THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC WEEKLY JAN. 19–26, 2009 $2.75

Dear Mister President Advice for Barack Obama OF MANY THINGS PUBLISHED BY JESUITS OF THE UNITED STATES

napshots of family and friends Pauline Belt, an African-American res- EDITOR IN CHIEF taken over the decades, some ident at Sursum Corda, seated in the Drew Christiansen, S.J. dating back to the 1960s, lie in church’s little social hall. S EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT small packets in my desk drawer. From The photo is in a glass display case time to time I take them from their there, near a hand-drawn crayon pic- MANAGING EDITOR envelope to look again at those familiar ture of Horace done by one of the Robert C. Collins, S.J. faces. Most are smiling, and you can homeless men he served. Pauline was EDITORIAL DIRECTOR almost hear them responding to the old then, and now is with God. Karen Sue Smith command, “Say cheese!” About half, Sursum Corda, designed as a model ONLINE EDITOR though, are no longer physically pre- inner-city village with trees, open Maurice Timothy Reidy sent in this world, and so I like to see spaces and units with five bedrooms CULTURE EDITOR them in my mind’s eye as smiling in the for large families, is facing its own James Martin, S.J.

presence of the God who has received death as real estate developers close in LITERARY EDITOR them. with plans that have already displaced Patricia A. Kossmann Among the oldest of the snapshots many low-income residents. POETRY EDITOR are two of my parents, taken when Other social hall snapshots show James S. Torrens, S.J. they visited me at the Jesuit novitiate two African-American men nattily in Wernersville, Pa. We made an dressed for the Easter Vigil. A nun ASSOCIATE EDITORS Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J. afternoon excursion to nearby Hawk who worked at a facility for persons George M. Anderson, S.J. Mountain, where each fall thousands with AIDS had brought them to St. Dennis M. Linehan, S.J. of hawks circle high in the currents of Aloysius that evening. The date on the Jim McDermott, S.J. air as they begin their annual migra- back is 1991, and the inscription also Matt Malone, S.J. tion southward. Binoculars over her notes that these two men died soon James T. Keane, S.J. shoulder, my mother stands looking afterward. An earlier picture shows the Peter Schineller, S.J. directly at my camera. My father sister, Lenore Benda, S.S.J., with two ASSISTANT EDITOR stands apart, adjusting his own binoc- other men for whom she was also a Francis W. Turnbull, S.J. ulars, while other visitors nearby gaze source of support and encouragement. DESIGN AND PRODUCTION upward at the dozens of gliding But not all these small photos are in Stephanie Ratcliffe hawks. Behind the group rises a grove the social hall or my desk drawer. of trees whose golden leaves still stand Some I keep before me, in a frame BUSINESS DEPARTMENT out even in the now-faded color of the propped against a plant by the window PUBLISHER snapshot. to the left of the computer where I sit Jan Attridge The modest collection is divided not typing these words in my office at CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER only chronologically, but also according America House. One shows two of my Lisa Pope to places where I have worked as a dearest friends, both members of the MARKETING Jesuit. Some photos show people met Religious of the Sacred Heart, taken Eryk Krysztofiak

during my assignment at St. Aloysius during a trip to the order’s retirement ADVERTISING parish in Washington, D.C. The sur- home in Albany, N.Y. The older, then Julia Sosa rounding neighborhood includes a low- in her 80s, sits in an easy chair. The income housing development called much younger sister stands beside her. 106 West 56th Street Sursum Corda (“Lift up your hearts”), And yet it was the younger who died New York, NY 10019-3803 words from the opening dialogue of the first, of cancer, not yet 50 years old. I Ph: 212-581-4640; Fax: 212-399-3596 preface of the Latin Mass. It was feel that although physically gone, they E-mail: [email protected]; bestowed on the development partly are with me still as they look out from [email protected] because of the involvement in its cre- the snapshot meeting my every glance. Web site: www.americamagazine.org ation of Horace McKenna, a Jesuit And so it is with the increasing Customer Service: 1-800-627-9533 whose ministry among the poor has led number of pictures of loved friends © 2009 America Press, Inc. to his reputation as a saint. who are now alive with God. One St. Aloysius snapshot shows GEORGE M. ANDERSON, S.J. Cover Reuters/Carlos Barria CONTENTS www.americamagazine.org VOL. 200 NO. 2, WHOLE NO. 4842 JANUARY 19–26, 2009

ARTICLES 12 MISTER PRESIDENT Letters and memos to the incoming executive Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator • Matthew P. Moll • Peter Quinn • Helen Prejean • Bob Finocchio Jr. • Gabino Zavala • Amy Uelmen • Daniel Callahan • James J. Zogby • Frank Brennan

19 THE FOOD ON OUR TABLES The flaws of U.S. agricultural policy Bob Peace

COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 12 4 Current Comment 5 Editorial The Roots of Terrorism 6 Signs of the Times 10 Column Blessed Are the Poor Thomas Massaro 21 State of the Question A Response to ‘The Chaplain’s Dilemma’ 36 Letters 38 The Word No Ordinary Time Barbara E. Reid

19 BOOKS & CULTURE 25 ART The art of George Tooker FILM John Patrick Shanley’s ‘Doubt’ BOOKS Tw o v i e w s o f In d i a ; Giordano Bruno; Deaf Sentence

ON THE WEB ON THE WEB Jim McDermott, S.J., on the TV season in sci-fi (right, a heroine from “Heroes”), and video messages for President Obama. Plus, a slideshow of George Tooker’s artwork; and Jeff Johnson, S.J., discusses a documentary on St. Francis Xavier on our podcast. And from the archives, the editors on the partition of India. All at americamagazine.org. 2535 CURRENT COMMENT

The L.R.A. has abducted an estimated 20,000 children, After Gaza forcing boys to fight as soldiers and girls to serve as sex- Gaza has been Israel’s tar-pit, a quagmire from which it slave “wives.” In 2005 the International Criminal Court extracts itself only to be pulled back in. It never seems to issued arrest warrants for Kony and his top leaders, charg- learn. In 1993, under the Oslo Accords with the Palestine ing them with crimes against humanity. On Nov. 29 he Liberation Organization, Gaza and Jericho were the first was to have signed a peace agreement that had been territories handed over to Palestinian control. Following reached last April in Juba, Sudan. The agreement included the Al Aqsa intifada in 2000, Israel re-occupied Gaza and disarmament of his army and reintegration of troops into then in 2005 withdrew unilaterally. After each of its civilian life. The U.N. special envoy, Joaquim Chissano departures, it obstructed economic development and even (former president of Mozambique), waited for him at the emergency relief. Now, once again, the Israeli military is border between Sudan and the D.R.C., but Kony never back, following a bruising air assault on the Gaza Strip. appeared. Now, with Kony having eluded the military The objective of Israel’s latest effort is to end terrorizing operation, carried out by combined Uganda, Congo, rocket attacks on the cities of southern Israel, like Sderot, southern Sudan and U.N. forces, the eventual outcome Ashkelon and Beersheva. To do so, however, requires remains unclear. The L.R.A.’s violence continues as part of “breaking the will” of Hamas (the Islamic Resistance one of Africa’s longest-running wars. The combined multi- Movement). Most experts believe that Hamas will not be national forces must find and capture Kony, so that he and broken. As the Washington Post columnist David Ignatius his followers may be held accountable for the deadly havoc has written, “If there is one lesson in this conflict, it’s that for which they bear primary responsibility. efforts to ‘break the will’ of the other side almost always fail.” Instead, the long-term results will be a revival of sup- Lives of Gays and Lesbians port for Hamas among Palestinians and greater hostility On Dec. 19, the U.N. General Assembly voted on a non- to Israel across the Arab world. How will Israel escape the binding resolution aimed at “decriminalizing” homosexual- quagmire? How will it break out of the violent illogic of ity. The measure was directed at countries where homo- war, repression and resistance? sexuals can be executed for sexual relations. As Human A fresh beginning requires that Israel acknowledge that Rights Watch notes, “over 85 countries criminalize consen- in any negotiation it holds most of the cards and therefore sual homosexual conduct.” In some countries, including must make most of the concessions. Palestinian resistance Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen, it is continues because Israel has repeatedly refused to allow its punishable by death. whip-hand to go slack. In every cycle of peacemaking, it The Holy See condemned “all forms of violence against has retained control of commerce, of security, of tax homosexual persons” and urged countries to “put an end receipts, of water. Resistance—and with it Hamas—will to all forms of criminal penalties against them.” Nonethe- wither only when Israel is ready to make a peace that relin- less, along with 68 other countries, it rejected the resolu- quishes the upper hand over Palestinian life. tion, preferring to hold out for a more clearly worded doc- ument. The Holy See feared “uncertainty in the law,” Kony’s Ravages Continue which might lead to the marginalization of heterosexual The self-styled messianic rebel leader in Uganda, Joseph marriages. Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Kony, head of the brutal Lord’s Resistance Army, contin- Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, also feared that ues to wreak death and destruction through a wide swath this resolution could limit the freedom of the church to of territory in central Africa. Having escaped a multina- teach that homosexual acts are immoral. tional military offensive that targeted his jungle hideout in Though the Holy See last year endorsed a similar but the Democratic Republic of Congo, most of his armed fol- more carefully worded document, these distinctions may lowers fled in late December to the D.R.C.’s northeastern provide little comfort to those who pray for the church’s sup- corner. There, according to the United Nations, they mas- port in places where violence against gays and lesbians still sacred over 200 people and kidnapped at least 20 children occurs. Last year, according to the Federal Bureau of from villages over a three-day period. Investigation, hate crimes in this country against gays and les- The L.R.A.’s two decades of violence have caused the bians rose by 6 percent, while crimes against almost every displacement of an estimated two million people in other group fell. Stronger public steps are necessary to Northern Uganda and the deaths of tens of thousands. oppose the execution and murder of gays and lesbians.

4 America January 19–26, 2009 EDITORIAL The Roots of Terrorism

mong the array of challenges facing Barack means to link up previously isolated Obama in his first year in office will be the ongo- cells. Access to the media has two ill Aing struggle against terrorism, both at home and effects, offering greater awareness of abroad. As the vicious terrorist attacks in Mumbai in severe economic disparities and an November and the recent Hamas rocket attacks against introduction to a global entertainment Israel made clear, no nation involved in international poli- environment profoundly at odds with tics and commerce is free from the threat of political vio- the religious and cultural sensibilities lence. The past few years have shown that civilization rests of many peoples. on a much more precarious footing than we might have Another alarming portent of future terror is the real believed even a decade ago. possibility of widespread state failure. In its most recent But who is the real enemy in the global fight against analysis of global trends, the National Intelligence Council terrorism? Even to call this conflict a “war on terror” is mis- suggested that by 2025, as many as 36 nations (with a total leading, given that our enemies are of such disparate origins population of 1.4 billion) will face shortages of fresh water and intentions. Sweeping generalizations—that our enemy and sustainable food supplies. A number of these nations, is the Islamofascist, the Muslim fanatic, the anarchist, the which are overwhelmingly in Africa and the Middle East, ignorant youth—are often harmful in the formation of any are already unable to provide consistent law and order. effective response to terrorism. These same countries are also experiencing a “youth bulge” A sincere yet harmful truism is that our real enemy is of young men and women now entering adulthood. ignorance, that if our opponents could be freed of propa- State failure also represents a failure of compassion on ganda and false conceptions, their rage against Euro- the part of the wealthy and stable nations of the world. American civilization would abate. But any truthful analy- Imperiled nations support exactly the populations among sis of terrorist motives requires the concession that the real whom resentment will be strongest if the world community root cause of their actions is resentment. Often enough, fails them, if instead of jobs and security they find chaos, education actually leads not to greater appreciation for disease and suffering. In the past, the international commu- Western culture, but to even deeper antipathy. The hijack- nity has failed to intervene effectively when neglected situa- ers of Sept. 11, 2001, are a case in point. Many of the tions became humanitarian catastrophes, with Zimbabwe attackers had achieved high levels of education as engineers, and Somalia as prime examples. As Pope Benedict XVI scientists and academics. Many studied abroad, and sever- noted in his visit to the United Nations last year, the “duty al—ringleader Mohammad Atta among them—would fit to protect” is not just an internal matter for nations, but an the definition of upwardly mobile young professionals. international duty. Nevertheless, they were seduced by an ideology that con- It is crucial that the United States abandon the vinced them that their death, and the deaths of thousands rhetoric that casts the international struggle against terror- of innocents, was the appropriate response to their condi- ism exclusively in terms of a crusade against religious fanati- tion. cism. The anger that accompanies the ongoing and worsen- While scholars like Lawrence Wright, author of The ing social ills among the world’s poorest populations also Looming Tower, the best-selling study of Islamic terrorism, contributes mightily to terror’s allure. Remedying such have shown the powerful influence of fundamentalist reli- widespread resentment will not be easy, and cannot be done gious beliefs in terrorist recruitment, groups like Al Qaeda alone. A reasonable beginning would include greater inter- gain from the religious and from the resentful, drawing national cooperation on sustainable development, renegoti- devotees from those who find that the adoption of Western ation of lopsided trade agreements, a rethinking of the eco- economic and social practices does not always translate into nomics of globalization and an end to military and political economic opportunity or social progress. Oftentimes the unilateralism on the part of the United States. All this will, very technological advances that should have led to greater of course, require money—but far less than the world will upward mobility—the Internet and global communications spend combating the terror and violence that will otherwise among them—have provided terrorist groups with the flourish amid the ruins.

