OF MANY THINGS 106 West 56th Street New York, NY 10019-3803 was dining with a friend in The experts who study terrorism Ph: (212) 581-4640; Fax: (212) 399-3596 Manhattan last week when the tell us that the primary goal of the Subscriptions: (800) 627-9533 www.americamedia.org bomb went off. We were several terrorists is not to inflict maximum facebook.com/americamag I twitter.com/americamag blocks north of the explosion, so we damage, though this they also seek to didn’t physically experience the impact. do, but to induce maximum panic. They President and Editor in Chief Our first indication that something seek to infect the body politic with a Matt Malone, S.J. Executive Editors was wrong was when the AP bulletins rapidly metastasizing terror, one that Robert C. Collins, S.J., Maurice Timothy Reidy started to light up and buzz cellphones destabilizes and disorients. It is not the Managing Editor Kerry Weber throughout the restaurant. First a few last attack that does the most damage, Literary Editor Raymond A. Schroth, S.J. customers, then nearly everyone knew but our fear of the next one. One expert, Senior Editor and Chief Correspondent Kevin Clarke what had happened and we started Jonathan White, recently wrote that Editor at Large James Martin, S.J. fielding calls and texts from worried modern terrorism “requires responses Creative Director Shawn Tripoli relatives and friends who wanted to that emphasize rationality over emotion.” Executive Editor, America Films Jeremy Zipple, S.J. know that we were safe. When broadcast That seems about right. Emotional Poetry Editor Joseph Hoover, S.J. news caught up with the AP, a bulletin responses to terror are just as likely to Associate Editor and Vatican Correspondent interrupted the football game on feed the fear as they are to contain it. Gerard O’Connell Associate Editor and Director of Digital television and the place fell silent. One Fear also “moves people to become much Strategy Sam Sawyer, S.J. bomb had exploded in Manhattan; more polarized in their viewpoints,” Associate Editor & Director of Audience perhaps there was a second. Some says Justin Sinclair, a psychologist, for Development Eric Sundrup, S.J. Senior Editor Edward W. Schmidt, S.J. injuries, no fatalities. Within 10 minutes it “motivates people to go to further Associate Editors Ashley McKinless, Olga or so, most of the customers were back lengths to feel safe,” essentially meeting Segura, Robert David Sullivan where they started: enjoying the evening, extremism with extremism. Associate Editor, Film José Dueño, S.J. Assistant Editor Joseph McAuley almost as if nothing had happened. Other cities have experienced what Art Director Sonja Kodiak Wilder Writing in The New York Times, happened in New York on an even Editorial Assistant for Digital Media Arthur Brooks seemed to capture the greater scale. For most of the second Zachary Davis Editorial Assistant Eloise Blondiau sentiment of the crowd: “Thank God no half of the 20th century, London was O’Hare Fellows Teresa Donnellan, Nicholas one was killed by the attackers, but this routinely subjected to random acts of Genovese, Wyatt Massey Columnists Helen Alvaré, John J. Conley, S.J., seems to be becoming the new normal.” terror. Perhaps this is the fate that will Daniel P. Horan, O.F.M., James T. Keane, John W. Indeed, Donald J. Trump told us in now befall New York. Perhaps not. But Martens, Bill McGarvey, Angela Alaimo O’Donnell, his usual, provocative fashion, “This is this much is clear: London survived the Margot Patterson, Nathan Schneider National Correspondent Michael O’Loughlin something that will happen, perhaps, terror in large part because Londoners Regional Correspondents John Carr (Wash- more and more all over the country.” defeated the enemy within. Somehow ington), Anthony Egan, S.J., and Russell Pollitt, S.J. (Johannesburg), Jim McDermott, S.J. (Los (Unless we elect him president was the they were able to defuse the ticking time Angeles), Timothy Padgett (Miami), David Stewart, implication.) For her part, Mrs. Clinton bomb of panic within themselves and S.J. (London), Rhona Tarrant (Dublin), Judith Valente (Chicago) suggested somewhat anemically that we simply kept calm and carried on. There Moderator, Catholic Book Club should work with our allies to combat is a lesson in that history and in ours Kevin Spinale, S.J. the terrorist threat. as well. In 1933, in a time of national Editor, The Jesuit Post Michael Rossmann, S.J. Editorial e-mail I take little comfort in either of crisis, Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave us [email protected] these reactions, for they both seem the prescription for what ailed us then Publisher and Chief Financial Officer tone-deaf to the true threat, which is and even now: “The only thing we have Edward G. Spallone Deputy Publisher not the violence and destruction per se, to fear is fear itself,” he said, “nameless, Rosa M. Del Saz Vice President for Advancement Daniel Pawlus Advertising as terrible as they are, but the fear that unreasoning, unjustified terror which Sales Manager Chris Keller Advancement violence and destruction are about to paralyzes needed efforts to convert Coordinator Timothy Bouffard Programs and Events Coordinator Nicholas Sawicki be unleashed at any moment, anywhere, retreat into advance. In every dark Business Operations Staff Glenda Castro, by miscalculation or madness. It is that hour of our national life a leadership of Ryan Richardson, Katy Zhou Advertising Contact [email protected]; 212-515- fear that surfaced and made its way frankness and of vigor has met with that 0102 Subscription contact and Additional like a thick and eerie fog through the understanding and support of the people copies 1-800-627-9533 Reprints: reprints@ americamedia.org restaurant that night. And while the themselves which is essential to victory. vast majority of us will never be killed or And I am convinced that you will again © 2016 America Press Inc. give that support to leadership in these Cover: Republican presidential nominee Donald injured in a terrorist attack, all of us are J. Trump at a church service in Detroit, Mich., touched by the fear that we just might be. critical days.” MATT MALONE, S.J. Sept. 3, 2016. AP Photo/Evan Vucci. Contents www.americamagazine.org VOL. 215 NO. 9, WHOLE NO. 5141 October 3, 2016

ARTICLES 13 TRUMP MAKES A PLACE FOR FAITH ‘I owe so much to Christianity,’ the Republican nominee tells supporters. Michael O’Loughlin 18 THE POWER OF THE WORD The enduring value of Catholic media Greg Erlandson 22 REVIVING LIBERAL EDUCATION A new age needs the old tradition. Joseph J. Dunn PHOTO: FOCOLARE/FEDERICO ORTA COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 13 4 Current Comment 5 Editorial The New Know-Nothings 6 Reply All 8 Signs of the Times 12 Column Writers and Reconcilers James T. Keane 26 Vatican Dispatch The Source of Suffering Gerard O’Connell 27 Faith in Focus Group Therapy Maureen Miller 39 The Word Along the Road John W. Martens 18 BOOKS & CULTURE 29 ART Alma Thomas at the Studio Museum in Harlem OF OTHER THINGS St. Francis in Full BOOKS A Body Broken for a Broken People; America’s War for the Greater Middle East; Doing Good…Says Who?

ON THE WEB A new government report calls for reining in religious liberty protections in favor of nondiscrimination statutes for L.G.B.T. people. Plus, Kenneth L. Woodward on the changing place of religion in the United States. More digital highlights on page 16 and at americamagazine.org/webfeature. 29 CURRENT COMMENT

and terrorism. And, it is disturbing to note, those who Election Day Spoilers frequently read Catholic publications have on average more Slate plans to tell us on Nov. 8 which presidential candidate unfavorable views of Muslims than those who do not. is ahead, long before the polls close. The website will relay This report should prompt those who work in Catholic projections by VoteCastr, a group of statisticians who media, including America, to examine how we write and use voter turnout in selected precincts to determine, say, talk about Islam. It is important not to downplay the whether Hillary Clinton or Donald J. Trump is leading in atrocities committed by the Islamic State—whose victims Ohio. As early as 6 a.m. on Election Day, these number- are primarily other Muslims. But it is also vital that we not crunchers will project a winner in Colorado based on speak of our Muslim neighbors as if their value depends where absentee ballots are coming from. solely on their being allies or instruments in the fight It is a disconcerting innovation for many who respect against violent extremism. They are, first and foremost, in the civic rituals of Election Day, from the small talk with the words of St. John Paul II, fellow believers “in the same the volunteers at polling stations to the moment when all God, the one God, the living God.” the television networks break their silence to let us know what is in those exit polls. But there is probably no going back. With the right data, the voter turnout model is sound Do Mosquitoes Matter? (these days, elections are more about motivating supporters The spread of the Zika virus, with its tragic effects on than about changing minds), and there is no way to prevent children developing in the womb, has invigorated discussion VoteCastr volunteers from reporting on what they see at about preventing mosquito-borne diseases. In affected areas, polling stations without shredding the First Amendment. mosquito-control measures, like spraying and eliminating Some worry that people will skip voting if the standing water, help to slow their advance. But there are presidential election seems to be over by noon, but there more radical options being considered that would drastically are also legislative races and ballot questions to be decided. reduce the population of disease-bearing mosquitoes, It is also possible that the release of data throughout perhaps even deliberately driving entire species toward Election Day will encourage more people to vote. Certainly, extinction. Often, these methods involve genetic engineering it will be difficult for the civic-minded to get through to make mosquitoes produce sterile offspring. the workday without being distracted by the cascade of The potential reduction in human suffering from projections from VoteCastr and, if they are successful, the eliminating disease-bearing mosquitoes would be vast, inevitable imitators in future elections. This is yet another addressing not only the transmission of Zika but also of reason to make Election Day a national holiday. dengue fever, malaria and many other tropical diseases. The World Health Organization estimated that 214 million Islamic Misinformation people were infected with malaria in 2015 and 438,000 “Islam is peace,” said George W. Bush just days after the died. Standard measures for mosquito control, even where terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Earlier this year, President effective, are harder to implement in poorer countries, as Obama wrote that it reflects a “tradition of peace, charity evidenced by the fact that 80 percent of all deaths from and justice." And Pope Francis has repeatedly said it is malaria occur in 15 African countries. wrong to identify Islam with violence. But many Catholics The near-total elimination of disease-bearing mosquitoes disagree. According to a new report from Georgetown will have unpredictable and potentially unwelcome effects on University’s project The Bridge Initiative, 45 percent of plants pollinated by them and on animals higher up the food U.S. Catholics believe “Islam encourages violence more chain. But even if scientists can assure us that elimination than other religions,” and fewer than two in 10 have a of some types of mosquitoes carries small practical risks, favorable view of Muslims. questions remain about the wisdom of permanently Catholics’ negative impressions of the world’s second destroying any part of creation. Human beings have largest religion may be explained in part by their eradicated viruses before. Smallpox and rinderpest are gone, unfamiliarity with its adherents: 70 percent of Catholics and polio is following quickly; these are widely acknowledged say they do not know a single Muslim. (Those who do are as scientific and human triumphs. Whether or not the moral more than twice as likely to view them favorably.) That analogy can extend from disease-causing viruses to disease- means most Catholics “know” Islam through the media, bearing mosquitoes is a challenging question, which deserves where it is most often discussed in relation to violence careful attention from scientists, ethicists and theologians.

4 America October 3, 2016 EDITORIAL The New Know-Nothings t was a time of great economic uncertainty and political it will only become more turmoil. The next election promised to move the nation important. The United Icloser to a terrible precipice, and the native-born were States will continue to be a frustrated by their diminished status, one accelerated by an nation of immigrants. apparently endless flow of newcomers who seemed destined Mr. Trump is a to dislocate and replace them. Cries of “America for Ameri- native of perhaps the most cans” rose across the anxious republic. multicultural metropolis Was that 1856 or last week? It appears it has been both. in the nation, a low-crime, Responding to the “dog whistling”—or worse—of politicians, high-energy city that has the xenophobia and neo-nativism of the so-called alt-right, consistently drawn new thinly veiled as a political position, has emerged from the economic and creative vigor from its ever-evolving immigrant murk of the internet. The alt-right’s message has found an communities. This is an irony that appears lost on the especially receptive audience among white males frustrated by candidate’s alt-right enthusiasts. While they pursue a Mexican reduced economic prospects and a perception of a loosening bogeyman of their own creation, in the real world there are hold of white hegemony in U.S. society. now more immigrants arriving in the United States from Voices from within this fringe sometimes bluntly India and China, a trend that will continue for the foreseeable promote hate and a juvenile, pseudo-scientific delusion of future. the superiority of European culture, denigrating others as In a few decades the percentage of the U.S. population polluters or diminishers of its greatness. But the Hispanic born elsewhere may match or exceed 19th-century highs. presence in the New World is old and deep enough to rival any Descendants of earlier immigrant groups now rightly Anglo claim to cultural legitimacy on these shores. Of course celebrate their forebears’ verve as a vital expression of their it is not as old as that of the “Americans” regularly ignored by own American heritage. They should actively support today's such competing claims of authenticity: the indigenous people immigrants as they strive to establish the same communal whose cruel eradication made room for everyone else in the and economic footholds in a new land. And because of their first place. historical experience in the United States, Catholics have a The reek of this creed of tribalism and intolerance special responsibility of solidarity and hospitality toward new should be instantly recognizable to modern-day Catholics. To immigrant groups. the Know-Nothings, Irish Catholics came to America merely As it absorbs these latest waves of immigrants, the as paupers or felons in service to a Romish plot to undermine United States of the mid-21st century will be a different place American liberty through the ballot box. Recycling 19th- from the nation that assimilated white European immigrants century nativist headlines would require little more than over the last two centuries. That inevitability may contribute the adjustment of a few words: Replace Irish with Mexican, to the anxiety experienced among some U.S.-born Americans Catholic with Muslim. of European descent, especially if the current job insecurity, In the 19th century the Catholic Church was considered income inequality and stagnating social mobility persist. the nexus of the disorder that the nativists believed imperiled A dramatic transition will be underway. Will the nation be a near-deified Republic. The contemporary church remains psychically prepared for it, or will it still be revisiting 19th- suspect to neo-nativists because of its presumed self-interest century battles over cultural and political turf? in facilitating the acceptance of Latinos into the United Few American institutions can claim the connections States. But the Gospel demands that the church welcome and with European-descent, Latino and Asian communities that support modern immigrants; no dark conspiracy is required. the Catholic Church enjoys. Given its culture of community, Since its founding, the United States has been theology of unity and practical experience with diversity, vulnerable to such spasms of nativism; the anger and hate on the church has a unique capacity to assist in this transition, display in this election season may mercifully prove to be no assuaging anxieties even as it assists newcomers. It can begin more than one of these temporary lapses of civic sanity. But that work now by offering a clear, scriptural and consistent even if the present episode proves transient, gathering the condemnation of today’s echoes of nativism, wherever they moral and cultural resources to confront the forces that propel originate.

