, repented and then, when the crowds chant his name. We must distinguish, he astonishingly, became the rock upon which Jesus built his says, between the man and the office, between contact with church. The Gospels attest to the intrinsic connection the person of the pope and “being physically in touch with between Peter’s human weakness and the charge he receives this office, with the representative of the Holy One, with the from the Lord to strengthen the brethren. It is especially mystery that there is a successor to Peter.” Pope Benedict poignant, then, that the current successor of Peter should knows full well the truth of what Bernard wrote to feel compelled to resign his office in the face of his own phys - Eugenius: You are Peter, not Jesus. ical weakness and diminishment. In recent months there was Pope Benedict may have had Bernard and Eugenius in growing speculation about the pope’s ability to carry out his mind at the time of his surprise announcement. Yet the duties; foreign trips have been curtailed on occasion; and pope’s decision owes as much to the history of the last five even his appearances at Saint Peter’s Basilica have required decades as it does to the previous six centuries. Benedict’s careful planning and much support. As Pope John Paul II’s final act is rightly seen as one in a series of reforms and health declined, many people wondered whether he would adaptations, some daring, some mundane, through which resign. John Paul, as we know, opted to go on. Many people the postconciliar have gradually shed the trappings of believe that the late pope’s choice made him a powerful wit - an earthly court. That is as it should be. The pope is not an ness to the redemptive qualities of suffering. absolute monarch in command of a militant church; he is a Pope Benedict, however, sees things in a different way. singular minister of unity at the service of the church uni - On Feb. 11 the pope explicitly pointed to his declining versal. Monarchs die in office; servants merely decrease so health as the reason for his resignation. “I have come to the that their masters may increase. In gratitude for Joseph certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no Ratzinger’s many years of faithful service as priest, bishop longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine min - and successor of Peter, the church throughout the world istry,” the pope said. “In today’s world, subject to so many now joins her prayer with his: “Lord, now you let your ser - rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for vant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled; my own eyes the life of faith, in order to govern the barque of Saint Peter have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body of every people.”

March 4, 2013 America 5 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

VATICAN We Have Papabili!

ris h bookmakers have ranked Cardinal of , Cardinal of and Cardinal I of Canada as favorites among the papabili (literally “pope-ables”). Has Cardinal Turkson already blown his chances by saying that he would be happy to take the job? Is New York’s Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan out of the running because he is, well, an American? Such are the speculations of “papabili watching” as the conclave that will elect the new pope approaches in March. If you would prefer to let your reason, rather than an Irish bookie, be your guide, here are some short bios of the leading candidates for the job. Angelo Scola Odilo Pedro Scherer

Cardinal Angelo Scola (Italian, born was born of German ancestry in São nal, Ghana’s first, at John Paul II’s last Nov. 7, 1941). Archbishop of Francisco, Cerro Longo, Brazil. He consistory in October 2003. In 2009 since 2011, Cardinal Scola, a respected studied philosophy and theology at Pope Benedict XVI appointed him theologian, was , Rome’s Pontifical Brazilian College and president of the Pontifical Council for where he earned a reputation as an the Pontifical Gregorian University and Justice and Peace. That position has energetic pastor, raising the church’s worked as an official for the Vatican’s afforded him prominence but also led profile in the civil arena. He was creat - from 1994 to him into some controversy. ed a cardinal in 2003. In 2004 he start - 2001. Ordained in 1976, he served as In a council document released in ed Oasis, an international foundation pastor in the Diocese of Toledo in October 2011, Cardinal Turkson called that serves as a forum for dialogue and Brazil. He taught and served as for between rich and poor a bridge of support for Catholics in the at a number of seminaries and religious nations, a global authority to govern Middle East. institutes in southern Brazil. Cardinal international finance and for the taxa - The son of a socialist truck driver, Scherer has expressed concern about a tion of global transactions that could Cardinal Scola took to his assignment “silent flight of the faithful” because of a produce revenue to help alleviate pover - in Venice with relish, visiting local com - lack of religious formation and instruc - ty. He has called on Wall Street munities in an effort to help restore the tion about the church. financiers to “do business as a spiritual and social meeting differently...because this is not leading ground. Cardinal Scola has argued that Cardinal Peter Turkson (Ghanaian, to our welfare and our good.” An if the church wants to reach people born Oct. 11, 1948). Cardinal Turkson accomplished polyglot, Turkson speaks where they live, it has to move out of was born in Western Ghana to a English, Fante, French, Italian, German the sacristy and into all sectors of civil Methodist mother and a Catholic and Hebrew, in addition to understand - society. “As Christians,” he said, “that father who worked as a carpenter, the ing and Greek. means we must have the courage to fourth child among 10 children. He show our face, to say what freedom real - attended a seminary in New York State Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, O.P. ly is...and to propose to civil society an and was ordained in 1975. In 1992 (Austrian, born Jan. 22, 1945). ideal of the good life.” Turkson was appointed archbishop of Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Cape Coast by Pope John Paul II and Schönborn studied at Regensburg, Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer (Brazilian, served as president of the Ghana Germany, under then Father Joseph born Sept. 21, 1949). Archbishop of Catholic Bishops’ Conference from Ratzinger after joining the Dominican São Paulo since 2007, Cardinal Scherer 1997 to 2005. He was created a cardi - order in 1963. Cardinal Schönborn

6 America March 4, 2013 Peter Turkson Christoph Schönborn Marc Ouellet succeeded Cardinal Hans Herman world’s bishops, since June 2010. taken a strong approach to the sexual Groer in September 1995 after Groer’s Cardinal Ouellet is a disciple of Pope abuse crisis, warning his fellow bishops resignation amid allegations of sexual Benedict’s theological views and is con - from Asia that they must not dismiss it abuse. Born the second of four children sidered a top advisor to the pope. Most as a Western phenomenon. At a confer - in a noble family, Cardinal Schönborn recently he was called to help out in the ence in Rome in 2012 on the crisis, he has not shied away from controversy. In wake of the “VatiLeaks” scandal related advised fellow bishops, “We do not 1996 he said in an interview on to the release of documents that need to wait for a bomb to explode. Austrian television that a person with detailed corruption and incompetence Preventing it from exploding is the best AIDS might use a condom as a “lesser in the running of the . He response.” evil,” and in 2009 he criticized the once said becoming pope “would be a pope’s lifting of an excommunication nightmare.” In June 2012, representing Other papabili include: Cardinal order on Bishop Richard Williamson, a the pope, Cardinal Ouellet met with of Italy, president of Holocaust denier, of the traditionalist Irish survivors of clerical sexual abuse; the Pontifical Council for Culture; Society of St. Pius X. In March 2010 and in February of that year, he led a Cardinal of his spokesman had to issue a clarifica - solemn penitential service with 10 , head of the Congregation tion after Cardinal Schönborn called other bishops in which they asked for - for Eastern Churches; Cardinal João for priestly celibacy to be re-examined giveness for failing to protect children Braz de Aviz of Brazil, of the in the light of recent abuse scandals. In and for serving instead as an “instru - Congregation for Institutes of 2011 he grappled with an Austrian ment of evil against them.” Consecrated Life and Societies of priests’ initiative that urged women Apostolic Life; Cardinal Timothy M. clergy, “priestless eucharistic liturgies” Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle (Filipino, Dolan of the United States, president and Communion for non-Catholics born June 21, 1957). If elected, of the U.S. Conference of Catholic and remarried divorcees. Cardinal Tagle, now archbishop of Bishops; Cardinal Oscar Andrés Manila, would be the youngest pope in Rodríguez Maradiaga, S.D.B., of Cardinal Marc Ouellet, S.S.P. centuries. He impressed many of his Guatemala, the archbishop of (Canadian, born June 8, 1944). The for - fellow bishops during the 2012 Synod Tegucigalpa and head of Caritas mer archbishop of Quebec, Cardinal on the New Evangelization in Rome Internationalis; and Cardinal Francis Ouellet has headed the Congregation when he called for a more humble Arinze of Nigeria, prefect emeritus of for Bishops, the powerful Vatican office church that put more effort into listen - the Congregation for Divine Worship that oversees the appointment of the ing to its flock. Cardinal Tagle has also and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

March 4, 2013 America 7 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

WASHINGTON NEWS BRIEFS

‘State of the The United Nations reports that the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon has exceeded Union’ Outlines 265,000 and that it expects 1.1 million Syrian Social Policy refugees overall in surrounding nations by June. President Obama set out an agenda in • Human rights groups are concerned by reports his State of the Union address on Feb. that the Zimbabwean prison service , where 74 A Syrian refugee in 12 that includes many of the social pol - men and 2 women are believed to reside on death Jordan on Jan. 25 icy items on the wish-list of faith-based row, has hired a hangman, replacing one who organizations. Among them are an retired in 2005. • In a message on Feb. 13 to the International Fund increase in the federal minimum wage, for Agricultural Development, Pope Benedict XVI “recognized” bio - comprehensive immigration reform, diversity “as a precious good that the Creator has placed at the dis - gun control and protection from bud - posal of the entire human family.” • Giving new life to closed church - get cuts for Social Security, Medicare es in the Archdiocese of Chicago, St. Raphael the Archangel Church and education programs; job-creation in Old Mill Creek, Ill., uses the “recycled” facade of Chicago’s demol - initiatives; and development of sustain - ished St. John of God Church and eventually will include the interior able energy alternatives. of the closed St. Peter Canisius Church. • Guatemala’s President Otto Obama’s proposal to increase the Pérez Molina has joined other regional leaders advocating the legal - federal minimum wage from the cur - ization of cocaine and other narcotics in order to quell crime related rent $7.25 an hour to $9 and to tie the to drug trafficking. • Pastor Saeed Abedini of the United States was wage to the inflation rate has long been sentenced to eight years in Iran’s notorious Evin prison on Jan. 27 sought by advocates for the poor. The because of his efforts with that country’s house churches. federal minimum wage was last increased in July 2009, and the pur - chasing power of the minimum wage has declined 30 percent since its peak sentatives from the U.S. Conference of more and spend more.” value in 1968. Catholic Bishops and Catholic On one topic, Obama’s call for On other economic issues Obama Charities USA—commented on the comprehensive immigration reform, touched on, a December 2012 state - address. “It’s time,” he said, “for the ide - the House chamber resonated with ment from the coalition of Christian ological politics of the left and the sustained bipartisan applause. A leaders organized under the Circle of right to yield to the politics of the com - bipartisan panel of senators, including Protection banner listed five values the mon good.” He said citizens “in social Rubio, is working on the details of group was asking Congress and the movements of conscience” cannot take immigration reform legislation. Both president to adhere to: protecting poor leaders at their “best words,” but must the House and the Senate have begun and vulnerable people as deficits are hold them accountable. hearings on immigration. reduced; raising new tax revenue in a Obama’s address also included goals The president framed immigration manner proportional to the capacity of that have their critics in the faith com - reform as an economic measure. “Our the people to contribute; protecting munity, such as his promise to provide economy is stronger when we harness tax policies like the earned income and equal benefits for same-sex partners of the talents and ingenuity of striving, child tax credits that help reduce members of the military. In the official hopeful immigrants,” he said. “And poverty; slowing the growth of health Republican Party response to the right now, leaders from the business, care costs; and finding bipartisan solu - address, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of labor, law enforcement, faith commu - tions for the common good. Florida criticized Obama as believing nities—they all agree that the time The Rev. Jim Wallis, president and that the “free enterprise economy...is has come to pass comprehensive chief executive officer of Sojourners the cause of our problems.” He said the immigration reform.” and one of the organizers of the Circle president’s solution to every problem of Protection—which includes repre - “is for Washington to tax more, borrow From CNS and other sources.