January 19–26, 2009 America 5 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

GAZA Christians Pray, Plead for Peace

sgr. Manuel Musallam, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Gaza City, says Gaza is “drowning in Mblood” as its hospitals overflow with patients. In a message to participants read during a special Mass for peace at St. Stephen’s Church in Jerusalem on Jan. 4, Musallam wrote: “What you see on television cannot be compared to what is happening. The word love is choking in my throat.... We are living like animals in Gaza. We cry and nobody hears us. I am asking God for mercy and pray that the light of Christianity continues to shine in Gaza.” Israel launched a ground attack in Gaza on Jan. 3 after several days of airstrikes to stop the Palestinian militant group Hamas from launching rockets into Israel. As of Jan. 8, at least four Israelis and more than 500 Palestinians, including 100 civilians, had been killed. Church leaders from the Holy Land attended the Mass

at St. Stephen’s while local and international Christians St. Catherine’s Church in Bethlehem, West Bank gathered elsewhere in Israel and the West Bank to pray for a halt to the violence in Gaza. At said the Israeli incursion into the death for Palestinians as well as St. Stephen’s the retired Latin patri- Gaza Strip means death for both Israelis,” Patriarch Sabbah said at the arch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, sides. “What is happening now is Mass. “What is happening in Gaza

NEW HAMPSHIRE tion, but said the practice raises seri- ous ethical concerns. Vatican officials Couple Questions Vatican Instruction insist no fully moral solution exists for dealing with frozen embryos, not even the idea of adopting or “rescuing” s committed Catholics, Dawn, 40, has given birth to three chil- abandoned embryos to bring them to Timothy and Dawn Smith dren who were adopted as frozen full development and birth. A of Fitzwilliam, N.H., respect embryos and believes their road to par- When the Smiths married in 1991 Vatican pronouncements, but recent enthood was morally righteous. “But, they knew they wanted three or four statements by church officials regard- the door is still open a crack here. Until children, but learned in 1997 they ing frozen embryo adoption have that is shut, we would like to say we were infertile. As they researched bewildered these parents of three chil- think this is a very good thing to do.” their options, the couple—who were dren who came into the world In the document Dignitas Personae living in Delaware at the time—dis- through this process. “If the church (The Dignity of a Person)—released at covered that people who go through did come out and say you can’t adopt the Vatican on Dec. 12—church lead- in vitro procedures sometimes frozen embryos, we wouldn’t openly ers did not condemn frozen embryo donate their excess frozen embryos challenge church teachings,” said adoption, the procedure through to others who cannot conceive chil- Timothy Smith, 44, in an interview which couples may adopt embryos that dren through marital sexual inter- with Catholic News Service. His wife, are not used during in vitro fertiliza- course, and decided this was the

6 America January 19–26, 2009 Church, adjacent to the ment, headed by Palestinian Prime Church of the Nativity in Minister Mahmoud Abbas. In June Bethlehem, West Bank, 2007, Hamas split with Abbas’s Fatah Christians also attended a spe- movement and took control of the cial Mass. “This is genocide,” Gaza Strip. Abbas’s government still said one Bethlehem resident, controls the West Bank. “What are we Adel Sahouri, 70, who attend- fighting over—for a piece of land? ed the Mass. “Israel is so Take the land. In the end the land will strong and has all the weapons swallow us all,” he said, noting that, the world can afford. What given the situation, he was not able to does Hamas have? Just rock- speak so freely with many of his ets, nothing.” Another told friends and acquaintances. Catholic News Service after After the Mass in Bethlehem more Mass he was praying “not just than 50 worshippers—carrying a for the people in Gaza but also flower wreath, placards calling for for those in Tel Aviv. Every peace and black and Palestinian [Israeli] soldier going into flags—processed around Manger Gaza now has a mother who is Square reciting Psalm 50, traditional- sitting glued to the television ly said at funerals. “What is going on with her heart in her throat. is war and I am praying to stop it. I am He who truly has God in his not waiting for people to hear [my heart loves everybody.” prayer]. I am waiting for God; and This parishioner said he whatever God’s plan is, we will follow,” has made us all come to pray and did not understand the purpose of said Rosemarie Nasser, 55. “No one join in a prayer that says stop the Hamas’s rockets, given their inaccura- understands that God has his own massacre.” cy, and he emphasized the fact that time. So many times in our lives God Earlier in the day at St. Catherine’s there is only one Palestinian govern- uses the bad for good.” course they wanted to take. weighed the moral issues involved.” Though they subscribe to church The only completely moral way of teachings that artificial methods of acting is to stop creating and freezing procreation, such as in vitro fertiliza- embryos, which possess the dignity of tion, are immoral, the Smiths believe all human beings, the document said. they protected the lives of their three Speaking at the Dec. 12 Vatican children by adopting them as frozen press conference to explain the docu- embryos and providing Dawn’s womb ment, Bishop Elio Sgreccia—former as a nurturing place for them to grow. president of the Pontifical Academy They say they were surprised at the for Life, who helped prepare the contents of the bioethics document Vatican’s new bioethics document— released by the Congregation for the told reporters: “The basic advice, Doctrine of the Faith. “I would have explicitly stated in the document, is thought that, after some reflection on that embryos must not be frozen. It is the matter, they would have leaned a one of those actions that has no reme- little more” in favor of the practice, dy. Once it is done, correcting it Smith said. “It doesn’t read like they implies committing another error.” talked to people—especially Catholics Erin Smith and her twin brothers, —who had gone through this and From CNS and other sources. CNS photos. Conrad, left, and Dominic

January 19–26, 2009 America 7 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

U.S. Bishops Applaud NEWS BRIEFS Conscience Regulations NEWS BRIEFS The U.S. bishops’ pro-life spokeswom- Eugene Fisher, a retired official at the U.S. an welcomed a final regulation issued Conference of Catholic Bishops, has been on Dec. 18 by the U.S. Department of honored by two organizations for his work Health and Human Services that pro- in promoting understanding between tects the conscience rights of health care Catholic and Jewish communities. providers. Deirdre McQuade, assistant • Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of director for policy and communica- Oakland was named archbishop of Detroit tions, said the regulation is a way to on Jan. 5 • A new online survey conducted protect medical personnel from “being for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops coerced” to violate their consciences in found that 78 percent favored requiring that federally funded programs. The new abortions be performed only by licensed regulation clarifies and implements physicians and that 72 percent favor requir- existing federal statutes enacted by ing that women who are seeking abortions Dietrich Reinhart Congress over the last several years, be told of the potential physical and psycho- most recently in 2004. “Individuals and logical risks. • The president of Caritas Internationalis called for an institutions committed to healing immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip to allow the wounded and their should not be required to take the very physicians to reach the region’s hospitals. • Despite the bombings in the human life that they are dedicated to Gaza Strip, the six Missionaries of Charity working there say life has some protecting,” McQuade said in a state- normalcy and they plan to remain. • Benedictine Brother Dietrich ment. “The enforcement of federal laws Reinhart, former president of St. John’s University in Collegeville, to protect their freedom of conscience is Minn., died Dec. 29 at age 59. • Catholic bishops in southern Africa long overdue.” She said, “Catholic paid tribute to the anti-apartheid campaigner Helen Suzman, who died health care providers will especially on Jan. 1 in Johannesburg at age 91. welcome this mark of respect for the excellent life-affirming care they pro- vide to all in need.”

Ugandan Rebels Killing blamed for the church massacre as 6, more than a quarter of its members well as continued tensions in north- will be Catholics, roughly matching the Congolese Civilians eastern Congo. In early December, percentage of Catholics in the U.S. pop- A Catholic Church official said the Ugandan, Congolese and southern ulation and consistent with the statisti- Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army is Sudanese forces launched an offensive cal trends of the past decade. Four years killing Congolese civilians to avenge against the group. Sister Marie- ago, when the 109th Congress con- military attacks by the Congolese Bernard said the local justice and vened, it included 153 Catholics. Two army. “It is the civilian population peace commission currently is taking years later there were 155 Catholics in who are paying the price of this vio- scores of people to the local hospital. the 110th Congress. The new group of lence,” said Marie-Bernard Alima, a senators and representatives has 162 St. Joseph Sister who is executive sec- Number of Catholics in members who identify themselves as retary of the Congolese bishops’ jus- Catholics. With nearly all the 2008 elec- tice and peace commission. Sister Congress Grows toral battles settled by early December Marie-Bernard told Catholic News The number of Catholic members of and the Senate seat of President-elect Service on Dec. 29 that 50 bodies Congress is slowly growing and the Barack Obama still not filled, the were found in the courtyard of a Catholic contingent, like the full Catholic delegation includes 17 Catholic church in Doruma Congress itself, has taken a decided turn Democrats and nine Republicans in the Christmas morning. The L.R.A., a toward the Democratic Party. When Senate and 98 Democrats and 38 Ugandan rebel group, has been the 111th Congress is sworn in on Jan. Republicans in the House.

8 America January 19–26, 2009 THOMAS MASSARO Blessed Are the Poor

he best homiletic advice I these hard times. response. At the very least, it entails ever received was to remem- Poverty—there is a word we have avoiding those “Marie Antoinette T ber always that I am a fellow heard too seldom since the financial moments” that reveal ignorance of the pilgrim sharing the path of discovery dominoes started tumbling last fall. less fortunate and insensitivity toward with a congregation. As a new regular Financial crises and the recessions them. While some point to the New voice at this magazine, I will do my that follow cause poverty rates to soar. York Yankees’ recent spending spree best to bring this call to intellectual Jobs are lost, incomes decline, invest- on free agents and new stadium humility to my columns. Fellow trav- ments shrink, savings are tapped out, amenities as an unconscionable dis- elers are more likeable than self- health care coverage expires, foreclo- play of callousness, we all need to appointed gurus, after all. sures strike, and retirement plans are reassess our priorities. Keeping my pledge to avoid scuttled. No household is Notice that phrase “know-it-all-dom” will come easily completely immune from just above: “the less for- enough in this initial column, because the threat of insecurity. What is tunate.” The lessons I will share some tentative thoughts Correlated with declining available from observing on a pressing topic on which nobody income are a host of per- the proper the roller coaster of can speak with final authority: how to sonal hardships, from moral recent business cycles respond to the current economic marital strain to drug use must include an appreci- downturn in a way that is true to the to declining health, even response ation for the limits of Gospel and Christian ethics. suicide. These spreading to these self-reliance amid unsta- To employ a medical metaphor, ripples, worthy of deep ble modern economies. one could say that economists by now concern, often originate in hard times? “There but for the grace generally agree on a basic diagnosis of the stubborn reality of of God (or the burst of what went wrong to precipitate this material deprivation. the bubble) go I!” crisis, and they can discern a reason- Downward mobility—another stark For those who persist in a blanket ably clear prescription to foster recov- term that demands our attention. For policy of blaming the poor for their ery (bailouts, stimulus packages and some it means a modest scaling back poverty, John Paul offered this chal- new regulatory oversight). They of expenses and expectations, for oth- lenge in his encyclical Centesimus might even come up with a reliable ers the alarming prospect of an Annus (1991): “But it will be neces- prognosis and timeline for crawling increasingly desperate struggle for sary above all to abandon a mentality out of this, the sharpest recession in survival. As maddeningly imprecise as in which the poor—as individuals and decades. this term is, it always involves the as peoples—are considered a burden, But a distinct set of challenges aris- “bite” of dashed aspirations and the irksome intruders trying to consume es when we turn our attention to the loss of social status. Families confront- what others have produced.” personal level. How should we think ed with involuntary downward mobil- If any good comes of this recession, about what is happening “at street ity are generally not different from it may just consist in a more honest level,” to actual people and the budgets their neighbors; they simply find and nuanced view of the true causes of of their hard-pressed families? Some themselves at the wrong place at the poverty and greater fellow-feeling of the challenges I have in mind regard wrong time. with those suffering its effects. While how best to describe the effects of the Pope John Paul II challenged the hard times do not automatically settle recession, while others pertain to the world to grow in the virtue of social disagreements on policy issues, like shape of the proper moral response to solidarity. What does it mean to be in the proper extent of social safety nets, solidarity with those affected most the recession does present a privileged acutely by this recession? The answer opportunity to reassess certain moral THOMAS MASSARO, S.J., teaches social ethics at the Boston College School of Theology and to this question turns out to be quite dimensions of our economy and to Ministry, Chestnut Hill, Mass. individual, with no one-size-fits-all discern our own “option for the poor.”