October 3, 2016 America 5 REPLY ALL desperate about maintaining a sus- I just find it amazing, howev- tainable income” for themselves and er, that the bishops somehow have Who are “Real” Catholics? their families. demonstrated no taste for promi- Re Of Many Things, by Matt Malone, Just imagine if we were all en- nently and loudly challenging Mr. S.J. (9/12): Is the answer to “Who gets gaged—perhaps imitating Mother Trump on his anti-immigration to say who real Catholics are?” not “the Teresa—and all our neighbors were statements. His campaign started church”? Our Lord gave the church as cared for, in communion with and oth- and burgeoned by describing those the final arbiter in matters of sin be- erwise treated with dignity by each of “rapists” and criminals from Mexico, tween brothers, going so far as to say us all the time. our fellow religionists from one of that if the accused would not listen ROBERT O’CONNELL the most Catholic countries in Latin to the church we are to treat him as Online Comment America! I wonder if too many of a non-member of the community (cf. our bishops of European heritages Mt 18:17). The Unhappy 29 Percent agree with Mr. Trump because those There are two senses in which Re “Bad Choices,” by John Carr new immigrants have upset the eth- the question is understood. Funda- (9/12): Actually, the election presents nic balance and economic well-being mentally, the determining trait is a val- “bad choices” only for those who do in U.S. parishes. A harsh statement, id baptism, and that mark can never be not have a favorable opinion of either perhaps, but the numbers of Latino erased: once Catholic, always Catholic. candidate: 29 percent. That is includ- immigrants falling prey to evangelical But there is another, likely more rele- ing the 5 percent who have no opin- churches makes me wonder about im- vant factor: one’s alignment with the ion or are undecided. According to migrants’ perception of receptivity in church and one’s willingness to submit the Gallup poll (8/11), 32 percent of U.S. Catholic churches. to church authority. To that point, I adult Americans had a favorable opin- VINCENT GAGLIONE would ask the author what topics are ion of Donald Trump, and 39 percent Online Comment off limits for dissent, if one so clearly a favorable opinion of Hillary Clinton. articulated as abortion and its proper While that unhappy 29 percent will Called to Do Better legal status is not. Can a “real Catholic” determine the outcome of this year's Many thanks to Angela Alaimo deny points in the Creed, one of which election, they are not the majority. It is O’Donnell for highlighting two giants is the belief in an apostolic church? fair to say they will be the ones who of the faith in Baltimore, in “Saints of This seems absurd. will cast a vote for third-party candi- Southwest Baltimore” (9/12). I always JARROD OZEREKO dates or stay home. have a sense that I am unworthy even Online Comment JOSEPH O’LEARY to speak about Brendan Walsh and Online Comment Willa Bickham, as their witness ever- Work as Prayer more calls me to do something that I Catholic Receptivity Re “Workplace Philosopher,” by E. Jane am not doing right now. They do not In “Indispensable” (9/12), Robert Doering (9/12): Two thoughts. First, make me feel embarrassed that I am David Sullivan states that over half decades ago, while representing newly not serving enough—that is all on me. of U.S. Catholics think that discrim- legal immigrant workers, I was caught For me they stand as genuine people ination against Christians is a signif- saying a prayer and invited some to who put the Gospel words into action, icant problem. The article also says join me. One worker responded, say- and Ms. O’Donnell rightly portrays that Catholic supporters of Donald J. ing: “I haven’t time, Señor. My work them as beacons of hopefulness amid Trump are concerned with religious is my prayer.” I still think of that man. the rubble where they live and serve. freedom and find “a surrogate in the Doing even inglorious chores (and try- There is no guile in them, only hearts ethnic and nationalistic victimhood ing to do them well) is Christ-like to filled with the goodness of Christ professed by Trump against Latinos me, possibly more prayerful than most waiting to be shared. Brendan and and the Chinese.” This seems to prove of my praying. Second, those worse off Willa don’t shame me, they challenge that the constant refrain of Catholic than a worker who is “overworked...ex- me to do better. My prayer is always bishops that freedom of religion is un- hausted, disheartened and desperate” that I will. are the unemployed “men and women der attack in the United States has had BARRY FITZPATRICK who [are] exhausted, disheartened and results. Online Comment

Letters to the editor may be sent to America’s editorial office (address on page 2) or [email protected]. America will also consider the following for print publication: comments posted below articles on America’s website (americamagazine.org) and posts on Twitter and public Facebook pages. All correspondence may be edited for length.

6 America October 3, 2016 No Single Solution In order to lead, one has to be able to happened there. The Mass opened up Re “Reinventing Catholic Schools,” speak publicly. It is good that there is new dimensions of worship. It brought by Charles Zech (8/29): Is the mod- a historical precedent for women dea- people closer together, and made the el broken? Yes—for both parishes and cons, but we would need them even if prayers intelligible and accessible to schools. The numbers do not lie, and there were no precedent. those who were not literate in Latin. the history lessons from both the ar- LISA WEBER Over the years, the music written ticle and the comments online clearly Online Comment for guitar Masses improved, as did show how we got to here. They also in- our expertise as a singing group. We New Dimensions dicate that there is no single solution. were not welcomed by all, but that is “This Old Church,” by Lisa The inner city, the suburbs and the ru- another story. Never did I witness the Middendorf Woodall (8/15), trig- ral areas all have issues that are unique. alleged abuses that “plagued” the “new gered my recollections, stretching back I do believe there are more than just Mass.” People of all ages attended, in- to the pre-Vatican II days. Instead of the three options Mr. Zech has out- cluding the grandmas and grandpas putting us in the basement of an old lined. To begin with, all of us Catholics who welcomed the warmth and family church, our liturgies were held in the need to step up and give more, so we feeling of the Mass. My wife and I con- school cafeteria. All the tables were can have the independence we need to tinued leading guitar Masses for over removed and the folding chairs were teach and to worship freely. 30 years. It was our ministry. arranged in orderly rows. The motiva- We cannot solve the problem of our I do not know why Mass atten- tion for putting on a guitar Mass was schools without also addressing the dance shrank over the next 50 years. I the suburbanization of my small town problem of our parishes and our overall do not know a single person who left on the edge of St. Louis. The popula- administrative structure. Our priests, the church because the Mass was in tion exploded and so did church at- whose numbers continue to dwin- English or because it was accompanied tendance, so much so that there was dle, increasingly find themselves serv- by guitars and pianos. When the Mass no room in the church—even though ing as business managers and school was in Latin, I loved the Mass. When it extra Masses were scheduled. The caf- administrators instead of as pastors. became changed to vernacular, I loved eteria Mass had no organ, obviously Furthermore, in the developed world the Mass. The Mass is always a close (and there were no electric keyboards we have a lay population that is the most encounter with Jesus in the sacrament back then), so a group of us teens experienced and educated in the histo- and in the body of Christ. volunteered to lead a guitar Mass. ry of the world, one that needs more BOB KILLOREN Something beautiful and wonderful Online Comment than a fear of Hell to see the glory of a relationship with God. This requires a whole new ministerial approach for a large portion of the population. Bottom line: we need an ecumenical council to address these longstanding issues: It’s time for Vatican III. JOHN McGLYNN Online Comment

No Precedent Required Re “Commending Phoebe” (Editorial, 8/29): Another aspect of the question, “Who should serve?” is “Do we need women deacons?” We need women leaders who take a greater part in lit- urgy so that we have women preach- ing at Mass. If only men are allowed to preach, only a masculine interpre- tation of the Gospels is heard. That is like looking at a question with only one eye when two are available. We need women leaders in the church.

“You’re too late. I already sold it on eBay.” HARLEY SCHWADRON CARTOON:

October 3, 2016 America 7 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

IRAQ Fall of Mosul May Prove Greatest Humanitarian Crisis of 2016 .S. and Iraqi military strategists are preparing for a final drive on Mo- sul, hoping to dislodge Islamic State militants from their last strong- Uhold in Iraq. But how well are they planning for the inevitable impact of that offensive on the city’s residents? Hani El-Mahdi is the Iraq country representative for Catholic Relief Ser- vices. He told America during a text interview by Skype this week that he expects that the fall of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, will represent the worst humanitarian crisis of 2016. That is saying a lot during a year and in a region that has already produced millions of people displaced by civil war and ISIS terror. Anticipating the offensive, C.R.S. and other aid groups are preparing as best as they can, El-Mahdi says. He worries that the fall of Mosul could mean any- where between 1 to 1.5 million more displaced people, a figure he bluntly calls “overwhelming.” C.R.S. has already been training new staff and volunteers to assist, setting aside materials to meet the crisis whenever it occurs and “building more rela- tions with local communities to guarantee safe access” to desert shelters. The U.S. State Department announced on Sept. 14 more than $181 million in additional assistance. El-Mahdi has already seen evidence of significant new U.S. humanitarian resources flowing into the region, funding much of the gion currently under the authority of the K.R.G., El-Mahdi fears. prepositioning of emergency resourc- the Kurdistan Regional Government. Most of the people dislocated from es. All the same, he expects a large- These internally displaced people rep- Fallujah, he says, have already been scale crisis as thousands of people may resent older waves of dislocated com- prevented from entering Erbil and are be on the move to get away from ISIS munities, including Yazidi and Chris- living in precarious to life-threatening or to escape the fighting. tians who fled in 2014 and who “were conditions on the open desert. “Imag- With almost 3.4 million people allowed to get into cities like Erbil and ine fleeing [your] town and villages, driven from their homes, Iraq already Duhok.” then staying in the open in tempera- represents one of the world’s biggest These persecuted groups have been tures that exceed 115 to 120 degrees internal displacement crises. There is accepted in the Kurdistan region of all the time,” he says. little reason to expect that refugees northern Iraq, according to El-Mah- The end of the ISIS reign of terror from the siege of Mosul will experi- di. But the 2016 arrivals to the north would surely be welcome in the region, ence anything different than those from Fallujah—and most of those El-Mahdi says, but it will not mean who recently fled during the fight for likely to flee north from Mosul—are the end of ISIS—an ideology he fears Fallujah. El-Mahdi explains that most Sunni Arabs. will persist whatever the outcome in of them escaped the fighting into the El-Mahdi is uncertain how the Mosul—nor the end of crisis in Iraq. harsh desert “with no preparation” and K.R.G. will respond to a large move- Though CRS intends to stand by to nothing more than the clothes on their ment of Sunni Arabs into areas under help, he says it could be years before backs. its control. The Sunni Arabs are suspect anyone will be able to return to homes Most of the internally displaced to many Kurds because of their real or in communities that have been torn people C.R.S. works with are living perceived support for ISIS. A large in- apart by combat, booby traps and sec- in temporary quarters throughout the flux of Sunni Arabs north might pro- tarian divisions. city of Erbil in the northern Iraqi re- voke some effort at containment from KEVIN CLARKE

8 America October 3, 2016 ing the public discourse on Islam and to Muslim youth in Morocco in 1985. Muslim life. He said then, “We believe in the same “We hope Catholic educators, cat- God, the one God, the living God, the echists and clergy can use this report God who created the world.” as a starting point to ask, ‘What do Denari Duffner noted that Pope Catholics know; what do Catholics not Francis often portrays Islam in a pos- know; and what do we need to be com- itive light, which has affected how the municating?’” Jordan Denari Duffner, Catholic press in the United States rep- the author of the report, told America. resents Islam. “The way our religious The survey also asked about reli- leaders talk about Islam is often the gion and violence. Forty-five percent of way people learn about Islam,” she said. Catholics said that Islam encourages vi- Most Catholics understood that olence more than other religions, while key components of Islam include daily 24 percent said it encourages violence prayer (93 percent) and fasting (77 per- as much as other religions. About four cent) and knew that Muslims do not in 10 U.S. Catholics agree that “Mus- believe in the Trinity. But 86 percent lims have sufficiently condemned acts of Catholics thought incorrectly that of terrorism committed in the name Muslims worship Muhammad. of Islam” while another four in 10 dis- When it comes to Jesus, 74 percent agree. of Catholics said Muslims do not hold AFTER THE FALL. A displaced Catholics in the United States are Jesus in high regard and 88 percent said woman and her sleeping child fled to not sure about what they share in terms they do not honor Mary. In fact, Mus- a camp near Mosul, Iraq, in June. of religious belief with the world’s 1.6 lims believe Jesus is a revered prophet billion Muslims. About a third of all and that Mary is his virgin mother. U.S. Catholics (32 percent) believe that Nearly half of U.S. Catholics, 44 INTERFAITH RELATIONS Catholics and Muslims worship the percent, said either that they did not same God, while 42 percent say they do know of any similarities between the Catholics Have not. About a quarter are unsure. two faiths or that they believed there In Vatican II’s “Declaration on were none at all. a Lot to Learn the Relationship of the Church to MICHAEL O’LOUGHLIN About Islam Non-Christian Reli- ewer than two in 10 U.S. Cath- gions,” the church af- olics hold a favorable view of firms that the three FMuslims, and many have little Abrahamic faiths— understanding of the world’s second Judaism, Christianity largest religion. When asked, “What is and Islam—all worship your overall impression of Muslims?” the same God. But as 30 percent of those Catholics polled the report shows, this said they held unfavorable views, 14 teaching is still not fully percent said favorable, and 45 percent understood or accepted said they held neither favorable nor by all believers. unfavorable views. The report notes That is according to a report re- that St. John Paul II re- leased on Sept. 12 by Georgetown iterated Catholic teach- University’s The Bridge Initiative, a ing about the three CLOSE ENCOUNTERS. Archbishop Blase J. Cupich of program at the Washington, D.C., Je- monotheistic faiths Chicago visits with a couple during a Catholic-Muslim dinner in Bridgeview, Ill., in June. A Georgetown suit university aimed at improving pub- worshiping the same University study found Catholics who knew Muslims lic understanding of Islam while track- God in a 1985 speech had the best impressions of them.