8 America March 4, 2013

MARGOT PATTERSON

Portrait of a Lady

y mother was a great fan of The words used for the title of that interests and taste so perfectly that I Henry James. She kept his novel have come to mind often of late. will be sad when it is sold and her pos - Mnovels and essays in her My mother died over the summer, sessions dispersed. She loved beauti - bookcase along with books about the and my sisters and I were just about ful things, and her home is full of author and Leon Edel’s masterly five- to put her apartment on the market them. She was a heroine from a Henry volume biography, which she read end when a month ago I broke my hip, James novel, I think: intelligent, pas - to end. I’ve always liked James too, causing me to relocate to her apart - sionate, discriminating. She did not though unlike true devotees I don’t ment rather than climb several times make Isabel Archer’s tragic mistake, adore his late work. In August a a day the narrow, circular stairs in my but she was not so unlike her. She was stroke of last-minute luck seated me house. Surrounded by my mother’s both strong-willed and timid and next to a well-known writer, the guest furniture, books, pictures and posses - sometimes one when she should have of honor at a luncheon sponsored by sions, I can’t help but been the other. Like the local university, who told me reflect more about the many of her generation, James was her favorite novelist. I woman she was. I can’t she was frustrated by asked which of his novels she pre - I think about the other the life women of her ferred. “Oh, the later ones,” she said in women she lived with as help but era were expected to a tone of voice that made clear there well. A 17th-century reflect more lead. She had talents could be no other choice. painting of an unknown she didn’t use, talents I had read The Wings of the Dove woman hangs across from about the she often deprecated. and The Golden Bowl years ago, but the armchair where I usu - woman my When I read the found the last, in particular, a hard ally sit, and when my eye book long ago, I slog. James’s sentences unfurled sinu - catches it, I wonder about mother was. remember thinking the ously, one subordinate clause after her and what she was like. characters in The another. A single sentence stretched to Nearby is another portrait Golden Bowl more sub - a long paragraph or a page. One looked of a lady, this one from a Tibetan tle than people actually are in real life. in vain for a period; one was sub - thangka showing the demons of hell Was that true, or the perception of merged in a thought, marked by com - below her and the apparitions of youth? I would think that as James mas and semicolons, that spread like heaven above her. The seated, grace - grew older the full stop of death fine lace over the paper. Everything ful figure is oversize to the other fig - would insert itself more in his prose. was so delicate, so nuanced, so com - ures in the textile, which seems true A sense of finality would intrude, plex. Abashed, I acknowledged that to life: We are always the central fig - putting an end to those endless series Portrait of a Lady was my favorite book ure in the drama we live. of clauses, commas and semicolons. by Henry James. It is, in fact, an That seems particularly true of But perhaps what those long, intri - exquisite novel and, though not so pre - parents, who are invariably cast in a cate sentences in his later novels ciously wrought as The Wings of the supporting role. It is often only after reflect is how as we grow older, our Dove and The Golden Bowl, highlights they die that they become people sense of the world enlarges, grows in heartbreaking fashion the interplay rather than parents in the eyes of more complicated, so that even end - between James’s idealistic American their children. The end of the story ings become a beginning in which we heroine, Isabel Archer, and the guileful makes you think more about the reassess what we know about our - Europeans who manipulate her to story: the arc of it, the characters in it, selves and those closest to us. The their advantage. the themes and motifs. The finished portrait does not change, yet we do story compels your attention in a way who look at it. We realize that what MARGOT PATTERSON is a writer who lives a work in progress does not. we perceived in the past was only a in Kansas City, Mo. My mother’s apartment reflects her little of all that was there.

10 America March 4, 2013 March 4, 2013 America 11 Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Feb. 11.

12 America March 4, 2013 REFLECTIONS ON BENEDICT XVI’ S SURPRISE DECISION A Hist oric Dep artu re

On Feb. 11 Pope Benedict XVI employed an ancient language to announce a decision that will have far-reaching implications for the modern church. The pope declared in Latin his resignation from the See of Saint Peter, catching the world by surprise and moving many to reflect not only on what is to come, but on the complicated legacy he leaves behind. We asked four contributors to weigh in.

A Humble Christian, a Complicated Papacy BY DREW CHRISTIANSEN

he news of Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation came as a surprise, but it did not shock me. For Pope T Benedict has shown devotion to Celestine V, the sainted pope, who voluntarily resigned and was later mur - dered in 1296. Celestine was defamed by Dante—in the Inferno Dante called it “the Great Refusal”—because the pope’s abdication opened the way to civil war in Italy. After the earthquake in Aquila, Italy, in 2009, Benedict made a pil -

S grimage to Celestine’s tomb. By some reckonings, it was his R e t u

e third visit there. It could have been just devotion to the mem - R

A i

V ory of “a humble Christian,” as the Italian writer Ignazio o N

A Silone called Celestine. Now, it may be seen in a different M o R light as a prayerful step toward resignation. e R o t Especially on the Catholic left and in the United States, A V R e

S where theologians like Elizabeth Johnson, C.S.J., and S o ’ l

/ Margaret Farley, R.S.M., were censured and the Leadership o t o H p

S N C

March 4, 2013 America 13 Conference of Religious Women came under investiga - church, refusing to hand along the truisms handed him by tion, Benedict’s papacy has been regarded warily. Major the Curia. reforms in the liturgy, like the new English translation and Whatever the shortcomings of this papacy, in his resig - the extraordinary (Latin) form of the Mass, were imposed nation he has demonstrated the humility of “a simple on skeptical English-speaking celebrants, and reconcilia - Christian.” As “Papa Ratzinger” retires, we ought to be tion with the Society of St. Pius X (the Lefebvrists) was thankful for the many good things he has done and pray pursued beyond all reason. Pope Benedict never seemed to that his remaining days will be filled with peace. appreciate the depth of the desire that bishops be held accountable in the sex abuse scandal. These issues will DREW CHRISTIANSEN, S.J., is the former editor in chief of America. remain neuralgic for some time to come. But Benedict also made many positive contributions that should not be ignored. A Man of His Words His “,” with its affirmation BY JAMES MARTIN of structural reform as “political charity” and his call for a global authority to regulate the financial sector, may be the ope Benedict XVI’s resignation is a selfless and noble most radical since Pope John XXIII’s “” 50 act done for the good of the church that he has loved years ago. Though not a diplomat himself, he conducted Pand served for decades. It also shows his great spiri - extraordinary visits to Turkey, Britain and the Holy Land. tual freedom; rare indeed is the person who can, and will, His address to the British leadership in Westminster Hall relinquish such immense power voluntarily. was both a diplomatic and personal triumph. Pope Benedict likely will be remembered as a pope who, Following adverse Muslim reaction to his address at the in his relatively short pontificate, sought primarily to University of Regensburg in 2006, he showed courage in strengthen the orthodoxy of the church by a variety of going to Turkey and there succeeded in rebuilding relations means, who authored several important notable with the Islamic world. In the United States and Britain, his for their theological depth and appeal and who continued an apologies to victims of clerical sex abuse, though necessary, active schedule of public appearances. He also, despite his greatly eased relations in full calendar, published the host countries and their three well-received books Catholic populations. Benedict’s pastoral gifts were on the life of Jesus. Never At times, there seems to the media superstar that have been a disconnect seen in his Angelus talks on the his predecessor was, Pope between his formal deci - Benedict, a lifelong schol - sions and his pastoral sensi - lives of saints. He showed a ar, exuded his own brand tivities. He condemned “the singular ability to uncover their of charisma, which came dictatorship of relativism” from his profound theo - but genuinely appreciated relevance for believers today. logical acumen and his the spiritual yearnings of personal relationship unchurched young people with Jesus. Perhaps his and asked them to prod the church into authenticity. While most often neglected contribution to the church was his the establishment of the special ordinariate for Anglicans series of superb Angelus messages, delivered regularly dur - who wanted to come over to Roman Catholicism offended ing his public appearances in St. Peter’s Square. many, including members of the Roman Curia, he soon His most lasting legacy, I would suggest, may not be in resumed cordial relations with Rowan Williams, then arch - the various “newsworthy” acts of his papacy that were high - bishop of Canterbury. lighted in the media so often (his long negotiations with the Benedict’s pastoral gifts were seen in his Angelus talks on breakaway Society of St. Pius X; his strong disciplinary the lives of saints of the day. He showed knowledge and actions against the powerful founder of the Legion of appreciation of the saints, but also a singular ability to Christ, who had fathered children and committed sexual uncover their relevance for believers today. His meetings abuse; the oversight of women’s religious orders in the with local priests during vacations in early years of the pon - United States, the revised English translation of the Mass; tificate showed surprising awareness of the realities of his meetings with victims of sexual abuse; his response to everyday pastoral ministry. Similarly, some of the early ad scandals in the Curia; or the controversy over the comments limina addresses to visiting bishops’ conferences showed a about Islam that angered many, and so on) but something fresh, independent sense of personal care for the universal far more personal: his books on Jesus. Far more people will

14 America March 4, 2013 most likely read those moving testaments to the person not go unremarked. This could be the most important sym - whose vicar he was——than may read all bolic change to the papacy since Pius IX described himself of his encyclicals combined. Others may disagree about my as a “prisoner of the Vatican,” surrounded by hostile secular emphasis on this aspect of his pontificate, but in these forces. Benedict, a firm believer in the theological impor - books, the pope brought to bear decades of scholarship and tance of the papacy, has with his resignation confidently and prayer to the most important question that a Christian can profoundly transformed it, leaving behind the monarchical ask: Who is Jesus? This is the pope’s primary job—to trappings of holding office until death. preach the Gospel and to introduce people to Jesus—and I recall a conversation with a European scholar who crit - Pope Benedict did that exceedingly well. icized Benedict for making the papacy “small.” In some ways, that may be his intent. It is certain that Benedict is JAMES MARTIN, S.J., is the editor at large of America . carefully refining the definition of the papacy even as he leaves it.

The Humanity of the Papacy VINCENT J. MILLER is Gudorf Chair in Catholic Theology and Culture BY VINCENT J. MILLER at the University of Dayton.

ope Benedict XVI’s statement announcing his resig - nation is every bit as striking as the resignation itself. A Man of Conscience PHis decision to resign is not simply a retirement BY SIDNEY CALLAHAN from the hectic pace of public office. It is an act of magiste - rial teaching in its own right that resonates with an impor - ope Benedict XVI’s resignation can be viewed as a tant and often-unremarked strand of his pontificate. In his positive development for Catholics seeking church statement, Benedict emphasizes the humanity of the papa - Preform. Even those who disagree with many of Pope cy and the demands of history. He humbly admits that he Benedict’s theological views and actions readily recognize no longer possesses the mental and physical strength to lead and praise his essential goodness as a virtuous person. the church as it faces “rapid changes” and is “shaken” by deep Benedict has served Christ long and faithfully with years of questions concerning the “life of faith.” hard and difficult work. He deserves his accolades. From the beginning of his papacy, in the shadow of Pope Benedict’s unprecedented announcement is in Blessed Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict has struck a lower itself an edifying teaching act that will leave its mark in his - profile. Of course he lacked his predecessor’s charisma, but tory. The pope stresses the primacy of conscience in deter - his gestures were often intentional. At his first World Youth mining his decision. Prayer guided his exercise of prudence. Day, he turned from an adoring crowd chanting “Ben-ne- Pope Benedict’s authentic humility is revealed when he det-to” in silence to face the Eucharist in benediction. asks “pardon for his defects” and gives thanks to his broth - His resignation continues this strand of his papacy—a ers for their “love and work.” He shows an ecumenical spir - reduction of the office in a way, subordinating it to tradition. it when he refers to “the Petrine ministry” as a “spiritual His encyclicals were noteworthy for subordinating his own work” serving the supreme pastor, Jesus Christ. The pope voice to the broad witnesses of the tradition. He continued must truly serve and never cling to power and status. to write his own theology. He published his Christology It is also a progressive moment when Benedict states with a secular press, however, scrupulously avoiding assign - that his service in the papal office can be usefully evaluated ing magisterial authority to his personal theology. in its effectiveness. Evangelical criticism of leaders is vali - Benedict’s resignation breaks with the modern papacy dated. Moreover, in the act of resigning, unprecedented in since Pius IX, but especially with John Paul II, whose sacral our age, the pope accepts that his term of office should have understanding of the office was most evident in his final a limit. Term limits and the election of leaders are key years, when the increasingly infirm pontiff occupied the requirements for collegial participation and church reform. office as a martyr of sorts, a witness to fidelity even in the Would that women and the laity would be taking part in face of profound physical and mental infirmity. Some the coming election. Yet reformers inspired by the Second applauded this as a witness to the dignity of aging. But Vatican Council can take heart. The pope’s act of con - many people witness to this dignity without holding a science reminds us once again that God is a God of sur - demanding office that they can no longer properly dispatch. prises. Benedict will continue to serve the church “through a life SIDNEY CALLAHAN is an author, lecturer, college professor and dedicated to prayer.” Having ascended the Chair of Peter, he licensed psychologist. Her most recent book is Created for Joy: A will now step down. The power of that humble act should Christian View of Suffering.

