The True Cost of Care Uwe E

Sept. 8, 2008AmericaTHE NATIONAL CATHOLIC WEEKLY $2.75 THE TRUE COST OF CARE UWE E. REINHARDT

Language and Liturgy Victor Galeone The Business of the Church Thomas J. Healey N A SUMMER DAY in 1933, Father Clarke did not talk much about his William Norris Clarke, an 18- own innermost life. The confessional style year-old from Manhattan, was was not his. He preferred to talk about America hurrying along a pier in the ideas that struck him as really useful Published by Jesuits of the United States OCherbourg toward a trans-Atlantic liner for understanding human existence. about to leave for New York. All the same, he would surely have Norris, as he was known to his family said, using the austere and matter-of-fact Editor in Chief and friends, had a few months earlier fin- phrases of St. Ignatius Loyola, that the Drew Christiansen, S.J. ished sophomore year at Georgetown purpose of life is to love and serve God University in Washington, D.C., and was by the kindly service of others. His major EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT planning to enter the novitiate of the service was, one might say, “doing philos- Managing Editor Maryland-New York province of the ophy.” That meant more than talking Robert C. Collins, S.J. Society of Jesus on Aug. 14. about philosophy in the classroom. It Editorial Director In Paris, Norris had bought a dozen meant really philosophizing when he was new books and stuffed them into a knap- teaching and when he was engaged in Karen Sue Smith sack. As he ran, one of the satchel’s straps captivating conversations with the people Online Editor broke and the books skittered across the of all sorts who sought him out. Maurice Timothy Reidy wharf. Years later Norris’s eyes twinkled Now and then in these conversations Associate Editors with secret glee when he recalled the nuggets of personal history would pop up Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J. choice that had confronted him: abandon for a moment. A few samples suggest George M. Anderson, S.J. the books or miss the boat. While he was their flavor. Dennis M. Linehan, S.J. rounding up the books, the ship sailed Father Clarke’s forebears were among James Martin, S.J. without him. the Catholic colonists of 17th-century Matt Malone, S.J. That was the way he told the story, Maryland. When it was suggested that James T. Keane, S.J. for he would never have blunted a good this made him eligible for membership in Peter Schineller, S.J. anecdote by the Sons of adding anticli- the American Literary Editor mactic details. Revolution, Patricia A. Kossmann But, of course, Of Many Things he would Poetry Editor he did secure note with a James S. Torrens, S.J. another passage, conspiratori- and he did enter the novitiate at St. al smile that in the 1770s the descendants Assistant Editor Andrew-on-Hudson in Poughkeepsie, of these Catholics were Tories. Francis W. Turnbull, S.J. N.Y., as scheduled. When he died on As a small boy growing up in Design and Production June 10 of this year, he was 93 years old Manhattan, Norris attended the same Stephanie Ratcliffe and had been a Jesuit for nearly three- children’s dancing class as David quarters of a century. He was ordained a Rockefeller. Several decades later, he BUSINESS DEPARTMENT priest on June 17, 1945, and joined studied philosophy from 1935 to 1939 at Publisher Fordham University’s philosophy depart- a seminary set up on the island of Jersey Jan Attridge ment 10 years later. After he was named by the French Jesuits after they were professor emeritus in 1985, he continued banned from France by the secularizing Chief Financial Officer to teach part-time at Fordham and as a laws of the 1880s. When it came time to Lisa Pope visiting professor elsewhere. return to the United States, war was on Marketing Never in all that time did his mind the horizon, and it was hard to book pas- Eryk Krysztofiak idle in neutral. He wrote eight books, sage from England. Norris and two other including, most recently, The One and the scholastics (young Jesuits not yet Advertising Many: A Contemporary Thomistic ordained) made their leisurely way to the Julia Sosa Metaphysics (2000), and some 70 learned Mediterranean coast and crossed over to articles. He was also a founding editor of Algiers. Here they not only found a ship 106 West 56th Street the International Philosophical to New York but also became acquainted New York, NY 10019-3803 Quarterly. As recently as the spring 2008 with an obliging Algerian who gave them Ph: 212-581-4640; Fax: 212-399-3596. semester, he conducted a seminar on a guided tour of the Casbah, a quarter off- E-mail: [email protected]; “Twentieth-Century Personalism” for limits to non-Arabs. [email protected]. some young Jesuits studying philosophy Nearly 70 years later, Norris Clarke Web site: www.americamagazine.org. at Fordham. made that last journey from which nei- Customer Service: 1-800-627-9533. That was an appropriate topic for a ther philosophers nor anyone else returns © 2008 America Press, Inc. farewell tour, because Norris believed, as to report. Yet there could well be applied he once said, that Thomistic metaphysics to him the words Cardinal Newman needs to be enriched by the descriptions chose for his own gravestone: Ex umbris of the actual lives of real persons that et imaginibus in Veritatem— “From shad- phenomenologists provide. ows and images into the Truth.” Cover art Shutterstock/R. Gino Santa Like most men of his generation, John W. Donohue, S.J. Maria www.americamagazine.org Vol. 199 No. 6, Whole No. 4825 September 8, 2008 Articles 19 The True Cost of Care 10 Uwe E. Reinhardt Expressing Holy Things 15 Victor Galeone ‘A Transplant of the Heart’ 19 George M. Anderson A Bold New Direction 22 James T. Keane and Jim McDermott A Church Transparent 26 Thomas J. Healey Current Comment 4 30 Editorial Secession Ethics 5 Signs of the Times 6 Life in the 00s 8 National Civics Lesson Terry Golway Faith in Focus 28 Blessed Interruptions Kyle T. Kramer Poem For Winslow William Bagley 30 Film Vicky Cristina Barcelona Richard A. Blake 31 31 Book Reviews 34 Jesus; Catholic Moral Theology in the United States; All That Road Going Letters 37 The Word 39 The Holy Cross Daniel J. Harrington

This week @ Uwe E. Reinhardt discusses health care reform on our podcast. Plus, from the archives, an interview with Miguel d’Escoto from 1985, and Richard H. America Connects Tierney, S.J., on religious oppression in Mexico. All at americamagazine.org. Current Comment

Ironically—for those looking for more examples of The Wind Bloweth how to live a holy married life—the two had initially The Statue of Liberty’s torch alight through wind power? thought of living together as “brother and sister,” hoping Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York City raised to imitate the relationship of Mary and Joseph. Happily, a that and other possibilities at a recent conference on confessor later persuaded them to lead a more conven- alternative energy in Nevada. Around the country, many tional married life. Louis (1823-94) and Zélie (1831-77) wind turbines are already in place. Boston has them at would eventually have nine children, five of whom joined Logan International Airport. Southern California Edison religious orders. Some wondered if the two were being recently signed a 20-year contract for the construction of honored for their own holiness (which is evident) or a wind farm with 300 turbines. After Colorado voters because they were the parents of the Little Flower— approved an initiative requiring the state’s largest utilities though the miracle puts an end to such speculation. Zélie to generate 10 percent of their electricity from renewable died at a relatively young age, and in later years Louis sources, wind capacity quadrupled, a situation that has seems to have suffered some form of mental illness, a put oil and gas companies on the defensive, partly out of source of deep pain to his daughters, especially Thérèse, fear of jeopardizing their tax breaks. Texas now leads in who wrote about her father extensively in her journals. overall wind power capacity. And the Texas oil billionaire The upcoming beatification of her parents is a reminder T. Boone Pickens, who is vigorously promoting develop- that sanctity comes in many styles, and holiness always ment of wind power, sees the Great Plains states as capa- makes its home in humanity. ble of satisfying 20 percent of U.S. electricity needs through wind. According to the Earth Policy Institute, one of every In Record Time three countries in the world, driven by worries over cli- Just how fast is fast? Viewers of the 2008 Olympic Games mate change and energy security (oil and gas are not inex- in Beijing have a whole new set of answers to that ques- haustible; wind is) now generates at least some of its election. In swimming and track and field in particular, world tricity from wind. Germany is in the forefront of total records tumbled with surprising frequency. The principal wind-power capacity. The United Kingdom’s offshore culprits were the American swimmer Michael Phelps and capacity, the institute predicts, is expected to double by the the Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, both of whom delivered end of next year, and by 2020 offshore wind capacity will performances that bordered on the superhuman. Yet while be enough to meet the electricity requirements of all Phelps won eight gold medals with a body uniquely suited homes in Britain. The institute identifies the United States to swimming, Bolt outran his competitors with a six-foot- as the world leader in new installations, with its growth five-inch frame that was once deemed too tall for running stimulated largely by a tax credit for wind production con- short distances. Yet there he was, the aptly named Bolt, tained in the 2005 Energy Policy Act. The world may winning gold in both the 100 meter and 200 meter dash— indeed be on its way to becoming greener. T. Boone plus the 4x100 meter relay—in record time. Pickens, lead on! Fans and athletes alike love to see records fall. It proves that no single athletic feat, no matter how remarkable, is the last word on human achievement. When the impossi- A New Blessed Couple ble is possible, people will keep watching, and runners will keep running. Yet if excellence is too often attained, it can Under the influence of the Second Vatican Council, with lose some of its luster. In the case of Michael Phelps, the an added boost from Pope John Paul II, the church has worked hard to recognize saints whose lives can be more skeptical fan can be forgiven for finding less to celebrate in easily emulated by the married faithful. Soon to be added the swimmer’s seven world records than in his ability to to the list of married saints (Mary and Joseph, Peter, outduel his opponents eight straight times. When records Thomas More, Monica and Elizabeth Ann Seton among are shattered this often, there is usually a reason; in them) are Louis and Marie Zélie Martin, the parents of St. Beijing’s Water Cube extra lanes and added pool depth Thérèse of Lisieux. In August, Pope Benedict XVI obviously played a role. With Bolt, no such shadow was announced that the two will be declared blessed on Oct. cast; the pleasure found in his success was unalloyed. The 19, during a Mass in Lisieux, France. In July the Vatican only challenge to his legacy, one hopes, will come from approved the miracle needed for their beatification, the another runner on another track, on a day when we will all step before canonization. be watching.

4 September 8, 2008 America Editorial

Georgian independence from the Soviet Union in 1991; and they have been able to thwart Georgian control and Secession exercise a measure of autonomy ever since. The Russians opposed the independence of Kosovo, and the United States supported it; but now the United Ethics States upholds the authority of the Georgian government and, by implication, the forcible accession of the two HE DRAMA OF GEORGIA continues to breakaway regions to Georgia. U.S. policy, no less than unfold. On Aug. 26, President Dmitri A. Russia’s, has depended on its perceived interests and tem- Medvedev of Russia announced that his porary advantage rather than on consistent principle. country was recognizing the independence Self-determination of peoples has been a principle of of the breakaway regions of South Ossetia international affairs since the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Tand Abkhazia. Georgia’s President Mikheil Saakashvili, Its application, however, has frequently been a matter of undeterred by his country’s defeat in a rapid, well-executed contention and its theoretical foundations less than sure. Is Russian intervention, has voiced his determination to a democratic majority by itself enough to establish a state? rebuild his army and retake the secessionist regions. Do minority peoples have rights to self-determination by Meanwhile, the West is reduced to proclaiming its support virtue of ethnicity or nationality, and must their rights for Georgian democracy and pleading for Russian with- supersede those of the majority? St. Thomas Aquinas drawal, something the Russians seem unready to do. The warned against resort to armed conflict, even in situations question for onlookers is whether the Georgian crisis will of tyranny, if more harm would be done by the uprising remain a melodrama in which ambition led the leader of a than the government’s injustice had already inflicted. The small country to test the will of his much larger neighbor or inevitable recourse to force in secessionist movements is will become a tragedy engulfing the entire region in a new therefore under a burden to show honestly the injustices cold war between a resurgent Russia and a hobbled West. suffered but also to acknowledge fair treatment of their Secession is always a messy and dangerous business. rights by the majority. Nationalist hotheads seem to drive the drama. The First World War began with the assassination of the Archduke WRITING OF WARS OF SECESSION, the political philosopher Franz Ferdinand in 1914 in Sarajevo by the Serbian nation- Michael Walzer has argued that control of territory and alist Gavrilo Princip, resulting in the breakup of the “self-help”—that is, the capacity for self-rule, including Austro-Hungarian Empire into several new European self-defense—are primary conditions for the rightful exer- states. The disintegration in the 1990s of one of those suc- cise of self-determination. But even if the secessionists’ cessor states, Yugoslavia, was spurred on by nationalists like demonstration of these qualities justifies outside interven- Slobodan Milosevic, Franjo Tudjman and Radovan tion, the goal of intervention should not be to win, but Karadzic. Kosovo’s eventual independence this year moved only to secure the secessionists’ rights. According to ahead after militants in the Kosovo Liberation Army Walzer, the values undergirding an intervention are pro- shoved aside the longtime pacifist Kosovar leader, Ibrahim tection of life and communal liberty. The invasion has now Rugova. Unlike Rugova, President Saakashvili seems dis- grown more problematic because of Russian control of posed to be one of those hotheads who will drive a conflict Georgian resources and its occupation of other Georgian well beyond the point where it is justified. territory, like the port of Poti. Secession is a difficult matter for political theorists; for The application of the principle of self-determination once the division of a multinational state begins, it is diffi- is further compromised by the re-emergence of Russia as a cult to anticipate where it will end. If the other major powerful world actor and the threat of further aggression regions of the former Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Croatia, that the former Soviet states to its east and south have per- Bosnia, Macedonia and Montenegro) could break from ceived in the intervention. While there may have been Serbia, why shouldn’t the Kosovo? If the Georgians, plausible reasons for Russia to intervene, any military Ukrainians, Azeris and Armenians could break from the move outside the secessionist territories, once a cease-fire former Soviet Union, why should not the Ossetians and has been concluded, would rightly be regarded as an act of Abkhazians have license to secede from a newly indepen- aggression. Such aggression must be resisted, and the dent Georgia? In fact, their dissent from the government threat of its extension to other newly independent states of Georgia in these regions dates back to the time of must be thwarted.