October 3, 2016 America 9 SIGNS OF THE TIMES Duterte Seeks Revived Death Sentence NEWS BRIEFS Archbishop Socrates Villegas of With a Mass near the tomb of St. Igna- Lingayen-Dagupan, the head of the tius Loyola in Rome, 215 Jesuits from Philippine bishops’ conference, urged around the world gathered on Oct. Catholic lawmakers on Sept. 14 not 2 for a general congregation to elect a to support “any attempt to restore the new superior general to replace Adolfo death penalty” and called on Catholic Nicolás, S.J., who is retiring. • Brazil’s lawyers to “study the issue and to op- Indigenous Missionary Council in a pose” it by filing legal cases against it. new report highlighted abuses against Less than a week after Rodrigo Duter- the land rights of the nation’s indigenous te was sworn into office as president of people and said 137 of them were killed Callahan in El Salvador the Philippines, a staunch political ally in 2015. • Hailing the Rev. Jacques and the new speaker of the Philippine Hamel, a French priest assassinated on July 26, as “a martyr” and House of Representatives, Pantaleon declaring him “blessed,” Pope Francis said on Sept. 14, “To kill in Álvarez of Davao del Norte, filed a the name of God is satanic.” • Catholic Relief Services announced proposal to reinstate the death pen- on Sept. 16 that the agency's chief financial officer, Sean Callahan, alty. Duterte ran, and won by a large will succeed the current chief executive officer and president Carolyn margin, on a platform of ridding the Woo when her five-year term ends in January 2017. • The United country of criminals by having them States signed a new security agreement with Israel on Sept. 14 that killed and encouraging the public to will give the Israeli military $38 billion over 10 years. • Auxiliary kill them. He has repeatedly called Bishop Eusebio Elizondo of Seattle, chair of the U.S. bishops’ Com- for the death penalty to be reinstated mittee on Migration, said on Sept. 14 that Catholics “are called to and, in early September, again urged overcome the partisan divides that separate us” on migration issues. the Philippine Congress to pass the bill. Since Duterte took office on June 30, more than 3,400 people accused of drug dealing or addiction have died at of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on financial assistance of a few hundred the hands of law enforcement and pri- Religious Liberty, called those com- dollars for rent, security deposits, vate citizens. ments “shocking” and “reckless.” He utility payments or other cash emer- warned that the church’s vast social gencies can save taxpayers $20,000 or ‘Shocking’ Liberty services network could cease to exist more each time homelessness is pre- if conscience protections are tossed vented, according to the study pub- The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights aside. “We do not seek to impose our lished in the August issue of Science. released a report on Sept. 7 that calls morality on anyone, but neither can Cash assistance can keep people off for reining in religious liberty protec- we sacrifice it in our own lives and the street for two years or more, said tions in favor of nondiscrimination work,” he said. “The vast majority of James Sullivan, co-director of No- statutes aimed at protecting L.G.B.T. those who speak up for religious lib- tre Dame’s Wilson Sheehan Lab for Americans. “The phrases ‘religious lib- erty are merely asking for the freedom Economic Opportunities and one of erty’ and ‘religious freedom’ will stand to serve others as our faith asks of us.” the study's authors, during a Capitol for nothing except hypocrisy so long as Hill briefing on Sept. 15. “The key they remain code words for discrim- takeaway is that...we want to address ination, intolerance, racism, sexism, Good Investments this one-time emergency so that they homophobia, Islamophobia, Chris- Small sums of financial assistance stay on their feet, don’t fall under this tian supremacy or any form of intoler- can help stabilize housing for low-in- downward spiral and then they don’t ance,” the chairman of the commission, come people and stave off homeless- fall into homelessness again in the fu- Martin R. Castro, wrote in the report. ness, with its numerous related social ture,” he said. Archbishop William Lori of Balti- problems, a University of Notre Dame more, who chairs the U.S. Conference study concluded. Targeted emergency From America Media, CNS, RNS, AP and other sources.

10 America October 3, 2016 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

DISPATCH | MIAMI Colombia from ever realizing its po- tential,” says Carlos Parra, a Colombian Colombia’s Zero-Sum Conflict expatriate and business professor at Florida International University in ack in 2014, during the thick of No one knows better than Santos Miami. negotiations to end Colombia’s how weak the FARC is today compared Or, as Santos told me, “What I’m Binterminable civil war, I was to the turn of the century, when the reb- trying to tell the Colombian people invited to interview President Juan el force controlled a swath of Colombia is: Wake up. We have to be a normal Manuel Santos, and he wanted to get the size of Switzerland. In the 2000s, country.” something off his chest. as the United States poured billions of The FARC leadership finally seems Knowing our conversation would air dollars of Plan Colombia aid into the to agree, which is why the peace ac- in Miami, he took aim at the city’s large country, Santos was the defense minis- cord’s main points include transform- Colombian expatriate community. That ter who used the funds to beef up the ing the guerrilla movement into a cohort is mostly opposed to peace talks Colombian military and put the guer- mainstream political party. with the Revolutionary Armed Forces rillas on the ropes. What sticks most in the craws of of Colombia—the Marxist guer- the accord’s opponents, however, rillas known by the Spanish acro- ‘There has to be is a sense that it treats the FARC nym FARC. too leniently. Colombia’s guerril- “Many people in South Florida a different way than las, after all, look more like Tony have bought this black propagan- continuing with Soprano in military fatigues, a da that I am giving the country group that bankrolls its crusade away to the Communists,” Santos the war.’ not only with drugs but with re- said. “This is nonsense.” lentless ransom kidnappings that Like their Cuban exile counter- have often ended in murder. parts, many Miami Colombians have Still, Santos is well aware that while “They’re just a mafia,” says Miami adopted a zero-sum mindset about the FARC can be diminished, it is most travel agent and Colombian expat their motherland. Any concession to likely never going to be defeated. For Maria Cascante, who saw numerous the FARC—like any engagement with one thing, its war chest is too large— relatives abducted by the FARC. “Mr. the Castros—suggests to these expats a thanks to the hundreds of millions of Santos wants to make peace with the complete surrender. dollars it reaps every year from cocaine devil.” But that outlook faces serious trafficking. But a growing number of Miami challenges now that government and So when Santos was elected in 2010, expats side with Santos, pointing out guerrillas, after four years of talks in he decided that the surest way to keep that Colombia’s military and right-wing Havana, finalized a peace agreement the FARC from rebuilding was to ad- paramilitary groups have committed in late August. Suddenly, the end of a dress seriously, for once, the gross socio- myriad atrocities, too. 52-year-old war that has killed more economic inequality that led to the war. One is Angela Maria Tafur. Her fa- than 200,000 people and displaced six He has staked his presidency on it. ther, a Colombian politician, was killed million more—the longest and last But to do that—to modernize by a young guerrilla in 1992. Now she armed conflict in Latin America— Colombia’s infrastructure, carry out runs a charity that is partnering with looks imminent. epic land reform and give rural teens a Santos’s government to bring education That is, provided Colombian vot- future instead of the FARC—there has and employment opportunities to rural ers, including those who now reside in to be peace. The “mule in the middle of Colombians affected by the violence. Miami, ratify the accord in a referen- Colombia’s road,” as Santos calls the “There has to be a different way than dum on Oct. 2. Most polls indicate they conflict, must be removed. continuing with the war,” she says. will—and for good reason. “Bottom line, a permanent state of And a different way than the ze- war, a situation where you have whole ro-sum politics both left and right have TIM PADGETT, Latin America editor for NPR cities cut off from the mainstream econ- played for too long in Colombia and affiliate WLRN, isAmerica ’s Miami correspon- omy because they’re controlled by ei- Latin America. dent. ther guerrillas or paramilitaries...keeps TIM PADGETT

October 3, 2016 America 11 JAMES T. KEANE Writers and Reconcilers f you work in Catholic publishing, cally, the rise of Christian intellectual option; so, too, the Mormons and it’s a certainty you’ve been asked institutions after World War II—the Quakers). Ione question at cocktail parties: university, the publishing house, the If it means higher education that is Whatever happened to the Catholic journal of opinion—that allowed distinct from the secular realm, then novel? The tone of the query usually Christian scholars to speak to each no, there are precious few Catholic betrays declinist sympathies—Where other rather than engage the culture. intellectuals left. While Jacobs may have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?—even By the time they realized they should be right that many Christian col- for folks who are otherwise glad to be doing the latter, the culture had leges ignored American culture, most be rid of the subculture from which changed too much for them to un- Catholic colleges revamped their cur- Flannery O’Connor, Walker Percy, derstand it or be understood. Now ricula in the 1960s to respond to the Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene and we have two types of Christian public needs of the American workforce. So J. F. Powers arose. Many who yearn figures: those who chose long, metaphysics! for those classics might be horrified to bland accommodation If it means a cul- discover that four of the authors men- (Marilynne Robinson is If the ture in which an ed- tioned above preferred Mass in Latin. his example) and those Christian ucated elite of priests (The fifth died before the Second who retreated into a “sep- sits atop a pyramid Vatican Council ended.) arate-but-equal domain,” intellectual with a broad base of It is perhaps human nature to like the late Richard John intellectually amena- imagine yesteryear was better, and Neuhaus. is dead, has ble laity, then no, Catholics are not the only ones who But if the Christian a Catholic there are almost no do this handwringing. Witness Alan intellectual is dead, has Catholic intellectuals Jacobs in the September issue of a Catholic cousin sur- cousin left. Harper’s, asking, “What Became of vived? Think back to survived? But what if by the Christian Intellectuals?” Jacobs is 1955, when Msgr. John Catholic intellectual we what most of us think of as a Christian Tracy Ellis published his mean someone who intellectual, an evangelical scholar who devastating critique of the intellectu- sees the world through a unique heu- can “speak the language of other intel- al mediocrity of American Catholic ristic heavily influenced by the sym- lectuals, including the most purely culture, "American Catholics and the bols, tropes and values of a Catholic secular,” who plays the role “of the in- Intellectual Life." Six decades later, is faith? terpreter, the bridger of cultural gaps; Catholic intellectual life in decline? In Well, those folks are everywhere. of the mediator, maybe even the rec- the ascendant? Going dark after a final Better educated and more influen- onciler.” Jacobs points to C. S. Lewis, flare-up, supernova-style? tial than in 1955, they are represent- Reinhold Niebuhr and Dorothy That question has to be answered ed heavily in the ranks of politicians, Sayers as past examples, but he won’t the same way as the query about justices, professors, artists and writ- call himself one. He is not sanguine Catholic novelists: It depends on what ers. Many have beliefs and practices about his peers either, noting that 50 you mean by Catholic. If it means a that do not pass muster with certain years ago our country had “serious culture radically distinct from that of Catholic crowds, but when won’t that Christian intellectuals who occupied a not-Catholics, then there are very few be the case? These folks can speak the prominent place on the national stage. Catholic intellectuals left, except for language of other intellectuals, includ- They are gone now.” a few trad-bros on Twitter who fancy ing their secular peers, and they play Jacobs suggests that it was, ironi- themselves theocrats. Even advocates the role of interpreter, bridger of cul- for a new Catholic ghetto, a “Benedict tural gaps, mediator, maybe even rec- option,” are often more American onciler. JAMES T. KEANE is an editor at Orbis Books in Ossining, N.Y., and a former associate editor of in their thinking than Catholic (the And maybe this is the Golden Age America. Twitter: @jamestkeane. Pilgrims were pursuing a Benedict of the Catholic intellectual.

12 America October 3, 2016 'I owe so much to Christianity,' the Republican nominee tells supporters. Trump Makes a Place for Faith BY MICHAEL O’LOUGHLIN or more than a year now, religiously motivated voters and political pundits have tried to figure out what role faith plays in the life and politics of the Republican White House hopeful Donald J. Trump, discerning whether or not the WORSHIP AND Manhattan real estate mogul might make a good partner on issues ranging from PRAISE. Republican presidential nominee abortion to religious liberty and everything in between. Donald Trump FThe conclusion among those who have mined his past, visited his former churches and attends a church studied old interviews is that, like his campaign itself, Mr. Trump’s beliefs cannot be pinned service in Detroit, Mich., on Sept. 3. down to any particular ideology or movement, and as a result, they could be molded to fit various agendas. Mr. Trump was born in 1946 into a family who attended a Presbyterian church in Queens, N.Y., one that, according to a recent profile in The Atlantic, offered full member-

AP PHOTO/EVAN VUCCI) AP PHOTO/EVAN MICHAEL O’LOUGHLIN is America’s national correspondent. Twitter: @mikeoloughlin.

October 3, 2016 America 13 ship only to white worshipers until the 1950s. Today, that ical-affiliated Gordon College and author ofFaith in the church is mostly black and Hispanic, reflecting the changing Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite, neighborhood where it is located. told America. “He doesn’t even know the words to say that By the 1970s, Mr. Trump’s parents, Fred and Mary, joined would be appealing to evangelicals.” Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan, home of the “pos- Mr. Trump infamously messed up a reference to St. itive thinking” preacher Norman Vincent Peale. According Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians, calling it “Two to The Washington Post, Mr. Trump also worshiped at the Corinthians,” but perhaps more tellingly, he mangled 2,000 church into the 1980s, and he had one of his children bap- years of Christian theology by saying that he cannot recall tized there. Mr. Trump has repeatedly praised Mr. Peale’s ever asking God for forgiveness. oratorical skills and can-do message of posi- “I think if I do something wrong, I think, I tive thinking. (For his part, Dr. Peale waded This article is the just try and make it right,” he said at an Iowa into politics once, saying ahead of the 1960 second in a two- forum last year. “I don’t bring God into that presidential contest, “Faced with the election part series about picture. I don’t.” of a Catholic, our culture is at stake.” He later the faith lives of the Then there is the way Mr. Trump handles said he regretted the remark and promised to major presidential the politics of religion. stay out of politics.) candidates. Presidential candidates tend to court The candidate’s affinity for Dr. Peale man- faith-voters either by highlighting their own ifests itself today in a slew of high-profile religious bona fides or by showing them that supporters who represent what many call the “prosperity they at least understand their worldviews. Mr. Trump has gospel,” the notion that if you behave in accordance with done neither. He tussled with Pope Francis when the pontiff biblical values, God will reward you. That idea remains pop- said those who support building walls are not Christian, and ular today among certain groups of Christians. Pastor Joel he has driven away many conservative leaders in both evan- Osteen, for example, still fills arenas and sells millions of gelical and Catholic camps. books preaching something akin to this message. All that said, Mr. Trump has retained the support of a Mr. Trump, whom voters viewed as the least religious bloc of voters traditionally enthusiastic about the G.O.P. but major presidential candidate in either party in a January Pew who pundits and political rivals thought might have been poll, calls himself an active churchgoer, and he told reporters turned off by his personal life: evangelical Protestants. last summer that he still attends Marble Collegiate Church. “I owe so much to Christianity,” Mr. Trump said to a But last August, the church released a statement to CNN crowd of evangelical activists and pastors in New York ear- indicating that while he and his parents had a long history lier this summer. “I owe it, quite frankly, to be standing here with the church, the presidential candidate was “not an ac- because the evangelical vote was mostly gotten by me.” tive member.” Polls seem to bear that assessment out. Given his persona as a tough businessman who made The Pew Research Center reported in July that 78 per- a fortune in part through casinos, who has bragged of his cent of white evangelical voters plan to vote for Mr. Trump sexual exploits and who has been married three times, Mr. in November, three points higher than the number that sup- Trump has conceded that people are sometimes surprised to ported former G.O.P. nominee Gov. Mitt Romney at this hear him talk about faith at all. point in 2012. (Half of white Catholics said they would sup- “People are so shocked when they find...out I am port Mr. Trump, a few points lower than the number who Protestant. I am Presbyterian. And I go to church and I love said they would back Mr. Romney in 2012.) God and I love my church,” he said at an Iowa event last year. Some high-profile evangelical leaders such as Mr. He has said on other occasions, however, that he is an Dobson, Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. and evangelical Christian. Earlier this year, James Dobson, radio personality Eric Metaxas have endorsed Mr. Trump, founder of Focus on the Family, called Mr. Trump a “baby but critics say they represent an older style of evangelicalism. Christian,” telling reporters that the candidate had accepted They note that younger evangelical leaders have been out- “a relationship with Christ” and deserved some slack because right hostile to Mr. Trump, including Russell Moore, presi- he was not raised in an evangelical home. dent of the influential Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Some, however, are not sold on Mr. Trump’s religiosity, Liberty Commission. This, said Andrew Johnson, a research and they point to his trouble with Christian lingo and the- associate at the University of Southern California’s Center for ology as examples. Religion and Civic Culture, is evidence of a fracture between “Donald Trump is certainly not seen as someone who the movement's old guard and its more diverse and less po- even understands the tune when evangelicals sing their litically oriented younger members—one that could become tradition,” D. Michael Lindsay, president of the evangel- more pronounced should Mr. Trump win the White House.

