THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC WEEKLY OCT. 31, 2011 $3.50 OF MANY THINGS

PUBLISHED BY JESUITS OF THE UNITED STATES alloween was not always fun. But Halloween is not just a game for To the ancient Celts, who children. We know from the specialty EDITOR IN CHIEF seem to have originated it, Halloween stores that suddenly open Drew Christiansen, S.J. Halloween was deadly serious. By for the season that Halloween is big EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT October’s end, the dark came early, the business. As Dublin came alive at MANAGING EDITOR cold never left and death dwelt nearby. October’s end last year, phantoms of Robert C. Collins, S.J. Surviving the coming winter demanded every sort haunted O’Connell Street EDITORIAL DIRECTOR attention. and the Temple Bar—not so many Karen Sue Smith These peoples of ancient Ireland ghosts and demons as St. Patricks and ONLINE EDITOR knew of thin places—sacred wells, nuns and punks, all with healthy Maurice Timothy Reidy haunted groves—where the veil between draughts of Guinness. They would CULTURE EDITOR our world of stone and wood and anoth - hardly scare away the forces of evil, but James Martin, S.J. er world of spirit and imagination was they were having a lot of fun. LITERARY EDITOR flimsy. And at Halloween, they felt, these We have other ways to confront our Patricia A. Kossmann worlds were very close indeed. So they fears today, our demons, our ghosts, our POETRY EDITOR dressed up to confront and confuse the hostile powers. There are things that James S. Torrens, S.J. demons of the other side, powers they reasonable people can fear—not ASSOCIATE EDITORS did not understand but had to face. becoming crippled by it but needing to Kevin Clarke They were saying to these forces: “We face it. Some drown their fears with Kerry Weber are just as strong as you. We can match drink or drugs—hardly a healthy Raymond A. Schroth, S.J. Edward W. Schmidt , S.J. your power for evil with our power for response to things we cannot control. good. You can haunt us and harm us, Some seek therapeutic help and benefit ART DIRECTOR Stephanie Ratcliffe but in the end you are no match for us.” a lot from it. Some take action to con - ASSISTANT EDITOR I learned of this in October 2010, front sources of destructive power. Our Francis W. Turnbull, S.J. when I was in Dublin. I took a day trip current economic and political climate ASSISTANT LITERARY EDITOR up north to Newgrange, a Neolithic has induced thousands to take to the Regina Nigro burial chamber some 5,000 years old. It streets, to occupy public spaces. This is was constructed so that the rising sun how they creatively face a future that BUSINESS DEPARTMENT on Dec. 21, the winter solstice, shines looks bleak and without hope. And CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER directly into the door to this chamber. simple knowledge can be a helpful first Lisa Pope The builders knew how to celebrate the step in taking control of what threatens earth’s victory over darkness! us, making the unknown less fearsome 106 West 56th Street Modern revelry on Halloween bears and less powerful. New York, NY 10019-3803 some resemblance to ancient fears. Our faith, of course, is a great Ph: 212-581-4640; Fax: 212-399-3596 When children dress up for Halloween, resource. In the Gospels, Jesus appears E-mail: [email protected]; they conjure up images of the other to his frightened apostles, and they [email protected] world the Celts knew of and invest it think he is a ghost. “Don’t be afraid,” he Web site: www.americamagazine.org. with their own defiance. The 5-year-old urges them. Don’t be afraid of the storm Customer Service: 1-800-627-9533 ghost declares that ghosts do not scare or the sea, “Oh you of little faith.” Jesus © 2011 America Press, Inc. her! The 7-year-old in his pumped-up is telling us not to look at phantom evils Chicago Bears uniform is telling the but to know the power of good. He tells world that he will be that fearsome us not to rely on our own power, but Bear some day. The-8-year-old fairy is that he will be with us always. as regal as any bride in Westminster After the ghosts of Halloween come Abbey. One year when a nephew of the saints of Nov. 1, those who heeded mine was about five, we went to a that Gospel call. These are the heroes neighborhood park to face the spook who have gone before us, faced evil in trail set up there. He endured bravely this world and won victory. They are in but begged Mom and Dad not to make our memories and in our hearts with - Cover: “Council of Trent” painting located at the Museo del Palazzo del him do that ever again. Let’s leave out masks or makeup. Buonconsiglio. Photo: Wikimedia Halloween to tricks and treats. EDWARD W. SCHMIDT, S.J. commons.org/Laurom. CONTENTS www.americamagazine.org VOl. 205 NO. 13, WhOle NO. 4950 OCTOber 31, 2011

ARTICLES 11 A LESSON FOR TODAY? Bishops and theologians at the Council of Trent John W. O’Malley

15 CATHOLICS AT WORK 6 Late-Night Catechism Mary Lynn Hendrickson

COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 4 Current Comment 11 5 Editorial Conscience in the Mud 6 Signs of the Times

9 Column When Catholics Vote John J. DiIulio Jr.

17 Faith in Focus The Art of Dying Sidney Callahan

19 State of the Question Life or Death Decisions Charles F. MacCarthy and John P. MacCarthy

24 Poem Darkness: For Mother Teresa Michael D. Riley

29 Letters

15 31 The Word Inexhaustible Light Barbara E. Reid BOOKS & CULTURE 22 ART Rembrandt’s haunting view of Christ BOOKS Habits of Change; The Lord as Their Portion

ON THE WEB ON THE WEB John W. O’Malley, S.J., right, talks about the lessons of the Council of Trent , and Leo J. O’Donovan, S.J., narrates a slideshow of Rembrandt’s paintings of Jesus . Plus, past articles from the Catholics at Work series. All at americamagazine.org. 22 CURRENT COMMENT

from newly hostile territory. Even properly documented A Free Catholic Press? workers are leaving, worried about hassles with police and The six editors of Zenit, a private Catholic information state and school district bureaucrats. The abrupt depar - service based in Rome, resigned over the issue of indepen - tures have left crops rotting in the fields, shingles unham - dence, according to a report by Catholic News Service on mered and restaurants scrambling for replacements. For Oct. 11. They objected to the growing control of Zenit by proponents of the law, this is all to the good: employers the Legionaries of Christ, a major financial backer, and will be forced to seek out native-born citizens and legal cited the spirit of Zenit: to serve the universal church, not residents to replace the departed workers. one religious congregation. The editors said they preferred Alabama has begun a real-world sociological experi - to resign rather than betray their principles. This followed ment that is fraught with peril. Are there some back- the forced resignation of Jesús Colina, who founded Zenit breaking jobs that native-born workers simply will not in 1997. Mr. Colina stated that a major issue was the take, and are there wage hikes for unskilled work that U.S. Legionaries’ lack of transparency over finances and the sex - employers simply will not make? Testing these questions ual scandals surrounding their founder, Marcial Maciel. could prove devastating to Alabama’s economy. Speaking for the Legionaries, Andreas Schoggl, L.C., said that Mr. Colina’s resignation did not indicate a change Fighting Bias of policy but that “the stress on journalistic indepen - When the U.S. bishops’ Office of Migration and Refugee dence…might have induced people to think that Zenit was Services learned that it had been denied a grant from the just a private initiative of Catholic journalists.” Quite clear - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of ly, Zenit is now just a mouthpiece for the Legionaries. Refugee Resettlement, some expressed worry that the lack Journalists struggle to maintain the credibility that of funds would negatively affect those served by the orga - comes from the pursuit of objectivity. Which stories nization. But another concern also surfaced: fear of anti- appear and how they are weighted are subjective decisions, Catholic bias in the White House. A post on the bishops’ of course. Still, writers and editors—even in Catholic jour - Media Blog argued that the H.H.S. was abiding by “the nalism—must work independently of their publishers’ ABC Rule, Anybody But Catholics” and cited the bishops’ business and public relations agendas. stance against abortion, sterilization and artificial contra - ception as the reason. The Alabama Experiment The lack of this grant may disrupt services while the A new state immigration law in Alabama, perhaps the cases at the bishops’ migration office are shifted to new toughest in the nation, empowers police to check the agencies, and this is unfortunate. But to describe the move immigration status of people they stop or arrest, adds new as anti-Catholic is to get caught up in an argument that pressure on employers to verify worker residency and benefits no one. Two-thirds of the migration office subcon - requires schools to filter out children of undocumented tractors were non-Catholic organizations, so Catholic residents. Other states have passed similarly stringent laws, groups are not the only ones to suffer the loss of funding. and still more are poised to join the fray, making a riot of It is discouraging that the administration caved in to the U.S. immigration policy. The chief blame must fall on American Civil Liberties Union on reproductive issues. Congress, which has consistently failed to pass comprehen - But claims of anti-Catholic bias ignore government fund - sive immigration reform that might begin to make sense of ing for other Catholic entities and other good-faith efforts America’s contradictory relationship with its vast undocu - by this administration to establish cordial working rela - mented workforce. tions. On Oct. 14 approximately 160 leaders from Major components of the Alabama law have already Catholic Charities USA met with White House officials been suspended after being challenged by the U.S. in a daylong meeting to discuss the economy, human ser - Department of Justice. Whatever the outcome in the vices, housing and immigration. In a press release, Jon courts, a backlash against the law quickly emerged, not Carson, director of the White House Office of Public from soft-hearted liberals but from hard-headed employers Engagement, called Catholic Charities “an incredible net - in Alabama’s agriculture, construction and restaurant work of social service organizations” and added that he was industries. Their position is neither red nor blue but green, looking forward to working “towards our shared goals.” as in cash, something they fear they will be losing now that Still, a positive word from Mr. Carson is no substitute for Alabama’s low-paid workforce has begun a hurried exodus collaborative efforts to serve those in need.

