HELEN ALVARÉ ON HAVING ‘THE GOD TALK’ OF MANY THINGS ut of our memory of the governments were at best modest 106 West 56th Street New York, NY 10019-3803 Holocaust,” said President and slow. Apart from allowing Ph: (212) 581-4640; Fax: (212) 399-3596 Jimmy Carter in 1979, “we Christians to enter their region, Subscriptions: (800) 627-9533 ‘O the Kurdish government did www.americamedia.org must forge an unshakable oath with facebook.com/americamag all civilized people that never again not offer any aid either financial twitter.com/americamag will the world stand silent, never again or material…. Thankfully, the will the world...fail to act in time to Church in the Kurdistan region President and Editor in Chief Matt Malone, S.J. prevent this terrible crime of genocide.” stepped forward and cared for the displaced Christians, doing her Executive Editors President Carter made those remarks Robert C. Collins, S.J., Maurice Timothy Reidy very best to handle the disaster. as he received the official report of Managing Editor Kerry Weber Church buildings were opened the presidential commission on the Literary Editor Raymond A. Schroth, S.J. to accommodate the people; Holocaust, or Shoah, the deliberate Senior Editor and Chief Correspondent food and non-food items were Kevin Clarke and singularly horrific mass murder provided to meet the immediate Editor at Large James Martin, S.J. of millions during the Second World needs of the people; and medical Executive Editor, America Films Jeremy Zipple, S.J. War, most of them European Jews. It is health services were also provided. Poetry Editor Joseph Hoover, S.J. worth remembering this pledge now, as Moreover, the Church put out the plight of Christians in the Middle Associate Editor and Vatican Correspondent a call and many humanitarian Gerard O’Connell East makes “again” terrifyingly nearer. organizations answered with aid Associate Editor and Director of Digital Last spring Sister Diana Momeka, of for the thousands of people in Strategy Sam Sawyer, S.J. the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine need…. Senior Editor Edward W. Schmidt, S.J. of Siena from Mosul, Iraq, appeared But the current persecution Associate Editors Ashley McKinless, Olga Segura Assistant Editors Francis W. Turnbull, S.J., before the House Foreign Affairs that our community is facing is Joseph McAuley Committee. The following is an excerpt the most brutal in our history. Not Art Director Sonja Kodiak Wilder from her testimony. only have we been robbed of our Editorial Assistant Zachary Davis MATT MALONE, S.J. homes, property and land, but our Columnists Helen Alvaré, John J. Conley, S.J., heritage is being destroyed as well. Daniel P. Horan, O.F.M., James T. Keane, John W. Martens, Bill McGarvey, Angela Alaimo O’Donnell, In November 2009, a bomb was ISIS has been and continues to Margot Patterson, Nathan Schneider, Robert David detonated at our convent in demolish and bomb our churches, Sullivan Mosul. Five sisters were in the cultural artifacts and sacred places. Correspondents John Carr (Washington), An- thony Egan, S.J., and Russell Pollitt, S.J. (Johannes- building at the time and they were Uprooted and forcefully displaced, burg), Jim McDermott, S.J. (Los Angeles), Timothy lucky to have escaped unharmed. we have realized that ISIS’ plan is Padgett (Miami), Steven Schwankert (Beijing), Our Prioress, Sister Maria to evacuate the land of Christians David Stewart, S.J. (London), Judith Valente Hanna, asked for protection from and wipe the earth clean of any (Chicago) Moderator, Catholic Book Club local civilian authorities but the evidence that we ever existed. This Kevin Spinale, S.J. pleas went unanswered. As such, is cultural and human genocide. Editor, The Jesuit Post Michael Rossmann, S.J. she had no choice but to move us The only Christians that remain Editorial e-mail to Qaraqosh. On June 10, 2014, in the Plain of Nineveh are those [email protected]

the so-called Islamic State in Iraq who are held as hostages. Publisher and Chief Financial Officer and Syria, or ISIS, invaded the I am but one, small person—a Edward G. Spallone Deputy Publisher Rosa M. Nineveh Plain, which is where victim myself of ISIS and all of its Del Saz Vice President for Advancement Daniel Pawlus Advertising Sales Manager Chris Keller Qaraqosh is located. Starting with brutality. Coming here has been Development Coordinator Kerry Goleski the city of Mosul, ISIS overran difficult for me—as a religious Business Operations Staff Khairah Walker, one city and town after another.... sister I am not comfortable with Glenda Castro, Katy Zhou, Frankarlos Cruz Advertising Contact [email protected]; As this horror spread the media and so much attention. 212-515-0102 Subscription contact/Additional throughout the Nineveh But I am here, and I am here to ask copies 1-800-627-9533 Reprints: reprints@ Plain, Nineveh was emptied you, to implore you for the sake of americamedia.org of Christians, and sadly, for our common humanity, to help us. © 2015 America Press Inc. the first time since the seventh Stand with us as we, as Christians, century A.D., no church bells have stood with all the people of rang for Mass in the Plain of the world and help us. We want Nineveh…. To add insult to nothing more than to go back to Cover: The Cuban and U.S. flags are displayed on the front of a residence in Havana on Aug. 14, injury, the initiatives and actions our lives; we want nothing more the day the U.S. Embassy in Cuba reopened. CNS of both the Iraqi and Kurdish than to go home. photo/Enrique De La Osa, Reuters Contents www.americamagazine.org VOL. 213 NO. 7, WHOLE NO. 5100 September 21, 2015

ARTICLES 15 A TALE OF TWO COUNTRIES A Cuban-American reflects on the pope’s journey to ‘nuestra America.’ Miguel H. Díaz 18 SCRIPTURE AND OUR SELVES Reflections on the Bible and the body M. Shawn Copeland 24 LIVING FOR THE CITY Spiritual exercises from Detroit David Nantais 27 THEY KNOW THE SUFFERING CHRIST Why we need a church that is poor and for the poor 18 Stephen P. White

COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 4 Current Comment 5 Editorial The Refugee Crisis 6 Reply All 9 Signs of the Times 14 Column Having the God Talk Helen Alvaré 30 Vatican Dispatch Francis in the U.S.A. Gerard O’Connell 31 Faith in Focus One in Spirit Gregory Hillis 27 34 Philosopher’s Notebook “Tired of Living” John J. Conley 42 The Word The Challenge of the Word John W. Martens

BOOKS & CULTURE 35 THEATER “Whorl Inside A Loop” BOOKS Frog; Beyond the Abortion Wars; Music at Midnight

ON THE WEB Mayor Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans, right, talks about Hurricane Katrina and the city’s resurgence, and Rhona Tarrant begins the “America News Brief” on “The Catholic Channel” on SiriusXM. Full digital highlights on page 29 and at americamagazine.org/webfeatures. 35 CURRENT COMMENT

say that is the percentage needed for a minority group to Micro-Accord truly play a role in relation to the majority. Gender-based A statement of regret from a political leader may seem like quotas have helped many nations to achieve greater parity in a minor diplomatic breakthrough, but when the country in their legislatures. Such quotas seem unlikely to be embraced question is the autocratic and nuclear-armed North Korea, it in the United States, but other solutions are possible. is cause for tentative hope. After a tense few days in August, Encouraging political participation and activism among girls in which North and South Korea were threatening aggression at a young age through programs like Model Senate, Mock following the maiming of two South Korean soldiers by a land mine, the two sides agreed on a brief accord that ended Trial and the Model United Nations can help spark an early the crisis. After over 40 hours of negotiations, the South interest in politics and law. But supporting female politicians promised to end its propaganda broadcasts directed at the is even more vital, especially at the local level. Studies have North, while Pyongyang issued its statement of regret. shown that women are less likely to have the connections How long the hard-won truce will last is unclear. The needed to raise campaign funds quickly, and many may be two sides have been fighting for so long that it does not discouraged by the cutthroat nature of campaigns. Greater take much to reignite tensions. Already North Korea is public funding for local campaigns and grassroots support complaining that its statement has been reported as an for female candidates could help women get the footing they apology. One piece of good news is that both sides continue need to make a difference. to work together to facilitate the reunification of families divided by the Korean War. The current president of South Overexposed Korea, Park Geun-hye, also remains committed to better On Aug. 26, Vester Flanagan shot and killed a reporter and relations with the North. a cameraman, Alison Parker and Adam Ward, during a live President Park is hopeful that the latest accord can serve local news broadcast in Virginia. A video of the shooting was as the start of fruitful dialogue. Perhaps; but the issues immediately shown on major news networks and various the two Koreas face are challenging, to say the least. The social media platforms. Facebook and Twitter accounts six-nation talks aimed at ending North Korea’s nuclear allegedly belonging to Mr. Flanagan showed video from the program are officially on hold, and the United States has shooter’s point of view. How do journalists and audiences been reluctant to engage with North Korea on this issue. cope with exposure to such traumatic news and footage? Iran is now the focus of U.S. nuclear negotiations, but A study in the United Kingdom found that out of North Korea should not be forgotten. It reportedly has the 189 men and women exposed to violent media images, capacity to launch a warhead that could reach the United like videos of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and Kingdom. The accord with South Korea may be a small school shootings, over 20 percent were negatively affected. victory, but it would be foolish not to try to build on it. Percentages were higher among reporters. Gene Demby, the lead blogger for NPR’s Code Switch blog and an African-American, recently wrote about the effect on black Women Leading Worldwide reporters of reporting on black deaths. Demby describes In 1995, at the United Nations Fourth World Conference reporting as extremely stressful. He writes, “We don’t stop on Women, world leaders set a goal: In 20 years women being black people when we’re working as black reporters.” would make up 30 percent of national legislatures. Two It is difficult to censor these images, especially in the decades have now passed, but the hoped-for results have yet age of social media, where trigger warnings are provided to be achieved. A report issued by the Inter-Parliamentary as small courtesies. While the trauma of watching and Union has found that only 44 legislatures were able to reporting on news events can be overwhelming, it has reach the goal. The United States is among the 146 nations proven crucial for social justice movements in the 21st that did not. This failure comes in the midst of a call for century. The Black Lives Matter movement, for example, better representation of women at the United Nations. has been able to draw attention to the growing number Many member states have pushed to appoint a woman of deaths of unarmed African-Americans at the hands of to the role of secretary general, which would be a first for police officers, like the deaths of Samuel DuBose, Walter the intergovernmental organization. A female secretary Scott and Eric Garner. Footage recorded by bystanders and general could offer the perspective and priorities needed to circulated on social media platforms can stir consciences encourage more nations to embrace female leadership. and call viewers to action, even if that action is nothing The 30 percent goal is not a random one. Sociologists more than a retweet.

4 America September 21, 2015 EDITORIAL The Refugee Crisis nternational news in recent months has brought a steady State (ISIS) controls much of the stream of stories about migrants and refugees—their country. Particularly in his war Istruggles to reach safety in Europe and their struggles against ISIS, Mr. Assad drops bar- after they get there. They leave their homes out of fear for rel bombs, which have killed and their lives or at least in the hope of providing a future for maimed thousands of civilians. their families. They put themselves in the hands of human The situation of the mass mi- traffickers at the cost of their meager financial assets, of their gration to Europe has two major human dignity and even of their lives. They crowd into un- factors. One is the plight of those safe boats to cross the Mediterranean or into overcrowded who make it to a receiving country. The other is the situation trucks for long road trips. that forces or at least urges them to leave their homes hoping For a while attention focused on Calais in France, where to find a better future. The European Union is attempting thousands gathered hoping to grab a ride in a truck through to address the first of these issues. But the second remains the tunnel to England, visible across the English Channel. intractable. It moved to Germany, where right-wing groups started ha- The meeting of E.U. ministers is a welcome first step, rassing the newcomers. Attention moved to the Greek island and it may lead to a follow-up meeting of the leaders of the of Kos, a short distance from Turkey. Most shocking was E.U. member states. This would be another welcome devel- an abandoned truck discovered near Vienna that held 71 opment. Welcome too is the move among E.U. states and decomposing bodies. Accompanying photos were compel- others to set quotas for new arrivals, though this is stirring ling: angry protesters in England or Germany; a small group up resistance. But still more is needed. huddled at a Hungarian border crossing with a police car Economic development in many countries in the Middle close by. Then there was the Turkish officer lifting the body East and in Africa would stop some of the migration flow, of a drowned Syrian boy from the sea. and world leaders have to look at new ways to foster this. The influx of newcomers is testing the European Union’s This is a long-term project. open borders. At the urging of Germany, France and Britain, The violence in the Middle East, particularly in Syria, the interior and justice ministers of the European Union demands immediate attention. But can anything be done? were due to meet on Sept. 14 to address the issue. They Muslim leaders have spoken out against President Assad, but planned to discuss building reception centers for new arriv- they have no authority to force anything on him. Members als where they could determine which of them are proper- of the Arab League have spoken out too, but Mr. Assad ig- ly called refugees, whose home countries are not safe, and nores them. Few would suggest a massive military invasion; which are migrants, who simply want to build a new life. the cost would be far too high and the chance of success low. This distinction affects the legal responsibilities of the re- The Free Syria Army seems to be the most reasonable of the ceiving countries. three power groups; it is also the smallest. The newcomers to Europe come from a number of coun- One suggestion has been to enforce a no-fly zone over tries in Africa and the Middle East. In the Middle East in Syria. This could stop the indiscriminate carnage from the particular, violence, persecution and political unrest make barrel bombs, which are dropped from helicopters. Another life unbearable for millions. A great number of the refugees would be the creation of a free zone along the border with are from Syria, where the situation is desperate. Turkey, where Syrians fleeing violence could find at least Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad is a ruthless tyrant who temporary safety. This would follow up on an agreement last resorted to massive violence during the Syrian civil war in summer between Turkey and the United States to create an 2011. Many countries have called on him to resign, but they ISIS-free zone along that same border. have no way to make this happen. Since 2010, according to a These are not permanent solutions, but they would save United Nations report, over half the population of Syria has lives today. The long-term solution demands international been internally displaced or has fled the country. cooperation and good will, not easy to come by but none- Mr. Assad controls only a fraction of Syria. A small ter- theless crucial. Perhaps the intense international energy that ritory is under the control of the Free Syria Army, formed produced the successful Iranian nuclear deal could now be by military officers during the civil war. But the Islamic devoted to this pressing crisis.