March 4, 2013 America 15 What Now? Experts respond to common questions on the papal transition. BY THOMAS J. REESE AND KENNETH E. UNTENER

hat is the precedent for a pope to resign? 2010, Pope Benedict responded unambiguously to a ques - TR: The number of popes who may have tion about whether a pope could resign: “Yes. If a Pope resigned has been estimated as high as 10, but clearly realizes that he is no longer physically, psychological - the historical evidence is limited. Most recent - ly, and spiritually capable of handling the duties of his office, Wly, during the Council of Constance in the 15th century, Pope then he has a right and, under some circumstances, also an Gregory XII resigned to bring about the end of the Western obligation to resign.” Schism, and a new pope was elected in 1417. Pope Celestine On the other hand, he did not favor resignation simply V’s resignation in 1294 is the most famous because his deci - because the burden of the papacy is great. “When the dan - sion was made freely, and Dante placed him in hell for it. ger is great one must not run away,” he explained. Most modern popes have felt that resignation is unac - “For that reason, now is certainly not the time to resign. ceptable. As Pope Paul VI said, paternity cannot be Precisely at a time like this one must stand fast and endure resigned. In addition, Paul feared setting a precedent that the situation. That is my view. One can resign at a peace - would encourage factions in the church to pressure future ful moment or when one simply cannot go on. But one popes to resign for reasons other than health. Nevertheless, must not run away from danger and say someone else the code of canon law in 1917 provided for the resignation should do it.” of a pope as do the regulations established by Paul VI in On Feb. 11 Pope Benedict announced that he would 1975 and John Paul II in 1996. However, a resignation resign on Feb. 28. He explained: “After having repeatedly induced through fear or fraud would be invalid. In addition, examined my conscience before God, I have come to the cer - canonists argue that a person resigning from an office must tainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no be of sound mind longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine min - In 1989 and in 1994, Pope John Paul II secretly prepared istry.” He added: “[I]n order to govern the bark of Saint letters offering the his resignation in Peter and proclaim the gospel, both strength of mind and case of an incurable disease or other condition that would body are necessary, strength which in the last few months prevent him from fulfilling his ministry, according to Msgr. has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to rec - Sławomir Oder, postulator of the late pope’s cause. In his ognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry 1994 letter the pope said he had spent years wondering entrusted to me.” whether a pope should resign at age 75, the normal retire - ment age for bishops. However, John Paul also wrote, “I feel If a pope resigns and another is elected, are there in effect two a serious obligation of conscience to continue to fulfill the popes at the same time? task to which Christ the Lord has called me as long as, in KU: No, there are not. A person is not ordained pope as the mysterious plan of his providence, he desires.” though this were a fourth category in the sacrament of orders: deacon, priest, bishop, pope. Rather, he Why did Pope Benedict resign? is elected bishop of Rome. (If the person elected by the car - TR: In Light of the World, by Peter Seewald, published in dinals were not a bishop, he would be ordained one so that he could be the bishop of Rome.) A person is pope because Responses by THOMAS J. REESE, S.J., author of Inside the Vatican he has a particular office—bishop of Rome. When he is no (Harvard, 1996) and former editor in chief of America (1998 –2005), longer bishop of Rome, he no longer is pope. are edited selections from a longer Q&A at americamagazine.org. Responses by MOST REV. KENNETH E. UNTENER (1937 –2004), the late bishop of Saginaw, Mich., are edited selections from “If a Pope If a pope resigns from being pope, then what is he? Resigns…,” first published in America on March 25, 2000. KU: We have to so rt out what is attached to the person and

16 America March 4, 2013 The consistory of Feb. 11, 2013

what is attached to the office. We can parallel it to any bish - If a pope retires, what would he be called? op who resigns as head of a diocese. If a pope resigns as KU: The title “Pope” (from the Greek pappas, “father”) was bishop of Rome, all the responsibilities and powers linked a term of affection used of bishops from early times. By the with that office are no longer his. He is therefore no longer: 12th century, it had come to be understood as particularly vicar of Peter, head of the college of bishops, patriarch of appropriate for the bishop of Rome, because his diocese was the West, (chief bishop) of the bishops of Italy, the center of ecclesial unity. (Hence also the title “Holy metropolitan of the dioceses surrounding Rome or head of Father.”) State. But he would remain a bishop and a There are no guidelines on what we would call a retired cardinal. pope. It would seem appropriate to give him an honorary S R e title. We attach “emeritus” to a title we give someone who has t u e R

Would a retired pope still be infallible? the honor but not the power of a previous position. He A i V

o KU: Infallibility is a gift given to the church as a whole. It might appropriately be called Pope Emeritus. N A

M is exercised by the pope when he defines a doctrine to be o R e

R believed by all the faithful, but it is not a gift given to the Where would a pope live after resigning? o t A

V pope as a personal quality. The bishop of Rome, because KU: The bishop of Rome is a member of the Conference of R e S

S of his office, can give expression to the faith of the church Italian Bishops. If he resigns, he continues as a member of o ’ l / o and exercise the infallibility with which the church is that episcopal conference. He may want to stay among t o H p

endowed. If he resigns from that office, he can no longer them. However, he is free, as any retired bishop is free, to S N

C act in this way. live wherever he wishes.

March 4, 2013 America 17 [Benedict, once retired, plans to live in a monastery that go, Benedict simplified the organizational structure and had been used as the Vatican gardener’s house but was later made sure that his had an important role established as a cloistered convent by Pope John Paul II in during the interregnum. 1994. Different orders of cloistered nuns have lived in the Although the government of the church is in the hands monastery, each for a fixed term of three to five years. The of the College of Cardinals until a new pope is elected, the monastery is currently being remodeled. Until the work is powers of the college are limited. It cannot change the rules completed, a date not yet determined, the retired pope will governing papal elections, appoint cardinals or make any live at the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo.] decisions binding on the next pope. The cardinals meet daily in a general congregation, presided over by the dean of Who governs the church before the new pope is elected? the college (Cardinal ), until the conclave TR: The interregnum and begins. Cardinal Joseph election of a new pope are Ratzinger was dean prior governed by the rules Discussions prior to the conclave to the last conclave, and established in the 1996 his speech as dean to the constitution “Universi Do- do occur privately among cardinals prior to the con - minici Gregis” (“Of the clave received great atten - Lord’s Whole Flock”) of cardinals, but public campaigning, tion from the cardinals John Paul II, as modified and the media. by Benedict in 2007. even after the pope’s death, is When a pope resigns frowned upon and would probably Is there campaigning prior or dies, all the cardinals to the conclave? and archbishops in charge be counterproductive. TR: Any discussion, let of departments in the alone campaigning, prior Roman Curia, including to the death of a pope is the secretary of state, lose their jobs. The ordinary faculties strictly forbidden. The prohibition against discussing papal of these offices, which are run by their secretaries during the succession while the pope is still in office dates back to Felix interregnum, do not cease, but serious and controversial IV (526-30), who instructed the clergy and the Roman matters are to await the election of a new pope. Senate to elect his archdeacon, Boniface, as his successor. If a matter cannot be postponed, the College of The senate objected and passed an edict forbidding any dis - Cardinals can entrust it to the prefect or president who was cussion of a pope’s successor during his lifetime. in charge of the office when the pope died (or to other car - Discussions prior to the conclave do occur privately dinals who were members of that congregation or council). among cardinals, but public campaigning, even after the Any decision made is provisional until confirmed by the pope’s death, is frowned upon and would probably be coun - new pope. terproductive. Normally the discussion of candidates is Three major officials do not lose their jobs: the vicar of done privately by cardinals over dinner or in small groups. the , the major penitentiary and the camer - Cardinals who travel a great deal are sometimes suspect - lengo. The vicar for Rome provides for the pastoral needs of ed of doing this in order to meet and become known to the diocese of Rome and continues to have all the powers he other cardinals prior to the conclave. The cardinals have also had under the resigned or deceased pope. The major peni - gotten to know each other at synods of bishops, extraordi - tentiary deals with confessional matters reserved to the nary consistories and other meetings where they see each , and he is allowed to continue functioning because other in action. But the best known cardinals tend to be the door to forgiveness should never be closed. those working in Rome where they meet when they The camerlengo (Cardinal ) is the visit Rome. Curial cardinals are also better known by the most important official during the interregnum. While a Vatican press corps, which covers the conclave. pope is in office, he has the authority to act for the pope in certain areas when the pope is away from Rome. On the When and where is the conclave held? resignation or death of a pope, the camerlengo takes Unless circumstances prevent it, the conclave takes place charge of and administers the property and money of the inside Vatican City and begins 15 days after the resignation Holy See. During the interregnum he reports to the or death of the pope. For serious reasons, the cardinals can College of Cardinals, which governs the church until a defer the beginning of the conclave, but it must begin with - pope is elected. He also organizes the conclave. By in 20 days of the pope’s resignation or death. The exact date appointing the cardinal secretary of state as the camerlen - and time are set by the College of Cardinals.

18 America March 4, 2013 The election takes place in the Sistine Chapel, with the Who are the cardinal electors? cardinals living in the five-story Domus Sanctae Marthae, a TR: All cardinals under 80 years of age when the pope dies Vatican residence with 105 two-room suites and 26 single or resigns have the right to vote for the next pope. As of Feb. rooms built in 1996, which is vacated by its usual residents 11, 2013, there are 118 cardinal electors, of whom 67 were during a conclave. The rooms are assigned by lot. A number appointed by Benedict and the rest by John Paul II. The of elections in the 19th century were held in the Quirinal average age of the electors is 72. About 52 percent are from Palace, which was one of the pope’s palaces until the fall of Europe (24 percent from Italy). Latin America has 16 per - the Papal States in 1870. The last election to take place out - cent; Asia 9.3 percent; Africa 9.3 percent. The United side Rome was in Venice in 1800. States has 9.3 percent, second only to Italy; Canada 2.5 per - cent. Curial cardinals make up about 35 percent of the elec - Where does the word “conclave” come from? tors, with an additional 10 percent being former Vatican TR: In the 13th century the papacy was vacant for a year officials who now head dioceses. and a half before the election of Pope Innocent IV and for The maximum number of cardinals was set at 70 by three and a half years before the installation of Pope Sixtus V in 1586. John XXIII ignored this limit, and the Gregory X. In the first case the election was finally forced by college grew to over 80 cardinals. In 1970 Paul VI reformed the senate and people of Rome, who locked up the cardinals the College of Cardinals by increasing the number of elec - until a pope was chosen in 1243. In the second case, the tors to 120, not counting those 80 years of age and over who people of Viterbo in 1271 not only locked the cardinals in, were excluded as electors. John Paul II exceeded this limit but tore off the roof of the building and put the cardinals on by two in 1998 and by 15 in 2001 and 2003. Benedict XVI a diet of bread and water. The word “conclave” comes from returned to the legal limit of 120 until February 2012 when the Latin, “with a key,” as in locked with a key. he raised it to 124. In November 2012, he returned to 120. Today the cardinals are locked in to ensure secrecy and to protect them from outside influence. Before the conclave How has Benedict XVI changed the makeup of the College of begins, all telephones, cell phones, radios, televisions and Cardinals? Internet connections are removed. No letters or newspapers T.R.: Popes tend to make only minor adjustments in the are permitted. All the rooms are swept for electronic bugs geographical distribution of cardinals, but since the total by trained technicians. Whether this will be sufficient to number of cardinals is small, a couple of cardinals here or prevent more sophisticated eavesdropping remains to be there make a difference. John Paul increased the number of seen. Eastern European cardinals and decreased the number of Italian cardinals. Benedict has increased the percentage of Who is permitted in the conclave? Italian cardinals in the conclave and reduced the percentage T.R.: All cardinals under 80 years of age when a pope of cardinals from the third world. resigns or dies have the right to vote for the next pope, unless they have been canonically deposed or, with the per - Has the pope always been elected by the cardinals? mission of the pope, have renounced the cardinalate. Even TR: Although the College of Cardinals elects the pope an excommunicated cardinal can attend. However, a cardi - today, this was not the rule until the 11th century. Some nal who had resigned and joined Napoleon Bonaparte early popes (including perhaps St. Peter) appointed their attempted to enter the conclave in 1800 but was turned successors. Although appointing one’s successor was pro - away. Once inside the conclave, an elector may not leave vided for by the Roman Synod of 499, this method fell except because of illness or other grave reasons acknowl - out of favor when Felix IV (526-530) and Boniface II edged by a majority of the cardinals. (530-532) tried to impose controversial candidates as Also permitted in the conclave are nurses for infirmed their successors. cardinals, two medical doctors, religious priests who can In the early church, popes were usually chosen by the hear confessions in various languages, the secretary of the clergy and people of Rome in the same way that bishops in College of Cardinals, the master of papal liturgical celebra - other dioceses were elected. This democratic process tions with two masters of ceremonies and two religious worked well when the church was small and united. But dis - attached to the papal sacristy, and an assistant chosen by agreements led to factions who fought over the papacy. the cardinal dean. Also permitted are a suitable number of Nobles, emperors and kings interfered in papal elections as persons for preparing and serving meals and for house - the church became rich and powerful. keeping. They must swear absolute and perpetual secrecy The papal electors were limited to the clergy of the concerning anything they learn concerning the election of Diocese of Rome by the Roman synod of 499. No bishop the pope. was elected pope until 891 (Formosus). Since 1179, only