4 America October 31, 2011 EDITORIAL Conscience in the Mud

hen James Madison warned that “no nation can months, only five hit their targets. They preserve its freedom in the midst of continual killed five key Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders, Wwarfare,” he was referring to the corrupting but at the cost of over 700 civilian lives. influence of unchecked power on leaders. Since the Korean Since 9/11 the C.I.A., now under War ended 60 years ago, the world has backed away from General David Petraeus, has transformed war as an instrument of national policy. Tactics have itself from an intelligence-gathering organization into a changed to guerrilla warfare, air strikes, drones and house paramilitary unit. The C.I.A. has embedded agents in the raids; yet all these share moral ambiguities. Unchecked New York City police force to help infiltrate the Muslim com - power lurks in the shadows. munity. And 20 percent of the C.I.A.’s staff members are now If the United States wants to lead and bring about “targeters,” who draw up lists of people the C.I.A. will try to what St. Augustine called the “tranquility of order,” it kill—by drones, land mines or other means—without the should first examine its own conscience. The United States accountability expected of the military. has earned worldwide respect for its help to victims of hur - Today the Air Force trains more unmanned aerial ricanes and earthquakes. But today, especially in the Middle vehicle operators than it does pilots. Robotic researchers East and the undeveloped world, the dominant image of design control panels modeled on video games so that 19- America is negative. Why? There are three related reasons: year-old recruits who have been playing “Kill Zone” and overwhelming U.S. military presence, the drone syndrome “Assassin’s Creed” can apply their skills in the real world. The and a wobbling commitment to human rights. future operator will have to control multiple drones rather Military Presence . The United States maintains than one. Military planners hope technology will develop approximately 1,000 military bases around the world. And drones that can be programmed to make life-or-death com - when U.S. troops “withdraw” from Afghanistan, at least bat decisions by themselves, at the projected cost of $94 bil - 10,000 troops may remain, along with thousands of civilian lion over 10 years. By then many of the 50 countries that operatives, to protect U.S. interests in resources and to have acquired drones will have the capacity to destroy ene - expand U.S. power. This will cost billions that could be mies from afar. Will they follow America’s moral example? invested better at home. Human Rights. The United States must extricate itself Drones. Many of these bases house the drones that from the 10-year-old mentality that the journalist Mark redefine how 21st-century wars will be fought. Drones also Danner has called “the state of exception.” That exception expand executive power to a dangerous degree. Robots kill has allowed the distinction between politics and law to the enemy without endangering American troops or con - become blurred. Being “at war” has led to the setting aside of tractors who may operate the weapons from thousands of long-held wartime limits and to violations of human rights. miles away. But drones also obfuscate the responsibility of And that exception has allowed the United States to tor - the faceless technicians and White House lawyers for their ture, waterboard, assassinate and incarcerate suspected ene - deadly results, and they raise factual and moral questions mies indefinitely in Abu Ghraib, in secret prisons abroad that the president declines to discuss. After President and in Guantánamo, still a symbol of U.S. irresolution. Obama’s announcement that the United States had killed That former Vice President Dick Cheney would Anwar-al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen, in a drone attack, his press praise President Obama for killing Mr. Awlaki and in the secretary sputtered helplessly when a reporter pressed for same interview criticize him for not approving the Bush- evidence that justified the order to target an American citi - Cheney “enhanced interrogation techniques” exemplifies the zen abroad. A week later another drone reportedly killed national conscience still stuck in the moral mud. The gov - another U.S. citizen, Mr. Awlaki’s 16-year-old son. ernment and the American people must acknowledge that Spokesmen for the Central Intelligence Agency have this struggle against terrorism is a police action, not a war. stressed the accuracy of drones. Yet the Awlaki strike killed at Police are supposed to enforce the law, not bend it. The least eight persons, not just the two usually named. According more the United States fails to follow this rule, the more its to Global Research, based in Canada, out of the 44 drone conscience shrinks, until it resembles that of the enemy who strikes in the tribal area of Pakistan over the previous 12 would drag America down.

October 31, 2011 America 5 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

U.S. POVERTY Inner-City Funerals As Economic Indicators sk the Rev. Laurence Tracy about poverty in the mostly Hispanic neighborhood of Northeast Rochester that he A calls home and he starts talking about funerals. For 40 years, Father Tracy, 71, has kept statistics about the people whose funerals he presides over or helps plan. These days, Father Tracy’s informal analysis points to worsening economic challenges for the residents in the part of the city encom - passing St. Francis Xavier Cabrini Parish, spiritual home for Rochester’s Hispanic Catholics. Although he is officially retired as a priest of the Diocese of Rochester, he still maintains an active “min - istry of presence” on the streets of the city. He’s finding that people are younger and sicker when they die. “I do about 125, 130 funerals per year that I’m involved in some way or another,” he said. “Probably 20, 25 people die in their 40s or 50s as the result of liver failure and kidney failure because of drug and alcohol addiction, which is a consequence of poverty. It’s not just a moral problem: ‘They’re drunks.’ No, no. That’s due to a lack of beds for recovery. “I probably do about 10 babies or children a year, children of teenage been hard hit during the recent eco - Xavier Cabrini in the hope of raising mothers. I did a [funeral for a] 2- nomic downturn. There are now more awareness of what he sees is a need to month-old baby about two months Hispanic children growing up poor “create some balance in our economy.” ago. The mother was 16; she was 15 than white children, 6.1 million to 5 “We need a social economy, where when she was pregnant.” million, even though Hispanics repre - it’s not profit, it’s people,” Father Tracy Father Tracy argues that people sent only 16 percent of the total popu - said, “an economy that doesn’t just who die younger than 60 years old “do lation. focus in on profits, where it doesn’t so because they don’t have health care.” Father Tracy also is involved with just have everything flow to the top.” “There’s no preventative care,” he the funerals of a number of homicide said. “They go to the emergency victims each year. He has observed HUMAN RIGHTS department for treatment. They’re not that some are the result of family argu - getting adequate care. They don’t have ments brought on by the “pressure of Progress in money for medicine.... Most of them poverty.” Some are the result of turf shouldn’t die. It’s the result of socio- wars between gangs or rival drug deal - Burma? economic issues,” he said. ers, he said. s Burma beginning to emerge Father Tracy’s unorthodox study is “These are consequences, indica - from the political darkness of its backed up by current Census Bureau tors of poverty. It’s not just how much Irecent past? While a military data. In 2010, 15.1 percent of all U.S. money you have or don’t have,” he junta, some of its members now in residents lived in poverty—the highest explains. civilian garb, has remained in charge percentage since 1993—and more Father Tracy has joined his neigh - since the rejection of multiparty elec - than 46 million people, or one in six bors in protesting drug dealing and tions in 1990, in recent months there Americans, were under the federal crime. And he talks about the trials has been some evidence of political poverty threshold. facing the residents of his neighbor - thawing. Under house arrest off and The U.S. Hispanic population has hood in his homilies at St. Francis on since 1989, Nobel Peace Prize lau -

6 America October 31, 2011 Thein Sein were drawn from among villagers,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy army ranks. All the same, cracks have Asia director at Human Rights emerged in the junta’s rule. In addition Watch. “Tens of thousands of people to the release of Aung San Suu Kyi have fled through the mountains and and the more recent prisoner release, jungle at the height of the rainy sea - the ruling party bowed to widespread son, driven away by fear of army public resistance and halted construc - attacks.” tion of a dam along the Irrawaddy “For over half a century,” said River in Kachin territory. Trade Archbishop Bo during a visit to India unions are currently being tolerated, for the meeting of the Asian bishops, and there has been some evidence of “the country has been led by a military loosening restrictions on Burmese regime that has confiscated our mis - media. sion schools, expelled foreign priests At best, though, opposition leaders [so that] today we have only local will express only cautious optimism. priests.” The archbishop said the They say it is still premature to predict church in Burma is not the victim of what future developments may be. “direct persecution,” but there are There is conflict within the ruling “restrictions” and “discrimination” on Natalie Garcia, right, selects food party’s leadership, and Burma remains this religious minority that makes up with the help of a volunteer at the Sister Regis Food Cupboard in afflicted with a deep social divide and “only 1.3 percent of the population.” Rochester, N.Y. Nationwide, growing poverty. A recent report from However, he said, “there have been Hispanics are falling into poverty Human Rights Watch suggests that positive signs” over the last year for the faster than any other ethnic group. progress toward church in Burma, reform in Burma will including thou - reate Aung San Suu Kyi was released likely prove halting. sands of baptisms. in November 2010 and has been The report charged Archbishop Bo “actively in dialogue” with various min - that “serious abuses” argues that Burma isters from the ruling party and with have followed a should look to the Burma’s “moderate” President Thein renewal of hostilities example of India as Sein. The release of 100 political pris - between the Burmese it continues down oners on Oct. 12 was another step for - military and the the democratic ward, although thousands of political Kachin Independence path. He said, prisoners remain imprisoned under Army after a 17-year “India is the largest horrendous conditions. ceasefire broke down democracy in the Rangoon’s Archbishop Charles in June. The human world, with free - Maung Bo said, “Changes are in rights watchdog dom of expression, progress” in Burma. “We are a people group said Burmese religion and press.” full of hope,” said the archbishop, who armed forces have Archbishop Bo is the president of the Office for been responsible for called it a “very Human Development of the killings and attacks on important” point of Federation of Asian Bishops. civilians, using forced reference because Burma’s ruling party, Union labor and pillaging “in many South Solidarity and Development, which villages. Asian countries “won” over 75 percent of the seats in a “Renewed fighting these freedoms are seriously flawed parliamentary elec - in Kachin State has Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader controlled. India, on tion in November 2010, is still direct - meant renewed abus - Aung San Suu Kyi leaves her the contrary, is a National League for Democracy’s ly supported by Burma’s military; and es by the Burmese headquarters a few days after her source of inspira - many of the “civilians” appointed by army against Kachin release last November. tion for all.”