September 21, 2015 America 5 REPLY ALL it was clear that banks could not again striking—and in my opinion so very re- put their depositors’ money at risk on vealing of the gap between church hier- Taste, See, Touch new loans, even at high interest rates. archy and the faithful, despite the very Tears came to my eyes on reading So European governments created valid points made about the lifetimes of “Making Room for All at Mass,” by a special rescue organization to refi- service and humility of many individu- Judith Valente (8/17). I attempted nance Greek debt. If Greece defaults al men. I pray for the devotion of these teaching 12 young men with multi- now, or if the European rescue entity leaders so that we can refer to them with ple handicaps at a state institution in or European sovereign countries for- gratitude and prayer as visible witnesses Lincoln, Ill. I don’t know what they give all or some Greek debt, the pain of compassionate service to others—es- learned, but they responded best to shifts from Greek people to other pecially the stranger and least among touch, taste, smell and music. Thank European people, including many us—instead of praying with gratitude you, Ms. Valente! Maybe we are also non-Germans. Importantly, no bank for performing these (arguably) “thank- ready to welcome to full participation profit is involved except for some less and almost impossible jobs.” those whose only handicap is their Greek banks that patriotically own ROBIN LARKINS gender. Greek government bonds. Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. PETER V. KUHL JOSEPH J. DUNN San Antonio, Tex. Online Comment One Synodal Church Re “Family Gathering,” by John W. Pain and Profits Praying for Pastors O’Malley, S.J. (7/20): It is worth not- Re “Economy for the People” (Editorial, Re Of Many Things, by Matt Malone, ing that for centuries the Ukrainian 8/3): As I read Pope Francis’ messages, S.J. (8/3): Thanks for the reminder of Catholic Church (along with its he is not looking for a debate about the humanity of “the bishops” and lik- Orthodox counterparts) has used the capitalism versus socialism but is urg- ening their experience to what the lay word sobornaya (which means “synod- ing a conversion of hearts, a new pri- faithful have to experience in terms al”) when reciting the Nicene Creed. oritization wherein profits are not the of choices and material luxuries. But In Ukrainian the faithful pray, “I be- sole priority. We might advance more I think Father Malone’s commen- lieve in one, holy, synodal, and apostolic quickly if we put aside the clichés that tary remains disturbingly on the sur- church.” Strangely, the English version inevitably creep into our conversations. face, which is quite uncharacteristic of of this same creed translates sobor- Here, the editors say the hardline America. I find it odd that he says “the naya as “Catholic.” However, at least in stances of European leaders toward bishops” do not exist and then fail to their origins, certain Eastern Catholic Greece “encourage a world in which the explain what exactly the United States churches evince this synodal tradition expected returns of the banks are given Conference of Catholic Bishops is and and corroborate Pope Francis’ renewed more weight than the expectations of does, as many equate “the bishops” with attention to it. the individuals.” It is easy to infer that that hierarchical body. Synodality, moreover, has ramifi- banks and their profits are involved in Most disturbing, however, is that de- cations, both for governance within the recent Greek crisis. But that is not spite all the visits described, there was the Roman Catholic communion of the case. not one mention from the author of the churches and for ecumenism. The real After the last Greek crisis in 2010, word pastoral in his impressions. That is issue dividing (Eastern) Catholic and Orthodox Churches is not theology so Letters to the editor may be much as it is ecclesiology: a monarchical, hierarchical form of governance in the sent to America’s editorial former versus a collegial, synodal one office (address on page 2) or in the latter. A central issue for Christ’s [email protected]. church in our time is realization of this America will also consider the synodality—the church’s authentic tra- following for print publication: dition, the promise of Vatican II and a comments posted below touchstone of church unity. articles on America’s website PAUL BUMBAR (americamagazine.org) and posts Online Comment on Twitter and public Facebook pages. All correspondence may Music that Transforms be edited for length. Re “Let Freedom Sing,” the book re- view by Kim R. Harris (7/20): Thanks

6 America September 21, 2015 STATUS UPDATE churchgoer? Reaching it requires a read the theological reasons why it In “Subjects, Not Objects” (The Word, level of textual analysis most people “isn’t what it seems on the surface” 8/17), John W. Martens explores the are not going to be doing at Mass and before, and frankly I am not sure historical context and meaning of are not well enough aware of the cul- I buy it. And they certainly don’t the household codes described in the tural context or catechism to really usually explain it afterward at most Letter to the Ephesians, including understand. You cannot still include Masses to make it more palatable. the injunction, “Wives, be subject to this reading in the Mass without What’s even worse is when priests your husbands as you are to the Lord” offending most people with its out- go on to emphasize the surface level (Eph 5:22). A reader responds. dated message or, worse, imparting message. It is not pastorally respon- a harmful misunderstanding about sible to still be dragging this reading Does this symbolic meaning really marriage. Some readings should be out regularly. have any relevance to the average dropped. This is one of them. I have TIM ROONEY to Kim Harris for keeping the music Report On Federal Detention Center those who came here seeking a better alive! Her Songs of the Underground Policy,” by Maurice Timothy Reidy life, freedom from violence, poverty Railroad has been part of my pub- (6/8): The 1986 Immigration Reform and despair? Sadly, the poor, Hispanic lic school music teaching curriculum and Control Act, signed by President nature of today’s immigrants makes for almost 25 years, from New York Ronald Reagan, contained an amnesty them an easy target for politicians to California. Now Welcome Table: provision that allowed 2.7 million un- advocating fear, individuals unwilling A Mass of Spirituals is loved by our documented immigrants to stay here to contribute financially to the social choir kids in Los Angeles Central and become part of American society justice we tout worldwide and, not Juvenile Hall. These are the kids who legally. Immigration control is not a least, those who fear being outvoted say, “When I sing, I don’t feel like I’m conservative versus liberal issue. It is, one day. To them, this is not, really, a in jail.” This music transforms. Her instead, one of Christian justice. justice issue at all; it’s one that resides amazing work and dedication are Had we turned immigrants away closer to the pocketbook than to the transforming more lives than she will in previous generations, what would heart. ever know. God bless her! the country be like today? Would we MICHAEL MALAK PAULA VAN HOUTEN be as great a nation if we’d rejected Online Comment Online Comment

Future Threats Re “Never Justifiable,” by Daniel P. Horan, O.F.M. (6/22): TheCatechism of the Catholic Church is quite clear that the death penalty is, practically speak- ing, never justifiable within our contem- porary context. It stands for life. But it also wisely guards against future un- knowns. What if there is a catastrophe that wipes out order as we know it, what if there is colonization of other planets, etc.? Perhaps those sound far-fetched to some, but the current wording is clear, pro-life and wise. To change the word- ing would be to pretend society will always be where we are today. Church teaching is never that near-sighted. JENNIFER JONES Online Comment A Pocketbook Issue Thanks for the donations. If elected, I promise to go with the cash flow.

Re “U.S. Bishops Issue Scathing HARLEY SCHWADRON CARTOON:

September 21, 2015 America 7 8 America September 21, 2015 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

MIGRATION deaths so far. Dino Mujanovic, country repre- Death Toll Rises as Refugee Crisis sentative for Catholic Relief Services in Serbia, told America that C.R.S. Erupts on Outskirts of Europe has for weeks been responding to the crisis. “At this moment there is a huge humanitarian failure in treating the BORDER PRESS. Exhaustion refugee crisis,” he said. “Those numbers at an attempted crossing between Macedonia and are increasing day by day; people are Greece, near the town of coming, desperate, exhausted, robbed Gevgelija, Macedonia. on the way, seeking shelter in Western Europe.” Cut off because of their undocu- mented status from normal modes of transportation, many have crossed the continent almost entirely on foot, Mujanovic said. He estimates that most refugees—his preferred term, in light of the circumstances of their flight— are coming from Syria, but many are emerging out of Iraq also. “These are not economic migrants,” he stressed, noting the “strong” reasons many have to leave conflict zones in Syria and Iraq, escaping ISIS, the Assad regime or both. “They need help, they need shelter, they need respite and they need to re- turn and repossess their dignity. hat has been described as the worst refugee crisis since the end of “We should all show the solidarity World War II reached a crescendo in early September as thousands and act with compassion with and for Wof people fleeing Syria, Iraq and other Middle Eastern calamity these people,” he said. “I am afraid, what zones piled up against hastily erected barricades on the outskirts of Europe. But the winter will bring and hope this European sentiment, which had been resisting the idea of accepting large numbers will be handled properly. I mean that of Middle Eastern asylum seekers, shifted abruptly with the publication of deso- the influx will be at least decreased, if late images of a drowning victim, 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, lying face down in the not stopped, and that refugees will be surf on a beach in Bodrum, Turkey. sheltered adequately and in countries Not far from his lifeless body were the bodies of his brother and mother and where they want to be. We do not want nine other victims of a disastrous attempt on Sept. 2 to reach sanctuary on the camps, and we want them treated with Greek island of Kos. Pictures of little Aylan ignited a world-wide examination respect and dignity—that is our hu- of conscience that by the end of the day led to the apparent reversal of positions man responsibility, as well as the legal on refugee resettlement among European Union leaders, including British Prime obligation.” Minister David Cameron. The United Kingdom has so far accepted only a little C.R.S. officials report that the agen- over 200 Syrian refugees, but Cameron told reporters Great Britain would fulfill cy is scaling up its response to the crisis its “moral responsibilities to refugees” and now accept thousands more. in the Balkans, working with its church TheInternational Organization for Migration reports that more than 350,000 partners in Greece, Albania, Macedonia people have crossed Mediterranean so far this year, substantially more than the and Serbia to provide immediate as- 219,000 estimated for all of 2014. The number of migrant people lost at sea this sistance, including food, water, access year is far outpacing the 2,081 who had died by this point in 2014, with 2,664 to sanitation, medical care and legal

September 21, 2015 America 9 SIGNS OF THE TIMES services. C.R.S. officials called on the couraged by the small numbers some of religion research and co-author of United States to expand humanitarian European leaders have said they are the survey. Given that obstacle, “it’s no assistance to countries in the Middle willing to accept for resettlement. He surprise their Mass attendance is low,” East and Turkey that have for years is hoping that more realistic figures said Smith. Only one in four of those been sheltering the largest number of will emerge during the summit discus- Catholics say they attend once a week, Syrians and Iraqis, as well as to coun- sion. while 41 percent of Catholics overall tries burdened by this new migration. “The stories I have heard are hor- say they attend weekly. Most important, C.R.S. officials say rible,” said Mujanovic, remembering Catholics often disagree with—even the United States should lead concert- one woman refugee who clung to one defy—church teachings on faith and ed diplomatic efforts to end the fight- surviving child in a camp being served practice, according to the report. About ing in Syria. by C.R.S. She had been traveling with four in 10 of those Catholics who are European leaders plan to meet in her husband and twins “who lost their not eligible to receive Communion say mid-September to hash out a response lives between Turkey and the island of they still seek the Eucharist when they to the crisis, and Mujanovic said he is Kos.” The woman simply pressed on do attend Mass, Smith said. The survey hopeful that will mean a comprehen- alone into Europe with the remnant found that 76 percent of Catholics— sive plan based on a shared commit- of her family, too afraid to remain be- including 65 percent of Catholics who ment. Given the huge human press he hind even just long enough to bury her attend Mass once a week—say their is witnessing, Mujanovic was not en- dead. KEVIN CLARKE church should allow them to use arti- ficial birth control. Although the U.S. Conference of U.S. CATHOLICS Catholic Bishops has spent a decade battling the legalization of same-sex At Peace With the ‘Nontraditional’ marriage, Catholics are split: 46 per- he four major themes of Pope side of marriage at some point in their cent say the church should recognize Francis’ visit to the United lives, and 9 percent still do. the marriages of gay and lesbian cou- TStates—social and econom- The survey asked which family ples—and exactly the same percentage ic justice, environmental stewardship, structures are acceptable and as good say no. immigration and the value of the tra- as any other for rearing children. It The study founds that the church’s ditional family—will resonate with found: 87 percent say a single parent is share of the religious marketplace is many U.S. Catholics, but not all. That’s acceptable; 84 percent say the same for down from 23.9 percent in 2007 to 20 according to a new survey by Pew unmarried parents living together; and percent in the new survey, conducted in Research which reports that Catholics 83 percent say the same for divorced May and June of 2015. But Pew found are evenly divided over whether it is sin- parents. Sixty-six percent of Catholics that 8 percent of non-Catholics feel an ful to spend money on luxuries with- say gay or lesbian couples out also giving to the poor. The study are acceptable for rearing FAMILY GATHERING. A Pew study finds that finds that a minority of Catholics see children. That includes U.S. Catholics have a high level of acceptance for “nontraditional” family arrangements. addressing climate change (29 percent) 43 percent who say this or opposing abortion (33 percent) as arrangement is as good as “essential” to their Catholic identity. any other family structure. The survey, released on Sept. 2, Cohabiting couples finds that nontraditional family ar- and divorced Catholics rangements are fine with many U.S. who remarried without Catholics. That may be because many a Catholic annulment are already familiar with those family are not eligible to receive structures: 25 percent of Pew’s respon- Communion, and Pew dents have gone through a divorce, and found that “15 percent of 9 percent of those who divorced have Catholics are currently in remarried. Forty-four percent say they one of those situations,” have lived with a romantic partner out- said Greg Smith, director

10 America September 21, 2015 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

affinity to the Catholic Church without affiliating, and 9 percent of U.S. adults NEWS BRIEFS are “cultural Catholics.” Pew identified The Michigan Catholic Conference sent let- 9 percent of Americans as ex-Catho- ters to more than 10,000 employees in late lics—also known as “lapsed” or “fall- August warning them about possible identity en-away” Catholics. theft after a cyber attack on an employee da- “We see enormous differences be- tabase. • Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan tween cultural Catholics and ex-Cath- of Abuja, Nigeria, joined the members of the olics,” said Smith. “Cultural Catholics #BringBackOurGirls movement on Aug. 27 to exhibit a significant degree of open- mark 500 days since more than 200 Chibok India on strike ness to the church,” he said, “whereas schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram. • ex-Catholics have cut their ties. Asked The Vatican reports that the autopsy of former directly, ‘Could you see yourself ever archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, who had been awaiting trial on sexual returning’ to a Catholic religious iden- offenses, indicates he died on Aug. 27 of a “cardiac incident.” • The tity, four in 10 cultural Catholics say Catholic Church in India expressed its support for some 150 million yes, but 90 percent of ex-Catholics say workers on a nationwide strike that shut down factories, banks, traf- no,” Smith said. fic and government offices across India on Sept. 2. • Eleven cardinals, Many cultural Catholics are still at least four of whom will participate in the meeting of the Synod within reach of the church. One in of Bishops on the family in October, have urged fellow church lead- three say they attend Mass once or ers to maintain the church’s rules regarding marriage in a book to twice a year or practiced some obser- be published in mid-September. • The United Nations reported on vance for Lent. One Pew survey num- Sept. 2 that because of widespread damage to infrastructure during ber should give Francis hope as his the 2014 Israeli military assault, overcrowding and the continuing visit concludes on Sept. 27: seven in Israel blockade, the Gaza Strip “could be uninhabitable by 2020.” 10 U.S. Catholics say they cannot ever imagine leaving the Catholic Church, no matter what. of Albany, N.Y., confirmed that “the not provide stable work at a living wage priests of the Roman Catholic Diocese for too many men and women.... We of Albany and throughout the United are in need of a profound conversion of Broadened Absolution States have...had the faculties to lift the heart at all levels of our lives.” The arch- Pope Francis’ announcement on Sept. sanction of excommunication for the bishop explained, “Wage stagnation 1 that priests worldwide will be able to sin of abortion for more than 30 years.” has increased pressures on families, as absolve women for the sin of abortion He said, “Any woman who has had an the costs of food, housing, transporta- will have little effect on pastoral prac- abortion, any person who has been in- tion, and education continue to pile up.” tices in the United States and Canada. volved in an abortion in any way, can He added that “the violation of human “It is my understanding that the fac- always seek God’s forgiveness through dignity is evident in exploited workers, ulty [authorization] for the priest to the sacrament of reconciliation.” trafficked women and children, and a lift the latae sententiae excommunica- broken immigration system that fails tion for abortion is almost universally Work and the Dignity people and families desperate for de- granted in North America,” said Don cent work and a better life.” Archbishop Clemmer, interim director of media of Families Wenski said that in “Laudato Si’” Pope relations for the U.S. Conference of Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Francis challenges people to see the con- Catholic Bishops. Latae sententiae is Miami cited the importance of work in nections between human labor, care for a Latin term in canon law that means supporting families in the U.S. bishops’ creation and honoring the dignity of the excommunication for certain crimes is 2015 Labor Day statement, which drew “universal family, a sublime communion automatic. Clemmer said it is “the fiat of on Pope Francis’ June encyclical on ecol- which fills us with a sacred, affectionate the local bishop” whether to allow the ogy, “Laudato Si’.” Archbishop Wenski and humble respect.” priests in his diocese to absolve those said ,“We must not resign ourselves to a sins. Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger ‘new normal’ with an economy that does From CNS, RNS and other sources.