March 4, 2013 America 19 cardinals have voted for the pope except for the election in can immediately begin the election process. 1417 that ended the Western Schism. How does the balloting take place? What happens on the first day of the conclave? TR: The regulations for balloting are very detailed to elimi - TR: On the morning the conclave begins, the cardinal elec - nate any suspicion of electoral fraud—no hanging chads here. tor s celebrate Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. In the afternoon Three “scrutineers” (vote counters) are chosen by lot from they gather in the Pauline Chapel in the and the electors, with the least senior cardinal deacon drawing the solemnly process to the Sistine Chapel. The cardinals take an names. He draws three additional names of cardinals (called oath to observe the rules laid down in “Universi Dominici infirmarii) who will collect the ballots of any cardinals in the Gregis,” especially those enjoining secrecy. conclave who are too sick to come to the Sistine Chapel. A They also swear not to support interference in the election final three names are drawn by lot to act as revisers, who by any secular authorities or “any group of review the work done by the scrutineers. people or individuals who might wish to Each morning and afternoon, new scru - intervene in the election of the Roman pon - tineers, infirmarii and revisers are chosen tiff.” Finally, the electors swear that whoever by lot. is elected will carry out the “munus The electors use rectangular cards as Petrinum of pastor of the universal church” ballots with the words Eligo in summum and will “affirm and defend strenuously the pontificem (“I elect as supreme pontiff”) spiritual and temporal rights and liberty of printed at the top. Each cardinal, in the Holy See.” The constitution also says secret, prints or writes the name of his that the new pope is not bound by any oaths choice on the ballot in a way that dis - or promises made prior to his election. After guises his handwriting. One at a time, in the oath is taken, everyone not connected order of precedence, the cardinals with the conclave is ordered out with the approach the altar with their folded bal - Latin words Extra omnes, “Everybody out!” lot held up so that it can be seen. After The Sistine Chapel and the Domus Sanctae Marthae are kneeling in prayer for a short time, the cardinal rises and then closed to unauthorized persons by the camerlengo. swears, “I call as my witness Christ the Lord who will be my Outside the conclave, the camerlengo is assisted by the sosti - judge, that my vote is given to the one who before God I think tuto of the Secretariat of State, who directs Vatican person - should be elected.” He then places the ballot in a silver and nel to protect the integrity and security of the conclave. gilded bronze urn shaped like a wok with a lid. After everyone else leaves, an ecclesiastic chosen earli - The first scrutineer shakes the egg-shaped urn to mix the er by the College of Cardinals gives a meditation “con - ballots. The last scrutineer counts the ballots before they are cerning the grave duty incumbent on them and thus on unfolded. If the number of ballots does not correspond to the the need to act with right intention for the good of the number of electors, the ballots are burned without being universal church, solum Deum prae oculis habentes [having counted and another vote is immediately taken. If the num - only God before your eyes].” When he finishes, he leaves ber of ballots does match the number of electors, the scruti - the Sistine Chapel with the master of papal liturgical cer - neers, who are sitting at a table in front of the altar, begin emony so that only the cardinal electors remain. The counting the votes. time in the chapel is for prayer and voting in silence, not The first scrutineer unfolds each ballot, notes the name on campaign speeches. Negotiations and arguments are to a piece of paper and passes the ballot to the second scrutineer. take place outside the chapel. If they wish, the cardinals He notes the name and passes the ballot to the third scruti - neer, who reads it aloud for all the cardinals to hear. If there are two names on a single ballot, the ballot is not counted. ON THE WEB The last scrutineer pierces each ballot with a threaded needle Visit americamagazine.org for more through the word “Eligo” and places it on the thread. After all coverage of the papal transition the ballots have been read, the ends of the thread are tied C e H

together and the ballots thus joined are placed in a third urn. C e • Select articles on the papacy of i W

The scrutineers then add up the totals for each candidate. y Benedict XVI. C N A N

Finally, the three revisers check both the ballots and the notes

• Daily videos from Catholic News Service y b

of the scrutineers to make sure that they performed their task o • A podcast with church historian John W. O’Malley, S.J. t o H p • Daily updates on our blog, “In All Things” faithfully and exactly. S N

The ballots and notes (including those made by any cardi - C

20 America March 4, 2013 nal) are then burned unless another vote is to take place your canonical election as supreme pontiff?” Rarely does any - immediately; in that case, the ballots of two votes are burned one say no. When offered the papacy at the conclave in together. Special chemicals are added to make the smoke Viterbo in 1271, St. Philip Benizi fled and hid until another white or black. Since 1903, white smoke has signaled the elec - candidate was chosen. Likewise St. , one of tion of a pope; black smoke signals an inconclusive vote. The the few cardinals to be canonized, turned down the papacy. only written record of the voting is given to the new pope and When Cardinal , the 76-year-old arch - then placed in the archives in a sealed envelope that may be bishop of Milan, began receiving votes during the conclave in opened by no one unless the pope gives permission. October 1978, he made it clear that he would refuse the papa - cy if elected. If the man says yes, then he becomes pope imme - How long can the conclave last? diately if he is already a bishop. If he is not already a bishop, TR: The conclave lasts until a new pope is elected. To be he is to be ordained one immediately and becomes pope. elected, two thirds of the votes are required, calculated on the He is then asked by what name he wants to be called. The basis of the total number of electors present. If no one is elect - first pope to change his name was John II in 533. His given ed on the afternoon of the first day, the cardinals meet again name, Mercury, was considered inappropriate since it was the the next morning. If they are again unsuccessful, they imme - name of a pagan god. The custom of changing one’s name diately vote again. From then on, there can be two votes in the became common around the year 1009. The last pope to keep morning and two in the afternoon. his own name was Marcellus II, elected in 1555. The last conclave to go more than five days was in 1831: It The cardinals then approach the new pope and make an lasted 54 days. In the 13th century the papacy was vacant for act of homage and obedience. A prayer of thanksgiving is a year and a half before the election of Innocent IV and for then said, and the senior cardinal deacon informs the people three and a half years before the installation of Gregory X. in St. Peter’s Square that the election has taken place and Since then 29 conclaves have lasted a month or more. Often announces the name of the new pope. The pope then may wars or civil disturbances in Rome caused these lengthy inter - speak to the crowd and grant his first solemn blessing urbi et regnums. Sometimes delays were caused by the cardinals orbi, to the city and the world. A themselves, who enjoyed the power and financial rewards of running the papacy without a pope. These abuses led to rules governing an interregnum and requiring the speedy calling of a conclave. In 2007 Pope Benedict instructed that if the cardinals are deadlocked after 33 or 34 votes (depending on whether there was a vote the first day), which would take 13 days, runoff ballots between the two leading candidates will be held. This procedure is problematic because if neither of the candidates is able to get a two-thirds vote, the conclave will be dead - locked with no possibility of choosing a third candidate as a compromise. The two leading cardinals cannot vote in the runoff ballots, though they remain in the Sistine Chapel, where conclaves are held. Nor do Benedict’s new rules say what to do if two candidates are tied for second place.

Who can be elected? TR: In theory, any man can be elected who is willing to be baptized and ordained a priest and bishop. He does not have to be at the conclave. The last non-cardinal elected was Urban VI (1378). The last cardinal to be elected pope who was a priest but not a bishop was Gregory XVI (1831). Callixtus III (1455) was the last person to be elected who was not a priest. Most likely a cardinal elector will be elected, all of whom today are bishops.

What happens after the election? TR: The cardinal dean asks the elected man, “Do you accept

March 4, 2013 America 21 To the Ends of the Earth Faith at work around the world BY CHRIS HERLINGER

he Haitian aid workers arrived with several quickly deteriorated. People rushed the distribution center. truckloads of relief supplies—tents, blankets A policewoman fired several shots; another person bran - and the like—at an isolated area outside the dished a shotgun and people scrambled. Luckily, no one was capital of Port-au-Prince, which, more than a seriously injured or hurt. Tweek after the January 2010 earthquake there, still had not At a later debriefing, some of the Haitians wondered if received any assistance. the distribution should have stopped the moment it was The workers for the Lutheran World Federation had clear there might be problems; others said that would not done their best to make sure the distribution went smooth - have been fair to those who were rightly in line and had ly. But on the day of the distribution, any sense of order col - waited patiently. Privately, some of the foreign workers won - lapsed when a group of young men who were not on the list dered if the young Haitians had not been sufficiently care - of recipients demanded some of the items and began dis - ful or had not laid the groundwork well enough. Some sug - rupting the event. Police were called in, and although the gested that the aid should have been distributed to whoever young Haitian aid workers held their ground, the situation needed it. Some of the things hinted at by the foreign workers— CHRIS HERLINGER, a writer for Church World Service, is a New York- inexperience, a perceived lack of professionalism—are accu - based freelance journalist who writes frequently on humanitarian issues sations sometimes leveled at those who work for faith-based for The National Catholic Reporter and Catholic News Service. He is the co-author, most recently, of Rubble Nation: Haiti’s Pain, Haiti’s humanitarian agencies. The real pros, it is sometimes Promise . assumed, are those who work for secular groups like the y e R f f e J

l u A p / o t

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: U.N. troops o H p work to control a crowd seeking emergency S N

