July 16-23,America 2007 THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC WEEKLY $2.75 Benedict XVI: Peacemaker Drew Christiansen

The Partial-Birth Decision by Ellen K. Boegel Rebuilding Christ’s Church by Martin Pable Andrew M. Greeley on Ireland HAVE JUST RETURNED from a two- him on our way home from a trip to week trip to Ireland, where we London. His energy was quite low, and he America enjoyed long days and surprisingly required the use of a cane. Still he relished Published by Jesuits of the sunny weather. It was my fourth trip, playing the host, treating us to dinner at Ibut the first time that I visited without an Italian restaurant, encouraging us to Editor in Chief seeing an old friend, Father Maurice order wine and appetizers. Before we said Drew Christiansen, S.J. Reidy, who died last summer. our goodbyes he was clear about his prog- Yes, Maurice Reidy. No, we weren’t nosis: he had only a short time left. Managing Editor related. Father Maurice met my father in Visiting Ireland this June, I was keenly Robert C. Collins, S.J. the 1960’s when he was visiting New aware of the changes that have come to the Business Manager York. He decided to eat at a Manhattan land of my great grandparents: prosperity, restaurant that bore his surname, and development and, as many have pointed Lisa soon he and my father became fast out, a decline in Catholic vocations and Editorial Director friends. Maurice was a teacher of moral practice. In one Galway town no daily at Holy Cross College, Clonliffe, Mass was available because of the priest Karen Sue Smith the archdiocesan seminary in Dublin. He shortage. A church in Mayo bore a plaque Online Editor wrote a number of books on medical thanking the Christian Brothers for their ethics and spirituality, including The I 100-plus years of service to the community. Maurice Timothy Reidy Believe In and Why (Columba), which he I regret I never spoke to Maurice Associate Editors finished shortly before he died. about the changes in the Irish church. I met Maurice when I was just 13. He Though he was not given to nostalgia, it Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J. invited my brother and me to stay with must have been difficult for him to wit- George M. Anderson, S.J. him for three weeks in Dublin and ness the passing of an era. Clonliffe, the Dennis M. Linehan, S.J. Wexford, where he had a summer home. I seminary where he taught, was closed James Martin, S.J. felt a special connection with Maurice shortly after he stopped teaching there. because we Few young James P. McDermott, S.J. shared the same men seemed Literary Editor name. I was interested in named after my Of Many Things the life that Patricia A. Kossmann grandfather, but he had cho- Poetry Editor since childhood I have been called Tim sen. because my first name is too often man- But I doubt Maurice dwelt on these James S. Torrens, S.J. gled by the American tongue. (It’s matters. I suspect he would have agreed Maurice as in Morris, not “Maw-reese” as with his bishop, Diarmuid Martin, who Assistant Editor in Chevalier.) In Ireland I met what believes that the Irish church needs to be Francis W. Turnbull, S.J. seemed like a dozen other Maurice more creative in reaching out to a new Reidys, all related to our host. It was a generation of Catholics (see Father Design and Production great thrill for me. Andrew Greeley’s observations in this Stephanie Ratcliffe I did not see Maurice again until 2001, issue, page 20). Maurice undertook just when I returned to Ireland on my honey- this kind of project with his last book. The Advertising moon. My wife and I stayed with him at God I Believe In and Why is based on a Julia Sosa his house outside Dublin, where he pre- series of interviews Maurice conducted. pared a lovely dinner for us. By then he Two of his subjects were committed was quite ill, having contracted Wegener’s Catholics; two had left the church. The 106 West 56th Street granulomatosis, a rare and serious vascular book is an extended argument for faith, New York, NY 10019-3803 disease that left him sapped of energy. Yet but Maurice does not dictate his beliefs to Ph: 212-581-4640; Fax: 212-399-3596. he still found time to chat with us about his subjects; he seeks to persuade them. E-mail: [email protected]; our careers, and we discovered that we Maurice lived longer than the doctors [email protected]. had many things in common. He was a predicted. He died in August, 11 years Web site: www.americamagazine.org. great reader, and kept The Tablet within after his first diagnosis. One of his closest Customer Service: 1-800-627-9533. easy reach. friends told me that he was a man of great © 2007 America Press, Inc. Even though he had known me only as trust. He placed his trust in his doctors, in a child, Maurice treated me as an adult, his friends and most of all in his God. Cover art “Saint Francis of Assisi Before soliciting my opinion on political and reli- Along with Cardinal Newman, a man he the Sultan” by Giotto di Bondone. Photo: gious matters. Before leaving, we pledged deeply admired, he could say: “Therefore, Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY. to keep in touch by e-mail, and over the I will trust him.... If I am in sickness, my In 1219 Francis went on a pilgrimage next few years we exchanged long letters. sickness may serve him; in perplexity, my to , where he crossed the lines Once he was kind enough to offer a cri- perplexity may serve him; if I am in sor- between the sultan and the Crusaders in tique of an article I had published. row, my sorrow may serve him.... He does Damietta and challenged the Muslim The last time I saw Maurice was in nothing in vain.” scholars to a test of true religion by fire; 2004. Knowing that he was ill, we visited Maurice Timothy Reidy but they retreated. www.americamagazine.org Vol. 197 No. 2, Whole No. 4780 July 16-23, 2007 Articles 10 Benedict XVI: Peacemaker 10 Drew Christiansen For Benedict, diplomacy and the care of souls fit together like hand in glove.

The Partial-Birth Decision 17 Ellen K. Boegel Criticism of the Supreme Court shows confusion about the role of religious values in a democratic society. Current Comment 4 17 Editorial Green Renaissance 5 Signs of 6 Reflection Place 9 Big Dreams, Daily Details Margaret Silf Of Other Things What Ever Happened to Ireland? 20 20 Andrew M. Greeley Faith in Focus Rebuilding Christ’s Church 22 Martin Pable Book Reviews 24 God’s Continent; Bambi vs.Godzilla; Bridge and Tunnel Letters 29 The Word 30 Both Mary and Martha; Surprising Teachings on Prayer Daniel J. Harrington Current Comment

Fool’s Errand? Giuliani of his responsibility for mistakes made in the Once more it appears that the United States, Israel, aftermath of the 1993 attack: locating the emergency Palestine and their Arab neighbors might have a chance to response center at the World Trade Center and failing to make progress, if not toward peace, then at least toward provide the communications technology and command alleviating the oppressive effects of the Israeli occupation structure that would have allowed city agencies to respond of the . The parties’ seriousness of commitment to the 2001 attack in a better coordinated manner. about improving the living conditions on the West Bank, At the same time, a review of the response of the fed- however, is far from clear. In an effort to lower expecta- eral government and agencies to both the tions prior to the Arab-Israeli summit June 25, Israeli 1993 and the 2001 attacks is too important for partisan Prime Minister Ehud Olmert played it as a photo op, political sniping. We must be able to learn from the mis- where “the entire Arab world will see two very prominent takes of the past, and we do not impugn the heroism of national leaders [Jordanian King Abdullah II and Egyptian the victims of past attacks when we question decisions that President Hosni Mubarak] shaking hands with the head of may have contributed to their deaths. the Palestinian Authority and the prime minister of the state of Israel, together” and talking peace. Even before the meeting took place, however, it was A Great Mystery clear that the Israelis had rejected American proposals to Few ecclesiastical procedures are as misunderstood as the re-initiate final status talks with the . When annulment process. Many Catholics find it difficult to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was named spe- believe that the church can declare a marriage “null” after cial envoy to the later in the week, authorities a couple has been married and, in some cases, had children stipulated that his mandate extended only to advising the together. Recent reports that the annulment of Joseph P. Palestinians on improving their government and economic Kennedy’s marriage was reversed by the Vatican will only structures. With sidelined in Gaza, peace talks off further muddy the waters. the table and Mr. Blair without leverage on Israel, his mis- Kennedy, the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, was sion threatens to be a fool’s errand. Last year another tal- granted an annulment in 1993 after he separated from his ented statesman, former World Bank President James M. first wife, Sheila Rauch. The couple had been married for Wolfensohn, resigned in frustration from a similar role for 12 years and had two children together. Rauch mounted a lack of support from the United States and Israel. One can campaign to reverse the annulment, publishing a book only pray Mr. Blair will succeed where others have not. (Shattered Faith) strongly criticizing the annulment pro- cess, claiming that Kennedy had used his family’s influence to obtain the decree. The Vatican apparently reversed its Blame the Terrorists? decision in 2005, but Rauch was not notified until May of In a sharp exchange with a Congressional committee this year, after the document had been translated from investigating the federal government’s response to envi- Latin. ronmental concerns after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, Contrary to a common misconception about annul- Christie Whitman, the former head of the Environmental ments, the granting of an annulment does not mean that a Protection Agency, insisted that those responsible for wedding never took place or that children born of a union health hazards at the site were “the terrorists who attacked are illegitimate. Rather, an annulment is a declaration that the United States, not the men and women at all levels of according to church law, the marriage was not a sacramen- government who worked heroically to protect and defend tal union because certain essential elements were not pre- this country.” In testifying before the 9/11 Commission, sent. Unfortunately, many people believe that money and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani responded in influence play a decisive role in the granting of annul- similar terms when questioned about the failure of city ments. agencies to plan for another terrorist attack in the after- The annulment process is necessarily a private one, math of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. dealing in the intimate details of a couple’s life together, so Blaming the terrorists for misleading assurances about it is difficult to assess how these decisions are arrived at in the quality of the air in lower Manhattan and the failure to particular cases. Nonetheless, it seems clear that the insist that workers at ground zero wear respirators was not church needs to do a better job explaining how annul- an answer calculated to satisfy Mrs. Whitman’s ments are obtained. For too many Catholics the process Congressional critics. Nor can such a defense absolve Mr. remains a great mystery.

4 America July 16-23, 2007 Editorial Green Renaissance

NE YEAR AFTER THE RELEASE of Al Gore’s industry remains like that of the cigarette business before Academy Award-winning film on climate them, seeking to convince consumers that they do not change, “An Inconvenient Truth,” and two need to quit, they just need the right filter. Some business- years after the devastation wrought by es are investigating the storage of carbon underwater or Hurricane Katrina, Americans seem finally underground, solutions that demand little change on their Oto have accepted the reality of climate change and the part while creating new, unseen environmental problems. need for “greener” living. Indeed, while the federal gov- Sequestration underwater, for instance, would keep carbon ernment continues to drag its feet, innovative state and out of the atmosphere but raise the acidity of the water local initiatives, coupled with changing consumer attitudes, and harm undersea life. Likewise, the effectiveness of the are generating the beginnings of a veritable renaissance in carbon trading market, in which businesses that produce environmental practices. less than their allotment of carbon are given credits they No state has received more attention than California. can sell to businesses that produce too much carbon, Newsweek recently dubbed Governor Arnold remains inconclusive. Schwarzenegger “The Green Giant” for the numerous Poverty needs attention because of the vulnerability of plans he and the state legislature have undertaken to the poor and because of the ecological damage caused by reduce carbon production and spur business innovation, people forced to live on the margins. As both the tsunami including state-mandated cuts in carbon emissions, a pro- in and Hurricane Katrina revealed, changes in posed 33 percent increase in car fuel efficiency by 2009 our climate disproportionately affect the poorest among and plans for a hydrogen fuel network along the Pacific us, who lack the resources to ensure their own safety. Yet Coast Highway. poor countries are also among the most egregious pol- Yet California is by no means alone. To cut the green- luters. To people struggling for their very survival, the house gases emitted by buildings, for instance—which needs of the present vastly outweigh concerns about long- account for a staggering 50 percent to 70 percent of the term environmental harm or sustainability. greenhouse gases produced in cities—the city of Chicago has installed grass on two million square feet (the equiva- THE GREENING OF THE WEST has so far done little to alter our lent of 40 football fields) of roof space, including the levels of consumption. If anything, the growing consumer largest green roof installation in the world, 24.5 acres at interest in environmentally safe products is stimulating Millennium Park. The grass acts as a natural insulation, buyer demand. Going green has become the newest fad, reducing air conditioning needs in summer and heat loss with rock stars for spokespersons and product lines at the in winter. Meanwhile, Austin, Tex., has set itself the goal Gap. The idea that the pool of resources is limited seems of making all of its houses zero-energy-capable—that is, difficult for us to comprehend. Perhaps because we come able to function without drawing energy from the power from a culture of riches and possibilities, we believe that grid—by the year 2015. Salt Lake City, Boston and New we can have our cake (even if it is carbon free) and eat it, York City all have efforts underway to “hybridize” their too. There is a great need for Catholics and others to help taxis. bring awareness of the world’s fragile reality to our well- American business has responded positively to these intentioned but overfed American population. changes. Energy-efficient electronic devices abound, as do Still, there is already much to celebrate. For over a green product lines in everything from home cleaning sup- generation, individuals and small groups have been talking plies to clothing. Segments of the automobile and energy about climate change and working to develop solutions. industries are likewise seriously engaged in the develop- Most of the time, their work has been relegated to the ment of alternate fuels and sources of energy. The capture margins. Today the American public is finally beginning to and use of solar and wind energy continues to improve catch up. We must be ready, however, to assess whether dramatically, to the point that many houses could today be the “green” solutions offered us by government policy or powered by a set of solar panels. the market will prepare a sustainable future on the planet To some degree, however, the stance of the energy or simply pass the problem on to the next generation.