September 21, 2015 America 11 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

DISPATCH | LONDON David Cameron, the U.K. prime minister, has refused to compromise The Human Face of Migration on his much-criticized “swarms” de- scription of the refugees. His cabinet s new dimensions and the wid- makeshift mosque, built also by ref- colleague, Foreign Secretary Philip ening scale of the European ugees themselves. The U.K. national Hammond, led a line-up of Tory mem- Arefugee catastrophe emerge, a broadcaster, the BBC, had been filming bers of Parliament in condemning the deeper significance has begun to sur- in St. Michael’s for a recently broadcast program. He chose even stronger lan- face, beyond the scope of our imagina- episode of its “Songs of Praise” pro- guage than Cameron. In his view, “mil- tion until very recently. The more we are gram, said to be the longest-running re- lions of marauding African migrants learning about this movement of people ligious television program in the world. pose a threat to the European Union’s across at least one continent, the more The camp’s church is the third such standard of living and social structure” we understand its deeper realities. And improvised Christian structure. The while maintaining the Tory govern- these realities are polarizing commen- first lasted until the camp was moved; ment’s line that these are economic tary and opinion here in Britain. the second was burned down after a migrants, not refugees escaping per- We might not have realized this secution. Government statements, until the BBC made an editorial The Calais migrants so far, have refused to acknowledge decision to film a religious program that several other E.U. states have in the Calais migrant camp. There emerge as real people, accepted many more refugees than several thousand people, travelers some of whom even go Britain—and made them welcome. from countries like Syria, Libya Europe’s troubles deepen each and Eritrea, have gathered in a to church. day. The migrant emergency on camp known as the “Calais Jungle,” its southern shores gets worse hoping to make it to Britain. This pro- candle was accidentally dropped. The with no solution in sight as fresh gram caused great controversy in some realization that some of these people, news of human suffering horrifies the sections of British media and society like some of us in the United Kingdom, continent. The latest developments even as it served to reveal the deep faith are Christians who take their faith se- include yet more capsizings of over- of many of the migrants. It reminded riously has defied their demonization filled vessels and emerging news of viewers that the people knocking on the in some sections of our media and our chaotic scenes on three Greek islands United Kingdom’s doors are real human government. that were wholly incapable of receiving beings, with faith, hope and fears—far One U.K. daily, in a spittle-specked refugees yet faced record numbers of from evil would-be invaders threat- fury of indignation, demanded to know arrivals. It is only now emerging that ening our country and our culture. It why taxpayers’ money was being wast- large numbers of people are arriving is no longer so easy to deny that some ed in this way (the BBC carries no not only in Greece but also in Bulgaria of these itinerants are fleeing religious advertising domestically but gets its and Hungary, countries whose re- persecution in their countries of origin. money from a government-imposed sources are already thin. To the horror of certain observers, the tax commonly known as the TV li- What we are seeing is a humanitari- Calais migrants emerge as real people, cense). Another, the Murdoch-owned an disaster on a much larger scale than some of whom even go to church. Sun, raging about “Hymnigrants,” lik- previously thought, of which the Calais What caught many people by sur- ened the BBC’s decision to “something standoff is numerically only one small prise is news footage showing that some from Monty Python.” Responding, the part. In the pictures and stories from of the migrants in the Calais camp had BBC’s head of religion and ethics, Aaqil the Calais church, we saw and heard constructed a chapel. Ethiopian and Ahmed, wrote in a blog post, “The real people and were reminded of the Eritrean worshipers built St. Michael’s knowledge that the migrants had built real human tragedy extending from Church out of whatever materials came a makeshift church is exactly the kind our continent’s southern to northern to hand. Nearby, there was an equally of action that Christian communities shores. Real people, fleeing from real everywhere will relate to.” He denied persecution, real danger. This is our 21st-century Exodus. DAVID STEWART, S.J., is America’s London making any political statement or judg- correspondent. ment on migration. DAVID STEWART

12 America September 21, 2015

HELEN ALVARÉ Having the God Talk would guess that most Catholics, pice between the institutional church only material things. I will explore old and young, are struggling to at- and the world beyond, my kids are with him how these longings point Itain the “personal encounter with plentifully out in the world. At the also toward someone—a Creator who Jesus Christ” that Pope Francis repeat- same time, they are about 1,000 per- implanted these in his human heart. edly preaches. Me too. So what am I to cent more likely (justifiably) to re- I will propose that this same Creator do to facilitate “introducing” my kids spond to any conversation we’re having offered him a reply: Jesus Christ. Here to Jesus Christ, when my own spiri- with the question, “How did we get to I will be dipping heavily into Luigi tual life is so often dry? And how do the subject of God, again?” Guissani’s The Religious Sense and The I approach such a task from the right Add to this that the son in question Kingdom of God Is Like, by Thomas “platform”? at the moment is an artistically gift- Keating, O.C.S.O. Unlike his schools’ It cannot be a platform of: “This is a ed teenager, sensitive to the material religion classes, I won’t be demanding test of my parenting persuasion skills.” world, visual culture and a ton of reading and It should even less be: “Are you kidding music. I have anecdotally memorizing. But we’ll me? I’m going to end up a statistic? noticed that his world is reflect together on the Another baby boomer whose children populated by a higher than What am I few paragraphs or pages left the faith?” It should rather be: average number of people to do we’ll read together each “This is the place—at the feet of Jesus who feel out of sync with day. Christ, by his side, in his arms—I dominant social norms. to introduce I will further tap into want my child to be in order to know I have a chance—be- my kids his sympathy with the reality, freedom and ‘the words of ever- cause he is giving it to me— outsider. Knowing his lasting life.’” to have a religious conver- to Jesus sensitivity on this point, Never have I wanted anything so sation with him four or five Christ? I’ve started in on this badly, and never have I felt so badly days a week for the next “lesson” already over the equipped to make it happen. I con- few years. What will I do? last few years. When fided this once to a brilliant parish I have a few ideas but am we encounter someone priest—who had seen a lot of life be- always listening for good advice (hint). who seemingly doesn’t “fit,” I’ll make fore he got to the seminary. He replied I think first (after Step 1, of course) a point to tell him how much I love abruptly, “So there is nothing left for I will start with his own deep-seated the Christian discipline, so gorgeously God to do in this elaborate program longings for meaning and happiness— articulated by Pope Benedict XVI in you are formulating for your son?” He the longings manifest in every song, “God Is Love,” to give each person “the had a point. It turned into my Step 1: poem and drawing he creates. These look of love which they crave” (No. 18). “Ask God every day to give my son the include longings to be encountered It reminds us of our radical equality gift of faith.” But on the theory that with ordinary kindness and with at with everyone we meet and invites us God did not make me a hyper-prob- least some openness to his gifts, long- to encounter them with that mind. My lem-solving-type for nothing, I have ings for a friend who listens and who son and I will also be reading parts of been thinking a lot about Step 2 and shares self-revelation in return. I will that document and reflecting on what beyond. start too with his appreciation for it means for God’s love for him too. Maybe because I’ve always sensed beauty. There’s a great deal more I have to that my Catholic vocation involves I will explore with him where these think through, especially respecting a standing on the border/bridge/preci- longings came from and how they did balanced approach to material culture not come “from nowhere.” How they and respect for the girls he’s meet- appear to have a “divine” quality by ing—so many of whom have too little HELEN ALVARÉ is a professor of law at George themselves. They point toward a divine respect for themselves already. But the Mason University, where she teaches law and religion and family law. She is also a consultor soul within him, which (as he’s already school year is just beginning, and I’m to the Pontifical Council for the Laity. learned, I think) can’t be satisfied with full of hopes and plans.

14 America September 21, 2015 A Cuban-American reflects on the pope’s journey to ‘nuestra America’. A Tale of Two Countries BY MIGUEL H. DÍAZ remember the beginnings of my hyphenated identity, the Cuban-American way of being human. As a little Cuban child, I spent the last few hours before leaving Havana in la pecera, the room in the airport referred to as the “fish tank,” where Cuban exiles waited before boarding a plane to leave the tropical island. I stood next to mami and papi as I prayed that Cuban authorities would not prevent us from departing at the Ilast minute. I carried my Mickey Mouse toy into the Iberian Airlines plane on the long trip across the ocean with my parents. After the plane landed in Madrid, Cuban exiles kissed the ground, unaware of the personal revolution that was about to begin in the lives of all of us. When my family arrived in Madrid, we carried all our possessions in our suitcases. On OUR MAN IN HAVANA. that first cold night after our arrival, we went to a tiny room in a rooming house where all A banner in Havana advertises Pope Francis’ three of us huddled together and slept till we were awakened by sounds of El Rastro de

September visit to Cuba. Madrid, the Spanish flea market. I looked out at all the food and wanted to eat the chocolates REUTERS/ALEXANDRE MENEGHINI

MIGUEL H. DÍAZ holds the John Courtney Murray University Chair in Public Service at Loyola University Chicago and is a former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See.

September 21, 2015 America 15 I saw, the uncured Spanish hams (jamón Serranos), the can- we falsely accuse them of wrongdoing, we judge them and dies—these and more I wanted to eat. I still hold close to my we demonize them. Mercy provides an antidote to all of heart my father’s words: “My son, as soon as I begin to work these actions, enabling us to gaze into the concrete situation and have some money to spare, we will be able to buy some of another person with compassion. Mercy enables us to see of those goodies.” I remember this traumatic relocation, my others as reflections and refractions of the one human family trip back across the ocean two years later, and my arrival in God has called into existence. Mercy creates and multiplies Miami. This exile experience opened up a space for mercy in hyphens between persons and all creatures of God. Mercy my life. Life-on-the-hyphen, the Cuban-American way, has realizes what in Spanish we would call an authentic commu- remained the space from which I have encountered the rich nity of nosotros (the Spanish word for we that literally means diversity that has shaped who I have become, and the rich “we-other”). diversity that has shaped the persons I have encountered. Remembering injustice can lead to violence and retribu- From this space, I offer these reflections as someone who tion. Cubans, Americans and Cuban-Americans know all deeply loves and cares for both the country of his birth and too well that this injustice has been part of their communal the country I now claim as my home. Pope Francis’ invita- past. Tragically, violence continues to prevail in many of our tion to embody God’s mercy in an increasingly globalized cities here in the United States. We have all witnessed on world of human indifference and his relentless affirmation of our media screens the injustices related to racism and the the preferential option for poor, marginalized and oppressed human indifference that has characterized the treatment people presents a valuable challenge to Cuban and American of certain persons based on the color of their skin or other societies. As pontifex maximus, the greatest of bridge-build- human characteristics. But as Pope Francis suggests, mer- ers, Pope Francis comes to the United States and Cuba ready cy makes possible the awareness and acceptance of human to usher in a new spring in human relations within and be- differences. Mercy overcomes what the pope has termed tween these two nations, which have been sociopolitically “the globalization of indifference.” Indifference oftentimes separated by more than a mere 90 miles. comes about from the misuse or abuse of power and priv- ilege. Indifference engenders prejudice and exclusion based Remembering Mercy on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-political On March 17, 2013, Pope Francis wrote: “I think we too are affiliation, physical ability and immigration status, to name the people who, on the one hand, want to listen to Jesus, but but a few of its consequences. An indifferent society is a soci- on the other hand, at times, like to find a stick to beat others ety that has failed to embrace human differences and refuses with, to condemn others. And Jesus has this message for us: to respect and care for the most vulnerable of its citizens. mercy. I think—and I say it with humility—that this is the In his book Diálogos Entre Juan Pablo II y Fidel Castro, Lord’s most powerful message: mercy.” Pope Francis argues that “pluralism is one of the fundamen- Pope Francis is the prophet of mercy. Mercy, Cardinal tal characteristics of the Church, since the respect and ac- Walter Kasper rightly argues, mirrors the very nature of ceptance of others, of otherness, is a long standing principle what Christians understand as the mystery of God. Because in Christian doctrine.” What the pope argues with respect God is love, God acts mercifully in history. Because we have to Cuba in terms of its rich religious, cultural and racial dif- been created in God’s image, we become Godlike when we ferences can be equally argued with respect to the United act mercifully toward our neighbor. Mercy rather than judg- States. Human differences must be affirmed, respected and ment, sympathy rather than apathy—these values become empowered. The people of Cuba and the United States have guiding principles in personal, communal and national re- much work to do opening up and reconciling, first and fore- lations. To see as God sees requires a shift in perception, most, internally as nations and subsequently to each other a faith-filled sight that enables us to “always consider the and the nations that surround them. Each of them must person.” As the pope underscored in reference to gay per- embrace Pope Francis’ culture of encounter. Perhaps what is sons: “Here we enter into the mystery of the human being. most needed at this time to transform these societies is the In life, God accompanies persons, and we must accompany kind of “popular diplomacy” that relies on people-to-people them, starting from their situation. It is necessary to accom- human encounters. Such encounters may enable accompa- pany them with mercy.” niment of diverse persons in their concrete human situation Mercy redirects our vision to see as God sees and to see and provide the recipe needed to overcome the human indif- God in all persons, even in those who have wronged us. ference in each of these nations. Mercy, as the “mirror” of God’s Trinitarian life, enables hu- man beings, communities and nations to exist for and from Liberty and Justice for All each other. All too often we objectify persons and treat them The globalization of human indifference, as the pope’s re- as disposable. We condemn others, we misunderstand them, cent encyclical “Laudato Si’” makes clear, extends to the in-