14 America October 3, 2016 “Trump is exposing the cracks in what is called ‘evangeli- 2015 legalization of same-sex marriage. Mr. Trump has not cal America,’” Mr. Johnson told America. “Some evangelical spoken frequently about those issues, instead framing the leaders are doubling down on ‘religious right’ strategies from religious liberty question in terms of political power. the past as younger evangelicals are trying to separate them- He has accused political leaders of “selling the evangeli- selves from that.” cals down the tubes,” saying that Christianity in the United Mr. Johnson said to expect more pushback from evan- States is getting “weaker, weaker, weaker,” and he has prom- gelical leaders under a Trump presidency than during the ised to boost the political and cultural clout of Christians Reagan administration during the 1980s, when the senior should he be elected. To that end, Mr. Trump promised to Jerry Falwell and his Moral Majority group were at the repeal a 1950s-era I.R.S. rule that prohibits churches from height of their power. engaging in overt political behavior, known as the Johnson “In some ways, some churches have learned their lesson Amendment. from siding too wholly with one party,” he said. “I think maybe that will be my greatest contribution to On the Catholic side of things, conservative stalwarts Christianity—and other religions—is to allow you, when such as the Princeton University professor Robert George you talk religious liberty, to go and speak openly, and if you and the St. John Paul II biog- like somebody or want some- rapher George Weigel have body to represent you, you urged their fellow believers not should have the right to do it,” to support Mr. Trump, though ‘Donald Trump is certainly Mr. Trump said earlier this they have stopped short of say- not seen as someone who summer. ing a vote for his rival, Hillary Jonathan Merritt, an author Clinton, would be acceptable. even understands the tune who writes about evangelical Even some Catholic bishops Christianity, told America that viewed to be politically conser- when evangelicals sing promises like those “resonate vative in the past have expressed with the remnants of the re- skepticism about Mr. Trump, their tradition.’ ligious right movement” that, blaming him for coarsening the while diminished in recent nation’s political conversation, years, “still exists in large num- in part through his attacks on immigrants. bers today.” But if Mr. Trump is able to turn around his campaign He pointed to the chasm between younger evangelical and defeat Mrs. Clinton, faith communities in the United leaders who are opposed to Mr. Trump and “pew-sitting States will have no choice but to work with his adminis- evangelicals” who see in the G.O.P. nominee the possibility tration. What might that look like? Some religiously mo- of slowing the dramatic pace of cultural change that has oc- tivated voters who make the case for Mr. Trump highlight curred in their lifetimes. two issues: his promise to appoint pro-life judges and his “Donald Trump talks a lot of the ‘good old days’; he talks commitment to religious liberty. The president of the Susan a lot of ‘making America great again’; and he’s harkening B. Anthony List, Marjorie Dannenfelser, told the Christian back to the days of the Ronald Reagan in his speeches,” Mr. Broadcasting Network earlier this summer, for example, Merritt said. “For some evangelicals, these were their glory that she was happy with Mr. Trump’s promise to appoint days, the 1950s kind of era.” pro-life judges to the Supreme Court. Take Sunday school, for example. Mr. Trump lamented “I was encouraged when Mr. Trump reiterated the most in front of a crowd of evangelical Christians that at one time, important pro-life commitment he has made to date: that he it was “automatic. Today it isn’t. Maybe we can get back into would appoint pro-life judges to SCOTUS,” she said follow- a position where it’s automatic.” ing the candidate’s June meeting with nearly 1,000 evangeli- Then there is the issue of having a seat at the table. Mr. cal religious and political activists in New York. Trump’s biggest supporters from the evangelical, and to a But it is on the religious liberty front that other faith lesser extent, the Catholic worlds are figures whose cultur- leaders seem to be rallying around Mr. Trump more intense- al impact has waned considerably in recent years. With Mr. ly, even as they concede that his past support for abortion Trump, these figures see an opening for the religious right to rights calls his commitment to the pro-life cause into ques- regain a seat at the table, Mr. Johnson said. tion. Questions about religious liberty in the United States “There are some evangelical leaders who have had a very have swirled in recent years in Catholic circles primarily over small voice in the political discussion who are rising up be- objections to the contraception mandate in the Affordable cause of this vacuum created by people leaving Trump,” he Care Act, and, more broadly, around issues related to the said.

October 3, 2016 America 15 But for certain religiously motivated voters, even those to extra scrutiny, including questions about their views on traditionally supportive of Republican politics, some of Mr. gay rights. Though the Trump campaign hasn’t specified Trump’s promises could make their social advocacy work which questions will be asked, during the convention Mr. more difficult. Trump promised to “do everything in my power to protect Take the issue of immigration, for example. our L.G.B.T.Q. citizens from the violence and oppression of Catholics and evangelical leaders have in recent years a hateful foreign ideology.” If the qualifications for entry into emerged as some of the most vociferous supporters of immi- the United States include support for L.G.B.T. non-dis- gration reform, highlighting especially how U.S. border pol- crimination laws, a Trump administration would be requir- icies separate families. Some have allied with Republicans ing refugees to hold more liberal views than many conserva- sympathetic to their cause, including some of Mr. Trump’s tives profess. former rivals, like Gov. Jeb Bush and Senator Marco Rubio. There are no easy answers to those questions because the But Mr. Trump, of course, favors building a wall and de- Trump campaign has not released many details about the porting nearly 12 million people living illegally in the United candidate’s proposals on immigration or religious liberty. States, though in recent weeks his aides have said he is re- That, says Mr. Lindsay of Gordon College, is what makes considering this stance. some faith voters reticent to support him. Then there is the issue of who would be allowed into the Mr. Lindsay told America that despite Mr. Trump’s woo- United States under President Trump. He has promised to ing of conservative Christians, he is not sure they will come prohibit Muslims from entering the country, and his vice out on top in the end after a Trump victory. presidential pick, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, clashed with “A Trump presidency would raise a lot more questions Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin of Indianapolis when the lo- than answers for evangelicals, which would in itself be novel cal Catholic Charities agency announced plans to resettle a because every Republican candidate who has been running Syrian family there last year. Those who support immigra- in the general election since Ronald Reagan has been one tion to the United States have criticized Mr. Trump’s plan, that evangelicals felt like they knew and understood,” Mr. both on humanitarian and religious liberty grounds. Lindsay said. And Mr. Trump added a further wrinkle in August when His conclusion? “With Donald Trump, there’s a lot of he announced that would-be immigrants would be subject mystery.” A DIGITAL HIGHLIGHTS Every day America Media publishes timely news and commentary on events in the church and the world. Explore our multiplatform ministry today.

DISPATCHES Michael O’Loughlin looks at a new government report that calls for reining in religious liberty protections in favor of non-discrimination statutes for L.G.B.T. people.

PODCAST Kenneth L. Woodward discusses his work as the religion editor for Newsweek and the changing role of religion in the United States.

VIDEO Hundreds gathered in New York City to remember 9/11’s first official victim, the beloved F.D.N.Y. chaplain Father Mychal Judge.

FOR CONTINUED COVERAGE GO TO AMERICAMEDIA.ORG JOIN THE CONVERSATION

16 digital America highlights halfpage.inddOctober 3, 20161 9/15/16 1:11 PM October 3, 2016 America 17 The Power of the Word The enduring value of Catholic media BY GREG ERLANDSON n September 2014, a committee of six inter- national Catholic media experts along with DOOR-TO-DOOR. Sister Mary Rosita Shiosee, a Sister of the Blessed Sacrament, leaves a five Vatican officials began a series of meet- church bulletin on a door as she makes rounds ings to review the Vatican’s hydra-headed, visiting homebound people in Mesita, New highly siloed media operations. Our appoint- Mexico, in 2014. Iment came from the Council of Cardinals, and our mandate from Cardinal George Pell of Australia laid out three priorities: a more effective embrace of new media, better cost control and improved collabora- tion among the various Vatican media entities. After half a year of meetings, interviews, field trips and debate, our committee in March 2015 rec- ommended a dramatic restructuring of the media operations. Our recommendations were in large part accepted, and in the remainder of 2015 a series of changes were made, beginning with the creation of a new Secretariat for Communications under the leadership of Msgr. Dario Viganò, until then the en- ergetic leader of the Vatican’s television office. How this restructuring will fare in the change- averse corridors of the Vatican remains to be seen, but I took heart from the fact that Pope Francis and the cardinals were in essence doubling down on the importance of a multipronged media effort to com- municate with the world. The key to the committee’s recommendations was its recognition that the real payoff of the proposed reorganization would be in the mul- day. Our own Catholic media seems in disarray and retreat tiplier effect of all the Vatican media arms working together. at a time when it is needed more than ever. This collaboration would demand an enlightened leadership Rates of Catholic affiliation and sacramental practice are team that, while recognizing the unique needs and capac- falling, and movements and ideologies contrary to Catholic ities of each medium, would for the first time coordinate thought are increasingly effective in dominating cultural resources, messaging and staff, bringing the power of print, conversations. digital, video and audio together. Yet it is exactly at this moment in history when we are seeing a general decline in the diocesan Catholic press in A Distress Call terms of frequency, news focus and numbers. Earlier this I left Rome optimistic that the fruit of such a reorganiza- year, The Catholic Chronicle, the newspaper of the Diocese tion may well be a world-class Catholic media operation of Toledo, shut its doors after 82 years, citing financial rea- that more effectively communicates the Gospel, the mission sons. Other events are also contributing to the feeling that of the church and the vision of the pope. Back in the United the Catholic media industry is in decline. States, however, pessimism may be more the order of the Just in the past few months The Boston Globe’s quixotic two-year effort to develop an ad-based business model for its website Crux foundered (though John Allen quickly arranged GREG ERLANDSON was recently appointed director and editor in chief of the Catholic News Service. He is the former president and publisher of Our a second act for Crux thanks to the support of the Knights

Sunday Visitor Publishing. of Columbus). And the bishops’ own Catholic News Service CNS PHOTO/NANCY WIECHEC

18 America October 3, 2016 has been under economic pressure for some years as its com- cent of diocesan publications currently publish 45 or more petition has increased while its client publications—primar- times a year, making timeliness and relevance an always ily diocesan publications—have been cutting frequency and greater challenge. changing formats. Because salaries and paper/print/postage are the two According to figures released by the Catholic Press biggest areas of expense, finance departments target both. Association, its newspaper members have declined 17 per- Staff is reduced. Experience and talent are judged to offer an insufficient return on investment. (“I know we can’t afford anyone other than the new and inexperienced,” one bishop told me years ago. “After five years, they’ll have to move on.”) The allure of digital media promises an end to paper, print and postage costs. If the diocesan site can simply aggregate press releases and news from other feeds, it barely even In the face of needs staff, the reasoning goes. Each cut leads almost inevitably to further cuts. And cut declining Catholic by cut, closure by closure, one of the glories of the Catholic Church in the United States is fading away. Catholic reader- affiliation and ship is declining in many areas, but in the diocesan press, the decline particularly affects whom the bishops are speaking sacramental to and how effectively they speak. practice, the Don’t Stop the Presses! The irony is that polling data continues to show that Catholics trust their own media and particularly rely on its church should print incarnations. A survey in 2011 by the Center for Applied Research shore up its print in the Apostolate of self-identified Catholics found that 26 percent of Catholics had read a print diocesan publication in media, not watch the previous three months. Only 3 percent reported reading an online version of a diocesan newspaper. The poll said 18 it fade away. percent of adult Catholics typically read a print copy at least once a month. For engaged Catholics, those who attend Mass weekly, 55 percent read a print version of their diocesan publications weekly. CARA found that older Catholics are more likely cent in the last 10 years and its magazine members by 25 per- to read a print publication than one online, and the same cent. Not all of this membership slippage reflects closures, but holds true for millennials. While 22 percent of millennials it is one gauge of the Catholic media’s general decline. had read a print copy in the previous three months, only 4 Catholic newspapers are in crisis today, and Catholic percent had read the publication online. print media is bleeding. Identifying a cause is to a certain A Marist Poll commissioned by the Knights of Columbus extent a chicken-and-egg challenge. Reduced circulation, before the visit of Pope Francis in September 2015 looked declining budgets and scaled back editorial and design re- in part at the news media in the context of the pope’s vis- sources weaken publications, which in turn leads to further it. It reported that a resounding 69 percent of practicing losses in both readers and budgets. Catholics trust Catholic news outlets by a significant mar- In addition, the digital world has introduced a host of gin over secular print, television or digital outlets. new competitors: blogs; news aggregator sites, like New While Catholic news media usage could benefit from Advent; and various news feeds, like Aleteia, Zenit, News more—and more current—data, some observations can be .va, Crux and the Catholic News Agency, many of which op- made. The first is that there is no single silver bullet for erate on a donation-based rather than a subscriber model. reaching Catholics. The strong tradition of print Catholic Under this relentless pressure, Catholic weeklies become media continues to have a hold on Catholic readers. This biweeklies, become monthly magazines, become websites. is particularly true of older Catholics, who often are the Our Sunday Visitor’s O.S.V. Newsweekly is the last truly most consistent donors and have the time and inclination weekly national Catholic newspaper, and only about 18 per- to be highly engaged. Rather than being disdainful of this