September 8, 2008 America 5 Signs of the Times

No Letup in Anti-Christian Violence in India Labor Conflict at California Catholic Hospital When Msgr. John Brenkle heard of the labor-management trouble brewing at Catholic-run Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital in California, he knew he had a touchy problem on his hands. Workers were telling him that the hospital’s owner—the St. Joseph Health System, under the direction of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange—was strongly anti- union. But Monsignor Brenkle, pastor at St. Helena Parish in Santa Rosa and an experienced hand at labor law, told Catholic San Francisco, the newspaper of the neighboring Archdiocese of San Francisco, that he knew the sisters as having an exemplary record in battles for farm worker rights in the 1960s and for “the tremendous amount of good work they do for the poor.” United Healthcare Workers West, a unit of the Service Employees Inter- national Union, has been trying to orga- A video grab shows people putting out a fire at a Christian orphanage burned by a mob in the nize workers at Santa Rosa Memorial for eastern Indian state of Orissa. Church officials said that at least 11 people have died and the last several years. The union filed a church properties have been burned by Hindus angry over the killing of one of their leaders. National Labor Relations Board com- plaint in March 2005 alleging the Catholic educational institutions across attacks” on Christians. Reports indicated employer had used intimidation and India closed Aug. 29 to protest the con- no letup in the anti-Christian violence. threats during a workplace campaign tinuing violence against Christians that They recounted how armed men ran- leading up to an election on union repre- has left at least 11 people dead in India’s sacked and burned church properties in sentation. John Borsos, a union vice pres- eastern Orissa State. On Aug. 26 the state. The Vatican condemned the ident, said the conflict started in 2004 Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil of attacks Aug. 26 and expressed its solidar- when the employer hired a “union avoid- Ernakulam-Angamaly, president of the ity with Catholics in Orissa. It urged ance firm” in response to the organizing Indian bishops’ conference, appealed to everyone to recommit to dialogue and campaign. Far from reaching agreement all Catholic groups to organize “peaceful respect for one another. The church also on their differences, the hospital system rallies across the country to register will observe Sept. 7 as a day of prayer and union have prolonged their battle strong protest against the repeated and fasting for Christians in Orissa. and now are entrenched in a fight that has attracted the national media to the union’s narrative about a Catholic A Call to Political Responsibility in Novena Podcast employer’s performance in light of November 2007. The novena for faithful for Days Before Election church teaching. citizenship can be used in the usual way, The U.S. bishops are encouraging on nine consecutive days before election Catholics to pray a novena for life, justice day, or on one day in each of the nine Church Works to Suspend and peace before the November national weeks leading up to the election or “in Immigration Raids elections. The special novena is part of any way that works best for a community “the bishops’ campaign to help Catholics or individual,” said Rosenhauer. The Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence, develop well-formed consciences for Conference has made available for down- R.I., and 15 Catholic pastors have called addressing political and social questions,” load from the Internet a podcast of the on a federal immigration official to stop said Joan Rosenhauer, associate director novena for faithful citizenship (www.faith- massive immigration raids in Rhode of the U.S.C.C.B.’s Department of fulcitizenship.org/resources/podcasts). It Island for the time being and to allow Justice, Peace and Human Development. will be available until the Nov. 4 election. agents who disagree with such raids on The bishops adopted the document moral grounds to step aside as conscien- Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: From CNS and other sources. CNS photos. tious objectors. In an Aug. 19 letter to

6 America September 8, 2008 Signs of the Times

Stephen Farquharson, interim director of and their victims’ God-given humanity,” regarding conscience protection for the Boston office of U.S. Immigration said Archbishop O’Brien, who was health care workers. Hospitals and other and Customs Enforcement, the group accompanied by Bishop Eugene Sutton health care institutions that receive feder- urged that the moratorium stay in place of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland al funds would be covered by the regula- until the country implements “a compre- and Bishop John Schol of the United tions as well. “The proposed regulations hensive and just reform of our immigra- Methodist Church of Maryland. are absolutely essential,” said Deirdre tion laws.... We need a moratorium until McQuade, assistant director for policy we can get this broken system repaired.” Conscience Protection and communications in the Office of I.C.E. spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. agents have taken an oath to uphold the for Health Care Workers Conference of Catholic Bishops. “These law. “We will continue to enforce the law The rights of doctors, nurses and other regulations are implementing long-stand- and I would stress we do that in a very medical personnel who do not want to be ing laws on the books. They’re not professional way with an acute awareness involved in abortion and sterilization pro- expanding those laws, they’re not chang- of the impact that enforcement has on cedures for religious or moral reasons ing them, they’re not introducing new the individuals we encounter.” would get a boost under new rules pro- material except to raise awareness about posed by the U.S. Department of Health their existence.” The rules would cover a and Human Services. Announced Aug. wide range of activities, from full-scale Maryland Bishops Testify 21, the regulations are designed to participation in a procedure to the clean- Against Death Penalty increase awareness of three laws already ing of instruments afterward, McQuade on the books, the first dating to 1973, explained.

Bishops: Pelosi Misrepresented Abortion Teaching The chairmen of the U.S. bishops’ pregnancy. pro-life and doctrine committees crit- “While in canon law these theories icized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, led to a distinction in penalties saying she “misrepresented the histo- between very early and later abortions, ry and nature of the authentic teach- the church’s moral teaching never jus- ing of the Catholic Church on abor- tified or permitted abortion at any tion” in a nationally televised inter- stage of development,” the church view Aug. 24. leaders said. Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien speaks at the Pelosi, (D-Calif.,) who is Catholic, However, they added, scientists dis- Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment. said in an appearance that day on covered more than 150 years ago that a NBC’s “Meet the Press” that church new human life begins with the union While others debated the financial costs leaders for centuries had not been able of sperm and egg, making such a bio- of maintaining the death penalty in to agree on when life begins. logical theory obsolete. Maryland, Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien An Aug. 25 statement by Cardinal “In keeping with this modern under- highlighted moral concerns during an Justin Rigali of Philadelphia and standing, the church teaches that from Aug. 19 appearance before the Maryland Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport, the time of conception (fertilization), Commission on Capital Punishment. Conn., said the church since the first each member of the human species Testifying in the state capital for the first century “has affirmed the moral evil of must be given the full respect due to a time since his Oct. 1, 2007, installation as every abortion.” human person, beginning with the head of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, “The teaching has not changed and respect for the fundamental right to Archbishop O’Brien said Catholic oppo- remains unchangeable,” the statement life,” Cardinal Rigali and Bishop Lori sition to the death penalty is consistent said. “Direct abortion, that is to say, concluded. with the church’s respect for the sanctity abortion willed either as an end or a Citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s of human life. He quoted from Pope means, is gravely contrary to the moral decision in Roe v. Wade, Pelosi said John Paul II’s 1995 encyclical The Gospel law.” specific considerations must be under- of Life, which calls for the defense of life The statement recalled how in the taken during each trimester of a child’s from conception to natural death. Middle Ages “uninformed and inade- development before an abortion can be “Woven into the fabric of the [pope’s] quate theories” about the development performed. “This isn’t about abortion exhortation was an appeal to end capital of a child in a mother’s womb led some on demand. It’s about careful, careful punishment—to stand against the killing theologians to suggest that human life consideration of all factors...that a of even those who have committed mur- capable of receiving an immortal soul woman has to make with her doctor der and, in so doing, have affronted may not exist until a few weeks into and her God,” she told Brokaw. God’s dominion and denied their own

September 8, 2008 America 7 Life in the 00s

lenger Ronald Reagan won enough votes in the primaries to guarantee a first-ballot National Civics Lesson‘ victory. (Ford, of course, won the nomina- tion after some old-fashioned back-room negotiations.) Despite what you’ll be reading, I have not seen great ideological bat- political‘ conventions still matter. tles over party platforms. I haven’t seen public displays of disunity. I haven’t seen nearly enough good, never mind great, E HAVE REACHED national political conventions still matter. orators. What I have seen all too often that stage of the elec- That is an argument I have made here and resembled a carefully crafted political tion cycle when travel- elsewhere in the past, and every time I do commercial. weary commentators it, I am told I’m living in the past. Sure, I But then again, I have also witnessed direct their ire at a understand that conventions have outlived soaring speeches by Mario Cuomo, Whardy artifact of the old millennium, the their original intent, and they no longer Barbara Jordan and Ronald Reagan. As a national political convention. As thou- produce the kind of drama and back-room print journalist, I’ve covered small state sands of delegates prepare for a few days of dealing that inspired the prose of H. L. delegation meetings where debates have around-the-clock socializing and caucus- Mencken back in the day. But as the occasionally broken out. I’ve been a fly on ing, their Boswells in the political press Democratic convention in 2004 demon- the wall for conversations about strategy, will scowl and grumble as they, too, book strated, what happens at the podium still about issues and, yes, about the nation’s passage for Denver and Minneapolis-St. matters, for better and for worse. future. I’ve seen party members separated Paul, sites of this year’s nominating con- Murray Kempton, the great columnist by geography and more come together to ventions. Judging by the bad press the who as a young man worked as Mencken’s talk about what they had in common, and conventions have had over the last couple copy boy, once wrote that it was hard to what still divided them. of decades, you would think these meet- maintain faith in human nature after It surely is true that the convention, as ings were devoid of drama, tension and attending a political convention. I return a form, can seem as relevant to the 21st relevance. from any long car ride in New Jersey with century as a newspaper—and how it pains Well, for the most part, those criti- a similarly dyspeptic view of humanity, but me to make what I consider to be an alto- cisms happen to be true. But that does not that doesn’t mean I’ll give up my car any- gether fair comparison. Party activists no mean that these quadrennial gatherings time soon, nor do I believe we ought to longer need to travel thousands of miles to have outlived their usefulness. In fact, two revoke the licenses of most of my fellow learn more about one another. They have words ought to persuade all but the jaded Garden Staters, although it is a tempting e-mail for that. That’s why they blog. that conventions still matter. Those words thought. And, truth be told, save for Obama’s elec- are Barack Obama. As a veteran of just a half-dozen con- trifying speech of four years ago (to be fol- The Democratic nominee became the ventions—a puny résumé that ought to lowed, no doubt, by another such speech unlikeliest of household names thanks to result in the revocation of my claim to in Denver), convention oratory is not his speech at the Democratic National political punditry—I have seen more than what it was as recently as 1984. Convention in Boston in 2004. He was a my share of folly at these gatherings. I’ve Even so, I think it remains possible to candidate for the Senate that year, and seen delegates act like college students on think of conventions as national civics party leaders were looking to give him a spring break. I’ve seen favor-seekers suck- lessons, as Walter Cronkite used to call little free exposure as he prepared for the ing up to minor officeholders, lobbyists them. Even if most of the oratory is trite, fall campaign. sucking up to major officeholders (there is even if convention managers are more Obama’s speech four years ago trans- a hierarchy of foolishness at these events), concerned with imagery than words, even formed him into a political superstar. and members of the media cheerfully tak- if the Menckens and Kemptons of today Without that speech, without that con- ing advantage of hospitality suites without have lost interest or, more likely, have vention, without the national spotlight wondering what ethical boundaries they moved on to a more stable line of work, that these gatherings offered, it would be might have crossed. conventions still offer the nation a chance hard to imagine Obama’s meteoric rise What I have not seen during my con- to think about and perhaps even become from political unknown in 2004 to presi- vention assignments will confirm the engaged by politics, that once great dential nominee in 2008. skepticism of those who believe conven- national pastime that has become more of Despite what you’ll be reading and tions are mere artifacts, and dusty ones at a cable-television cult in recent years. hearing from Denver and Minnesota, that. I have not seen drama over the choice Yes, the days of ballot fights and back- of a candidate. The last time there was any room deals are over. But as Barack Obama TERRY GOLWAY is the curator of the John such question about the convention’s demonstrated four years ago, conventions Kean Center for American History at Kean choice was in 1976, when neither the have not lost their ability to surprise us. University in Union, N.J. incumbent Gerald Ford nor the chal- Terry Golway

8 America September 8, 2008 September 8, 2008 America Vol. 199 No. 6, Whole No. 4825 PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/BILLY GADBURY The complicated relationship between the market and government health programs The True Cost of Care – BY UWE E. REINHARDT –

S THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN goes into full swing, the American public is likely to be bombarded with the kind of misleading clichés and false dichotomies that distort serious discussion of health care reform in this country. One of these false dichotomies is “private market versus government” health care or “private market versus socialized medicine.” BothA terms mislead because their users seem not to understand precisely what the terms mean or, if they do, use them mischievously. The term “socialized medicine” in particular conveys to some an objectionably “un-American” form of government: socialism. A major problem with the term “private market” is that the term refers not to one single thing, but to a wide range of alternative mixtures in which a government interacts with private players in the health care sector. In fact, there hardly exists a private market in which the government does not play some role. Worse, the term frequently is misused as a synonym for “competition,” which, when placed in opposition to “government,” implies that government-sponsored care is not and cannot be competitive. Yet competitive health care already thrives in heavily government-controlled health systems, like Medicare. In Medicare and in the Canadian provincial health plans as well, private and

UWE E. REINHARDT is the James Madison Professor of Political Economy at Princeton University in New Jersey.

10 America September 8, 2008 public providers of health care compete purely on quality of premiums tend to be community-rated over all the employ- service for patients covered by government-run health insur- ees in the firm. In a sense, such group insurance may be ance systems. described as private social insurance. Because that form of Finally, in the American vernacular the term “socialized coverage is tied to a particular job, however, it is temporary medicine,” when it is not being confused with “socialism” and lost with the job. On the other hand, if private insur- outright, often is confused with “social health insurance.” ance is purchased by individuals in the non-group market, But these terms are refer to very different things. premiums tend to be “medically underwritten,” which With “social insurance” a government operates or tight- means that they reflect the individual’s state of health. Such ly regulates large risk pools to which individuals can shift the insurance, like the social insurance systems just described, financial risks they face as individuals with premiums based usually does not provide coverage for the full life-cycle. on their ability to pay. Both Medicare and the Canadian government-run health plans work in this way. Typically, the Health System Basics sickest patients are not kept out of the pool, which includes To think more clearly about the issue of private market ver- all those who are eligible. Social insurance systems typically sus government care, it is helpful to list the distinct eco- buy health care from a mixture of private for-profit and not- nomic functions any modern health system must perform, for-profit institutions. This takes place under both Medicare and then to ask who best can perform each of those func- and Medicaid in the United States, under the single-payer, tions, given the ethical constraints a nation is willing to government-run provincial health plans in Canada and impose on its health system. The five functions are: under Taiwan’s government-run, single-payer health insur- • the financing of health insurance and health care, by ance system. Examples of social insurance outside of health which is meant the process by which money is extracted care can be seen in the principle of limited liability for cor- (premiums or taxes) from households and individuals, the porate shareholders, which has made modern capitalism ultimate payers for all health care; possible, in the federal government’s current bailout of Wall • the protection of individuals from the financial inroads Street or in the federal government’s provision of disaster of illness through larger risk pools (i.e., health insurance); relief to afflicted states. • the production of health-care goods and services; By contrast, “socialized medicine” implies that a gov- • the prudent purchasing of these goods and services by ernment not only organizes the risk pools for health insur- or on behalf of “consumers” (formerly called patients); ance, but also owns and operates the health-care delivery • the stewardship of the health system, by which is system. The National Health Service of the United meant the regulation of the health system to assure safety, Kingdom or the county-based health systems of the quality, integrity and fair play among the various agents Scandinavian countries represent socialized medicine, as interacting in the health system. does the health system of the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Whether individuals, government, a nongovernmental Affairs. Luckily for our veterans, the V.A. is now widely entity or the patient best performs each of these functions regarded as being on the cutting edge of the smart use of depends on two distinct considerations. health-information technology and quality control. A First, ideally there should be a political consensus on the European must find it amusing to hear American politicians ethical precepts that the health system is to observe. Should rant against socialized medicine while at the same time sup- health care be available to all members of society on rough- porting the V.A. health system. ly equal terms, or is it ethically acceptable to allow access to The advantages many proponents see in social insurance health care, its quantity and its quality to vary by income systems are these. First, they offer individuals financial pro- class? Should health care transactions be ruled by the prin- tection over their entire lifespan. Second, they are relative- ciple of caveat emptor, or would that be unfair? Is it ethically inexpensive to administer. Third, they obey the principle ly acceptable, as it seems to be currently in the United of solidarity, which requires that all members of society have States, to let individuals and households slide into bankrupt- access to needed health care on roughly equal terms. That cy because of unpaid medical bills? In their debates on principle is sacred in European nations, being viewed as part health policy, Canadians, Europeans and Asians usually of the cement that forges a nation out of a group of people who happen to share a geography. It is a term not usually This article is part of America’s employed in the American debate on health policy. A pitfall series “A Closer Look,” offering in- inherent in these social insurance systems is that govern- ments may underfund them. depth perspectives on important In the United States, when private insurance is procured issues during the 2008 presidential by an employer in the group market for health insurance, campaign.