July 16-23, 2007 America 5 Signs of the Times

Chaldean Bishop Calls for U.S. Withdrawal From Chinese Government Calls Bishops’ Meeting Catholic bishops who have registered with the Chinese government were called to a two-day meeting in Beijing in late June. Some bishops contacted by UCA News, an Asian church news agency, said they believed the June 28-29 meeting was relat- ed to an expected letter from Pope Benedict XVI to Catholics in mainland ; others said they did not know why the meeting was called. The pope promised to write such a pastoral letter after a summit meeting took place Jan. 19- 20 at the Vatican to discuss the situation of the in China. The letter, which Pope Benedict reportedly signed May 27, is generally expected to be released soon. Vatican sources have said that as a courtesy the letter would be sent to the Chinese government before it is released publicly. Anthony Liu Bainian, vice chairman of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, confirmed to UCA News June 27 that the bishops were invit- ed to a June 28-29 meeting to discuss cele- Ibrahim N. Ibrahim brating the patriotic association’s golden jubilee. He denied that the meeting has U.S. troops should withdraw and let Iraqi sioned sermon at a special Mass at Mother any connection to the papal letter. factions fight it out, the bishop for most of God (Chaldean) Cathedral in the Iraqi Catholics in the United States said Detroit suburb of Southfield, where the June 19. “Let the Iraqis kill each other, eparchy has its headquarters. The Mass, Cardinal Praises Bush for but let the occupying power get out, which drew close to 1,000 people, was cel- because they are not killing each other ebrated to memorialize the recently slain Stem Cell Veto because they are Sunni or Shiite, but Chaldean priest Ragheed Aziz Ganni and President George W. Bush vetoed a bill because they are with the Americans or the three subdeacons who were killed with on June 20 that would expand federal against the Americans,” said Chaldean him, as well as to pray for all those who funding for medical research on human Catholic Bishop Ibrahim N. Ibrahim. The have died in the fighting in Iraq, including embryonic stem cells, saying it “would head of the Eparchy of St. Thomas the U.S. troops, and for the safety of Iraq’s compel American taxpayers, for the first Apostle made the comments in an impas- remaining Christians. time in our history, to support the delib- erate destruction of human embryos.” Cardinal of Philadelphia, Christians in Particular Suffer Human Rights Abuse chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee Human rights are not respected in Iraq, to join him in demanding that “all Iraqis, on Pro-Life Activities, praised the veto. and Christians in particular are suffering, Muslims and Christians have their “This bill would not actually enhance said Chaldean Patriarch Emmanuel- human rights respected.” The Rev. Leo stem-cell research, but divert federal Karim Delly of . “I have asked Lemmens, Roaco’s general, funds from legitimate research toward everyone to pray for us and to do some- told Vatican Radio, “Christians are being avenues requiring the destruction of thing to reawaken the world’s con- killed or thrown out of their homes innocent human life,” he said. “The cause science,” the patriarch told Vatican before the eyes of those who are sup- of science is not enhanced but diminished Radio June 20 at the end of a Vatican posed to be responsible for their securi- when it loses its moral compass.” In con- meeting of church funding agencies for ty.” Father Lemmens said, “Christians junction with the veto, Bush issued an Eastern churches, known by its Italian always have lived in Iraq and have done executive order calling on federal agen- acronym, Roaco. The patriarch said he everything possible to contribute to its cies to strengthen the nation’s commit- has asked the , the development along with their Muslim ment to research on pluripotent stem and other organizations brothers and sisters.” cells. Adult stem cells from a variety of

6 America July 16-23, 2007 sources, including bone marrow, the pla- churches. It included a review of the cor- Philippine Culture a centa and umbilical-cord blood, have led respondence with the since Leaven in U.S. Society to successful treatments for a number of 1991 on the validity of the Polish diseases. Adult stem cells are called National Catholic Church’s sacraments, In a homily at a San Francisco church, pluripotent because they have the power sacramental sharing and the extent to Cardinal Guadencio Rosales of Manila, to turn into many of the more than 200 which the Catholic Church considers the Philippines, underscored the deep faith, types of differentiated cells found in the P.N.C.C. fully a sister church, like the generosity and hospitality of the Filipino body. Embryonic stem cells are called Orthodox churches. There was a consen- culture and urged Filipinos living in the omnipotent because they can turn into sus among the participants that their May United States to use their cultural her- any of those differentiated cells. 2006 Joint Declaration on Unity has helped itage as a leaven in U.S. society. A Mass create a new context in which the two on June 21 at St. Anne of the Sunset churches can begin to move incremental- Church and a reception afterward were Seeks Unity With ly toward the full unity desired by both the final events of the cardinal’s three-day Polish National Church churches. The declaration, a result of 22 visit to the Bay Area. His U.S. trip includ- ed a stop in Washington, where he pre- Members of the Polish National years of dialogue and several official acts sided at a Mass for the feast of Our Lady Catholic-Roman Catholic dialogue gath- of recognition and reconciliation by both of Peace and Good Voyage at the Basilica ered in Milwaukee to discuss the opening churches, said that the dialogue members of the National Shrine of the Immaculate to further steps toward unity created by “wish to reaffirm our resolve to overcome Conception on June 23. In a June 19 last year’s Joint Declaration on Unity. The what still divides us and to state clearly interview with Catholic San Francisco, main focus of the meeting on May 30-31 that our goal is full communion between the cardinal cautioned the United States was the relationship between the two our churches.” about its social development aid in the Philippines and expressed enthusiasm about the impact of Pondo Ng Pinoy, a Charismatic Catholics Mark 40 Years of Praise foundation he helped launch to aid the poor in his homeland three years ago. Spiritual Podcasts Target Busy Men The Catholic Men’s Fellowship of Pitts- burgh and that diocese’s Department for Evangelization are producing weekly audio spiritual podcasts, specifically geared toward men, on the upcoming Sunday Scripture readings. Jeff Ludwikowski, co-executive director of the Catholic Men’s Fellowship of Pittsburgh, said the weekly podcasts stem from a desire to respond to Pope John Paul II’s “call for a new evangelization by utilizing new technologies to reach men who may not be tied into traditional methods of Ivette Batista, 16, of New York, prays during a youth gathering at the faith formation.” The 10-minute podcast national Catholic charismatic renewal conference in Secaucus, N.J., June 23. is available on the Web site of the National Fellowship of Catholic Men For most organizations, the 40th anniver- Bishop Jacobs was among several speakers (www.catholicmensresources.org). A pod- sary would not call for special celebrations. over the weekend who raised the possibili- cast is a digital media file, or a series of In the Catholic charismatic renewal, how- ty that God might have a similarly dra- such files, distributed over the Internet ever, 40 is taking on biblical importance. matic action in mind to mark 40 years of using syndication feeds for playback on As Bishop Sam G. Jacobs of Houma- the Catholic charismatic renewal. “We portable media players and personal com- Thibodaux, La., pointed out in a keynote have a great challenge before us,” he said. puters. The Rev. James Wehner, director address at the Conference of the “These past 40 years have been a time of of the Department for Evangelization, is Charismatic Renewal on June 22-24, the cleansing and a time of new beginning; a the “voice” of the podcasts. The initial number 40 appears in the nearly 200 time of preparation and a time of waiting target population was computer-savvy times: for 40 years the Israelites wandered upon the Lord...a time of renewal and of men who lacked time for spiritual read- in search of the Promised Land; for 40 stirring up frequently the gifts given to us ing. But Father Wehner noted that the days prayed in the desert; the ascen- when hands were laid upon us and the audience is much broader than originally sion came 40 days after Jesus’ resurrection. Spirit invoked.” anticipated.

July 16-23, 2007 America 7 Diplomat Cardinal to Head Pope Restores Two-thirds Foley to Head Knights of Interreligious Council Rule for Papal Election Holy Sepulcher Pope Benedict XVI has stipulated that a Pope Benedict XVI has named Arch- two-thirds majority is always required bishop John P. Foley, of the United to elect a new pope, undoing a proce- States, pro-grand master of the Knights of dure introduced by Pope John Paul II. the Holy Sepulcher, a fraternal organiza- In a one-page document released June tion dedicated to supporting the Latin 26, the pope said the two-thirds-majori- Patriarchate of Jerusalem and to respond- ty rule cannot be set aside even when ing to the needs of Catholics in the Holy cardinal-electors are at an impasse. Land. The 71-year-old Philadelphia native Instead, the pope instructed that if the had been head of the Pontifical Council cardinals are deadlocked after 13 days, for Social Communications for 23 years. runoff ballots between the two leading By naming Foley “pro-”grand candidates will be held. A papal election master, Pope Benedict seemed to indicate will continue to require that two-thirds that he would be named a cardinal during of the cardinals present agree on a can- the next consistory, which will probably didate. take place in November. Archbishop In 1996, Pope John Paul introduced a Foley, who will remain in , succeeds change in the conclave procedure that the retired Italian Cardinal Carlo Furno, allowed cardinal-electors to move to a who is 85. simple majority after 13 days, when 33 The Vatican also announced June 27 Jean-Louis Tauran or 34 ballots had been held. Pope that Archbishop Foley’s successor at the Benedict said there had been significant social communications council would be Pope Benedict XVI named a French car- requests for a return to the old rules, Italian Archbishop , dinal with extensive diplomatic experience under which a two-thirds majority was who will become 66 in July. Archbishop as the Vatican’s new coordinator of inter- always required. The pope effected the Celli had been a Vatican diplomat and religious dialogue. Cardinal Jean-Louis change by replacing two paragraphs of was the Vatican’s point man for contacts Tauran, 64, will become president of the his predecessor’s apostolic constitution, with the Communist governments of Pontifical Council for Interreligious Universi Dominici Gregis (“The Lord’s and in the early Dialogue, the Vatican’s main liaison agen- Whole Flock”), a document that 1990’s, when he was an under secretary cy with , on Sept. 1. Cardinal defined conclave procedures. in the Vatican Secretariat of State. Tauran, a 28-year veteran of the Vatican’s diplomatic service who has served in Haiti, Lebanon and Syria, is known as a knowledgeable and sometimes outspoken specialist in international affairs. For 13 years he was Pope John Paul II’s “foreign minister,” the official who dealt with all aspects of the Vatican’s foreign policy. Pope Benedict announced the appoint- ment during a visit on June 25 to the Vatican Library and the Vatican Secret Archives, two institutions Cardinal Tauran has headed since 2003. In his new role, the cardinal will be responsible for overseeing the Vatican’s dialogue efforts with representatives of other faiths, including Muslims. Early in his tenure as foreign minister, the Holy See concluded the Fundamental Agreement with the State of Israel; and during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, it supported the independence of Croatia and appealed for THE FIVE GEORGIA MARTYRS are depicted in an artist's rendering being used in the pro- the first time to “the duty to protect” motion of their cause for sainthood. The Spanish Franciscans were killed at their Georgia missions in 1597 after a baptized Guale Indian took a second wife, dismissed a priest's innocents, usually called the principle of admonition about this and set out to destroy the friars. The martyred missionaries were “humanitarian intervention.” Pedro de Corpa, Blas de Rodríguez, Miguel de Anon and Francisco de Verascola, all priests, and Brother Antonio de Badajoz. From CNS and other sources. CNS photos.