10 America January 19–26, 2009 America asked a diverse group of readers what advice they would give to Barack Obama. LETTERS AND MEMOS TO THE INCOMING EXECUTIVE Mister President:

ere in Kenya, your ancestral land, we claim you as a true son of Africa. Your name, Baraka, means blessing. You assume the leadership of the United States at a time when Americans groan in the throes of economic woes. A man whose house is on fire does not care about his neighbor’s dying ox. HUnderstandably, you will focus your energy on extinguishing the fire of eco- nomic recession currently menacing Americans. This may sound nepotistic, but in Africa we say that a person whose relative sits on top of a mango tree always eats ripe and delicious mangoes. Africa expects many blessings from you, as our relative, in your exalted position as president. Yes, you can bless Africa by lead- ing the international community to bring peace to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Darfur; political stability to Zimbabwe and economic development in trade and aid to Africa. For too long we have heard lofty rhetoric from world leaders, including your predecessor, that Africa matters—rhetoric that rarely translated into reality. You stand on the cusp between despair and hope for America. Change has come to America, you once said. Africa also pleads for change, and you can help bring it about on our continent. The power you wield is to kindle hope, create opportunity and generate change in America and the world. For no matter how powerful a man, he cannot make the rains fall on his farm alone. God bless you, Baraka!

AGBONKHIANMEGHE E. OROBATOR, S.J., is a lecturer in theology at Hekima College Jesuit School of Theology in Nairobi, Kenya, and rector of the college’s Jesuit community.

ou set out to assemble a cabinet and group of advisors much like a lib- eral arts university would select its faculty. Your “team of rivals,” as they Y are called, allows you to be the professor in chief, welcoming ideas from myriad political experiences. Presumably this is no accident. You have attended highly regarded institutions of higher education and were once a professor of law. Now you have taken a model inspired by American universities and applied it to your nascent presidency, at least in part to provoke the type of debate and perspective that stimulates revolutionary thinking. You have said on many occa- sions that if it were not for your education, you would not be where you are today. Unfortunately, the cost of higher education is already increasing at a greater

January 19–26, 2009 America 13 rate than middle- and lower-class families can afford. most vulnerable will need our help. According to a biannual report by the National Center for With malice toward none, Mr. President, but with Public Policy and Higher Education, “College tuition con- firmness to do what is right, remember you cannot make tinues to outpace family income and the price of other everyone a friend. Partisanship is not pleasant. But there necessities, such as medical care, food, and housing.... are times when it is necessary. Sometimes a measure of a Whatever the causes of these tuition increases, the continu- president’s success is the vehemence of the enemies he ation of trends of the last quarter century would place high- makes. er education beyond the reach of most Americans and would greatly exacerbate the debt burdens of those who do PETER QUINN, a novelist and essayist, was the speechwriter for two New York governors. His latest book is Looking for Jimmy: In enroll.” Search of Irish America (Overlook Press, 2007). There will be no bailout for families who have already taken on sizeable debt to pay for education, but since the economy you inherited will need time to rebound, this situ- here is a psalm in the Bible that says, “Truth ation can only be projected to continue. While America springs up from the ground.” The ground is where limps, it is the obligation of all levels of government not to ordinary people live, the people you addressed most lose sight of its future. Education cannot simply be put on T frequently during your campaign. But I want to direct your hold while solutions are sought for failed banks and auto eyes and your heart to brothers and sisters who live below companies. the ground, Mr. President, those deemed so unredeemable President Obama, the opportunities you had to advance that they have been condemned to die. your education still influence you today, but if proper atten- For 20 years now I have accompanied the condemned to tion is not given to reducing the cost of a university degree, their deaths and have been there for them at the end so they these experiences may not be possible for all segments of could see the face of someone who respects their dignity. I America. Good luck! have seen state killing close up, seen with my own eyes the MATTHEW P. MOLL, a 2003 graduate of Marquette University, served agony, the torture of human beings anticipating death, try- in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and is studying new media at the ing to bolster courage to walk to the killing chamber. They Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. plead with me, “Please pray that God holds up my legs.” Is it possible, Mr. President, that as a country we are in moral trouble for sanctioning torture of suspected terrorists have not had higher hopes or greater expectations in Guantánamo because we already practice torture in for any president since John F. Kennedy. You are every death chambers across the land? There men and women, bit as intelligent, articulate and capable as he was. You I bound hand and foot, are forced down onto gurneys and seem wonderfully agreeable and genuinely decent. Your call killed—often with family members watching, their own for a new era of bipartisanship is admirable. mothers bearing mute witness to their deaths. You have set out an ambitious agenda that includes res- You have ushered in hope for a new America, President cuing the economy, undoing the free-market idolatry that Obama. Join me in the hope that we will soon shut down resulted in ruinous deregulation, reversing arrogant and not only Guantánamo, but our own killing chambers as self-defeating unilateralism in the conduct of foreign affairs, well. Only then can we stand tall alongside the vast majori- repairing the decades-long neglect of our infrastructure, ty of countries around the globe that have embraced human instituting sane, long-range environmental protections and rights by no longer killing their citizens. achieving universal health care. I pray, I work for this new America. But do not be deceived. Great presidents must take on powerful enemies as well as tackle great crises. Lincoln had HELEN PREJEAN, C.S.J., is the author of Dead Man Walking and the Copperheads. Franklin D. Roosevelt had the “economic The Death of Innocents. royalists.” You will have yours, too. Sooner or later, as day follows night, the diehards will set out to frustrate any pro- cess of significant change. hile I speak only for myself with this advice, I Be resolute. Be tough. Stick to your beliefs. Markets am fortunate to be a participant in the extraor- were made for man, not the other way around. Free enter- W dinary phenomenon of Silicon Valley, a culture prise is a guide, not a god. The world is now and forever and business model that I would boldly argue has been a interdependent. No country or society can go it alone. source of substantial good as well as economic growth, not The environment is our home; it is not for sale. The poor just for our country but for the world. We have seen unprece-

PREVIOUS PAGE: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST will be with us always; and as always, the poorest and dented progress in information technology, health care and

14 America January 19–26, 2009 emerging clean technologies. So please, Mr. Obama: and other parts of the world that have torn apart our fami- • Champion entrepreneurism, risk-taking and innova- ly of nations. tion with your words, legislation and regulation. Allow fail- There are other related concerns that rob people of dig- ure. Do not make business failure illegal. nity, such as the food crisis, trafficking of human persons • Do not overreach with regulatory and legislative “fixes” and genocide. Nationally, it should be your priority to for the current economic crisis. While many proposals may restore those systems that affect the most vulnerable in our be crowd pleasers, consider the impact on future midst: education, health care, immigration, housing and entrepreneurs and the capital formation they need to pur- employment. I would also encourage you to reconsider your sue their dreams. Consider the moral hazard created with pledge to sign the Freedom of Choice Act in light of the far- many well-meaning ideas to soften blows. Help rebuild an reaching and devastating effects its implementation will environment where initial public offerings are possible and have on so many. small public companies can afford to exist. • Given our recent economic interventions, push back GABINO ZAVALA is auxiliary bishop for the San Gabriel Region, Diocese of Los Angeles. against the inevitable pressures to politicize the govern- ment’s new investments in private companies. We do not need new Fannie Maes and Freddie Macs. As soon as our ealing the wounds of division was an important stabilization objectives have been achieved, sell these posi- part of your campaign message, and I hope this tions back to the private sector. task remains in the foreground of your presiden- • Make science and engineering education a national pri- H tial agenda. We are in dire need of the height, depth and ority. Challenge the resistance to change in our calcified breadth of a vision in which we recognize our common education bureaucracy. Use your ability to communicate humanity and so can reach across divisions of every sort to and connect with young people to make the case that sci- care for one another as brothers and sisters. ence and engineering are “cool” and noble professions that Undoubtedly, one of the festering wounds is discord over can make the world a better place. Encourage immigration, abortion law and policy. Is there any hope for healing this especially among scientists and engineers. wound? Openly acknowledging that abortion is not a tri- • Although the benefits of free trade may not be perfect- umph for anyone, expressing appreciation for how many ly distributed, you do know that the benefits to our country efforts to reduce abortion may be deeply attuned with the and our trading partners are overwhelming. Do not pander goal of social justice, and demonstrating in domestic and to fears of free trade for short-term political advantage. international policy agendas a commitment to work toward • Finally, do not seduce Silicon Valley with the narcotics of a society in which abortion is rare would all be steps in this subsidies, protections and bailouts, making us just another direction. These efforts could also help to set the tone for a pig at the trough of the federal government. May we have the robust bipartisan national conversation on how to eliminate courage and intellectual honesty to resist these temptations. all forms of brutality—including torture and the death BOB FINOCCHIO JR. is a corporate director, private investor, part-time penalty—and respond to the needs of all of the poor and professor and consultant. most vulnerable in our own communities and throughout the world. In all that you do, help us to move beyond the narrow irst and foremost, I would suggest that you find ways and rigid confines of individualistic rhetoric toward a vision that help you to remain centered and grounded, in that inspires a true sense of solidarity and the sacrifices this Forder to meet the new demands of your daily life and might entail. In this lies our identity, our dignity, our future the well-being of your family. I would recommend that your as a people and the positive contribution we can make to work as president of the United States focus on cultivating our increasingly interdependent world. the common good and promoting the dignity of every human person, both for the family of nations and our own AMY UELMEN is director of the Institute on Religion, Law & Lawyer’s Work at Fordham University School of Law in New York City. national community. Restoring good international relation- ships based on mutual respect and equal regard is impor- tant for bringing about genuine peace and justice. Since you Memos to the President are coming into office in this difficult time globally and nationally, I would suggest that you focus on issues that are propose that President Obama take back his pledge to related to the dignity of the human person, and that you lower taxes, and instead persuade Congress to raise make it a priority to address the wars in the Middle East Ithem. Amid the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, our many