September 8, 2008 America 11 make explicit these ethical precepts and view them as bind- information (e.g., patients). ing constraints on public health policy. In the United States, • Individuals with superior mental acuity (the quick-wit- remarkably, the social ethics of health care are rarely dis- ted) would be able to take advantage of the less quick-witted. cussed explicitly. Instead, the ethical norms are allowed to • In the short run at least, and possibly even over the fall out of the technical parameters —e.g., deductibles, coin- longer run, individuals with more “flexible” moral standards surance or the basis for setting insurance premiums—set- would be able to take advantage of individuals with more tled on in these debates. principled moral standards. Second, given an agreement on the social ethics that a It is clear that no modern society would long tolerate the health system is to observe, one can next inquire through unfettered operation of such a laissez-faire market in health robust empirical research who best performs each of the care. Indeed, since the Great Depression no society has tol- basic functions of health care: government, private not-for- erated such a market even for much less complicated goods profit entities, private for-profit entities or all of these. and services, like financial services. Recently, for example, To explore these two considerations further, it is useful the chairman of the Federal Reserve and the U.S. secretary to imagine initially a purely laissez-faire private health care of the treasury both realized that as simple a market trans- market. In this context laissez faire means “let the health action as a mortgage loan requires much stricter govern- system do without government interference of any sort.” ment control than that imposed on it in the years just before For all of the advantages one may claim for such a system the subprime mortgage crisis. (for example, the unleashing of human ingenuity and In sum, the choice in modern economies is never entrepreneurial energy), the arrangement also would have a between government and private markets, but is among number of attributes many Americans might find dubious: varying mixtures of government- and private-market activ- • Real resources in such a system would be allocated ities. The false dichotomy between government and private strictly to those individuals willing and able to bid the highest markets is meaningless. Any politician caught mouthing prices for them—that is, to the wealthier members of society. that empty slogan should be asked to define precisely what • Individuals with superior information about the is meant by those terms. health care being sold in this market (e.g., physicians) would be able to take advantage of individuals with less The Private Sector and Cost Control But what about costs? It seems to be taken as an axiom in the U.S. debate on health care reform that private-sector institutions are inherently more efficient than are similar public-sector institutions, so that health systems relying heavily on private institutions operating in a free-market environment could control both quality and cost better than similar government-run institutions. That proposition, however, lacks any robust empirical foundation. In fact, the available research on this issue does not permit a general statement on the relative efficiency of different types of health systems. To illustrate, it is frequently alleged that costs under the government-run Medicare program for the elderly are out of control, and that Medicare can be fiscally sustained in the future only if it is privatized, that is, administered by private health plans. The Medicare Advantage option introduced as part of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 is a legislative expression of just that opinion. Under the program, however, taxpayers are required to pay an estimated average of 12 percent more for a beneficiary using a private Medicare Advantage plan than that same beneficiary would have cost taxpayers in the traditional, government-run Medicare program. In some regions, especially rural regions, the overpayment to private health plans is closer to 20 percent relative to traditional Medicare. If private health plans are more efficient purchasers of

12 America September 8, 2008 health care than is traditional Medicare, why do the private plans The Financing of Health Care need extra payments to compete with government-run Medicare for enrollees? Research has shown that when analyzed over several decades, Medicare spending per enrollee, although higher in absolute dollars than health spending for younger individuals, has not grown as fast as has health spending for privately insured individuals. As Cristina Bocutti and Marilyn Moon recently Cell A represents pure “socialized medicine” such as the V.A. health sys- concluded in their comparative tem. In that system government performs all of the basic functions listed analysis of cost trends in Medicare in the article. and the private insurance sector: Cells A to F represent “social insurance” systems. In these, govern- “Medicare has proved to be more ment performs the financing and risk-pooling functions, and the insured’s successful than private insurance contribution to that risk pool is based on her or his ability to pay. Health has been in controlling the growth care under social insurance can be purchased under two distinct arrange- rate of health care spending per ments. One of these is the single-payer approach (cells A, B, C), such as enrollee. Moreover, recent survey Medicare, the provincial Canadian health plans or Taiwan’s single-payer research has found that Medicare national health-insurance system. The alternative model is a multiple- beneficiaries are generally more sat- payer system (cells D, E, F), such as the private Medicare Advantage plans isfied with their health care than are or Medicaid managed-care plans in the United States or the Statutory privately insured people under age Health Insurance system in Germany, under which over 200 independent, sixty-five.” nonprofit sickness funds compete for enrollees mainly on the basis of the Finally, it is well documented quality of their services. Under either arrangement, however, the delivery that in nations using social insurance, side can embrace all forms of ownership and control. Government man- coupled with a mixed delivery system ages only the financing and risk-pooling functions and sometimes the pur- or outright socialized medicine, chasing function as well. health spending per capita tends to In health systems that rely mainly on private not-for-profit insurers be only about half of what is spent in (cells G, H, I) or for-profit insurers (cells J, K, L) the individual’s contribu- America in terms of comparable pur- tion to risk pools typically is not based on ability to pay, but is either a per- chasing power. Although some cost- capita levy, if insurance premiums are community rated, or is a so-called ly high-tech services in those coun- “actuarially fair” premium based on the individual’s health status and set tries are rationed by the queue, to come close to the insurer’s actuarially expected outlays for that indi- recent cross-national research fund- vidual’s health care in the coming period. In the eyes of Europeans and ed by the Commonwealth Fund does Canadians, the per-capita basis and even more the actuarially fair not support the notion that the approach to setting premiums violates the principle of social solidarity. United States ranks among nations Many Americans, however, seem to find them ethically acceptable. uniformly at the top in terms of Finally, the complete or partial lack of insurance in cells M, N and O health status indicators or quality approximates a genuinely free market in health care, because it avoids the indicators. “moral hazard” inherent in health insurance. “Moral hazard” refers to the In short, the proposition that a potential for overuse of health care, because at the point of using health so-called private-market approach care an insured person pays much less than the true full cost of produc- to health care would be the best ing that care. While some thinkers may deem this arrangement an ideal, means of controlling the cost and few modern societies embrace it. First, it fails to harvest the benefits from quality of care, or the annual growth protection against the financial inroads of illness. Second, it violates wide- in health care spending, does not ly shared principles of fairness. find empirical support. A

September 8, 2008 America 13 Expressing Holy Things Why liturgical language should be accurate, faithful and clear

BY VICTOR GALEONE

Auxiliary Bishop Peter A. Libasci of Rockville Centre, N.Y., reads the prayer after Communion during a Mass in Sayville, N.Y.

Editor's Note: The Vatican recently approved a new English-language translation of some of the unchanging parts of the Mass, like the penitential rite and the Gloria. This article deals with the translation of changeable parts, like the opening prayer spoken by the priest, which have not yet been approved by the U.S. bishops and not yet submitted to the Vatican for approval.

S EARLY AS FIVE YEARS after the introduction of world should revisit the translation of the liturgical texts the revised Order of Mass in 1969, among the to assure that they were in conformity with the Latin liturgical reforms mandated by the Second originals. Vatican Council, even progressive Catholic com- The earlier members of the International mentatorsA were suggesting a dramatic overhaul was called Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL), who for (see sidebar, p. 16). translated the texts now in use, believed in the principle With the appearance of the instruction Liturgiam of “dynamic equivalence.” This meant trying to evoke in Authenticam in 2001, the Vatican made clear its desire the hearts of a farmhand and a college professor the same that the national conferences of bishops throughout the response they had as children on hearing Psalm 23 for the first time. With dynamic equivalence, however, texts THE MOST REVEREND VICTOR GALEONE is the bishop of the quickly go out of date, even if they are not banal to begin

Diocese of St. Augustine in Florida. with. So for the last six years, ICEL has been working on PHOTO: CNS/GREGORY A. SHEMITZ

September 8, 2008 America 15 a revision of the Mass texts to assure that they are in con- “The foolish things of the world God has chosen to shame formity with the Latin original. the wise; the weak things of the world God has chosen to shame the strong. What is common and contemptible in the Approaches to Translation world God has chosen—and even things that are not—to It is important to note that Liturgiam Authenticam does not nullify the things that are, so that no one may glory in his mandate a strictly literal translation of the Latin. Paragraph sight” (1 Cor 1:27-29). 20 merely stipulates that the Furthermore, the pro- translation must render “the Second Thoughts posed ICEL translation, in original texts faithfully and some cases, does what not accurately into the vernacu- Latin was discarded; the celebrant about-faced; laymen even the early church did in lar.” In order to achieve that were permitted to make themselves heard from the rendering the original texts end, it is not necessary to sac- sanctuary; choirs were disbanded in favor of communi- into Latin. In transposing the rifice either clarity or fluency. ty sings. My God, it was beautiful! Or at least it would be, Creed from Greek into Latin, But in my opinion, the newly as soon as a few problems were worked out.... By now, for example, the fathers of the proposed ICEL translations, however, the evidence indicating the current state of the fourth century did not for the most part, are a rather liturgy is so overpowering that only a cleric could remain transliterate the Greek word stilted rendering of the Latin. unconvinced.... So, you ask, what can be done about it? homoousion; they translated it Before citing examples of this Bring back the Latin Mass! However, I realize we can as consubstantialem. Not so phenomenon, I believe it is never go back...but surely something can be done to with the proposed ICEL text, necessary to examine two dif- recover some small part of the enchantment that is so which has replaced the trans- ferent approaches to resolv- patently missing from the Mass today. lation from Greek that is ing the current controversies —Dan Herr, “Stop Pushing!” presently used, “one in over liturgical language. in The Critic, July 1974 being,” with a transliteration One approach is to of the Latin, “consubstantial.” “freeze” the readings and prayers into some static and never- In saying this, I do not mean to imply that the proposed changing formulas. This allows doctrinal content to be for- translations are useless. On the contrary, I highly commend mulated in a way that will not be changed and is not per se ICEL for having rectified many deficiencies in the present subjected to the ambiguities or distortions of the ever- texts used at Mass. The banal expression “from east to evolving languages of the day. In the West, Latin did a good west,” for instance, in the third eucharistic prayer now res- job of this for over 1,500 years. It was “correct” as well as onates with the Latin, “from the rising of the sun even to its stable and reliable, and it spanned the entire range of cen- setting”—thus evoking the prophecy of Mal 1:11. Also, turies of the Western tradition. before the reception of Communion, the bland “This is the The other approach is to render the readings and Lamb of God...” now echoes the voice of the Baptist at the prayers into formulas and versions that are easily understood by Jordan, “Behold the Lamb of God.” the people. This requires using the languages spoken every day, which are quite numerous and exposes the doctrinal Graceful Alternatives content to potential “changes” in meaning, even if very sub- That said, I still find fault with many of the proposed tle. Success depends on how well the translators understand ICEL translations for rendering the Latin originals too lit- the meaning and intent of the originals, how unbiased and erally, resulting in awkward English prayers. Every single faithful they are in rendering them into another language, prayer is rendered by one periodic sentence, as in the and how skilled they are in the idioms and peculiarities of Latin. Classical Latin favors this style, with its subtle use the target languages. of subordinate clauses and participles. But this does not When the New Testament was produced, it was written work in modern English, even in formal speeches deliv- not in archaic Greek, nor in Attic Greek, but in the every- ered on special occasions. Here is one instance, the exam- day koine Greek of the commercial marketplace—which was ple I used during my intervention in June at the U.S. bish- not elegant or literary. When St. Jerome cast the Scriptures ops’ meeting in Orlando. On the floor, I quoted the ICEL into Latin, he did not use the literary Latin of Caesar, translation of the prayer after Communion for Wednesday Cicero, Livy, Tacitus or the like. He put them into the of Holy Week: everyday language spoken on the street by the vulgus, the crowd—hence the name Vulgate. Fill our minds, almighty God, Both the New Testament authors and St. Jerome with sure confidence that, demonstrate what St. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth: through your Son’s Death in time,

16 America September 8, 2008 to which awesome mysteries bear witness, why the texts were flawed. Not one amendment was accept- you have given us perpetual life. ed, nor was any reason given for their rejection. I have spoken with other bishops who feel equally frustrated. I proposed an alternate rendering that entailed merely It was also pointed out that four national conferences of rearranging a few clauses and adding a definite article and bishops have already approved the texts (11 national confer- demonstrative adjective: ences are members of ICEL). Why then, should our con- Almighty God, fill our minds with [the] sure confidence that you have given us perpetual life The proposed ICEL through your Son’s Death in time, to which [these] awesome mysteries bear witness. translations, for the most

Then I alluded to the phrase “the gibbet of the cross” part, are a rather stilted that occurs in the opening prayer of the same Mass: “The last time I heard the word ‘gibbet’ was in 1949, when our rendering of the Latin. eighth-grade class was making the Stations of the Cross. For the vast majority of our people it is meaningless.” ference refuse to go along with them? My observation is Several weeks later, I received a letter from the executive that if the bishops in those countries felt the same frustra- director of ICEL, commenting on my intervention in tion that many of our bishops are experiencing, isn’t it pos- Orlando. He defended the ICEL (i.e., the Latin) word sible that they might have approved the texts just to be done order, by pointing out that it avoided “a defect that many with it? The conferences that have accepted the ICEL texts have noticed in the current translations of these prayers, represent only a small fraction of English-speaking namely that they often end weakly.” He then went on to Catholics worldwide, whereas U.S. Catholics represent 85 state that adding “these” to the the text would imply that the percent of the Catholic English-speaking world. That “mysteries” being referred to were the eucharistic elements important point should not be lost. on the altar, when in fact, since the days of the Gregorian In fact, following my intervention, three bishops Sacramentary (812 A.D.), “mysteries” in this context refers to the Easter triduum, which begins the following day. The William H. Shannon Chair in Catholic Studies After explaining how difficult it was to find a proper at Nazareth College presents translation for patibulum crucis other than “the gibbet of the cross,” the executive director noted, “In choosing ‘gibbet’ to WOMEN OF WISDOM AND translate patibulum, the commission has been aware that the WITNESS phrase ‘the gibbet of the Cross’ was used by St. John Fisher.” St. John Fisher (d. 1535) also made use of the word SPEAKERS INCLUDE: “forsooth.” Would ICEL also be willing to translate the SHEILA CASSIDY JAMIE T. PHELPS, O.P. Latin vere (indeed) as “forsooth?” “Audacity to Believe: “Women Transforming the I have intentionally dwelled at some length on these The Witness of a Church: Moving Towards Political Prisoner” Communion” interactions with ICEL’s executive director because I believe October 2, 2008, 7 p.m. March 5, 2009, 7 p.m. they show that the present membership of ICEL falls Forum, Otto A. Shults Forum, Otto A. Shults squarely into the camp of those who prefer a translation that Community Center Community Center is frozen in static, never-changing formulas—even if com- ELIZABETH A. DREYER CAROL RITTNER, R.S.M. prehension is sacrificed in the process. “Women Alive in the “Rape, Religion and Spirit: Wisdom of Genocide: Breaking the Why the Motion Failed to Pass Medieval Mystics” Silence” At the Orlando conference, it was pointed out that only October 23, 2008, 7 p.m. April 2, 2009, 7 p.m. eight bishops had submitted amendments to alter the pro- Forum, Otto A. Shults Forum, Otto A. Shults Community Center Community Center posed texts. The legal maxim “silence gives consent” should warrant the conclusion that the vast majority of bishops These lectures are free and open to the public. agree with the proposed translations. I submitted no .AZARETH#OLLEGEs%AST!VENUE amendments. I refrained from doing so out of frustration. 2OCHESTER .9 At our meeting in Los Angeles two years ago, I submitted &ORADDITIONALINFORMATION CALL(585) 389-2728 four amendments with well-reasoned explanations as to ORVISIT www.naz.edu