October 31, 2011 America 7 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

Haitians ‘Stateless’ in NEWS BRIEFS Dominican Republic Representatives from Jesuit Refugee An activist on behalf of indigenous communities Services in the Dominican Republic on Mindanao in the Philippines, the Rev. Fausto have accused the government of nulli - Tentorio, 59, was killed by gunfire on Oct. 17. fying nearly 1,600 birth certificates • Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdio- belonging to residents of Haitian cese for the Military Services objected to a descent. An investigation by J.R.S. Pentagon memo allowing military chaplains to offi - found that 72 percent of those affected ciate at same-sex marriages, arguing that unions are by the government’s moves are prohibited by the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Fausto Tentorio between 15 and 30 years old and are • Pope Benedict has invited nonbelievers for the now unable to find a job, open a bank first time to an ecumenical religious peace gathering in Assisi, Italy, account or enroll in school. Forty-eight on Oct. 27. • Two Spanish relief workers with Doctors Without percent also have been unable to regis - Borders were kidnapped by Shabab gunmen at a Somali refugee ter their children as Dominican citi - camp on Oct. 13. • The U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Pro-Life zens. The denationalization policy is Activities welcomed House passage of the Protect Life Act on Oct. stripping thousands of Dominicans of 13, which applies federal policies on abortion funding and conscience Haitian descent of their previously rights to health reform legislation passed last year. • Pope Benedict established citizenship, denying them XVI declared 2012-13 a “year of faith” on Oct. 16, to give new access to their existing identity docu - impetus to the church’s mission to lead people “out of the desert…to ments and effectively rendering their the place of life, of friendship with Christ.” • Dean Brackley , 65, an children and future generations state - American Jesuit who joined the faculty of the University of Central less. America in El Salvador after six of his fellow Jesuits were murdered in 1989, died there of pancreatic and liver cancer on Oct. 16. Bishop Finn Indicted Bishop Robert W. Finn and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, September, an independent report global economic mechanisms, the which he heads, entered pleas of not commissioned by the diocese to exam - pope said in a message marking guilty to misdemeanor charges of fail - ine its policies and procedures on World Food Day on Oct. 16. Citing ure to report child abuse. The charges assessing child sexual abuse allegations the famine and refugee crisis in the were brought in connection with the found “shortcomings, inaction and Horn of Africa, the pope said the diocese’s handling of the case of the confusing procedures.” The report also “painful images” of starving people Rev. Shawn Ratigan. “Bishop Finn said that “diocesan leaders failed to fol - underline the need for both emergen - denies any criminal wrongdoing and low their own policies and procedures cy aid and long-term intervention to has cooperated at all stages with law for responding” to abuse claims. support agricultural production and enforcement, the grand jury, the prose - distribution. The pope said a new cutor’s office” and the independent global attitude is needed. “There are commission appointed by the diocese Freedom From Hunger clear signs of the profound division to study the matter, said Gerald Pope Benedict XVI appealed for between those who lack daily suste - Handley, the bishop’s attorney. The immediate and long-term relief for the nance and those who have huge charge against Bishop Finn carries a world’s hungry, saying adequate nour - resources at their disposal,” he said. maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and ishment is a fundamental part of the Given the dramatic nature of the one year in jail. Father Ratigan was right to life. The hunger crisis that problem, reflection and analysis are arrested in May on charges of possess - affects millions of people today is a not enough. Action must be taken, he ing child pornography. In August fed - sign of the deep gulf between the haves said. eral prosecutors charged him with and the have-nots of the world and producing child pornography. In early calls for changes in lifestyle and in From CNS and other sources.

8 America October 31, 2011 JOHN J. D I IULIO JR.

When Catholics Vote s has been widely reported, on bishops have preached. According to While summarizing the U.S. bish - Oct. 7 a prominent Protestant the Pew data, Catholics (19 percent) ops’ moral reasoning as it applies to A minister, appearing at an event are less likely than Protestants (29 per - issues ranging from abortion and the featuring Republican presidential cent) and substantially less likely than death penalty to immigration and hopefuls, called Mormonism a cult. white evangelical Christians (34 per - international aid, the document’s But even before the controversy and cent) to refuse to vote for a Mormon mini-dissertations on the ongoing media focus on Mormonism sparked candidate. Catholics are America’s “economic crisis” and an America by that remark, Gallup polls in 2011 biggest bloc of swing voters because “marred by deepening disparities found that 22 percent of Americans most do not vote strictly by party, ide - between the rich and the poor” are would not vote for a candidate they ology, occupation, race or religion. especially timely. And its broader call considered to be well-qualified if that And, as the 2012 campaign season for “a renewed kind of politics,” a poli - candidate were a Mormon—a slight stirs potentially divisive tics “focused more on increase over previous numbers. In sentiments regarding reli - ‘Faithful the needs of the weak Pew polls, 25 percent indicated that gion in the public square, than on the benefits of simply being a Mormon made a candi - the statement “Forming citizenship’ the strong,” is both date “less likely” to get their vote. Consciences for Faithful timely and timeless. In 1959 the same fraction of Citizenship: A Call to merits To me at least, it is Americans, 25 percent, said they Political Responsibility,” considera - fitting that the docu - would not support any Catholic for released by the U.S.C.C.B. ment endorses particu - president. But by August 1961, a few this month, merits careful tion, lar anti-poverty policies months into the presidency of John F. consideration, robust dis - discussion and programs, including Kennedy, a Catholic, the figure had cussion and respectful Social Security, the fallen to 13 percent. It declined to 8 debate by Catholics and and respect. earned-income tax cred - percent by 1967 and has remained non-Catholics alike. it and food stamps. But right about there ever since (7 percent Although most Catholics and other whether the document, taken in its in mid-2011). citizens will disagree with one or totality, reflects both “the social teach - Today, at least as measured by the another part of it, the 45-page docu - ing of our church” and “the best tradi - polls, the bias against Catholics in the ment, identical except for a new intro - tions of our nation” is of course some - public square that seemed so iniqui - duction to the bishops’ statement on thing on which reasonable Catholic tous and ubiquitous when Kennedy the same subject four years ago in hearts and minds are bound to differ. ran for president is history. To its cred - preparation for the 2008 elections, That said, if any other body of U.S. it, the post-1960 U.S. Conference of repays reading for what it offers by way religious leaders has produced a better Catholic Bishops has been consistent of core principles regarding political document on political responsibility over the past half-century in rejecting engagement, the value of public service that is addressed primarily to their rank religious chauvinism against any and government’s moral duty to pro - own co-religionists yet relevant to all faith tradition and has encouraged tect the poor. Americans who care about civic Catholics to practice good citizenship As we read in its opening sections, engagement, I have not seen it. and respect religious pluralism. the document “does not offer a voters’ But the bishops' first order of busi - At least compared with other large guide, scorecard of issues, or direction ness should be to make their flocks religious denominations, Catholics on how to vote.” Beyond the “contest of aware of the document. A recent poll practice the electoral ecumenism their powerful interests, partisan attacks, conducted by Georgetown University’s sound bites, and media hype,” it avows, Center for Applied Research in the JOHN J. DIIULIO JR. is the author of Godly the church “affirms the importance of Apostolate found that just 16 percent Republic: A Centrist Blueprint for America’s Faith-Based Future (Univ. of political participation and insists that of U.S. Catholics had even heard of California Press, 2007). public service is a worthy vocation.” the bishops’ document four years ago.

October 31, 2011 America 9

BISHOPS AND THEOLOGIANS AT THE COUNCIL OF TRENT A Lesson For Today? BY JOHN W. O’MALLEY

he year 2013 will mark the 450th anniversary of the closing of the Council of Trent. I am writing a book about the council to con - tribute in a modest way to the anniversary’s observance. But I am doing so also because I believe that in this case, as in so many oth - ers, what happened in the past gives helpful perspectives on the Tpresent. What happened at Trent may help Catholics and observers outside the church to reflect upon the current tension between the magisterium and theolo - gians and suggest better ways to deal with it. The problem is not new in the church, but today it is certainly acute. Its roots are deep in the past, originating in the 12th and 13th centuries with the founding of the universities. Up to that time bishops, who almost invariably

O came from the upper social strata of society, had the same literary style of educa - l O C i

N tion as their peers. If all went well, they directed their literary skills to expound - y b

”

, ing on the text of the Bible and thus became qualified to teach in the church. St. y 5 N 4

, 5 e 1

Augustine and St. Ambrose fit this mold. Although these bishops might on their C N i r

u T O N own devote time to the study of philosophy, their culture remained general, indis - e s e r T r

f T tinguishable in style from that of other leaders in society. They were the equiva - O r

a l / i i T C lent of the “gentlemen scholars” of later ages. They held no university degrees r N O u

i O l

C because there were no universities.

g e a h D

T

O f D O e

r N Birth of the Universities f O i l s a

: s e O This comfortable situation changed drastically in the High Middle Ages, when s T

O g h N i p Greek science, newly imported, challenged the Bible as the source of all knowl -

N . i e T p a O

g edge. Reflection on the “sacred page” would never again be so easy, as the rela -

i e r h O T D “ tionship between “reason and revelation” moved into a new and direct confronta -

JOHN W. O’MALLEY, S.J., university professor in the theology department at Georgetown University, is author of The First Jesuits and What Happened at Vatican II (Harvard Univ. Press).

October 31, 2011 America 11 tion. That confrontation has continued into the present in earned university degrees in canon law, a discipline soon different forms, surely, but in forms even more exacerbated. considered more appropriate for them than theology. Thus There are no easy answers to the question of reconciling it happened that bishops, the traditional teachers of the issues arising from the confrontation, most especially not in faith, generally did not have the technical expertise required the intellectually and technologically complicated 21st cen - to deal with the ever more challenging questions raised in tury. discourse about “sacred Just at the time the con - doctrine.” They had to rely frontation first took place, At Trent the theologians played a on professionals. and to some extent In a rough sketch, that because of it, the universi - more formally recognized role is the origin of the tension ty came into being. The and had fewer limitations between magisterium and purpose of the new insti - theologians that we expe - tution was to train profes - imposed on them. rience today. The relation - sionals, including profes - ship between these two sionals in the sacred page. classes of teachers has not, At the University of Paris, the faculty of theology was one of course, always been tense. That is where the Council of of the three professional schools, along with law and Trent can be instructive. It stands as an important instance medicine. To complete the full course in theology might of cooperation. The Second Vatican Council also provides require some 15 years. It was in that faculty that the many an instance of cooperation, but at Trent the theologians problems arising from the new problematic of reason and played a more formally recognized role and had fewer limi - revelation intruded into the more serene scenario of con - tations imposed on them. templation of the sacred page. Disputation, not contempla - tion, was the standard university exercise. Vatican II and Trent Note that these new professionals in theology were not At Vatican II the pope directly appointed all official periti , bishops. For the most part bishops and future bishops con - the theological experts, even though bishops were free to tinued to be educated in the old ways; some, however, bring their own. The theologians sat with the bishops on the commissions that prepared the documents. Although they had considerable influence in the commissions, they were officially admonished that they were to speak only when spoken to. They never addressed the bishops in the plenary sessions in St. Peter’s Basilica. That was reserved exclusively to the bishops. The procedures at Trent were different in two significant ways. First, the pope appointed only two or three of the council’s theologians. The rest were appointed by the bish - ops, by monarchs and by the religious orders. At the second period of the council, 1551-52, for instance, the pope appointed 2, the bishops 15, the Holy Roman Emperor 7, Queen Mary of Hungary (the emperor’s sister) 8 and the religious orders 22. Second, the role the theologians played in the prepara - tion of the doctrinal decrees differed. The procedure was as follows: First, one or more theologians, designated for the task by the papal legates who presided at the council, sorted out the principal points at issue in the doctrine under discussion. These points, brief and pointed, usually amounting to only a sentence or two, were then given to the other theologians and bishops. Second, in the presence of the full assembly of bishops, the theologians in turn presented their views on the articles. Individual presentations might last two or three hours.