8 America July 16-23, 2007 Reflection Place

wonder the aspiring brain surgeon

expressed a desire to play his own modest Big Dreams, part in the unfolding of the dream. ‘ But the second graduate got it right too. We are called to work out in the finest Daily Details detail what our very next step should be, in order to live true to the dream’s unfolding in our daily living. Both perspectives are So what are you going to do next? potentially world-changing, and the ‘ Gospel vision challenges and empowers HE GRADUATION season uine interest and appropriate alacrity, as them both. It coaxes us constantly to make is finally over. All over the he processed some 200 newly qualified one more step toward the horizon of all country young people have doctors. we can become, constantly reminding us completed their studies and Then he turned his attention to the that there is always more to God’s dream received the diplomas that, parents and friends of the newly robed than we dare to imagine. But it also gives theyT hope, will unlock a future of their and told us how he had presided over sev- us, in Christ, both the model of how to choosing. In Britain the ritual of gradua- eral similar ceremonies that week. live true to God’s dream, and the empow- tion involves the donning of graduation Successfully suppressing any hints of jad- erment to let that dream become incar- hoods and gowns (hired at great expense edness, he recounted the reactions of two nate in the daily details of our own per- for 20 minutes of glory) and the gathering particular graduates to his not-too- sonal circumstances. of the clans, as proud parents line up to searching question: “What are you going Paulo Coehlo recounts in his novel watch their sons and daughters cross the to do next?” The Alchemist the tale of a little boy who line that signifies the final end of child- The first, a young man, had respond- sought out a famous guru for an audience. hood. ed, after a moment’s thought, “I’m going The wise man sent the boy off to tour his Our own daughter’s graduation cere- to be a world-class brain surgeon.” The palace and gardens, and to enjoy all he dis- mony was probably typical of thousands dean had congratulated him on his gradu- covered there, but at the same time to being enacted up and down the land. She ation and wished him every success in his carry in his hand a teaspoonful of oil and had attended the medical school of a large chosen career. to bring it back without having spilled any metropolitan university, where the num- The second, a few hundred graduates of it. The child returned, the oil unspilled, ber of graduates far exceeded the capacity farther down the line, had been asked the but he had completely failed to notice the of the hall to accommodate them. same question: “What are you going to do beautiful gardens, the rich tapestries, the Consequently the various ceremonies next?” She had likewise given the question great works of art around him. The guru were spread out over several days. several moments of thoughtful attention sent him off for a second time, and he When the big day came, she spent the before replying: “I’m going to turn left returned full of the delights he had seen, morning in a state of rising panic about and walk very carefully down these three but the oil was gone. the ordeal that lay ahead. The prospect of steps.” The trick, it seems, is to balance the walking the length of the hall, climbing We smiled at the discrepancy between two—to become a top neurosurgeon and with dignity the three steps up to the podi- these two ambitions, the lurch from the manage not to fall over your feet going um, receiving with grace the certificate sublime to the ridiculous, the chasm down the next three steps, to play your from the hands of the dean and descend- between idealism and pragmatism. Two own unique part in the great unfolding of ing in safety to return to her seat was, she ways of looking at life. But are they com- God’s dream for creation while carefully confided, a more daunting challenge than patible? And are they realistic? One is discerning the step immediately ahead on taking her final examinations. I took that about a big and distant dream. The other the slippery pathways of your personal cir- remark with a pinch of salt and settled is about the next few minutes. The story cumstances. The big vision without the down to enjoy the unfolding pageant. appeals to me, because it captures so suc- daily detail is merely day-dreaming. The As he handed out the diplomas, the cinctly something of the dynamic of the daily detail without the big dream can dean exchanged a few words with each spiritual journey. become just a toilsome trudge. new graduate—a simple question like We are called to be players in a Big We honor the big vision when we “Have you enjoyed your time here?” or Dream. The dream is God’s dream, and it keep in mind, with every step, that we are “What are you planning on doing next?” is nothing less than the fulfilment, under movers and players in a cosmic drama far To his great credit, he conducted the pro- the power of love, of all creation. The beyond our imagination. We honor the ceedings with what appeared to be gen- Gospel vision is not just another way of daily detail every time we ask, in a specific “doing religion.” It is about becoming situation, “What is the more loving, the MARGARET SILF lives in Staffordshire, everything God is dreaming us to be. It is more life-giving, the more Christ-like England. Her latest books are Companions about the very destiny of Homo sapiens. thing to do next?” of Christ: Ignatian Spirituality for Everyday To be part of this adventure is surely what So what are you going to do next? Living and The Gift of Prayer. each of us, in our hearts, is longing for. No Margaret Silf

July 16-23, 2007 America 9 July 16-23, 2007 America Vol. 197 No. 2, Whole No. 4780 CNS PHOTO BY PATRICK HERTZOG Pope Benedict XVI and Mustafa Cagrici, grand of Istanbul, pray in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, , Nov. 30. Benedict XVI: Peacemaker – BY DREW CHRISTIANSEN –

EARLY A YEAR AFTER Pope Benedict XVI quoted a Byzantine emperor on the evils of Islam, one hears much less talk of the Vatican’s alleged hard new line on Islam. The shift of attention is a tribute to the pope’s unexpected success in taking on the roles of diplomat and peacemaker. After the late Pope John Paul II presided overN the fall of Communism in Eastern and set in motion the change of gov- ernments from Haiti to East Timor, few anticipated that Benedict, a scholar and church administrator, would similarly influence world affairs. But it appears, despite a brief period of turmoil, that two years into his pontificate Pope Benedict is mastering his role as a diplomat and religious peacemaker. It is a role he could not avoid.

DREW CHRISTIANSEN, S.J., editor in chief of America, was for 13 years the principal policy adviser to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Mideast affairs. He writes frequently on the church’s role in international affairs, most recently in Faith and International Affairs (fall 2006).

10 America July 16-23, 2007 Religious Peacemaking: The ‘Spirit of Assisi’ greetings. While gently warning against syncretistic inter- For a thousand years the Holy See has sent diplomats pretations of the meeting, Benedict reflected at length on abroad. With the demise of the Papal States in 1870, as the need for such meetings, both two decades ago and in Archbishop Celestino Migliore, now the Holy See our own day. He wrote of the first Assisi convocation: Permanent Observer at the United Nations, has said, the Holy See was free of “the ball and chain” of ordinary state- It should be stressed that [the] value of prayer in craft and could carry out “a diplomacy of conscience” and building peace was testified to by the representatives of peace. In Pope John Paul II’s peripatetic pontificate, the different religious traditions, and this did not happen at diplomatic role took on new intensity and a new form. The a distance but in the context of a meeting. new intensity was evident in a flurry of activity from central Consequently, the people of diverse religions who Europe to the Balkans to the Middle East. The new form were praying could show through the language of came in religious peacemaking, especially John Paul II’s witness that prayer does not divide but unites and is convocation of religious leaders in times of conflict to a decisive element for an effective pedagogy of oppose violence and proclaim their common commitment peace, hinged on friendship, reciprocal acceptance to peace. and dialogue between people of different cultures John Paul’s religious peacemaking came to be known and religions. popularly as the “Spirit of Assisi,” referring to the 1986 interreligious prayer for peace held in Assisi. It was followed Earlier this year, the pope praised the charisms of the lay by two other major gatherings there: in 1992, following the religious movements, including Sant’Egidio, the carrier of outbreak of war in the former Yugoslavia; and in 2002, fol- the Spirit of Assisi. lowing the terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, This June, at the observance of the 800th anniversary of 2001, and the invasion of . In between those the conversion of St. Francis, Benedict called the first Assisi events and since 2002, the Spirit of Assisi has been kept alive gathering “a prophetic intuition and a moment of grace,” by Rome’s Community of Sant’Egidio with an annual Day clearly not the words of a deep skeptic. He continued, of Prayer for Peace. Last year’s gathering met at “Assisi tells us that faithfulness to one’s own religious con- Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The presence victions, faithfulness above all to the crucified and risen there of Catholic prelates with world leaders of other faiths Christ, is not expressed in violence and intolerance but in made it clear that religious peacemaking is fully integrated sincere respect for others, in dialogue and in an announce- into the life of the church today. ment that appeals to freedom and reason while remaining As Bishop William F. Murphy, the under secretary of the committed to peace and reconciliation.” Pontifical Commission for Justice and Peace at the time of Some of the over-interpretation of the disciplining of Assisi I in 1986, explained in America last year the Assisi Franciscans came from Vaticanisti, journalists cov- (“Remembering Assisi After 20 Years,” 10/23/06), the whole ering the Vatican, with an interest bordering on advocacy in was involved in planning the event. Despite the reshaping of the Vatican’s post-9/11 policy toward this corporate preparation, John Paul’s religious peacemak- Islam. They touted Benedict’s new, supposedly hard-line ing, like his steady series of apologies to groups harmed or position toward Islam. In their coverage, one could often offended in the past by the church, remained controversial detect neoconservative alliances, with Europeans like in some corners of the curia. Rumors persisted that Pope Michele Pera and Americans like George Weigel receiving Benedict had had reservations about the alleged syncretism extensive and favorable attention for publicizing the new at Assisi I and was continuing his opposition as pope. Those pope’s alleged toughness on Islam. It was a case of bringing rumors gained more weight when he reined in the the culture wars into the church. But Benedict did not share Franciscans of Assisi, putting activities at the Basilica of their enthusiasm for finding new enemies. Saint Francis under a millstone of ecclesiastical control that included the bishop of Assisi, the Episcopal Conference of Islam: A Dialogue of Cultures Umbria and the Italian Episcopal Conference. Early in his pontificate Pope Benedict took a series of steps Though it is hard from this side of the ocean to pierce that Vatican journalists presented as evidence of a new hard the veil of Italian church politics, the issue appears to have line toward Islam. Most important, he set “reciprocity” as a been just that, one of Italian church politics, specifically an goal of Vatican Islamic policy, that is, the demand that effort to curb the independently progressive Franciscans, Christians be allowed the same rights in Muslim countries who showed excessive sympathy to the Italian left. For when that Muslims are allowed in the West. By itself, this was a the 20th anniversary of the first Assisi event was observed in necessary adjustment to the realities of an asymmetrical September, Pope Benedict sent warm and encouraging relationship. Pope John Paul’s openness had won the right

July 16-23, 2007 America 11 to open churches in some Persian Gulf states, led to mem- statements, the pope exhibits not an abstract respect for oranda of understanding with the Palestine Liberation Islam, but rather a sense of spiritual solidarity with people Organization and with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan of faith in the face of unbridled . guaranteeing religious liberty, and furthered cooperation In the Mideast, moreover, where the church and Islam between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon. But in places have their most intimate encounters, local church leaders like , and , life for Christians went have long spoken of the “dialogue of daily life,” referring to from very trying to downright oppressive. After 20 years of the many social interactions in which Muslims and dialogue, more progress could reasonably be expected. Christians routinely engage one another. Benedict takes this In another move, the notion a step further, new pope missioned the counseling nonviolent Vatican’s leading Islamicist, “conviviality.” “Simply liv- Archbishop Michael For Benedict, diplomacy ing together and suffering Fitzgerald, M.Afr., the and the care of souls fit together,” he explains, president of the Pontifical “has a healing effect on Council for Interreligious together like hand in glove. wounds and disposes peo- Dialogue, as to ple to thoughts and deeds and the Arab League of reconciliation and and placed that council under Cardinal Paul Poupard, the peace.” In a Christmas 2006 letter, he encouraged Middle president of the Pontifical Council for Culture. East Christians “to continue along the path of trust with As a result, the Holy See now speaks of a “dialogue of acts of friendship and good will [toward Muslims]” in “both cultures” rather than a dialogue of religions. The cultural the simple daily deeds you have practiced in your region by dialogue is broader than Catholic-Muslim relations narrow- so many good and humble people who have always treated ly defined; and given the size of the two communities, the others with consideration and also those deeds considered contemporary global political climate and the plight of the heroic, inspired by authentic respect for human dignity and ancient churches of the Middle East, the Muslim dialogue, the desire to find solutions to situations of grave hostility.” it may be argued, has become the most important bilateral Where, then, does Pope Benedict’s lecture at conversation on the church agenda. Regensburg fit, with its imputation of violence and irra- As if to signal the renewed importance of the relation- tionality to Islam? For it seemed at the time that the great ship, the Vatican announced June 25 that the pope has “clash of civilizations,” promoted by the Harvard professor appointed the former secretary for relations with states, or Samuel Huntington but repeatedly rejected by the Vatican foreign minister, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran as president and Benedict himself, had actually exploded across the of the P.C.I.D. A serious and progressive diplomat, Tauran world stage following the lecture. Parliaments and Islamic can be expected to lend new purpose to the office. scholars denounced the pope; diplomats were recalled; protesters marched in the streets; in , a nun was Solidarity Against Secularism murdered. Through it all, Benedict remained serene, but In his end-of-year address to the Roman Curia on Dec. 22, the new chief of Vatican communications, Federico 2006, Pope Benedict expressed sympathy with Islam, which Lombardi, S.J., swung into action, and Vatican diplomats, like must confront the Enlightenment, both when they were not summoned by host governments, but- adopting its virtues, as Pope John XXIII and the Second tonholed their colleagues to soothe tempers and answer Vatican Council did, for example in the field of human questions. rights and religious liberty, and correcting its excesses and It is hard to recall a crisis in which the Roman Curia deficiencies, like its materialism and moral . responded so rapidly with such concerted action and in such Above all, the pope argued, both must address the positivist a short period of time. Explanations with varying degrees of notion of reason that “excludes God from the life of the credibility were issued. The pope offered expressions of community.” Christians and Muslims must be united in the regret. Though not apologies, they nonetheless count as an commitment “to find solutions” in opposing violence and unprecedented step taken in record time. Pope Benedict finding a synergy “between faith and reason, between reli- met with Muslim diplomats and other Islamic leaders. gion and freedom.” The theme of the common tasks facing Above all, despite the firestorm of controversy stirred by the people of faith, both Muslims and Christians, in con- lecture, Benedict refused to cancel his visit to Turkey fronting the godlessness of the Enlightenment ran through planned for late November. The lecture itself may have the essays in Cardinal Ratzinger’s exchange with Michele been poorly staffed (or staff advice overruled), but the Pera, Without Roots (Basic Books, 2006). In these recent recovery was exceedingly well executed. By the time the