16 America September 21, 2015 difference we humans practice toward our earth. “In the hyphen, resisting the temptation to choose either of these present condition of global society, where injustices abound aspects of my humanity, but welcoming both black beans and growing numbers of people are deprived of basic hu- and rice and burgers and fries, bridging manifold human man rights and considered expendable, the principle of the differences and “languages” and living this creative tension common good immediately becomes, logically and inevita- day in and day out of my life. This way of being human has bly, a summons to solidarity and a preferential option for opened up for me a space of mercy in my life. But perhaps the poorest of our brothers and sisters” (“Laudato Si’,” No. it has been God’s mercy all along that has willed and graced 158). this space. Cuban-Americans might be able to offer this hu- The pope challenges throwaway and consumer driv- man experience as a way to herald mercy, reject human in- en cultures that devalue and kill life, embracing instead an difference and foster liberty and justice for all. Surely, life on integral ecology that respects and promotes all life and the the hyphen, the Cuban-American way, resists the practice interdependence of all creatures. The health of this integral of indifference, for this kind of daily living makes us keenly ecology pivots upon the preferential care of our increasingly aware of our God-given connection to others and their dis- impoverished earth and the poor, the marginalized and all tinct otherness. This mode of being human invites U.S. and who suffered within our lands. The earth’s life matters. Black Cuban leaders to revise laws, policies and institutions so as lives matter. Brown lives matter. Undocumented lives mat- to “cut loose the shackles of the past” and enable these two ter. Imprisoned lives matter. Dissident lives matter. All lives nations to bridge their differences. inside our biological wombs and social wombs matter. To practice mercy as the pope has invited us to do, we In the United States, 48 million Americans live below must overcome human indifference and train our eyes to the poverty line, more than 600,000 homeless people roam see God in all persons, especially and preferentially in the our streets (Black, Latino/a and L.G.B.T. youth represent poor, the marginalized and the oppressed. God’s option be- a large percentage of the homeless in our cities), numerous comes our only human option to advance liberty and justice persons lack adequate housing, and over 11 million live for all. I remember mercifully the beginning of my hyphen, among us as undocumented persons. Every year the United and I pray for mercy and Pope Francis’ success in nuestra States generates approximately 230 million tons of trash, America. A with little recycling, and most of it ends up in landfills. On average the United States consumes about 19 million bar- rels of petroleum a day, and although we make up 4.5 per- cent of the world’s population, we consume approximately 20 percent of its energy. How might we respond here in the United States to Pope Francis’ challenge to promote an inte- gral ecology in the face of such facts? In Cuba, while most of its citizens may not pay for rent, education and health care, economic and sociocultural in- equality prevails and creates two contrasting societies where a great number of Cubans suffer marginalization, especial- ly on the basis of race, religion or sexual orientation. The 2015 Human Rights Watch annual report concluded: “The Cuban government continues to repress dissent and dis- courage public criticism,” turning to “short-term arbitrary arrests of human rights defenders, independent journalists” and uses other repressive tactics that “include beatings, pub- lic acts of shaming, and the termination of employment.” How might Cuban society respond to Pope Francis’ mes- sage about listening to the voices of the marginalized and oppressed in light of this ongoing silencing of human rights voices? Whether in the U.S. or in Cuba, freedom and justice truly matter!

A Space for Mercy I remember growing up on the hyphen in Miami—I am Cuban-American. Indeed, I have lived all my life on this

September 21, 2015 America 17 Scripture and Our Selves Reflections on the Bible and the body BY M. SHAWN COPELAND

rom the risk of creation in Genesis through the honor, exuberance and grace. startling visions of Revelation, the physical human The Hebrew Bible or Old Testament bursts with sheer body commands the Bible’s narrative. God makes astonishment and gratitude at the physical body (Ps the earth creature (adama) in the divine image and 139:14–16), records its attractiveness (1 Sm 16:12), ob- Flikeness, makes them male and female, animates the body serves physical differences (Gn 27: 22–24) and relishes its with divine breath and deems the body—and all creation— prowess and skill (1 Sm 17: 48–49). Chosen, protected and very good (Gn 1:26–27, 31; 2:7). Thus, the essential corpore- redeemed from the cruelty of bodily enslavement, the an- ality of human existence emerges in the very act of creation. cient Israelite people were instructed to circumcise the male The divine affirmation of matter, of flesh, contradicts any as- body as a sign of communal fidelity to the Covenant (Gn sertion that the body might be inferior to spirit or soul, that 17:9–14; Lv 12:3). Further, the men of the community were flesh is so much dross or an impediment. The body is God’s enjoined to wear bodily reminders (phylacteries) of the dis- gracious gift and delight; it must never be treated with con- cipline and law of monotheistic worship (Dt 6:8, 11:18; Ex tempt or disrespect. We humans are body-persons: we do 13: 9, 16). During the 40-year sojourn in the desert, God fed not possess bodies, we are bodies, and as body-persons we the Israelites with manna until they reached Canaan (Jos encounter, express and engage the world, others and God. 5:13). What food the people might eat was strictly regulated Indeed, the divine affirmation of flesh invests the body with and categorized either as clean or unclean: fish with fins and scales were designated clean but shellfish unclean; lamb was M. SHAWN COPELAND is a professor of systematic theology at Boston clean but rabbit unclean (Lv 11:46, 20:25). Leviticus and College. This article is part of America’s series “The Living Word: Scripture in the Life of the Church,” cosponsored by the American Bible Deuteronomy regulated and organized much more than the

Society. consumption of food. The laws and codes of these books OF ADAM,” BY MICHELANGELO PHOTO: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/ARTWORKSFOREVER “THE CREATION

18 America September 21, 2015 governed ritual, dispensed tribal responsibilities, delineated others to the point of self-transcending love (Mt 15: 26–27) marriage and sexual intercourse, and regulated male and fe- and teaches the universal meaning of being a body-person. male roles in the community. Finally, minute rules required In Christian theology, the body of Jesus functions as tem- close attention to the appearance of skin diseases, bodily ple, sacrifice and pledge (Mk 14:22; Lk 22:19; John; Rom defects, disfigurement or mutilation that rendered the body 3:24–25). The enfleshed Word manifests the shining glory unclean. These rules, Mary Douglas observes, “stem from a of his God and Father; his crucified body constitutes an ex- concern for wholeness,” for purity in Israelite worship. acting wisdom for living and a sacrifice that heals the breach between God and creation. Jesus Christ is “the firstborn” of the dead; his raised and exalted body betokens a pledge of resurrection life to come for all believers (Col 15: 20–23; 1 Cor 15:20). Writing to believers scattered around the Mediterranean The divine world, Paul deploys the metaphor of the body to elucidate the meaning of “new life” in Christ. His usage is neither theoretical nor systematic; rather he grapples to sketch out affirmation of the difference the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ and the presence of the Spirit makes. Only through flesh invests the power of the Spirit may women and men confess Jesus as Lord. The Spirit creates those believers as a living body whose life, individually and corporately, witnesses to the the body mercy and loving kindness of God (Rom 12:4; 1 Cor 12). Christ is the head of this body; believers individually are members of it (Gal 2:20; 1 Cor 12:27). Thus, the individual with honor, body is a temple of the Spirit, and members are to glorify God in their bodies (1 Cor 6:19–20). For as Paul insists, we exuberance body-persons are made for God and life with God. For all the accounts of miracles, marvels and mercies, the Bible—both Old and New Testaments—inspires caution and grace. as well as confidence. Lust, incest and murder damage a fa- ther and his sons, devastate a married woman and traumatize a virgin (2 Sm 11–13); a warrior’s reckless vow sends The Body of Jesus his daughter to death (Jgs 11:1–11, The incarnation crowns God’s affirmation 29–33); and those who would cheat the of the physical body (Mt 1:20–25; Lk common good or blackmail and extort 1:26–35; Jn 1:14; Rom 1:3). The body of Jesus, as Tertullian come to no good end (Acts 5:1–11; Daniel 13). These sto- suggests, is the “hinge of salvation”; without the enfleshing of ries teach important if obvious lessons: there is no necessity the Word, divine redemptive activity in the world would be to carry out every bodily impulse, every sexual urge; rash precluded. Through disobedience, Adam and Eve had dis- promises can miscarry; and cheating and extortion may rupted the harmonious relationship among transcendent, prove fatal. Yet, reversals and surprise also shape the bibli- personal, interpersonal and cosmic orders. The friendship cal narrative. Hospitality to unexpected travelers results in between God and humans was broken; the unity of spiritual great joy (Gn 18: 1–9); the lowly and foreign-born become and physical being left us out of sync with our bodies, our- great (Ruth); and those who flaut the law against others get selves and one another and disturbed the order of nature. their comeuppance (Jn 8: 1–11). Redemption, then, must encompass the reclamation and reconciliation of the entire created order—the redemption Jewish and Christian Views of matter, of flesh, of the body (Col 1: 19; Eph 1:10). The religious and theological reflection of Judaism, unlike The Jewish body of Jesus of Nazareth presents a crucial that of its daughter, Christianity, exhibits little, if any, nega- entry point in both ancient and postmodern understand- tivity toward the body. The body is not intrinsically impure ings of particularity and universality. His body is marked or unclean; sex is a natural act celebrated in erotic lyricism with particularities of race, sex, sexuality, gender and cultur- in the Song of Songs. The Jewish rabbinical scholar and phi- al mores. It is open to and turned toward radically different losopher Maimonides declared proper nourishment, care

September 21, 2015 America 19 and appropriate adornment of the body a religious duty. Love of God and love of neighbor formed the key covenantal Decades later, St. Thomas Aquinas would write encourag- demand, one that the prophets and Jesus after them reiterat- ingly: “We ought to cherish the body. Our body’s substance ed frequently. Like the prophets, Jesus read the “signs of the is not from an evil principle, as the Manicheans imagine, but times,” critiquing hypocritical piety (Lk 6:6–11;18: 9–14) from God. And therefore we ought to cherish the body by and challenging abuse of the poor and outcast (Mic 3:1–3; the friendship of love, by which we love God.” Amos 5:6–15; 6:1, 3–6; Lk 6:20–26). With acts of healing, Yet Christian reflection continues to wrestle to compre- stories, parables and sermons, Jesus advanced a distinctive hend and speak meaningfully about the body. On the one prophetic praxis on behalf of the reign of God. He concret- hand, theology, catechism and sermon are eager to honor ized body practices of solidarity: feeding hungry bodies, the body’s goodness and grace, yet just as eager to discredit clothing naked ones, tending sick bodies and visiting impris- bodily pleasures like food or drink or sex. Further, Christian oned ones (Mt 25:31–46). In this way, he upended the usual discourse has constructed a gendered binary between a mas- ways of thinking and acting toward others, urging followers culine God and a feminine creation, thus influencing reli- to open their hearts and minds, to give without expectation gious, cultural and social roles of male dominance and fe- of reciprocity (Lk 10:29–37), to commit themselves to gen- male subservience. Yet, at its best, Christian discourse about uine conversion of life. Moreover, Jesus took the poor and the body insists that body-persons have a unique capacity vulnerable as priorities. These included not only children, for communion with God—the imago Dei; indeed, the body women and men who were materially impoverished but also constitutes a site of divine revelation. Thus the body is a ba- people who were socially outcast and physically disabled sic human sacrament. (those afflicted with blindness, paralysis, deafness and lep- What follows is one way of expressing theologically a few rosy), those who were oppressed or displaced through po- lessons the Bible teaches us about the body: litical occupation or religious corruption, those who were 1. The body shapes human existence as relational and so- broken in spirit from isolation and persecution (Lk 7:22, cial. Whether the reader of Genesis gives primacy to the 14:13, 21; Mt 5:3–6, 11). These body practices of solidar- first (Gn 1:27) or the second (Gn 2:21–23) account of the ity urge us in the here-and-now to active recognition and creation of humankind, the need for relationship with God, regard for exploited, despised and vulnerable body-persons. with other body-persons and with creation is obvious. Only Solidarity costs, but it affirms the universality of divine love as body-persons can human creatures praise and worship, without compromising its preference for those in greatest sing and dance friendship with God. Only as body-persons need. Thus, the Creator is worshiped, bodies are honored can we fulfill the divine commands to care for creation and and particularity engaged and valued. to reproduce. Only as body-persons can we befriend one an- 4. The Eucharist orders and transforms our bodies as the body other, build and organize towns and cities, invent tools and of Christ. “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and transport, pursue agriculture and commerce. drink his blood, you have no life in you...for my flesh is food 2. Divine creativity manifests love for body-persons through indeed, and my blood is drink indeed” (Jn 6:53, 54). Jesus’ manifold created particularity. As an embattled minority, the assertion scandalized his first-century hearers; it ought, at ancient Israelite people placed great emphasis on bodily least, to startle us. This is his promise of the nourishing sac- and genealogical integrity; exogamy or marriage outside the rificial gift of his own body. His gracious, gratuitous, unmer- community was forbidden. The ancient people were often at ited gift is of immeasurable value. Jean-Luc Marion captures odds with foreigners and waged war to establish and defend its most concentrated power: “The Eucharistic gift consists the borders of the land that, although promised and entrust- in the fact that in it love forms one body with our body.” ed to them, belonged only to God (Lv 25:23). Certainly, the Through the compassionate love of the Father and the people were to deal with other Israelites fairly, justly and power of the Holy Spirit, the body is made present with us compassionately; at the same time, covenantal stipulations and to us. In sacramental reception, Jesus’ self-gift of his own directed them not to oppress strangers, to treat these “others” body nourishes, strengthens and orders us as we make his with respect, even to show regard for endangered animals body visible through our body practices of solidarity. The belonging to an enemy (Ex 22: 21–27). Through adherence Eucharist signifies and makes visible the body raised up by to these and similar provisions, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks ar- Christ for himself within the body of humanity, the “mys- gues, the people were to realize tzedekah, or “social justice” tical body” through which the body of Jesus is extended in the concrete. “The Israelites were charged with creating [a through time and space as a countersign to the reign of sin. society] in which everyone has a basic right to a dignified life In the fullness of time this body will restore the original im- and to be equal citizens in the covenantal community under age of creation, where there are no longer Gentile and Jew, the sovereignty of God.” circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave 3. Solidarity and loyalty to God emerge in body practices. and free, but “Christ is all and in all” (Col 3:10–11). A

20 America September 21, 2015 September 21, 2015 America 21 Nourish Your Soul, Body and Spirit Attend a retreat. Encourage a loved one to participate in a retreat. Give a donation to a retreat house.