16 America January 19–26, 2009 infrastructure needs, universal health care and the costs of Obama’s pledge to work to open a dialogue with Iran and the economic bailout, the government needs more money. Syria should not be seen as coming at the expense of the The American middle class, the target beneficiary of the Arab allies whose friendship with the United States has cuts, is not suffering from any serious shortage of consumer cost them. An early meeting with the leaders of the Persian goods. It gained them by going down the primrose path of Gulf States, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinian credit card debts, bad mortgages and no savings. It was Authority would make it clear that U.S. dialogue with Iran seduced without much difficulty by an excessively deadly and Syria will be done with and in support of our friends. consumerist culture—more and more of everything that Finally, because close attention will be paid to every word suits one’s fancy. President Obama will say about the Arab-Israel conflict, he The middle class now needs government help in creating must be balanced and instill confidence. If Palestinians are new jobs and relieving people of some of their debts, even if going to be asked to wait yet again, the new U.S. president foolishly incurred; and a tax cut will be of little help to cannot be seen “giving away the store” or letting Israel con- them. A government stimulus package oriented toward tinue to take what it wants while the Palestinians suffer infrastructure needs and improved education would help under a harsh occupation. the middle class more in the long run. It could surely help to put in place a budget-increasing universal health care JAMES J. ZOGBY is president and founder of the Arab American Institute in Washington, D.C. program. Democrats have themselves been seduced by a Republican, conservative-driven ideology, always wanting to put more money into private pockets. We have been s Barack Obama steps forward to take the oath of there, done that. If any change is most needed, a rejection of office, he will be taking that next step in the jour- that ideology should be near the top of the list. Raising Aney through the paddy fields of Java and on the taxes would be a good start. dusty roads of Kenya, finding himself and asserting his identity as an inclusive leader. On election night, he stood DANIEL CALLAHAN is a senior research scholar and president emeritus in Grant Park in Chicago proclaiming to the world, “If of The Hastings Center. there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, tonight is your answer.” At his inauguration, he will look down the Mall, he Arab world celebrated Barack Obama’s victory knowing that at the other end stood another African- because many understood the historic significance American in 1963, proclaiming “I have a dream.” While Tof an African-American becoming president of the pledging health care and good economic management at United States. Given the toll taken by eight years of the home, he has the opportunity to pledge his country’s sup- Bush administration’s policies, Arabs, too, longed for port for those who work for peace and prosperity in all “change we could believe in.” Having just those paddy fields and on all those dusty returned from the region, I know that ON THE WEB roads where human flourishing remains expectations for the Obama administra- but a dream. The wealth and power of tion will be hard to meet. This could Video messages for the new president, americamagazine.org/video his nation will yield more internationally prove dangerous, because even a small dis- if he works inclusively with other govern- appointment could bring a negative mood ments, respecting the culture of the swing that would spell trouble for the United States and Javanese rice farmer and acknowledging the aspirations of embolden extremists. the Kenyan trader. Since resolution of the “big issues” (like the establish- Gone are the days when the United States can go it alone ment of a Palestinian state or ending the “occupation” of or with “coalitions of the willing,” reconstituting the global Iraq) will not happen quickly, President Obama must look landscape. The paddy fields and dusty roads will be safer for “bite-sized” early actions to sustain the hope that he will and more productive if President Obama rekindles the open a new chapter in U.S.-Arab relations, giving him time dream of due process in international forums and equal to address more fundamental concerns. The speech he has protection for people of all races, regardless of their nation- promised to deliver to the world’s Muslims within his first ality. Change will not be easy; but together, as one world, 100 days in office is an important start. Appointing Arab- “Yes we can.” Americans to meaningful roles in his Middle East peace- making team could also send an important early signal of FRANK BRENNAN, S.J., is a professor of law at Australian Catholic balance to Arabs. University. A

January 19–26, 2009 America 17 The Food On Our Tables The flaws of U.S. agricultural policy BY BOB PEACE REUTERS/HENRY ROMERO

ost of us are happy with the food available in our markets, which to a large extent offer products of United States agriculture. As taxpayers we help to support agriculture through direct payments, or crop subsidies, paid to farmers. Many indirect subsidies, like government-sponsored research, crop insurance and import quotas on crops like sugar, also benefit our Mfarmers. Such subsidies, however, have an unintended social consequence; they allow American farmers to grow an abundant crop and to sell it at prices often below world food prices—an advantage for us, a disadvantage for others. To see the effect of the policy on a neighboring nation, consider Mexico, where the main crop of family farmers is corn. Mexican farmers have no comparable subsidies, and without them they cannot compete with U.S. farmers whose corn is exported to Mexico. As a result, many Mexican farm laborers cannot find work in their home country. Many of these come to the United States looking for work. Studies show that poverty fuels migration.

BOB PEACE is an Alumni Distinguished Professor in the College of Management at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C.

January 19–26, 2009 America 19 Nationwide, direct payments to U.S. farmers in 2008 Part of what is perceived to be an illegal immigration will total about $5 billion. In 2007, North Carolina farmers problem is thus of our own making, as taxpayer-financed received some $66 million in direct subsidies, which placed agricultural subsidies trigger a migratory flow. This prob- the state 23rd among the 50 states. Not all farms and farm- lematic result should generate in us a sense of responsibili- ers receive direct payment subsidies; two-thirds of U.S. ty toward those we have, perhaps unconsciously, lured over farmers do not grow subsidy program crops. And there is our borders. an income limit in the 2008 Farm Bill; a person or a legal Federal and state laws provide protections for migrant entity, like a corporate farm, with an adjusted gross income farm laborers on issues that include wages, housing, health over $750,000 averaged over the previous three years, is not and safety. Since migrant farm workers are isolated from the eligible for a direct subsidy. greater community and depend on their employers for basic housing, transportation and wages, workers are under- Farm Laborers From Mexico standably loath to point a finger at their employers when Every year thousands of farm laborers from Mexico migrate abuses under the law occur. And many, particularly undoc- to North Carolina with temporary visas, called H2A visas, umented farm workers, are unable to take advantage of tax- approved by the U.S. Department of Labor. Under the supported government services like Medicaid and food H2A program, agricultural employers can hire foreign stamps. workers if they can show that they tried to hire local work- Whether migrant workers are here on H2A visas or are ers first without success, and that the work is seasonal or here illegally and undocumented, their labor remains vital temporary. North Carolina’s farmers are among the largest to our healthy farm production. Migrants contribute to the users of this temporary agricultural visa. Though H2A visa availability of the food on our tables. holders are temporary residents, they are in the United Many of North Carolina’s migrant labor camps are well States legally. Studies show that about 48 percent of foreign organized, clean and safe, while others are not. The North agricultural workers in the United States hold H2A visas. Carolina Department of Labor maps and registers migrant That means that more than half of our foreign agricultural labor camps and conducts pre-occupancy housing inspec- laborers are here illegally. tions before the camps can take in workers. Follow-up inspections are conducted to ensure compliance with the federal government’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. North Carolina’s labor department employs three full-time compliance inspectors, but there are about 1,600 registered camps throughout the state. The number of unregistered camps is not known, but could be #SJOHJOH
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20 America January 19–26, 2009 STATE OF THE QUESTION A Response to ‘The Chaplain’s Dilemma’

n “The Chaplain’s Dilemma” (11/17), Deacon Tom Military instructions support all those who are authentic Cornell articulates well the need for priests in the and sincere in their newfound beliefs that all warfare is con- military, but I disagree with his (and Gordon trary to their conscience. Zahn’s) proposal that the chaplaincy be “civilianized” Some chaplains might compromise themselves, but no Ito be more effective. one is above temptation when an opinion may jeopardize I spent 27 years as a chaplain in the United States status or security: It is a human flaw not confined to the Navy. I served as Executive Assistant to the Navy Chief military. There is a defining moment in each of our lives of Chaplains, as Fleet Chaplain for the U.S. Pacific when we are called to stand up and be counted, and how we Fleet and as the Pacific Command Chaplain. I also respond either can define us as a hero or make us look taught the courses on conscientious objection, privi- pathetic. I can point to many Chaplain Corps heroes who leged communication and confidentiality at the Navy have demonstrated personal courage and credibility. Two Chaplains’ School and to officers in Newport, R.I. such chaplains are, in fact, being considered for sainthood. Cornell’s position often relies on misguided generaliza- When the bishops were asking their people to protest tions, uninformed opinions and skewed perceptions. Just as pending partial-birth abortion legislation, I was directed by a missionary who learns the customs and language of a peo- Navy lawyers to tell Navy priests they were not to partici- ple becomes effective in preaching the Gospel, so priests in pate; the Uniform Code of Military Justice specifies that the military who make the same sacrifices and endure the officers cannot become involved in political activity. I same risks and hardships as other service members com- reminded all our priests not to become involved in political mand their respect in a way civilians never could. activity when in uniform, but that once they put on their Last year, a U.S. Marine General in Iraq, General Jim vestments they represented the church, and all the faithful Mattis, claimed that his most trusted resource was his chap- had a constitutional right to hear what other Catholics were lain. He had ordered his Marines to demonstrate a show of being told. My directive went unchallenged. force in full battle gear when faced with a local Iraqi demon- A Baptist friend of mine, a chaplain, tells the story of stration. His unit chaplain, Father Bill Devine, suggested how his orders to the Naval Academy in the 1970s were instead that the troops warmly greet the demonstrators and about to be cancelled because he was black. Cardinal John give them bottles of water. Father Devine explained that the O’Connor, then senior chaplain at the academy, threatened gesture would be understood as hospitable and might even to pull out all his chaplains if the orders were cancelled. be disarming. The general thought the idea bizarre at first, They never were. Similarly, as a senior chaplain, I had an but ordered his men to do what his chaplain advised. “And evangelical chaplain being pressured to reveal the confi- it worked,” the general explained. “There were smiles all dences of a marine who had been murdered. The rationale around, even some embraces, and our friendly relations was that since the marine was deceased the privilege of con- resumed on the spot and have remained ever since.” This is fidentiality no longer held. I threatened to pull out all chap- a good example of how a priest in uniform influenced the lains should any action be taken against the chaplain. That very general Cornell criticized in his article for his hard- ended it. nosed attitude. I doubt a civilian cleric would have enjoyed In all three instances, a civilian chaplain would never such influence; security wouldn’t have allowed him in the have had such influence. war zone. The spiritual writer Brother Roger of Taizé wrote: “The Cornell also maintains that the government trains chap- equilibrium of a Christian is comparable to that of a man lains. In fact, chaplains come to the military fully trained by who walks on the edge of a razor. Only God can maintain their own faith groups. The government merely provides his balance.” So it is with Catholic chaplains who minister each Chaplain Corps with a school so that experienced in the military—it is a very challenging place to live out the chaplains can teach new chaplains about the local culture to Gospel. We have to do it compellingly and with credibility. enhance their own effectiveness. It is like walking on the edge of a razor, and God alone can Cornell’s criticism of chaplains not being trained to sup- maintain our balance. port Conscientious Objector Status is unfounded. The sub- (MOST REV.) JOSEPH W. ESTABROOK ject is addressed specifically with every new chaplain. Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese for the Military Services, U.S.A.

January 19–26, 2009 America 21 BOOKS &CULTURE

In “Ward” (1970-71), the artist ART | KAREN SUE SMITH presents a roomful of hospital beds BEYOND PROTEST occupied by identical looking young men under white sheets; these beds The art of George Tooker look like open coffins. Three older fig- ures, not reclining, are awake, but no EORGE TOOKER (b. 1920) is a 2007 National Medal of Arts and a one relates to anyone else—a common living American artist whose member of the American Academy of theme in Tooker’s protest paintings. Gwork, and in some respects Arts and Letters, Tooker deserves to Hanging U.S. flags indicate a military whose life, seems especially hospital. Made during the pertinent to our times. Vietnam War, this painting can Deeply spiritual and be interpreted as a war protest, attuned to social injustice but it also exposes the imperson- and destructive societal al way our society “cares” for the trends, Tooker painted his ill or injured. It remains relevant most provocative works as though nearly 40 years have protests against racism, passed. alienation, government Ironically, Tooker is an artist surveillance of citizens and who records contemporary life homophobia. On his omi- using Renaissance techniques. nously affecting canvases, He mixes his own egg tempera Tooker shows what intoler- in the colors of Umbria and is ance, suspicion, prejudice infatuated with perspective and and lack of community look architecture, as were the Italian like. Like Edward Hopper, Renaissance painters. His most Andrew Wyeth and Jacob famous painting, “Subway” Lawrence in the United (1950), shows a subway station States, and like Balthus in from the inside, with its low ceil- Europe, Tooker insisted on ings, multiple stairwells and making figurative art when turnstiles—a complex exercise the avant-garde had moved in perspective. But the subject is into modernism and alienation. Anonymous individ- abstraction and had pro- uals look past one another, a few nounced representational men peer out eerily at the view- art passé, if not dead. “Dark Angel,” 1999 er, and a distressed woman in a “George Tooker: A Retrospective,” be more widely known. red dress gestures as though sensing is the first retrospective of Tooker’s In his art Tooker found a way of danger. Tooker applies tiny methodi- work in 30 years. After closing at the cultivating an interior life, and it gave cal brush strokes to create his images; National Academy Museum in New him a powerful tool for communicat- a perfection of technique used to York City on Jan. 4, it will travel to the ing his observations. “Painting,” he depict imperfection within society. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine once said, “is an attempt to come to In “Landscape With Figures” Arts (Jan. 30–April 5) and to the terms with life.” Over six decades the (1966) the “land” is a warren of cubi- Columbus Museum of Art in Ohio artist has reflected on social injustices, cles, each of which contains a man or a (May 1–Sept. 6, 2009). The show on personal memories and on classical woman, like workers in a vast office should not be missed. themes. Tooker focuses on the figure seen from above. Some have closed These three museums collaborated because his insights concern persons their eyes (perhaps to find more space on the exhibition and produced an and how they do—and do not—relate within), while others look up. No one