12 America July 16-23, 2007 pope returned from Turkey, not only had relations with Islam been genuinely calmed, but with the help of his team, Benedict had proved himself a diplomat.

The Visit to Turkey Even before the Regensburg lecture, the visit to Turkey looked fraught with trouble. For months, Turkey had been filled with anti-Catholic agitation. As cardinal, Benedict had roiled the waters by declaring his opposition to Turkey’s entrance into the European Union on the grounds it did not share the (Christian) identity of Europe. In the months leading up to the visit, priests were attacked and assassinat- ed, and a novel depicting the pope’s murder during a visit to Turkey made the Turkish best-seller lists. The Regensburg lecture, following as it did a summer of protest against the blasphemous Danish cartoons, aggravated existing hostility toward Christianity and toward Benedict in particular. To hold firm to his resolve to visit Turkey in the face of this tur- moil showed exceptional courage and trust in providence. These tensions made the primary task of the trip, show- ing solidarity with the Greek Orthodox ecumenical patriar- chate of Constantinople, even more difficult. While Turkey is a secular state, government constraints on the patriar- chate are especially grave. It sets limits on the election of the patriarch, refuses to recognize the role the patriarch plays among Orthodox Christians and refuses to allow the patri- archal seminary, closed in 1971, to reopen. As a result of the controversy over Regensburg, the pope’s ability to provide a show of unity with the Orthodox appeared greatly weak- ened. To its credit, the Turkish government never asked the Vatican to cancel the trip. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who let it be known he would be out of the country during the papal visit, in the end remained to greet the pope before heading to a European summit. The pope expressed his affection for the Turkish people, quoting the late Pope John XXIII, once nuncio to : “I am fond of the Turks to whom the Lord has sent me.... I love the Turks.” He also expressed his esteem for Turkey as “a noble land” that “has seen a remarkable flowering of Islamic civilization in the most diverse fields, including its literature and art as well as its institutions.” In a meeting with Ali Bardaoglu, the head of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, Benedict, citing Pope Gregory VII, appealed to the “particular charity that Christians and Muslims owe one another ‘because we believe in one God, albeit in a different manner, and because we praise him and worship him every day as the creator and ruler of the world.’” At the Blue Mosque, Istanbul’s most important shrine, Benedict stood with the city’s , Mustafa Cagrici, before the mihrab niche that marks the direction of prayer facing . According

July 16-23, 2007 America 13 to one reporter, the pope told the mufti, “Thank you for prospects for Christianity in the Middle East had finally— this moment of prayer.” Father Lombardi explained, it was and one hopes not too late—registered with the adminis- a personal prayer without the outward manifestations of tration. This followed weeks of delay in agreeing to a U.N. Christian prayer, so as to emphasize what unites Christians plan to end hostilities and forestall further conflict on the and Muslims. Later the pope related that he had prayed Lebanon-Israel border. The Maronite Patriarch, the there so that all believers may see themselves as brothers Synod of the Maronite Church and the Assembly of and sisters. After those encounters, it would be hard any Catholic Ordinaries in Lebanon have also exercised an longer to regard Benedict as a “hard-liner” on Islam. extraordinary mediating role in Lebanon, opposing fac- By the end of the visit, Pope Benedict had won the tionalism and supporting national unity based on hearts of the Turks. As one said, “We are quick to anger and Lebanese citizenship. Maronite Patriarch Nazrallah Pierre quick to forgive.” At the same time, in his quiet, direct man- Sfeir, at the outset of Lent this year, published an extraor- ner, Benedict affirmed his core message. Against the back- dinary pastoral letter, On Love of Country, reflecting on the ground of religious and civilizational violence, he continued nature of genuine patriotism. to promote a dialogue of cultures, reiterating that it is “a vital necessity, on which...our future depends.” Faced with Counseling Nonviolence to Victims the suffering of Turkey’s religious minorities, however, he Christians face unprecedented pressures in Iraq, in also pleaded for religious freedom and the rights of minor- Palestine and in Lebanon, as well as in countries like Jordan ity religions. “The civil authorities of every democratic and Syria, which are burdened with refugees. In a Dec. 21 country are dutybound to guarantee the effective freedom Christmas letter to the Catholics of the Middle East, of all believers,” he told the diplomatic corps in a meeting Benedict wrote to the faithful across the region to bolster in Ankara, “and to permit them to organize freely the life of their perseverance. He recognized that events in the region their religious communities.” In staying on message, “naturally give rise in those involved to recriminations and Benedict demonstrated that even while healing and nurtur- rage, leading them to thoughts of retaliation and revenge.” ing relationships, a world religious leader can speak the While recording grievances, he wrote, might offer an illu- truth in love. In so doing, he proved himself both a diplo- sory satisfaction, experience had shown the results of such mat and a peacemaker. efforts were “disappointing.” “When one person suffers he should first of all wish to understand how much someone Lebanon: The Israel-Hezbollah War else in a similar situation suffers.” The best hope of healing, Another crisis in which Pope Benedict proved himself a he advised, was in “patient, humble dialogue.” Such dia- diplomat and religious peacemaker was Israel’s war against logue, he correctly noted, “has already [yielded] positive Hezbollah in Lebanon last summer. Throughout, Benedict’s results in many countries previously devastated by violence position was sure. With pastoral sensitivity he requested that and revenge.” Thus, even to the victims of violence he the first Sunday of the war become a day of prayer and fast- counseled nonviolence. ing—the latter a sign of the seriousness with which he The Christmas letter is a model of pastoral care that at regarded the conflict. He regularly brought the situation to the same time never fails to uphold the prophetic mission of the world’s attention during his weekly message. His the church. Fully aware of the politics involved—“danger- public statements were clear and direct, characteristic marks ous geopolitical situations, cultural conflicts, economic and neither of traditional Vatican diplomacy nor of the pro- strategic interests, forms of aggression that claim justifica- nouncements of John Paul II. From the beginning, he laid tion from a social or religious basis”—the pope’s concern is out a farsighted program that exceeded anything coming to address the immediate pain of the faithful, offset their from major foreign ministries. It included an immediate discouragement and offer counsel on the choices they face ceasefire and a negotiated settlement, respect for the human- regarding, for example, acting on impulses of revenge or itarian law of war—that is, immunity from attack for civilians weighing the possibility of emigration. But he also reminds and medical workers, the recognition of humanitarian corri- individuals of the duties of discipleship and the need to dors (so refugees could escape the fighting) and aid for the build up the church as an instrument of peace. Accordingly, refugees to sustain them in the emergency. he encourages both individuals and communities to acts of A month passed before the world community caught up forgiveness, reconciliation and solidarity. with the pope and put a ceasefire in place. Within days of the ceasefire, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Francis Benedict: What’s in a Name? Rooney, laid out U.S. plans for reconstruction aid and Benedict’s nonviolent counsel to Middle East Christians is humanitarian assistance for Lebanon. It was a clear sign that consonant with the path many of them, especially in Israel the importance of Lebanon to the Holy See and the future and Palestine, have already set for themselves. It is also con-

14 America July 16-23, 2007 sistent with the teaching of Pope John Paul II. But it flows East Christians, concern for pastoral care of the faithful— as well from Joseph Ratzinger’s own models of ministry, their religious and moral affections and their practical per- symbolized by his choice of Benedict as his papal name. sonal and political choices—is combined with counsels to Pundits noted, and Benedict confirmed, that he was invok- nonviolence and to heroic action amid conflict, as well as ing the memory of both St. Benedict, the patron of to the promotion of “solutions to situations of grave hos- Europe and the founder of Western monasticism, and tility.” In initiatives like the letter to Middle East Benedict XV, the early 20th-century pope who labored in Christians, one senses a natural, integrated Christian vain to end the First World War. Joseph Ratzinger became imagination that is at home in the world but not of it. pope late in life, but his long attachment to Benedictine Benedict would be the first to admit that not every spirituality has informed his personal in internation- move he makes may be correct, but if his diplomacy suc- al affairs. ceeds, it will be because his Christian peacemaking, root- During the 2006 Lebanon war, his Angelus messages ed in Benedictine spirituality, is so authentic. A often focused on the life of the saint of the day. Two of the messages seemed to reflect Benedict’s view of his own papal ministry and particu- larly the struggle to balance contem- plation and action in the life of a church leader: those on Gregory the Great and Bernard of Clairvaux. Pope Gregory, Benedict remarked, was the model the had in mind when it outlined the role of the contemporary pastor, “inspired by the love ‘that rises won- derfully to high things when it is compassionately drawn to the low things of neighbors; and the more kindly it descends to the weak things of this world, the more vigorously it recurs to the things on high.’” On the pastoral practice of Bernard of Clairvaux, he said, “The life of a pastor of souls must be a bal- anced synthesis of contemplation and action....” Bernard’s advice to Pope Eugenius III to avoid excessive activ- ity because it leads to hardness of heart, Benedict told his listeners, is advice “to the pope of that time and to all , to all of us.” Bernard, he observed, “knew how to harmonize the monk’s aspiration to the solitude and tranquility of the cloister with the pressing needs of important and complex missions at the service of the church.” For Benedict, diplomacy and the care of souls fit together like hand in glove. Diplomacy is not an add-on or a remnant of the temporal power of the papacy. As in the letter to Middle

July 16-23, 2007 America 15

Josh Alcorn, a pro-life activist, demonstrates in front of the Supreme Court in Washington on April 18. The Partial-Birth Decision Criticism of the Supreme Court shows confusion about the role of religious values in a democratic society.

BY ELLEN K. BOEGEL

EDIA REACTION to the recent United States Catholic doctrine that could lead to the rejection of Roe v. Supreme Court decision upholding the consti- Wade, the decision that established a woman’s right to tutionality of the federal ban on partial-birth choose an abortion based on a constitutional right to priva- abortion reflected unfortunate confusion con- cy. Mcerning the legitimate relationship between religion and The Catholic Church’s doctrinal position on abortion is political debate in American society. clear. All abortions end a human life and are immoral. If the The case, Gonzales v. Carhart, is a classic 5-to-4 split faith of the justices had dictated their vote, the reasoning in decision. Five justices—Anthony M. Kennedy, John G. their opinion would have laid the foundation for overruling Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Roe v. Wade and its successor, Planned Parenthood v. Alito Jr.—determined that the federal partial-birth abortion Casey. Instead, the majority opinion applied these rulings to ban is constitutional. These justices happen to be Catholic, the federal statute and, in so doing, retained the basic tenet and critics who did not understand the legal reasoning in the of Roe v. Wade, which is that women have a virtually unfet- majority opinion warned that it reflected a bias toward tered right to most types of pre-viability abortions.