October 3, 2016 America 19 audience, a parish or diocese should strive to stay connected to cultivate and highlight its own Catholic journalists, photo- with it. journalists, editors and designers who have, or should have, Second, digital is attracting a certain percentage of the knowledge to report accurately on local, national and Catholics, but its reach can be overstated. Surveys show that global events relevant to a Catholic audience. Catholics are more likely to visit a parish website than a di- Accurate reporting of the news is a critical need if the ocesan, U.S.C.C.B. or Vatican site, but researchers suggest church is also interested in both mobilization and formation. this may be simply for the purpose of finding out the times Regarding mobilization, it is only the Catholic media that can for Masses or other events. A large percentage of Catholics get the word out on events of importance, whether that is the have no significant awareness of the Catholic online pres- “24 Hours for the Lord” initiative, immigration rallies or reli- ence. gious liberty campaigns. This kind of mobilization necessarily Investment is often justified in the digital arena as a way involves social media for specific events, but it is traditional to reach a broader audience, but the metrics of success rarely news reporting, backgrounders and analysis that educate and get beyond boasts about numbers of pageviews or numbers arouse the interest of Catholics and explain what is important of unique visitors. Who is looking, what they are looking at about the event. and how long they are looking at it or, indeed, what impact And formation is one of the aspects of Catholic news media any of these pageviews are having, is left to a large extent un- that is least discussed. For while the bishops have often talked explored. And the digital landscape is constantly reinventing about the importance of adult faith formation, Catholic news itself, making investment both risky and effective only over media remain the primary means of this formation. The reg- a short term. ular appearance of a Catholic publication with news, analysis, Digital is and will be a powerful communications medi- columns and features in a virtual or actual mailbox does more um, but print remains the ultimate “push” technology. It ar- to help form adult Catholics than any other method or tool. rives weekly or biweekly and by doing so demands attention. For the Catholic press to survive, however, it will need As marketers and e-retailers can testify, email inboxes are more than lukewarm support or elitist disdain. It cannot con- crowded, and mobile media apps, while efficient, succeed if tinue to be kept on a low-budget, low-quality strategy of mak- they meet a great need but are more likely to languish un- ing-do. If church leaders want a vibrant Catholic media that used. One estimate is that 60 percent of mobile applications can gain readers’ attention in a media-saturated environment, are never downloaded. Another 25 percent of all applica- their leadership is critical. tions downloaded between 2011 and 2015 were opened First, we must make our own Catholic media a priority. only once. This means investing in quality. Ours is a media-savvy world that expects strong writing and good graphics. Catholic read- Keeping Faith With Catholic Media ers want their press to provide context and inspiration. They In this time of great cultural transition, the church faces are not looking for a safe, sanitized and noncontroversial pub- some significant challenges in its use of media. For the fore- lication that seems disconnected from what is happening in seeable future, the only sound strategy is both/and rather their communities and the larger world. than either/or, but the temptation to cut print efforts weak- Making Catholic media a priority means offering not just ens communications efforts as a whole. resources, but also time and attention. If there is a church There are better arguments for the Catholic press, how- announcement or a scoop about church issues to be offered, ever, than the Monty Pythonesque “We’re not dead yet.” it should not be going to the local secular news outlets first. Indeed, the need for a viable, effective Catholic press re- That makes the diocesan media report on it days or weeks lat- mains great. er look late or irrelevant. Use the diocesan media to make the Whatever one thinks of the quality of secular media, its big reveals and then direct the secular media to that source. media coverage of the church is uneven at best, whether in Second, we must keep the editor and the communica- newspapers, radio or television. At a time when the church tions director in the inner circle. Papers where directors are often seeks to be engaged in the great issues of the day, its aware of the priorities and concerns of the church’s leader- voice barely rises above a whisper in most settings. Stories ship—whether at the Vatican or in a chancery—are much about Pope Francis get play because he attracts readers, which more likely to produce useful, informative and relevant pub- is fine. But so do abuse stories. Stories about where bishops lications. stand on particular issues, reports on events or issues from Third, we should take a cue from Rome: Look at ways to a Catholic perspective or profiles of Catholics who are living integrate diocesan communications efforts. The divide be- lives in fidelity to the Gospel are rare to nonexistent in secular tween the communications director and the editor is fading in media. many chanceries in part because increasingly one is becoming For Catholic media to make a difference, however, it needs the other. This blurring of lines offers its own risks, and it is

20 America October 3, 2016 also not a substitute for strategy. Whatever the outreach to used by more and more bishops. It is helping diocesan pub- the community—print, social media, websites, radio, televi- lications address their many challenges with the assistance of sion and other parish-linked communications efforts—there outside expertise. should be a collaborative and flexible strategy for getting the One of the strategic goals of the press association is the word out. It is critical that the integrity of each media channel professional development of its members through webinars be recognized. and conferences. Decades ago, there was a school for Catholic A newspaper is not a collection of press releases. A Catholic journalists in Denver that taught both the professional craft nonprofit radio station not owned by the diocese must be of journalism and the teachings of the church. seen as independent. Yet a sound, integrated communications Now, as then, those entering the Catholic press could ben- strategy that engages Catholic media leaders collaborative- efit from opportunities to develop their journalistic skills and ly will pay great dividends for the church. This strategy can their knowledge of the church they are covering. A short-term connect geographically far-flung dioceses or culturally diverse strategy of low-paid positions occupied for brief periods of ones. It can also compensate for spotty or even hostile cover- time benefits no one, neither the readers nor the church. The age in secular media outlets. church needs to foster the vocation of professional Catholic Fourth, we should put our mouth where our money is: communicators who strive for the highest standards of quality Challenge Catholics to read, listen and learn. Bishops, pastors and who are capable of engaging the issues and events of the and educators have extraordinary influence if they make this a day as well as the teachings of the church in a context that is regular part of their messaging in homilies, talks and off-the- thoroughly Catholic. cuff remarks. Catholic media, especially local Catholic media, The tumultuous changes now rocking journalism will needs to be promoted. surely continue. With thousands of jobs slashed and news- Finally, we must support national Catholic media or- papers becoming thinner, traditional journalism is hurting ganizations that seek to promote best practices and profes- even as the need for an intelligent parsing of the day’s events sional training for their members. There are several, but the becomes more critical. I do not know where journalism will one I have been closely connected with is the Catholic Press end up, but I know for certain that it will not end. It is an Association. Its recently revived consultation process, funded indispensable pillar of our democracy, and it is equally indis- in part by the Catholic Communication Campaign, is being pensable for our church. A

October 3, 2016 America 21 Reviving Liberal Education A new age needs the old tradition. BY JOSEPH J. DUNN niversity presidents and professors of histo- had not yet been born. Williams ry, classical and modern languages, literature, College, established in 1793, followed philosophy, sociology and similar specialties a traditional curriculum. These imi- have long commended the value of liberal arts tated English colleges like Cambridge, in the education of citizens, whatever their ca- where the mission was primarily to Ureer objectives. But over the past half century business courses assure an educated elite steeped in the have gained popularity among undergraduates. More recently, Aristotelian worldview. At Monticello, colleges and universities are responding to renewed interest in Jefferson kept his scientific instru- STEM careers—science, technology, engineering and math. ments as close as he kept his beloved In the current election campaigns, our political leaders pro- books. For the new university, Jefferson mote job readiness as the main purpose of a college education. wanted “Botany, Chemistry, Zoology, A few institutions, however, are taking action to reassert the Anatomy, Surgery, Medicine, Natural importance of a liberal education and make it attractive to Philosophy, Agriculture, Mathematics, more students. How did we come to this point, and how is Astronomy, Geology, Geography, this revival of the liberal arts happening? Politics, Commerce, History, Ethics, The first European universities included courses on gram- Law, Art, Finearts” and the classics mar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy, read in their original Latin and Greek. theology and Aristotelian subjects like physics, metaphysics Work toward a bachelor’s degree would and moral philosophy. The study of these “liberal arts” con- be the capstone for many citizens or the sisted in reading aimed at discovering truth accompanied by foundation for graduate work in med- discussion and reflection that might lead to wisdom and un- icine, law or ministry. A year after the derstanding. founding of the University of Virginia, With the Enlightenment came the thought that one could Jefferson wrote proudly, "This institu- discover truth by reason, using scientific experiment, as much tion will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human as by revelation and ancient texts. Studying Newtonian phys- mind. For here we are not afraid to follow the truth wherever ics became popular among thinkers. Universities respected it may lead, nor to tolerate any error as long as reason is left scientific discovery: The honorary degree that Yale University free to combat it." This was to be an education for free men granted to Benjamin Franklin in 1753 commends his “inge- living in democracy. nious Experiments and Theory of Electrical fire.” Harvard Before the Civil War, a growing number of colleges built University likewise recognized Franklin’s experiments. On observatories, and science labs slowly became important to their campuses, however, scholarship emphasized classical a truly liberal education. In 1869, Harvard’s new president, languages, moral philosophy and memorization. Charles William Eliot, announced that “This university rec- In 1800, Thomas Jefferson proposed a curriculum for the ognizes no real antagonism between literature and science, new University of Virginia that departed sharply from that and consents to no such narrow alternatives as mathematics of the established U.S. colleges. When Harvard was found- or classics, science or metaphysics. We would have them all, ed in 1636, Galileo was under house arrest for supporting and at their best.” the Copernican model of the universe, and Isaac Newton Eliot pointed to his principal concern: “An unintelligent system of education from the primary school through the college is responsible for the fact that many college graduates JOSEPH J. DUNN, the author of After One Hundred Years: Corporate Profits, Wealth, and American Society, writes frequently have so inadequate a conception of what is meant by scientific on the role of business in society. observation, reasoning and proof.”

22 America October 3, 2016

And he proposed a solution: “It is possible for the young in the direction of teaching or writing, perhaps journalism, to get actual experience of all the principal methods of maybe law or not-for-profit work, but surely nothing where thought.” Language study has its method, as do mathemat- employers required competence in math or science. Lecture- ics and natural and physical science, as does faith. Without format science courses with no lab experiments, often held “a general acquaintance with many branches of knowledge… in high-capacity lecture halls, were far less expensive than there can be no such thing as an intelligent public opinion… constructing new labs and stocking supplies. [which] in the modern world…is the one condition of social To further accommodate, some colleges allowed students progress.” Jefferson’s revolution in education had spread to to opt out of all math and science courses. Credit hours once America’s oldest university. devoted to understanding nature were given instead to a va- riety of new courses. As long as the college had led the stu- In Modern Times dents to read good books, to think critically and write clearly By the mid-20th century, an educated person had experi- and to consider the morality of their actions, had the college enced both the scientific and the Socratic methods of learn- not met its obligations to the students and to society? ing. Then, somehow, scholars began once again to regard In 1967, Harvard-trained economist John Kenneth math and science as separable from the liberal arts. Perhaps Galbraith expressed concern about another influence tend- this trend was an effort by universities to become more cus- ing to separate the study of language, philosophy and great tomer-oriented. Some students, after all, had no interest in literature from math and science. In The New Industrial

ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/ PETE HENDLEY STEM careers. Their aspirations, if defined at all, lay more State he warns: “Modern higher education is, of course, ex-

October 3, 2016 America 23 tremely accommodated to the needs of the industrial sys- Finding Our Way tem. The schools and colleges of business administration… What is an undergraduate to do, and what should a uni- are preparatory academies for the technostructure…the versity president endorse, in the quest for knowledge, wis- lesser prestige and lesser support for the arts and human- dom and understanding? Can we find a way of proceeding ities suggest their inferior role.” Professor Galbraith urged: that properly values the humanities and reinvigorates a liberal “The college and university community must retain para- education? The rising national frenzy to get everyone to go mount authority for the education it provides and for the to college, with no objectives beyond employability, will leave research it undertakes. The needs of the industrial system us with hundreds of thousands of functionaries in service of must always be secondary to the cultivation of general un- Galbraith’s technostructure. The risk is great that they will derstanding and perception.” “live and reason from the comfortable position of a high level But administrators were hard- of development and a quality of life ly able to retain paramount au- well beyond the reach of the ma- thority while students were, in Undergraduates who jority of the world’s population… those days, breaching all historic forsake too many lead[ing] to a numbing of con- norms of on-campus decorum, science and to tendentious analy- including protesting against the humanities courses fail to ses which neglect parts of reality” Vietnam War, occupying the of- (“Laudato Si,’” No. 49). fices of deans and presidents and see an overarching reality: Yes, some employers want new confronting police and National hires who are “job-ready” for their Guard troops. Traditionally Over years and decades, immediate contribution to the firm. white campuses were admitting leadership accrues to Some entry-level positions, like ac- African-Americans. Men’s col- counting and engineering, require leges admitted female undergrad- the man or woman who a bachelor’s degree in that major. uates. “Paramount authority” was But undergraduates who forsake being challenged on campus and understands too many humanities courses fail in society generally. to see an overarching reality: Over Then there is grade inflation. the human condition. years and decades, leadership ac- The first studies of the phenome- crues to the man or woman who non of G.P.A.’s rising faster than S.A.T. scores and national understands the human condition. George Washington was literacy scores were conducted in the 1960s. A 2013 study highly qualified in the science of fortifications, maneuvers and conducted by the University of North Texas’s department logistics. But his military skills would have been for naught of economics summarized: “Studies often discover evidence without the ability to rally his officers with his address at of differential grade inflation by subject. Most commonly, Newburg. With that short speech he poured his sense of duty disciplines that are traditionally more quantitative such as into their distraught hearts and matched their deepest wishes economics, mathematics, psychology, chemistry and com- to his vision. That afternoon they pledged new loyalty. puter science exhibit less evidence of grade inflation, while Franklin Roosevelt won the presidency four times by di- courses such as art, English, music, speech and political sci- recting his public statements to the voters’ greatest fears in ence typically have higher rates of grade inflation.” each election cycle. The warmth and comforting cadence of Many students consider higher grades, and a high- his fireside chats and the vigor of his campaign speeches em- er G.P.A., vital to preserving financial aid and competing braced the common man, and he responded. for future employment. A paper discussing the themes of Business confers its laurels similarly. If Steve Jobs had re- Wuthering Heights is more amenable to circumspect grad- lied only on marketing strategy or engineering, then Apple ing than evaluation of the model structure that collapsed Inc., and all the other device manufacturers, would meet in under the required two-kilogram load. The clear liquid commoditized competition where the lowest price always sample in the 10-milliliter test tube either did turn blue or wins. But a calligraphy class at Reed College showed Steve it did not, leaving little room for nuance. Accommodating Jobs how the same set of words conveys very different senti- the student who felt that math was too hard or that sci- ments when different fonts are used. So Apple differentiates ence was “not my strong point” seemed an easy concession. itself by meeting human needs in its hardware and software, Jefferson’s passion for broad, liberal education and Eliot’s like commands that follow intuitive logic and anxiety-free interest in an educated public opinion and social progress customer support. yielded to more immediate and personal concerns. Saving Great businesses, those that last for many decades with- the 4.0 became the paramount consideration. out scandal, are built on functional excellence in the cause

24 America October 3, 2016 of human betterment. Their leaders see business as “a noble science lab is humility, which is a prerequisite to wisdom. vocation, directed to producing wealth and improving our At the request of the university’s student senate, class world. It can be a fruitful source of prosperity for the areas in schedules are being changed so that liberal arts majors will which it operates, especially if it sees the creation of jobs as an be able to take elective business courses, acknowledging that essential part of its service to the common good” (“Laudato many of these students will seek careers in the private sec- Si’,” No. 129). A student who has devoted real effort to discov- tor. This basic fluency in business language can help the new ering how humans have thought about and acted on the great employee connect the work of her small team to the larger questions of life has pursued the ultimate business skill—un- mission of the company. Business, too, has its method. That derstanding human customers, workers, investors and suppli- understanding can jump-start advancement up the corporate ers. To paraphrase Eliot, there is no antagonism between the ladder. In large corporations, decisions that affect customers, humanities and business. workers, investors, the neighborhood and the environment How should colleges and universities strengthen a liberal are often made far below the C.E.O. level. Equipping the hu- education to prepare graduates for the challenges that must manities student to understand the language and functions be decided by democracy today? A model can be seen in my of business, and its role in society, seems a proper objective of alma mater, St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. While the university. preserving the core requirements of theology, philosophy, Thomas Jefferson saw the need for a citizenry of broad ed- language and history, St. Joseph’s now includes one year of ucation to sustain a republican democracy. Charles William mathematics and one year of laboratory science as mini- Eliot believed that understanding and wisdom might be mum requirements for a bachelor’s degree in any major in achieved by studying a variety of subjects. Pope Francis wants the College of Arts and Science. Today, decisions of guilt people who can help develop “decisions, programs, mecha- or innocence often hinge on scientific evidence. We rely on nisms and processes specifically geared to a better distribution models to predict next year’s economy and global climate of income, the creation of sources of employment and an in- change in coming decades. The citizen who would truly tegral promotion of the poor” (“Joy of the Gospel,” No. 204). promote social progress needs an appreciation for math and These men challenge our colleges and universities to deliver its method of thought and an adequate concept of scientific the wisdom of ages and knowledge of today’s world, to help observation, reasoning and proof. And the first lesson of the students fit themselves for service to others. A