PHOTO: PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS, PHILADELPHIA; HENRY C. GIBSON FUND excellent catalogue. A recipient of the to one another. engages with the others who sit just a

January 19–26, 2009 America 25 26 (1999), Tooker expressed his under- Angel” In “Dark Emmaus. at Christ of story the recalled image this that said two other men,both white. Tooker bread (1963);Jesus in“Supper” iswith the blessing of act the in Christ black ous and carnal. Tooker alsopainted a a bitof the bedis showing; itissensu- out; inthe soft red-orange background the face of agorgeous black manlooks modestly gazesout;over one shoulder, female pulls back ayellow curtain and (1963),alovely“Window VII” nude shows mixed-race couples at home. In in crowds and street scenes, butalso African-Americans Latinos and people. still and separates isolation liesdeeper not meanthe endof segregation, for may beshowing that integration does because heisracially different. Tooker center. He seemsespecially alone Tooker adds alone black manat the all eating identical sandwiches. But men and women sitat lunch counters, imposes. In “Lunch” (1964)solitary racial discrimination “outsiderthe status” that understood something of mixed ethnicity and Tooker felt keenly his War II.In these settings, beforeHarvard World Great Depression and at Academy during the cated atPhillips descent, Tooker edu- was as such, or fantasy.” not after painting dreams Tooker Iam “but said, has returns adream,” as mindreality impressed onthe so hard reachwould outto each other. they only if individuals these through that though could blood painting, as course itthin wallaway. Redpervades the America Tooker depicts Of Cuban-Dutch amafter painting “I January 19–26, 2009 americamagazine.org/slideshow of GeorgeTooker'swork. ON THEWEB View aslideshow This too is countercultural. is too This and contemplative, warm and peaceful. religious Such mood. images are serene see. Agolden glow behind projects a communing with someone we cannot in the midst of amystical experience, Mary at the Annunciation. Sheseems over her heart inagesture like that of American, the subject holds her hands ing. Perhaps oranAfrican- aLatino others do not. what than hisprotest pieces, which show us memorable are less lovers of images many inposesovertly sexual,Tooker’s each other and looking directly at each young woman and manreaching for of the Catholic Tooker Mass, shows a of Peace (1988),named for apart II” beautiful, even sublime. In “Embrace social comment. Some of hisworks are holds apaintbrush. hand onTooker’s head the as artist black angel blesses Tooker, laying his divinely given. In this self-portrait, a as artist the of vocation the of standing “Girl Praying” (1977)isquietly mov- than more Tooker’s offers oeuvre “Lovers I,”1959 images of lovers, of images with oversaturated ourculture is cause ing. Perhaps be- but not sexual, long- intense, with other include stations of the cross, adepic- His most overtly religious works sense of peace inTooker’s later works. apalpableCatholic One finds priest. tated byhisfriendship with alocal Christopher’s death, atransition facili- converted to Catholicism in1976after rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil became ardentents died, supporters of and African-American family after hispar- Tooker lives. an by Christopher, raised was who still Tooker boughtdeath in1973.The two eventually a homelifetime partneruntil Christopher’s inanother artist, who would become his Vermont, William Christopher, with ship wherebe determined. onwhicha game board, hisfuture will which the young manstands looks like declare “checkmate.” The very flooron figure and herdaughter, ready to mother huge a from away run to about a young manwho looks like Tooker is Here marriage. of expectations societal (1946-47), inwhich Tooker dealswith where Marsh Reginald and Edward the ArtStudents of New League York, During the 1940sTooker studied at An ArtistinNewYork Raised anEpiscopalian, TookerRaised In 1949Tooker formed arelation- AGm fChess” C of Game “A themes. One example is explored implicitly homosexual work ’s Tooker Lynes. Platt George photographer the and Kirstein Lincoln the ballet impresario and Margaret French, included the Jared artists lovers. Their friends and the two became was, he years than older 16 Cadmus, anartist critic. He met Paul Marsh, astrong social Tooker studied with teaching. were Hopper During this decade, this During

PHOTO: PRIVATE COLLECTION tion of the seven sacraments (commis- points to what needs repair in our coal for the incense and which will ring sioned for a Franciscan church in society and in our relationships, and it the altar chimes for this pre-Vatican II Vermont) and a post-Resurrection attests to the strength and beauty of Sunday Mass. The working-class Christ, all shown in the catalogue but love, community and faith. parishioners, smartly dressed, with the not on exhibit. women wearing the prescribed head- This retrospective allows a viewer KAREN SUE SMITH, editorial director of coverings, gently greet each other as America, is a student at the National to appreciate the balance Tooker has Academy of Design School of Fine Arts in they walk to church. Maybe Sister achieved in his lifetime. His work Manhattan. Aloysius has a point. Catholic life seemed simpler and more reliable then, with none of the questions and changes that the Second Vatican Council and FILM | MICHAEL V. TUETH all the other forces of the 1960s would bring to the church. UNCERTAIN SYMPATHIES But things are not as solid and cer- John Patrick Shanley’s ‘Doubt’ tain as they seem. The first hint comes from a sermon given by a young priest, The sun does not shine much in the of the St. Nicholas parish school, Father Brendan Flynn: “What do you Bronx neighborhood where John seems determined to protect her do when you’re not sure?” he asks the Patrick Shanley’s powerful film, domain from any corrupting influ- congregation. He reminds them of the Doubt, is set. The atmosphere is gray ences in the air. bond of despair and uncertainty they and cold; its melancholy mood is dis- Catholics of a certain age might be shared a year earlier, when their turbed only once in the film by a fierce tempted toward nostalgia by the film’s beloved president John F. Kennedy windstorm that blows down many of opening shots, showing a quiet Sunday was assassinated. He compares this, the bare limbs of the convent trees. morning in this Irish-American neigh- however, to a lonelier situation, offer- The winds of change are blowing in borhood. The altar boys prepare the ing as a parable the story of a sailor the Catholic Church in 1964, and cruets of water and wine and negotiate alone on a lifeboat who cannot see the Sister Aloysius Beauvier, the principal which one of them will light the char- stars to guide him. The priest propos-

PHOTO: CNS/MIRAMAX Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams in John Patrick Shanley’s “Doubt”

January 19–26, 2009 America 27 es this as an image of the loneliness ers to be holding the school and the convent meals with a mixture of many in the congregation might feel parish back from the newer vision of “a gloom and sarcasm. The nuns eat because of some secret fear or pain in welcoming church.” Sister Aloysius is their dinner in silence until Sister their lives that no one knows about. more than ready to suspect him when Aloysius rings her bell and begins the He suggests someone might be think- a naïve young nun suggests that he conversation; when the other nuns ing, “No one knows that I’ve done might be engaging in an inappropriate speak, she counters their comments something wrong.” relationship with one of the eighth- with ridicule. And she certainly disap- Before long, Sister Aloysius sus- grade boys. Sister Aloysius determines proves of Father Flynn’s comfort with pects that someone has been doing to get to the truth of and affection for something wrong: Father Flynn him- the students, this matter, while ON THE WEB self. She already clearly has a funda- Father Flynn responds Jim McDermott, S.J., on the especially Donald mental distrust of the young assistant to her accusations with TV season in sci-fi. Muller, who, inci- pastor. He is too jovial for her tastes; ferocious self-right- americamagazine.org/connects dentally, is the he suggests that the school Christmas eousness. first African- play should include a secular song like To tell here how the question is American student admitted into the “Frosty the Snowman,” which Sister resolved would be more than a disser- school. Aloysius considers a heretical message vice to our readers, because as the Meanwhile, Father Flynn’s behav- about magic. As for his personal story develops, the audience learns ior gives Sister Aloysius further habits, he likes too much sugar in his that there is much more than the pos- motive to suspect him. He embraces tea, wears his fingernails too long, sibility of sexual scandal lurking in the Donald after he is bullied by another uses a ballpoint pen and possesses world of St. Nicholas Parish. Shanley’s student; the priest is spotted mysteri- other hints of sensuality and adapta- screenplay reveals layers of evil that ously returning Donald’s undershirt tion to the modern world. reach to a heart of darkness worthy of to the boy’s locker; and he calls Father Flynn harbors a similar dis- Joseph Conrad or Graham Greene. Donald out of a class for a private con- approval of Sister Aloysius’ strict atti- Sister Aloysius has her own demons, versation in the rectory, after which tudes and demeanor, which he consid- many of which are revealed in the sev- the boy returns to the classroom with eral scenes that Shanley has added to the smell of alcohol on his breath. SEEKING FACULTY FOR his Broadway script, not only “opening Father has several of the boys over to PASTORAL MINISTRIES PROGRAM up” the setting but providing opportu- the rectory for soft drinks and “shoot- The Institute in Pastoral Ministries (IPM) invites nities to see both Sister Aloysius and ing the breeze.” In one awkward scene, faculty to educate veteran deacons and lay ministers Father Flynn interact with other mem- after a basketball practice, he encour- for collaborative ministries in the Roman Catholic Church. Three courses are currently available for bers of their community. While the ages the boys to keep their fingernails 2009: 1) PM 532 Christ Yesterday and Today; 2) PM 570 Liturgy; and, 3) PM 580 Sacraments. original play was set in only three loca- clean and well manicured, letting tions—the parish church, Sister them grow longer than Sister Aloysius Doctorate, knowledge of Roman Catholicism, and excellence in either teaching and/or pastoral practice Aloysius’ office and the convent clois- would want. And, as Sister discovers, are preferred. IPM enrolls students from thirty states he has been assigned to three different and two provinces who seek either a Master of Arts ter garden—and employed a cast of or a Professional Certificate in Pastoral Ministries or only four actors, the film makes excel- parishes in the last five years. Pastoral Administration. An allied program provides a Graduate Certificate in Canon Law. Courses occur in lent use of other locales and characters. The conflict between the priest a blended delivery of easy online and intrapersonal Sister Aloysius, for example, is and the nun, however, is more than residency, beginning after Easter and concluding before Advent. Faculty are on campus for the two- shown tyrannizing the grade school personal; it signifies a more universal week residency beginning in June. See www.smumn.edu/ipm. children in the church, the classroom moral divide. When Sister James and the playground. When the young attempts to defend Father Flynn from Please send letter of interest and resume by January 15, 2009 to: Sister James tells her that the students any suspicion of misbehavior, Sister Prof. Gregory Sobolewski, PhD are “all uniformly terrified of you,” she Aloysius responds, “You just want Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota 700 Terrace Heights # 79 responds, “Yes. That’s how it works.” simplicity back.” There is something Winona, MN 55987-1399 With little respect for anyone’s agenda admirable in her relentless determi- For additional information on this unique and remarkable opportunity, but her own, she invades Sister James’s nation not to let the issue lie unre- please contact: classroom in the midst of a lesson, and solved but to pursue the truth, to “do Prof. Sobolewski she feels free to wander up and down what needs to be done,” no matter (507) 452-8837 the pews of the church to monitor how complicated or unpleasant the (most weekdays, 11 to noon central) or children’s behavior during Father truth may be. On the other hand, [email protected] Flynn’s homily. She presides over the Father Flynn analyzes Sister