ELLEN K. BOEGEL, who teaches legal studies at St. John’s Legal Precedents, Not Catholic Doctrine University in New York, clerked for the United States Court of The ruling will not reduce the number of abortions per- Appeals for the Second Circuit. formed in the United States, because the law it upheld does CNS PHOTO BY JIM YOUNG

July 16-23, 2007 America 17 not ban abortions; it merely regulates a particular type of Religious Values and Public Policy abortion technique that Congress determined was “grue- The dark warning about the religious affiliation of the some and inhumane.” The Catholic majority, therefore, did Gonzales v. Carhart majority illustrates the need for a bet- not base their decision on Catholic teaching but instead ter understanding of the proper role of religious belief in made a judicial decision consistent with legal precedent. As American politics and the legitimate role for religious val- a matter of fact, their decision reflected the sentiments of ues in the public debate. The attention paid to the most Americans, including Catholics, who favor limitations, Catholic affiliation of the Supreme Court justices who but not a total ban, on abortions. upheld the partial-birth abortion ban is rooted in the naïve The majority of the court in this decision, like the and historically uninformed assumption that the separa- majority of the American people, acknowledged the moral tion of church and state prohibits any religious influence ambiguities presented by an unwanted pregnancy. on public policy. Nevertheless, their judicial integrity was called into doubt There is a profound difference, however, between a because their legal decision, based solely on statutory lan- government that is controlled by a religious denomination guage and constitutional analysis, coincided in part with the and a government whose policies are informed by the reli- position of their church. gious values of its citizens. Any government that would The minority in Gonzales v. Carhart dissented because totally disregard moral values that are rooted in religious the statute, which contains an exception to preserve the life faith would be hopelessly doctrinaire, unable to represent of a woman, does not also include an exception to preserve a society that values freedom of religion. the health of a woman. According to Congress, which Jon Meacham’s book American Gospel demonstrates that passed the ban on partial-birth abortion, the concern of the religious belief always has informed our political and legal minority opinion represents a distinction without a real dif- decisions. Thomas Jefferson’s personal belief in a beneficent ference; there are, after all, safe alternatives to the partial- creator, for example, formed the foundation for those birth technique. The majority decision, in effect, simply “inalienable rights” of “life, liberty and the pursuit of hap- affirmed the constitutional authority of Congress to make piness” that are the cornerstone of our political system. findings of fact regarding the efficacy of medical procedures. Citizens of the United States should not support political

18 America July 16-23, 2007 leaders or public policies simply out of obedience to reli- religious reason is the one advanced by Benedict XVI. gious authorities. At the same time, we cannot dismiss the The pope explicitly states that it would be improper for relevance of moral values in forming public policy simply the church to “attempt to impose on those who do not because these values may be rooted in the different religious share the faith ways of thinking and modes of conduct beliefs of American citizens. proper to faith.... The church wishes to help form con- sciences in political life and to stimulate greater insight into Religious Faith and Democratic Foundations the authentic requirements of justice...” (No. 28a). This is Those who insist on the total dismissal of any religious the same process of religious reflection that brought influence on U.S. politics and jurisprudence should reflect Thomas Jefferson and our other founders to form a liberal on those voices that would have been silenced if an impen- democracy. etrable wall had kept religious values out of public policy. Self-governance is not an easy task. Nations often stray President Lincoln would not have issued the Emancipation from their founding principles. Attention to the religious Proclamation; Martin Luther King Jr. would have been values of our populace can provide a compass for us as we politically irrelevant; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would not struggle to remain true to the spirit of liberty that is central have been passed; and Brown v. Board of Education would to our democratic republic. If we do not allow our collective have kept schools segregated. belief in the “blessings of liberty” to influence our political American politicians and jurists cannot base their deci- decisions today, we run the risk of eroding the foundation of sions about public policy on their personal obedience to any our democratic aspirations, the belief that U.S. citizens religious authority. At the same time, to insist that moral should continually aspire to establish a society that promis- values rooted in religious faith have no place in any debate es “liberty and justice for all.” on public policy would undermine the foundation of a Critics of the Catholic Supreme Court majority should democratic society, namely the right of its citizens to partic- realize that the religious affiliation of the justices does not ipate in that debate. predetermine specific outcomes, but rather, challenges them to use all their abilities—reason and compassion—to Benedict XVI on Faith and Reason come to just and constitutional decisions. We can only hope How can religion and politics, faith and reason, be recon- that the non-Catholics on the bench do the same. A ciled and properly put to use in our pluralistic society? Pope Benedict XVI addressed this issue in his first encyclical, , when he reflected on the relationship of faith and reason in the search for justice in society. “Faith by its specific nature is an encounter with the living God—an encounter opening up new horizons extending beyond the sphere of reason. From God’s standpoint, faith liberates rea- son from its blind spots.... Faith enables reason to do its work more effectively and to see its proper object more clearly” (No. 28a). To some it may seem strange that the pope goes on to warn that reason can be compromised by the influence of special interests, since secularists would be quick to identify religion as the classic special interest. But Dean Brackley, S.J., issued a similar warning in these pages in his article “Higher Standards” (2/6/2006). Father Brackley acknowl- edged that reason is often clouded by biases—religious, eco- nomic, ethnic and political. The believer’s task is to recog- nize the biases that influence the beginning of all analysis and replace them with understanding. “Prejudice is embed- ded in my identity,” Father Brackley wrote. Authentic religious faith that leads to personal moral conversion helps us recognize our personal prejudices and achieve a more disinterested exercise of reason. Religious discourse can lead to inner transformation, greater respect for the other and enlightened persuasion. This concept of

July 16-23, 2007 America 19 Of Other Things members. Religious leaders are reduced from commanders who issue orders to teachers who must listen and try to per- suade. It is a transition that is not without What Ever Happened its difficulties, though one might argue that, in fact, the religious leader who is skilled at the arts of listening and persuad- to Ireland? ing may have more power than the abso- lute leader who need only make decisions BY ANDREW M. GREELEY and give orders. Perhaps the turning point in this transition in the Catholic HEN IRELAND was lag- cern for the poor are all deteriorating, we world was the birth control encyclical ging behind other are told, and secularism and moral rela- (Humanae Vitae, 1968). European nations, there tivism dominate the country. We were were those who attributed better humans when we were poor. Loss of Faith or of Blind Obedience? itsW failure to a defect in Irish character and People do not lose their faith or their reli- culture. I often commented in response to The Blindness of Self-hatred gion in this kind of secularization. Rather, this allegation that it was remarkable how I sat and listened to this stuff (a they lose their willingness to accept the sea air seemed to change the Irish charac- euphemism for two other words) at a din- apodictic rules of church authority. Work ter. ner recently at a major Irish university that Msgr. Conor Ward of University Now that in a very short time until I could stand no more. “I’ve had it College Dublin and I did on religion in Ireland’s standard of living has become with your sickening (a euphemistic partici- Ireland over the last four decades shows the highest in Europe (save perhaps for ple) Irish self-hatred. Poverty is only good that the Irish are still Catholic, but now on Norway) and higher than that of the when it is voluntarily embraced.” their own terms. You cannot be Catholic other island to the east, some Irish critics In ecclesiastical circles this self-hatred on your own terms, the leaders say; you are finding fault with their countrymen blames education and prosperity for the must be Catholic on our terms. Sorry lads, again. Community cooperation, religious “secularization” and loss of faith in those days are gone forever. You should devotion and faith, generosity and con- Ireland. The implicit assumption of such have protected your flock from higher an allegation is education if you expected that to continue that if the church to work. had been able to Yet the clergy persist in their propen- keep the Irish poor sity to blame the laity for their lack of faith and uneducated, and the overarching power of “seculariza- Ireland would still tion” and “relativism,” platonic labels for be a Catholic disembodied forces and energies that cir- country. That culate around in the atmosphere and take excuse may be half possession of human souls. It would be true, but it misses more accurate—and more honest—to the point. blame this so-called “decline in faith” on Education has higher education. taught people to think. For those Could the Church Be at Fault? who value the old An alternative and dangerous strategy is to Ireland and the old ask whether the church and its leadership Catholicism, that might be responsible in part for the alien- may have been a ation of its followers. Did the sexual abuse mistake. crisis and the leadership’s shameful As my col- response to the crisis damage our credibil- league Mark ity, perhaps permanently? Chaves has argued, Is it possible for men who perceive “secularization,” if themselves as sharing in the charism of it means anything infallibility to permit themselves the ques- at all, means that tion: “Might we be part of the problem? organized religion has lost its power THE REV. ANDREW M. GREELEY, with Msgr. to impose unques- Conor Ward, is the author of How tioned rules on the Secularized Is the Ireland We Live In?

behavior of its (Doctrine & Life, December, 2000). PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/KEITH MURPHY

20 America July 16-23, 2007 Might we have caused by our style and our mistakes the very problems we are railing against?” Not many churchmen are asking that question of themselves on the public record these days. One who does is Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin. Responding to those who lament the prosperity of the Irish people, he crosses the border from those who blame the laity and blame soci- ety to those who are willing to raise the question of blame for the structures of the church.

Others will say to me that is pre- cisely the style of prosperity creat- ed within the European Union that has brought a climate of materialism and rejection of Christian values. For me, taking huge sectors of the European pop- ulation out of poverty and precar- iousness is an achievement about which the Christian must only rejoice.

His next sentence is a response to the “blame the laity” mentality that currently paralyzes the church everywhere:

If such prosperity has been accompanied by a change in belief patterns within the E.U., then this may be due to a lack of dynamism in the churches’ own pastoral structures for evangelization in a cultural climate that is changing, just as much as a result of the eco- nomic prosperity fostered by the E.U.

Or as I would put it in far less graceful words than Archbishop Martin, “For the love of God—quite literally—shut up and listen!”

A Challenge Not Only for the Irish I have described this as a situation in Ireland, since Irish prosperity has taken a beating in some recent articles in this jour- nal. Patently the “loss of faith” in Ireland (or “secularization” of Ireland) is paradig- matic of a problem that exists in the West, in the East, and in the South—in and Nigeria as well as in Ireland and in this land across the seas, which some Irish seafarers once called Great Ireland. Like I say, shut up and listen. A

July 16-23, 2007 America 21 Faith in Focus Rebuilding Christ’s Church Even among the rocks, we must learn to care and not to care. BY MARTIN PABLE

S MY SPIRITUAL DIRECTEE unfailing, unconditional love of God and “Go and rebuild my church, which you described what she called “a on the simple beauties of nature, just as see is falling into ruins.” I hear those meltdown” in talking with her Francis of Assisi would have us do. words not as a “should” but as a gentle, husband, she sighed, “I just loving invitation. They make me want to don’tA care anymore.” Things were not “Rebuild My Church” give my best, even though I may never going well at the parish where she is on The woman’s cry found an echo in my see much in the way of measurable staff. She was fatigued; her husband was own heart. Sometimes I am tempted to “rebuilding.” For that matter, I wonder if not recovering well from an injury; she say (though it is more of an under-the- Francis did. At first he took Christ’s saw little that was positive in church lead- breath whimper than a full-throated cry), words literally and began physically ership. But she then went on to tell how “I don’t care any more, either.” On repairing the little, broken-down church she recovered her usual zest during a Easter Sunday the church where I offered of San Damiano. Only later did he weekend retreat led by a Capuchin friar Mass was filled to the rafters. The next understand what Jesus really meant: Go and a secular Franciscan woman. She Sunday the music was just as uplifting, and rebuild my church spiritually. And, came to the realization that she truly does and I preached with the same enthusi- God knows, he tried. But he met opposi- care—about the parish, about the wider asm—but the church was back to its usual tion, not only from the faithful, who church, about her call to minister to half-fullness. “Where is everybody?” expressed indifference, not only from the God’s people. I stressed how important it Every survey I read paints the same dis- institutional church, but also (and espe- is that she keep her focus on “the deep- mal picture. Catholics are divided; they cially) from his own friars. This was dis- down things,” as Gerard Manley no longer believe many church teachings; couraging. Hopkins put it: on the lordship of Jesus, they are angry and hurt by the sexual on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, on the abuse scandals and by the closing of What Really Matters? parishes; they have little confidence in I have often been touched by the ending MARTIN PABLE, O.F.M.CAP., is a retreat direc- their leaders. of T. S. Eliot’s poem “Ash Wednesday”: tor at St. Anthony Retreat Center, Yet the words “I don’t care” stick in “Teach us to care and not to care/ teach Marathon, Wis., and author of Reclaim the my throat. I cannot say them, because I us to sit still/ Even among these rocks.” Fire: A Parish Guide to Evangelization (Ave do not really mean them. I am haunted Yes, there are things we ought to care