October 3, 2016 America 25 VATICAN DISPATCH The Source of Suffering

n a June 14, 2013, report on the is ISIS, and the regional clash between pope’s words, he added, “the interests war in Syria, the BBC raised a fun- Saudi Arabia and Iran, between Sunni are big, the profits are big,” and so arms Idamental question: “Who is sup- and Shiite Muslims. There are also continue to flow freely. plying weapons to the warring sides in “many, many other stakeholders, in- The Stockholm International Peace Syria which has kept the conflict go- terested parties, Western interests like Research Institute shows clearly who ing?” More than three years later that the arms and ammunition industry,” he are the major players, who are the ones remains a key question that demands said. that produce arms and ammunition an honest answer, but it is not being “Everybody knows that every single and reap enormous profits, he said. given one. Why? faction in this conflict milks the same He underlined that the U.S. arms and The conflict, which began in March cow!” he said. Father Prakash visits ammunitions industry—the largest 2011 in the context of the Arab Spring Syria frequently and has in the world (followed protests, has already caused an estimat- seen that the shells used If the by Russia)—is a major ed 400,000 deaths, forced 4.5 million by the regime, the reb- player. Indeed, eight of of its 22 million citizens to leave the els and ISIS all bear the supply of the world’s 10 top arms country and become refugees, internal- same brand. Denouncing producers are American. ly displaced 6.6 million others and left the global arms industry arms to On the other hand, 13.5 million people dependent on hu- as “absolutely scandalous,” Syria stops, he said, Saudi Arabia manitarian aid. he said it “should be con- and India are the world’s It continues because there is a demned by all interested the war largest arms import- steady flow of arms to the Assad re- groups wanting peace in will have to ers, followed by China gime, to the rebels, to ISIS and to oth- the area.” and the United Arab ers engaged in the fighting. One does He noted that when- end. Emirates. U.S. officials not need to be a rocket scientist to ever Pope Francis speaks have assured him they know that if the supply of arms stops, about the refugees, he also would never sell arms to the war will have to end. denounces the arms trade that keeps ISIS or the Assad regime, but the ques- Cedric Prakash, an Indian Jesuit the conflict going. He recalled that in tion remains: How do they get arms who lives in Beirut and works as ad- the pope’s address to the U.S. Congress and ammunition? vocacy and communications officer on Sept. 24, 2015, when referring to According to the J.R.S. officer, there for the Jesuit Refugee Service in the the many armed conflicts throughout are thousands of mercenaries who are Middle East, emphasized this point the world, he said: “Here we have to smuggling these arms to anybody who when I spoke to him during a visit to ask ourselves: Why are deadly weap- is able to pay. But from whom do the Rome for Mother Teresa’s canoniza- ons being sold to those who plan to mercenaries get these arms in the first tion and asked what is keeping the war inflict untold suffering on individuals place? This is a question that needs to going. and society? Sadly, the answer, as we all be addressed, he insisted. It is a ques- Apart from the lack of political will know, is simply for money: money that tion of political will to find out for on the part of the big players, he iden- is drenched in blood, often innocent whom the arms and ammunitions in- tified several factors. First among them blood. In the face of this shameful and dustry are producing and to whom they is that the Assad regime blames the culpable silence, it is our duty to con- sell their wares. rebels for the conflict and wants to end front the problem and to stop the arms These are serious questions that any rebellion, wherever it is. Then there trade.” need to be addressed with determina- Father Prakash concurs: “If we want tion. Otherwise the conflict in Syria GERARD O’CONNELL is America’s Vatican to stop the war in Syria, then we have will continue, as will others in the re- correspondent. America’s Vatican coverage is sponsored in part by the Jesuit communities of to stop the flow of arms to the differ- gion, Father Prakash said. the United States. Twitter: @gerryorome. ent groups in conflict.” But echoing the GERARD O’CONNELL

26 America October 3, 2016 FAITH IN FOCUS Group Therapy What I learned during my McLaughlin years BY MAUREEN MILLER he Yale University Art Gallery made me diagram a sentence or mem- Fleetwood Mac or Joni Mitchell song and Center for British Art orize the Baltimore Catechism. If my before the 1992 election, but “The Tface each other across Chapel skin was red and my hand muscles McLaughlin Group” told me what Street in New Haven, Conn. They are wailed, I probably hurt them in sports they meant as Clinton signifiers. the closest thing on campus to church, practice. No autocrat “The McLaughlin including churches, though I rarely ruled my public school Group” knew Clinton was think of anything so lofty when I walk classrooms. We sang folk selling a fantasy, a fanta- by. It’s where Bill Clinton crossed a songs. Each week, I hast- sy that surrounded me picket line to pick up a girl. My own ily filled in C.C.D. work- in everyday life. Within church was News Haven, the news- sheets, then went home weeks of Bill Clinton’s stand where I spent hours poring over to “McLaughlin,” my real election, women on both journals. religious education. sides of the pew aisles Dr. John McLaughlin was my pa- As a kindergartener, I had Hillary Rodham tron. strained to imagine any- haircuts. Their fantasy I am at the youngest end of the view- thing more fun than “The of wonk life nonetheless ership for “The McLaughlin Group,” McLaughlin Group.” It inspired me to apply to which debuted around the time I was was campy, with person- Yale. When I enrolled as born. Outside of family stories, “The alities who ate scenery an undergraduate in fall McLaughlin Group” was my most sig- like classically trained actors. It allowed 2002, I had the idea in my head that nificant encounter with pre-Vatican II girls like Eleanor Clift to play with the post-9/11 Yale would be a live-action Catholic culture. It was ritual for as boys, which made me think I could. “McLaughlin Group.” long as I can remember. The NBC af- The panelists lived nearby and looked That is not how it worked. I did filiate in Washington, D.C., broadcast and talked like people I knew, even if not live in a Gothic tower or a brick the show twice, once on Saturday af- they didn’t think like me. Niceness was meetinghouse, but an ahistorical ter the vigil Mass and once on Sunday a bipartisan consensus. Argument was “swing space” next to a power station. after the high Mass. My mother’s side higher ground. I liked it better than On one side was the gym where a re- of the family was, like McLaughlin, most sitcoms. Sometimes I would ask searcher used to measure the entering from Providence and other places. My my parents to reschedule Mass times freshmen’s spines to figure out what father, like McLaughlin, was educat- to accommodate viewings. physiques are the strongest. A famous ed by the Christian Brothers, and he The Clintons fascinated “The photo of the Clintons appears to have would just laugh and laugh through McLaughlin Group,” so they fascinat- been taken in this area, with Bill hold- the whole show. My parents dressed ed me the way other kids my age might ing books loose in his right hand (per like the panelists, preppy and crisp; have obsessed over dinosaurs or out- Hillary) “like a Viking.” I could very they told me Jesuit schools weren’t a er space. The names of their advisers easily imagine this Bill at the seaside financial option for their families and rolled off my tongue as naturally as reading One Hundred Years of Solitude. that McLaughlin was what a Catholic the 50 states and first ladies. I eagerly Next to the power station was the turn education was. read Primary Colors when it was first to the law school, near Grove Street They knew that I was a generation released, then read the Reliable Source Cemetery, whose entrance reads, removed from Catholic guilt: No one column in The Washington Post and “THE DEAD SHALL BE RAISED.” watched “McLaughlin” to hear the Even the graveyard was triangulating! MAUREEN MILLER, M.D. M.P.H., is a pathol- gossip surrounding the identity of the At Yale, everybody was a Clinton.

PHOTO: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/BOSTON COLLEGE ogist in New York. author. I’m not sure I’d ever heard a I was horribly homesick. To distract

October 3, 2016 America 27 myself, I would visit any place on cam- ceed on my terms, but I never got the tering religious life from the corporate pus that reminded me of Washington, guy, although I got Chris Matthews— world. including weekly Mass, and watch “The a.k.a. John McLaughlin II. In some weird way, “The McLaughlin Group.” The campus had I interviewed for a summer intern- McLaughlin Group” highlights that a great Catholic intellectual life, but I ship at “The Chris Matthews Show” shift for viewers. The severity and rigor was too suspicious of its earnestness to on St. Patrick’s Day and then worried is simply foreign. I thought of it when throw myself in. It wasn’t like TV. that I got the position solely because I watched Rudy Giuliani’s Republican I was painfully shy around men, of what my skin looked like (freck- National Convention speech, the except when taking them down in led) and where I went to school (not priestly theatricality. (There was a re- front of an audience. Instead, I stud- Notre Dame). Between elevator rides curring theme of Catholic suffering ied shag coats, buffalo plaids, vintage to the editing floor, I pulled life insur- at the R.N.C., a passion play includ- ’86 Mets stuff, bomber jackets and ance spots from the shelves and called ing a cover of David Bowie’s “Station keffiyeh scarves. Occasionally I would the local Blockbuster for ’60s movies to Station.”) McLaughlin would have find my footing, then back to nerves. like “Advise and Consent.” The grunt recognized Giuliani as a phony from Other wonks did not feel my pain. I work wasn’t a big deal. The best part of a mile away yet delighted in his flam- can’t blame them, I was in my head. the job was seeing the studios, which boyant act as the monsignor out for Where was the girl obsessed with “The included those of “The McLaughlin the second collection. Had the Hillary McLaughlin Group”? Group.” Clinton campaign needed information One year, I decided things would At some point Matthews told on how to interview Donald Trump, be different, that I would become the me to get as far away as I can, for as they needn’t have looked any further Eleanor Clift I had always known my- long as I can, from D.C., maybe go to than John McLaughlin. self to be. Despite being a social demo- Swaziland, as he did as a Peace Corps Whatever one’s feelings about crat, I got really, really into debunking volunteer—not because I wasn’t good, McLaughlin’s politics or rectitude, it is movement conservatism, which made but because he wanted me and every- hard to deny his righteous star power. me a lot of McLaughlin-like friends. body else to stay good. I never forgot. People are into the McLaughlin per- When I wasn’t taking classes about As graduation approached, some- sona, but also into what he conveys as the history of the modern conserva- thing in me snapped. By the time I a celebrity Jesuit: truth-seeking, con- tive movement, I was living it in my got back to school, Hurricane Katrina fronting doubt, sustained engagement academic work, my reporting for the footage was on TV 24/7. I had just with the world. He insisted on deco- campus newspaper and my social life. been in London after the public tran- rum and never fell for pious appeals to I would watch episodes of William F. sit bombings. Such events made shows “civility.” He was energized by a secular Buckley’s “Firing Line” for fun. Where like “The McLaughlin Group” seem in- mission rather than moved to despair. we were, conservatism was intellectual consequential. I experienced a spiritual Was John McLaughlin a “happy gamesmanship even for true believ- crisis, then floundered into inner-city warrior”? He hadn’t had the fire for ers, something you would hash out teaching and, eventually, medicine. quite some time. There was something to the death, then laugh about over a The political fantasy lost its potency. beatific about him in his prime. It beer (some were partial to port wine). Entry-level careers in the “helping wasn’t radiant calm, it was heat, right Many of the guys—and they were professions” are very hard on people, out of his eyebrow. Ite inflammate om- mostly guys—played debates by the in ways it is only now fashionable to nia. When I get bored reading pros- rules. There was something funda- come out about. I am brought low tate biopsies at work and want to talk mentally unserious about it. It was a every day. My career is a mixed bag: a about politics, I will have to remind diversion from deeper engagement, decade of low pay for punishing hours, myself all of them are his group. John like watching “The Simpsons” or, yes, extended stints in public health infra- McLaughlin has always complicated “The McLaughlin Group.” structure that should embarrass every my thinking like that. In my profes- As a litmus test for visitors, I tacked American—with the added awareness sional role as a pathologist, I am often David Brooks articles on the walls of that the people for whom I work have distracted by the news cycle’s oncologic my dorm room. It was a joke, like all it far worse. The work radicalizes the imagery: cancers, viral memes, foreign the shows I liked. What if a guy who witness, yet I didn’t think about voca- bodies, transplant rejection, autopsy was into politics had looked over, and tion at all, and still don’t, except in the reports. Prediction: John McLaughlin kept looking over? Would I introduce context of the show. A "pivot" from po- will outlive prostate cancer and create myself, liking that he laughed? I had all litical media to the helping professions a new hormonal therapy. the faith in the world that I could suc- is a cultural misfit, akin to that of en- Bye-bye, you magnificent beast. A

28 America October 3, 2016 Books & Culture

ART | LEO J. O’DONOVAN was born in 1891 in Columbus, Ga. Her father was a businessman, her IN LIVING COLOR mother a dressmaker. In 1907, Jim Crow racism led the family to move to Alma Thomas at the Studio Museum in Harlem Washington and to the home in which Thomas lived for the rest of her life. During high school she concentrat- ed on math and science but in 1924 became Howard University’s first graduate in fine arts. Ten years later she earned a master’s degree in arts education from Columbia University Teachers College and then between 1950 and 1960 worked on a master’s in fine arts in painting from American University. Thomas taught at Shaw Junior High School to support herself, and only after retiring in 1960 could she work entirely on her art. During her teaching years, she built patiently on the influences of James V. Herring at Howard and Jacob Kainen at American University. In the late 1940s she frequented the “little Paris salon” that Loïs Mailou Jones organized for black artists. Kainen introduced her to the Washington Color School painters, Kenneth Noland, Morris Louis, Gene Davis and Sam Gilliam. (Thomas’s work came to be associ- ated with this school, as well as with “Snoopy Sees Earth Wrapped in Sunset,” 1970 other abstract expressionists, but she herself resisted labels, including “black n an interview the African- and the “blackstream” art concerned artist,” and remained determinedly in- American artist Alma Thomas with civil rights in the era. “Through dependent.) During her summers at Igave in the last year of her life, color,” said this resolute artist, “I have Columbia she discovered the modern- she described light sifting through a sought to concentrate on beauty and ist artists shown at Alfred Stieglitz’s An holly tree outside the bay window of happiness, rather than on man’s inhu- American Place. And in Washington her home in Washington, D.C., as the manity to man.” Now a dazzling if rel- she helped to found the Barnett-Aden inspiration for her commitment to atively modest exhibition at the Studio Gallery, at the time one of the country’s abstraction. Her color harmonies, she Museum in Harlem—more than 50 few private galleries showing the work explained, were based on her flower paintings and works on paper—of- of African-American artists. beds—especially as imagined from fers a celebration both for those who The Studio Museum’s exhibition, above. In a late-blooming career, she already love her and those who soon the first overview of her work in al- had moved beyond polemics about will. most 20 years, is divided into four sec-

SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM; GIFT OF THE ARTIST SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART the “mainstream” of art for art’s sake The eldest of four sisters, Thomas tions: one briefly on the artist’s move to