28 America January 19–26, 2009 Aloysius’s search for “the truth” as a ing some even darker truths about race, he?” This portrayal of a clerical boys’ dangerous consequence of her gener- class and the desperate search for club, especially in the U.S. church of ally joyless approach to life. As he tells upward mobility that private education the 1960s, might be even easier for Sister James: “There are people who promises to inner-city children. All today’s film audiences to visualize after go after your humanity…who tell you these revelations seem to take Sister the many reports of official mishan- that the light in your heart is a weak- Aloysius by surprise. dling of sexual abuse cases among the ness. Don’t believe it. It’s an old tactic Finally, the film exposes a deeper clergy in recent years. of cruel people to kill kindness in the layer of institutional injustice that may Not enough praise can be given to name of virtue.” The drama pulls us account for Sister Aloysius’ need to the performances of Meryl Streep as between our admiration of Sister dominate the only realm under her Sister Aloysius and Philip Seymour Aloysius’s uncompromising search for control. As she remarks at one point, Hoffman as Father Flynn. How much the truth and Father Flynn’s promo- in the Catholic Church, “men run more evidence do we need of their ver- tion of tolerance and compassion, or, everything.” Even she must admit that satility? Just last year, Hoffman as he puts it, Christ’s message of “love. in the church’s patriarchal system, appeared onscreen as a depressed but Not suspicion, disapproval and judg- Father Flynn is technically her superi- articulate English professor in “The ment.” or. Her only recourse to any higher Savages,” as a sleek executive-turned- Yet another level of evil operative in authority is to talk to the pastor, who, murderer in “Before the Devil Knows the parish neighborhood is revealed she is convinced, will side with Father You’re Dead” and as a fast-talking when Sister Aloysius holds a private Flynn. She is not allowed to appeal to alpha male C.I.A. agent in “Charlie conference with Donald’s mother, who the bishop of the archdiocese. Indeed, Wilsons’ War.” His portrayal in works as a cleaning woman in a nearby when Father Flynn later upbraids her “Doubt” of this likeable and eloquent apartment complex. In one electrifying for speaking to someone else about the young priest who may be hiding a conversation, Mrs. Muller reveals other matter, saying: “The church is very secret draws on all of those characteri- facts about the boy’s home life and his clear. You’re supposed to go through zations to add complexity to the battle personal confusion as well as her own the pastor,” she responds: “Why? Do of wills in this drama. Ms. Streep has attitude toward the accusations, expos- you have an understanding, you and been even busier and more adventur-

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January 19–26, 2009 America 29 ous in the 10 films she has made in the screen, and none was very successful in nation.” The British government in last three years. While her recent roles either financial or critical terms. India, known as the Raj, saw itself as a have displayed a vast range of emo- “Doubt,” the Tony Award winner for partner with Indian collaborators who tions, her portrayal of the conscien- Best Play in 2005, might well have were selected and rewarded according tious and humorless Sister Aloysius been destined for the same fate. to their effectiveness in working with requires instead a grim intensity and a However, as both director and screen- it. India was a temple, one in which willingness to forgo any audience sym- writer, John Patrick Shanley may beat worshippers were carefully scrutinized pathy or even approval. In every close- the odds this year with a film that is for their closeness to the presiding up and every debate with Hoffman or sure to garner many nominations and deity, the British. Amy Adams, as the innocent but ulti- perhaps some awards at Oscar time. The British wanted India to be mately confident Sister James, and By expanding his narrative with more modernized, but many Hindu groups particularly with Viola Davis (whose scenes and characters, Shanley did not wholeheartedly accept the ten minutes on screen are a knockout) demonstrates how a film can improve modernity offered to them. As an early as Donald’s worldly-wise mother, on a play’s psychological tensions. It opposition, groups like the Brahmo Streep employs the subtlest of expres- can also deepen our awareness of the Samaj (Divine Society) in the 1880s sions and body language to create the darkness to be encountered even with- worked at accepting only certain ele- most chilling effects. in the most sacred locales of human ments from Christianity in order to Only a few of Broadway’s most faith and doubt. reform Hinduism into a modern and acclaimed dramas in recent years vibrant belief system. The introduc- MICHAEL V. TUETH, S.J., is a professor of (“Closer,” “Proof ” and “The History communication and media studies at tion of English educational institu- Boys,” for example) have made it to the Fordham University in New York City. tions helped groom Indian personnel for British administrative services. Various forms of racism were apparent early on. Recruitment for the elite BOOKS | CHARLES BORGES Indian Civil Service was open to Indians, but they had to qualify before AN ASIAN GIANT FLIES HIGH they were 19 years of age and could take the tests only in England. Two views of India Misra’s method of always seeing a clear plan in all that the British under- “Flying Hanuman (monkey-god)” and book, India: The Rise of an Asian took in India leads her naturally to the “Asian Giant” are colorful metaphors Giant, Rothermund, a senior profes- game of cricket. The British, she con- the authors Maria Misra and Dietmar sor of South Asian history at cludes, saw the game as “the greatest Rothermund use with good effect to Heidelberg University, cites varied fig- gift imperialism could bestow, because describe Indian history and develop- ures to show how India has made it could transform ‘natives’ into gentle- ment from the coming of the British to impressive strides in its development men.” Cricket was meant to encourage the subcontinent in the 17th century while dealing at the same time with all castes, communities and religions of to the present day. social issues and the large economic India to mingle together, but in reality Misra, a fellow at Keble College, divide among the people. (Both books the game boosted division, with vari- Oxford University, believes that the are from Yale Univ. Press.) ous religious groups playing spiritedly British colonial model of government against each other rather than with continues in some degree to affect Toward Modernity each other. Indian political workings today. The Misra states that the history she delin- title of her book, Vishnu’s Crowded eates is not “a tale of straightforward Breaking Away Temple: India Since liberal westerniza- Britain borrowed heavily from the Raj the Great Rebellion, ON THE WEB tion, nor of a strug- exchequer in India during the two and sections of the From the archives, the editors gle between all- Wars. Indian politicians had hoped book itself do seem on the partition of India. powerful elites and this favor would result in more devolu- americamagazine.org/pages to have a Hindu bias, the hopelessly sub- tion of political powers to Indians, but likening India to a ordinated poor, but this did not come about easily. Hindu temple in which all groups and of its complex and halting evolution Mahatma Gandhi, who had returned communities vie for a place. In his into a very particular kind of modern to India by 1919 after 20 years as a

30 America January 19–26, 2009 PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/JEREMY RICHARDS politicians who wanted the handover Indian with concert in acting were they British, the to fairness “in that the massacres, butMisra concludes border. The British were blamed for don their homes oneither sideof the Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs to aban- ed the state of Pakistan, ledmillions of ing to independence in1947. soldiers against the British rule), lead- Muslim and Hindu Northern India by widespread revolt in Mutiny of 1857(a the since rebellion gress, the most serious Con- National Indian India movement bythe the launch of the Quit But Aug. 8,1942,saw in India eternal. was thatbelieved their rule The British had baubles of servitude.” and other demeaning the Raj’s honors, titles and councils and reject from thestate’s schools courts, play truant British-run the abjure the elections, new foreign goods, boycott exhorted to disdain draw were it.“Indians with- to Indians fellow ation, soheurgedhis needed Indian cooper- Raj the that knew Misra He believes. political cunning, ing onto truth). ha of doctrine his fine-tuned he spent 20years where inSouth Africa, Trained alawyer as he inEngland, break foreign with exploitation. wheel, the heralded the concept of the spinning self fully inthe freedom struggle. He lawyer involved inSouth Africa, him- The partitionof 1947,which creat- Gandhi had araw (soul force,(soul orhold- charka , which stood for a satyagra- irregularity and forced was to resign found ofwas aminor guilty election father’s guidance. But in mid-1975she learned the political ropes under her and third Indian prime minister, emancipation of the colonial world. freedom of India a prelude as to the planning. Inreforms economic was and industrial global affairs,the The masses. centerpiece of his he saw the lacked Gandhi’s geniusfor dealing with under the guidance of Gandhi but intohimself the freedom struggle matic first prime minister, plunged ensue.” would that grossly underestimated the turmoil to be as swift as possible and who also Indira Gandhi, Nehru’s daughter Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s charis- diverse citizenry.” highly fragmented atomized, and most striking feature of which isits formoped itsown of modernitythe devel- says has since Misra, “India All this bodeswell for the nation, tant element inIndian democracy. mother’s defeat innational elections. scene, which eventually ledto his roughshod over the Indian political his Youth Congress then ran Her younger son,Sanjay Gandhi, and and democracy. suspended emergency er, she declared astate of national from office. than Rather doso, howev- forceful, incisive anddetermined in If inheranalysis Misra appears very Post-Independence January have become animpor- power. Regional parties in tostay parties hoping political alignments by states have seenvarious decades, the 29Indian caste students. fromtion, mainly upper- generated fierce opposi- this recommendation ment’s toaccept decision ized groups. The govern- institutions for marginal- andprofessionalscientific andin government the in posts of reservation cent recommended a27per- ties for allcitizensand job and study opportuni- studied the issue of equal Mandal Commission people after 1947.The into asingle population she tried to weave the with the issue of castes as other nation, had to deal nation.” India, unlike any lar typeof modern “a of speaks particu- very Misra book, mented her hefty and well-docu- Over theOver three last At the beginning of 19–26, 2009 America 31 what she thinks of British influence in released from the web of thread with cutting edge of research.” India and how politics is playing out which she had been pinned down.” India recently became the fourth today, Rothermund, on the other And what does he think is the face of country in the world to send its own hand, appears more discreet, looking India today? “Indian society encom- unmanned probe to the moon—no at the picture almost as an impartial passes a spectrum representative of all mean achievement. The Indian Giant, observer, though his long association of mankind, from the desperately poor or Hanuman, has really and truly been with Indian affairs shows. He delves eking out a living in remote rural areas flying high. more into the post-Independence to metropolitan professionals in the CHARLES J. BORGES, S.J., is associate profes- years and into how India has worked most advanced lines of work and high- sor of history at Loyola College, Baltimore, at developing itself as a democratic ly talented scientists operating at the Md. nation. The economic graph of India has seen an upswing under the present prime minister, Manmohan Singh. JANICE FARNHAM The national government, a coalition of the Congress Party and other par- HIS UNIVERSE WAS INFINITE ties, has attracted private business, both national and foreign, and has GIORDANO BRUNO ists, students and artists perch on or opened the power sector to private Philosopher/Heretic around the statue for declamatory operators. It has deregulated the econ- By Ingrid D. Rowland contests, while floral pieces, poems omy and made structural adjustments Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 352p $27 and candles are piled high like votive to it while reducing import duties. Its ISBN 9780809095246 offerings to a saint. Four hundred main coalition partner, the years after his death, the erstwhile Communists, supported the govern- Every weekday, the piazza of Rome’s Dominican friar, wandering philoso- ment since 2004 but opposed the pri- Campo de’ Fiori (Field of Flowers) pher, reformer, visionary thinker and vatizing of the public sector and opted serves as a thriving mar- author still challenges out of the coalition this year because of ketplace, offering a sym- and invites reflection differences over the nuclear treaty phony of sounds and from the “generation he signed between India and the U.S. smells that have beguiled foresaw, here where the government. Rothermund also and beckoned to visitors pyre burned,” as is describes in detail the success story of for centuries. Contem- engraved on the stat- India especially in the diamond, gar- porary tourists are for ue’s pedestal. ment and software fields, a trade that the most part unaware A contemporary of accounts for over 40 billion dollars in that the site once served Erasmus, Shakespeare, earnings, as well as promising strides as an execution ground. Robert Bellarmine and in the field of agriculture. If they happen to be Galileo, Giordano Both of these books, with their dif- there on a 17th of Bruno remains, like ferent emphases, are valuable reading February, however, they the statue erected in for attaining a better understanding of will witness a unique, 1889 in his honor, a India in terms both of her historical annual Roman ritual, dark and shadowy fig- background and future potential. For dedicated to one of the ure. Ingrid Rowland’s the political historian Misra, India is Inquisition’s most infa- sympathetic new biog- an open, pluralistic and highly diverse mous victims, who in 1600 was burned raphy brings to light many aspects of society from which creativity flows. at the stake on this spot as an “impeni- Bruno’s life and thought by probing She is struck by how giant-sized stat- tent, obstinate, pertinacious heretic.” the systems of literature, religion and ues of Hanuman, the Hindu god of The mayor of Rome, accompanied philosophy he inhabited. Formerly a “fluidity, practicality, compromise, by a contingent from City Hall, lays a professor at the University of Chicago, change and connections,” dot the land- laurel wreath at the bronze statue of now based in Rome, Rowland has scape of many Indian cities, reflecting Giordano Bruno, whose hooded and published works on the Renaissance the flourishing face of India today. glowering countenance dominates the and is a frequent essayist for The New For Rothermund, “the Indian giant piazza, facing the Vatican. All through Republic. Her style is energetic and is rising like Gulliver after being the day, groups of freethinkers, athe- lucid, and her elegant translations of