Maria Press, 2002). by the words of Jesus to Francis of Assisi: about, and others that we ought not. ART BY STEFANIE AUGUSTINE

22 America July 16-23, 2007 How are we to distinguish, to separate this really matter?” If the answer is yes, to sit still...even among these rocks.” them? That is the function of discern- then we stand firm and take whatever Then, whether in a retreat, or in spiritu- ment, of contemplation. Hence we need heat may come. But if the answer is no, al direction, or in prayer to the Holy to “sit still,” to make time, to pray. we let it go. Sometimes it is wiser to lose Spirit, we reclaim our power to care Wasn’t that the impetus behind St. the battle if it means winning the war. deeply about “the things that really mat- Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises and the con- And then we trust that our humble yield- ter.” temporary retreat movement? Our con- ing will be blessed by God. As Paul said Toward the end of his life, when sumer-driven, success-oriented culture in another place, “Your work is never in Francis saw that many of his brothers dismisses the act of sitting still and the vain when it is done in the Lord” (1 Cor were no longer following the way of practice of prayer. Good heavens, we 15:58). That is really comforting. After poverty and humility that he had passed might miss something! all, it is not we who can rebuild the on to them, he was distressed in spirit and So, what should we care about? church; that is the work of Christ and of cried out in prayer, “Lord, I give you Briefly: what God cares about. I do not the Holy Spirit whom he sent to guide it back the family you gave me!” (read: “I think God cares who wins the Academy till the end of time. Yet in a mysterious don’t care any more!”). But then he “sat Awards, or the N.B.A. championship or divine economy, our “work” is needed to still” and heard the Lord say to him: the next “American Idol” competition. bring about God’s purposes. “Tell me, brother, why are you sad about God does care about the protection of this? Who converts men and calls them human life, the safeguarding of human Persevere to enter the order? Who gives them the rights and dignity for all people, econom- “I don’t care any more.” We need not be grace to persevere? Is it not I? Therefore, ic justice and adequate health care for afraid if those words well up in our minds I say to you: don’t be saddened about everyone, the protection of children from at various times in our spiritual journey. this. Do what you have to do, and do it violence and exploitation, equal opportu- They can represent a moment of truth, a well. I have planted the order of brothers nities for women and about the ending of warning light that there is a malfunction in an everlasting charity.” war as a means of settling disputes and in our spiritual system. Rather than deny “Do what you have to do, and do it the commitment of all nations to live in or repress it, let it come into the light— well.” Each one of us is able to do that, peace. where it can be honored, examined and even among our rocks. That is the only “Teach us to care and not to care/.../ brought into dialogue with the part of us way to rebuild the church and to extend even among these rocks.” Yes, the rocks that still does care. We pray, “Teach us the reign of God in our world. A are there, and some of them are huge, like the stone rolled in front of Jesus’ tomb. What are my rocks? What are yours? Probably nearly the same things: the divisions in the church, the lack of dialogue, the clash of egos, the insistence on adherence to rules over sound pastoral judgment and the direction of resources to rebuild the physical rather than the spiritual church. But even among these rocks, we must learn to care and not to care. So we must stop trying to please everybody, stop being paralyzed by fear of criticism, stop caring about who gets credit and focus only on getting the job done. And with genuine passion and even joy, we contin- ue to give our best efforts, even when they appear fruitless. We detach our- selves from results, and ask only if we are being faithful to the Gospel vision that Jesus left us. St. Paul had another way of putting this. “My prayer for you,” he wrote, “is that your love may more and more abound…so that…you may learn to value the things that really matter” (Phil 1:9- 10). A good discernment question we should often ask ourselves is, “At the end of the day, in the long view of life, does

July 16-23, 2007 America 23 Book Reviews churches’ complacency in changing from less likely to make religious freedom in the churches of society as a whole to churches Islamic world a foreign policy priority for of individual believers. Their influence in fear of upsetting their domestic Muslim society has become weaker as traditional constituencies. While electoral politics The Coming forms of practice should never be have dwindled. On underestimated, ‘Eurabia’? a more positive this argument mis- note, Jenkins points represents the God’s Continent to the success of nature of European Christianity, Islam and Europe's new movements secularism. The Religious Crisis and the revival of European Union Philip Jenkins pilgrimages as evi- has in fact made Oxford Univ. Press. 352p $28 dence of this shift respect for religious ISBN 9780195313956 toward more per- freedom a sticking sonalized religion. point in its mem- In God's Continent, the third volume of a Yet while these pro- bership negotia- trilogy, Philip Jenkins sets out to refute vide succor for indi- tions with predomi- the claims of American conservatives and viduals seeking nantly Muslim Muslim radicals alike that European intense spiritual Turkey. Moreover, Christianity is in terminal decline and experiences, they do the separation of about to be overtaken by a resurgent not reach out to the religion and politics Islam. While admitting and regretting silent majority for in Europe is that there is much evidence to support whom Christianity defended with these claims, he argues that they tell only used to provide a increasing determi- part of the story. moral and social nation precisely Christianity in Europe has undergone framework but because, unlike the fundamental change in recent years, and whose engagement was limited to attend- United States with its constitutional guar- there has been growth in the presence of ing church every Sunday—and who now antee, spiritual and temporal power in Islam. Yet while traditional church atten- gain more satisfaction from a visit to the “one-church states” too often became dance may have plummeted, new move- shopping mall. intertwined. ments have emerged and old practices While the number of practicing While Europe’s traditional churches have been revived, breathing fresh life into Christians in Europe has fallen, the pro- may no longer command the faith of the the old faith. Jenkins’s analysis of these jected rise in the proportion of Muslims is majority, their strident interventions in changes—characterized by many as a cri- due not to their success in converting lost public debate are often seen not as one sis—is a balanced antidote to the hyper- souls but to immigration and a higher voice among many but as an attempt to bole of such commentators as Michael birth rate. Indeed, Islam in Europe—as a reassert their former influence. The Novak and George Weigel. religion—faces the very same pressures devoutly Catholic French politician Unlike many other parts of the from secularism that have so marked the François Bayrou, for instance, felt obliged Christian world, Europe’s religious land- Christian churches. Jenkins, who teaches to remind Pope Benedict XVI of the dis- scape has been marked by the preponder- history and religious studies at tinction between God and Caesar when ant role of majority churches—Catholic, Pennsylvania State University, argues the pontiff renewed his call for a reference Orthodox or Protestant, depending on the that the true impact of this socioeconom- to Christianity in future E.U. treaties. country—that are rarely in direct compe- ic change will depend on how other With this principle of separation embed- tition with one another. Many towns have groups—such as evangelical Christians, ded in European political culture, Islam just one church, its denomination being who are also immigrating into Europe that of the surrounding area. Often the from Africa and elsewhere and also have The Reviewers majority church is formally or informally higher than usual birth rates—develop as John Coughlan is head of public relations considered to represent the faith of society a proportion of the population. The rea- at the Academy of European Law in Trier, as a whole. This contrasts with both the sons for the apparent decline of , and a former staff member at the religious marketplace of the United States Christianity and the rise of Islam are Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ and with the competition for souls therefore quite different, and the relation- Conferences of the European Community. between religious denominations in the ship between these two aspects of Franklin Freeman, a freelance writer “Global South”—which, in The New Faces “Europe’s religious crisis” coincidental whose work has appeared in The Boston of Christianity, the second volume of this rather than causal. Review and New Oxford Review, among oth- trilogy, Jenkins has forecast will shape the In the field of public policy, though, ers, lives in Saco, Me. future of Christianity. Jenkins suggests that these parallel devel- James S. Torrens, S.J., director emeritus of Much of Christian Europe’s so-called opments might have a real impact: for the Cardinal Manning House of Prayer in Los crisis can be traced to the dominant example, European politicians would be Angeles, Calif., is America’s poetry editor.

24 America July 16-23, 2007 can expect no more special treatment than the first three, “The Good People of Christianity. Let U$ Hollywood,” “The Repressive Mech- For a reader unfamiliar with the reali- anism” and “The Screenplay.” ty of religious practice in Europe, God’s Entertain You In “The Good People of Hollywood,” Continent provides a useful overview with Mamet scourges stars and producers while plenty of insights that are often obscured Bambi vs. Godzilla praising film crews. He describes how, by the sensationalism of the mainstream when the prop master had given up his day On the Nature, Purpose, and media. For a more informed reader, how- off to search for a prop, one unnamed star Practice of the Movie Business ever, it can be frustrating reading. Jen- “in a transport of jollity, took to dancing in kins’s approach is first to present a ream of By David Mamet combat boots on the roof of the prop mas- controversial opinions and often spurious Pantheon. 250p $22 ter’s brand-new Mercedes.” arguments before finally letting the light ISBN 9780375422539 And producers? What do they do, shine in with the balanced diagnosis Mamet wonders after seeing a movie promised at the outset. Many of the The two key words in the title of David poster that lists the names of 18. Well, sources for these arguments are the news Mamet’s new book, Bambi vs. Godzilla: On though there are good ones, many of them media, and thus second-hand, which the Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the are sycophants who care neither to make a makes it difficult to distinguish between Movie Business, are “movie” and “busi- good movie nor even to cut costs and factual observations, selective quotations ness.” The screenwriter and director hates make more money; they want to increase and outright biased opinions. On one the business—or what passes for business costs so they can pocket the waste. “And occasion, the author quite deliberately but is really the struggle for power— the gold-encrusted howdah,” Mamet cites inaccurate data in order to bolster his aspect of making movies. So why does he writes, “must eventually drag down the case—only to reveal 12 pages later that the stay in the business? Because—and this is mighty elephant.” quotation’s source is out-of-date. This the positive and enthusiastic part of the In “The Repressive Mechanism,” polemical style inevitably undermines the book—he loves movies. He loves the art of Mamet writes about the psychological rea- resulting analysis. making movies. son why Hollywood producers saddle the As a rebuff to those polemicists who That love is in full evidence in the mighty elephants with gold-encrusted claim that Europe is about to become book despite the many negatives of howdahs and why we go see them. The “Eurabia,” though, God’s Continent hits its Hollywood. The book consists of short reason, according to Mamet, is that we target. John Coughlan essays grouped under headings like, to cite and they want to repress something.