September 8, 2008 America 17 informed me that although they agreed with me, they still text of worship.” He added that if the texts were approved, voted for approval since they felt it was time to move on. At our priests and people would press the bishops to return to the conference, several bishops publicly voiced the same them time and again in order to remedy the perceived sentiment—as one of them expressed it, “With all its diffi- defects. culties, the translation should go forward.” But Archbishop Bishop Donald Trautman of Erie has observed Daniel Pilarczyk of Cincinnati warned that it “depends on (America, 5/21/07) that the texts contain a number of archa- what you’re moving forward to,” arguing that the new texts ic and obscure terms, such as “wrought,” “ineffable” and would be “a linguistic swamp.” “gibbet.” He also lamented ICEL’s preference for replicating Other bishops at the conference were in agreement with in English the structure of the Latin periodic sentence, thus Pilarczyk. For example, Bishop Richard Sklba of Milwaukee making comprehension difficult. “John and Mary Catholic,” admitted, “If I have trouble understanding the text, I won- he concluded, “have a right to have prayer texts that are clear der how it’s going to be possible to pray with it in the con- and understandable.” Clear and understandable—without sacrificing either accuracy or elegance— therein lies the challenge! Since the motion failed to receive sufficient votes for either approval (166) or rejection (83), the Latin-rite bishops who were absent from the conference had to be polled by mail. With all the mail-in ballots counted, the motion still failed to pass. Consequently, we bishops will have to revisit the proposed draft of prayers at our November meeting. In the past 1,500 years, languages spoken on the street have changed. And so the dilemma constantly recurs of how to represent the teaching of Scripture, tradition and the liturgy in a way that remains faithful to its original meaning but at the same time is easily understood by the people. It is no easy task, but proposing translations that leave our people scratching their heads is not the answer. That is the reason the motion for the proposed texts failed to pass. We bishops who voted against the motion did not do so out of a spirit of obstinacy. We love the Lord. We love the church. We love the liturgy. And what we desire for our people is what the bishops at the Second Vatican Council approved in the “Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy,” No. 21, speaking of the restoration of the liturgy (emphasis added): “Both texts and rites should be drawn up so that they express more clearly the holy things which they signify: the Christian people, so far as is possible, should be enabled to understand them with ease and to take part in them fully, actively, and as befits a community.” A

18 America September 8, 2008 ‘A Transplant of the Heart’ Miguel d’Escoto’s vision for the United Nations

BY GEORGE M. ANDERSON

WANT TO REPRESENT THE POOR of the world, of liberation theologians like those of his friend Gustavo including the people of my own country, Gutiérrez, O.P., d’Escoto became convinced that “the most Nicaragua,” said Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, important thing from which to be liberated is violence.” In M.M. We were sitting in the office of the president today’s world, war-related violence is a virtual addiction, he ‘ofI the 63rd General Assembly of the United Nations. said. Even a small portion of the money nations spend on Elected to this one-year executive post in June 2008, he will arms and warfare could help lift the dispossessed half of the take up the duties of his office in September. world from the extremes of poverty that include inadequate Father d’Escoto’s fluent English reflects the fact that he access to food, clean water and basic sanitation. was born in the United States and spent some of his child- The 1996 World Food Summit’s objective of halving hood years with his parents on the Upper East Side of malnutrition by 2015, d’Escoto observed, is unlikely to be Manhattan (his father was a Nicaraguan diplomat). met. He sees the Millennium Development Goals, the edu- Currently a retired Maryknoll priest, under “limited sus- cation, health and development initiatives begun by the pension,” d’Escoto was Nicaragua’s foreign minister when United Nations in 2000, as “unambitious” and “just the Sandinista National Liberation Front’s government held power from 1979 to 1990 under President Daniel Ortega. It was Ortega, re- elected to the presidency of Nicaragua in 2006, who put d’Escoto’s name forward as a candidate for the presidency of the U.N. assembly. Reflecting on the global picture, d’Escoto deplores an increase in world poverty that has reached what he calls “totally unacceptable levels.” And because of nuclear arms, he said, there is also “the real threat of the extinguishing of the human species, as well as the life- sustaining capability of the earth.” D’Escoto’s firsthand acquaintance with global poverty came early; his first assignment after ordination took him to Chile, where he worked with a federation of slum dwellers. Later, through the experi- ences of Nicaragua during its eight- year war against the U.S.-backed Contras, and through the writings PHOTO: CNS/PAULO FILGUEIRAS GEORGE M. ANDERSON, S.J., is an Samuel Santos Lopez, right, Nicaraguan foreign minister, congratulates Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann fol- associate editor of America. lowing his election as head of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

September 8, 2008 America 19 tokenism.” “This is an issue we will address in the General against Nicaragua.” He said the fast was a religious act on Assembly,” he said. The slow pace at which the goals are his part, and many Nicaraguans joined him. being met and the poverty of the world—much of it creat- To be an honest disciple of Jesus, d’Escoto observed, ed by war—have led him to add, “What we need is a con- “we must also be committed not only to the eradication of version, a transplant of the heart.” We must accept “that we violence, but also to ensuring access to food at a time of are all brothers and sisters, or else we will drown in what escalating food prices, and to the sources of clean water Tolstoy called our ‘insane selfishness.’” lacking in many poor countries.” The lack of clean water is one of the issues he plans to focus on as president of the Espousing Nonviolence General Assembly. The situation is exacerbated because the Miguel d’Escoto’s greatest heroes are those who have pur- water supply “is being increasingly privatized,” a matter that sued nonviolence— poses special dangers for Tolstoy, Gandhi, Martin developing countries. Yet Luther King Jr., and the right to water is Dorothy Day. “These We have to move together among the most basic of are the people who most human rights, he said. influenced me,” said from the logic of ‘I and mine’ D’Escoto played a leading d’Escoto. Daniel Ortega role on the Nicaraguan once invited Archbishop to the logic of ‘we and ours.’ government’s water com- Oscar Romero to come mission, though his coun- to Nicaragua to rest, said try is fortunate, he said, in d’Escoto, who was looking forward to meeting him, “but being “rich in water through Lake Nicaragua, the most then came the call about his murder while celebrating Mass.” important resource in Mesoamerica” (Mexico and the coun- D’Escoto made special reference to Tolstoy’s The Kingdom of tries of Central America). God Is Within You: “That was the book that Gandhi discovered as a young lawyer working in South Africa.” His Views and Vision The incoming president also mentioned two 19th-cen- As General Assembly president d’Escoto hopes to work tury social reformers: William Lloyd Garrison, a journal- toward greater democratization of the United Nations. ist who sought the abolition of slavery, capital punishment “The founders of the United Nations believed that all the and all war; and Adin Ballou, a Protestant abolitionist, member countries were equal, but some see themselves as pacifist and socialist, who founded the Hopedale more equal than others,” he said, making an oblique refer- Community in Massachusetts. The group embraced a ence to the major industrialized nations. He described them concept of Christian pacifism called “non-resistance.” As as creating a centralization of power that strikes at the root he came to know the writings of Garrison and Ballou, and of a democratic spirit. He spoke of “the problem of the others like them, d’Escoto explained, “I began to realize abuse of the veto privilege” of the Security Council’s five that the Gospel itself is radically nonviolent. Gandhi con- permanent members (the United States, Great Britain, vinced me that the means countries use in dealing with France, Russia and China), who have the power to block one another are the seeds from which the future will any of the council’s decisions. sprout; if we use violent means, we are just planting the Miguel d’Escoto traces some of the United Nations’ seeds for more violence. We who are supposed to be problems back to the institutions that grew from the 1946 preaching Jesus’ message of nonviolence, ‘Thou shall not Bretton Woods agreements on international monetary sys- kill,’ have made too many concessions.” For d’Escoto, one tems, such as the World Bank and the International such concession is the just war theory. Monetary Fund. He referred to “their lethal prescriptions,” In his acceptance speech in June, d’Escoto noted “acts of which are intended to improve the economies of countries aggression such as those occurring in Iraq and Afghanistan.” struggling with poverty but in many cases have led to Though he did not mention the United States by name, few greater suffering. The major problem in the United would have failed to see in the comment an allusion to the Nations, d’Escoto said, is that “the opinion of the majority U.N.’s host country. is not heard.” He cited as one example the embargo on In 1985, while serving as Nicaragua’s foreign minister, Cuba. “Every year, the issue of the 45-year trade embargo d’Escoto embarked on a lengthy fast for peace. Referring to comes up, and every year the General Assembly speaks of a 1985 interview with the Nicaraguan periodical Revista Envío, he said that the fast was prompted in part by “the From the archives, an interview with Miguel d'Escoto U.S.-declared, armed, financed and directed Contra war from 1985, at americamagazine.org/pages.

20 America September 8, 2008 lifting it. But despite only four votes against removing it,” addressing the day’s tasks. Even before beginning his work he said, “the Cuban embargo remains in place because of a as Nicaragua’s foreign minister in 1979, he said he “had few countries.” already formed a habit of prayer through ‘practicing the Father d’Escoto expressed admiration for Cuba’s excel- presence of God’—there is no time for me that is not a time lent medical initiatives. These include, he said, not only the for prayer.” He went on to say, “I never pray for something government’s export of well-trained physicians to serve to happen, only to do God’s will.” poor people in Latin America, but special undertakings like After his acceptance speech at the United Nations, operación milagro (operation miracle). The project flies blind d’Escoto said, “Some people told me it sounded like a ser- people from over 20 Latin American and Caribbean nations mon; I replied, ‘the only thing I’ve ever wanted to be is a to Cuba for surgery to restore their eyesight. “People who priest, a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth.’” Despite the prohi- have never even been in a car are flown to Havana for the bition on his presiding at Mass, d’Escoto spoke of receiving kind of surgery that otherwise would have been impossible.” strong support from the Maryknoll community. Shortly He said, “It’s a joy for me to see Cuba’s generosity, even before our interview, in fact, he traveled to its headquarters though there are some who denigrate it.” in Ossining, north of New York City, to attend a Mass for During the 63rd General Assembly, d’Escoto hopes jubilarians. to begin a dialogue on the democratization of the United Father d’Escoto’s support of liberation theology led to Nations. He envisions three sessions: the first would the founding of Maryknoll’s Orbis Press in 1970. “I wanted focus on the Bretton Woods institutions; the second to make the writings of my friends, Gustavo Gutiérrez and would transfer to the General Assembly some of the Juan Luis Segundo and those of others like them, widely powers currently held by the Security Council; the third known.” When Orbis published Gutiérrez's Theology of would devise checks on the Security Council and the Liberation in English, the cover image of the crucified members’ veto power, which currently, he said, virtually Christ, by an indigenous Indian artist, was one d’Escoto guarantees their ability to act with impunity. He also himself had chosen. hopes to address climate change and deforestation; The United Nations has designated the year 2009 as the nuclear disarmament, which needs a level of considera- World Year of Reconciliation. For Miguel d’Escoto, the tion it has not so far received; and terrorism, particularly year ought to involve moving toward “forgiveness, reconcil- insofar as the war against it is used, he said, as a pretext iation and fraternity.” He said: “We have to move together to “commit wars of aggression.” from the logic of ‘I and mine’ to the logic of ‘we and ours.’ The whole of life is about this transition from selfishness to Prohibitions and Prayer love.” It was a statement that summarized much of our con- Since he was admonished in the 1980s by Pope John Paul II versation that morning in his office. In closing, the priest for his involvement in politics through his work as expressed his belief that “God will not abandon us in the Nicaragua’s foreign minister, d’Escoto has been unable to struggle for a better world.” A celebrate Mass. “I asked the Vatican if I could at least say Mass by myself, but they x Want to grow in freedom? said no to that too,” he said. x To find more intimacy with God, “Nevertheless,” he added, “the prohibi- in the midst of a very busy life? tion does not prevent me from living what I consider to be a eucharistic life, x To make a retreat, inspired by the Spiritual Exercises that is, a life of risk for the brotherhood of St. Ignatius, without leaving home? For: and sisterhood.” He said that about half of the people he encounters at the United Individuals Consider the Nations address him as “Father.” The Groups Online Retreat in Everyday Life. title is appropriate, for while d’Escoto is Parishes A 34 week retreat, with weekly guides, helps for prayer, reflection provoking under suspension by the Holy See, from RCIA photographs. Can be started any time, but fits with the Liturgical year, public priestly ministry, he is still a priest, starting September 14th. Anyone with Explore what has transformed the lives of thousands of online participants according to Canonists. a computer around the world. Visit our other Online Ministry sites: Daily Reflections, When asked how he approaches the and desire. Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer and lots of resources. limits on the exercise of his priestly min- www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/online.html istry, he replied, “I deal with it through A ministry of the Collaborative Ministry Office prayer.” He said he rises daily at 5 a.m. and spends two hours in prayer before A Jesuit Catholic University in Omaha, Nebraska since 1878

September 8, 2008 America 21 A Bold New Direction Richard H. Tierney and America’s foray into politics

BY JAMES T. KEANE AND JIM MC DERMOTT

PON HIS ARRIVAL IN New York City to take up and dignitaries, seizures of copies of America by authorities duties as an associate editor of America in July ranging from the British government to American anti-espi- 1914, Paul Blakely, S.J., was eager to meet the onage agencies, rumored death threats against Tierney and newly minted third editor in chief the staff, letters of commendation from two Uof the five-year-old magazine, Richard H. separate popes and, according to one editor, a Tierney, S.J. “My first impression was not wiretap on the office phones. While other pleasant,” Blakely later recalled. When taken issues were dissected and debated vigorously to Tierney’s door, “The ‘come in’ I heard was on the magazine’s editorial page (including barked, much in the manner of a drill sergeant Prohibition, women’s suffrage, the plight of expressing his opinion of a particularly awk- Austria’s starving postwar population and ward squad. I came in, and got my first view of U.S. government control over education), no the biggest man, mentally and morally, I have ever known.” subjects brought more attention to the magazine or elicited Blakely’s penchant for hyperbole aside, more than a few more words from Tierney and his staff than World War I colleagues and acquaintances over the 11 years when and the plight of fellow Catholics in Ireland and Mexico in Richard Tierney stood at the magazine’s helm described him the 1910s and 1920s. in similar terms. He was by all accounts a physically intimi- Born in New York City on Sept. 2, 1870, Tierney had dating man, tall and pugnacious in appearance, solidly built entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1892 after graduating from and quick in gesture, with a personality to match. His fellow St. Francis Xavier College in New York. After completing editors considered him inspiring but mercurial, and some- his Jesuit training and spending five years as a philosophy times lacking moderation in both personal matters and edi- professor at the Jesuit seminary in Woodstock, Md., torial opinions. A later editor called Tierney “a man of Tierney came to America in 1914 at age 43. Though he strong personal views, detesting sham and doubletalk, and had published a book and numerous articles on education, shrinking from no controversy.” From 1914 to 1925, he also he had no journalistic experience. It was therefore a surprise substantially changed America from a pacific and low-pro- to some of the staff when, a month after his arrival, Tierney file magazine into a controversial journal of opinion on the was appointed to replace Thomas J. Campbell, S.J., and international political scene, bringing both new influence became the magazine’s third editor in chief. and unexpected notoriety to the magazine in the process. Editorially, Campbell’s tenure had been a staid and Tierney was willing to wade into any fight, but three top- polite period for the magazine, remembered by one editor ics in particular were the focus of his efforts and ever-present as “that slack period of Taft’s administration, when no great subjects on the editorial pages in those years. World War I causes wrung attention, when only minor efforts seemed naturally dominated news coverage in almost every journal crying for refutation, when Europe was silently and sullen- from 1914 to 1918, and America was no exception, offering ly preparing for war, and the United States was smugly religious and political commentary throughout the conflict. plodding along between Roosevelt and Wilson.” Also receiving considerable treatment in the pages of the Campbell’s careful management in the five years since the magazine were religious persecution in Mexico and the monetary crises that immediately followed the journal’s struggle for Irish independence. Because of its treatment of founding had brought it to solvency, but financial ruin still each, the magazine under Tierney engaged in numerous seemed just a day away. The magazine had been forced to public dust-ups with President Woodrow Wilson and offi- give up its original quarters in Washington Square for cials in his administration, visits to the office and correspon- financial reasons, and printing strikes often resulted in spo- dence with the editors from all manner of foreign officials radic production and unreliable delivery. When the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo led to the out- JAMES T. KEANE, S.J., and JIM MCDERMOTT, S.J., are associate break of World War I in Europe, the price of paper and editors of America. This is the second in a series of articles other raw materials soared; printing and distribution costs on the history of America. for the magazine rose accordingly. The editors were forced