12 America October 31, 2011 These meetings, called congregations of theologians, were held morning and afternoon and sometimes went on for several weeks at a time. Although bishops were not strictly required to attend these sessions, most did so. They listened in silence and heard a wide spectrum of views. An example will illustrate the difference between the two councils. The concept of Tradition (the Second Vatican Council) or traditions (Trent) was treated in both. At the Second Vatican Council the Doctrinal Preparatory Commission, made up of bishops, composed a draft decree that was then submitted to the other bishops gathered in St. Peter’s. Two theologians—Karl Rahner, S.J., and the Rev. Joseph Ratzinger—were convinced that a whole school of thought on the matter had been a priori excluded from con - sideration. They therefore felt compelled to create an alter - native text, which they circulated on an unofficial basis among the bishops. At Trent the first action was in reverse order: theologians vetted the problem, while prelates listened silently to the wide variety of opinions expressed. Third, only then did the bishops, now well informed about the theological options available to them, in similarly serial fashion address ON THE WEB the articles. When A conversation they finished, a depu - with John W. O'Malley, S.J. tation of bishops americamagazine.org/podcast together with theolo - gian consultants drew up a draft document, which was then debated by the bish - ops, amended as needed and finally approved by them. It was a long, often tedious procedure, but it resulted in decrees that were fully informed and well thought out. The bishops at Trent were typical of the Catholic episco - pacy at the time. They had little formal training in theology, even though they otherwise might be well educated accord - ing to the standards of the day. If they had university degrees, those decrees tended to be in canon law. The the - ologians at Trent, however, came exclusively from universi - ties or comparable institutions, and some were men of great distinction. They were not hand-chosen to promote a par - ticular perspective but represented a random sampling of theological “schools.” The bishops did well to hear them out before proceeding to their own deliberations. Since the beginning of the 20th century, virtually all bish - ops have had the basic theological training of the seminaries they attended. In that respect they are different from the bishops who participated at Trent. Nonetheless, few have advanced degrees in theology at a time when the Christian situation has become complex to an extent unimaginable in an earlier age. Now as never before, cooperation and mutu - al respect are important. In that regard, I believe, the Council of Trent may hold a lesson for both parties. A

October 31, 2011 America 13

CATHOLICS AT WORK 6 Late-Night Catechism A parish youth minister finds challenges and refreshment on the job. BY MARY LYNN HENDRICKSON

am an accidental youth minister. After many years as staffpeople all the time.” an editor, two stints as a director of religious educa - Second, the distressing disintegration of family life tion and a relocation to Wisconsin, I am three years shows up in living color at the parish: Many families are in into my current position. These days I stay up late on financial trouble; Imission trips and confirmation retreats instead of burning many face the ripple the midnight oil to write articles on Catholic social teaching. effects of divorce Now I use Facebook more than Photoshop and refer to the and rocky remar - Urban Dictionary more than Merriam-Webster. riages. The needs I have worked for the church my entire professional strain a social-ser - life—25 years—and thought I had seen just about every - vices safety net that thing possible in parish life. What I did not glean from includes parishes interviews with national church leaders and veteran “people and schools. Few in the pews,” I figured I knew firsthand as an overcommit - seem to understand ted church volunteer myself. the insidious way In 2006, however, I accepted a job as a parish director of competition and religious education and got the education of my life. Jesus consumerism erode may have said, “The harvest is plentiful, laborers are few.” the foundation of But Dwight Eisenhower put it more precisely for parish family life. Ironically, workers when he said, “Farming looks mighty easy when in a quest to give your plow is a pencil, and you’re a thousand miles from the their children the cornfield.” As one who now toils in the fields of parish min - best of everything, istry, I see two bracing challenges. busy families rarely First, most people have no clue about the myriad mad - sit down together dening details or the continuous drain on energy and atten - any more to eat a tion that go into running a local parish. I have gained new meal or go to Mass. respect for parish priests, seeing the hours they keep, the Time together expectations people have of them and the way they are means driving a pulled 10 different directions each day. Expectations of pas - minivan to sporting tors are passed on to the parish staff. events and music The local parish is not a typical workplace; the detailed practices, everyone work you are paid to do is constantly interrupted by people too occupied with iPods, cellphones and Disney DVDs to seeking many different things. Nor are parishioners the converse. As a parish minister, I see a generation of distract - kind of clientele you encounter in other lines of work. I once ed children and harried parents who need repeated heard a speaker say: “Nobody goes to the drive-up window reminders to sign up for programs, hesitate to commit r O

at the bank and tells the manager, in fine detail, how to run themselves to participate and expect endless flexibility. It is h T u a her business. But parishioners do that to trained church as if the parish has become a commodity instead of a com - f O

y

munity. s e T r

Despite those challenges, I truly enjoy being a youth min - u MARY LYNN HENDRICKSON, O formerly an editor at Claretian C

ister, particularly when I can interact directly with teens. I O Publications and executive director of Associated Church Press, is cur - T O h rently a writer and parish youth minister near Madison, Wis. love hunting for new ways to touch their tender hearts and p

October 31, 2011 America 15 slightly cynical minds, opportunities to showcase the every - Trapped, trap-ping, traps day wisdom of the Catholic faith and the reality of God’s v.tr unrelenting love. Somehow I am able to earn their honesty, 1. To catch in a trap; ensnare respect and trust. I would like to think it is because I try to 2. To prevent from escaping or approach them from the start with honesty, respect and trust, instead of phoniness or agendas. Listening has turned getting free me into their emissary and advocate among the other adults Do you know someone who is who populate their world—not in a doting, hovering-heli - trapped in an addiction? copter parent way but in a manner that challenges teens to rethink their assumptions. Teenagers challenge my assumptions, too, and keep me on my toes. We remind each other to laugh out loud and sing along to songs on the radio. Becoming a youth minister has taught me to value a good road trip. Happiness is a car - load of teens in lively conversation, as we make our way to a conference or work site. Sometimes the talk turns serious; they ask tough questions or admit to common conflicts with The Promise of Hope parents, teachers, siblings, peers and significant others. These young people are some of the best traveling compan - ions I have ever had: always entertaining, unusually honest, sometimes vulnerable, typically hopeful. When the hardest parts of parish work get me down, I find my comfort in the prayer I teach for confirmation (St. Augustine’s “Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit”) and in the The NATIONAL CATHOLIC COUNCIL on ADDICTIONS breath of fresh air I find in the company of these parish will provide support and resources teenagers. A so that you or a loved one can nd the TRUE FREEDOM OF RECOVERY!

Learn more about how you can support those who are trapped in the throes of addiction. Nourish Your NCCA is a resource that o ers the PROMISE OF HOPE ! Soul, Body

Join us as a supporter of our mission Atte&nd a retre aHt. Enceouaragre ta . loved For further information one to participate in a retreat. Give a on NCCA activities and resources, donation to a retreat house. go to www.nccatoday.org Retreat listings are posted on National Catholic Council on Addictions www.americamagazine.org Retreat centers can advertise in America's print or online editions, or both. Fore more information contact Julia Sosa: 1601 Joslyn Rd., Lake Orion, MI 48360 [email protected]; (212) 515-0102 . 800-626-6910, ext. 1200 NCCA @guesthouse.org

16 America October 31, 2011 FAITH IN FOCUS The Art of Dying A Christian fears suffering and loss. BY SIDNEY CALLAHAN

s aging brings death ever and love of one’s own family and nearer, my fear of dying people (including my adored Aincreases. These surges of dog) strongly bind us to our spe - anxiety are dispiriting. Shouldn’t cific and beautiful world. To have faith in Christ’s resurrection liber - this story interrupted is a painful ate me from bouts of cowardice? I prospect when we could go on would hate to think that my fear is forever. When your life is a a sign that my faith is actually self- blessed Sabbath banquet given by deception. I have often thought God here and now, leaving your that my “atheist” friends in their place at the table can be hard— heart of hearts really believe in even for a more glorious celebra - God, but maybe it is the other way tion. In dying we will inevitably around. A Christian who is so be entering into an unimaginable, loath to die is not giving much of a wit - psychological collapse is possible, since novel existence, like a fetus being born. ness to faith in the Resurrection. A real I have been there before. Forty years Despite the promised wonders in the yes to God should be bone deep, not ago I suffered two full-blown panic world to come, I am afraid I identify merely a notional assent. attacks that have been burned into with the happy, contented fetus in the Yet I can detect nothing but firm memory. After the loss of a baby to warm womb who does not want to and heartfelt convictions when I exam - sudden infant death syndrome, I was come out. ine my mind and heart. In gratitude, I assaulted twice by an overwhelming Of course if one’s present condition affirm Christ as the way, the truth and terror that I was being helplessly extin - becomes excruciatingly miserable, the life. Everything that I know intel - guished and suffocated; my sense of death may be welcomed as a relief. lectually and have learned from living self was dissolving into nothingness. Undergoing debilitating disease and confirms my faith in the Gospel mes - The ego, or I, was disintegrating along loss of all function or being caught in sage. My fear of dying seems unrelated with the external grounds of reality. circumstances of torture can make to doubting but rather wells up as The desolation and agony of a disinte - dying less difficult. This is the cure for some shuddering dread from the grating self is identified in my mind fear of death offered by Montaigne. He depths of a divided self. When I exam - with dying. It is “the horror the hor - argues that when you become very ine this fear precisely, I find at its core ror,” or a hell-like nothingness. Such debilitated and ill, you cease to really the awful anxiety that in dying I will be dreadful experiences of psychological care about anything or anybody and overwhelmed by panic and the disso - suffering appear in mental illness and will be able to die calmly, as animals lution of self. As consciousness is suicidal despair. It is desolating to die. Oh really? I am willing to bet that extinguished, I dread losing any capac - imagine how many human beings suf - Montaigne never had a panic attack, V O y ity to think, to pray and to feel the lov - fer such traumas as victims of disease, and he certainly lived in a time when V O l O s ing presence of God. accidents, natural disasters, war and people became inured to death, as y i r

Unfortunately, I know that such a cruel torture. spouses, infants, children, friends and D N a / k

But less severe losses also seep into victims of violence died around them. C O T s

my fear of dying. Intense sadness aris - By contrast, modern, affluent peo - r e T

SIDNEY CALLAHAN is a scholar, writer and T

es over giving up one’s part in the ple growing up, as I did, in a secular u h

licensed psychologist. Her most recent books are s : O

Created for Joy (Crossroad) and Called to ongoing dramas of one’s daily life and family never encounter death or attend T O h

Happiness. one’s times. The familiar local round funerals. In my time that was consid - p