supplies in Leogane, Haiti. C

22 America March 4, 2013 Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. In Haiti, at least, Christian aid groups, and it is proof that Christianity is an those groups are seen at the top of a humanitarian hierarchy, enormous tent. I would not call this so much a squabble as followed by the large faith-based groups and alliances like just a very essential and different outlook on how branches World Vision, Catholic Relief Services and Caritas, in turn of Christianity approach humanitarian work. In fact, in followed by smaller church-based groups like Church disaster situations like Haiti there is not a lot of inter - World Service, and then, finally the smaller mom-and-pop change between humanitarian agencies of different stripes. operations, many of them evangelical Protestant. Many nongovernmental organizations I have worked with These organizations believe that the act of are just a few of the hun - proselytizing is a violation dreds of faith-based An essential factor that ties of humanitarian princi - humanitarian groups out ples. In the other corner, there today. In the listing all of us together is the one evangelical I know of about 80 agencies that once told me that while responded in Haiti and sheer durability of the she was impressed by belong to a U.S.-based Christian church. C.W.S.’s work, she felt it alliance of humanitarian was too bad we did not groups called InterAction, “take the next step” of try - about a quarter are ing to convert Muslims to expressly faith-based or have religious roots, and there are Christianity. I strenuously disagreed. dozens of other smaller faith-based groups working in Haiti An essential factor that ties all of us together—and why that do not belong to InterAction. I still choose to work for this kind of church-based organi - zation—is what I can only describe as something mar - Christians United velously stubborn: It is the sheer durability of the Christian I can only speak as someone who reports for Church World church. Here I am speaking of its deep roots in much of the Service, which has ties to a wide network of other agen - world and its web of relationships—from parish to town, cies—Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox—but it often from congregation to countryside, from hospitals to feeding seems that some of the more common accusations against centers. The Christian church has existed in the past; it is faith-based groups cut both ways. In my travels, I have met present today; and it will be present tomorrow. The Haitian dozens of workers for faith-based groups who are commit - workers I described worked in Haiti well before the earth - ted, talented and deeply, deeply professional. And I have quake and are still there now, doing good work three years met young, inexperienced staff members working for secu - after the disaster. lar groups in tough, demanding places too. Such work is most meaningful when it is done freely and In the end, most of these humanitarian organizations, tied to the inherent dignity of our brothers and sisters faith-based or secular, have more that unites us than divides rather than to the religious claims of one group or another. us. And the more prominent faith-based groups I have When I visited northern Pakistan in 2010, the work of my worked with—like C.W.S., L.W.F. and C.R.S.—are united C.W.S. colleagues there (both Muslim and Christian) was even more closely. But our bond is not forged over the occa - appreciated simply for what it was. sional need to defend ourselves from accusations or a desire I well remember the afternoon I spent with 72-year-old to separate ourselves from secular aid groups. Rather, we are farm laborer Noor Paras, who lived in a village along the united in our shared desire to support very basic humani - Indus River that had been damaged by floods. A quiet and tarian principles, including refraining from proselytizing, dignified man, Paras knew that the Eid holiday that year and in the fact that we treat all of those affected by disasters was going to be a curtailed, pinched affair with little out - without discrimination or favor. Greatest need is, and ward celebration. Yet he appreciated the food packages should be, the priority for all of us who do humanitarian C.W.S. had provided, calling them “a gift from God.” It did work, not factors like religious affiliation, political beliefs or not matter to Paras where the food came from—in emer - ethnicity. Christian commitment undergirds what we do; gencies there is no Islamic food or Christian food, but mere - and while these groups seek to touch hearts, conversion is ly survival food. not part of our agenda. Here is another example. In late 2011, I visited Kenya Yet other faith-based aid groups make no secret that and Ethiopia on a freelance assignment for The National they are also religious-oriented bodies that claim the right Catholic Reporter. While there, I interviewed women reli - of proselytizing, or conversion, to Christianity when they gious, priests and humanitarian workers, all trying to ame - do humanitarian work. This is a key difference among the liorate the effects of a terrible drought and drawn-out

March 4, 2013 America 23 humanitarian crisis that had elicited little concern or atten - tion in the United States. One of my C.W.S. colleagues, Sammy Mutua, told me of an increasingly prominent phenomenon: food crises in urban areas, like Nairobi, where one-time farming families had been forced to leave their land and now found them - selves scrambling to find food. This scramble had become part of a trying, difficult life in which people lost the social support they had once had, and cherished, back home. In the midst of this kind of environment are people like the Rev. Paulino Mondo of Holy Trinity Parish in the Nairobi slum of Kariobangi and Ruth Wanjiru Mbugua, a social worker who works with the Holy Trinity community. Both were doing their best to simultaneously help feed their community (with the help of groups like C.R.S.) and do battle against such long-standing social woes as gun vio - lence. Outside the urban areas, the Rev. Pius Kyule, a priest in the Machakos district, a rural area southeast of Nairobi, was working with C.R.S. to implement a feeding program in an area that was feeling real pressure. Many people strug - gled just to keep a very basic diet of about one kilo of beans for six people on the table. This crisis of rising food prices and accompanying pressures on increasingly denuded land due to climate change were all taking a significant toll. “It’s getting worse every year, and people are suffering,” Kyule told me.

24 America March 4, 2013 The Unseen End schemes” and is more fully aware of life’s limits and snares, I I am asked sometimes, not surprisingly, how a loving God believe we should not be afraid of partial or imperfect can allow such suffering. The question arises everywhere, efforts, even as we strive always to do our best, our most not only in the Horn of Africa but in other places where I excellent work. have worked—Sudan, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Central We have guideposts for this. Among my colleagues at America and the war-torn Balkans, to name just a few. C.W.S., there is a popular prayer that is often attributed to To be honest, the question has never meant as much to one of my clerical heroes, the martyred Archbishop Oscar me as has the privilege of seeing so many people like my Romero, though it was in fact composed by Bishop Kenyan brothers and sisters simply doing Kenneth Untener of Saginaw, Mich. It their jobs, often unheralded, as they ON THE WEB speaks about the ways in which our works work to alleviate that suffering. Kenya Subscribe to are always incomplete and that “the king - was far from the worst situation I have our weekly podcast dom always lies beyond us” : seen, but it was serious enough, and americamagazine.podbean.com through years of travel guided by such We cannot do everything, and there inspirational figures, my own sense of faith has deepened is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us because I know they, as the church’s representatives and to do something, and to do it very well. It may be workers, are struggling in the vineyards, are present and will incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, continue to be present when others have left Kenya and an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the other places. That is where God is, I tell people. And if these rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the humanitarian efforts are part of a web of relationships difference between the master builder and the worker. undergirded by 2,000 years of tradition and history, all the We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not better. messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own. Often this work is incremental, partial and imperfect— like the aid delivery in Haiti that went awry. Aid groups Workers, indeed, imperfect as the institutions we work need to work to minimize such failures, of course. But as for. But we are present, doing our best and, we hope, doing someone who with age has become less open to “grand some good in the world, however partial. A

March 4, 2013 America 25 FAITH IN FOCUS Ignatius’ Way A new path for pilgrims, trekkers and cyclists BY CHRIS LOWNEY

he monastery of Montserrat, the region surrounding Barcelona; a Loyola. He resolved to travel to the tucked into jagged, mile-high handful were Basques, like Ignatius Holy Land as a pilgrim and set off in Trock formations, is an hour’s himself; the Americas were represent - early 1522. As his first objective he drive from downtown Barcelona but ed by a doctor from Uruguay and journeyed some 400 miles to was a world away to 30 pilgrims who myself, a former investment banker Montserrat, where he conducted his huddled there one recent Saturday from the United States. Like all pru - all-night vigil. He then detoured to the morning. dent trekkers, we carried water bottles, nearby town of Manresa and spent the Some had passed the entire night in trail mix and sun screen. But we also better part of a year there, eventually prayerful vigil beside “La Moreneta,” carried something that distinguished enjoying profound mystical illumina - the Black Madonna of Montserrat, the this trek: a bottle of orange paint. tions and conceiving the rudiments of same icon before which Ignatius of Every once in a while one of us would his Spiritual Exercises . Published in Loyola had passed an all-night vigil, ceremoniously paint a bright orange hundreds of editions in dozens of lan - 490 years before, after surrendering arrow on the pavement or a utility guages, the Exercises remain the well - his sword as an offering symbolizing pole. We were sending signals to spring of Jesuit spirituality. his turn to a new way of life. future generations: “Keep going, fellow Ignatius’ pilgrimage, then, was a Others had kept vigil from 10 p.m. pilgrim. You’re on the right path! walk that changed history, his own and to 1 a.m., then retreated to a hostel for Follow these arrows and a few hours’ sleep before the full group you will soon reach Along the trail in Alda, Spain reconvened for our Saturday venture: a Manresa.” 14-mile hike from Montserrat to For we were not only Manresa, recreating the same trek commemorating Ignatius’ Ignatius himself made after his vigil. journey of 500 years Having eaten a light breakfast, we before; we were inaugurat - groggy pilgrims looked out over a ing a practice we hope will cloud-covered valley. The overcast continue five centuries enshrouded suburban roadways and hence: the Camino other traces of modernity and created Ignaciano—the Ignatian a vista not unlike what Ignatius him - Way, a new walking and self might have scanned. cycling trail from Loyola to We started downhill just as the first Montserrat and Manresa. tourist busses from Barcelona began belching their way into Montserrat’s Following Ignatius parking lots. Our motley crew includ - The historical backdrop to ed a few Jesuits, homemakers, teach - the new pilgrim trail will be ers, medical doctors, lawyers and a for - well known to Jesuits and mer judge. Most were Catalans from their friends. Ignatius the soldier-courtier suffered a CHRIS LOWNEY , part of the Camino battle injury in Pamplona Ignaciano project team, is author of Heroic in 1521 and underwent a Leadership: Best Practices from a 450- Year-Old Company That Changed the profound conversion while World. recuperating at home in

26 America March 4, 2013 pHotoS: JoSe luiS iRibeRRi N i h w i q n m s a Z m t “ t A h m i I a v I a c t t n h r g s a I o n n l i e u e i i

, l e h l g r l a o

g o f n g a s a a u , y d d a a t e o k t

T W l n r

o e l h y s t u h a m

r i s u n

s t a r k

w t

k a

t t A l n h t o o h n m

g w a t t t o i i e r t i i e h d g o b h h t u o r u

e o o c a l e i d r f d

o a l a y y e a h e r

u t e r

s g a k n z T y a

i e s n r u t t

o ’ ’

t t

n h s

n a g b

n

h i k e h m s A c e s h r

u

’ o i h t s

w

e h r d t o

p r n s s

a a z e r

g n t t a h t a s

r

s o l m

i a s o v

h h e a - i h m s l t s t

y n l , a i

n n o u l

c e g z l h

t

o e e s w

i n p d l d r l h t r

n e u r k l

e L H - m p a o U z d i c e l d s o i a d u s k e g

k , e n w m a e n o

t f

t t n a r

e i w

o r t f n l i u n z r g o a l a e s o e t s n o a e o n c d a a s w u o a

h o u

n v e t r

y

h u r g n o n g t e o M e r

r y a a w t y e i t a :

a t

S e r o n i d e s r

r l ? r

o e r e s , t a

t b s h

n r u y a o o

s C d

s o t n

“ m ” w r n w o l c n e i n , t f

e p

N t e l e ,

n e

h s a d u e d

i c o h m h m e n o a a o

k o g a p h . t r t

t

o

g d s o b o u d f u e n h

i e m e p o i e s i r c

s

a i o

s a

n n .

n e e o f n s l t t a

b

n t e Z a r t i I o I

i s t u s

t c s h g m p h y a y t r m s s a

h i

f , t o m i r u

i o n

e i w

e h

i u m s t u c l b t o b b E n

o m r n

g R h h i o m a a c e m s u ? u B s s u s u e r

e n l u

r

t c o a a

i t s l t s e a n r

J

o A a m y

l u r o e t m

. j

e o d t s

s o t n r r p v r

t

r a

u s B q f u

p i d a h

a a t u i a i i a u t c n u r h s h u t t g g b u e c o i e a n s r a e i i y y d d p ’ a e e e e e s r - - - t t t t f l . . , , k h h r d l m I W A s o N e t o s w m a B w s g C o w o g t i e r n r n n n e o i

u g h i a a w e n o i s o n u i N c t d o c w

o t h i t m m l

d a u n t s a t t t a e k i f

w e e t t

h e e e n

o d t s t , t l t t s i t i a y

t w

e o d

h e i n h i g h o n

h e

w h h e g o u h n a

p s

s

o t a e g e s f e e i

i n f t e a g s , . a a o t t n t C

n

’ r

s h

d h

w r o I r f

1 I h g t w o i t I a

I a w o g e

t r t h e n o o f g s v a 5 u g e t m t

o n e m a u

w n r o n

h y ’ i i e n d

t f i m l e u t e a n , a

e u g k k a c o e

i s a

a h w e t t 5

t n c

d e h c a

e l i , o t i r i s o

e m

f l o s 0 i

n u i

l s : e o t

o k i a a . u u m v h S

a n

s

l

0 k I s

h b e n g e “ e a l l m s s e p g . l n e s l t m I i d

s r b l ’ O e o o

e

s n a h , d e I

e f a

p

a

o r s

t o s

n d

w o g c a m

t t l v

l t a a u a t a l o e o o t o e e i a r t

e k o a

c w s

t s a i s y x v

t d

t a w d r c h t e l u

s s

e

l a p k

n u d

o a e n i l i a t a

a s a f l a

r o f e y x

e r a e m n o r l l

, n J a s e e

,

o r e o s p p f o v l e

p

e i l

c t l o i t

v o n o a n v e s m l s y e . s x w t e

t a

r i u l s e , n p n m g l g n e

T b e d a

o

i y

e a f r i

e t

e a n g a c c . r i

e p t e t h ” s l l h o t f i

r e

m a h t s a l o

l r a h i n v

i

r t i

l

d

t n n

r d n s e I r o y e

a o e o g

w b y a

e t

g I y u e

g

d c f s

n p

w s e

t

o

w

c a o r h r

h w i a o t p f d a t a t o i r r m e m t o i n a n h n a h s e t i n

o o a m e r v l l y t h n d . g e e e e e s I r - - - - ” t f f , . a r i I w i v r p t J c o r s i t l d W r E I c i n n n e h g h r o o e i e a r e n f r s a o x e i s e s g g d r n t

n u u e o h e i d b e e u

r o W T i v a m l

e a

e t t g b o e w y s e r

c t i i i u s e e p t r d r

c c n t h r n

i o o e G i .