22 America September 8, 2008 to raise the price of a yearly subscription from three dollars to four.

A War of Words Tierney’s most tense controversy came from an unexpected direction after the United States entered World War I in 1917. Government officials began monitoring suspected German sympathizers in the United States, and in one search of a suspected foreign agent’s home found a list of editors and writers whose assistance was thought to be useful in eliciting public sympathy for the German war effort; among the names was Joseph Husslein, S.J., a member of America’s editorial staff. The magazine had remained scrupulously neutral before the United States entered the war, even arguing against American entry into the conflict, while other journals were pushing for intervention on the side of the Allies. America soon found itself under government suspi- cion for pro-German sympathies. Other newspapers and journals similarly accused, including The Freeman’s Journal, had already been shut down, their editors arrest- ed for “obstructing the war effort.” Tierney issued an indignant denial through The New York Times of the magazine’s participation in any fifth column against the American war effort, noting that Husslein’s name appeared on the list without his knowledge or consent. After the entrance of the United States into the war, America had taken the “path of absolute loyalty to the Richard H. Tierney, S.J., Austria, circa 1919. “He was by all accounts a physically intimidat- ing man, tall and pugnacious in appearance, solidly built and quick in gesture, with a person- declared policy of the Government,” he ality to match.” wrote. When Tierney was summoned to meet President Wilson at the White House in 1918 to dis- hands of anticlerical forces. By 1915, Tierney claimed to cuss “Catholic matters,” he gathered the editors and asked have collected a large dossier of testimonies from promi- them, “Are you all ready to be sent to Leavenworth nent Mexican citizens and foreign nationals in Mexico that Prison?” While the controversy proved to have short legs proved the persecution was not only widespread, but was (and Leavenworth saw no Jesuit visitors), for the duration of occurring with the full knowledge of the U.S. government. the conflict America was obligated to send two copies of America’s repeated calls for the United States to protect the every issue to the solicitor general of the U.S. Post Office, religious rights of the Mexican people turned the contro- where the magazine could be examined for disloyalty or versy into something of a cause célèbre in the second half of sedition according to the terms of the Espionage Act of that decade. Loath to alienate their Mexican allies for fear 1917. of losing the valuable oil concessions controlled by American companies, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s South of the Border administration neither intervened nor acknowledged any FILE PHOTO After Mexico plunged into a series of coups and endless civil persecution. unrest after the Revolution of 1910, stories circulated in the When administration officials claimed in 1915 that the

AMERICA United States about persecution of Mexican Catholics at the State Department had no record of any atrocities commit-

September 8, 2008 America 23 ted in Mexico and that Tierney had been misled by propa- Mexican controversy took a back seat on the magazine’s ganda and forgeries, Tierney responded abrasively and at pages during Tierney’s editorship to the cause of Irish length in the pages of America. “Some men who seem to independence from Great Britain. The short-lived Easter think they are baptized politicians, not Christians,” Tierney Rising in Dublin in 1916 had been met by stubborn British wrote in a signed editorial, “are declaring that they are fear- resistance to Irish independence in the following years, ful that I have not the facts. These people mistake the object but the cause of the rebels drew enormous sympathy of their fear. They do not fear that I have not the facts: they fear the facts. Let them not worry: splints for spines and rubber holders for knees will prevent their bod- Tierney changed America from a ies from wobbling. Their souls. Ah, that is another question!” pacific and low-profile magazine into At the same time, Tierney was drawing a controversial journal of opinion on large crowds to public speaking engage- ments in New York to expose Mexican the international political scene. persecution of Catholics and to call for official American condemnation of it. In one engagement at Carnegie Hall in 1916, Tierney recount- among the huge population of Irish immigrants and their ed for a crowd of 2,000 a long list of atrocities committed by descendants in the United States. When President Wilson Mexican troops against nuns and priests. “It is a revolution of pledged not to interfere with British policies on “the Irish rapine,” Tierney insisted, “and one that is carrying on its Question” after World War I, America accused Wilson of turgid waves the mangled bodies of men and the living souls violating his own principles of self-determination for all of women and children, who are wailing piteously, crying peoples. hopelessly for help…. They are humanity’s problem—issues When press reports indicated that America’s editors that concern man because he is a man, not a beast.” would host the Irish nationalist Eamon de Valera for a din- Continued public sparring with the Wilson administra- ner in June 1919 after de Valera had successfully evaded tion led to private hints of further intrigues, including a sup- British ships attempting to intercept him on his voyage to posed plot against Tierney’s life by Mexican government the United States, the British government forbade distribu- agents and later claims by one editor of America that some- tion of the magazine on Irish shores and confiscated all one had tapped the magazine’s telephones. Tierney (and extant copies. (To avoid the appearance of impropriety, the Blakely, as the primary author of editorials during the time) editors decided to welcome de Valera for a visit to their res- continued to denounce atrocities and American inactivity in idence, which was festooned with Irish flags for the occa- the face of increasing evidence of their frequency. At the sion, but declined to offer him dinner.) height of these tensions, Tierney received a letter from Pope Tierney and his staff remained unrepentant, and con- Benedict XV praising his work on behalf of persecuted tinued to advance the Irish cause of independence from Catholics in Mexico. Great Britain throughout the Irish Civil War of the early 1920s. He and America were accused by Irish and English Across the Pond partisans of every political persuasion of unfair bias against Despite the fevered pitch of editorial comment, even the their cause, and until Tierney’s dying days the Irish Question remained a focus of the TO SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW magazine. ❑ New subscription ❑ Renewal Yearly rates are $48 for each subscription. Add $22 for postage, handling and GST on Canadian orders. Add A Catholic Voice $32 for foreign subscriptions. Payment in U.S. funds only. By the fall of 1924, Tierney’s fellow ❑ Payment enclosed ❑ Bill me editors began to worry that his health On occasion America gives permission to other organizations to use our list for promotional purposes. If you do not want to receive these promotions, contact our List Manager at our New York offices. was failing, though he was just 54 years For change of address and renewal: Please attach the mailing label from the front cover when writing about ser- old; some thought him in despair over vice or change of address. Allow 3 to 4 weeks for change of address to take effect. Thank you the failure of his editorial efforts to Name: achieve serious results. A few months Address: www.americamagazine.org later, he suffered a debilitating stroke.

America City: State: ZIP: Though he remained in his position E-mail: for a few more months, both his mem-

24 America September 8, 2008 ory and his speech were significantly HOPE COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION HOPE COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION HOPE COMMUNITY C impaired. Not until he attended a meeting of the American Jesuit provincials at Fordham University in the spring of 1925 did the extent of his disability become clear to his superiors. At that time he was replaced by Wilfred Parsons, S.J., who would serve as editor in chief of America for the next 11 years. Tierney died less than three years later, on Feb. 10, 1928. Obituaries noted letters of gratitude he had received during his career from both Pope Benedict XV and Pope Pius XI for his Catholic leadership through crises in the United States, Ireland and Mexico. When Tierney first became editor in REBUILDING chief, Catholics in the United States had no authoritative voice to speak for them in the media. American Catholic bishops IS REVITALIZING were not accustomed to meeting or com- Call 1-877-654-HOPE today to open an insured Hurricane Rebuilding CD. municating regularly on issues of nation- As the Gulf Coast continues to recover from the devastation caused by Hurricanes al policy. The United States Conference Katrina and Rita, the challenges confronting low-wealth residents are particularly of Catholic Bishops did not exist; even its difficult. Hope Community Credit Union is working to help these families make a forerunner, the National Catholic War fresh start. Council, was not created until 1917. HOPE and its nonprofit partner, Enterprise Corporation of the Delta, have helped Though Tierney remained frustrated more than 4,600 individuals secure affordable mortgages, small business loans, home repair, financial counseling, legal advice, job training, and other much needed with the apparent failure of his crusades assistance. to sway government policies, the maga- But that’s nothing new to us. At HOPE, strengthening businesses, nonprofits, zine’s increasing prominence under homeowners, and residents in distressed Mid-South communities has been our Tierney inserted a distinctly Catholic calling for more than a decade. In the wake of the nation’s largest natural disaster, perspective into national debates about our mission and the support of our socially-responsible investors has never been more important. foreign and domestic policy. At his death, the lay-edited Catholic journal To make a difference in the rebuilding effort, HOPE offers the Hurricane Rebuilding CD and several other federally-insured products that enable you to invest in Commonweal, then in its fifth year of rebuilding communities on the Gulf Coast, without risk to your principal. Most publication, noted “all interested in the importantly, your HOPE deposits foster jobs and homeownership for the region’s advance of the Catholic press in America low-wealth families. will mourn the death of Father Richard Please join in this great mission today by calling our toll-free number (1-877-654- H. Tierney, S.J…. With his advent as HOPE) or by visiting www.hopecu.org and downloading an application. editor of America in March 1914, that journal began to attract wide attention ECD/HOPE has recently been recognized with the following honors: Co-op America Building Economic Alternatives Award, Wachovia Excellence in Advocacy Award for and as the years passed that attention was Opportunity Finance, Annie E. Casey Foundation Families Count Award, MS NAACP Jerry Mauldin not only augmented but riveted. Few Corporate Award, Mississippi Home Corporation Paver Award, National Rural Assembly’s National Rural Hero Award, NFCDCU Annie Vamper Helping Hands Award publications of such comparatively short life have been more widely quoted than was America in the first years of Father Tierney’s editorship.” A

From the archives, Richard H. Tierney, S.J., on religious oppression in Mexico, at americamagazine.org/pages. Working for you. Working for your community.

September 8, 2008 America 25 this fresh set of eyes, the Archdiocese of Boston issued online (www.rcab.org) a full A Church Transparent disclosure report on its financial condi- tion, including sexual abuse settlement information and an insightful look inside What Catholic leaders have learned the organization of the archdiocese. Among the tools used by the from the world of business Transparency Project for its review was a management discussion and analysis, the BY THOMAS J. HEALEY same vehicle used in 10K reports filed by public companies. Cardinal O’Malley put the project in proper context by explaining: “[W]e hope to provide the faithful as complete an understanding as possible of our financial status…The commitment to financial transparency is a key element of re-estab- lishing trust with the people of this archdiocese. It will now be part of our standard practice.” Comprised of C.E.O.’s and senior executives of some of the country’s leading corporations—including Adobe Systems, Goldman Sachs, Korn/Ferry and McKinsey & Company—as well as major nonprofit, philanthropic and educational organizations, the National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management works with bishops, pastors and other church officials, making its members’ skills and experience available to the church. HE FIRST VISIT of Pope the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Benedict XVI to the United set an appropriate tone when he said, Uncovering Economies of Scale States focused the media on “Parishes cannot afford to be mom-and- In addition to Boston, the Diocese of many of the ills plaguing the pop businesses with ‘Trust Me’ as their Tyler in east Texas has actively embraced CatholicT Church, from the sexual abuse motto.” best-in-class practices. Nearly to the point scandals to the shortage of priests to the at which it could no longer afford health shuttering of schools and parishes by cash- Transparency in Boston insurance benefits for its lay employees, starved dioceses. What receives virtually The Archdiocese of Boston—no stranger the diocese formed a select committee to no exposure, by contrast, is the revolution to scandal—has become something of a explore the creation of a common health quietly taking hold across the country in poster child for the movement to greater plan for all 15 dioceses across the state of the way parishes and dioceses manage financial stewardship and reporting within Texas. The committee discovered that themselves financially and administrative- the U.S. Catholic Church. Determined to economies of scale could be used to ly. For a growing number, this has meant put an end to the secrecy of the past, the tremendous advantage by building a single adopting the principles of financial trans- archdiocese under Cardinal Sean Catholic benefits group. Indeed, savings parency, accountability, economies of O’Malley made an unprecedented com- to all 15 dioceses—if they opted to partic- scale and personnel development—the mitment to openness several years ago ipate—and to their 11,000 employees same principles that have fueled the through its Financial Transparency would amount to around $6 million from world’s most successful corporations. Project. Spearheading the initiative was a the approximately $43 million spent annu- Bishop Dennis Schnurr, treasurer of volunteer team of lay experts that includ- ally for health insurance. ed academics, accounting professionals To make the plan work, the commit- THOMAS J. HEALEY, a retired partner of and business leaders led by Jack tee encouraged all the dioceses to take Goldman, Sachs & Co., is currently a senior McCarthy, who is a principal at Harvard part. While 100 percent participation fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy University’s Hauser Center for Nonprofit proved impossible because of the differ- School of Government. He is treasurer of Organizations and was global practice ences among dioceses, the committee did the National Leadership Roundtable on leader for education at manage to attract their attention. Four of

Church Management. PricewaterhouseCoopers. Blessed with the dioceses created a benefits package PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/DARREN KATIN

26 America September 8, 2008 and put it out for bid; they selected Mutual of Omaha as vendor for the new Catholic Employee Benefits Group, which currently covers 1,100 people, including depen- dents. Now other dioceses have expressed an interest in joining the program as soon as their current policies expire. Economies of scale are also central to an innovative new organization that identifies collaborative solutions to challenges facing the Catholic schools of six archdio- ceses and dioceses in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware and the District of Columbia. In the area of finance, the Mid-Atlantic Catholic Schools Consortium is developing plans for cen- tralized purchasing of such essentials as textbooks, transportation, waste disposal and energy. The goal is to capitalize on the collective buying power of the consortium and its member dioceses. Similarly, the organization plans to launch an inter- diocesan leadership institute to provide professional and leadership development to current and future Catholic school leaders, including lay principals, adminis- trators, teachers, pastors and seminarians. Its founders view the institute as a model The peaceful rhythm of a monk’s day that could eventually prove useful in other reform-minded diocesan school systems. consists of prayer, study, and manual labor. While contemplation is at the heart of Standards of Excellence Trappist life, it is by the labor of our The Diocese of Gary, Ind., affords yet another telling sign of systemic change hands that we support ourselves. At occurring within the Catholic Church. New Melleray Abbey, making caskets Gary became the nation’s first diocese to is an expression of our sacred mission. adopt formally the new Standards for Excellence for Catholic dioceses, parishes and nonprofits. This far-reaching code Contact us for a free catalog and you calls for strategic planning, annual finance audits and reports, performance evalua- will receive a complimentary keepsake tions and a commitment to transparency. cross blessed by one of our monks. Bishop Dale Melczek reported that his diocesan priests’ council, after carefully studying the sections relating to finance, Caskets and urns are available for management and human resources prac- next-day delivery or can be ordered tices for parishes, recommended implementing the standards throughout the on a guaranteed pre-need basis. diocese. Other Catholic dioceses and nonprofit organizations are now starting to imple- ment the standards as well. They are actively embracing the laity, using lay/clergy cooperation as a vital tool in helping the church transform its stewardship practices. In the process, the church is 888.433.6934 | www.trappistcaskets.com | Peosta, Iowa bringing itself into a 21st-century operating mode. A