October 31, 2011 America 17 ered morbid and superstitious. Death confident Peter leaping into the sea Other strategies can also be pur - was a taboo subject, and I clearly bent on walking to join Jesus, only to sued. To counter fear of loss we can remember defensively saying to myself sink and require rescue. Later still I visualize the friends and family mem - as a child that by the time I grew up acutely imagine Peter’s shame when bers who have already died—an ever- science would have taken care of dying Jesus looks at him in the high priest’s increasing group. We can imagine that and I would not have to die. Such courtyard. Even receiving forgiveness with the divine liveliness the eternal denials of death can distort a culture in and unconditional love can be awe-full conversation continues within a con - many ways and may even increase its and overwhelming. stantly joyful company. Surely God’s power to terrorize. The fact that our infinite truth will provide infinitely dying is inevitable but indefinite as to Lifted Spirits more learning and creativity for us to when, where or how induces further So is there balm in Gilead to heal the pursue. These and other reflections anxiety. It is all too true that a coward entangling fears of death? At the end can turn us to God, who is our future. dies a thousand deaths. of the day, in the time remaining, can Dying is an arduous venture, for which Earlier Christians could also be we help remove the sting, if not the we need all the help we can get from deathly afraid of dying because they horror, of death? Obviously ancient everyone in heaven and earth and from would have to face an angry God’s spiritual practices are needed, as well anything that can give courage and lift judgment and possible condemnation as welcome new remedies. The great up our hearts. to hellfire. Today, Christians who commandments of Christian spiritual - Happily, the art of dying is given life believe strongly in the forgiveness of ity are familiar: live, give, love, pray; with the advent of the hospice move - sins and God’s tender mercy do not unite mind, heart and will with Christ. ment and the growth of palliative fear eternal punishment. But we can Embrace the sacrament of the present medicine. Care is offered through the still be filled with anxiety about con - moment and the sacraments and comfort of companionship, family, fronting shame when we must stand in Scripture of the worshiping church. I friends and lots of tender physical the Light of Light that reveals all. Self- take great consolation from meditating ministrations. Visual beauty, laughter judgment can be painful and hum - on Jesus’ victory over his distress and and music can lift the spirit. And most bling. Here I identify with the over - sorrow in the garden of Gethsemane. fortunately, drugs can ease physical pain and, for the phobic among us, psychotropic medications are available Community to calm agitation, anxiety and panic. Development TO SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW Better yet, we may have been able to Investing K New subscription K Renewal learn ancient and new meditative tech - Yearly rates are $56 for each subscription. Add niques of breathing and relaxation that $30 for postage, handling and GST on Canadian 2% annual return orders. Add $54 for foreign subscriptions. bring mindful control of attention. I Payment in U.S. funds only. first learned of the human psyche’s for investors K Payment enclosed K Bill me On occasion America gives permission to other power to control physical and emo - organizations to use our list for promotional pur- poses. If you do not want to receive these promo- tional responses when practicing natu - tions, contact our List Manager at our New York offices. ral childbirth techniques to control 9

0 pain and fear. Admittedly only one out 9 0 A FOR E of seven births was completely pain - CHANGE OF less, but I managed never to use medi - ADDRESS cation and experienced ecstatic joy










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each time. If mental, spiritual and RENEWAL:











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yielding mailing label from

ability of drugs when needed, can

the front cover when e t a

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writing about service t work to ease childbirth, why not the S

or change of

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address. Allow 3 to

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y m d m t a d i Call - “working in us, can do infinitely more N A C E 914-606-9003, x201 Mail to: America than we can ask or imagine.” Facing P.O. Box 293159, Kettering, OH 45429-9159








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18 America October 31, 2011 STATE OF THE QUESTION Life or Death Decisions A view from two practitioners In response to several articles in America by Kevin O’Rourke, O.P., concerning Bishop sibling or child. They know that their Thomas Olmsted’s reaction to an alleged direct abortion performed in a Catholic hos - decision may turn out to be wrong, pital in Phoenix, Ariz., CHARLES F. M AC CARTHY, M.D. , and JOHN P. M AC CARTHY, M.D., even when they are “certain” they are O.PRAEM. , offer their insights on medical decision making and the bishop’s disciplinary doing the right thing. decisions. (The three articles are: “Complications,” 8/2/10; “From Intuition to Moral The one step the physician proba - Principle,” 11/15/10; and “Rights of Conscience,” 8/1/11.) Both authors are gradu - bly does not take is to ask the opinion ates of the Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, in Marywood, Ill. of the bishop, unless the bishop is a Charles is an ophthalmologist, now retired, and John is a missionary priest/physician personal friend or has participated in in a remote jungle hospital in Peru. ethics committee discussions, bedside conferences with the patient and fami - hysicians make ethical deci - At Charles’s hospital in Wausau, ly hospice care discussions or has oth - sions every day, though few are Wisc., these questions are discussed by erwise indicated a willingness to share Pas dramatic as the Phoenix the physician and other caregivers, the burden of complex medical deci - case, and few come to the attention of including physician specialists, nurses, sion making. Even then, the physician any bishop. Nearly all diagnostic and social workers and chaplains. In espe - would not abdicate his decision mak - therapeutic decisions have some ethi - cially challenging situations, the hospi - ing role to the bishop. We can not cal implications. When the risks are tal ethics committee may be asked to imagine saying to a patient, “I have small and potential benefits are large, consult. talked to the bishop about this....” The decision making is easy. But during a In a remote jungle hospital, Father response would be: “The bishop! pregnancy, when two or more lives are John often has found himself working What does he know about this? You involved, decisions are hard. as the only physician—de facto chief are my doctor. What do you think I For a physician, every decision of medicine, surgery, obstetrics and should do?” about surgery involves weighing risks pediatrics, hospital C.E.O., chaplain If the bishop offers an opinion or and benefits and explaining them so and sole member of the ethics com - judgment after the decision has been the patient and/or the family can share mittee—with no one but the Holy made, Father O’Rourke suggests two in the decision-making process. Still, Spirit to guide his decisions. possible responses. First, to accept after listening to even the most In all these situations, the the bishop’s statement and fol - detailed explanation, the question physician feels responsible for low it, while disagreeing. from the patient is usually, “What do making the deci - Second, to “accept you think I should do, Doctor?” The sion—to operate the authority of patient implicitly trusts the physician or not, etc.—what - the statement but to recommend a course of action that ever the situa - disagree is best medically and ethically. tion demands. with its Decision making near the end of life The physician may reasoning and so is often challenging. Would another consult colleagues and medical litera - not follow it because doing so would CT scan, surgical procedure or ture, talk further with the patient and violate one’s own conscience.”

chemotherapy regimen really help? family, pray about it, sleep on it but In those rare instances when a e N l e What are the costs, in dollars and dis - will still feel responsible at the bishop’s opinion is known before / m O C comfort? Do the patient and family end. The majority of physi - a medical decision is made, . k C O members agree? In an emergency, what cians we know take this we believe the first option is T s r e attempts should be made to resusci - responsibility very seriously. They not valid. We see no justification T T u h s tate? Should life-support measures be ask themselves what they would do if for abdicating our responsibility as : T r started, continued or discontinued? the patient were their father, mother, physicians to the bishop or anyone a

October 31, 2011 America 19 else. And we consider the second Coming this winter: The editors reflect on their option as not only a right but a respon - favorite Advent and Christmas carols. sibility of the physician. We will do our best to educate ourselves and seek americamagazine.org/video advice from others who may be more knowledgeable. But each patient has a right to our best advice for them, and we accept that responsibility. We place our confidence in Sister Margaret McBride and the physicians and others on the hospital ethics com - mittee who decided to do what they thought was best under very difficult circumstances. Our hope is that Bishop Olmsted will become a part of the discernment process for difficult medical ethics decisions in his diocese and that other bishops will also do this. It may give them some sleepless nights, but it will give them empathy for those making difficult medical decisions, allow them to share their ethical insights as decisions are made, and it could offer a lesson in humility about the limits of ethical “certainty” in medical decisions. A

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October 31, 2011 America 21 BOOKS &CULTURE

ART | LEO J. O’DONOVAN Early Christian writers like Justin, Tertullian and Clement of Alexandria IMAGINING JESUS supposed that Jesus was not striking in appearance. With the Gnostic impuls - Rembrandt’s haunting view of Christ es in the third century, however, the n all likelihood, Jesus of Nazareth and their surroundings in intimate image of a youthfully perfect Jesus was shorter and darker-skinned detail. It is part of his approach to emerged, yielding then to the Christ of than most of us imagine—if, in prayer as a conversation among Byzantine icons, with a prophet’s I beard, his hair parted in the middle today’s image-glutted culture, we friends. Yet even the most ardent imagine him at all. hearts may draw back these days from and a mysterious, sideways glance. St. Ignatius Loyola, in his Spiritual picturing the eye color, length of nose The Byzantine influence continued Exercises, recommended that one and chin-line of someone they may call into the early Netherlandish art of Jan “compose the scene” about which one friend but whose mercy also burns, as van Eyck and Robert Campin. Even is praying, seeing the figures involved Flannery O’Connor wrote. more influential were Veronica’s Veil (or the Sudarium) and the Mandylion of Edessa: the former, which artists commemorated in the Latin West as the veil Veronica pressed to Jesus’ face; the latter, venerated in the Byzantine East, a cloth Jesus was believed to have sent to Edessa to heal its king. A letter purportedly written by Publius Lentulus, governor of Judea before Pontius Pilate, was published in Cologne in the 14th century by Ludolph of Saxony in his Vita Christi. It described Jesus as having hair “the color of a ripe hazelnut, parted on top…his eyes…clear and command - ing, never apt to laugh, but sooner

inclined to cry. In sum…the most T r a

beautiful of all mortals.” f O

m

Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus, u e s u m

a finely focused exhibition that origi - a h p

nated at the Louvre, is at the l e D a l

Philadelphia Museum of Art until i h p

Oct. 30 and will move to the Detroit e h T

f

Institute of Arts (Nov. 20 to Feb. 12). O

y s e

The show tells the story of how the T r u O

greatest artist of the Dutch Golden C

s O

Age responded to inherited imagery of T O h p

Jesus, and especially of his face. . N j i r Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn N a V

(1606-69), born in Leiden to a pros - T D N a

perous miller’s family, was gifted as a r b m e

draftsman and painter but knew great r

: T r

“The Supper at Emmaus” (1648), Musée du Louvre, Paris personal sorrow as well. After moving a