July 16-23, 2007 America 25 “What is repressed? Our knowledge of There is more biting and witty criti- example, when after declaring “I can’t our own worthlessness. The truth cleans- cism in the book (“Critics are a plague,” stand Laurence Olivier’s acting,” he says, es, but the truth hurts—everywhere but in “manners as such do not exist in “We speak of the art and artists who move the drama, where, in comedy or tragedy, Hollywood” and “Religious films have as us, not with reverence but with love.” the truth restores through art.” Mamet commends the performances of In “The Screenplay,” Mamet sees lit- Tony Curtis. He cites Curtis’s perfor- tle good in graduate film schools and mance in “Some Like It Hot” as the “per- shelves of books on writing screenplays. fect comic turn” and his performance in Although statistically, getting a screenplay “The Boston Strangler” in the following sold and produced is like winning the lot- way: “...in the interrogation sessions we tery, for those who cannot help them- see De Salvo, that is, Tony Curtis, recall, selves, Mamet recommends three books little by little, the grisly murders, and we and three “magic questions.” The books see him, before our eyes, disintegrate.” are The Uses of Enchantment, by Bruno “We do not laud and revere Mr. Bettelheim, The Hero of a Thousand Faces, Curtis’s ‘great technique,’” Mamet writes, by Joseph Campbell, and Mamet’s own “we merely remember the moments of his Three Uses of the Knife. The three questions performances our entire lives.” are: “1. Who wants what from what? 2. That is the highest praise you can give What happens if they don’t get it? 3. Why an actor; and the highest praise you can now?” give a book is that you read it again, as I “These magic questions,” Mamet will Bambi vs. Godzilla. concludes, “and their worth are not For those, God help them, who want known to any script reader, executive, or to write a screenplay, or for the movie producer. They are known and used by lover, this book belongs on the shelf with few writers. They are, however, part of the William Goldman’s Adventures in the unconscious and perpetual understanding much chance of increasing humane behav- Screen Trade (1982). There are echoes of that group who will be judging you and ior as ‘Porgy and Bess’ had of ending seg- between the two books, and Goldman by whose say-so your work will stand or regation”). mentions Mamet as a writer of “proven fall: the audience.” Mamet praises as well as criticizes. For integrity.” Goldman is prolix but

26 America July 16-23, 2007 approachable; Mamet is terse and acerbic, Frankly, it is a bit of a pain to construe lots of metaphorical stretching. but both strike me as making the same these narratives. When a sentence begins, A number of these poems, occurring complaint. “And Phil Rizzuto’s Holy Cow,” what if away from Hennessy’s home turf, include In 1982 Goldman wrote, “In the old you don’t know Rizzuto was the old his slants on Scripture or on Greek days, a studio head might have said, ‘Let’s mythology, or they are presentations of make the goddamn movie and hope the his more recent home life. In “The Raft of business people know how to sell it.’ Such the Medusa,” addressed apparently to his words are not much uttered nowadays....” son, he evokes the famous painting by Nor in 2007, as David Mamet elo- Gericault to describe the boy’s concep- quently attests. Franklin Freeman tion, during “two long days and nights...when we took to our bed with honey and biscuits.” The bed had then became “a raft far from the shores of tele- Home, Along phone/ or television...floating you into the world, your bulrush basket.” This hap- the Rahway pened under the sign of “the Water- Bearer,” Aquarius, and presumably on a River water bed. In a later poem, “Nicholas, Flying,” the son himself appears. It begins, Bridge and Tunnel “Our two-year-old is flying around the Poems house again,” and goes on and on amus- By John Hennessy ingly, with “the setter barking at his feet.” WordTech Communications. 85p $17 (paperback) To sum up, what John Hennessy does ISBN 9781933456553 in this first collection is, above all, respond to the writer’s imperative: “Plumb the As soon as I began to read the very first of Yankees announcer and “Holy Cow!” his material of your youth. Do not forget these poems by John Hennessy, “Signing favorite exclamation? Still, all the offbeat where you came from.” From there he the Kills,” I had to get out a map of the circumstances of these poems are strange- proceeds to the wider world and his later New Jersey shore to find where the ly compelling. The fine centerpiece poem, life, where we will continue to follow him Rahway River emerges, across from “In the Kills,” pulls all the threads togeth- with interest. James S. Torrens Staten Island and along the Arthur Kill. er. The author figures here as a Job, to Then I needed the dictionary to inform whom a consoler catalogs all the delights me that “kill” is from the Dutch, meaning to be tried on the Jersey shore. The America a stream or channel. The poem itself let unconvinced author can only plead: “Pick me know that “signing” referred to tag- up a rifle…for God’s sake, knock me down TO SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW New subscription ging, as with graffiti—that is, leaving one’s mid-air.” But he is reminded by God, in a Renewal mark on bridges and tunnels and the rest. paraphrase of the Book of Job: “Have you Yearly rates are $48 for each subscription. Add $22 for postage, Local allusions abound in these conjured kelp from the rivermouth, steel- handling and GST on Canadian orders. Add $32 for foreign sub- scriptions. Payment in U.S. funds only. poems, set mostly on the terrain of heads/ to swim the canal’s still water, tur- Payment enclosed Bill me Hennessy’s youth. It is not a picturesque tles to amble over the car doors/ and bat- On occasion America gives permission to other organizations to use our list for promotional purposes. If you do not want to country. “Mercks’ brick chimneys” appear teries?” In a final section called “Settling receive these promotions, contact our List Manager at our New half a dozen times, as do “Exxon’s clear Up,” God and the author end up resolving York offices.

blue flames.” The river, with its “chemical differences. W706 greens and floating fish,” and the land, An engrossing poem in Bridge and FOR with its spread of “rusting auto parts,” are Tunnel bears the title “Free Union” but in CHANGE OF hardly the scenes of an idyllic growing-up. fact is all about “my wife.” She, we are ADDRESS AND We come to know a cast of characters, told, is one “Whose eyelids are songs car- RENEWAL: like the young author’s pals Curtis and ried hidden in the pocket/ Whose eye- Please attach Paul (who ended up in a Korean brows are a field of feeding martins/ the mailing label monastery). There is a weird roughneck from the front Whose neck is a forest fire.” In the subti- cover when (please print) named Dog-Star Freddy, a scourge to writing about tle, “After Breton,” Hennessy—whose service or change both boys and girls. There is a sexual ini- poetry has appeared in The New of address. Allow 3 to 4 weeks for tiation in which the author gets his nose Republic, The Yale Review and else- change of address to take effect. ______broken by his irate partner. There is the where—acknowledges his debt to the Thank you. poet’s father, an inveterate skirt-chaser great French surrealist, but the hyperboli- NAME ADDRESS CITYE-MAIL STATE ZIP (“It’s not easy being such a man’s son,” he cal list of charms also recalls passages in Mail to: AMERICA, P.O. Box 693, allows), plus the magical practices of his the biblical Song of Songs, where the Mount Morris, IL 61054-7578 Catholic mother. lovers praise each other’s beauties, with or call 1-800-627-9533 www.americamagazine.org

July 16-23, 2007 America 27 Classified Michaelis at (831) 462-7556. EOE/AA/M/ www.baycarejobs.com. EOE/DFWP. F/D/V. Cards PASTORAL ASSISTANT FOR YOUTH MINISTRY THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA, School AND LITURGY FORMATION. Gesu Catholic GREETING CARDS. Custom orders. Original of Theology and Religious Studies, invites appli- Community, a Jesuit parish in the greater photography, glimpses of the sacred in the ordi- cations for a full-time tenure-track position in Cleveland area, seeks a full-time person experi- nary. Web site: www.smallsmallacts.com. LATIN PATRISTIC THEOLOGY. The candi- enced in liturgy formation and youth ministry. date must possess an earned and have The position includes developing and implement- Parish Missions primary expertise in St. Augustine and the theolo- ing youth faith programs and activities, planning INSPIRING, DYNAMIC PREACHING. Parish mis- gians of the early Latin church and their history and working with parishioners in developing strong sions, faculty in-service, retreats for religious. into the early . The person who fills and vibrant liturgies, working with staff dedicated Web site: www.sabbathretreats.org. the position will teach in undergraduate, graduate to parish life and the Spiritual Exercises of St. and seminary programs in the school, advise stu- Ignatius, promoting the Ignatian vision among our dents, direct master’s theses and doctoral disserta- young and serving the community through liturgi- Positions tions, and serve on committees. Rank and salary cal formation. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND ADMIN- will be determined on the basis of academic cre- Candidate should be an active Catholic, have ISTRATION, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of dentials and publication record. experience and training in ministry and possess Arlington, Va. Senior management position Send a curriculum vitae and three letters of strong organization and coordinating skills. supervising finance, administration and person- recommendation to: Chair of the Search Experience in youth ministry, liturgy and Jesuit nel. Reports to the Executive Director. Requires a Committee in Latin Patristic Theology, School of spirituality preferred. Offering excellent salary and minimum of a baccalaureate degree in accounting, Theology and Religious Studies, The Catholic benefits as well as a collaborative work environ- management or a related field; advanced degree University of America; Washington, DC 20064. ment. Deadline for applications is Aug. 25, 2007. preferred. Minimum of eight years postgraduate Applications accepted until position is filled. Send résumé to: Kathy Barile, Business experience in budget development and manage- The Catholic University of America was Manager, Gesu Church, 2470 Miramar Blvd., ment; experience with accounting in nonprofits founded in the name of the Catholic Church as a University Heights, OH 44118; Fax: (216) 932- desired. Must be a practicing Roman Catholic. national university and center for research and 0617. EOE. Send cover letter and résumé/C.V. by e- scholarship. Regardless of their religious affilia- mail to: [email protected] or by fax to: (703) 841- tion, all faculty members are expected to respect PASTORAL ASSOCIATE. Gesu Catholic Church, 3840. and support the University’s mission. The Detroit, is seeking a full-time pastoral associate, University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative responsible especially for faith formation. We are CATHOLIC CHAPLAINS, IMMEDIATE OPENINGS. Action Employer. seeking an experienced and gifted person who will California Institution for Women, Chino—full use his or her talents in various ways. Candidates DIRECTOR OF PASTORAL CARE SERVICES, time, Diocese of San Bernardino; California St. should have a degree or certification in theology Rehabilitation Center, Norco—full time, Diocese Petersburg, Fla. St. Anthony’s Health Care, a or a related field. Two years or more experience of San Bernardino; Napa State Hospital, Imola— Catholic-sponsored health care organization and required. Please mail résumé to: Gesu Church, full time, Diocese of Santa Rosa; Coalinga State a member of the BayCare Health System family, 17180 Oak Drive, Detroit, MI 48221, in care of Hospital, Coalinga—part time, Diocese of Fresno. is seeking an ordained Roman Catholic priest David Watson, S.J., Pastor; or fax: (313) 862- Qualified applicants include priests, men and chaplain to be our Director of Pastoral Care 1083. women religious, deacons or lay persons with Services. appropriate background and skills. A letter of This spiritually focused individual will pro- THEOLOGY FACULTY POSITION, Immaculata endorsement of good standing in the church from mote holistic care for the faith, beliefs and values University. Applications are invited for a full-time the bishop in which the institution is located must of patients and staff; establish a healing environ- tenure-track faculty position in theology, with accompany all applications. ment and interfaith collaboration with local com- expertise in moral theology. The position will Complete job description and salary scale: munity clergy and organizations; and direct staff begin in January 2008. Responsibilities will http://www.spb.ca.gov/employment/spbpay2rd.cf in planning, coordinating and fulfilling chaplaincy include the department chair position as well as m. State application form and other information service needs of patients, families and staff from a teaching. Candidates must have earned a doctor- about employment with the State of California: spiritual, religious and emotional perspective. ate (doctoral candidates will be considered). http://www.spb.ca.gov/employment. As a Director of Pastoral Care Services, the Applicants with distinguished teaching, scholar- Send résumé and three references with current selected candidate must possess a master’s degree ship records and administrative experience/poten- phone numbers to: Debbie McDermott: dmcder- in theology or related ministry field; two years’ tial are sought to lead the theology department. [email protected], or fax: (916) 443-4731. experience as a clinical pastor; and the ability to demonstrate spiritual, theological and pastoral Knowledge of technological resources and the application to instruction and research is desir- CATHOLIC PRIEST, Dominican Hospital- care knowledge and formation; and excellent able. The candidate must be qualified to teach C.H.W. is currently seeking a full-time priest to communication, teamwork, organizational and basic introductory and upper-level courses includ- serve as a member of our multidisciplinary team. management skills. Exceptional interpersonal ing courses in moral theology. Immaculata Important aspects of this position include assess- skills are also required to relate effectively to a University is a Catholic liberal arts institution ment of spiritual needs and provision of support to diversity of age groups as well as ethnic, socioeco- located 20 miles west of Philadelphia. Send letter patients, families and staff of all faiths. This posi- nomic and educational backgrounds, while of application, curriculum vitae, official transcripts tion will share on-call responsibilities, which may demonstrating respect for the Catholic ethical and and three letters of recommendation to: Theology include nights. Requires a master’s degree in the- religious directives; social justice issues; and the Faculty Search, Immaculata University, Box 635, ology or equivalent and C.P.E. training. Bilingual values and traditions of the Franciscan Sisters of Immaculata, PA 19345-0635. EOE. Spanish/English and N.A.C.C./A.P.C. certifica- Allegany. Ph.D. and C.P.E. certification pre- ferred. tion is preferred. Dominican Hospital-C.H.W. is Resources a 375-bed acute-care, not-for-profit hospital For confidential consideration, please send e- HOMILISTS, PREACHERS. Stories, images and located in beautiful Santa Cruz, Calif. Please mail to: Michelle Nelson at resources to assist you in your ministry: apply directly online at: www.dominicanhospi- [email protected]; call: (727) 825- www.connections-mediaworks.com. tal.org in the Careers section, or contact Sabrina 1161; or fax: (727) 825-1302; Web site:

28 America July 16-23, 2007 Letters

Wrestling Long and Hard pened is a mystery. Some of the Fathers consideration by the bishops of the com- As a member of the International said that Christ passed from her body mission when they meet in July. It is Commission on English in the Liturgy, I “like a light through glass.” Our Latin healthy for critics of any translation to want to praise Bishop Donald W. text uses the word ineffabiliter. ask themselves not only “Do I like this Trautman, who usefully highlights some “Unspeakably” does not seem to be a version?” but also “Can I do better?” of the challenges facing translators of the good translation. Nor do “inexplicably,” (Msgr.) Bruce Edward Harbert Roman Missal (“How Accessible Are the “indescribably,” “inconceivably” or Washington, D.C. New Mass Translations?” 5/21). The text “incomprehensibly,” all words whose he discusses, the prayer over the gifts for connotations would not fit the context. Stuff and Nonsense Masses of the Blessed Virgin during So the translators chose, here and else- I am a bit behind on my reading and Advent, is one of the most difficult in the where, to press into service an English only just now looked at the April 30 Missal and caused I.C.E.L.’s translators word that, though rare, is not difficult to issue. to wrestle long and hard. They will be explain: “ineffably.” As usual, there are good articles (if glad of any further help that may be “Inviolate” is aurally ambiguous, there weren’t, I wouldn’t be a longtime forthcoming. since it can be heard as “in violet.” The subscriber), but as usual there is a certain The difficulty arises in part from the translators wished to avoid it and looked amount of nonsense. You need a non- prayer’s allusions to two doctrines that around for an alternative term to use in sense editor to watch for this stuff and were better understood in patristic times this sensitive area of discourse. They felt delete it; remember, there are callow col- than today. Not only its language, but that many would find “intact” too direct- lege kids reading this. also its thinking, is remote from what ly physical or medical. Other terms that I notice the Corporate Hall of Bishop Trautman calls the contemporary were proposed could be heard as indeli- Shame mentions Union Carbide as mainstream of U.S. Catholics. cate. In the end, “inviolate” was the best responsible for releasing poisonous The first doctrine is that the sacrifices they could do. fumes into a “poor neighborhood.” The of the prefigured and Though the theology of this prayer is release was due to the sabotage of an were brought to an end by the sacrifice of ancient, its text is not. It was not even in Indian employee, and the “neighbor- Christ. The church’s redefinition of her the Missals of 1970 or 1975, but first hood” was Carbide’s own property, attitude to Judaism at the Second Vatican appeared in the 2002 edition. It may have which was illegally populated by squat- Council has made Catholics hesitant to been written as late as 1987. Translators ters. Do you think the Indian govern- speak of the as supersed- find recently composed prayers among ment might have been negligent in not ing the Old; but without some notion of the most difficult of all because, in eager- removing them? the bond between the testaments, it ness to hand on the church’s tradition or And Coca-Cola apparently is making would make no sense to read the Hebrew to incorporate the insights of Vatican II, people die of thirst by buying up sources Scriptures at the Christian liturgy at all. modern authors sometimes cram too of fresh water all over the world? I really The translators have found no word bet- many ideas into too small a space. But would like to see some substantiation of ter for expressing the concept in question their compositions are in the Missal, and this. It sounds highly dubious, a typical than the traditional one, “prefiguring.” they must be translated. example of hysteria by corporation-hat- The second is the doctrine of the Bishop Trautman ends with a call ing nuts. perpetual virginity of Mary, which means that I.C.E.L. can readily echo: “Speak I also have noted that churchmen are not only that she abstained from inter- up!” Anybody who can offer a better ver- prating about the evils of globalization, course, but that she remained physically sion of this difficult text is most welcome as if this were accepted truth. I happen intact as she gave birth. How this hap- to send it to the I.C.E.L. secretariat for to be of Irish descent and note that the

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July 16-23, 2007 America 29 The Word Both Mary and Martha Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C), July 22, 2007 Readings: Gen 18:1-10; Ps 15:2-5; Col 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42 “She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak” (Luke 10:39)

LL THE SUNDAY GOSPEL of labor along gender lines. There is readings this summer are from “women’s work” and “men’s work.” In Luke’s narrative about the jour- today’s text Martha dutifully performs ney of Jesus and his disciples up “women’s work” by serving her guests toA Jerusalem. As they move from place to and seeing to the practical aspects of hos- church and society today. place, they rely on the generosity of per- pitality. Meanwhile, Martha becomes The Martha-and-Mary narrative also sons along the way. Today’s Old annoyed that Mary fails to help her, challenges us to balance practical action Testament reading from Genesis 18 about because she is with the men listening to and contemplation. In the history of bibli- Abraham’s hospitality to his mysterious Jesus. Instead of directing Mary to help cal interpretation, it has been customary visitors and its surprising results provides a to identify Martha with the active form of glimpse of the importance of hospitality in Praying With Scripture religious life and Mary with the contem- the ancient Near East. The episode nar- plative form of religious life. But rather rated in Luke 10 takes place at the house • Do you identify more with Martha or than limiting them to religious life and with Mary? of Mary and Martha. While enjoying their contrasting them as “either…or,” it might hospitality, Jesus takes the opportunity to • What challenges does Jesus’ inclu- be better to view them as “both…and.” continue his teaching ministry. Mary joins sion of Mary in his teaching session We all (religious and lay) need both con- in the session, while her sister Martha pose for our church and society? templation and activity. attends to the needs of their guests. • What forms does contemplation One of the ironies of modern life is The inclusion of women in such a ses- take in your life? Do you give yourself that the very devices that save us time and sion would have been unusual in first-cen- regular time to read, think and pray? energy (computers, household appliances, tury Palestinian Jewish society. This kind etc.) often impose new burdens upon us. of religious discourse was generally limit- We can become slaves to our machines. ed to men in Jesus’ time. In patriarchal Martha, Jesus admonishes Martha for We can spend all our lives acting like societies, there was (and is) a strict division being overly concerned with household Martha, so overwhelmed with practical matters and suggests that Mary has cho- duties that we end up intellectually and DANIEL J. HARRINGTON, S.J., is professor of sen “the better part.” Jesus’ willingness to spiritually empty. Now, perhaps more New Testament at Weston Jesuit School of include women in his teaching activity than ever, we also need to give ourselves Theology in Cambridge, Mass. provides an important challenge to our time and space in which to think and pray. poverty-stricken island of my parents’ for some 11 years, I am all too aware of the mentally ill person-at-risk. The time is now one of the world’s most the bi-polar or schizophrenic (or other- supervised group home enables the per- prosperous countries, thanks to the wise mentally ill) offender who is not so son to maintain some sense of dignity. effects of globalization. Let’s hear it for ill as to warrant emergency placement in (Deacon) Pete Gummere globalization! an in-patient psychiatric facility, yet is St. Johnsbury, Vt. Thomas Farrelly sufficiently ill to have acted out in such a Seattle, Wash. way that the police very properly took End This War that person off the streets. The result is I wish to comment on the editorial about Sense of Dignity overcrowding in an extremely expensive treatment of the military, “A National In “Treatment, Not Prison” (5/28), Peter corrections setting rather than a less Shame” (5/28). My daughter was telling Ninemire asserts with clarity the need for expensive community-based supervised me recently about a group she joined that treatment and rehabilitation for nonvio- group home. A far more important issue, is helping the new needy of the United lent drug offenders. However, the need however, is that a corrections facility is States. With fundraisers, physical aid and for “treatment, not prison” extends far the wrong setting for these persons. Even moral support, they are helping the beyond the addicted population. Having the very enlightened corrections system spouses and families of the men and worked with the incarcerated population in Vermont undermines the dignity of women of the reserves and national

30 America July 16-23, 2007 This is the “better part” that Mary chose. most decisive and important moments in accompanying the full manifestation of Giving time to contemplation does not Jesus’ ministry—his baptism, choice of the God’s kingdom. mean neglecting the practical dimensions Twelve Apostles, sermon on the plain, Having shown us what to pray for, of our lives. Rather, it means giving our- transfiguration and especially during his Jesus then teaches us to pray—with persis- selves the opportunity to place what we do passion—Jesus prayed. In fact, if you want tence and boldness. His parable of the in the larger context of our lives and our to know what events Luke regarded as friend at midnight reflects a common relationships with God and others. We most important, look to his many refer- experience. Often a friend or family mem- need to be both Mary and Martha. In the ences to Jesus at prayer. Luke also pro- ber (especially a child) will be so persistent midst of the many duties and responsibili- vides two large blocks of Jesus’ surprising in making a request that we find it easier ties that modern life imposes on us, we teachings about to give in rather need to make time and space to sit beside prayer, which is than continue to Mary at the feet of Jesus and renew our- why Luke is Praying With Scripture resist. We grow selves intellectually and spiritually. sometimes called • What do you pray for? How do you weary of hearing, “the Gospel of make your own the petitions in the “Please, please, prayer.” In the Lord’s Prayer? please….” The first block, read • Are you surprised at Jesus’ insis- surprising point today, Jesus tells tence on persistence and boldness in of Jesus’ parable is us what to pray prayer? the idea that if we Surprising for, how to pray • What image or picture of God are persistent and and why we emerges from Jesus’ instructions about bold enough in should pray. prayer? prayer, God will Teachings Jesus’ first eventually give in instruction on prayer is set within his own to our petitions. The reading from practice of prayer. Luke’s notice that Jesus Genesis 18 about Abraham bargaining on Prayer was at prayer indicates the importance of with God illustrates this biblical attitude Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C), what follows. In response to his disciples’ perfectly. And Jesus’ own repeated insis- July 29, 2007 request, Jesus gives them and us a sample tence on the almost automatic efficacy of Readings: Gen 18:20-32; Ps 138:1-3, 6-8; prayer. It is the short version of what we the prayer of petition (“ask and you will Col 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13 call the Our Father or the Lord’s Prayer. receive”) further encourages persistence The longer version that is more familiar to and boldness in prayer. “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1) us appears in Matt 6:9-13, in the Sermon The best reason why we should pray is on the Mount. With this sample prayer that God wants to answer our prayers. UR SUNDAY GOSPEL read- Jesus teaches us first of all to address God This point is made by the parable about ings this summer from Luke’s as a loving father. Next he prays for the the father who wants to give good gifts to journey narrative provide a full coming of God’s kingdom and for the his son. If human parents naturally want to framework or outline for time when all creation will acknowledge give good gifts to their children, how Odeveloping a sound Christian spirituality. and celebrate the holiness of God. Then much more does God want to give us One essential element in any variety of he teaches us to ask the Father for suste- good gifts. And God wants to give us the Christian spirituality is prayer. Luke’s nance in our everyday life, for forgiveness greatest gift of all, the Holy Spirit. These Gospel is an excellent place to learn about of our sins (provided we forgive others) are indeed surprising teachings on prayer. biblical prayer. Luke tells us that at the and for protection during the trials or tests Daniel J. Harrington guards. These spouses are left for a long the country to end this war?” all” about one priest’s lifelong journey period of time running their family life Mildred Rahrig with saints who served as cheerleaders and alone. Money is very tight. Wolcottville, Ind. models in times of adversity. I lent my Why is it that no one in the United copy (for which I had waited three weeks) States is asked to sacrifice for the terrible Heartening Book to my boss, my pastor, and he never war except these people? Taxes are not I just finished reading “Of Many Things” returned it: “I’m still reading it.” But I raised to pay for the war; in fact, tax (5/28), the essay on intercessory prayer noticed that he kept referring to the book decreases are given. People are not and how we apply it to our saints, includ- in his weekly and Sunday homilies. allowed to question the war, because it ing frivilous and superstitious requests we Finally, he admitted that he wanted to shows we are not supportive of our sometimes make. (“Dear Saint Anthony, keep the book because he enjoyed revisit- troops, some would say. please come around....”) As I was reading, ing his own lifelong relationship with the In all my reading about how the war I thought, “As soon as I get to the end of saints! When I finished reading the essay I was sold to us, I keep coming back to the this article, I’m going to e-mail this editor found the name of James Martin, S.J., who question “Why did President Bush want and let him know about a life-changing is the author of My Life With the Saints! to do this?” and “What does he want and heartening book entitled My Life With Kathleen Carriere now when he keeps refusing to listen to the Saints.” It is a kind of faith journey “tell Warminstoe, Pa.

July 16-23, 2007 America 31