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Religious of the Sacred Heart offer year-round directed and private retreats, including the 30­-day Spiritual Exercises and self-­directed sabbaticals. We are one and one ­half blocks from the ocean in comfortable townhouses with large private rooms and baths. Our silent house in naturally beautiful environs invites relaxation and prayer. Living for the City Spiritual exercises from Detroit BY DAVID NANTAIS tility workers in Detroit erected a streetlight self-awareness and love of neighbor. These are important in front of my house this past March. It is one ideas for city dwellers who are concerned about cultivating of 65,000 lights that Mayor Mike Duggan has spirituality within a daily existence that can often seem cha- promised will be up and on by December of otic. U2016. While watching two men guide the light pole into the Pope Francis, too, addresses urban life in his encyclical ground, I felt a combination of relief, joy and cautiousness. “Laudato Si’,” stating that city dwellers should feel connected Since purchasing a 100-year-old house in 2010, I have been to one another, be concerned about the common good and frustrated by stolen front porch furniture and two car break- think of the entire cityscape as their home, rather than con- ins. fining themselves to one neighborhood. In this way, “Others City living can be tough. And yet, more and more people will then no longer be seen as strangers, but as part of a ‘we’ are choosing this lifestyle, either out of necessity or to gain which all of us are working to create” (No. 151). certain cultural amenities. According to the United Nations, My own reflections on this topic are grounded in over 10 54 percent of the world’s population lived in cities in 2014. years of living in the city of Detroit. I propose three char- Whether one lives in an urban environment that could grace acteristics of a robust and nourishing spirituality of urban the front cover of a Condé Nast periodical or in a struggling, living: 1) Attempt mightily to find beauty in desolation; 2) post-industrial, rustbelt metropolis, urban living offers a Move from helping others to sharing aims; and 3) Allow wide variety of blessings, challenges and opportunities. deep joy and grief to affect your soul. This light was a blessing. It offered me hope that petty These themes are not meant to be exhaustive, and I do not crime might cease on the block. Could it also be a sign, I won- want to imply that I have mastered them or that I ever will. dered, that our city, recently mired in the largest municipal They can, however, help guide decision-making in the face of bankruptcy in U.S. history, might be on the path to function- the gritty realities of urban life and give one the perspective ality? My emotions, however, were shrouded in cautiousness. to pursue a rich sense of meaning and avoid dark cynicism. Detroiters have experienced more broken promises from lo- cal government than just about anyone. It is important to me A Deeper Beauty that my cautiousness does not slip into despair or cynicism, Detroit, like many large cities, has an overabundance of so as of late I have been reflecting on how to practice a spiri- burned out buildings and homes, overgrown vacant lots and tuality of urban living. desolate landscapes. In the midst of these sad sights, however, This is not a novel concept. I have discovered the work of it is possible to locate suppleness and beauty. This takes the several scholars who have done some serious thinking about form of wild flowers, the return of some animals, like pheas- urban spirituality from a Christian perspective. Two people ants, to the urban prairie or the sun playing off a broken win- whose insights I have found particularly helpful are Philip dow at dusk. But the search for beauty in desolation needs to Sheldrake from the Cambridge Theological Federation and progress deeper than this, lest it romanticize the real human Chad Thralls, a teaching fellow at Seton Hall University. pain that these settings can represent. Both look at the city as the site for daily human interaction A spiritual exercise I employ is attempting to imagine who and emphasize the importance of cultivating particular spir- occupied a particular space in the past. Many fellow human itual disciplines for healthy city life. Professor Sheldrake in- travelers set foot on these spaces, and for some the ground sists that solidarity is a key virtue for urban living, to ensure was holy. A particular abandoned lot could easily have been concern for the common good. Mr. Thralls, drawing upon the location of a home or a small business or an athletic field the wisdom of St. Ignatius Loyola, suggests that a daily ex- where neighbors gathered to celebrate life—and perhaps, amen focused on city life experiences can help one grow in with some imagination and care, it could become a garden or park for a new generation. The late rapper Tupac Shakur DAVID NANTAIS is the director of mission integration and adult forma- proposed a beautiful image in his lyrics of “the rose that grew tion at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy. He is also an adjunct instructor of philosophy and religious studies at the University from concrete.” This is a very urban symbol that represents of Detroit Mercy. hope and life conquering all odds.

24 America September 21, 2015 BEAUTY IN DESOLATION. Detroit skyline from the Ambassador Bridge PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/CARL BALLOU

The possibility of finding splendor among the ruins should city, it was vital to not be perceived as—or to be—a do-good- not absolve us of considering the reasons why devastation er trying to save what did not need saving. is so rampant in our cities. Globalization, unhealthy forms Putting down roots by investing in a home has helped. of capitalism, racism and a lack of concern for the common With a good job and many resources I am still in a position good all play a role in this heart-wrenchingly bleak situation. of privilege, but now my struggles and my neighbors’ strug- But just as a healthy sense of our own personal sinfulness can gles are much more similar. I do still try to help folks, but I generate from within a desire to do better, a realistic under- am also the beneficiary of aid from others. Residents, black standing of our societal role in creating and sustaining these and white, in my neighborhood have helped push one an- problems can encourage a personal commitment to becom- other’s cars out of the snow when the city does not plow the ing an agent of change. Cultivating the habit of seeing beauty side streets (not an uncommon occurrence), and some have in what popular trends deem ugly or unworthy can help us kept a watchful eye on our two boys, who tend to bolt down see potential in people and neighborhoods that are common- the street when my wife or I momentarily turn our heads. ly written off as insignificant and even dangerous. A group of us cleaned up an illegal dump site and boarded up abandoned homes in our neighborhood to keep scrappers Shared Struggle away and protect the growing population of young children. When I moved into Detroit I thought I was doing some- These are small efforts, but they build trust and form bonds thing helpful. Sure, the gorgeous architecture I enjoyed in my with people whom I would have once labeled needy or help- apartment, located in a late 19th-century Victorian mansion less, and I hope that over time friendships, based on mutual- in the middle of the cultural district, was personally gratify- ity and solidarity, will result. ing. But I hoped that being an employed, tax-paying resident who cared about the city would somehow translate into sup- Front Porch Spirituality port for the nascent “comeback” that Detroit seemed to be A neighbor and good friend down the block works as a mounting. The more I learned about the city and conversed handyman and I have rarely seen a person put such care into with its longtime residents, however, the more I realized that his work and take so much satisfaction from it. The projects I needed to revise my personal narrative of being the social he has completed on our house have helped transform it into justice-minded person who was going to reach down to assist a home. He and his spouse have become dear friends, often the struggling urban population. I needed to start to under- joining us for holidays or evenings sipping wine on our front stand myself as a fellow resident without the condescending porches. When our friend’s van, containing all the tools of agenda. It is humbling to do this, but very necessary, especial- his trade, was stolen from the street in front of his house, my ly in a city with a history of racial tension like Detroit. As a wife and I were angry and heartbroken. Caucasian moving into a predominantly African-American Events like this, all too common in Detroit, spark within

September 21, 2015 America 25 me an “urban-living theodicy”—the question, why do good begging for money and food. This is a reality of urban life. people, who are generous neighbors, have to become the vic- One comes face to face with suffering people; these are fel- tims of crime? Crime is a reality in urban America, and one low city dwellers and many struggle mightily with addictions, cannot naïvely ignore that fact; but a violation of this magni- homelessness and poverty. In The Seven Storey Mountain, tude is often the last straw for those with the means to move Thomas Merton writes, “The more you try to avoid suffering, to the suburbs. We prayed this would not be the case for the more you suffer, because smaller and more insignificant our neighbors. My wife made our friends dinner and walked things begin to torture you, in proportion to your fear of down the block, bottle of wine in hand, to commiserate. Our being hurt.” City life does not easily accommodate isolation- 5-year-old son drew a picture to help “Mr. Dan” feel better ism or suffering avoidance. One is often encountering oth- about losing his tools. Eight months later the family has ers, hearing about the vibrant spectrum of human behavior somewhat recovered, and they still live on our street. I hope and experiences and attempting to either deflect or integrate they stay, but I also realize the enormous cost of doing so. these experiences. It is by doing the latter that one can expe- Sharing in the griefs and joys of neighbors and friends rience spiritual growth. is a formidable spiritual exercise. It can be emotionally ex- Five months after our block was illuminated, the city is hausting and requires patience, hospitality and a deep well ahead of schedule on its promise to turn on the lights in of compassion. I admit that I do not possess these qualities Detroit. Several neighborhoods, even some of the most in abundance and would sometimes rather bury my head neglected, are reaping the benefits of this basic service that in my own concerns and anxieties. But city life offers many folks in other places usually take for granted. It is too early avenues to transcend and avoid wallowing in one’s own in- to tell if this effort will deter crime citywide, but I imagine ner turmoil. Front porches, which are very common in our that my fellow Detroiters feel a sense of ease after the sun neighborhood but are rarely seen on newer homes, are won- goes down that some have not felt in decades. Numerous derful vehicles for sharing and conversing with neighbors. challenges remain, however, awaiting creative solutions. And In our neighborhood folks are encouraged to stop and chat as urban dwellers everywhere work to transform our cities, with fellow residents, whether they are longtime friends or we might just find the city is changing us, too, opening our unfamiliar faces. hearts to the people and places that make up our common Front porches are also places to which panhandlers come home. A

26 America September 21, 2015 They Know the Suffering Christ Why we need a church that is poor and for the poor BY STEPHEN P. WHITE

orge Mario Bergoglio had HUMANE TOUCH. Pope Francis with people of been pope for only three days Bañado Norte, a poor neighborhood in Asuncion, when he first uttered a phrase Paraguay, July 12. that has since become a re- Jfrain for his papacy. Speaking to a large gathering of journalists, the new bishop of Rome explained how he came to choose the name Francis:

And those words came to me: the poor, the poor. Then, right away, thinking of the poor, I thought of Francis of Assisi.... He is the man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man.... How I would like a church that is poor and for the poor!

A church that is poor and for the poor—these words evoke the sim- plicity of the Poverello, the radical detachment of St. Ignatius, and echo the Magnificat. But beyond their lyr- icism and beauty, what, exactly, do these words mean? We can identify two ways that the church is for the poor. The first is that the church seeks to provide for the needs of the materially and spiritually poor. We typically associate this first way of being for the poor with works of mercy. The 25th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel sets forth the spiritual works of mercy: instruct the ignorant, counsel our obligations to the “least of these”: feed the hungry, give the doubtful, admonish sinners, suffer wrongs with patience, drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, forgive willingly, comfort the afflicted and pray for the living care for the sick, visit the imprisoned. The church tradition- and dead. These are concrete ways in which the church can ally adds a seventh, bury the dead. There are also, of course, be for the poor, providing material and spiritual goods that are otherwise lacking. Now the body of Christ, the church, does all these things STEPHEN P. WHITE is a fellow in Catholic Studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., and coordinator of the Tertio and more, even if individual members do not. If the Gospel

Millennio Seminar on the Free Society. is to be believed, we will be judged on our care for the “least HARING CNS PHOTO/PAUL

September 21, 2015 America 27 of these.” And it is this reality—that we stand under God’s But when the kindness and generous love of God our judgment—that underscores the ultimate inadequacy of our savior appeared, not because of any righteous deeds we own works of mercy. The only mercy we can offer the world, had done but because of his mercy, he saved us through or one another, is temporary and incomplete. Our mercy, the bath of rebirth and renewal by the holy Spirit, without God’s mercy, is vain. whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ This brings us to the second way in which the church is our savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and for the poor: the church is for the poor in that we, the mem- become heirs in hope of eternal life (Ti 3:4-7). bers of the body of Christ, are all afflicted by sin and the poverty of our fallen condition. God’s perfect response to God chose to open the font of his divine mercy in the most our most profound poverty is his mercy, and the Catholic acute moment of his own poverty upon the cross. Church, founded by Jesus Christ, is the privileged conduit of So a “church for the poor” directs us to the work of mercy, that mercy—the very sacrament of our salvation. God for- which points ultimately to God’s mercy, by way of his chosen gives sins. He saves. He grants eternal life. Whatever tempo- poverty. And this is where we come to see fully what Pope rary good we may accomplish by our own works of mercy, Francis means by “a church that is poor.” Following Christ’s they can never replace that divine mercy, but instead serve as example, a church that is for the poor in the way Christ is for its heralds. That is not to denigrate our works of mercy but the poor must, in some important sense, also be poor itself. to insist on their inadequacy to the poverty of sin. When our If Christ identifies himself with the poor in a special labors on behalf of the poor—our works of mercy—are cut way—“Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of off from the proclamation of the One Who Saves, our work mine, you did for me”—and became poor himself, how can remains sterile, merely human. the church, the body of Christ, do otherwise? In his first homily as pope, Francis made this point in In our society, we conceive of our obligation to the poor the starkest terms: “We can walk as much as we want, we almost exclusively as a function of distribution, of moving can build many things, but if we do not profess Jesus Christ, goods from those who have to those who have not. The up- things go wrong. We may become a charitable N.G.O., but shot is that our discussions of poverty tend to be overtly not the church, the bride of the Lord. “ materialistic, focusing on the efficiency and efficacy of public The point is that a church that is truly for the poor must versus private means of redistribution, the comparative im- concern itself with temporal needs but must also offer some- portance of economic growth versus economic stability and thing eternal that exceeds the limits of mere human agency. so on. Such questions are far from unimportant, but they The church is for the poor in the most profound sense when touch on only one dimension (not the most important di- it acts as a channel for God’s saving grace and becomes an mension) of the church’s option for the poor. instrument of his mercy. Such a truncated view of things can lead us to confuse This is why, in Catholic social teaching, the preferential justice and charity (by treating as charity what are, in fact, option for the poor is to be understood primarily in terms of matters of “mere” justice) while simultaneously obscuring the saving action of Christ in and through his church. the truth that love finds its fullest expression in mutuality In his apostolic exhortation “The Joy of the Gospel,” Pope and reciprocation. So while our affluent society finds it com- Francis observed how grossly undervalued the church’s pref- paratively easy to think about distributing goods to the poor, erential option for the poor becomes when it is understood it never seems to occur to most of us that we might view the principally as a social or political directive, though it certain- poor as more than receptacles for our beneficence, still less ly serves those roles as well (No. 198). He writes: that those poorer than ourselves might possess something that we lack and need. Rather than take the risk of being For the church, the option for the poor is primarily a receptive and vulnerable to them, we allow them to remain theological category rather than a cultural, sociologi- strangers, alienated and excluded. cal, political or philosophical one. God shows the poor How different from the example Christ gives! We see “his first mercy.”... This option—as Benedict XVI has this most dramatically in his Passion. The word itself—pas- taught—“is implicit in our Christian faith in a God sion—points to an “undergoing.” He endures pain and suf- who became poor for us, so as to enrich us with his fers death for our sake. But even before his final suffering, he poverty” (No. 198). “undergoes” and “endures”—he suffers—our very humanity by taking it upon himself in the Incarnation. God’s improbable mercy was made available to us in an God, who is the fullness of being, lacking in nothing, takes equally improbable way, through God’s own poverty. In tak- on our nature and opens himself to receive our love—not ing on our humanity, God chose to share in our poverty and as a master receiving the obeisance of a slave but as father used that poverty to accomplish our salvation: receiving his son and as brother receiving brother. God be-