22 America October 31, 2011 from Leiden to Amsterdam in 1631, he met his future wife, Saskia van Uylenburgh, there in 1633 and grew successful enough to buy a large house for them in the center of the city’s Jewish quarter. Sephardic Jews had come the century before as refugees from the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal. Ashkenazi Jews began to arrive in the 1630s, fleeing oppression in Poland and Central Europe. Fascinated by their dress and manner, Rembrandt drew them all. A gem-like painting from these years, “Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery,” comes to the United States from London’s National Gallery for the first time. The lower third of the densely populated canvas shows the repentant woman kneeling in a brilliantly lit white dress, just left of center, as a central accuser points her out to Jesus—barefoot, with long, light-brown hair and a plain brown robe. The contrast between the woman’s downcast shame and Jesus’ calm compassion grips the viewer. But Jesus here is the traditional, general - ized and idealized Christ who had fig - ured in the artist’s earlier biblical scenes, including the “Passion of Christ” series, a crucial, early commis - “Head of Christ” (1648-54), Detroit Institute of the Arts sion for Frederik Hendrik, the Stadtholder (or leader) of what was Drawings and etchings—of Christ for the first time since 1656, and the then called the United Provinces. in the house of Martha and Mary or Jesus they imagine is arrestingly pen - raising Lazarus, for example—also sive, empathetic, interior. Dark eyes show Jesus as a vigorous but not high - beneath dark brown hair open you ly individualized figure. In two char - into Jesus’ meditative mood. In a great coal drawings made around 1648, panel from Berlin he even seems puz - however, Rembrandt uses a young zled, fully human but strangely alone. Jewish man, likely Sephardic, as his The viewer is drawn to him, but also model. hold back. Another, showing him with About the same time, in a series of clasped hands, was perhaps a study for perhaps eight oil a Mount of Olives sketches of which scene. If this is ON THE WEB seven have survived, Additional images from the indeed the prayer he and his studio Rembrandt exhibit. of testing, one worked from a similar americamagazine.org/slideshow does not wish to model in highly per - be found with the sonal studies of sleeping disciples. “Head of Christ” (c. 1648-56), expression and pose. The exhibition Philadelphia’s fine example is clos - Philadelphia Museum of Art brings six of the extant panels together est to Berlin’s and suggests a moment

October 31, 2011 America 23 just before such prayer. In a panel from back his chair; behind him a young engraving and dry point on paper, Harvard’s Fogg Museum the prayer boy, unaware, brings food to the table. Rembrandt produced his greatest has become anguished, almost tor - But your eye returns always to the rap - print, “Christ Preaching: Bring Thy tured. turous expression on Christ’s face. Yes, Little Children Unto Me,” known as One of the panels, from the Detroit the story of the disciples who did not “The Hundred Guilder Print” because Institute of Arts and “Attributed to recognize their Lord has reached its of the remarkable sum paid for it. Rembrandt,” has a soft, searching face climax in their sudden recognition of Blending scenes of Jesus healing the that may have been a model for Jesus’ him over broken bread. Once more he sick and rebuking the disciples for dis - face in the Louvre’s “Supper at communes with his brethren. But he is missing the children, Rembrandt’s skill Emmaus” (in the United States for the now glorified—and still more clearly in composing the scene and rendering first time since 1936). At table with communing with his God. This is the its depths of light and darkness is his disciples in a high, rounded Rembrandt, as Simon Schama writes astonishing. Together, the print, the oil alcove—one of those grand empty in Rembrandt’s Eyes, “who could make sketches and the Louvre painting rep - spaces with which Rembrandt evokes the things of this world hymn the resent a watershed period of creativity. the world—Jesus is pulling apart a loaf sanctity of the world to come, yet man - Now the viewer is drawn to the of braided challah. The younger disci - age, somehow, not to trespass impious - human, individual face of Jesus—and ple to the left folds his hands in prayer; ly across its borders.” sense his healing command less in dra - his older friend at the right pushes About a year later, using etching, matic action than in sheer presence. As

Darkness: For Mother Teresa I am a small ugly woman in cardboard boxes that would not burn. whom God, for reasons known only to him, decided to persecute with holiness. I became an old woman, tired beyond sleeping. The dead had become I have attempted to lose myself my arms, my breasts, my dry tears. all my life, but he who never forgets held mirrors up everywhere I turned. I was alone. I wished for certainty more than life. I had neither. Now I’ve died and they have found the “darkness” Only old hopes from old stories. I knew since Calcutta, the absence that sat like an ugly child on my chest. When I tried to pray, ashes flew around my face. The sign of the cross I became their narrow fingers reaching out blessed my shallow breathing. from filth, their stench no water could rinse away, their deaths held too tightly Then the old priest blessed me instead. I was too stubborn to run into the light. for too long. I became their blank eyes I will outwit my lover a little longer, and finally saw everything. Yet I knelt beside them dry-eyed and tireless. I said to the thin air inside my mind. I thought I heard another one outside the door, I prayed when I had nothing left raised my arms toward him, and was gone. but words. I brought back rags

MICHAEL D. RILEY

MICHAEL D. RILEY , emeritus professor of English at Penn State University, has published three books of poetry in recent years, including Circling the Stones (Creighton University Press, 2007).

24 America October 31, 2011 Master, he teaches us to pray. As reach? In these two artists, sobriety ings, these women were interviewed in anchor of our faith, his own prayer and serenity meet, painterly skill and 15 states representing most regions of draws ours within his own. holy mystery are one. Many paintings the United States. In the 1990s the From this time on, with the greater of Jesus that come afterward risk being interviewees ranged in age from their freedom of his so-called “rough style,” moralistic, didactic or sentimental. For 40s to their 70s; by 2010 some were in Rembrandt remained committed to a an increasingly critical and skeptical their 90s. Only seven had left the con - realistically imagined, meditative world, it is no wonder that the burning vent in the intervening years, and a image of Jesus; and the show closes clarity of rediscovered early Flemish few have died. Through skillful edit - with a stunning, almost life-size bust and Italian art (the so-called “primi - ing of much longer narratives, the of “Christ with His Arms Folded” (c. tives”) was such a revelation early in author offers readers a realistic and 1657-61), for which the Berlin “Head the 20th century, or that, mid-century, poignant portrayal of the “uncommon of Christ” may have been a model. In a the elemental art of someone like change” sisters experienced from the brown cloak and russet tunic, the Lord Georges Rouault became plausible, or 1960s to the present. Each sister dis - turns to meet the viewer’s gaze fully. that Abstract Expressionism could closes her struggles and conveys her Uncommonly handsome, with long then claim attention for its “spiritual sense of fulfillment as she navigated brown hair, dark eyes, an aquiline nose intentions.” those turbulent years in church and and sensuous lips, he addresses each of Perhaps the purity and simplicity of society. us individually and searchingly. What some abstract art today or to come The first section of Part One, you might feel and say is between the may suit our longing for visual reli - “From the Past into the Present,” two of you. gious expression. But in Philadelphia includes narratives of sisters who The serenity of the contemplative for the moment, and soon in Detroit, served primarily in what Rogers labels ideal has been achieved. Could it be the face of Jesus is hauntingly pre - “evolving ministries.” Though these taken any further? Or, with sent—even if it is three and a half cen - were the traditional works of teaching, Rembrandt and his contemporary turies old. health care, missionary efforts, spiritu - Velázquez, have the possibilities of al leadership and parish service, the realism for religious representation LEO J. O’DONOVAN, S.J., is president emeri - sisters’ innovative insights and fresh been taken as far as great art can tus of Georgetown University. approaches instilled new life. In the second section, “changing attitudes,” the themes are different as some sisters moved into more cutting-edge activi - BOOKS | KATARINA SCHUTH ties—from social and religious protest, to creative arts, to ecumenical engage - THE SISTERS’ STORIES ments. Part Two, “From the Present into the Future,” features the reflec - HABITS OF CHANGE tions of sisters who “stayed the course” An Oral History of American Nuns until their deaths in the 1990s; others By Carole Garibaldi Rogers are “living in the present” in enlivening Oxford Univ. Press. 344p $27.95 new ways; and some are “envisioning the future” in dramatically changed cir - Anyone who is curious about the life cumstances. of women religious in recent years will The heart and soul of the book are be informed and inspired by Habits of the forthright revelations found in Change . Through oral histories collect - individual narratives. A sense of pro - ed between 1991 and 1995 and again gression is evident in the lives of these in 2010, Carole Garibaldi Rogers not dedicated women. Early along, their only opens the doors of convents but focus on spiritual development was also reveals what was in the hearts and superseded by the demands of min - on the minds of almost 100 women istry, with the pressure of teaching religious from 1960 onward. large classes and nursing for long Coming from more than 40 widely hours dominating their lives. One sis - assorted religious congregations with ter who is now in her 80s recalls how both traditional and progressive lean - exhausted she was all the time with

October 31, 2011 America 25 class preparation, sacristy work and hoods, starting schools for children in deeper and more precious through convent upkeep. Though she remained nearly abandoned inner cities and the years. faithful to communal observances, she remote lands without educational Nonetheless, communal restraints never really had time for prayer on her opportunities, leading spiritual in the form of obedience or custom own. Many years later, when she told a renewal in retreat centers and parish - vexed and infuriated some sisters, Trappist retreat director that she es for people hungering to know God, especially those who engaged in cut - wanted to spend her retirement learn - and marching for causes of justice and ting-edge ministries long before the ing to pray, he said, “You’ve been in the peace throughout the country. These community was ready to embrace convent 60 years, and you don’t know achievements and contributions to them. Almost all of these well-educat - how to pray? I am appalled.” Though the life of the church are remarkable ed women maintain their commitment the comment lacked sensitivity to the and bring to mind the great loss the to their communities even as some of demands made on her, she said it church is enduring as more and more them speak out for a greater role for shook her to the core. Like many oth - sisters retire. The author wonders, women and against both public policy ers facing similar situations, she “What would it and church direc - resolved to do what she could to feel mean for the tives that prevent ON THE WEB God’s presence and listen to God’s Catholic Church— Follow America participation and voice in her remaining years. For many and American soci - on Facebook or Twitter. muffle their voices. sisters, priorities eventually shifted and ety—if nuns were facebook.com/americamag Almost always ministry took its proper place in con - no longer around?” twitter.com/americamag the author gets her junction with prayer, but this balance Perhaps to the interpretation just came years after they entered religious surprise of some, right. She under - life. the interviews reveal unwavering ded - stands and portrays the diversity and The disproportionate emphasis on ication to community even as living complexity of contemporary interminable work and the pressure arrangements and ministries Catholicism through the all-encom - to do more is exemplified in many changed. For some it is integral to passing interviews. In the prologue, stories. The impact of the collective their monastic and contemplative way “Where They’ve Been,” she provides a efforts leap from the pages as sisters of life, but even for those in active compact recent history of religious life, recall developing health care clinics ministry outside the convent, loyalty touching on such key developments as for thousands in poor neighbor - to community and church becomes the Sister Formation Conference, the Second Vatican Council and the women’s movement, even up to the WITHOUT GUILE recent Apostolic Visitation and Doctrinal Investigation. In the epi - logue, “Where They Are Now,” she reflects on the essentials of religious life: cherishing the contemplative dimensions of life, maintaining com - munitarian bonds, caring for the underserved and remaining grounded in the Gospel. These values are strong - ly represented in the sisters’ stories of the past. Neither Rogers nor her intervie - wees say much about younger religious in new communities and the paths they N O

R are following. We would all benefit if D A

W she took up the task of finding out. H C S

Y E L

R KATARINA SCHUTH, O.S.F. , holds the A H

Endowed Chair for the Social Scientific Study Y B

of Religion at The Saint Paul Seminary School N O

O of Divinity, University of St. Thomas, in St.