September 8, 2008 America 27 Faith in Focus Blessed Interruptions God can be found in the moments that upset our rhythms. BY KYLE T. KRAMER

ROWING FRUITS and vegeta- awakened early, and finding me nowhere impatience, my quick temper, my frustra- bles for market on our 27-acre in the house but hearing the tiller engine tion with them, my desire to be left alone farm takes time. But time is at going, they had put on their garden clogs from them. I marvel even more, however, a premium for me, with a full- and wandered down in their pajamas that in spite of all this, my girls are devot- Gtime job and three young children, so dur- through a head-high field of uncut hay to ed to their papa and look for every oppor- ing the season I’m up and running at 5 find me. tunity to spend time with me, even in the a.m. to take advantage of two precious early dawn hours. I am not deserving of hours for farm work before heading off to A Merry Parade this love, or of this desire for my company. my day job. I am far from a perfect father. I love my I’ll even admit, with some shame, that My morning chore time is essential kids endlessly, but I also marvel at my among my first thoughts in seeing them not just to keeping the farm run- down in the gardens was a ning; it is also when I get some Type-A concern that they vital time by myself. I do some of would slow down my work my best praying in the morning, so much that I could not fin- usually with a hoe handle or a trac- ish cultivating in time to beat tor steering wheel in my hands. I the coming rains. often listen to public radio or pod- But seeing this pair of casts to keep my brain alive and young twins, wet with dew functioning. I savor the lovely and eager for inclusion, is silence of the waking day and the enough to melt even my soft, early light of summer-solstice strongest focus on a given mornings. task. I shut off the tiller and One morning last season I was my iPod and gave the girls a cultivating some of the bottom- kiss and a big bear hug. After land market garden beds, a few asking what I was doing, they hundred feet from our house. Back piped up in unison: “We and forth among the rows, I want to help, Papa!” walked behind our big Troy-Bilt And so began our merry tiller. The tiller’s engine loud, my parade, in various iterations. earmuffs on and iPod going, I First, they simply walked focused on not running over behind me like little duck- young plants, savoring my cocoon lings as I guided the tiller of vision and sound. down the rows. Then they At the end of the long row I insisted on holding my hand, wrestled the tiller around for the so I steered the tiller as best I 1 next pass and saw my 3 /2-year-old could with one hand, while identical twin daughters, Eva and they each grabbed a finger of Clare, right behind me. As my wife the other. Every 20 feet or and infant son slept, they had so, one would lose a shoe and cry out at being left behind, KYLE T. KRAMER is the director of lay and the train would stop. degree programs at Saint Meinrad Finally, wanting a more School of Theology in Saint active role, they took turns at Meinrad, Ind. holding on to the tiller han- ART BY DAN SALAMIDA

28 America September 8, 2008 dles. I straddled them, tried to guide the Ȭ tiller with them and accidentally ran over more plants than I care to mention. Perhaps it is because I work at a ȱ Benedictine monastery that I have long 7KH)UDQFLVFDQ&ROOHJHRI1HZ-HUVH\ held a rather monastic vision of the life of prayer: regular periods of time set aside 678'(176 ),567 each day for stillness, silence, Scripture *UDGXDWH5HOLJLRXV (GXFDWLRQ reading and other devotions. But I am not a monk, and even monks are busy. Like 21/,1( many I know, I struggle constantly to find a way to nurture my relationship with God ȱȱȱȱȱȱǻřřȱǼ while at the same time juggling the various ȂȱęȱȱȱȱǻŗŞȱǼ responsibilities of adult life as husband, ȬȂȱęȱȱȱȱǻŗŞȱǼ father, farmer, carpenter, employee and so forth. I have tried the Liturgy of the Ȋȱ ȱȱȱȱȱȱȱ Hours, journaling, meditation of various ȱȱȮȱȱ¢ǰȱ¢ȱȱ¢ȱȱ ecumenical flavors, the Rosary, you name ęȱȱȱȱȱ ȱȱ it, always seeking some silver bullet or ǰȱȬȱȱȱ¢ȱȱȱǯȱ magical combination that will order the Ȋȱ ȱȱȱȱȱ¢ȱȱȱǯ day and assuage my ever-present Catholic Ȋȱ ȱ¢ȱȱȱǰȱȱǰȱȱ guilt that I am not doing enough spiritual- ȱ¡ȱȱȱȦȱȱȱ ly. Most of these practices have been of ȱȱȬǯ some help, but managing to stay at them Ȋȱ śŖƖȱȱȱȱȱȱęȱǯ consistently, particularly amid the exigen- cies of parenting young children and ȱȱǱ farming, has generally proven a task far ǻŘŖŗǼȱśśşȬŜŖŝŝȱȱȓǯ beyond me. ŘŜŘȱȱȱǰȱǰȱ ȱȱȊȱȱ ǯǯ The Rhythms of the Spirit Even though I fail at these practices as often as not, they are still valuable to me. I do not want to give up trying to allow Services for them a rightful place in the rhythm of my days and weeks and months. But if true Catholic Communities spiritual growth means getting these practices firmly ensconced in my life’s routine, then I’m sunk—as are many of us, I sus- Where does your Diocese, Parish, or School want to be in ﬁve pect. Leadership years and how will you get there? I still think routine is essential for stay- Development Do you need to reorganize the parishes and schools in your ing spiritually grounded. But to my mind, Diocese for the sake of your mission? what is important about the routine is not Do you need to address the communication challenges of an that it follow some prescribed form of Prophetic piety or devotion (although it can), but Planning increasingly diverse staff and community? that it simply connects a person to essen- Then Call Us tial things. For me, during much of the The Reid Group offers organizational development year that connective routine is the manual Managing work of operating an organic farm and Change services speciﬁcally tailored to the needs of trying to tend the earth kindly and well: Catholic organizations. tilling, planting, weeding, harvesting, Contact us today for more information: spreading manure, cutting firewood, fix- Team ing machinery and tools. For my wife, it is Building 800-916-3472 / [email protected] / www.TheReidGroup.biz changing diapers, nursing, cooking and The Reid Group, 10900 NE 8th St., Suite 900, Bellevue, WA 98004 preserving, and minding young children Mention this ad and receive a 10% discount. as a stay-at-home parent. SAMPLE OF PAST CLIENTS: Even a good routine, however, can Dioceses: Archdiocese of Newark / Diocese of Madison / Archdiocese of Anchorage Colleges & Universities: Spring Hill College / University of Notre Dame become a rut, or a god—especially for National Organizations: National Association of Catholic Chaplains / National Association for Lay Ministry Religious Communities: Sisters of St. Francis, Joliet, IL / Benedictine Sisters, Erie, PA / Maryknoll Fathers, Brothers & Lay Missioners someone with a driven, task-oriented Parishes & Schools: Planning, Team Building & Spirituality sessions with parishes and schools in Washington, California, Wisconsin and Ohio

September 8, 2008 America 29 personality like mine. When my daughters bounded down through the fields to For Winslow upset my well-laid plans, they came also as holy interruptions, as messengers from the world of kairos time. They reminded me that while God may well be found in the grounding rhythms of my morning work, God is also and more insistently present in the very things that upset those rhythms. I did not get as much farm work done that morning as I had hoped, and what I did accomplish was not done as well or quickly as I would have managed without the company of my daughters. Nor did I have the soul-feeding interior silence and solitude I had planned on. But I was fed nonetheless, and transformed by an incarnational, unexpected grace. Wendell Berry has it right when he insists that one of the most important products of a farm is not just the harvest, but the content of the farmer’s mind and character. If so, then that morning, in saying yes to the blessed interruption of my children, I reaped bounteously. A

Look for These The substance of God in the porch voices, Upcoming Special Issues of America is in the hills. and the first at bat of a reluctant spring. Sept. 15 Religious Education In their lines, their In confidences. color, their voices. In swung fence gates. Sept. 29 Retreats/Synod on the Word Oct. 6 In the deep purple of It is the very frame Fall Books I dusk, fiery red of of the hills, their Oct. 20 autumn, in the juts and crags, trails, Sports & Spirituality black branches of pools, descending Nov. 3 the winter roads. Fall Books II time. Nov. 10 The Pauline Year It is buried under snow, blows Dec. 1 In the snap of the with leaves in fall and spring, 60th Anniversary screen door sits still in summer heat. of the U.N. Declaration on Human Rights William Bagley

WILLIAM BAGLEY is the senior philanthropic advisor for the Trustees of Plus, continuing coverage Reservation, a nonprofit conservation organization in Massachusetts. Art: “Passages of the 2008 XI” (above) by Winslow Myers, from the collection of Maia Hart of Damariscotta, Me. presidential election.

30 America September 8, 2008 Film

Porter. The script also contains fewer of those quotable one-liners than we might Homage to Catalonia expect. This time comedy flows more from character than from language. Allen has often used an off-camera narrator to Woody Allen in Barcelona fill in the back story or comment on the action, and most frequently he reads the BY RICHARD A. BLAKE script himself. The unmistakable voice adds its own flavor to the text. In this film, ICKY CRISTINA BARCE- the wine; by themselves they don’t provide Christopher Evan Welch reads the lines, LONA, Woody Allen’s delight- a satisfying full meal. This film brings its but never appears on screen. The perfect- ful new romantic comedy, own kind of light satisfaction. It is breezy ly neutral voice eliminates the need for reminds me of a platter of tapas. yet thoughtful, but without the bulk of, expository scenes to fill in background, VThe master chef takes familiar ingredi- say, “Crimes and Misdemeanors” or provides smooth transitions and fills in ents, adds a few new spices, devises sever- “Manhattan.” details nicely, without making us think of al clever combinations of flavors, alters the Heading south, far from his usual Woody Allen. presentation a bit and creates something claustrophobic caverns of New York or For the most part the cast consists of that appears innovative but also fulfills the London, Allen creates a fresh look for his newcomers to Planet Woody. Scarlett diner’s expectation of the recognizable. film in the sun-bathed streets and lush Johansson is the veteran; she also appeared Olé! Comfort food with a zing. Old Chef gardens of the Mediterranean. The cam- in Allen’s “Match Point” and “Scoop.” Woody is up to new tricks. Also, tapas are era of Javier Aguirresarobe lovingly Allen and his longtime casting director, light, merely adding to the enjoyment of caresses golden architecture, lush foliage Juliet Taylor, have chosen the actors with and open skies. This does not look like a uncanny skill. Their choices make the film RICHARD A. BLAKE, S.J., is professor of fine Woody Allen film. Nor does it sound like far more successful than it should be. arts and co-director of the film studies pro- one. The music has an appropriately Latin The physical appearance of the actors gram at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, sound, rather than the characteristic actually reveals a tremendous amount Mass. Dixieland renditions of Gershwin and about the inner workings of the charac-

Javier Bardem and Rebecca Hall in a scene from the movie “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” PHOTO: CNS/MGM

September 8, 2008 America 31 ters. As the sensuously beautiful Cristina, Antonio, a local artist, with heavy lids, full the quest of the modern urbanite both Scarlett Johansson looks unsettled and lips and a three-day beard. They exchange poignant and, at the same time, terribly vulnerable. With her height and sharp fea- glances with him. Later that night, at a funny in its inevitable futility. Their love tures, Rebecca Hall, as Vicky, uses the restaurant, Juan Antonio comes to their affairs are fleeting and ultimately empty, cool appearance of an aspiring academic to table, and without bothering with small but with nothing else to reach for, his mask inner panic at the uncertainty of her talk, abruptly invites them to spend a characters cherish the momentary joy they life. Javier Bardem, fresh from his weekend with him in Oviedo, on the bring to life. In his seduction speech in the Academy Award as the psychopathic killer northern coast. They will enjoy the restaurant, Juan Antonio persuades Vicky in “No Country for Old Men,” blends the scenery, the art, the wine and, of course, and Cristina with a summary statement of same sense of menace into the romantic the sex. Vicky finds the proposition crass, Allen’s grim view of the world: Why hesi- lead, an artist named Juan Antonio. but Cristina finds it intriguing. Vicky tate if there is no morality? The artist cre- Penélope Cruz, as Maria Elena, Juan agrees to go along for the art, but she ates his own moral universe. Antonio’s estranged wife, has the wiry fig- remains adamant about the rest of it, Most of Allen’s New York characters ure, burning eyes and ample mane of wild insisting on separate rooms. Cristina har- dwell on the fringes of the literary and black hair to suggest the turmoil of her bors no such inhibitions. As it turns out, academic worlds. They are writers of inner life. (As their marriage burst apart at however, fate intervenes, and Vicky suc- undemonstrated talent who can’t quite the seams, it’s not clear who tried to mur- cumbs to his charms before Cristina. finish their novel and can’t quite admit der whom.) Patricia Clarkson, as Judy Before this triangle can sort itself out, that they may be deceiving themselves. Nash, the “older woman,” has the thin Doug arrives from New York with a grand In their insecurity, they twitch and stam- lips, tightly combed straight hair and ner- scheme of having a romantic wedding in mer, like the character Allen plays so vous gestures that suggest years of sup- Spain before a church wedding for their often himself. Juan Antonio’s self-pos- pressed frustration. These five actors friends back home. He has been so busy session and clarity of vision make him could appear in a set of still photographs, making money that this may be the first doubly menacing to the women in his and one could devise a plausible plot for a romantic or impulsive thought he has ever life. He speaks and paints without hesita- film script. had in his life. Vicky must choose between tion or self-doubt. Vicky and Cristina The splendidly conceived personali- Juan Antonio and Doug; between the feel inadequate in his presence. Judy ties wrestle with the same existential ques- Dionysian and the dull. As she tries to admires him from a distance. He keeps tions and suffer from the same neuroses think through her dilemma, she happens Maria Elena teetering on the edge of that Allen’s Manhattan-based characters upon Judy in a compromising situation. madness. His art represents the ideal have for the past 40 years. As the story Humiliated, Judy tries to explain to Vicky they can never achieve. opens, best friends Vicky and Cristina how miserable her life with Mark has In this film, language provides have just arrived in Barcelona to spend a been. Her therapist asks why she has not another clue to Allen’s sense of alien- summer as the guests of family friends, left her husband, and she admits that she is ation. None of the Americans speak Mark (Kevin Dunn) and Judy Nash. Vicky too afraid to go. Vicky sees her own life Spanish with any fluency. Juan Antonio will do research on her master’s thesis on through the prism of Judy’s. and Maria Elena both speak English, but Catalan culture. Her dedication or skill While Vicky dithers, Cristina renews in moments of passion they revert to may be questionable, since even at this her pursuit of adventure and moves into Spanish, thus excluding Cristina and point in the project, her Spanish remains Juan Antonio’s studio. While one triangle Vicky from their more intimate less than rudimentary. No crisis, however. seems to have resolved itself, another exchanges. Juan Antonio’s father is a She is engaged to Doug (Chris Messina) a develops. Maria Elena, fresh from her lat- great poet, but he will not publish his wealthy up-and-coming attorney, who est suicide attempt, returns to Juan poems. He keeps his thoughts to himself. looks as though he just stepped out of a Antonio; the three share the studio, and Doug and Vicky repeatedly try to use Lands’ End catalogue. She will be taken the women share Juan Antonio. Despite cellphones that do not work. At every care of, master’s or not. If Vicky cannot this arrangement, the two women eventu- turn, these people cannot or will not see it, we can: 10 years of marriage to ally become close friends. The three seem communicate. When Doug and Mark Doug will turn her into Judy. She com- to inspire one another in their artistic make small talk about a mutual business pares security to freedom and cannot work, and Cristina discovers that she may associate in New York, the inanity of decide what she wants. actually have talent after all. their exchange seems to build a wall between them. In their convivial chatter, Complex Love Triangle In an Amoral Universe they make language a defensive weapon. Cristina, however, has few doubts. After All these erotic shenanigans actually make Don’t listen to their annoying blather. college she spent three years making a 12- a profoundly moral point in this PG-13 Sit back and enjoy the tapas, the wine and minute film on the various phases of love, rated film. Throughout his career, Allen the conversation with Woody Allen. but she isn’t sure about becoming a film- has examined the emptiness of urban life. You’ll feel refreshed, but not stuffed. A maker. She comes to Barcelona for adven- Without any recognizable belief in a God, ture, for the art and for the opportunity to or as he puts it “a moral structure to the Two theology students review “find herself.” At an art gallery both universe,” he shows his characters in pur- “The Dark Knight,” at americam- women become fascinated by Juan suit of meaning in the ephemeral. He finds agazine.org/connects.