32 America January 19–26, 2009 large segments of Bruno’s works nature of the universe and the unity of authority of the cardinal-investigators, inserted into every chapter add to God. A number of scientific Web among whom was Robert Bellarmine, Rowland’s lively portrait of a genius sites, including one by NASA about the first Jesuit appointed to the whose personality defies neat charac- its Terrestrial Planet Finder, point to Roman Inquisition. On a cold Ash terization or stereotyping. Bruno as a kind of patron saint, the Wednesday, after seven years lan- As Rowland indicates, Bruno, the first Westerner to entertain the possi- guishing in Venetian and Roman pris- small man with great ideas, “could be bility of many planets harboring life, ons, Giordano Bruno was led naked to charming or infuriating, charismatic and the idea of an infinite universe. the pyre awaiting him. If, as Rowland or repellent.” Her overall portrayal is a They find inspiration from Bruno’s asserts, he came into this world to study in those contrasts as they emerge lines, written in 1584: “Innumerable light a fire, this rogue Renaissance in Bruno’s unorthodox quest for truth suns exist; innumerable earths revolve character did just that, and in the end and peace. That unlikely journey took around these suns in a manner similar it consumed him. Likewise, she would him from his native Nola, near Naples, to the way the seven planets revolve contend that the “generation he fore- to Rome, Venice, Geneva, Toulouse, around our sun. Living beings inhabit saw, here where the pyre burned” has Paris, London, Wittenberg and these worlds.” Indeed, by the end of yet to appear. While Galileo has been Prague. It included profession and the 20th century, astronomers had rehabilitated by the church that ordination as a Dominican friar; train- already discovered new solar systems silenced him, Bruno still broods, man- ing in Aristotelian and Platonic and over 20 giant planets orbiting acled and unpardoned, over the field philosophies; dabbling in the Hebrew other suns. of flowers where his last journey Kabbalah; teaching mathematics, While Bruno’s forays into astrono- ended. astrology and the “art of memory” and my were radical enough to raise eccle- mnemonics, for which he was justly siastical hackles, he was ultimately JANICE FARNHAM, R.J.M., is an adjunct pro- fessor of church history at Boston College famous. condemned for refusing to recant his School of Theology and Ministry, Chestnut Despite this peripatetic existence, doctrinal errors and accept the Hill, Mass. Bruno was able to write and publish several works, often in the form of Platonic dialogues. These texts were JOSEPH CUNNEEN devoted primarily to the area of natu- ral philosophy, but they included col- lections of sonnets and an anthology of SOUND OF SILENCE love poems. Rowland analyzes Bruno’s writings thoroughly; but lengthy liter- ary citations at times detract from the DEAF SENTENCE presents a day in the life of a married biographical narrative. Catholic graduate student working on A Novel Hounded by critics because of his By David Lodge his dissertation. When Adam gets to outspoken and “heretical” views on Viking. 304p $25.95 the library, he is so worried that his doctrinal matters like transubstantia- ISBN 9780670019922 wife may again be pregnant that he tion, universal salvation, the divinity of gets nothing done. (They already have Jesus and the virginity of Mary, Bruno David Lodge’s earlier books won him a three small children, and have not abandoned the Dominican priest- reputation as one of the leading comic mastered the rhythm method.) hood, yet never publicly renounced his novelists of the past century. Unfortunately, this wonderful faith. Still, it would seem that his adult Small World and Nice Work, Catholic farce—perhaps life was a series of flights from inquisi- both send-ups of the academic somewhat dated today— torial tribunals of every stripe. In the world, were finalists for the failed to reach the audience it course of his travels, he was excommu- Booker Prize. What makes deserved when published in nicated by Anglicans and Lutherans, several of his novels especially the United States in 1967, Calvinists and Catholics. But he hilarious to America readers perhaps since most churchgo- valiantly maintained and defended his is his use of Catholic central ers were too upset by the ideas and his outrageous, independent characters whose ridiculous church’s condemnation of style to the end. actions parody the life situa- birth control, renewed in What tantalizes the modern reader tion of a younger Lodge. The British Humanae Vitae (1968). Two later nov- most are Bruno’s ruminations on the Museum Is Falling Down, for example, els, How Far Can You Go? (1980) and

January 19–26, 2009 America 33 Paradise News (1991), successfully simple exchanges with his wife, Fred noise but finding her quite attractive, draw on the confusion of Catholics in (short for Winifred). Desmond is pre- he is maneuvered into seeing her again the aftermath of the Second Vatican sented as an agnostic who had a nom- at her apartment—but fails to tell his Council. inal Anglican upbringing; Fred has wife about it. Lodge’s new book, Deaf Sentence, is returned to Catholic practice and Reminding himself that deafness is set in Rummidge, a stand-in for launched a successful interior-design comic, while blindness is tragic, Bates Birmingham; and its hero, Desmond business. At an evening party Bates starts a journal to keep his life some- Bates, a linguistics professor like the meets Alex Loom, a shapely graduate what in order. Alex has revived the author himself, has taken early retire- student from America, who flirts with sexual desire of late middle age; ment because of a severe hearing loss. him in the hope that he will mentor besides, he enjoys the prospect of help- The humor is mostly restrained, start- her doctoral thesis. Unable to make ing this young woman make a close ing with Bates’s difficulty in following out what she is saying in the crowd study of suicide letters, while drawing on his own specialization in linguistics and discourse. But Lodge is less suc- Poetry Contest cessful in drawing humor from the Bates-Alex relationship than from sex- Poems are being accepted for the 2009 ual intrigues in earlier novels, primari- Foley Poetry Award ly because readers remain uncertain as to whether they should see the young Each entrant is asked to submit woman as an opportunist or a victim only one typed, unpublished of her American past. poem of 30 lines or fewer that is not under consideration else- Bates spends much of his time where. Include contact infor- going to London to see his father, a mation on the same page as the man who had worked for years as a poem. Poems will not be jazz musician, now nearly 90 and returned. Please do not submit degenerating but stubbornly refusing poems by e-mail or fax. Submissions must be post- help. The frustrating relationship marked between Jan. 1 and between father and son, though treat- March 31. ed with sympathy, constantly reveals comic aspects. Messages from Alex Poems received outside the designated period will be treated as regular poetry bring further confusion, arriving at the submissions, and are not eligible for the prize. same time as e-mail ads for Viagra; he The winning poem will be published in the June 8-15 issue of America. Three runner-up is even driven to write a suicide note he poems will be published in subsequent issues. has no intention of acting on. Cash prize: $1,000. Events pile up, with varying degrees of emotional impact on Bates. A Send poems to: Foley Poetry Contest daughter produces a grandchild; he America, 106 West 56th Street, New York, NY 10019 recalls the grim reality of his first wife’s death; there is a threatening note from Alex; he helps his father through the old man’s final moments. Lodge some- GRADUATE INTERNSHIP how manages to bring these disparate Villanova University offers a two-year graduate Campus Ministry Internship for those pursuing a graduate degree in the academic field of their choice. One year of post college threads of his story together with volunteer and/or general work experience is required. Faith filled applicants are a “must” credibility and humanity. Deaf and need to be willing to share their journey of faith in God with others. Interns work Sentence is not the author’s funniest and live in Freshmen residence halls modeling, building, and living Christian community. They offer students opportunities to develop personally and spiritually through liturgy, book, but readers should appreciate its service projects, retreats and evenings of mellow wit, close observation of lan- reflection. Interns receive room and board, guage and compassionate understand- tuition remission and a stipend. ing of aging and suicide. Additional information and the VILLANOVA, PENNSYLVANIA application form is available through our website, http://www.villanova.edu/campusministry/internships/. E-mail [email protected] JOSEPH CUNNEEN was founder and long- or call 610-519-4484 for more information. Deadline is February 15, 2009. time editor of the ecumenical quarterly Cross Currents.

34 America January 19–26, 2009 CLASSIFIED magazine.org. Ten-word minimum. Rates are per word [email protected]; by fax to (928) 222-2107; per issue. 1-5 times: $1.50; 6-11 times: $1.28; 12-23 by postal mail to: Classified Department, America, 106 times: $1.23; 24-41 times: $1.17; 42 times or more: West 56th St., New York, NY 10019. To post a classi- Education $1.12. For an additional $30, your print ad will be post- fied ad online, visit America’s home page and click on OBLATE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY offers an M.A. ed on our Web site for one week. The flat rate for a Web- “Post a Classified” in the bottom right-hand corner. We degree in spirituality. Regular semester and intersession only classified ad is $150 for 30 days. You may combine do not accept ad copy over the phone. MasterCard and courses. Visit www.ost.edu. print and Web ad insertions to take advantage of our fre- Visa accepted. For more information call: (212) 515- quency discounts. Ads may be submitted by e-mail to: 0102. Parish Missions INSPIRING, DYNAMIC PREACHING: parish mis- sions, retreats, days of recollection. www.sabbathre- treats.org. Positions PROVIDENCE HEALTH & SERVICES-PROVI- DENCE. Saint Joseph Medical Center, Burbank, Calif., seeks a dynamic leader as MANAGER OF SPIRITUAL CARE. The Manager is a leader integrating the spiritual care of the whole person: patients, families and employees and must be profi- cient in delivering care to patients of differing cul- tures and backgrounds. Requirements: master’s degree in divinity or related field; completion of N.A.C.C. or A.P.C. certificate; 3 to 5 years’ contin- uous successful experience managing spiritual care in Catholic health care. Start date: March 2009. Rich benefit package. For more information call Maureen Gallagher, Search Consultant, the Reid Group: (800) 916-3472. Deadline: Jan. 15, 2009. for a gallery visit of original works. Retreats BETHANY RETREAT HOUSE, East Chicago, Ind., offers private and individually directed silent retreats, including Ignatian 30 days, year-round in a prayerful home setting. Contact Joyce Diltz, P.H.J.C.; (219) 398- Robert L. Wilken, Ph.D. 5047; [email protected]; www.bethanyre- professor of religious studies, university of virginia treathouse.org. January ,  : p.m. BETHANY SPIRITUALITY CENTER, Highland Mills, N.Y., announces the following spring and summer ’09 retreats: “From Calvary to Emmaus and Renewed Hope,” with Ann Billard, O.L.M., April 19-23; “From Religion Back to Faith: A Journey of the Heart,” with Barbara Fiand, S.N.D., June 5-12; “God in Transition,” with Margaret Silf, June 22-28; and directed retreats, July 1-9, 12-20 and 23-31. Please visit Church of St.Vincent Ferrer·Lexington Avenue at East th Street·New York City www.bethanyspiritualitycenter.org, for other this lecture is free and open to the public offerings. Vocations TO SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW DESIRE PRIESTHOOD? Religious life? Lay min- ❑ ❑ istries? Enriching sabbatical? Vocation-discern- New subscription Renewal ment retreat? Ph: (800) 645-5347 (24 hours Yearly rates are $48 for each subscription. Add $22 for postage, handling and GST on Canadian orders. Add $32 for for- daily). Visit http://gonzaga.edu/ministryinsti- eign subscriptions. Payment in U.S. funds only. tute. ❑ Payment enclosed ❑ Bill me On occasion America gives permission to other organizations to use our list for promotional purposes. If you do not want to receive these promotions, contact our List Manager at our New York offices. Wills For change of address and renewal: Please attach the mailing label from the front cover when writing about service or change Please remember America in your will. Our legal title of address. Allow 3 to 4 weeks for change of address to take effect. Thank you

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January 19–26, 2009 America 35 LETTERS person in the car. Dulles, S.J. (Current Comment, 1/5): After he transferred to Fordham, It is only in recent years, as a theology Dulles frequently met me near the student myself, that I have grown to A Great Gift Lincoln Center campus in Manhattan love and appreciate Cardinal Dulles. Thank you for your review of the life for long lunches. Though he didn’t eat His example is one to be emulated in of Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J. much himself, he patiently answered all aspects of life, particularly in his (Current Comment, 1/5). One aspect questions until we were the only humility and openness of thought. We of Avery Dulles should not go unre- patrons left in the restaurant. ask his continued prayers for his membered: he was never too busy to His great gift, I always felt, was his beloved church. May those of us left take time for journalists who sought instinct for the lively center of the behind to further his work continue to him out. Catholic tradition, which allowed him show the same deep respect for one I especially remember one time to appreciate what had been lost in the another and for all we encounter in when I was writing a Newsweek cover postconciliar church as well as what our daily lives. story that took me on a round of inter- had been gained. I never could get ANGELA MARCZEWSKI views with theologians in Washington, around to calling him “Your Schenectady, N.Y. D.C. Avery offered to pick me up him- Eminence,” and I’m sure he was glad of self at Dulles Airport. So there he was, that. Transparency Needed waiting for me at an airport named KENNETH L. WOODWARD Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl pre- after his father, John Foster Dulles, at Former Religion Editor, Newsweek sented an insightful and pragmatic Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. the wheel of a beat-up sedan given him essay on “How to Save Catholic by his uncle, Allen Dulles, former Schools” (12/22). I have spent almost head of the C.I.A. He treated me as if Example for All every day of the last 35 years working I, not he, were the most important Re your tribute to Cardinal Avery with and for more than 3,000 Catholic