a a r r v o e i t , i e e r

a a s

f

e u

g t n W e s c e b l e s i i s f o n l a i n n h k o

n e

m e f e t l s a t

l

l p n r d d l y d e

s

e h

i t . d o

m C a e e m

t n u d 2 h , . e

C

e

a s

c

g h

l J

C d r s n w g o n t a 0 t

s e o ,

s t A l a e e a

c o

h i t

e m

i t n

t 1 a s i t v t e t a

r m o i M J s t

l e -

é e i h h r m t g t e 3 p i r c y e : , o n m i

c d a

h g n

e a

h a e i s a

. n i o “ L n h s i n i c u

l e e t d t u r

O s i l a n e v g c o

a h i

c d t s u n o y i b

o i x v p e y r i o d e t

h t t e

n

g i n f a e c i r r a c p i

a o

s e

m r W u l t

s a j

i

S s p

l l 4 m

o o e g b o t f t

w o e o e f e l s i , I l h r e a d l e s i u d

m n g o m u i a d g r e

o v 2

a d n

n t e

e i g i r o t , c m u t 0 b

e y v h b

r

t e o o g n f

a e 1 t o I k b

. e

i

i f e n e t

w

o n

l g a n n 3 d a e o n d

O a r 2 o a r r s a t p n y

g

a c

r w n a

e d r n

7

i

t d l . o e p t n o t a v

i r i l h m

h d A g i

i , r k h n e s e . d e t s s f e c

A l w e o

u a m i

e l a i c r c a a o h d a

u o t

u w g s a

d o d r S i s

n i i h s e e a t b t f s n p e g n C l

v t y

, t e d p s h r y

’ e

o e a

e

h l i e p F c i

- S l

i a o ,

f o c s s s n o w d r

s e l l r e d e a i t p w a i

u a

i p f

u i x c f

r n r a t k t t e a t

t a d a

u d f o a h i h i p e t o l u h g d e l n u s o i a a h e ’ n b k v e e r n e

a 2 l l a t i i n n d d d l y y a e e e s s r - - - - - t t 7 l l , secularized developed world people events that led up to Spain’s 2011 versity students: “The camino can be a who are ‘seeking’ something but need a World Youth Day, Michael Pastor, S.J., fantastic opportunity for student fresh, new invitation to spirituality. accompanied an international group on groups: they will grow in solidarity And, at the same time, the camino is a trial-run pilgrimage from Loyola to while traveling with each other, con - completely faithful to our Jesuit tradi - Navarrete, roughly the first quarter of front their own resistance or weakness, tion and will appeal to devoutly prac - the Ignatian Camino. “Language differ - be exposed in a fresh way to the life ticing Catholics.” ences divided the group,” said Pastor, and spirituality of founder Ignatius, Juan José Etxeberria, S.J., superior “but they bonded through the sheer and, not least, have fun along the way!” of the Loyola Province, spoke of the physical effort and through Ignatian He imagines that the global Jesuit new camino as an attempt to offer a spirituality. When we reached the end family might take advantage of this “transformational experience to mod - of our short pilgrimage, they wished new resource. ern men and women” by sharing with they could have gone farther together.” Still, the team members are also them “the very best that the Society of Jaime Badiola, S.J., a member of the quick to stress that the Ignatian Jesus has to offer: Ignatian spirituality.” core team, anticipates many such Camino, as Father Etxeberria put it, is a Early signs are promising. During opportunities with high school or uni - “camino de todos and para todos ”— ”everyone’s camino.” The devoutly spiri - tual are welcome, but so are long-dis - tance hikers looking for physical chal - lenge or automobile tourists who want a fascinating, weeklong cultural vaca - tion, visiting places they heard about in their Jesuit school or parish and follow - ing a route that encapsulates much of Spain’s remarkable history, from pre- Roman through Islamic and modern times. The project team, of which I am a member, hopes that by 2022, the anniversary of Ignatius’ pilgrimage, the Camino Ignaciano will be a widespread, vibrant tradition. But we are not distracted by these prospects or by the enthusiastic early response. With the route still in its infancy, much work remains. The world outside Spain has not yet heard of the camino, so marketing is a priority. And even as we have welcomed the initial burst of requests for information, the members, all volunteers, wonder how to find the time and money for follow-up. Some tasks will only be accom - plished one step at a time: Father Iriberri has painstakingly plotted GPS coordinates during a recent trek, creat - ing an easy-to-follow electronic trail for pilgrims with smartphones. Other vol - unteers are marking the camino the old- fashioned way, with a paint brush in one hand and orange paint in the other, completing a trail of arrows along this 400-mile walk that changed history. A

28 America March 4, 2013 FAITH IN FOCUS The Godfather Would my new role involve too much responsibility? BY BRIAN HARPER here are a few sure things in This overemphasis on the action beer for all the guests. the life of an international vol - part of my volunteer experience has “Nothing,” replied Nelson. “We just Tunteer. One is routinely expe - even manifested itself in relationships. want you to accompany us.” riencing the death of preconceived Not long ago, my Peruvian friends Unsure whether Nelson’s “nothing” notions about “normalcy.” For Nelson and Yhasmina had their first actually meant nothing or was code instance, I occasionally get the feeling child, a beautiful boy named Nicholas. for, “You should actually do some - some of the teachers at the high school where I work find it strange that I never wear exercise pants to school. Another is the frequency of disease. I will say I have not experienced so little control over what comes out of my body and when it chooses to do so since I was a toddler. And you can definitely count on delusions of grandeur. Though unfail - ingly well-intentioned, we volunteers seem to operate under the notion that our communities need nothing more than the fresh-water well or activity center only we can provide. One of the true blessings in my first About a month earlier, they asked me thing, but it would be impolite to ask,” year of service in the Peruvian Andes to be godfather at their baby shower. I baked a dessert and decided to look is that the Jesuit Volunteer Corps tries I already knew Peruvians have god - assiduously for any opportunity to to rid us of such fantasies. Time and parents for a variety of purposes: bap - assist on the big day. again, J.V.C. trainers have reiterated tisms, of course, but also other, more All my Peruvian friends approach that our goal is to accompany the peo - mundane rites of passage. My fellow their parties with the detail-awareness ple of our host culture, allowing them volunteers and I once served as “hair - of an architect and the eye of a poet, so to change our lives rather than assum - cut godparents,” which entailed snip - logistically and thematically, there was ing we know what needs to change in ping a few locks off a toddler’s head very little for me to help with. Besides theirs. before he received his first real trim. buying a few bottles of soda and As clear as this lesson has been That there could be such a thing as a squeezing limes to make pisco sours, made, it is one that bears relearning. baby shower godfather, then, was not Peru’s unofficial national alcoholic

S

My instinct is to measure success by surprising. But I had a hunch it would beverage, I felt redundant. i t R u

how many projects I steer to comple - involve more than sending $10 bills on My only important moment came C

S i R

tion or how many students I teach to birthdays. during the opening of the gifts. After H C / M

say, “My name is Gustavo; I am 12.” Nervous about my task, I pulled Nelson and Yhasmina thanked their o C . k

Nelson aside a day or two before the friends and family for coming, I spoke C o t S

BRIAN HARPER graduated from Marquette party to ask what I was supposed to about how grateful I was for the honor R e t

University in 2011 and now works with the t do. Having attended a number of of serving in my role. Then Nelson u H S

Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Andahuaylillas, :

Peruvian fiestas, I had nightmares of o Peru. He blogs about his travels at www.brian and Yhasmina took a present each t o H harperu.wordpress.com. blowing my entire J.V.C. stipend on and, before ripping off the wrapping p

March 4, 2013 America 29 paper, speculated about what the gift was. If they guessed incorrectly, I had to drink pisco sours from a giant baby bottle. Nelson and Yhasmina proved to have prophetic deductive powers, so eventually the guests decided they should also estimate the color and quantity of each product. Once these changes in the rules were implement - ed, I drank a lot. Overall, the party was a hit. Nelson and Yhasmina received enough dia - pers to delay toilet training for a while, and I staged a dance-off with Yhasmina’s 6-year-old nephew. Moreover, I realized Nelson had been sincere when he said the only thing he expected was my presence. All my anx - iety about what I should contribute or whether I could afford to be a proper godfather had been for naught. Nelson clearly understood the spirit of accom - paniment better than I did. A North American Jesuit who works in Peru touched on this theme during a recent retreat I made. “The only thing you’ll leave with these peo - ple,” he said, “is the quality of person you are.” Coming from an accomplishment- oriented U.S. culture, it is natural for me to look for concrete outcomes in work and relationships. “What do you do?” is one of the first questions some - one from the United States asks when meeting a new person. It makes sense that I want to respond by talking about tangible achievements like start - ing a guitar class and teaching English. But if any of the people I know in Peru remember me 20 years from now, it will not be because I organized a used-clothing sale or taught them how to say “orange.” Rather, it will be a reflection of the kind of person I was. Similarly, more than any work goals I realize during my two years in Peru, I will leave having learned from Nelson and other friends that who you are is far more important than what you do. A

30 America March 4, 2013 BOOKS &CULTURE

IDEAS | JAY PARINI LISTENING FOR GOD IN UNUSUAL PLACES The unorthodox faith of Robert Frost hirty years ago, I met Robert Fifty years after Frost’s death, it is approach to the New Testament “is Frost’s close friend, Rabbi still hard to say exactly what sort of rather through Jerusalem than TVictor Reichert, who lived only divine power Frost was listening to. through Rome or Canterbury.” a mile down the hill from the poet in The poet cannot easily be placed on The word lived in Frost, as a poet Ripton, Vt. Reichert told me about the the religious spectrum, nor can his life - and teacher. But he shifted through time Frost came to his synagogue in long quarrels with God be easily cate - many different views of what this word Cincinnati. There Frost delivered a pas - gorized. But any reader of Frost’s meant and how it should be expressed sionate sermon, explaining to the crowd poems or observer of his public state - by him throughout his ongoing strug - that he had no time for “irreligion.” He ments will know that he thought gle to come to terms with the meaning considered Scripture a live, ongoing deeply about theological matters, and of God. The struggle moved through revelation, and he considered himself a he wondered aloud about the relations mouthpiece for the word. In describing between human beings and God. In this, Reichert seized my wrist, squeezed 1947 he described himself in a letter to it and said: “I hear the voice of God in an old friend, G. R. Elliott, as “an his poems. He was deeply spiritual. He orthodox Old Testament, original was listening to God.” Christian,” but he claimed that his