32 America September 8, 2008 Book Reviews Synoptics—“who do you say I am?”—the Death” and to “Jesus the Suffering identity of Jesus and the identity of the Servant.” In an important methodological seeker are inextricably related. The por- move, he sets the events of Jesus’ last days trait of the Lord invariably bears traces of within the context of his characteristic ‘A Striking the self-portrait of the disciple. attitudes and actions, the dispositions and The canonical Gospels serve as inspi- decisions that guide his entire ministry. Original’ ration and criterion for O’Collins’s own The life and death of Jesus illuminate and re-presentation. His long- interpret each other. The Jesus standing commitment to a gift of Jesus’ life is perfected A Portrait hermeneutics of trust in the in the gift of his eucharistic By Gerald O’Collins, S.J. Gospel accounts has only death. As O’Collins writes: Orbis Books. 246p $25 (paperback) been reinforced by the “his words and gestures at ISBN 9781570757839 careful study of Richard the Last Supper incorpo- Bauckham, Jesus and the rated his suffering and I am always intrigued by the epigraph an Eyewitnesses, upon which he death into the great project author uses to set the thematic mood for liberally draws. Further, in of universal salvation, his or her work. Gerald O’Collins is eminently Catholic fashion, God’s coming kingdom.” prodigal with epigraphs, often providing O’Collins reads Scripture It is only fair to ponder one or two to introduce each chapter. within (and not separate how Gerald O’Collins’s Perhaps most telling is the one with which from) the church’s tradi- portrait compares to Pope he prefaces the last chapter of his latest tion. He early on makes Benedict’s in his Jesus of book, Jesus: A Portrait. It comes from an clear his Chalcedonian Nazareth. There are, cer- address by Pope Benedict XVI and reads: optic and commitment, tainly, surface differences. “If we let Christ into our lives we lose devoting Chapter 3 to The pope understandably nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of “Jesus Divine and Human.” draws for the most part upon German what makes life free, beautiful, and great.” The compelling attraction of the exegetes and discussions, while English- The professor emeritus of systematic the- book, however, is O’Collins’s personal language scholars are O’Collins’s primary ology at Rome’s Gregorian University meditation and appropriation of the dialogue partners. The second part of the has, in effect, responded in a most person- Gospel tradition. His palette brings out pope’s portrait still awaits completion, al way to the further question the epigraph the distinctive colors of a portrait that has while O’Collins fills out his own with a poses: who is this Christ whose following faded for some because of a presumed careful consideration of the Lord’s death makes our lives “free, beautiful, and over-familiarity. What progressively and resurrection to new life. great?” emerges is the striking originality of Jesus, Perhaps more substantively, Pope O’Collins frames his portrait in a fas- whose beatifying vision saw all creation Benedict’s writing style strikes me as more cinating way. His opening chapter, “The charged with the presence of the Father allusive and associative (in a word, more Beauty of Jesus,” is a lovely meditation and whose stupendous imagining evoked a “patristic”). His reflections on Jesus’ con- inspired by St. Augustine’s praises of the humanity transformed. Jesus proclaimed flict with the power of Satan, for example, beauty of Christ: “beautiful in heaven, the extraordinary magnanimity of God, the enemy of humankind, bathe his can- beautiful on earth, beautiful when inviting often in sad contrast to human mean- vass in dramatic darkness, while O’Collins to life, beautiful when laying life down.” spiritedness: God’s generosity in counter- colors his portrait in softer hues—da Vinci This aesthetic sensitivity permeates the point to human begrudging. to Ratzinger’s Tintoretto. In addition, the book, as O’Collins invokes painters like Thus the chapter on “Jesus the Story- pope is more direct in relating the follow- Michelangelo and Caravaggio, and musi- Teller” rehearses well-known parables, ing of Jesus to present-day challenges. cians like Bach and Mozart. And the last displaying them in a suggestive configura- chapter, “Jesus the Abiding Presence,” tion of invitation and reception, ardent liv- The Reviewers offers an extended reflection upon 10 ing and confident expectation. O’Collins’s encounters with Jesus in the Fourth treatment enkindles a new appreciation of Robert P. Imbelli, a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, teaches systemat- Gospel, prototypical of disciples’ ongoing the integrity and urgency of Jesus’ sum- ic theology at Boston College. relationship with the Lord. mons to lay hold of the pearl of great This way of framing his portrait indi- price, as well as a new realization of the Russell B. Connors Jr. is professor and cates a further salient feature of cost of such commitment. Little by little chair of the theology department at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minn. He O’Collins’s approach. An exploration into the pearl is revealed to be the parable- is co-author of Character, Choices and the mystery of Jesus is no disinterested weaver, Jesus himself. Community: The Three Faces of Christian investigation; it engages the whole being With Jesus, of course, the cost was no Ethics (1998) and Facing Ethical Issues: of the one embarking on the quest. From less than everything. Unlike some por- Dimensions of Character, Choices, and the first words of Jesus in the Fourth traits that tend to marginalize the death of Community (2002), both from Paulist Press. Gospel—“what do you seek?”—to the Jesus, minimizing its salvific import, Peter Heinegg is a professor of English at pivotal question put at the midpoint of the O’Collins devotes two chapters to “Facing Union College, Schenectady, N.Y.

34 America September 8, 2008 But there is really scarce need to States prior to Vatican II: “The far removed from persons and context— choose between them. As the ending of Nineteenth Century,” “The Twentieth was at work in the conclusion of Humanae the Fourth Gospel insists: “Many other Century Before Vatican II” and Vitae that contraception always and every- things Jesus did that are not written here. “Twentieth-Century Social Ethics Before where is “intrinsically dishonest.” That, at Indeed, if every one of them were written Vatican II.” Curran acknowledges that he least, is the judgment of those theologians down, I doubt the world itself could con- does not have the expertise of a historian whom Curran calls “revisionists.” The tain all the books that would be written.” and that he has relied heavily on the work teaching on contraception and on several Father O’Collins’s carefully crafted book of the Redemptorist historian of moral other issues, they believe, betrays physical- provides an alluring portrait of Jesus, theology Louis Vereecke, as well as many ism, “the a priori identification of the whose beauty remains ever ancient and secondary sources. Historian or not, human moral act with the physical or bio- ever new. He most certainly concurs with Curran has done his homework—encyclo- logical aspect of the act.” Instead, these the pope’s conviction, expressed in pedically, one might add. theologians (the late Richard McCormick, Benedict’s first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est: Chapter 1 is particularly well done and S.J., and Curran himself chief among “The beginning of Christian existence is will be helpful to anyone who may not be them) urge that such teachings be revised not an ethical decision or a sublime idea, familiar with the significance of the manu- in a way that attends more to the person- but rather the encounter…with a person als of moral theology. These textbooks for al, relational and contextual nature of who gives life a new goal and, at the same seminarians emerged after the Council of human actions, as some of the documents time, a sure growth.” Robert P. Imbelli Trent in the 16th century; their purpose of Vatican II seem to suggest. Curran’s was to prepare future confessors for their goal in these chapters does not seem role in the sacrament of penance. Though directed to converting readers from one they were a “creative adaptation to the view to another. Rather, it is understand- ‘Participant needs of the time,” they unfortunately ing that he is after, and by the connections gave rise to an act-centered, sin-conscious he has made with the moral methodology Observer’ and often legalistic view of the Christian of the manuals he has framed the moral life. Little was said of virtue and Humanae Vitae debate in a way that can Catholic Moral grace; little connection was made between promote such understanding. moral theology and Curran covers a Theology in the United Scripture, or between tremendous amount of States morality and spirituality. ground in these chapters, A History Appreciating this, Curran over complex and contro- By Charles E. Curran insists, is important. versial territory. Some aca- Georgetown Univ. Press. 353p $26.95 (paperback) The manuals are not demic colleagues of Curran ISBN 9781589011960 ancient history. The moral might wish he had given methodology of these text- certain topics more detailed Charles E. Curran is a highly regarded books continues to serve as attention, for example in theologian whose works have been widely the foundation of current regard to the pros and cons read and appreciated by colleagues for Catholic teachings on many of “proportionalism.” But nearly 50 years. He is also well known medical and sexual issues. he is to be given high marks beyond the academy; in the best sense, he Curran’s historical over- for the way he has summa- has been a “man of the church,” who has view of the manualist tradi- rized carefully and fairly not shied away from controversy when he tion, its current influence the theological arguments thought the good of the Christian com- and the movements for reform will be with which he has disagreed. His discus- munity was at stake. For both reasons especially helpful to graduate students, sion of Germain Grisez’s “new natural law Curran has been a key figure in the story upper-level undergraduates and all others theory” is a good example. of Catholic moral theology in this country who may not be familiar with this impor- The final four chapters discuss specif- since the Second Vatican Council. tant part of the story. ic areas of Catholic moral theology: In the preface of this history, Curran The three central chapters of Curran’s “Fundamental Moral Theology,” indicated that he would write as a “partic- history are the heart of the matter; they “Sexuality and Marriage,” “Bioethics” and ipant observer” and that he would “strive concern the impact on moral theology of “Social Ethics.” Though they are well to be objective in reporting and assessing” Vatican II and of Humanae Vitae, Paul VI’s connected to the chapters that precede theological issues about which he has his 1968 encyclical letter on birth control: them, they could stand alone for readers own well-developed positions. He has “The Setting of Moral Theology after looking for an overview of these areas of done so very well. He neither over- nor Vatican II,” “The Aftermath of ‘Humanae Catholic moral theology subsequent to understates his own significant influence Vitae’” and “The Aftermath of Vatican II Vatican II. These chapters resemble the on the discipline. and Other Developments.” “Notes on Moral Theology” published Curran’s book is divided into 10 chap- In a masterful fashion Curran chroni- annually in Theological Studies, providing ters. The first three present the story of cles the way the moral methodology of the a clear and helpful overview on who, as Catholic moral theology in the United manuals—focused on individual acts too Richard Gula notes on the book’s back

September 8, 2008 America 35 cover, “has shaped this discipline, what fatherly eye on his charges as he does on Alienation, no bonds are forged. In an have been its major concerns, and why we the road (local highways rather than the over-the-top moment of American are facing the issues we do today.” Interstate); and he sometimes breaks into Gothicality, the obnoxious young Clem Curran’s discussion of the current improbable lyrical or philosophical flights: almost sells his irritating sister to a creepy retrieval of “virtue ethics” (especially his “We’d been having one of those clover stranger he meets in the men’s room. discussion of Jean Porter’s works), his days in early April, golden, glossy, every- (There is also a homeless, ticketless wretch comments on contemporary textbooks by thing buttered with sunshine, buds fatten- stowed away in the bus’s toilet.) Love of theologians, his summary of the works of ing, bird sounds—bright sounds—I won’t one sort or another is on everybody’s those writing on marriage and the family, say ‘songs.’ Not all birds sing.” He’s heard mind, but it is love that has either been lost and the categories he provides for review- it all, seen it all, even as he wonders or has chances ranging from slim to none. ing diverse approaches to Catholic social whether and how the many stories he’s met True, chatty Eileen seems wise and ethics are among many highlights. up with could ever fit into “the big story”— well-adjusted enough; but no one is listen- I am grateful for Curran’s scholarly an unsolvable puzzle that ing to her. And sweet, innocent work in this book. As a “participant he’ll have to leave to “the Dee Anna impulsively refuses observer,” Charles Curran has chronicled wife,” whose religious faith to get off at her “home” in history fairly and clearly—no small he doesn’t share. Hunters Junction, Mo., instead accomplishment for someone whose own The passenger list buying a ticket for Columbus, voice has been such an important part of includes Pierson, a 70-ish where she knows not a soul but the story. Russell B. Connors Jr. man fleeing the deathbed where things could hardly be of his devoted life-com- worse. Otherwise, the travelers panion, Marie, after she are, psychically speaking, going slips into dementia; Dee nowhere. In a typical snatch of Sentimental Anna, a 15-year-old girl conversation, an old man who who has been raped and ran away from Vinita, Okla., at Journey impregnated by a friend of age 11 reflects: “Funny, his her stepbrother, then going back only when his sight All That Road Going forced to surrender her baby by a team of was near gone.… He wondered some- By A.G. Mojtabai righteous ladies from the prayer chain of times: What if he’d lasted it out in Vinita? Triquarterly Books. 216p $21.95 Blazing Victory Apostolic Church; Sam What would he be doing now? Pumping ISBN 978080152007 Shevra, a chemist and a failure at business gas? Making curly fries? Would he even and marriage, who thinks he’ll give recognize himself if he passed himself on Older readers—well, really old readers— Pittsburgh a try; Roberta, a runaway wife the street? And would he have been happi- may recall a ditty sung by the irrepressibly of one year who decides to return to her er, after all?” cheerful Dinning Sisters back in 1946; cheating husband in St. Louis after he has Questions, questions—but, needless “Soon the sun disappeared from view./ her paged in the Tucson bus station; to say, not ones that Mojtabai is about to The stars came out like they always do,/ Eileen, an 85-year-old woman bringing answer. The story ends, or breaks off, with Then I cuddled up close to you,/ And we one of her famous poppy-seed cakes to her a confused shooting in an unidentified ter- both fell in love on a Greyhound Bus,/ moribund sister-in-law in Evanston; a minal; and the characters disperse. It’s all That’s us—in love on a Greyhound Bus.” strange, unwashed young outcast named perfectly formulaic (the all-American road Darken the mood considerably, take “us” Rakhim Amin from Uzbekistan; a brother adventure, named after a line by Jack to be a small cross-section of America, and and sister, Clem (8) and Sasha (6), travel- Kerouac), but told in a humble, gentle, the song might serve as a summary of this ing alone to Philadelphia, sent away by sympathetic voice. Mojtabai does a better new novel by A. (Ann) G. (Grace) their alcoholic mother (who is living with job with her women than with her men, Mojtabai. Apart from a few rest-stops and her abusive boyfriend); and a few others. who can occasionally sound schematic. a handful of scenes in bus terminals, all the The only happy ones in the group Still, she knows the people and places action takes place on a Greyhound speed- are a black couple with their baby daugh- whereof she speaks (she is currently at ing first west and then east across the mid- ter (and they’re coming back from a home in Amarillo); and she quietly brings dle of the country (Oklahoma, Missouri, wasted 600-mile trip to show the child to them to life, with their limited coping Illinois, etc.), mostly at night, with a mother great-grandmother, who wouldn’t skills and their unlimited vulnerability. ley assortment of passengers who could be touch her). The rest all tell their sad sto- She also airbrushes away all but a few signs fairly described as lovelorn, en route to ries to one another or Plumlee himself, of 21st-century America, so that the mini- God knows what. not as if they wanted or expected to find world she creates has an oddly timeless fla- The leader of this chorus of what help, comfort or enlightenment, but vor (all transactions are in cash, for exam- Herman Melville would call “isolatos” is because they can’t sleep, have nothing ple). The Dinning Sisters—who, by the the folksy-but-reserved driver, O. M. better to do or happen to be sitting next way, were very good singers—while sad- Plumlee, who, unlike his passengers, isn’t to someone whose curiosity overpowers dened by all the heartbreak in that going through some sort of crisis. O. M. their reticence. Greyhound bus, would surely be moved. spends as much time keeping a snoopy, This being the United States of Peter Heinegg