28 America September 21, 2015 came poor so that we, who are infinitely beneath him, could their lives and to put them at the center of the church’s love him like family; dare I say it, like equals. He submits pilgrim way. We are called to find Christ in them, himself to our friendship; he suffers us to love him. to lend our voice to their causes, but also to be their How shocking—almost blasphemous—that God per- friends, to listen to them, to speak for them and to mits us to love him this way! embrace the mysterious wisdom which God wishes to God became poor to enrich us by his poverty. The option share with us through them. for the poor, then, arises from the very heart of the mission of the church because it is central to the saving mission of Christ’s command to care for the poor is a call to charity, Christ. In his love and mercy he treats us, lowly sinners that which always requires the humility which allows us to see we are, as though we have something to offer him. He loves the least of these as more than just recipients of our charity. us and lets us love him. When we approach the poor and suf- “We need to let ourselves be evangelized by them.... We are fering with this same humility, we discover a privileged place called to find Christ in them.” of encounter with Christ, who is already there amongst his A church that is for the poor loves the poor and shows beloved poor who know and experience his suffering in a them mercy in body and soul. A church that is poor is hum- special way. ble before the poor and suffering, and so imitates Christ, And this, finally, is why Pope Francis longs for a church who in his mercy opens himself to love and be loved even by that is poor and for the poor. He says so explicitly, immedi- sinners. A church that is poor and for the poor is a church ately following the passage in “The Joy of the Gospel” cited that knows the depths of the mercy of God and so under- above: stands that ignorance of the poor is ignorance of Christ. The Catholic Church, it bears repeating, is just such a This is why I want a church that is poor and for the church. Pope Francis’ wish is that it become ever more so, poor. They have much to teach us. Not only do they which is a great challenge to all of us who stand in need of share in the sensus fidei, but in their difficulties they God’s mercy: “For you know the gracious act of our Lord know the suffering Christ. We need to let ourselves Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor although he be evangelized by them. The new evangelization is an was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 invitation to acknowledge the saving power at work in Cor 8:9). A

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“I see my own choice as a way of honoring the choices made by my mother and grandmother, rather than to affirm any patriarchal prerogative.” —Martha Cordero, “No Surnames, Like the Saints”

September 21, 2015 America 29 VATICAN DISPATCH Francis in the U.S.A. ope Francis is now on his 10th followers of other religions and even of their devotion to family life and their foreign trip since his election in those who profess no faith. After two understanding of the demands of soli- PMarch 2013. This week-long decades of experiencing dismay, shame darity as well as the responsible use of journey (Sept. 21 to 27) takes him and anger at the sexual abuse and oth- their global power. first to Cuba and then to the United er scandals in their church, Catholics As we have read in his program- States and the United Nations and is are again feeling proud to belong to the matic document, “The Joy of the widely considered “‘the big one” of the church he leads, “a church that is poor Gospel,” and as he spelled out clearly in year. and for the poor,” a nonjudgmental the encyclical “Laudato Si’, on Care for He began his global travel last church that serves as a “field hospital.” Our Common Home,” this Jesuit pope January with a second trip to Asia, Recognized as the world’s leading from Argentina is calling Christians visiting Sri Lanka, a mostly Buddhist moral authority, also because of the to a new simplicity of life and a depth country, and the Philippines, the con- authenticity of his own of spirit that replaces tinent’s most populous Catholic coun- life, Francis has become Pope materialism, hyper-in- try. In June he made a one-day visit a powerful advocate for dividualism and the to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and the countless millions of Francis’ pursuit of constant Herzegovina, a state on Europe’s pe- voiceless poor people on radical pleasure with an integ- riphery that is still recovering from all continents and is taking rity that knows what it war. prophetic stances on issues message is to sacrifice, to live in Then in July he returned to Latin that directly touch their is clear compassion and soli- America to visit three countries on lives, like climate change, darity, to work for the its peripheries: Ecuador, Bolivia and poverty, human trafficking, and firmly common good, to care Paraguay. At the end of November, he immigration, corruption, rooted in the for creation, to show will go to Africa for the first time, to war and the arms trade. mercy and to attempt visit Kenya, Uganda and the Central Moreover, he is emphasiz- Gospels. to pattern our lives after African Republic. ing the urgent need for an Jesus himself. His radi- This first pope from the Americas economy that puts people, not profit, cal message is clear, simple and firmly is universally recognized as a pro- at the center, an economy with ethics rooted in the Gospels, which he never foundly spiritual and humble man, a that seeks to provide them with jobs tires of encouraging people to read. true follower of Jesus with unlimited and a dignified life. The first Latin American pope is love and passionate concern for the He comes to the United States pro- likely to communicate such concepts in poor, the migrants, people who are claiming that the poor are at the heart his talk to Congress, when he address- suffering, those on the peripheries of of the Gospel and affirming truths es the representatives of the people of society and the excluded. that are not only central to the church’s the United States, and in his address In two and a half years as leader of social teaching but are also an endur- to the United Nations, where he will the Catholic Church, he has shown ing part of the American heritage: de- speak to the world’s leaders. And since such an extraordinary ability to ex- votion to the common good, religious every papal visit is first and foremost a press God’s love for people in concrete liberty, freedom itself and economic visit to the local church, one can expect and original ways that he has inspired vitality. But he also comes as one who him to challenge the American church Catholics worldwide and gained the challenges those elements of contem- to be more missionary, to be a church admiration and respect of millions of porary society that contradict Catholic that includes, not excludes people, to social teaching and distort the best tra- be a church that puts the poor at the ditions of the nation’s heritage. center of its attention and knows how GERARD O’CONNELL is America’s Rome Pope Francis comes to embrace all to show mercy, to be a church in which correspondent. America’s Vatican coverage is sponsored in part by the Jesuit communities of the people of the United States and faith trumps ideology. the United States. Twitter: @gerryrome. is likely to encourage them to renew GERARD O’CONNELL

30 America September 21, 2015 FAITH IN FOCUS One in Spirit Life between Catholic and Episcopal churches BY GREGORY HILLIS

y parish is a Canada. In 2005, our short drive first son was baptized Mfrom the in our Anglican par- house. Every Sunday I ish, and as a lay read- see the same people at er commissioned by 8:30 a.m.: the older cou- the bishop to preach, ples whose children are I was honored to give grown, the many young the homily. We loved families with their chil- our parish, and I loved dren, the teenagers who the liturgical beauty of came with their parents Anglicanism, as well as but who would rather the richness and depth be in bed. This is the of its theological tradi- Mass I almost always tion. attend alone. There are The problem was a few others who are that I had ceased also alone, though not to identify with the many. Anglican tradition. I serve as an acolyte twice a month, of Episcopal liturgy and disaffected In the years before my reception into and on these Sundays I sit up at the Roman Catholics. Because this is my the Roman Catholic Church, I gradu- front beside the priest. On other family’s parish, I know these parishio- ally came to the realization that I was Sundays, I sit near the front of the ners more deeply than the ones at my theologically, sacramentally, spiritu- church with a family I know. Apart Catholic parish. My children play with ally Roman Catholic. I thought for a from them, I know the director of their children, and our families regu- while that I could remain part of the music and worship, the deacons and larly hang out together. During the lit- Anglican Church despite my leanings, the priests. Others in the parish are urgy I sit with Kim and my oldest son but I found that this introduced an of- mainly just familiar faces, although while his two brothers are downstairs ten intolerable tension between who I they are the people with whom I take for Sunday school. When it comes was inwardly and who I was outward- Communion each and every week. time for the Communion, we process ly. I longed to be in body what I already At the end of Mass, I drive home to to the altar rail where my wife and my was in spirit. pick up my wife, Kim, and our three son take Communion together. I cross The difficulty was that Kim did boys for the 10 a.m. liturgy at the my arms and am blessed by the priest. not, and she still doesn’t feel any need Episcopal parish we attend as a family. Apart from a few children, I’m the only to be anything other than what she Like my Catholic parish, this church person who does this. is—a Christian in the Anglican tradi- is thriving, filled with young and old We became an interchurch family tion. For me to cross the Tiber would from a variety of backgrounds. There on Pentecost 2007. On that day, after be to introduce an ecclesial disunion are cradle Episcopalians, ex-evan- a long period of personal and famil- into our family that neither Kim nor I gelicals who found life in the beauty ial discernment, I was received into were sure we wanted. Yet Kim demon- the Roman Catholic Church. This strated unwavering understanding and was not an easy step to take. Up un- love during this time of discernment, GREGORY HILLIS is an associate professor of theology at Bellarmine University in Louisville, til that point, Kim and I were active and we finally agreed that I should be-

Ky. members of the Anglican Church of come a Roman Catholic, even if the rest BOB ECKSTEIN

September 21, 2015 America 31 of the family, including our three sons, that the growth of marriages between Moreover, we strive as a family to remained Anglican. Practically speak- Catholic and non-Catholic Christians be a mirror of the Trinitarian commu- ing, this meant that I would become “calls for special pastoral attention” nion of persons, to model in our rela- a Roman Catholic while still continu- (“Familiaris Consortio,” No. 78). The tionships the generous love whereby ing to participate with my family in 1993 Directory for the Application of the persons of the Trinity share them- worship at their parish, and that they Principles and Norms on Ecumenism, selves so profoundly that multiplicity would participate monthly with me at published by the Pontifical Council for becomes unity. To cite the “Dogmatic my parish. Promoting Christian Unity, provid- Constitution on the Church,” the fam- I don’t mind attending church ed significant progress by opening the ily is the “domestic church,” and in the twice each Sunday. Nor do I mind be- door to the possibility of eucharistic domestic church that is my family, we longing—albeit in different ways—to sharing between interchurch couples. experience and foster a profound com- two communities of faith. When we Although the directory emphasizes munion of persons. It is a communion moved to Louisville, our family found that such sharing “can only be excep- in which the clear differences that exist an Episcopal parish that has wel- tional,” the possibility of exceptions en- between our traditions are acknowl- comed us, though some of its members couraged pastoral responses that went edged and experienced, in which the are confused about why I don’t take beyond rigid interpretations of canon ecclesial lines separating our traditions Communion, and I found a Roman law. Still, problems remain. are not blurred but transcended. Catholic parish that has been similarly The ecumenical directory contains It seems to me that families like welcoming. little guidance for eucharistic sharing mine are a tremendous gift to the But neither Kim nor I anticipated for children in interchurch families, and church. We experience the unity for just how complicated and painful our this continues to be an acute pastoral which Jesus prayed and therefore have situation would be. We both knew that need. Moreover, because there is not something worthwhile to contribute to my transition to Rome would put us in widespread familiarity with this direc- the church’s ongoing ecumenical dia- two different communions, but it was tory, pastoral responses at the local level logue. To open the door to eucharistic another thing entirely to experience to interchurch families lack uniformity. sharing among those who experience this separation. And as our oldest child Those of us who were hoping that a profound communion of persons grew old enough to take Communion, last October’s meeting of the Synod of in interchurch families acknowledges a whole new level of complexity set in. Bishops on the family would address that such communion truly exists, and We want our children to be exposed more clearly the pastoral issues facing would provide a foretaste of the unity to the fullness of the truth, goodness interchurch families, particularly in toward which we as Christians, and as and beauty of each of our traditions, terms of intercommunion, were disap- Roman Catholics, strive. but this raises practical questions with pointed. The one reference to “mixed The coming meeting of the Synod of no clear answers. Where should first marriages” warned that people in such Bishops on the family has many issues Communion and confirmation take marriages are in “danger of relativism to discuss, a few of which will under- place for our children? Can they ex- and indifference,” and only then men- standably dominate the conversation. perience these sacraments in both tra- tioned that they might have something However important these issues are, ditions? Can our children participate to contribute ecumenically. the synod needs also to acknowledge in the sacramental life of the Roman What is needed is a church that is more thoroughly and positively than it Catholic Church in a way that still willing to envision pastoral responses to did last October the gifts of interchurch honors and respects their roots in the interchurch families that move beyond families and to make more widely Anglican tradition, but also allows the tired narrative that the choice is known and understood the pastoral them to experience what it means to be necessarily between a narrow reading of opportunities for intercommunion be- Roman Catholic? canon law and indifferentism. Neither tween couples and families. More than I strive to teach them about my faith, of these options adequately addresses this, I hope that the upcoming synod but don’t want such teaching to be mere the communion that exists in my family will recognize that the communion catechesis. Kim and I want to give them and in families like mine. What we had of persons that exists in families like a full immersion into the Catholic faith, prior to my conversion, we continue to mine, as well as the depth of our belief but it is hard to escape the feeling that have—a shared devotion to Christ and and practice, would be supported and my church prefers to keep them on the his church, a shared desire to raise our nourished through common partic- outside looking in until they’re fully children to love the God who is love ipation in the Eucharist. For families willing to commit to Rome. and a shared experience of prayer and like mine long to be in body what we In 1981, St. John Paul II wrote worship. already are in spirit. A