. N o i t C e l l o C

N u S

&

M A R g e l e t - d l R o W

k R o y

W e N

. S S e R g N H o t C u

N f k o

H y

R N i A V R e b i k / l / M S o N C o . k M C M o o t C S

R A i e d t e t u M i H k i S

: W

: o t t e o S H N i p

March 4, 2013 America 31 his reading, which involved the , ideas was that of correspondence. That ficulties, harsh things. The sonnet is Augustine, Aquinas, Pascal and is, he believed that a relation existed very dark indeed, and it remains the Einstein. In his late poem “Kitty between the material and spiritual centerpiece in a bleak array of poems Hawk,” he claimed that his ultimate worlds. Every aspect of nature revealed that reflect the poet in a somber mood. goal as a poet was “to say spirit in some aspect of divine providence. He Reading poems like “Desert Places,” terms of matter and matter in terms of preached the union of faith and charity “Acquainted With the Night” or “The spirit,” a point of view that confirms in a Christian’s life, Most of It,” one can his incarnational aesthetic. arguing that both ON THE WEB hardly doubt that Frost’s mother, Isabelle Moody were necessary for Search our book Frost plumbed the Frost, was a Scot, and she was a devout salvation. Mrs. Frost review archive. deepest levels of follower of Emanuel Swedenborg. took her young son americamagazine.org/books depression. Swedenborg was a Christian mystic to a church founded I suspect that he who began life as a scientist and, on on Swedenborg’s principles, and he was a manic-depressive, although that Easter Day 1774, began to experience absorbed a mystical sense of the world, is hardly a professional diagnosis. He visions. One of his most important an understanding of the universe that would sometimes walk for hours, chat - was founded on the idea tering madly to anyone who walked that everything we see is a alongside. He sometimes went to bed MARY OF SORROWS foretaste of things to come for days on end, keeping his shades and that one must listen for drawn. He could spend weeks alone in the voice of God in unusual his cabin in Ripton, hesitant to see We do not in our country places, such as the wind in anyone. Rabbi Reichert and several the trees or the ripples of close friends of Frost told me that the niche you at corners, lake water against the poet was always mercurial, drawn crossroads, highway shrines. shore. either to intense socializing or austere But in Karen’s face as she talks of her son It should be noted that solitude, with very little middle Frost’s father, William ground. He defined poetry as “a whose pain will not redeem the world; Prescott Frost, was a severe momentary stay against confusion,” as Marguerita, whose eldest will not skeptic and a Harvard- suggesting that it was only in the clari - survive her; in Sylvie, whose child educated journalist who ty of the poem itself that he found worked on a newspaper in solace, clarity and grounding. learned all his letters in his second year San Francisco, where Frost Frost spent a lot of time reading and by age four had been condemned was born. William Frost Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great had no time for religion, American essayist, who remains for to mute incomprehension, and young Robert would me a core religious writer. Like you appear. have had his father’s voice Swedenborg, whom he read closely in his head long after the throughout his life, Emerson believed elder Frost’s death, when in deep correspondence between the Son-bearer, his son was only 11. One natural world and the spiritual world. mother of mothers, certainly hears a wry note “Nature is the symbol of spirit,” he of skepticism in Frost’s wrote in his essay “Nature,” one of the we know we cannot be spared; poetry. It is there in his central texts of American religious help us bear our sorrows wonderful sonnet, thinking. Frost never lost interest in and the sorrows of our children. “Design,” which is a medi - Emerson, and he returned to his essays tation on St. Thomas throughout his life, rereading them, Help us bear. Aquinas, who argued that allowing Emerson’s philosophy of life the design of the universe to seep into his poetry. DIANE VREULS was itself an argument for Speaking to his friend Lawrance God’s existence. “What but Thompson in 1948, Frost commented DIANE VREULS has published a book of poems, a design of darkness to on his poetry in relation to God: “It novel, a collection of short stories and a children’s pic - ture book. She lives in Oberlin, Ohio. appall,” Frost wrote, noting might be an expression of the hope I that everywhere in nature have that my offering of verse on the one found aberrations, dif - altar may be acceptable in His sight

32 America March 4, 2013 Whoever He is. Tell them I Am, Jehovah said.” There was, indeed, a sacramental aura in his work from beginning to end, and one cannot read a poem like “Directive,” his last great poem, without noting his allusion to St. Mark near the end. In it, the poet wanders into the woods to seek revela - tion—a typical scenario in a Frost poem. In this instance, he happens upon the ruins of an old farmhouse, with a stream—”Too lofty and origi - nal to rage”—running nearby. There he finds a children’s playhouse, with a little goblet that reminds him of the Holy Grail. Frost describes the goblet as like one “Under a spell so the wrong ones can’t find it,/ So can’t get saved, as Saint Mark says they mustn’t./ Here are your waters and your watering place./ Drink and be whole again beyond confusion.” St. Mark was commenting on the fact that Jesus spoke in parables, which had the effect of keeping out those, in some instances, who had yet to believe. Faith, in other words, was essential for understanding. One believes in order to understand, as Augustine (and Anselm) suggested, not the other way around. Frost’s own poetry was “too lofty and original to rage.” Readers are bap - tized in the Jordan River of his poetry, where they drink and feel “whole again beyond confusion.” This is, in my view, sacramental poetry of a high order. It is beautiful and true, but it is also com - plicated, even thorny. The faith of Robert Frost was nothing straightfor - ward. He was not a simple Christian, TO SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW EB0909 9

K New subscription K Renewal 9

but his faith was real, it was profound, 5 1 9 g Yearly rates are $56 for each subscription. Add $30 for postage, handling and GST on Canadian orders. - r

and pointed readers in directions 9 o . Add $54 for foreign subscriptions. Payment in U.S. funds only. 2 e 4 n 5 3 where they might find solace as well as i z 4 K K 3

Payment enclosed Bill me a 5 H a g 9 c - a O understanding, where they would find i

r 7 ,

On occasion America gives permission to other organizations to use our list for promotional purposes. If m e 2 g a 6 n c m - you do not want to receive these promotions, contact our List Manager at our New York offices. i i

their beliefs challenged, where they r r A 0

e e : 0 t o t 8 For change of address and renewal: Please attach the mailing label from the front cover when writing about m t - e

a find answers as well as questions. l . 1 i K

service or change of address. Allow 3 to 4 weeks for change of address to take effect. Thank you l a , w l 9 a M w c 5

w 0 Name: r

t o 3 i s 9 JAY PARINI, a poet and novelist, is the author i 2 v

Address: r x o of Robert Frost: A Life (Henry Holt) and o B

Jesus: The Human Face of God City: State: ZIP: . O . (Houghton Mifflin, forthcoming in December E-mail: P 2013).

March 4, 2013 America 33 MARY ANN DONOVAN  US AGAINST THEM

Poetry THE MYTH OF question, “Why did the Romans dis - PERSECUTION like Christians?” She points to the How Early Christians Invented a connection between persecution of Contest Story of Martyrdom Christians and the need of the empire Poems are being accepted for By Candida Moss for political and environmental stabili - ty. The society presumed “an intimate the 2013 Foley Poetry Award. HarperOne. 320p $25.99 connection between the gods, the suc - Martyrdom means giving one’s life for cess of the Roman Empire, and the Each entrant is asked to submit adherence to a cause, most especially social order.” Christian refusal to par - only one typed, unpublished for adherence to one’s religious faith. ticipate in the imperial cult was seen as poem of 30 lines or fewer that Historically it has not uncommonly subversive. Moss notes: “Even though is not under consideration else - been a consequence of religion was every - where. Include contact infor - religious persecution. where, there was an mation on the same page as the Christians did indeed understanding that poem. Poems will not be suffer periods of what we would now call returned. severe persecution in religious sensibilities Please do not submit poems by the first three cen - should not interfere e-mail or fax. turies, and many gave with political duties or their lives. But con - social order.” trary to what Candida If in fact the first Submissions must be post - Moss terms “the mar - three centuries of this marked between Jan. 1 and tyrdom myth,” this era did not constitute a March 31, 2013. persecution was nei - period of unremitting ther constant nor persecution, it is neces - Poems received outside the des - everywhere during sary to consider the ignated period will be treated as this period (pace roots of this common regular poetry submissions, and Justin, Tertullian and Eusebius of portrayal of it. Not surprisingly, Moss not eligible for the prize. Caesarea). In fact, in the latter part of turns to the works of Eusebius of the third century, Christians enjoyed Caesarea. She writes: “Eusebius uses The winning poem will be over 40 years of peace. Remarking the history of the martyrs as a means published in the June 3-10 about their situation in this period, of drawing battle lines for the estab - issue of America. Three run - Moss writes: lished church orthodoxy against ner-up poems will be pub - heresy.” In so doing, Eusebius “lays the They may have been disliked, groundwork for a dangerous idea: that lished in subsequent issues. but they were again able to climb those who disagree with us are the the social ladder, accumulate same as those who persecute us and Cash prize: $1,000 wealth, build churches, and that even in periods of peace the assemble in full view of every - church is always under attack.” one. Once again, Christians A problem with the Eusebius Send poems to: weren’t hiding in catacombs; approach is that it paints an “us and Foley Poetry Contest they were out in the open. them” picture: the party of God versus America Magazine the party of Satan. Moss points out 106 West 56 Street But it also remains true, as she states, that as heirs to the early church, some New York, NY 10019 that “the dislike of Christians was fair - Christians today “continue to use the ly widespread, and some Christians claimed experience of persecution to were in fact put to death by Romans justify our attacks on others and legit -  merely for being Christians.” imize our opinions.” Those who are Moss addresses the underlying attacked need to defend themselves.

34 America March 4, 2013 This positions Christians as fighters. Our author identifies this stance as “the dangerous legacy of the martyr - dom complex.” In an excellent summa - ry paragraph she writes:

This, then, is the problem with defining oneself as part of a per - secuted group. Persecution is not about dialogue. The response to being “under attack” and “perse - cuted” is to fight and resist. You cannot collaborate with someone who is persecuting you for any logical reason. You have to defend yourself. When modern political and religious debates morph into rhetorical holy war, the same thing happens: we have to fight those who disagree with us. There can be no compromise and no common ground. It is because persecution is, by defini - tion, unjust. It is not about dis - agreement; it is about an irra - tional and unjustified hatred. Why would you even try to rea - son with those who are persecut - ing you?

What then is her suggestion? The Christian ought ask: “How would the church look different if we put aside the idea that we are, by definition, per - secuted?” Moss points out that in the political and religious areas, doing so would enable us to move from polar - ized positions to common ground. Martyrs like Justin and Tertullian demonstrate how to seek such com - mon ground with their attackers. Abandoning polemic may “force us to empathize with the economic, politi - HAVING PROBLEMS WITH ON -TIME cal, and social realities that engender DELIVERY OF AMERICA ? real violence against Christians.” The Postal regulations require that there be at least point is to embrace the martyrs’ virtues 3 instances of late or no mail delivery before and not the false history in which so requesting a publication watch. You should noti - fy your local post office and make a complaint many of their stories are couched. and/or request a publication watch.

You may also notify us at 212-581-4640 ext. MARY ANN DONOVAN, S.C. , is professor 118 or by e-mail at subscriptions@americam - emeritus of church history and spirituality at agazine.org, and we will contact the USPS . the Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley, Calif.