October 3, 2016 America 29 Closer inspection quickly reveals that the stripes are composed of daubs or patches of color over a white ground and that you might as well be looking down on them from above rather than directly at them in front of you. A fur- ther organizational refinement occurs in the largest and best of these paint- ings, “Wind, Sunshine, and Flowers” (1968), in which slight separation be- tween the patches of color creates del- icate white arcs that loop rhythmically, as if in the wind, across the painting. Our aspiration begins with and re- turns to experience of the earth. Thomas had begun “to think about what I would see if I were in an air- plane,” and became enthusiastic about NASA’s space program, news of which abstraction, the next on imagery based These large, acrylic-on-canvas piec- she followed eagerly on her radio. The on abstractions drawn from nature, es seem at first to be stippled verti- resultant cosmic scenes, in structure then a gallery presenting work inspired cal, and sometimes circular, stripes of and color, resemble her other work by her interest in space technology and shimmering bright colors, harmonized of the period but convey still, after finally some splendid large pieces from so musically that your eye will dance almost 50 years, the thrill of early her later years. A generous selection of back and forth over their surface. space exploration. “Snoopy Sees Earth works on paper, largely from Wrapped in Sunset” (1970) the Columbus Museum of is a glowing red, yellow and Art in Georgia, and mostly orange globe set on a smudgy undated, also shows the art- rose background. It might ist working experimentally seem whimsical except that and honing her skills. “Snoopy” is what the astro- While the show does nauts called their wheeled include two semifigura- vehicle on the moon. A new tive sketches for her paint- optical effect appears here, as ing of the 1963 March on the white spaces between the Washington (in which she daubs of red can appear to be participated), “Yellow and just that or like glyphs on a Blue,” from 1959, signals her red ground. The same optical real direction, with daubs effect appears in the impos- of yellow tinged with char- ing “Starry Night and the treuse and turquoise blue Astronauts” (1972), which structured by black linear takes us out into the great elements and floating not on darkness of space with a flash but in an earthy red. With of sunset seen from a great another abstraction hang- distance. ing nearby it exudes a sense The year 1972 was of aspiration, a rising of the Thomas’s “banner year,” as spirit, which continues in the she said, with a solo exhibi- “Earth” series from 1968-69. tion at the Whitney Museum Above: “Yellow and Blue,” of American Art, the first 1959. Right: “Scarlet Sage Dancing a Whirling Dervish,” ever given to an African- 1976. American woman (she was

30 America October 3, 2016 80), and later that year another show at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington. At the Whitney she re- marked: “One of the things we couldn’t do was go into museums, let alone think of hanging our pictures there. My, times have changed. Just look at me now.” And look at her indeed. Despite se- vere arthritis and deteriorating eyesight, she continued in her 80s to paint large, jubilant paintings that moved on from the “Alma stripes” to a more purely ab- stract, mosaic-like, loosely structured work in a simplified, sometimes almost monochromatic palette. The wonder- fully free “Hydrangeas Spring Song” of 1976 carries you into the midst of the bursting blue forms of the hydran- geas. In “Cherry Blossom Symphony” (1973), one of a trio of paintings on that evanescent theme, pink daubs of paint are painted over faint underlayers of blues, greens and reds, and you are either walking under the trees or float- ing above them. Best of all is the surg- ing “Scarlet Sage Dancing a Whirling Dervish” (1976), with its brilliant scar- let patches subtly organized in 11 whirl- ing, round clusters, its energy gently echoed by “White Roses Sing and Sing,” also 1976, with white daubs (and a few yellow) on a green ground. When Thomas died in 1978, her reputation was established. But like many other women associated with Abstract Expressionism, she suffered in comparison with “the men.” Yet her art was as timeless as she claimed all creative art is, and it is a balm for us all that she is now receiving new recogni- tion. She is in fact a life-saver. “A world without color would seem dead,” she said in a 1972 interview. “Color, for me, is life.” See her at the Studio Museum through Oct. 30, or at one of the major museums that include her work—and come newly alive.

LEO J. O’DONOVAN, S.J., is president emer- itus of Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., and director of mission for Jesuit Refugee Service.

October 3, 2016 America 31 OF OTHER THINGS | DANIEL P. HORAN ST. FRANCIS IN FULL any people are familiar with that James had brought a leper into the This is certainly not the considerate, the popular stories and chapel from the leper hospice. When helpful and generous Francis of Assisi Mlegends about St. Francis Francis saw this, he snapped at James we are used to imagining. of Assisi. If pressed, a fair number of and reprimanded him for bringing the Why tell these stories? Christians could rattle off such clas- leper around the friars’ place of prayer. First, it is important that we re- sics as the story about him taming the The text explains that Francis reproved member not only the good works and wolf of Gubbio, hearing Christ at the James because he did not want to see extraordinary acts of the women and crucifix of San Damiano, encounter- lepers with “severe sores outside the men we venerate as saints but also ing Sultan Malek al-Kamil in Egypt hospital” left alone in the chapel where their weaknesses, failings and imper- and recreating the Christmas crèche other people often fections. This helps in Greccio, as well as any number of came because “people provide us with a his interactions with animals, lepers or usually abhorred lep- fuller and more hon- others. ers who had severe est picture of what But now that the Feast of St. sores.” Saints were makes these figures Francis is quickly approaching, I have This is certainly just like you so venerable in the been thinking about the stories that not the open-armed, first place. They were are not typically known, the narratives warm and embracing and me, sinful just like you and me, most people have never heard. Many of Francis of Assisi we and struggling sinful and struggling these lesser-known stories come from are used to imagining. at times. But they the early Franciscan friars and sisters Or how about the at times. also had the chance, who knew Francis personally and who time when the kitchen as we do, to respond recorded them for posterity. in a friary caught fire. to God’s grace in this What is striking about these sto- Sound familiar? Don’t world and make a ries is that they do not always portray worry; it wouldn’t be positive difference de- Francis in the best light. At times, he to many people. The spite inevitable stum- even comes across as not very saint- story goes that Francis bling and failures. like. Whereas the earliest biographies and a companion went Second, we tell sought to portray Francis as holy for into the kitchen after these stories to see the sake of a quick canonization, which prayer. The text of what the saints did was the request of Pope Gregory IX, the Assisi Compilation afterward, for it gives these other stories by “those who were continues: us a clue to how we might live. After with him” (as the texts were often cred- Francis publicly shamed James and the ited) were meant to present a more When blessed Francis came leper out of his own insecurity and multidimensional person: a holy man to eat in the cell where the fire fear, the would-be saint went to both for sure, but also a complex and fully was lit, the flames had already men and apologized, asked forgiveness human one, too. reached the roof of the cell and and made amends. After Francis wan- Take, for example, the story of were burning it. His companion dered into the forest without helping Francis and Brother James. James was tried his best to extinguish it, but his brother fight the fire, he later re- responsible for the physical care of could not do it by himself. But turned to confess that he did not want some lepers and served as a kind of Blessed Francis did not want to his favorite blanket to be destroyed nurse for many people with terrible help him: he took the hide that and again sought reconciliation and sores and wounds. One day, Francis he used to cover himself at night, gave his blanket away as penance. returned home after being away to find and went into the forest. Like Francis, we will struggle and sin. But also like Francis, we have the Rather than help his brother put opportunity to surrender our egos, DANIEL P. HORAN, O.F.M., a Franciscan out the fire, Francis puts on a blanket be vulnerable and seek reconciliation. friar and author, teaches theology at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Twitter: and goes outside by himself, leaving his Being a saint isn’t being without sin; it’s @DanHoranOFM. brother to fight the growing fire alone. about not letting sin have the last word.

32 America October 3, 2016 BOOKS | BARBARA CURTIN MILES texts have been incorrectly used to jus- tify reserving the Eucharist for only the A TOUCH OF HOPE “worthy.” Moloney continues with chapters A BODY BROKEN FOR A Francis’ call for research on biblical and on the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and BROKEN PEOPLE theological traditions regarding mar- Luke, examining in detail how each re- Divorce, Remarriage, and the riage and family. lates to stories of the “feeding miracles” Eucharist (third edition) Francis issued that challenge after the and the Last Supper. By Francis J. Moloney, S.D.B. October 2014 meeting of the Synod of The Fourth Gospel (John’s) has no Paulist Press. 320 p. $29.95 Bishops on the family. Moloney obliged explicit description of Christ changing in hopes that his research would assist bread and wine into his body and blood. Each time I attend Mass at my par- the bishops when the synod reconvened Instead, Moloney probes the eucharis- ish church, I struggle to discern: Am in October 2015. tic themes in Jesus’ sharing of a “morsel” I about to encounter my risen Lord, with the traitor Judas and in the risen who welcomes and loves me as I am, Lord’s appearance to two disheartened or am I about to commit a serious sin? disciples bound for Emmaus. My fellow divorced and remarried Moloney examines the context of Catholics will recognize this quan- each community being addressed, from dary. Our circumstances vary, but we the recent Corinthian converts of the share the knowledge that according to 50s C.E. to a new generation read- church law, many of us are no longer ing John in about 100 C.E. He raises welcome at the eucharistic table. points that these first audiences per- Two new publications bring fresh haps took for granted but that elude us insight, even hope, to those struggling two millennia later. with this issue. The first, of course, is Again and again, Moloney notes the Pope Francis’ “The Joy of Love” (April brokenness of those Jesus embraced: 8). The second is the subject of this tax collectors, prostitutes, gentiles, the review: A Body Broken for a Broken poor, the self-satisfied, the disabled, the People: Divorce, Remarriage and the troubled in mind. Jesus’ own disciples Eucharist, by Francis J. Moloney, S.D.B. quarreled about who would be first in “The Joy of Love,” Pope Francis’ ap- the kingdom. Peter denied the Lord ostolic exhortation, does not change three times, and Judas betrayed him. the church’s teachings on marriage and Yet Jesus loved each with a love family life. However, the pope asks However, the new edition of A passing all understanding. He shared pastors to “avoid judgments which do Body Broken deserves readership well his final meal with his fallible disciples, not take into account the complexity of beyond bishops and cardinals. It is a knowing that they would flee his cruci- various situations.” He emphasizes the valuable resource for all Christians fixion a few hours later. importance of individual conscience in who grapple with divorce and other Current church law limits the moral life, and he urges that divorced examples of the “broken body” that is Eucharist to those judged worthy—in and remarried couples be encouraged Christ’s church. this case, those who enjoy sacramental to participate in the church. He warns Moloney carefully guides readers marriages. But these laws may be based pastors against applying moral laws as through the biblical texts and early on a “distorted tradition,” Moloney if they were “stones to throw at people’s Christian traditions that shaped to- notes, quoting no less an authority than lives.” day’s understanding of the Eucharist. Joseph Ratzinger (then a professor, lat- “The Joy of Love” deserves first He writes clearly and concisely, saying er Pope Benedict XVI). claim on Catholics’ reading time, but what he plans to tell, telling it and re- Moloney concludes, “Our legisla- the 2016 edition of Moloney’s A Body capping what he has told. tion on marriage, divorce and admis- Broken makes an excellent companion He opens with the earliest descrip- sion to the eucharistic table should piece. tion of the eucharistic ritual and who accept the overwhelming evidence of Moloney, a prolific author and can participate: Paul’s admonitions the Eucharistic teaching of the New well-traveled scholar, revised and ex- to his fractious flock in 1 Corinthians Testament: The eucharist is Jesus panded an earlier work in response to 10 and 11. Moloney argues that these Christ’s presence among us in his body,

October 3, 2016 America 33 broken for a broken people. Members the depth of the author’s research. off may be salutary. If the leaders and of the community who have married Some may dismiss Pope Francis’ citizens of the United States are to and subsequently divorced, but who “The Joy of Love” as an act of expedi- achieve any understanding of why the retain their commitment to Christ and ency—a ploy to make church teach- only remaining superpower, the “indis- his Church belong to those broken ings more palatable so the institution pensable nation,” has been so stymied people” (Moloney’s italics). can survive. However, A Body Broken in our military interventions through This is a controversial thesis, but makes a case for change based on bib- six administrations in this world-his- Moloney brings impressive creden- lical scholarship and the church’s au- torical crucible, Bacevich’s book may tials to this discussion. An Australian thentic traditions. It offers reassurance itself prove indispensable. Salesian priest, he earned advanced that the pope and many bishops are on Bacevich’s Greater Middle East degrees in Rome and at the University solid ground. includes 15 nations and three re- of Oxford. He has published many It may be years before the bishops’ gions from the west coast of Africa books and studies, especially on the discussions and “The Joy of Love” can to Pakistan in the east, from Bosnia Gospel of John. He has taught in be translated into changes in church in the north to Somalia in the south, Europe, Israel, Australia, East Asia law. However, I personally rejoice at and most notably Iran, Iraq and and the United States. In recent years the prospect of a more welcoming, less Afghanistan. Thirty-eight campaigns he was professor of New Testament judgmental church. and operations are identified by scope and dean of the School of Theology I would like to return to confes- and type. He counts 17 punitive at- and Religious Studies at The Catholic sion—a solace I have avoided for fear tacks, of which six were major and University of America, then provincial that I won’t receive absolution. I’m two were followed by occupation, and superior of the Salesians of Don Bosco hopeful that my loving, prayerful sec- fewer instances of peacekeeping, hu- in Australia and the Pacific. ond marriage (to a divorced Lutheran) manitarian interventions, raids or res- Scholars will appreciate that the can be blessed in some way. cues and recoveries, deterrent actions, chapters are heavily footnoted, inviting A Body Broken offers reason for demonstrations/trainings and general them to plunge deeper into the matter. hope among all God’s broken people. force projection. The notes are so readable that even ca- On the other hand, Bacevich re- sual readers may accept that invitation. BARBARA CURTIN MILES is a retired journal- peatedly refers to four Gulf Wars, not A 27-page bibliography demonstrates ist in Oregon. only to the war to liberate Kuwait from Saddam Hussein and the war to liber- ate Iraq itself from the dictator, but ROGER BERGMAN also to the war between Iraq and Iran, 1980-88, in which the United States GRIEF AND GLORY supported Hussein (“thereby embold- ening him”), and finally the Fourth AMERICA’S WAR FOR THE clusions about this war in the Islamic Gulf War, dating from 2013, when “the GREATER MIDDLE EAST world, now in its fourth decade. “We new Iraqi order proved itself unable to A Military History have not won it. We are not winning stand on its own.” There does seem to By Andrew J. Bacevich it. Simply trying harder is unlikely to be a narrative here, with many twists Random House. 453p $30 produce a different outcome.” and turns, but what drives it? Readers may wonder why Bacevich’s In 1980, our “least bellicose” presi- Andrew Bacevich is clear about what title puts “war” in the singular and dent observed that “’the region which he hopes to accomplish in America’s yokes together seemingly disparate is now threatened by Soviet troops in War for the Greater Middle East: A presidential actions, like Carter’s at- Afghanistan is of great strategic im- Military History. He will link “aims to tempt to rescue the hostages in Iran, portance: It contains more than two- actions to consequences” regarding the Reagan’s intervention in Lebanon, G. thirds of the world’s exportable oil.… role of the U.S. military from 1980 to H. W. Bush’s intervention in Kuwait, An attempt by any outside force to the present. Bacevich, a 1969 graduate Clinton’s peacekeeping missions in gain control of the Persian Gulf region of West Point who served 23 years be- Bosnia and Kosovo, G. W. Bush’s in- will be regarded as an assault on the fore retiring as a colonel, and who re- vasion of Iraq and Obama’s return of vital interests of the United States of cently retired from teaching diplomatic troops to Afghanistan last year. Surely America, and...will be repelled by any history at Boston University, does not this claim would test any author’s pow- means necessary, including military shy away from expressing his own con- ers of comprehensiveness. But the pay- force.’” This was the Carter Doctrine.