T “It’s really nice up here, but I miss all the negative political ads.” R Paul, Minn. A C

26 America October 31, 2011 THOMAS J. SHELLEY revealing story of a convent of snobbish Benedictine nuns in 18th-century THEY LED THE WAY Angers. At Mass each day, before Communion, the priest was obliged to THE LORD AS THEIR theologically astute David Knowles leave the altar and appear before the PORTION threw up his hands in bewilderment choir stall of the abbess, who presented The Story of the Religious Orders rather than try to explain the spectacle him with the key to the tabernacle. and How They Shaped Our World of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the oracle Not until the foundation of the By Elizabeth Rapley of his age, blessing the Second Crusade Daughters of Charity by St. Vincent de Eerdmans. 352p $24 and sending thousands to their death. Paul and St. Louise de Marillac in In 1187 the Spanish military order of 17th-century France did it become pos - Forty years ago David Knowles, who Calatrava affiliated with the Cistercians sible for poor women without a dowry was a Benedictine monk prior to his without abandoning their own bellicose to serve other poor people as religious appointment as the Regius Professor charism, leading one observer to declare in schools, hospitals and other charita - of Modern History at that “they were wolves at ble institutions. Even then, in order for Cambridge University, the sound of the trumpets, these women to accomplish their good wrote a splendid popular lambs at the sound of the works, it was necessary to circumvent survey of Christian monas - bells.” the restrictive legislation of the Council ticism. Elizabeth Rapley, An unusual and wel - of Trent that would have confined who quotes Knowles with come feature of this book them to the cloister. The Ursulines and respect, has set a more is the attention that the Visitandines, to say nothing of the ambitious goal for herself author gives to women indomitable Mary Ward and her with this popular history of religious, who have a long “English Ladies,” had tried to do so ear - the religious orders of the if neglected history. The lier and failed. Catholic Church. She has origins of Christian A recurring theme in the history of succeeded admirably in this monasticism are usually the religious orders is the disappointing informative, judicious and fast-paced traced to the Desert Fathers in fourth- narrative that is a pleasure to read. century Egypt. Rapley informs us that The first impression one brings when Antony arrived in the desert to away from this book is the seemingly establish his hermitage, he found that endless variations that religious life his sister was already there. Pachomius has assumed in the church over the founded communities of women as course of almost two millennia as well as of men. When St. Jerome (“one devout Christians sought to perfect of the church’s original misogynists,” their spiritual life through the tradi - according to Rapley) decamped to the tional vows of poverty, chastity and Holy Land to lead a quasi-monastic obedience. At least one religious order life, he was accompanied by two aristo - even gave a unique spin to the seem - cratic Roman ladies. ingly inflexible vow of chastity. The For most of Christian history, male OUR FUTURE DEPENDS ON YOU! Spanish military Order of Santiago religious far outnumbered female. Not welcomed married knights, allowing until the 19th century was the ratio them to substitute a vow of conjugal reversed. Because of the lowly legal sta - fidelity for the usual vow of celibacy. tus of women in medieval society, the PLEASE Rapley acknowledges that some Poor Clares, and even St. Clare herself, REMEMBER forms of religious life offend every found it considerably more difficult to modern sensibility, especially the embrace a life of apostolic poverty than AMERICA medieval military orders like the did the male followers of St. Francis. IN YOUR WILL Templars and the Teutonic Knights, Perforce for a thousand years nunneries whose spirituality had little in common were largely aristocratic institutions with the Sermon on the Mount or the where social class sometimes trumped contemporary preaching of St. Francis gender even in liturgical celebrations. OUR LEGAL TITLE IS: AMERICA PRESS INC., of Assisi and his followers. Even the Professor John McManners tells the 106 WEST 56th STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10019

October 31, 2011 America 27 but all too human experience that noth - recovery from the catastrophe of the however, for failing to cover every ing fails like success. Rapley provides French Revolution. The 19th century aspect of this vast topic in a modest sur - abundant evidence of this phe - witnessed a remarkable and totally vey of a little over 300 pages. There are nomenon. One of the great events in unexpected flourishing of religious life. no footnotes or bibliography, and the history of medieval monasticism For much of the century in France at unfortunately no mention of monasti - was the founding in the year 1098 of least one new religious order appeared cism in the Eastern Orthodox the Cistercians, an order of reformed each year. In officially anticlerical Italy Churches, but there are helpful sugges - Benedictine monks who were dedicated Don Bosco established a new religious tions for further reading at the end of to recovering the poverty and asceticism order dedicated to St. Francis de Sales each chapter and a glossary of technical of the Desert Fathers. But despite their that became the third largest order in terms. best efforts to remain true to their ideal, the Catholic Church. At a time when virtually all religious and ironically because of their efficient Rapley, adjunct professor of history orders in the United States are in steep work ethic, within a century the “poor at the University of Ottawa, regrets decline, this book supplies needed his - men of Christ,” as the Cistercians origi - that she was unable to devote more torical perspective and spiritual encour - nally called themselves, became the space to the history of the religious agement. It reminds American most successful agricultural orders in her native Canada. She gives Catholics of their debt to the religious entrepreneurs in medieval Europe. generous attention to the role of orders and offers hope for the future “Proto-capitalists,” Rapley calls them. women religious in the United States, because of the legendary ability of men Nevertheless, a few centuries later, but she might also have mentioned and women religious to revitalize not the Cistercians produced their own that that they were largely responsible only their own communities but the reform movement, which is forever for the creation of what Sister Patricia church itself during some of the darkest associated with the abbey of La Trappe Byrne, C.S.J., has called (without moments of its history. and its thundering abbot, Armand-Jean exaggeration) the largest system of pri - de Rancé. Perhaps the best example of vate education in the history of the MSGR. THOMAS J. SHELLEY, a priest of the the phoenix-like ability of religious world. Archdiocese of New York, is professor of church orders to rise from the ashes is their One can hardly fault the author, history at Fordham University. HESBURGH SABBAAATICALTICAL at Catholic Theological Union YYouoouu have been serving God’s people ffaithfullyaithfully. It’s time to get some rest, listen to the voice inside, and explore ccurrenturrent trends in theology and ministry. It’s time for a Hesburgh Sabbatical.

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28 America October 31, 2011 LETTERS the priesthood worldwide. The church and history courses. There are plenty is like the canary in the coal mine. If of books available, including ancient The Dead Canary the canary dies, the miners are in dan - classics in modern translations. In ger. As the church’s influence declines addition, add distinguished lecturers to In response to Signs of the Times, so does the sense of God in the world. lead discussions of these books and “Pope Promotes ‘Unworthy’ but Open Yet its inability to be a voice is a self- how they apply to modern issues. Church” (10/10): Being a voice in the inflicted wound. Jesus showed that C. R. ERLINGER world but not of the world is a tough San Antonio, Tex. service to the weak and vulnerable is road to follow. The church will change; the path of the righteous. The church even the decision not to change pro - Don’t Quit must embrace that teaching or decline. duces change, because the worldly con - CLIFF SIMMONS Re Valerie Schultz’s “Raised On Faith” text in which the church serves is Columbus, Ohio (10/17): Although each generation is changing. So does the church pretend different, there are some eternal truths not to change or does it accept that it Call on the Classics about God, human nature and the does and finally embrace change as a In response to “Catechesis or relationship between them. The criti - way to serve God? Theology” (Current Comment, cal question for us all is, “Who do you Does the church really believe it 10/10), here is an idea that would say I am?” had everything figured out in the 13th enrich Catholic content without When my son was in his teens, he century? The failure to embrace changing core requirements. Introduce told me it would be hypocritical for progress—to embrace women and end Catholic and Christian classics into the him to receive Communion because he the arrogant clericalism—has led to required reading lists of appropriate lit - no longer believed in God, his years in the decline of church attendance and erature, political science, economics Catholic school notwithstanding. My

