VOCATIONS

THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC WEEKLY JAN. 7-14, 2013 $3.50 OF MANY THINGS

PUBLISHED BY JESUITS OF THE iszek Hall is a converted six- had just been released from the story tenement, a plain pre-war after almost 23 years of prison, hard labor and forcible PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER building barely distinguishable John P. Schlegel, S.J. C detention. His relatives had a card from most of its neighbors in the from the -born Belmont section of . The EDITOR IN CHIEF in 1940. Then nothing. World Matt Malone , S.J. building is now home to 25 or so Jesuit War II raged on and passed. No scholastics who study at nearby word from him. It was assumed he EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT . The place is was dead, and his name was MANAGING EDITOR named for , S.J., who inscribed in the official list of the Robert C. Collins, S.J. Society’s departed members. Then, lived in the house following his return DIGITAL EDITOR from Russia, where he had served as a in 1955, came a letter. He had fin - Maurice Timothy Reidy ished a 15-year prison term, had ; in fact, Father Ciszek died LITERARY EDITOR worked as a miner in , Raymond A. Schroth, S.J. in what is now the dining room. within the Arctic Circle. Books Every day on their way to breakfast, and an overcoat reached him and POETRY EDITOR the Jesuit scholastics pass by a framed were acknowledged. More letters. James S. Torrens, S.J. copy of Father Ciszek’s vow formula, a Appeals multiplied for his release. ASSOCIATE EDITORS declaration, handwritten in Latin, of his On Monday, October 7, in Kevin Clarke Jesuit commitment to poverty, chastity Abakan, where he was working as Kerry Weber and obedience. Every Jesuit makes his a garage mechanic while carrying Luke Hansen, S.J. on his priestly work as best he vows in the same words, which are CONTRIBUTING EDITOR could, he was told to go to James Martin, S.J. addressed to God the Father: “By your and thence to the United States. boundless goodness and mercy,” each So we were on our way, on ART DIRECTOR Stephanie Ratcliffe man says in conclusion, “and through Columbus Day, 1963, to greet him the blood of Jesus Christ, I humbly ask when he touched down at 6:55 ASSISTANT EDITOR Francis W. Turnbull, S.J. that you judge this total commitment of a.m. on this strange voyage of myself acceptable; and, as you have rediscovery of America. We stood on the airway apron BUSINESS DEPARTMENT freely given me the desire to make this as BOAC Flight 551 from London CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER offering, so also may you give me the blocked to discharge its human Lisa abundant grace to fulfill it.” cargo. Down the steps he came We couldn’t imagine a better center - with slim, young Marvin W. 106 West 56th Street piece for our 2013 vocations issue than Makinen, an American student , NY 10019-3803 the amazing story of Father Ciszek’s who had been held for two years Ph: 212-581-4640; Fax: 212-399-3596 “total commitment.” John Levko, S.J., as a prisoner in the Soviet Union. In his green raincoat, grey suit, E-mail: [email protected]; gives us a sense of how Father Ciszek [email protected] and big-brimmed Russian felt hat, found “the abundant grace” to make his Fr. Ciszek looked like the movie Web site: www.americamagazine.org. Customer Service: 1-800-627-9533 unlikely pilgrimage. It is quite a tale, version of a stocky little Soviet one in which America also played a member of an agricultural mission. © 2012 America Press, Inc. role: On Oct. 26, 1963, Thurston N. As though by reflex, he and Davis, S.J., my predecessor as editor in Makinen at once fell into step with chief (1955-68), recounted in this col - ten New York policemen who formed a cordon around them. Off umn, reprinted below, how the editors they marched. A reporter yelled of America became a part of Father “Hi, Father!” Ex-prisoner Ciszek Ciszek’s story. looked up and smiled his first MATT MALONE, S.J. smile. Later we drove him to AMERICA for Mass and breakfast. Early in the morning, on October We tried to shake an unknown 12, we headed through light pre- man in a cab who tailed us. But he dawn traffic for a rendezvous at followed us to our door and then Cover: Walter Ciszek, S.J., on Oct. Idlewild [now John F. Kennedy drove away. Thus began a day in 12, 1963, the morning he returned International Airport] with an old AMERICA ’s history that we shall from the Soviet Union. From Jesuit friend. Fr. Walter Ciszek not forget. T.N.D. America ’s archives. CONTENTS www.americamagazine.org Vol. 208 No. 1, Whole No. 4996 JANuAry 7-14, 2013