36 America September 8, 2008 Classifieds Church, its structure, teaching, beliefs and atti- Letters tudes, with particular emphasis on the parish environment. Education • Excellent writing, verbal and platform commu- The Democrats and Abortion OBLATE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY offers an M.A. nication skills. Debates will continue on the efficacy of degree in spirituality. Regular semester and inter- • Ability to work in collaboration with other indi- criminalization as an antidote to the prac- session courses. Visit www.ost.edu. viduals, offices and organizations throughout the tice of abortion, but I agree heartily with archdiocesan structure. Parish Missions • Training and experience in group process John F. Kavanaugh, S.J. (“Dear Senator dynamics and facilitation. Obama,” 8/18) that it would be folly to INSPIRING, DYNAMIC PREACHING: parish mis- • Strong computer skills; experience and ability to put all our eggs in that one basket. I hope sions, retreats, days of recollection. www.sab- manage large and complex amounts of data. bathretreats.org. someone on Barack Obama’s staff will We offer a competitive and comprehensive bring Father Kavanaugh’s article to his compensation and benefits package. To apply, attention, and that he will respond favor- Positions please send résumé/C.V. and a cover letter with DIRECTOR OF PASTORAL PLANNING, salary expectations to [email protected]. ably to the concerns expressed therein. I Archdiocese of Boston, Braintree, Mass. The was heartened to learn that Senator Bob Director of Pastoral Planning will be responsible Wills Casey, a pro-life Democrat from Penn- for the following key responsibilities: Please remember America in your will. Our sylvania, will be addressing the conven- • Execute the charges given to the Office for legal title is: America Press Inc., 106 West 56th tion, which is in line with Father Pastoral Planning efficiently and effectively by Street, New York, NY 10019. Kavanaugh’s second suggestion. The ideal creating, driving and implementing sustainable candidate and the ideal party do not exist plans for critical pastoral planning needs identi- fied in the Pastoral Planning Report of 2007 and in the real world, where we often have to by the Archbishop. settle for doing all we can to make actual • Supervise Office staff and interact with other parties and candidates responsive to our archdiocesan departments or agencies by provid- concerns. Bravo to Father Kavanaugh for ing research and planning services to various units his effort in that vein. of the archdiocese. Walter Bonam • Serve as a staff resource for the Archbishop, aux- New Orleans, La. iliary bishops, Vicar General and vicars on tasks related to archdiocesan and parish planning. • Engage resources from regional and national A Social Illness organizations whose work could positively impact In my 30 years practicing obstetrics and the work of the Archdiocese of Boston. gynecology, I never met a medical person • Contribute to ongoing research in the area of Church planning and management. Make the Connection with who believed abortion was a primarily Additional duties and responsibilities: America Classified. good thing, only a remedy for a perceived • Collaborate with management information social ill. Perhaps it is time to recognize systems in the ongoing development of Web- AMERICA CLASSIFIED. Classified advertise- that attempting to eliminate abortion by based data gathering, management and mining ments are accepted for publication in either the legislative means is not reducing the of parish and pastoral planning information. print version of America or on our Web site, number of abortions. Perhaps it is time Coordinate the development and ongoing www.americamagazine.org. Ten-word mini- refinement of uniform reporting formats for for pro-choice and pro-life people to dis- mum. Rates are per word per issue. 1-5 times: cern their common values and work parish reports. $1.50; 6-11 times: $1.28; 12-23 times: $1.23; • Assist in ongoing pastoral planning, including 24-41 times: $1.17; 42 times or more: $1.12. For together to remove the social evils that regular cyclical parish and interparish (collabora- an additional $30, your print ad will be posted on cause some women to believe that abor- tive) pastoral planning by recruiting, coordinating America’s Web site for one week. The flat rate for tion is their only choice. and training process facilitators; developing, pro- a Web-only classified ad is $150 for 30 days. Ads Making abortion the only criterion ducing, distributing and training planning instru- may be submitted by e-mail to: ads@americam- for selecting our president may continue ments and procedures; and providing information agazine.org; by fax to (928) 222-2107; by postal the wars of choice, capital punishment, to planning groups. mail to: Classified Department, America, 106 • Provide ongoing research to support the mis- West 56th St., New York, NY 10019. To post a hunger, homelessness, (inadequate) sion of the church. classified ad online, go to our home page and click health care and refugees without elimi- • Appropriately represent the Office for Research on “Advertising” at the top of the page. We do not nating or even reducing the number of and Planning and its work in the Archdiocese, as accept ad copy over the phone. MasterCard and abortions. required through professional organizations. Visa accepted. For more information call: (212) Larry Donohue, M.D. • Other duties as directed by the Secretary for 515-0102. Seattle, Wash. Parish Life and Leadership. Required qualifications: America (ISSN 0002-7049) is published weekly (except for 11 com- • Master’s degree or equivalent experience in bined issues: Jan. 7-14, 21-28, March 31-April 7, May 26-June 2, June 9-16, 23-30, July 7-14, 21-28, Aug. 4-11, 18-25, Dec. 22-29) Doubting Obama planning and/or related fields. Prior experience in by America Press, Inc., 106 West 56th Street, New York, NY 10019. I have my doubts that Senator Obama pastoral planning a strong plus. Periodicals postage is paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing offices. Business Manager: Lisa Pope; Circulation: Judith Palmer, will “move a bit to the middle” on abor- • A minimum of five years’ progressively more (212) 581-4640. Subscriptions: United States, $48 per year; add U.S. $22 postage and GST (#131870719) for Canada; or add U.S. tion, as John F. Kavanaugh, S.J., hopes. responsible professional experience in organiza- $32 per year for overseas surface postage. For overseas airmail tional development or planning. delivery, please call for rates. Postmaster: Send address changes to: After all, this is the same man who voted America, 106 West 56th St. New York, NY 10019. Printed in the • In-depth familiarity with the Roman Catholic U.S.A. against the Born Alive Infants Protection

September 8, 2008 America 37 Letters

Act and refuses to call a born-alive baby Emerging Models of Pastoral Leader- global Catholicism, releasing amazing who by God’s grace manages to survive ship project, I commend them on their hope and enthusiasm, but it shuddered an abortion—a baby. This is infanticide recent survey of young adults (“Will and a retrenchment ensued. The funda- and cannot be reconciled with the teach- They Serve?” 7/21). The results of mental problem is this: we in the West ing of the Catholic Church, no matter their research confirm a worrying doubted and lost our story line. The what you may think of the war in Iraq. trend: young people in their 20s and Christian mythos around priesthood, Laura Quigley 30s are largely absent from pastoral formal vows and regimentation is not Gaithersburg, Md. ministry. This poses a problem not only holding. for the next generation of church lead- In early August I participated, as I Healing the Spirit ership, but for this generation as well. have on and off for the past 30 years, in The cartoon drawing at the top of If the church were to have a “prefer- the Jesuit Volunteer Corps orientation “Mercy Toward Our Fathers,” by ential option” for young adults in min- program for 100 young, vibrant, wonder- Camille D’Arienzo, R.S.M., (8/18) istry recruitment, Hoge and Jewell’s fully alive, largely Catholic university angered me. It shows a priest being low- study would have had much different graduates, always more women than men. ered from the roof to be healed by Christ results. Instead, we have simply accepted They are consciously out to be, as we say, when it should be the victim being low- that lay ministry is relegated to a grow- “ruined for life,” just like those who join ered for healing. My way to God was ing “second career” for people in their our novitiates. Each year their holy joy obliterated by the priest. Many Catholics 40s and 50s. Perhaps the church (both tells my bones a new Church is being have no idea how horrible it is to lose clergy and lay) simply needs to try to born. They astonish me with their purity your Catholic faith in God. It’s a hard understand this generation better, which of intention, their courage and their road and no one in the church is helping may in turn lead to more effective enthusiasm for the values of God’s reign. victims where they need help, namely recruitment. In a world of cutting-edge Perhaps the Spirit is trying to lead us with their spirituality. First, parishes have technology that is also filled with uncer- where we don’t understand? to listen to the victims speak of what hap- tainty and the madness of terrorism, our Clericalism that draws a rigid line pened. We need a grass-roots effort to church often looks archaic and disinter- between the savers and the saved is no reach out with warmth and kindness and ested in the world young people live in. longer functional, as the fallout from sex- do what it takes to help each victim. Yet from my work with Paulist ual and financial scandals shows. The Aline Frybarger Ministries and Bustedhalo.com I have charism of baptism, that we are all a royal Jackson, Mich. learned that young people are looking priesthood, is working its way under the for solid tradition to depend on in their power of the Holy Spirit into territory Works of Mercy uncertain world. We need the gifts of formerly claimed by the ordained and Thank you to Camille D’Arienzo, young adults right now—but they also those under formal vows. R.S.M., for putting into words what I feel need people already engaged in ministry The official church may refuse to so strongly about forgiveness. I have a to recruit and mentor them. change, but the two-edged sword of dear friend who has extended a loving Mike Hayes God’s word will accomplish the pur- New York, N.Y. hand to two priests accused of abuse. She pose for which it is sent. There is a made them welcome at her table along time for everything under the sun, a with family and friends. From them we Wider Realities time to build and a time to tear down. heard firsthand the pain and humiliation In “Religious Life in the Age of We ignore these wider signs at our they suffered. Because of my friend’s total Facebook” (7/7), Richard G. Malloy, own peril. acceptance of these men and hearing S.J., gives as fine an analysis of the Jack Morris, S.J. their stories, I felt God’s abundant mercy vocation quandary as I have read, but Rockaway, Ore. and forgiveness. I have a new and deeper perhaps we need to move back, way appreciation of Communion. back, to view the wider realities of both God’s Favored Mary Griesemer church and society. There is no doubt Thank you for your beautiful tribute to Norwood, Ohio about it: the continental plates of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton by Regina Western culture are shifting, engen- Bechtle, S.C. (“An American Daughter,” Generation Missing dering fear and uncertainty. With the 9/1). What a giant of history and the As someone who worked with both Second Vatican Council, the church spiritual life she was! Mother Seton is a Marti Jewell and Dean Hoge on the dared to reformulate itself to deal with testament to the fact that God favors the lowly and fills them with good things. I To send a letter to the editor we recommend using the link that appears below articles on have personally known many Sisters of America’s Web site, www.americamagazine.org. This allows us to consider your letter for publication in both print and online versions of the magazine. Letters may also be sent to America’s Charity, and I know that Mother Seton’s editorial office (address on page 2) or by e-mail to: [email protected]. They should good work continues in them. be brief and include the writer’s name, postal address and daytime phone number. Letters may Patricia Marks be edited for length and clarity. Morristown, N.J.

38 America September 8, 2008 The Holy Cross Exaltation of the Holy Cross (A), Sept. 14, 2008 Readings: Nm 21:4-9; Ps 78:1-2, 34-38; Phil 2:6-11; Jn 3:13-17 “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (Jn 3:14)

ODAY WE STEP aside from the talking about Jesus’ being lifted up on the usual sequence of readings for cross (his crucifixion) and his being lifted the Sundays in Ordinary Time up to the heavenly Father (his resurrection to celebrate the feast of the and exaltation). This is why we can speak ExaltationT of the Holy Cross. Since many of the “holy cross.” Catholic institutions (schools, churches, An even more striking and theologi- religious communities, etc.) bear the name cally significant text about the holy cross of “Holy Cross,” the expression may be so appears in today’s reading from Chapter 2 familiar to us that we fail to appreciate the of Paul’s letter to the Christians at Philippi paradox and challenge it represents. in northern Greece. Paul wrote it in the In the context of the first-century mid-50s of the first century A.D., 25 years Roman Empire, crucifixion was a terrible or so after the crucifixion of Jesus. In writ- and shameful mode of execution. It was ing to what is often described as his reserved for slaves and rebels—a public favorite community, Paul’s purpose was to action aimed at deterring others from provide theological advice about certain rebellious activities. There was nothing pastoral problems that had arisen in the “holy” about it. So when Christians use Christian community there. becoming human, led to his death on the the expression “holy cross,” they are mak- Today’s Pauline passage seems to be a cross. Thus Jesus became one with us in ing a surprising, paradoxical and even quotation from a very early Christian the most complete sense imaginable—by shocking statement. hymn that both Paul and the Philippian sharing and embracing suffering and From earliest times Christians have Christians knew and affirmed. Paul used it physical death. ART BY TAD DUNNE claimed that through the crucifixion of as a stimulus for the Philippian Christians But the cross was not the end of Jesus’ Jesus, God has enabled us to put aside to show greater unity and respect toward story. Early Christians also believed that our past sins, to relate to God in a new one another. But as the text stands, it also Jesus, who suffered death on the cross in way and to gain an access to God that provides precious testimony about what obedience to his Father’s will, had been had not been possible before. In that early Christians believed concerning raised from the dead and was exalted to his sense the cross is indeed holy. In that Jesus. It offers concrete evidence for what heavenly Father once more, and that God sense the crucifixion of Jesus was and is a has been aptly described as an explosion had bestowed on Jesus the name of “Lord” triumph or exaltation rather than a (rather than a mere development) of doc- (Kyrios in Greek)—the name that Greek- defeat or shame. trine regarding Jesus. speaking Jews reserved for God. The conviction that the cross of Jesus According to the hymn, early According to this very early hymn, there- was a victory rather than a defeat is Christians believed that in the beginning fore, it was and is appropriate that all cre- expressed neatly in today’s reading from Jesus was in the “form” of God and pos- ation should join in the confession that John 3: “And just as Moses lifted up the sessed a certain equality with God. “Jesus Christ is Lord.” In this narrative of serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Remember that the earliest Christians, our salvation, the cross is the pivot Man be lifted up.” To appreciate that like Paul himself, were predominantly between the incarnation and the exaltation claim it is necessary to recall the mysteri- Jews, and that the fundamental theological of Jesus. That is why we can call the cross ous episode of the bronze serpent in principle in Judaism of the time was “holy.” Daniel J. Harrington Numbers 21. There the image of a bronze monotheism—that there is only one God serpent being lifted up on a pole brings and only one Lord. Yet Paul and other Praying With Scripture healing instead of death to the people of early Christians saw no conflict in describ- God wandering in the wilderness. It also ing Jesus in these exalted (divine) terms. • What immediately strikes you when helps to know that in John’s theological Furthermore, early Christians believed you hear the phrase “holy cross”? vocabulary the verb “lift up” is his way of that in becoming human, Jesus in some • In what sense does the cross of way had “emptied himself” (kenosis in Jesus bring healing? Have you experi- DANIEL J. HARRINGTON, S.J., is professor of Greek) and humbled himself in obedience enced such healing in your own life? New Testament at Boston College School of to his Father’s will, even to the point of • What do you believe about Jesus? Theology and Ministry in Chestnut Hill, enduring a shameful death on the cross. How do your beliefs compare with Mass. His incarnation, his taking flesh and those expressed in Phil 2:6-11?

September 8, 2008 America 39