32 America September 21, 2015

PHILOSOPHER’S NOTEBOOK ‘Tired of Living’ he Netherlands prides itself not all were chronic. One otherwise reported in which a large part of the on pioneering medical eu- healthy patient had tinnitus. A minori- suffering of those given euthanasia or Tthanasia. In 2001 it became ty perished on other grounds. Six peo- assisted suicide consisted in being aged, the first nation to legalize the practice. ple were killed for psychological rea- lonely, or bereaved.” Boer contests the The campaign to introduce euthana- sons; 21 for cognitive decline; 11were illusion that this expanding recourse to sia featured images of serene cancer killed simply because they were “tired euthanasia respects the patient’s free- patients calmly bidding farewell to of living.” Many of those tagged with dom. “Pressure from relatives, in com- life, surrounded by adoring children, “cognitive decline” suffered from de- bination with a patient’s concern for the grandchildren and the occasional mentia, which raises the question how well-being of his or her loved ones, is in great-grandchild in a pinafore. But as these patients could possibly have giv- some cases an important factor behind the number of euthanasia deaths rose en informed consent. The new category the euthanasia request.” Coercion now annually, psychological factors rather of “tired of living” aroused extends to the medical than physical pain became increasingly the greatest alarm among The profession itself. “A law prominent as a justification for lethal the clinic’s critics. Almost that is now in the mak- injections. certainly, some of these euthanasia ing obliges doctors who Dedicated to expanding the reach patients suffered from un- refuse to administer eu- of euthanasia, the Dutch Right to successfully treated depres- juggernaut thanasia to refer their Die Society founded the End-of-Life sion. Ennui, once a leitmo- has become patients to a willing Clinic in 2012. With typical Dutch ef- tif in moody French novels, colleague. Pressure on ficiency, the clinic uses mobile medical has suddenly become a a campaign doctors to conform to units to visit the homes of citizens who ground for execution. to eliminate patients’ (and in some are considering the euthanasia option. The End-of-Life Clinic’s cases relatives’) wishes The housebound, the elderly and the record reflected the broad- the disabled. can be intense.” disabled—anyone who might find it er national practice of Originally a call to difficult to visit a medical office—can euthanasia. According to compassion for patients now have the benefits of euthanasia de- official Dutch statistics, in 2013 there suffering intractable pain in the last livered on the living-room couch. In a were 4,829 cases of legal euthanasia, days of a terminal disease, the eutha- society where physician house calls are of which 42 were due to psychological nasia juggernaut has slowly become a rare, there is now one house call that is reasons and 97 to cognitive decline. eugenic campaign to eliminate the de- only a convenient phone call away. From a consumerist perspective, the mented, the seriously disabled and the Recently published in the Journal clinic’s euthanasia program has been a severely depressed. The burdensome of the American Medical Association, striking success. To meet demand, the are to be jettisoned, preferably through “A Study of the First Year of the End- clinic expanded its original 15 mobile their own carefully solicited consent. of-Life Clinic for Physician-Assisted units to 39. There is a waiting list of As the clinic’s brisk business indicates, Dying in the Netherlands” provides 100 patients requesting a lethal injec- the net for potential beneficiaries has a disturbing portrait of the operation tion on psychological grounds alone. now broadened to include those who of the clinic in its first year (2012-13). Even erstwhile supporters of eu- are just “tired of living”—which could The clinic gave lethal injections to 162 thanasia were alarmed by the portrait include many of us on a particularly out of the 645 people who requested of euthanasia practice sketched in the grim day. one. The majority of the euthanized clinic report. A prominent supporter This is not about freedom. This is suffered from physical diseases, but of the original 2001 law, the ethician not about palliative care. It is about Theo Boer, now condemns the practice. a steely utilitarianism and nihilism He criticized the growing numbers of conquering the advanced outposts of JOHN J. CONLEY, S.J., holds the Knott Chair in Philosophy and Theology at Loyola euthanasia cases and the standards ex-Christendom. University Maryland in Baltimore, Md. used to implement it. “Cases have been JOHN C. CONLEY

34 America September 21, 2015 Books & Culture

THEATER | MICHAEL V. TUETH toward dramas based on her own life experiences, for which she serves as CORRECTIVE ACTION writer and leading actress. In 2009 she received considerable attention Profiling the lives of men in prison and awards for her play “Everyday Rapture,” which chronicled her chang- risons have been very much in the purpose of the play, called Whorl ing attitudes as she moved from her the news these days, with in- Inside a Loop, is not to address these roots in a Mennonite family to pursue Pformation about our country’s important questions directly but rath- a career in New York theater. She next enormous number of the incarcerat- er to present a picture of prisoners’ ex- produced a more lighthearted piece ed, the resulting overcrowding, the periences and sense of self. And it does about her conversion to vegetarianism length of prison sentences for nonvi- so quite effectively. with the cute title of “Piece of Meat.” olent crimes, the behavior of many of The play is built on the real-life Her co-author of “Everyday Rapture,” the prison staff, the overuse of solitary experience of the award-winning ac- Dick Scanlan, a veteran of many confinement, the predominance of tress Sherie Rene Scott, best known Broadway and off-Broadway hits, has African-American men in prison and among theater fans for her critically returned to serve as co-author of this so on. There’s the hit television series, acclaimed and glamorous roles in sev- piece as well. “Orange is the New Black,” which is eral Broadway hits, like “Dirty Rotten Performing on a minimalist set inside a women’s prison. Now an Scoundrels,” “The Little Mermaid” and stage designed by the Tony winner off-Broadway play has opened that “Aida .” Christine Jones, the actors chosen to takes place in a prison as well. But In recent years Scott has moved play various roles begin with some

STAGE MOTHER. Ryan Quinn and Sherie Rene Scott in “Whorl Inside a Loop” PHOTO: JOAN MARCOS

September 21, 2015 America 35 physical exercises and warm-ups typ- the monologues of the inmates. the outside world are accomplished by ical of acting workshops. Scott, called Interestingly, their stories do not serve the moving of chairs and tables in flu- “The Volunteer” in the cast listing and as an attack on their imprisonment and id transitions. One of the performers wearing minimal make-up and typical its abuses. The speeches never include portrays a girlfriend of The Volunteer rehearsal clothes, based this play on false claims from the men that they while wearing a cloth on his head but her actual experience with Scanlan at are innocent. They are all in prison for also sporting a beard. Another one the Woodburne Correctional Facility, murder. Each of them admits that he of the six portrays Hillary Clinton, a medium security prison in upstate made a “big mistake” and is now paying whom Ms. Scott actually met at a hair New York, leading a one-day work- the price for it. salon in 2013, where the two women shop on personal narratives. At the If anything, the message seems to had a discussion about rehabilitation end of the day, some of the inmates be that convicted criminals may not be and recidivism. asked them to come back; and the idea that different from people outside the References to mothers come up arose to transform these monologues prison walls. A couple of times in the often in the play, particularly in a poi- into a show. The theater piece that play, a convict is described as having gnant monologue by one of the pris- emerged was then performed several done an “unspeakable, unforgivable” oners about his mother’s smile. The times in the prison and now arrives at act but he is “the nicest guy you’ll ever Volunteer herself occasionally men- the distinguished off-Broadway house meet.” A couple of the inmates describe tions her own son and wonders wheth- Second Stage Theater. (A percentage themselves as “someone who died but er he will ever make a “big mistake.” of the profits from the show are going didn’t die.” It is easy to see that, to some extent, to some of the men from the original This is all reinforced by the scenes The Volunteer becomes their moth- workshop.) in which the actors play other parts er-figure, a darker version, perhaps, of The cast, Ms. Scott, who is white, (while still dressed in their prison Peter Pan’s Wendy, the “mother” to The and the six actors who played the in- garb), like the prison officials and espe- Lost Boys in Neverland. mates, all African-American, engage in cially as The Volunteer’s friends in the But this story is not about the white various conversations and occasional outside world. The movements from person who saves or rescues people of confrontations that are built around scenes inside the prison to those in color. Their work on their stories may

36 America September 21, 2015 have given the inmates a better sense of al—and obscure—type of fingerprint probably anyone else to introduce con- their human dignity, but nothing is re- pattern. I found it difficult to see the temporary Chinese writing to English ally resolved at the end of the play. No relevance of the title. Perhaps it simply speakers. (He recently finished an 11- one gets a parole or a new trial. There represents the passport that someone year stint as professor of Chinese at is no climactic moment when every- needs to enter this world. Several ex- the University of Notre Dame.) one comes to some great realization. cellent plays in recent years have had Mo Yan’s novel opens in a small Instead, The Volunteer leaves them to odd titles that seemed to have nothing country village in Shandong province return to her own world, perhaps nev- to do with the story. There is no dog in 1960, just as the greatest famine in er to return, and that lack of any sense in Douglas Carter Beane’s “The Little recorded history (it killed perhaps 35 of finality gives the impression that Dog Laughed” nor any oral problems or 40 million people in two or three very little has actually changed in the in Terence McNally’s “Lips Together, years) is beginning to let up. Wan Zu, prison system. Teeth Apart.” nicknamed Tadpole, is a teenager at All in all, the play eventually turns Perhaps someone with a keener ap- the time, and his narration carries the into a meta-drama about putting on preciation of symbolism could explain story into the first decade of our cen- this play in a real theater instead of a this play’s title to me. In the meantime, tury today. It takes the form, in part at workshop and the struggles involved in I feel very much like The Volunteer, least, of an epistolary novel, set out in a the move, giving it a Brechtian charac- living in my own secure and happy series of letters from Tadpole, an aspir- ter. It offers a powerful example of how world but undeniably changed by my ing playwright, to his Japanese teach- telling one’s life story can bring a per- visit to this prison. er (whose father, during the war had son some dignity and self-worth. And jailed some of Tadpole’s family). that in itself can feel like a victory. Tadpole’s dramatic subject is his MICHAEL V. TUETH, S.J., is emeritus profes- One might complain about the title sor of communication and media studies at aunt, Gugu (Wan Xin), a true believ- of the show, which describes an unusu- Fordham University in New York. er in the Party and its doctrines, even when she herself is being persecut- ed during the Cultural Revolution of BOOKS | NICHOLAS CLIFFORD the mid-1960s. She is modern; she is scientifically trained as a midwife and CHINA’S CHILDREN obstetrician, proud to replace the dirty and superstitious practitioners of a FROG prior generation. Though Chairman A Novel Mao had earlier argued for large fam- ilies to raise China’s national stature, By Mo Yan, translated by Howard by 1970 the one-child policy had ar- Goldblatt Viking. 388 pp. $27.95 rived, and Gugu makes it her business to ensure that family planning, as the When this magazine’s literary editor Party euphemistically calls it, is relent- asked me to take on Frog, I protested lessly carried out: forced abortions, that I am simply a historian by trade, forced sterilizations, persecution of innocent of the entangling wiles and those who try to slip through the net. wherefores common in today’s literary Tadpole’s wife herself is one of Gugu’s circles. But he insisted, and just as well, victims. Having earlier borne a girl, because I found this novel fascinating. she tries for a boy in a covert second Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize in pregnancy, and the late term abortion Literature in 2012, a choice that was carried out by Gugu kills her (Tadpole controversial in many circles because himself reluctantly gives permission of his unwillingness to raise his voice for the procedure in the belief that his in support of dissidents like Liu position as army officer demands it). Xiaobo, who, though jailed by Beijing, Such policies have received a fair was awarded the Peace Prize in 2010. amount of press in the West. Just re- Mo Yan, in fact, means “Don’t speak” in 2009 and has now been brilliant- cently Barefoot Lawyer appeared, the and is the pen name of Guan Moye. ly brought into English by Howard record of Chen Guangcheng, a blind Frog (Wa in Chinese) was published Goldblatt, who has done more than human rights activist (also from

September 21, 2015 America 37 Shandong), whose activities trying to As an ex-student of mine, himself a literal minded. But Mo Yan’s writing is shield victims from the family plan- Beijing native, said to me, “He’s not a enormously lively. By all means, try it ning enforcers led to him being jailed, Beijing snob—as I am!” Rural life, as out. It’s a wild ride. his later escape from house arrest and Mo Yan sees it, has always been harsh, his flight with his family to the United and still is. His Shandong people are NICHOLAS CLIFFORD, of Middlebury College, States a few years ago. But though not the movers and shakers of Chinese taught Chinese history before retirement. He Gugu’s grim role remains central to modernity; modernization is being is the author of A Truthful Impression of the Country: British and American Travel Frog, there is much more going on in done to them, not by them. Writing in China, 1880-1949 (Univ. of this novel. A Swiss scholar, Andrea This is perhaps not a book for the Michigan Press, 2001). Riemenschnitter, has suggested that the book is, among other things, a cri- tique of China’s attempts to deal with TODD A. SALZMAN modernity since the early 20th century, and that an uncritical embrace of what A FALSE CHOICE were seen as Enlightenment and scien- tific values led to such horrors as the BEYOND THE ABORTION support a “pro-choice” platform that enforced family planning campaign. fundamentally violates the rights of Back in 1918 the great writer Lu WARS A Way Forward for a New vulnerable prenatal children. Many Xun (a communist literary hero, who Generation Republicans support governmental died fortuitously in 1936 before the intervention in the most intimate de- Party could see just how subversive he By Charles C. Camosy Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. cision a woman can make. Historically, was) published his Diary of a Madman, 221p $22 there is an evolution of this strategy a groundbreaking and highly influen- that was solidified politically with the tial story in the modernist style. “Save For those who believe there is a “hope- identification of Democrats as “pro- the children” is its last line. less stalemate” in the abortion debate, choice” and Republicans as “pro-life” But while a century ago, Lu Xun Charles Camosy compellingly un- and legislatively with the ruling of Roe wanted to save the children from the masks this “illusion” by exploring the v. Wade. These events have led to a rad- iniquities and superstitions of what he historical, sociological, ethical and ical polarization and oversimplification and his advanced contemporaries saw political dimensions of this debate, of the abortion debate, which does not as China’s traditional Confucian cul- and by proposing leg- accurately represent the ture, Mo Yan, though he doesn’t use islation that seeks to views of the majority of the phrase, may well be calling today substantially reduce Americans. for children to be saved from the kind the frequency of abor- Camosy’s study of scientism that led, among other tion. This proposal, the makes extensive use things, to the activities of Gugu and Mother and Prenatal of sociological data those like her under both Mao and his Child Protection to justify four signifi- successor Deng Xiaoping. Now, in her Act (M.P.C.P.A.), is cant claims. First, most old age, Gugu is at once proud of all the grounded in a feminist, people, even those who children her skills have brought into pro-life perspective identify as pro-choice, the world but tormented by the mem- that respects the hu- want greater restric- ory of all those (about a thousand) she man dignity of women tions on abortion than zealously prevented from being born. and the prenatal child are currently in place. Here Mo Yan, clearly enjoying himself, and confronts patri- Second, most people, gives his readers a strong dose of mag- archal structures that even those who identify ic realism, looking at Gugu who, now perpetuate abortion. as pro-life, want abor- with the help of her husband (a maker Camosy begins by pointing out tion legal in cases of rape, incest or dan- of clay baby dolls) is able to see (or so the politically inconsistent positions ger to the life of the mother. Third, the she thinks, at any rate) that her victims on abortion, the “Costanza strate- majority of millennials, Hispanics and can now be brought into the world gy,” where people who identify with a women support greater restrictions on through other mothers. particular political party actually sup- abortion. Fourth, laws are being passed Mo Yan comes from the country- port an ideology that is contrary to in various states to limit abortion and side and writes about the countryside. their political views. Many Democrats to support women who choose to