ARTICLES 11 CULTURE SHIFT The new evangelization can encourage vocations in a changing church. Robert J. Carlson

16 SIGN OF GOD What Catholics can learn from deafness Marlana Portolano

19 CHAINED, BUT FREE How Walter Ciszek gained spiritual liberation in Lubyanka prison John Levko 11 COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 4 Current Comment

5 Editorial Conflict of Interest 6 Signs of the Times

9 Column The Essential Question Thomas Massaro 23 Faith in Focus Guantánamo Journal Luke Hansen “That Man Is Me” Charles Klamut 34 Letters 23 37 The Word Life-giving Waters; Signs of the Wedding Peter Feldmeier

BOOKS & CULTURE 27 FILM “Les Misérables” BOOKS The Testament of Mary; Syria

ON THE WEB ON THE WEB An interview with Bol Deng , right, one of the “lost boys” of . Plus, a video profile of Walter Ciszek, S.J. , and a review of “Glengarry Glen Ross” on Broadway. All at americamagazine.org 27 CURRENT COMMENT

from three Republican war veterans, President George Slaughter of Innocents H. W. Bush, Senator John McCain and Senator Bob Dole, The horror and outrage provoked by the massacre in who at 89 was wheeled in from Walter Reed Medical Newtown, Conn., offers the hope that the Sandy Hook Center by his wife, Elizabeth, to bolster the cause and later Elementary School victims could be among the final vic - wheeled out before the humiliating defeat. tims of America’s gun culture; but past experience, sadly, Leading the opposition was the former presidential can - suggests otherwise. The familiar rebuttals to common didate Rick Santorum, father of a disabled child, who sense responses to contain gun violence are already in play. phoned in to “The Glenn Beck Program” and called anoth - Some suggest the answer to a weaponized society is er senator’s reasoning “a big joke.” Opponents feared that a more weapons, as if the 283 million guns in circulation in U.N. committee could threaten American sovereignty and the United States were not already a major component of intrude on the parental rights of Americans to educate the problem. The focus, others argue, should not be on their own children. gun restrictions but on improving the nation’s mental The fight is not over. The bill will come before the health services. Fair enough. Surely more resources need to Senate again in early 2013. This is a moral issue because it be devoted to diagnosing at-risk young people and to treat - protects the most vulnerable; it is a bipartisan opportunity ment. But no mental health system, however well to do the right thing; and it is an ecumenical opportunity resourced, will be foolproof. In , on the same day for the leadership of many faiths to call for justice with one that Lanza launched his assault with a semiauto - voice. It deserves broad public support. matic weapon, another disturbed man rampaged against schoolchildren. Although 22 were wounded in that inci - Undervalued dent, no fatalities were reported. The school attacker there Work can be dignifying, but only when workers are treated did not have access to a firearm. with dignity. Unfortunately, more and more workers find If we cannot control violence in the world, we can try to themselves in jobs that neither pay well nor offer them limit the damage. We can require training and liability hope for advancement or a career. In addition to poor ben - insurance for gun owners, as well as trigger-lock mecha - efits, including the almost complete disappearance of pen - nisms that prevent a non-owner from firing a weapon. We sion accounts, workers must now contend with a for-profit can control the nature of the weapons and ammunition we sector that prefers to hire temporary workers in lieu of allow. We can simply reread that part of the Second permanent employees, who might demand higher wages Amendment that acknowledges the collective responsibili - and better benefits packages. ty to maintain a “well-regulated” militia and ask, after Underemployment is one of the saddest stories of this Columbine, after Virginia Tech, after Aurora and now Great Recession. In addition to the unemployed workers in after Newtown, how well regulated the nation’s self- the United States (almost 8 percent), there are many more appointed citizen militia appears. people who are underpaid and dissatisfied with the jobs We can also ask God and these children to forgive our they hold. Stores like Jamba Juice would prefer to hire a indifference and fatigue in what has become a grueling worker at 25 hours a week, even when she is available and civic fight over gun control. willing to do more, because a full-time worker is more expensive. In this poor market, employers can choose Missed Opportunity to Lead to be picky. In the United States, where the social safety In December a minority of 38 senators defeated a proposal net is fraying, the loss of permanent jobs threatens devas - to ratify an international treaty called the Convention on tating effects. the Rights of Persons With Disabilities, based on the The disappearance of full-time jobs is especially damag - Americans With Disabilities Act. The convention would ing to families and young people. When a job is temporary, promote full equality before the law for disabled persons termination always seems just around the corner, a state of everywhere. To Senator John Kerry, this was a moral issue, affairs that only serves to weaken the family. And the an opportunity to lead other nations to treat the disabled enthusiasm of college graduates wanes quickly when they as well as America does. cannot find a permanent job, let alone a path to a satisfying A treaty requires a simple two-thirds majority. The vote career. Even the most menial of jobs can be satisfying if a was 61 to 38—five short of victory. Two of the senators worker knows she is working for the good of her family. who had promised support switched to no at the last For too many Americans, a paying job no longer offers minute. The treaty had bipartisan support, particularly hope for a better tomorrow.