34 America October 3, 2016

In 2002, George W. Bush carved out is the urgent requirement of our na- his countrymen peculiarly susceptible.” an exception to the 1946 Nuremberg tion’s security, and the calling of our In his introduction to the 2008 re- Tribunal’s condemnation of preven- time.” publication of The Irony of American tive war. “‘If we wait for threats to Bacevich’s comment on this glo- History, “the most important book fully materialize,’ Bush warned, ‘we balization of American ever written about U.S. will have waited too long.’” According ideals as a matter of foreign policy,” Bacevich to Bacevich, “this defined the essence American security is asserts that Niebuhr of what now became known as the withering. “In reality, as “provides the master Bush Doctrine...[which]...traced its the course of the fester- key...to understanding lineage back to Carter’s declaration of ing war in Iraq had am- the myths and delu- 1980 that had initiated the War for ply demonstrated, in- sions that underpin this the Greater Middle East by tying the dulging the conceit that new American view of American way of life to control of the America is history’s statecraft.“ Persian Gulf.” chosen instrument of “Niebuhr once ob- How did freedom, the quintessen- liberation is more like- served,” continues tial American value, become identified ly to produce grief than Bacevich, “that the with unfettered access to cheap and glory.” But even more wealth and power of abundant oil from halfway around daringly, Bacevich ar- the United States pre- the world? Bacevich points out that gues that Bush’s “expec- sented ‘special tempta- in 1948, George Kennan, an influen- tations of ending tyranny by spread- tions to vanity and arrogance which tial architect of postwar policy, “noted ing American ideals mirrored Osama militate against our moral prestige and that the United States then possessed bin Laden’s dream of establishing authority.’” That is indeed the irony ‘about 50 percent of the world’s wealth a new caliphate based on Islamic of American history, nowhere more but only 6.3 percent of its population.’ principles. When put to the test, the tragically embodied than in America’s The challenge...was to ‘devise a pat- president’s vision of peace gained by War for the Greater Middle East, as so tern of relationships which permit us waging preventive war had proven to comprehensively demonstrated in this to maintain this position of disparity be just as fanciful as bin Laden’s and epochal book. without positive detriment to our na- hardly less pernicious.” tional security.’” What Kennan went Bacevich mentions only one theo- ROGER BERGMAN is director of the Justice & on to say, but which Bacevich doesn’t logian. “Decades before...Reinhold Peace Studies Program at Creighton University recount, is that we “need not deceive Niebuhr had chided Americans about in Omaha, Neb. He is the author of Catholic Social Learning: Educating the Faith That ourselves that we can afford today the entertaining ‘dreams of managing his- Does Justice (Fordham, 2011) and is working luxury of altruism and world-benefac- tory,’ a temptation to which he deemed on a book on selective conscientious objection. tion…. We should cease to talk about vague and…unreal objectives such as STEPHEN J. POPE human rights and the raising of liv- ing standards, and democratization…. HELP THEM HELP THEMSELVES The less we are hampered by idealistic slogans, the better.” DOING GOOD…SAYS WHO? ed by the mass media but also by phil- This comment is much to Bacevich’s Stories From Volunteers, anthropic organizations and churches. own point because the Bush Doctrine Nonprofits, Donors, and Those It reinforces rather than resists the was about more than preventive war. They Want to Help division of the world into “haves” and After his re-election, the president By Connie Newton and Fran Early “have nots.” It tacitly justifies the ar- made explicit the larger vision of the Two Harbors Press. 178p $14.99 rogance of the former and the disem- 2003 invasion. “From the day of our powerment of the latter. Founding, we have proclaimed that Service has become more and more im- Connie Newton and Fran Early’s every man and woman on this earth portant to Catholic parishes, schools Doing Good...Says Who? addresses pre- has rights, and dignity, and matchless and universities. Many people take it cisely this problem. Newton organized value, because they bear the image of for granted that service is a matter of immersion trips to Latin America, the Maker of Heaven and earth…. good people helping the needy. This established an experiential education- Advancing these ideals is the mission paternalistic understanding of charity al program for a microcredit organi- that created our Nation…. Now it is reinforced by stereotypes perpetuat- zation and worked as a partner with

36 America October 3, 2016 indigenous women in the highlands placed by top-down charity. nally leery of outsiders. She is successful of Guatemala. In addition to having The second chapter tells the story of because she has been informed by her a successful career in human resourc- “Lucy,” a volunteer who is given respon- friendship with local people. es for a major American corporation, sibility for organizing a church-spon- Newton and Early provide an es- Early dedicated herself for more than sored clinic in the rural highlands of pecially strong depiction of what it two decades to the Greater Boston Guatemala. Rather than live in more means to work “with” rather than “for” Interfaith Organization and to inter- comfortable surroundings, she decides people. Some well-meaning Americans cultural education and community or- to live in the village where the clinic thought they would help some villag- ganizing in Guatemala. will be located so that ers by giving them a one-time gift of Doing Good…Says she can really know the sewing machines and materials so that Who? is based on its people she intends to they could make and sell handbags. authors’ decades of con- serve. Lucy’s immersion The villagers produced inexpensive crete experience with enables her to give use- bags that put previously successful well-meaning volun- ful advice to short-term local artisans out of business. Once teers who have tried to volunteer doctors and they had used the materials they had “do good” for people in nurses: Listen first, dress been given, the new producers stopped marginalized communi- conservatively and “No producing and went out of business. ties in Central America. giveways. No coins. No American philanthropists thought This book distills the candy. Nothing. What they were “doing good,” but in fact their extensive qualitative you do here will affect generosity had unforeseen destructive research and extensive the climate of our work effects. If gifts represent doing “for” personal experience of and the expectations of people, loans are a better mechanism two highly involved, the town for every team for doing “with” people because they down-to-earth and practically ide- of volunteers who come after you.” Lucy involve shared decision-making, pay- alistic activists. Their “roadmap” for gradually learns how to get the clinic ment schedules, personal or group in- doing good is based on observing five built, maintained and patronized by vestment and planning. key guiding principles or imperatives: community members who were origi- The second half of the book stresses Respect people and value their agency, build trust through relationships, do Applications are due by Nov. 11, 2016. Decisions “with” rather than “for,” ensure feed- CLASSIFIED will be made by Feb. 17, 2017. Communications back and accountability and evaluate Positions should be addressed to Prof. James Bernauer, every step of the way. After a helpful S.J. ([email protected]), Director, Center for 2017-18 CORCORAN VISITING CHAIR Christian-Jewish Learning, Stokes Hall N405, introductory overview, the book dedi- in Christian-Jewish Relations. Boston College Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 USA. cates one chapter to each of these im- and its Center for Christian-Jewish Learning invite applications for a one-year visiting ap- peratives. pointment (renewable for a second year) as the Translator The key points of each chapter are 2017-18 Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian- LUIS BAUDRY-SIMÓN, TRANSLATOR illustrated through narratives. The Jewish Relations, specializing in some aspect (from English into Spanish): newsletters, arti- of the relationship between Christianity and cles, essays, websites, pastoral letters, ministry chapter on respecting and valuing peo- Judaism. Candidates must hold a Ph.D. or its resources, motivational conferences, spirituality ple begins by recalling an American earned equivalent, have published in the field and material, etc. Contact: luisbaudrysimon@gmail. volunteer who, moved by encountering hold (or have retired from) a tenured position com (815) 694-0713. hungry children, wants to “just feed (or its equivalent) in a university or seminary. Applications from all relevant disciplines are wel- people.” More experienced observers, come. The Corcoran Chair will agree to take on WANT YOUR however, let her know that this move specific responsibilities related to the mission of AD HERE? can be perceived as potentially insult- the Center. Stipend: $73,544/academic year plus travel and research expenses. The full description Visit americamagazine.org. ing the very people whom it intends to is available at www.bc.edu/cjl. A list of previ- Email: [email protected]. help. An alternative, more respectful ous Chairs, and their conferences and courses Call 212-515-0102. model sketches the work of local wom- during their tenures, is also available online. Electronic submission of the following are re- Ten-word minimum. Rates are per word per en who form teams and cook hot meals quested: letter of application, C.V. and a propos- issue. 1-5 times: $2; 6-11 times: $1.75; 12-23 for their community every day. People al for the research and writing to be done while times: $1.50; 24 or more times: $1.25. For an are invited to contribute whatever they holding the Chair, including an indication of how additional $30, your print ad will be posted on can—food, energy, time—and their these fit into the guidelines above. Two letters of America’s Web site for one week. The flat rate recommendation should be submitted directly. for a Web-only classified ad is $150 for 30 days. agency is acknowledged rather than re-

October 3, 2016 America 37 the local context of decision-making take off. This case shows how dialogue and accountability. Newton and Early between an N.G.O. and a local co-op report on the usefulness of microfi- led to a win-win situation: a successful nance, the “penny capitalism” of small innovation made possible by external businesses and “trust banks” based on funding but acted upon by an ener- a group’s social capital. While it is nec- gized women’s group. essary to evaluate every project at every This short book is packed with step of the way, “doing good” is most valuable insights for anyone engaged in effectively accomplished when it is service. It is a must-read for students driven by the particular needs, aspira- or adults seeking to “do good” either lo- tions and values of local communities. cally or overseas. Newton and Early do When a women’s co-op wanted a loan not discuss religious convictions, but to raise chickens and sell eggs, the non- their guidelines are completely consis- governmental organization they ap- tent with what one finds in the Jesuit proached wanted to fund a project that Refugee Service’s practice of accom- involved producing and selling scented paniment and the ethic of “kinship” of soap to tourists. The women saw the Greg Boyle, S.J. This book would be value of chickens but had no interest especially valuable for service learning in travelling to the city to sell expensive courses in high schools and colleges, soap that they never saw anyone use. parish and campus ministry retreats The impasse was overcome when the and workshops for volunteer organi- women realized they might be able to zations. sell soap at a tourist stop near their vil- lage. They learned how to make scent- STEPHEN J. POPE is a professor of theological ed soap, and their business began to ethics at Boston College.

America (ISSN 0002-7049) is published weekly (except for 13 combined issues: Jan. 4-11, 18-25, April 4-11, May 23-30, June 6-13, 20-27, July 4-11, 18-25, Aug. 1-8, 15-22, Aug. 29-Sept. 5, Dec. 5-12, 19-26) by America Press Inc., 106 West 56th Street, New York, NY 10019. Periodical postage is paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing offices. Circulation: (800) 627-9533. Subscription: United States $69 per year; add U.S. $30 postage and GST (#131870719) for Canada; or add U.S. $69 per year for international priority airmail. Postmaster: Send address changes to: America, P.O. Box 293159, Kettering, OH 45429.

38 America October 3, 2016 THE WORD

But was not the Samaritan already well even before he came back praising Along the Road God and giving thanks to Jesus? Jesus TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (C), OCT. 9, 2016 had healed him as well as the nine Readings: 2 Kgs 5:14-17; Ps 98:1-4; 2 Tm 2: 8-13; Lk 17:5-10 others who had leprosy. It was only the Samaritan who returned to thank “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well” (Lk 17:19) Jesus for his healing. he story of 10 lepers be- desire to be healed of their afflictions. But how is that evidence of faith- ing healed is found only in And since the lepers call out to Jesus by fulness instead of thankfulness? Luke’s Gospel and represents name, they seem to have some previous Faithfulness is demonstrated in two T ways. One, the Samaritan recognizes an event that takes place as Jesus and knowledge of him. They also call him that mercy has come from Jesus, and his apostles are travelling toward “Master” (epistata), a word that occurs Jerusalem. Though short, the account only in Luke’s Gospel and, except for returning to thank Jesus is a form of is full of salvific meaning. Numerous this passage, is used only by Jesus’ faithfulness to the mercy of God that scholars have pointed to the geograph- disciples. This calling after has been made manifest; and ical difficulty in the description of Jesus Jesus already indicates a two, the Samaritan’s thank- “going through the region between modicum of faith. fulness for his physical heal- Samaria and Galilee,” since no such When Jesus sees them, ing shows evidence of deep- geographical region exists, but Joseph he sends them to the er, spiritual healing, which Fitzmyer, S.J., must be correct when he priests, who will deter- is our true salvation. It is says the geographical reference, what- mine according to the here that the odd geograph- ever its difficulties on a map, “alerts the law of Moses, specifically ical phrase “between Samaria reader once again...to the evangelist’s Leviticus 14, whether they theological concern to move Jesus to have been healed of leprosy. the city of destiny, where salvation is The lepers immediately demon- PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE to be definitively achieved for human strate their faith by following Jesus’ Consider the 10 lepers. All were healed beings” (Luke, Vol. 2). instruction even though they still physically, but only one returned to This unique account also alerts us have their disease. Only as they are thank Jesus. Have you given thanks for God’s mercy in your life? How have you once again that the salvation that Jesus on their way, do we find out that shown your faithfulness to God? Have you is traveling toward Jerusalem to accom- “they were made clean.” Jesus re- reached out to those people today who plish is intended for all people. The 10 sponds to their cries for mercy by might be considered beyond God’s mercy and salvation? lepers, after all, comprise a group of drawing from them an act of faith ART: TAD DUNNE TAD ART: people excluded from community life that results in their physical healing. because of their medical condition, But only the Samaritan turns back and Galilee” makes sense. The bound- and one leper was considered to have to praise God and (literally translated) ary lines between who might be saved, been doubly excluded because of his “fell before his feet” and thanks Jesus. leper or clean, Samaritan or Jew, have ethnicity. He was a Samaritan. Jesus asks rhetorically, “Were not 10 been breached. The Samaritan’s re- The lepers, “keeping their distance,” made clean? But the other nine, where turn allows Jesus to demonstrate that call out to Jesus, not specifically to heal are they? Was none of them found to no one, not a leper, nor a Samaritan, is them but to “have mercy on us!” Their return and give praise to God except beyond God’s mercy. Anyone can ex- call for mercy, though, must indicate a this foreigner?” This questioning is de- perience God’s salvation, shout with signed not for the missing nine or the joy for it, praise God for it and walk Samaritan, but for the consideration of along the same road Jesus is travelling. JOHN W. MARTENS is a professor of theology Jesus’ disciples and curious onlookers. Between Samaria and Galilee, there at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn. Twitter: @BibleJunkies. What does it mean that only “this for- is only the kingdom of God, in which eigner” returned to thank God? salvation is available to all who call out Jesus then addresses the healed for mercy and respond to God’s call Samaritan: “Get up and go on your with thankfulness and praise. way; your faith has made you well.” JOHN W. MARTENS

October 3, 2016 America 39