38 America September 21, 2015 have their babies (e.g., paid maternity abortion and proportionate reason— a just wage for women and men, are leave). Combined, these claims provide that is, “the harm to be avoided must be crucial to facilitate women’s authentic an opening for constructive dialogue proportionate with the harm caused.” freedom and choice. and policy development on abortion, Direct abortion aims at the death of Finally, Camosy explores the in- and lay the groundwork for Camosy’s the fetus and is always wrong; indirect terrelationship between these ethical investigation of four major issues sur- abortion does not aim at the death of issues and evolving public policy and rounding the complex ethical argu- the fetus but refuses or ceases to aid proposes a national abortion policy ments for and against abortion. the fetus. For Camosy, a proportionate in light of the evolving legal, ethical The first issue concerns the moral reason can justify indirect abortions in and cultural perspectives on abortion. status of the fetus. While it is undeni- cases of rape and to protect the life of Evolution in law, for example, the ably a human organism from a scien- the mother. shift from a woman’s “privacy” in Roe tific perspective, this does not indicate Drawing upon the pro-life feminist v. Wade to “undue burden” in Casey how it should be treated from a moral Sidney Callahan, the third issue inves- v. Planned Parenthood and social and perspective. Camosy explores a spec- tigates women’s freedom and argues policy changes that have made the cri- trum of moral arguments, from Peter that legal access to abortion and eco- teria for an “undue burden” harder to Singer, who argues that personhood nomic and social pressures on women meet, such as the Affordable Care Act begins with “higher end” traits like ra- to “be successful” reduce rather than that provides the working poor access tionality and self-awareness, to those increase women’s freedom. These so- to health care, limit the legal and mor- who argue on the basis of the fetuses’ cial pressures emanate largely from al claims for an abortion. In light of “potential to become the kind of thing patriarchal structures that control these evolutions, Camosy proposes the they already are.” Camosy defends a women and pit them “against their M.P.C.P.A., which guarantees equal hybrid of the two, “the natural poten- own offspring.” Revealing, critiquing protection before the law for the pre- tial for ‘trait X’” and defends the moral and transforming social structures that natal child, women during pregnancy, value of the fetus. perpetuate violations of human dignity support of mother and child during Second, Camosy explores the mo- and creating and financially supporting and after pregnancy, and justifies “re- rality of abortion relying on Catholic structures that facilitate human digni- fusal to aid,” i.e., indirect abortion, distinctions between direct/indirect ty, including prenatal care, daycare and “for a proportionately serious reason,”

September 21, 2015 America 39 including saving the life of the moth- hand, justifying indirect abortion in through life with its beauty and trage- er, rape and a terminal diagnosis of these cases is inconsistent with de- dy, one day proclaiming the greatness of the prenatal child. This legislation fined Catholic doctrine but is arguably the Lord and the next day lamenting his could save hundreds of thousands of a needed corrective to that doctrine. absence. But we can guess in only a few lives a year, promote women’s, men’s Also, Camosy’s concern with orthodox instances when exactly Herbert wrote and prenatal children’s human dignity Catholicism and deference to magiste- his poems. Quite reasonably, therefore, and facilitate attaining more just social rial authority overlooks the polarizing Drury infers that they came out of the structures. role some bishops who exercise that cycle of experiences that happen to us Camosy turns to Catholic teaching authority have played in the abortion all—including the spiritual rhythms of on abortion throughout the book and debate. the liturgical calendar—and connects claims that his argument is “consistent Camosy’s book is accessible and a his criticism of a particular poem to a with defined Catholic doctrine.” On must-read for those who want to move suitable moment in Herbert’s life. the one hand, his citation that “faith- beyond the abortion wars. A way for- That life was a quiet one, as Drury ful Catholics may support incremental ward that all reasonable people can puts it, “with a crisis in the middle.” legislative change if the political reali- embrace is to keep abortion legal but George Herbert was born into a bois- ties give you a proportionately serious rare. The devil, as they say, is in the terous, hospitable family in 1593, near reason to do so,” reflected in the U.S. details, but we must resist demonizing the end of the reign of Elizabeth I. His bishops’ own support of the Hyde those who attempt to work out those mother Magdalen had a great influence Amendment (which Camosy does details. on him and introduced him to the lit- not mention) that allows for abortions erary and cultural elite of the day. John in the case of rape, incest and to save Donne was a close family friend; later in TODD A. SALZMAN is a theologian at the the life of the mother, are consistent Center for Health Policy and Ethics at Creighton Herbert’s life he would become close to with Catholic doctrine. On the other University. Francis Bacon. After growing up in Oxford and London, Herbert received a fine hu- NATHANIEL PETERS manist education at the Westminster School, at the time under the great lin- A POETRY OF CONFLICT guist and theologian Lancelot Andrews, MUSIC AT MIDNIGHT weaves historical narrative and criti- who would go on to become a leading The Life and Poetry of George cism seamlessly, without using one to translator of the King James Bible. At Herbert do the other’s work; he never over-psy- Westminster he became steeped in By John Drury chologizes his subject; and his book is Latin poetry, for which he was first to University of Chicago Press. 416p $35 a pleasure to read (not gain fame. A “priggish” to mention look at, giv- and “immature” un- John Drury has pulled off quite a feat. en the interesting pho- dergraduate at Trinity Where previous scholars of George tographs, illustrations College, Cambridge, he Herbert have focused on literary crit- and maps). A chaplain grew in his literary skill. icism or the poet’s place in history, and fellow of All Souls Disputations in Latin Drury has combined the two to im- College, Oxford, Drury were an important part merse his readers in Herbert’s world also does great justice to of college life, which, and work. the theological content Drury notes, helps to This is difficult work for a number of Herbert’s poetry. This explain why Herbert’s of reasons. First, history and literary is exactly the kind of poems frequently are criticism are distinct tasks with dis- book that lovers of his- structured as debates or tinct tools, and one cannot unite them tory, theology or poetry dialogs. well if one confuses them. Second, the will enjoy. After receiving his attempt to weave poems into their au- Herbert’s English po- bachelor of arts degree, thor’s life easily produces anachronism etry is, as he himself put Herbert went on to be- or too much psychological speculation. it, “a picture of the many spiritual con- come a fellow of Trinity College. He Third, a book could become ponder- flicts that passed betwixt God and my found himself caught between conflict- ous or scattered. soul.” They are clear, intimate insights ing desires: to pursue theological study Drury avoids all of these pitfalls. He into the soul of one man as he goes and ordination to the priesthood, and

40 America September 21, 2015 to become the next orator of the uni- rectitude. Herbert sometimes seems so pathy and accuracy the theological versity. The oratorship, a plum admin- contemporary that if one were to make allusions and puns of “Matins” and istrative post in which one composed any criticism of the book, one might “Evensong,” Herbert’s understanding of speeches in Latin for grand occasions, ask where Herbert’s religion ends and sin and evil in “Sin (II)” or how he artic- frequently led to greater secular posi- Drury’s begins. The sacraments and the ulates Augustine’s theology of love as a tions, including secretary of state. After person of Jesus, not to mention the re- weight in “The Pulley.” For his careful, a few public successes as a deputy ora- alities of sin and atonement, seem more lucid and comprehensive work, scholars tor, Herbert was chosen to assume the essential to Herbert’s faith than perhaps and armchair readers alike should give position. In his own time, he was better Drury makes them out to be. Drury great thanks. known for his Latin poetry and rheto- That question should not detract ric, both of which are excellent though from Drury’s achievement, however. NATHANIEL PETERS is a doctoral candidate less studied today. At the height of his Few critics could explain with sym- in historical theology at Boston College. career, Herbert wearied of oratory and courtly life. He resigned the oratorship, married, became a priest and dutifully served his flock as a country parson for the rest of his days until his death in 1633, a month shy of 40. Herbert’s English poems remained intimate reflections on life and God, and were published only after his death. John Donne’s poetry is grand, stormy and emotional, while Herbert valued lucidity and simplicity. The former is famous for “Batter my heart, three per- son’d God”; the latter for “Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back.” When the young John Ruskin first traveled to Florence, he wrote that he became more pious because of reading Herbert first and secondarily from see- ing Fra Angelico. A comparison of the two is apt, for each creates a scene of quiet beau- ty that reflects theological truth. Fra CLASSIFIED Angelico’s theology was that of late me- dieval Catholicism, while Herbert was a Sabbatical WANT YOUR AD HERE? THE SAT SABBATICAL. A holistic experience quintessential Anglican, keeping to the in the San Francisco Bay Area. Come for a full- Visit americamagazine.org. middle ground between Archbishop length, semester or summer sabbatical. The SAT Email: [email protected]. Sabbatical Program at the School of Applied Laud and the Puritans. In his treatise Call 212-515-0102. on pastoral care, for instance, Herbert Theology provides laity, ordained and women/ men religious with an integrated approach to sab- greatly valued traditional religious fes- Ten-word minimum. Rates are per word bath rest, theological renewal and spiritual trans- per issue. 1-5 times: $1.50; 6-11 times: formation. SAT offers optional short courses in tivals, processions and blessings: “In the $1.28; 12-23 times: $1.23; 24-41 times: time of Popery, the Priest’s Benedicite, contemporary spirituality, theology, Scripture and personal development from leading presenters $1.17; 42 times or more: $1.12. For an and his holy water, were over highly val- throughout the Bay Area and the United States. additional $30, your print ad will be posted ued; and now we are fallen to the clean For more information visit www.satgtu.org, send on America’s Web site for one week. The contrary, even from superstition to cold- us email at [email protected], or call (510) flat rate for a Web-only classified ad is ness, and atheism.” Remaining skepti- 652-1651. $150 for 30 days. cal of speculative theology’s ability to achieve clarity, he placed greater value America (ISSN 000-7049) is published weekly (except for 13 combined issues: Jan. 5-12, 19-26, April 13-20, May 25-June 1, June 8-15, 22-29, July 6-13, 20-27, Aug. 3-10, 17-24, Aug. 31-Sept. 7, Dec. 7-14, 21-28) by America Press Inc., 106 West 56th on charity, intimacy with God through Street, New York, NY 10019. Periodical postage is paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing offices. Circulation: (800) 627- 9533. Subscription: United States $69 per year; add U.S. $30 postage and GST (#131870719) for Canada; or add U.S. $69 per prayer and pastoral work than doctrinal year for international priority airmail. Postmaster: Send address changes to: America, P.O. Box 293159, Kettering, OH 45429.

September 21, 2015 America 41 THE WORD The Challenge of the Word TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (B), SEPT. 27, 2015 Readings: Nm 11:25–29; Ps 19:8–14; Jas 5:1–6; Mk 9:38–48 “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!” (Nm 11:29)

lthough a knowledge of histo- sionals or experts but for disciples who your neck and you were thrown into the ry, ancient languages, and the want to guide their life according to sea.” We find in the Gospel that God Aculture and society of ancient its teachings, and it matters that every wants us to care for the weak, to sustain Israel and the Roman Empire are help- Christian reads the Bible “in tune” with the “little ones who believe in me,” to of- ful for biblical interpretation, ordinary God’s spirit. fer justice. God asks us to live our faith, readers, without any of these scholarly Reading the Bible is the means by to nurture the vulnerable, not just talk tools, sometimes get to the heart of the which we come to witness God’s about the faith or interpret it. meaning of biblical passages far more activities among the Israelites And God promises, we quickly and acutely than experts. and read of God’s Spirit work- learn in the Bible, that The academic expertise necessary ing among them. We learn there are consequences to study the Bible professionally— that Moses said, “Would that for our behavior, a prom- knowledge of Hebrew, Greek, archae- all the Lord’s people were ise of judgment, where we ology, textual criticism and rabbinic prophets, and that the Lord will be called to give an ac- Judaism—takes years to accumulate would put his spirit on them!” count for our behavior, per- and can lead to profound insights into We learn, that is, that God’s haps now or in the future, in the Bible and the biblical world. So spirit is not intended for a few a place called Gehenna, or as what holds expert readers of the Bible members of the elite but for each from understanding the Bible? woman, man and child. PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE Bernard Lonergan, S.J., said that We learn also of the false Gospel Sometimes we fall back on ways of what was necessary for both profes- of current prosperity preachers from understanding the Bible which are sional and everyday readers to truly our encounter with James, who says: comfortable to us or do not challenge us. understand the Bible was conversion, “Come now, you rich people, weep When you read the Bible, what passages challenge you the most? How is God by which he meant intellectual, mor- and wail for the miseries that are troubling you to live your life according to al and religious conversion. Religious coming to you. Your riches have rot- the Gospel? conversion for readers of the Bible is, ted, and your clothes are moth-eat- A. DUNNE TAD ART: however, essential, for it is “the transi- en.” It challenges us not because the it is often translated into English, Hell. tion from the horizon of this-worldly interpretation of the passage is difficult For all of these reasons, biblical in- commitments to the primacy in one’s but because so many of us are rich and terpretation is too important to leave life of the love of God” (Ben F. Meyer, want to find a way to soften the clear to the experts, though experts have Critical Realism and the New Testament, message directed at us. True interpret- much of value to say, because under- pg. 69). Unless an interpreter is “in tune” ers ask not to change the Bible to our standing the Bible concerns our eter- with the world of the text and in love liking, but to be transformed by God’s nity. Our ability to understand the with God, the tools of the expert do not spirit challenging our ways. truth of the Bible depends on our always bear fruit. God does not desire the proper aca- willingness to hear all of the Bible’s Why does such an esoteric discus- demic curriculum vitae, but saving be- message, especially the passages that sion matter? It matters because it is not havior, since “whoever gives you a cup trouble and challenge us, because that truly an esoteric discussion. The Bible is of water to drink because you bear the is where conversion is often most nec- not primarily a playground for profes- name of Christ will by no means lose the essary. Conversion turns us from being reward. If any of you put a stumbling hearers of the Bible to doers, and from block before one of these little ones who experts in interpretation to experts in JOHN W. MARTENS is a professor of theology at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn. believe in me, it would be better for you hearing the voice of God in our daily Twitter: @BibleJunkies. if a great millstone were hung around lives. JOHN W. MARTENS

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