March 4, 2013 America 35 LETTERS in ordinary political discourse. But field of teacher education, I was imme - retirees who have paid into the Social diately interested in “All Hands on Clarify ‘Entitlement’ Security system throughout their Desks,” by Thomas J. Healey, John “Getting to Work,” by Patricia Ranft working lives are, indeed, “entitled” to a Eriksen and B. J. Cassin (2/4), about (2/18), does a good job puncturing the return on that investment. Demo- the serious problems in the manage - hoary myth that labor is punishment for graphics dictate adjustments over time. ment of Catholic schools today. In expulsion from biblical paradise—the Insurance costs for unemployment proposing improvements, including wages of sin. Professor Ranft is convinc - forestall other societal costs. school financing, we do not want to ing in laying out “the theology of work” “Material support alone does not lose sight of the invaluable service to but less so in applying it to public policy. bring happiness,” writes Professor the church that Catholic schools have Legislated programs for the poor do not Ranft. No argument. But let’s be clear provided historically and even today. necessarily equate to “an entitlement about the actions of government that Absent the contributed services of society,” any more than “the 47 percent” separate “workforce participation from many consecrated religious, which all sponge on the rest of us or, more material support.” “Entitlement” is a were available in the past, teacher pointedly, the upper 1 or 2 percent. loaded word in politics and should be salaries are responsible for a significant Professor Ranft is not at all clear as examined for its accuracy before being segment of the financial plight of to what programs constitute her “enti - used. It can be employed to skip over Catholic schools today. I visualize a tlement society,” although she seems to questions like who pays, who paid and program, suggested in part by Teach suggest that social security is a prime what other costs are avoided. for America and the Alliance for example. Varieties of work preclude EDWARD GREANEY Catholic Education program at Notre Kailua, Hawaii any hard and fast conclusions about Dame, designed to provide teachers when to leave one’s vocation. Fiscal pal - for schools in depressed locations. liatives tend to shift societal costs with - Teachers Wanted What about annually recruiting a out eliminating them—facts obscured Having spent a lengthy career in the cadre of high-achieving Catholic grad -

Please see our Web site, www.sbdiocese.org, tiable. Contact: [email protected], or call CLASSIFIED for more detailed descriptions. (406) 673-3300. Joseph R. Retzel, S.J., Pastor; St. Paul’s Mission, Hays, MT 59527-0040. Books MARIST SCHOOL , a 111-year-old co-ed Catholic college-preparatory school in Atlanta, Ga., seeks a ADULT FAITH STUDY. Faith and reason togeth - Retreat DIRECTOR OF CAMPUS MINISTRY for er: www.WordUnlimited.com. Bethany Retreat House, East Chicago, Ind., offers 2013-14. The school is conducted by the Society private and individually directed silent retreats, of Mary (Marist Fathers) and has 1,080 students Positions including dreamwork and Ignatian 30-day retreats, in grades 7 to 12. The Director, who reports to the year-round in a prayerful home setting. Contact DIOCESE OF SAN BERNARDINO, serving San Principal and oversees a staff of five, coordinates all Joyce Diltz, P.H.J.C.: (219) 398-5047; Bernardino and Riverside Counties, is currently liturgical, retreat, leadership and service programs. [email protected]; bethanyretreathouse.org. recruiting for the following positions, located at Candidates with secondary school experience and the Pastoral Center. advanced degree in ministry or related field pre - DIRECTOR OF EVANGELIZATION ferred. A complete job description is available at Wills AND ADULT FAITH FORMATION. This www.marist.com/employment. Salary and benefits Please remember America in your will. Our legal title position is responsible for meeting the goals of the are competitive and commensurate with the is: America Press Inc., 106 West 56th Street, New office through overall planning and coordination, responsibilities. Use online application to apply by York, NY 10019. networking and collaborating with other diocesan March 15, 2013, to: Rev. Joel Konzen, S.M., ministries and national organizations. The office Principal. America classified. Classified advertisements are accept - provides resources for parish staff, parish coordi - ed for publication in either the print version of America nators, leaders of small faith communities and PASTO RAL ASSOCIATE. Montana Indian or on our Web site, www.americamagazine.org. Ten- parish adult faith formation coordinators to effec - Reservation parish makes request for religious word minimum. Rates are per word per issue. 1-5 times: tively evangelize and form adults. woman to minister in following capacities: direc - $1.50; 6-11 times: $1.28; 12-23 times: $1.23; 24-41 CMFP COORDINATOR . This position co- tor of religious education; provide weekly day- times: $1.17; 42 times or more: $1.12. For an addition - coordinates the Coordinator of Ministers time presence at parish/parish center; provide al $30, your print ad will be posted on America ’s Web Formation Program (C.M.F.P.) and prepares the pre-baptismal instruction/preparation for site for one week. The flat rate for a Web-only classified laity to serve the church as lay ecclesial ministers approximately 80 families. Be a part of (though ad is $150 for 30 days. Ads may be submitted by e-mail supporting the pastor or pastoral coordinator in living at Lodgepole nine miles from) an active to: [email protected]; by fax to (928) 222- enacting the parish and diocesan vision. community of three Sparkill Dominican Sisters, 2107; by postal mail to: Classified Department, YOUTH VICARIATE FIELD CONSUL- four Jesuit Volunteers teaching in our mission America , 106 West 56th St., New York, NY 10019. TANT. The position acts as a main resource, sup - grade school and two Jesuit priests staffing three To post a classified ad online, go to our home page and port and network for parish youth ministry leader - separate parishes on the 20- by 40-square mile click on “Advertising” at the top of the page. We do not ship in order to implement the diocesan vision and Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. Comfortable accept ad copy over the phone. MasterCard and Visa mission in parish youth ministry. trailer, car and insurance provided. Salary nego - accepted. For more information call: (212) 515-0102.

36 America March 4, 2013 uates of private and public colleges felt “enticed” into a spiritually danger - teaching of Pope Benedict XVI and with state teacher certification to teach ous experience. Quite the contrary. the U.S. bishops on climate change, for two years in Catholic schools at a The “Decree on Ecumenism” of energy and international cooperation significantly reduced salary? Vatican II calls for unity among contradicts the statements by Mr. While some Catholic college gradu - Christians and advises us to try to Helm. Warning of the effects of cli - ates are going abroad today as short- understand the outlook of those who mate change upon future generations term lay missionaries, some newly are not Catholic. Studying the Bible and the poor, the church has called minted Catholic teachers could make together furthers those objectives. upon industrialized nations to develop an important contribution to the CORNELIUS F. MURPHY JR. renewable energy and sustainable Valencia, Pa. church in the United States, reviving a economies. The church highlights our tradition of service to Catholic schools moral duty to pursue this course and Church and Climate while personally gaining valuable urges the involvement of international Re “Hot Air,” by Kyle Kramer (1/21): experience for their continuing careers organizations to attain this goal. The Carbon Crunch, by Dieter Helm, in teaching. Even Mr. Helm’s solution to climate does not address solutions for global ELIZABETH STELTENPOHL change—a carbon tax—has been sup - New York, N.Y. climate change but merely reinforces ported by ExxonMobil. This is the false options put before us by the because if only carbon is counted, Ecumenical Experience coal, oil and gas industries. Mr. Helm methane emissions from hydrofrack - “By the Book,” by Ronald D. blames climate change primarily on ing can continue uncontrolled. In the Witherup, S.S. (2/4), correctly the burning of coal in Asia, which he meantime, the coal industry will main - emphasizes how important Bible sees as inescapable. He advocates coal’s tain its profits by shipping its product study is, or should be, for Catholics. replacement with hydrofracked to Asia. The fossil fuel companies will But some attention should also be methane gas. He sees no hope that then make massive profits at the given to the ecumenical dimensions of renewable sources of electricity can expense of God’s earth. the subject. meet energy demands. He criticizes I hope that America will soon In the retirement community where international attempts to reduce car - review a book on how renewable ener - I live, I have been attending a weekly bon usage and to develop efficiency in gy and sustainable communities dove - Bible study led by the pastor of a near - energy use. tail with the church’s social teachings. by Presbyterian church. As a partici - I am surprised that Mr. Kramer ROBERT M. CIESIELSKI pant, I jokingly refer to myself as the fails to mention how the Catholic Cheektowaga, N.Y. “token papist” in the group. The mate - To send a letter to the editor we recommend using the link that appears below articles on rials provided are Protestant, but I of America ’s Web site, www.americamagazine.org. This allows us to consider your letter for publi - course use my own Bible. cation in both print and online versions of the magazine. Letters may also be sent to America ’s There have been some conflicts editorial office (address on page 2) or by e-mail to: [email protected]. over doctrine, especially the role of the Virgin Mary in the mystery of salva - WITHOUT GUILE tion, but I welcome the opportunity to explain such an important part of my faith. Further discussions have led to greater mutual understanding of cen - tral teachings, like the consequences of original sin. Studying the Bible with non- Catholics requires prudence and patience as well as fidelity to Catholic principles of exegesis. But I have not N O R D A W

America (ISSN 0002-7049) is published weekly (except for 13 com - H C

bined issues: Jan. 7-14, 21-28, April 8-15, June 3-10, 17-24, July 1- S

8, 15-22, July 29-Aug. 5, Aug. 12-19, Aug. 26-Sept. 2, Sept. 9-16, Y E

Dec. 9-16, 23-30) by America Press, Inc., 106 West 56th Street, L R

New York, NY 10019. Periodical postage is paid at New York, N.Y., A H and additional mailing offices. Business Manager: Lisa Pope. Y

Circulation: (800) 627-9533. Subscriptions: United States, $56 per B

year; add U.S. $30 postage and GST (#131870719) for Canada; or N add U.S. $56 per year for international priority airmail. Postmaster: O O

Send address changes to: America, P.O. Box 293059, Kettering, T “But isn’t it more important to learn how to be a decent human being?” R OH 45429. A C

March 4, 2013 America 37 THE WORD

the older son, who had stayed home, heard about it. This son “became Lost and Found angry,” and his father pleaded with him FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT (C), MARCH 10, 2013 to no avail. The older son had already created a scenario in which his brother Readings: Jos 5:9-12; Ps 34:2-7; 2 Cor 5:17-21; Lk 15:1-32 had “swallowed up your property with “Whoever is in Christ is a new creation” (2 Cor 5:17) prostitutes” and now is being given a celebration. For the person who is consciously s it necessary to be brought low in “new creation,” explodes from the page. drawing near to God for the first time, order to grasp the love that God is The way of being in the world changes there can be a jolt of recognition on always offering to us? No; it is not when new creation emerges, even if the I hearing this story. God has always necessary that we hit rock bottom in world seems to be the same. Those in been present, waiting for me. New worldly terms, but it is necessary to love understand Paul’s formulation creation is home. For the one who have grasped the spiritual reality that intimately: When in love, the has turned from God, by taking only with God is life the celebration of world changes through the God’s presence and grace for joy that was intended for us. lover’s transformation. granted, there must be an The parable of the two sons sug - When you are in love awakening, an acceptance gests that there is more than one way with Christ, there is a that new creation is for to wander away from God. In one of new creation. all, both near and far: these ways the shock of God’s absence It is not perspec - “My son, you are here with comes like a revelatory bolt in the tive alone that me always; everything I have midst of suffering and loneliness. In changes, however; it is yours. But now we must cele - the other the nearness of God is used is the person who to shield the distance and separation changes in light of PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE we have created from God’s will for us. God’s love. It is true that one can However we recognize the need to wander from God’s love, seek one’s • How do I live out my new creation? return to God, at the heart of our ini - own path, see the world from the tiation into the church is the recogni - other side, and the entire time feel • How am I near to God or far from God?

tion that there is nothing we need that one is still walking at God’s side. e N

• How do I rejoice in the presence of God? N more than the love of God, who gave This is the conundrum at the heart u d

d A t

his son, and “for our sake...made him of Jesus’ parable of the two sons. The : t R to be sin who did not know sin, so that one son, the younger, wanders far A we might become the righteousness of from the father, determined to assert God in him.” his independence and do what he brate and rejoice, because your brother There is a false sophistication, man - chooses with his inheritance. The was dead and has come to life again; he ifested as ironic detachment or plain other, the older son, stays close to his was lost and has been found.” old cynicism, that sees human life as father, though infuriated by his own The church calls out to those both misery and unrelenting pain. But why seeming subservience and, as it turns near and far on behalf of a God whose is suffering more real than the love of out, envious of his brother. compassion knows no bounds, as God, which Jesus describes in the The one who wandered far off is “ambassadors for Christ, as if God parable? Paul “implores us” to be “rec - brought low by his choices and finds were appealing through us. We onciled to Christ,” to be a “new cre - himself humiliated by his circum - implore you on behalf of Christ, be ation.” stances. He vows to return home to reconciled to God.” Come home, for This simple description that Paul serve as a servant in his father’s home. the first time, or the thousandth time, uses to describe the Christian life, But before he can even see his father, because at the core of human existence “while he was still a long way off, his is not cynicism but love, which stakes father caught sight of him, and was its claim on the son who reached out JOHN W. MARTENS is an associate professor of theology at the University of St. Thomas, St. filled with compassion.” for all of us from the cross. Paul, Minn. The party was soon to begin when JOHN W. MARTENS

38 America March 4, 2013