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36 America January 19–26, 2009 schools across the United States. My permanent deacons in the modern can count on the fingers of one hand experience suggests that the archbish- church. the consumer cases of debtor fraud or op’s call for partnerships with individ- Alas, there was not a word about abuse that I could not correct. uals, organizations and businesses is deacons. What a missed opportunity Bankruptcy debtors are our neigh- very much on target and necessary. for the magazine really to talk about bors, friends and retired parents who What Archbishop Wuerl did not the modern church! are in financial difficulties because of say, however, is that in order to develop (DEACON) TONY CUSEO job loss, divorce, illness or the birth of Delray Beach, Fla. and maintain these partnerships, both a new child. They are honest and hard transparency and accountability are working. Our laws need to give them Helping Homeowners essential. Unfortunately, all too many the respect and help they are due if Thank you for “Forgive Us Our Catholic schools, parishes and dioceses our society is to measure up. fail to require accurate and under- Debts,” by Jennie D. Latta (12/15). C. TIMOTHY CORCORAN III standable financial reports, annual One measure of the fairness of a capi- Tampa, Fla. audits and disclosure of test data. talistic society is how it treats those who fail economically. My experience suggests that when Just a Coincidence? Under current law, bankruptcy Catholic school administrators and The juxtaposition of the headline judges cannot modify the terms of a boards provide the information “What to Do With Bad Gifts” in the home mortgage in a Chapter 13 required to ensure transparency and online edition of your recent issue bankruptcy case. They regularly can accountability, donors respond, part- (Current Comment, 12/22) with an modify the terms of virtually all nerships are formed and maintained, online ad reading “Father Martin’s other secured loans. The single leg- and Catholic schools thrive. books—a gift they’ll open again and islative corrective action most needed RICHARD J. BURKE again” may or may not have been President, Catholic School Management Inc. today is to permit home mortgage deliberate, but it certainly succeeded Madison, Conn. modification in consumer bankrupt- in tickling my funny bone. cy cases. GINI PARKER Metanoia In 14 years as a bankruptcy judge, I Duxbury, Mass. Thank you for the wonderful job redesigning the magazine (Of Many Things, 1/5). Your effort has resulted in a more readable format. The new Services for fonts and layout have come as a wel- come change to my aging eyes, and Catholic Communities once again I can sit down and read the Partners: John Reid, Tom Reid articles without trouble. and Maureen Gallagher MICHAEL TRUSCOTT Leadership Washington, D.C. Development Where does your Diocese, Parish, or School want to be in five years and how will you get there? Feeling Left Out Do you need to reorganize the parishes and schools in your Diocese for the sake of your mission? The cover of your recent issue pro- Prophetic claimed “The Harvest Is Great” (1/5) Planning Do you need to address the communication challenges of an and promised stories of vocations in a increasingly diverse staff and community? modern church. I couldn’t wait to get Then Call Us through the stories of religious women Managing The Reid Group offers organizational development and of attracting young adults to the Change services specifically tailored to the needs of priesthood and religious life, so that I Catholic organizations. could get to a story about the role of Team Contact us today for more information: Building America (ISSN 0002-7049) is published weekly (except for 12 com- 800-916-3472 / [email protected] / www.TheReidGroup.biz bined issues: Jan. 5-12, 19-26, March 30-April 6, May 25-June 1, June 8-15, 22-29, July 6-13, 20-27, Aug. 3-10, 17-24, Aug. 31-Sept. The Reid Group, 10900 NE 8th St., Suite 900, Bellevue, WA 98004 7, Dec. 21-28) by America Press, Inc., 106 West 56th Street, New York, NY 10019. Periodicals postage is paid at New York, N.Y., and Mention this ad and receive a 10% discount. additional mailing offices. 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January 19–26, 2009 America 37 THE WORD

of their call, all agree that these women had been following Jesus and No Ordinary Time ministering with him when he was in Galilee and continued to do so all the THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (B), JAN. 25, 2009 way to the cross (Mk 15:40). The cost Readings: Jon 3:1-5, 10; Ps 25:4-9; 1 Cor 7:29-31; Mk 1:14-20 of such a radical response to Jesus is already in view when Mark prefaces FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (B), FEB. 1, 2009 the call of the first disciples with the Readings: Dt 18:15-20; Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9 (8); 1 Cor 7:32-35; Mk 1:21-28 notice that John had been arrested. “This is the time of fulfillment” (Mk 1:15) But like impulsive lovers who commit themselves to one another while still ive me chastity, but not yet.” found turning around of our patterns wrapped in their initial This famous prayer of St. of living. Still, we find ourselves mutual infatuation, a com- ‘GAugustine well captures the reluctant, praying with pelling love causes disciples to reluctance that most of us have to Augustine, “Yes, but not yet.” follow Jesus instantly. Just as a changing our ways. Yet we hear the In Mk 1:14-20 the couple grows into love, and learns exact opposite in today’s readings, response of the fishermen the costly self-surrender it takes to when the Ninevites instantly repent at is instantaneous. These make that love continue to flourish, Jonah’s preaching and the fishermen adroit fishermen so too disciples learn the deeper immediately leave their nets to follow immediately accept conversion demanded as they grow Jesus. There is an urgency with regard Jesus’ invitation to in their radical love affair with the to the time, and a totality of response use their skills to is needed. In Ordinary Time in the “fish for people.” liturgical year, it may seem more natu- They are savvy busi- PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE

ral to settle into the ordinary ways in nessmen who have hired workers, and • How is Jesus inviting you into a deeper love which we have been living out our dis- who likely moved their enterprise to in ordinary time? cipleship. Instead, we are urged to rec- Capernaum for a tax break. (Jn 1:44 ognize that a new time presses upon says that Peter and Andrew were orig- • What change of heart is visible in your man- ner of living? us, requiring different responses from inally from Bethsaida, under the before. administration of Herod Philip, • What urgent response is needed now? St. Paul, thinking the parousia was whereas Capernaum was in the terri- right over the horizon, insists that time tory of Herod Antipas.) Abandoning is running out and that our usual way their nets is a way of speaking of what Holy One. It is then not so much the of doing things will no longer serve. must be left behind when one threat of destruction that moves us to Similarly, Jonah prophesies to Nineveh embraces radical discipleship. The convert our ways, but an irresistible that their destruction is imminent. fishermen do not leave their families, love that turns our hearts. When we think the end is near, we lose as the next episodes in the Gospel Paul speaks about how this love some of our inertia toward change. show. Rather, Jesus becomes part of affair requires an undivided heart. Today we hear this kind of urgency their family, making Capernaum his His examples about married people from those who study climate change, home (Mk 2:1), and the disciples being more anxious about pleasing or the causes of poverty, food short- become Jesus’ new family, reorienting their spouses and concerned about ages, war and epidemics. To turn all relationships. worldly matters (1 Cor 7:32-35) around these global ills requires a pro- There are also many women, reflect Paul’s bias in his own situation. including Mary Magdalene, Mary the Thinking that the end was near, he mother of James and Joses, Salome preferred that no one get married and BARBARA E. REID, O.P., of the Dominican and many others, who become part of that slaves not try to gain their free- Sisters of Grand Rapids, Mich., is professor of Jesus’ family of disciples. While the dom (1 Cor 7:8, 17-24). To a certain New Testament Studies at Catholic Theologi- extent, the notion that those who are cal Union in Chicago Ill. Evangelists do not preserve the story

38 America January 19–26, 2009 vowed to celibacy are more single- INSTITUTE ON CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM RELATIONS hearted toward God has persisted through the ages. The “Dogmatic For Pastors and Christian Pastoral Workers to study Islam & Imams and Muslim Community Leaders to study Christianity Constitution on the Church” of the Second Vatican Council, however, An intensive six-day institute in Washington, DC insists that all disciples are equally Georgetown University called to holiness and all are given the mission to make “manifest in their JUNE 14 - 20, 2009 ordinary work the love with which Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding God has loved the world” (No. 41). HARTFORD SEMINARY GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY The “Pastoral Constitution on the TOPICS FOR CHRISTIANS: TOPICS FOR MUSLIMS: Church in the Modern World” makes • Muhammad and the Qur’an • The New Testament in the Bible clear that it is precisely through • Contemporary Movements Within Islam • Jesus and his times • Islam in America • Church and Society engagement with the concerns of the • Church teachings on Islam • Christianity in America world that Jesus’ followers exercise • A visit to a mosque • Visits to Chrisitan Churches their discipleship. JOINT SESSIONS FEATURING: The prophet Jonah reminds us that Christian - Muslim Relations: History & Methods | Religious Diversity God’s concern for the world includes Pastoral Questions |Contemporary Issues everyone, even those we consider ene- PRESENTERS: mies. Jonah had initially refused to go Steven Blackburn, Hartford Seminary Suendam Birinci, Hartford Seminary John Borelli, Georgetown Univ. Yvonne Y. Haddad, Georgetown Univ. to Nineveh, and afterward becomes Sulayman Nyang, Howard Univ. Leo Lefebure, Georgetown Univ. angry with God for showing favor to John O. Voll, Georgetown Univ. Israel’s enemies. It took a lot longer for Costs for the week: Jonah’s heart to turn than it did for the Tuition: $600 | Optional accomodations on campus: $55/night Ninevites—and he was supposedly the FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL OR E-MAIL MICHAEL PETERSON AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY one closer to God! This reluctant (202) 687-4005 / [email protected] prophet stands in contrast to Moses, the ideal prophet (Dt 18:15-20). God THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES OF ST. IGNATIUS LOYOLA gives the assurance that we are never 36-DAY PROGRAM—JUNE 21-JULY 28, 2009 left to our own devices. God will send The 30-day individually directed retreat will have seminar days of reflection on: another prophet like Moses who will PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE SPIRITIUAL EXERCISES faithfully speak God’s word. For Robert Fabing, S.J., Author, Founder and Director of the Jesuit Institute for Family Life Christians, this points toward Jesus, International Network; Liturgical Composer, Los Altos, CA. who teaches with an astonishing WESTERN CONTEMPLATION AND THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES authority, not like any other (Mk 1:21- Howard Gray, S.J., Advisor to the President of Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. 28). It is by his power that all obstacles Former Provincial and Tertian Director of the Detroit Province of the Society of Jesus. to the coming reign of God, like an DISPOSITIONS FOR THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES unclean spirit, are overcome. There is William Barry, S.J. Author and Co-founder of the Center for Religious Development in Cambridge. nothing ordinary about the invitation Former Jesuit Provincial of New England, and, presently, Tertian Director. Weston, MA. to follow Jesus more radically in this PROXIMATE PREPARATION FOR THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISE urgent time. BARBARA E. REID David Fleming. S.J., Author, Editor of Review for Religious, Saint Louis, MO. GIFTS PROPER TO EACH WEEK OF THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES Julio Giulietti, S.J., President of Wheeling Jesuit University, West Virginia. Former Director of the Center for Ignatian Spirituality, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA. ON THE WEB Our experience has shown that competently guided theological preparation and reflection bring Visit “The Good Word,” our blog on to the fore skills that are beneficial in making the 30-day retreat and in preparing oneself for Scripture and preaching, for more future work as a spiritual director. We have found that the addition of these days of guided the- commentary on the week’s readings. ological reflection have served to accentuate the gifts received within the 30-day retreat itself Featuring the writing of —Robert Fabing, S.J., 36-Day Program Director John Kilgallen, S.J., John W. Martens JESUIT RETREAT CENTER and Barbara Green, O.P. 300 Manresa Way, Los Altos, CA 94022 americamagazine.org/word Ph: (650) 948-4491; Fax: (650) 948-0640 e-mail: [email protected]; web: www.jrclosaltos.org

January 19–26, 2009 America 39