CLASSIFIED at the rank of associate professor or (preferably) diverse faculty and staff who value its mission and professor. The position requires commitment to share its commitment to academic excellence in Parish Missions the University’s Catholic and Marianist mission, to teaching, research and artistic creativity, the the department’s central role of stewardship of that development of the whole person, and leadership INSPIRING, DYNAMIC PREACHING : parish mission, to the department’s multi- and interdisci - and service in the local and global community. To missions, retreats, days of recollection; www plinary approaches to religious studies; and the attain its Catholic and Marianist mission, the .sabbathretreats.org. ability to lead collaboratively. Responsibilities University is committed to the principles of Positions include hiring and support of new faculty members diversity, inclusion and affirmative action and to and administration of a complex department with equal-opportunity policies and practices. We act LITURGICAL/SACRAMENTAL THEOLOGY. St. multiple constituencies. The department plays a affirmatively to recruit and hire women, tradi - Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore central role in the common academic program and tionally under-represented minority groups, peo - invites applications from Roman Catholic priests has a strong major program on the undergraduate ple with disabilities and veterans. for a position in liturgical/sacramental theology for level. At the graduate level, the department has the School of Theology/Seminary program, begin - master’s programs in theological studies and pas - ning fall 2012. This faculty position is responsible Wills toral ministry, as well as a Ph.D. program in theol - for graduate-seminary level teaching in liturgical Please remember America in your will. Our legal ogy that emphasizes a U.S. Catholic context (see and sacramental theology; service as a formator in title is: America Press Inc., 106 West 56th Street, www.udayton.edu/~relstudy). Preference will be the Sulpician tradition; and an administrative role New York, NY 10019. given to those with a demonstrated ability to over - as director of liturgy responsible for the planning see curriculum development, to lead effectively, to and supervision of seminary liturgical life. The suc - serve as an influential voice inside and outside the America classified. Classified advertisements are cessful candidate should have both practical litur - University, and a commitment to diversity and accepted for publication in either the print version of gical direction experience as well as academic cre - inclusion in academic community, curriculum and America or on our Web site, www.americam - dentialing. A terminal ecclesiastical degree in the pedagogy. For a complete position description and agazine.org. Ten-word minimum. Rates are per field is preferred. Academic rank is commensurate to submit an application, visit: http://jobs.uday word per issue. 1-5 times: $1.50; 6-11 times: $1.28; with prior achievement. Competitive salary and ton.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=52444. A 12-23 times: $1.23; 24-41 times: $1.17; 42 times or benefits package. complete application for the position consists of a more: $1.12. For an additional $30, your print ad Send letter, curriculum vitae and names of ref - letter of intent, C.V. and the names of three refer - will be posted on America ’s Web site for one week. erences to: Timothy Kulbicki, O.F.M.Conv., Dean ences. The flat rate for a Web-only classified ad is $150 for of the School of Theology, St. Mary’s Seminary Review of applications will begin on Nov. 1, 30 days. Ads may be submitted by e-mail to: and University, 5400 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, 2011, and continue until the position is filled. [email protected]; by fax to (928) 222- MD 21210; or send e-mail to Address inquiries to: Prof. Vincent Miller, Chair, 2107; by postal mail to: Classified Department, [email protected]. Religious Studies Search Committee, University of America , 106 West 56th St., New York, NY Dayton, Dayton, OH 45469-1530, or to 10019. To post a classified ad online, go to our home THE UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON seeks to hire a [email protected]. page and click on “Advertising” at the top of the CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF The University of Dayton, founded in 1850 by page. We do not accept ad copy over the phone. RELIGIOUS STUDIES. Applicants must have the Society of Mary, is a top-10 Catholic research MasterCard and Visa accepted. For more informa - an academic record of excellence in teaching and university. The University seeks outstanding, tion call: (212) 515-0102. scholarship suitable for appointment with tenure

October 31, 2011 America 29 wife and I were convinced we had best. The couples we bonded with all Another expert gauging effective failed in some way, and comments remained married. preaching with a stopwatch! I cannot from several priests that he was “seek - Pundits suggest that the encyclical imagine St. John Chrysostom, St. ing and testing” were not reassuring. In “Humanae Vitae” was the beginning of Augustine, Billy Graham, Martin college he did not go to Mass, and the church slide. Maybe. But because Luther King Jr. or Fulton Sheen—all when he transferred to a highly secular C.F.M. leaders, Pat and Patty Crowley, effective preachers—submitting to college in California we wondered if he were on the birth control commission, it this norm. was lost forever. But we did not aban - did cause the C.F.M. slide. Our pastor at I taught homiletics in seminaries for don him. the time “homilied” that C.F.M. stood more than 20 years. In addition to One day he began to inch back, to for Communist Front Movement. This graduate studies in theology, I have a answer the question, “Who do you say caused the 15 members in our parish to graduate degree in public speaking. I am?” As he sat in his apartment, bail out to other parishes. Father Roy Shelly cannot claim to have overwhelmed with his graduate stud - “Observe, judge, act” have been the invented the “one-sentence summary.” ies, he had an interior locution: “If you core values of lay involvement, from Furthermore, no one-week or six- don’t serve me, you will have wasted Aquinas to Cardinal Joseph Cardijn. week workshop will teach people how your life.” Without these prudential steps, move - to preach any more than workshops He returned to Mass and the ments can become just pious associa - can teach the piano or guitar. Eucharist and became a Jesuit priest. tions. Preaching demands time and practice. He could still rail against poor homi - ED AND PEG GLEASON Seminaries should require a course in San Francisco, Calif. lies, insensitive bishops and Vatican homiletics every semester. rigidity, and he still deepened his rela - RICHARD J. KEHOE, C.M. No More Pope Saints, Please St. Vincent’s Seminary tionship with Jesus and served him in In response to Mo Guernon’s “The Philadelphia, Pa. Central America, East St. Louis, Forgotten Pope” (10/24): I have read Nigeria and Rwanda. Pope John Paul I’s book, in which he Face It! In Africa he became aware of an writes letters to dead people. It was Re “Jesuits Urged to Protect Creation” esophageal cancer. As he died he pastoral but plodding. He comes (Signs of the Times, 10/10): Any dis - prayed that through his illness his love across as a humble man, and the cussion of protecting creation that of God would be manifest, and he church needs humble men. does not address the growing human raised his withered hand to bless us. That said, I have no wish to see population, now over six billion and St. Paul lists things that might sep - another pope canonized. Pacelli, rising, is simply a feel-good discussion. arate us from the love of Christ but Montini, Roncalli and Wojtyla are all The article suggests that our sensitivi - cannot: death, life, angels, powers, etc. on the way; and within two seconds of ty to the mystery and vastness of life One could add the issues of women his death people will call for the can - has been blunted. No amount of clean priests, pedophile priests and bishops onization of Pope Benedict. Since the energy or greenhouse gas and pollu - who fail in their duties. These are not emphasis today is on political correct - tion reduction will overcome the inconsequential, but neither are they ness, Luciani is going nowhere fast. impact of several billion more people reasons to leave the church. God does The others were fascinating, filled on this planet. Face it. Natural family not abandon the unworthy, nor do we with goodness, sophisticated and planning is not the solution to this abandon our children. The invitation almost mystical. But saints? The papa - huge explosion of people. It is an alter - will always be there. native for a small group in a position to ROBERT LUCHI cy requires both political sense and Mission, Kan. honesty. Of all the recent popes, use it, but to address the growing Roncalli was the most capable of look - worldwide population, it will not be effective. What Happened to C.F.M.? ing reality in the eye. As for Luciani, we may never know. But I hope his JIM OKRASZEWSKI Reading Richard K. Cross’s “Just Land O’Lakes, Wis. Parenting”(10/17), we can say without biographer will tell about his relation - ship with Jesus. embarrassment that we have been DAVID POWER America (ISSN 0002-7049) is published weekly (except for 12 combined issues: Jan. 3-10-17, 24-31, May 2-9, June 6-13, 20-27, “movement” groupies, starting in the Paris, France July 4-11, 18-25, Aug. 1-8, 15-22, Aug. 29-Sept. 5, Nov. 28-Dec. 5, Dec. 19-26) by America Press, Inc., 106 West 56th Street, New 1900s—Legion of Mary, Vincentians, York, NY 10019. Periodicals postage is paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing offices. Business Manager: Lisa Pope; Marriage/Engaged Encounter, Voice This Will Take Some Time Circulation: Judith Palmer, (212) 581-4640. Subscriptions: United States, $56 per year; add U.S. $30 postage and GST of the Faithful and others; but the I was pained at reading “Time of the (#131870719) for Canada; or add U.S. $54 per year for interna - tional priority airmail. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Catholic Family Movement was the Preacher” (Current Comment, 9/12). America, 106 West 56th St. New York, NY 10019. Printed in U.S.A.

30 America October 31, 2011 THE WORD Inexhaustible Light THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (A), NOV. 6, 2011 Readings: Wis 6:12-16; Ps 63:2-8; 1 Thes 4:13-18; Mt 25:1-13 “Those who were ready went into the wedding feast” (Mt 25:10)

am always prepared. When I trav - which some are wise and some foolish, rain no longer feeds it. But there is a el I pack extras of everything just some are completely prepared and love, like a spring gushing from the I in case I or someone I am with has some not at all; some are welcomed in earth, never to be exhausted.” a need. I readily identify with the wise to the feast and some are locked Wise ones become one with virgins in today’s Gospel. But there is out. Matthew has a pen - the inexhaustible river of something deeply disturbing as the chant for binary opposi - Christ’s love; their oil is parable plays out. The women who tions like this: weeds and continuously replen - come prepared for the long vigil will wheat; sheep and goats; a ished as it is con - not share their oil with their needy sis - house built on rock and sumed. ters. Instead, they send them off on a one built on sand; the Being wise also fool-hardy mission at midnight to go wise and the foolish. But means knowing, as buy their own. How can such seeming - real life seems always the first reading ly selfish hoarding be laudable? to be somewhere in describes, that it is not Many biblical commentators between: each of us a little our efforts alone that explain that parables are meant to bit foolish in our growth make for the light. make only one point, and selfishness toward wisdom, all of us some - versus sharing is not the point of this what prepared, but never com - one. It is a parable about the end time, pletely. PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE which speaks about how each person When placed in the context of • How do you keep vigil for the arrival of needs to be accountable for his or her the whole Gospel, instead of induc - the Beloved? own good deeds, or lack of them, at the ing fear, the parable gives assurance time of judgment. Just as in the that when we are responding all • How is Holy Wisdom keeping vigil for you? Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus along to the lifelong courtship by e N says, “Let your light shine before oth - the Bridegroom, we will be ready for • How do you keep the lamp of hope N u D trimmed and burning? D

ers so they may see your good works the moment of consummation. We a T

: T and give glory to God” (Mt 5:16), so in prepare for the critical moment of r a today’s Gospel the oil that fuels the meeting the Beloved face to face light is also to be understood as good with all our daily choices for living deeds, and no one can share theirs justly. Every time we resist hoarding oil Wisdom herself, who is unfading with someone who has none. for ourselves, not stockpiling so that resplendence, seeks us out. Long vig - Nonetheless, there is still a disturb - others are left wanting, we allow ils through times of darkness end at ing dynamic set up by the parable. It Christ’s light to fill us and spread to the dawn with Holy Wisdom sitting constructs a dichotomous world in others. right at one’s own gate, wanting to be It is as Isaac of Nineveh, a seventh- found. Moreover, a closed door is BARBARA E. REID, O.P., a member of the century Nestorian bishop quoted by never the final act. Just as God’s Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids, Mich., is John Shea in The Spiritual Wisdom of power burst through the stone door a professor of New Testament studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Ill., the Gospels for Christian Preachers and of the tomb, Holy Wisdom can daily where she is vice president and academic dean. Teachers, describes: “There is a love, open the door of our hearts, trans - Her latest book, Abiding Word: Sunday like a small lamp, fed by oil, that goes forming our lack of oil into an inex - Reflections for Year B (Liturgical Press), is a compilation and expansion of articles that out when the oil is ended; or like a haustible river of light and love. first appeared in America . rain-fed stream which goes dry when BARBARA E. REID

October 31, 2011 America 31

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