4 America January 7-14, 2013 EDITORIAL Conflict of Interest

hat could be more attractive to an American Depriving a person of liberty in politician than the chance to appear both order to safeguard the common good is W tough on crime and fiscally responsible? At a one of the most serious actions a gov - time when U.S. society faces the problem of overcrowded ernment can take. This practice, which jails and prisons while also facing budget crises at every level should be rare, requires maximum pub - of government, politicians are being offered a tempting solu - lic accountability. There is, then, a seemingly irresolvable tion to both problems: privatization of the nation’s jails and tension here between public accountability and private prisons. The private, for-profit prison industry is eager to interest. At a minimum, if the government contracts with capitalize on the opportunity. companies to run private prisons, then these must maintain In early 2012 the Corrections Corporation of high standards of transparency and accountability to tax - America, the largest private prison operator in the United payers. In 2007 Senator Lieberman of Connecticut States, sent a letter to officials in 48 states announcing its introduced a bill that would have required private prisons to $250-million business plan to purchase and manage local, comply with the Freedom of Information Act. This bill state and federal prisons. Of course, there are strings should be reintroduced in the 113th Congress. attached. The minimum contract term is 20 years; facilities As for the economic benefits of privatization, studies must have at least 1,000 beds; and these beds must remain at reveal that private prisons offer few savings, if any. Arizona’s least 90 percent occupied for the entire term of the contract. State Department of Corrections reported in 2011 that C.C.A. knows how to run a successful business. In inmates in private prison can in fact cost $1,600 more per 2011 alone it generated an impressive $1.7 billion in total person per year. Private prisons can appear to be saving revenue—turning a profit of about $160 million. And who money because contracts typically shield them from having foots the bill for contracts with private prisons? Taxpayers, of to accept inmates who are more expensive to house, whether course. A coalition of faith organizations sent a letter to the for security or health reasons. 48 governors encouraging them to reject C.C.A.’s offer, call - In 2000 the U.S. bishops issued a statement on ing it “dangerous and costly,” not just in terms of dollars and crime and criminal justice that offered a compelling moral cents, but also “costly to the moral strength of your state.” vision of justice and mercy, punishment and rehabilita - The United States currently imprisons more than 2.3 tion, accountability and forgiveness. It remains relevant million of its citizens, the highest per capita incarceration today. “We call upon government,” wrote the bishops, “to rate in the world, and states alone spend about $50 billion redirect the vast amount of public resources away from annually on corrections. As the nation’s prison population building more and more prisons and toward better and increased steadily in recent decades (up from 250,000 in more effective programs aimed at crime prevention, reha - 1972), so did reliance on private prisons, which today hold bilitation, education efforts, substance abuse treatment, nearly 130,000 inmates, many of them detained immigrants. and programs of probation, parole, and reintegration.” Of the practical and moral dangers associated with Such measures are long-term investments that will help transferring incarceration responsibilities to private, for- avoid the extraordinarily high costs associated with mass profit companies, the most obvious is the conflict of inter - incarceration. est. C.C.A. is accountable to shareholders, who expect a The bishops also addressed the use of private prisons, return on their investment. Good business means keeping questioning their efficacy. “The profit motive may lead to the beds full. And since government is the only customer, reduced efforts to change behaviors, treat substance abuse, C.C.A. alone has invested $19.3 million in the past decade and offer skills necessary for reintegration into the commu - in lobbying and campaigning for candidates who favor nity,” the bishops wrote. stricter sentencing laws like mandatory minimum sen - In a time of overcrowded prisons and budget con - tences, “three strikes” laws, harsher enforcement of immi - straints, governments must reject the misguided solution of gration laws and “truth in sentencing.” Such laws keep more privatization. Instead of embracing a system with an incen - people in prison for longer amounts of time. The profit tive to keep prisons full, the nation should focus on reduc - motive may also deter efforts to reduce recidivism, which ing recidivism through effective preventive and rehabilitative should be a primary goal for any “correctional” facility. programs that are more in tune with our nation’s values.

January 7-14, 2013 America 5 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

GUN VIOLENCE PORTRAIT OF GRIEF : Sandy Church Responds in Aftermath Hook School on Dec. 14 of Newtown Tragedy ittle Olivia Engel was one of the victims of the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14. L Msgr. Robert Weiss, pastor of St. Church in Newtown, said the 6-year-old was to have been an angel in the church’s live Nativity pageant that night. After the violence, the Nativity play was canceled and a special evening Mass celebrated instead. “Now she’s an angel up in heaven,” he said. The church remained open all night for prayer. On the weekend after the inci - dent, which claimed 28 lives—20 children, six Sandy Hook teachers and administrators, the gunman’s mother and the shooter himself, Adam Lanza—residents were flocking to the church for the parish’s four Sunday Masses, seeking solace in the aftermath of the violence. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s secretary of state, sent a mes - sage on Dec. 14 to the of Bridgeport, which includes Newtown, saying Pope Benedict XVI had asked the cardinal “to convey his heartfelt grief” and his prayers to the victims, their families and “all affected by the shocking event.” A front-page article on Dec. 15 in “stem the violence that strikes them children in an elementary school. L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican from within, heinous violence that is “The Newtown massacre is des - newspaper, said the people of the increased by easy access to increasing - tined to reopen the debate about the United States must look at ways to ly lethal weapons and this time struck free circulation of guns,” it said. While

CHINA-VATICAN RELATIONS The Patriotic Association and the bishops’ conference—neither of which ‘Patriotic’ Church Revokes is approved by the Vatican—accused Shanghai Bishop’s Appointment Bishop Ma of deliberately preventing an illegitimate bishop and two other participating bishops from laying hands he government-sanctioned association and conference. They also on his head during his ordination and Catholic bishops’ conference called on the Shanghai Diocese to “deal forbidding them from receiving T in China has revoked the with Ma in a serious manner,” he said. Communion. appointment of Thaddeus Ma Daqin At his ordination on July 7, the “They also charged him with not as auxiliary bishop of Shanghai, saying Vatican-approved bishop became the publicly distinguishing whether he is he violated their rules for episcopal first to publicly quit the Patriotic coadjutor or auxiliary bishop, a title ordinations. Joseph Liu Yuanlong, a vice Association, saying he wanted to devote given by the pope” and said his oath chair of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic himself to his ministry. His announce - “was incomplete as a result of deliberate Association, confirmed on Dec. 12 that ment, which occurred during his ordi - damage to the sound system,” according the association and the Bishops’ nation, provoked a standing ovation to sources in China. In addition, they Conference of the in from worshippers at the Mass. Since blamed him for the absence of many China had decided to revoke Bishop then, Bishop Ma has been in “” at diocesan and at the ordina - Ma’s approval letter as “coadjutor” bish - the Sheshan Regional Seminary in a tion and determined