OF MANY THINGS 106 West 56th Street n a sweltering morning this less like an official visit and more like a New York, NY 10019-3803 Ph: (212) 581-4640; Fax: (212) 399-3596 past August, my husband and homecoming. Subscriptions: (800) 627-9533 I sat in folding chairs in St. Of course Francis cannot make it to www.americamedia.org O facebook.com/americamag every U.S. city, and so we at America Peter’s Square hoping to meet Pope twitter.com/americamag Francis. Surrounding us were about 100 Media have worked hard to keep other couples, almost everyone dressed Catholics across the country connected President and Editor in Chief in either wedding dresses or tuxedos, with Francis’ comings and goings in Matt Malone, S.J. Executive Editors as part of the Sposi Novelli celebration. Cuba and here in the United States. Robert C. Collins, S.J., Maurice Timothy Reidy Italian for “new spouses,” the weekly Our reporters were on the ground Managing Editor Kerry Weber ceremony allows newly married throughout, bringing stories not just Literary Editor Raymond A. Schroth, S.J. Catholic couples a brief meeting with of Francis—as he canonized Junípero Senior Editor and Chief Correspondent the pope following his Wednesday Serra, chatted with schoolchildren Kevin Clarke audience. in Harlem and celebrated Mass in Editor at Large James Martin, S.J. Executive Editor, America Films After a prayerful audience and hours Philadelphia, among other events—but Jeremy Zipple, S.J. in the sun, our group, a sea of tulle and also of the people who came to see him. Poetry Editor Joseph Hoover, S.J. taffeta and ties, was escorted onto the We welcome you to engage with this Associate Editor and Vatican Correspondent steps of the basilica, as Francis drew content at papalvisit.americamedia.org Gerard O’Connell closer. And then—finally!—there he and to be a part of the America Media Senior Editor Edward W. Schmidt, S.J. Engagement and Community Editor was, within feet of us. One by one, community during this exciting time for Elizabeth Tenety each couple grinned and shook the our church. Associate Editors Ashley McKinless, Olga pope’s hand or embraced him. I had In the end, the story of Francis’ visit Segura, Sam Sawyer, S.J. Assistant Editors Francis W. Turnbull, S.J., rehearsed over and over what I would is, at its heart, a story of community. Joseph McAuley say in Spanish, but, when the time It has challenged American Catholics Art Director Sonja Kodiak Wilder came and Francis reached out his hand to acknowledge connections to those Editorial Assistant Zachary Davis toward me, I only managed to squeak who may hold differing political views Summer Interns Abbey Guerino, Robert out, “Thank you for your example of or those who may be on the periphery McCarthy Columnists Helen Alvaré, John J. Conley, S.J., mercy,” in English, while barely holding of society. It has reminded us that we Daniel P. Horan, O.F.M., James T. Keane, John W. back tears. In this brief and mildly should put as much effort and attention Martens, Bill McGarvey, Angela Alaimo O’Donnell, embarrassing meeting with the pope, I into welcoming our neighbor—the Margot Patterson, Nathan Schneider, Robert David Sullivan felt what Francis has been proclaiming poor, the suffering, the dying, the Correspondents John Carr (Washington), An- all along: a personal encounter is a imprisoned, those without a home thony Egan, S.J., and Russell Pollitt, S.J. (Johannes- powerful thing. or family or nation—as we have in burg), Jim McDermott, S.J. (Los Angeles), Timothy Padgett (Miami), Steven Schwankert (Beijing), This September, millions of welcoming Francis into our midst. David Stewart, S.J. (London), Judith Valente Americans had the chance to encounter It is a fact not lost on our nation’s (Chicago) Pope Francis during his trips to vice president. “I’m excited quite frankly, Moderator, Catholic Book Club Washington D.C., New York and as a practicing Catholic.... The whole Kevin Spinale, S.J. Editor, The Jesuit Post Michael Rossmann, S.J. world is getting to see what are the basic Philadelphia, including world leaders, Editorial e-mail prisoners and eager pilgrims. Prior to essential elements of what constitutes [email protected] this visit, Pope Francis had never been Catholicism.” Vice President Joseph R. Publisher and Chief Financial Officer Edward to the United States, yet his words and Biden told Matt Malone, S.J., president G. Spallone. Deputy Publisher Rosa M. Del Saz. Vice President for Advancement Daniel Pawlus. message have been with us almost daily. of America Media, in an exclusive Advertising Sales Manager Chris Keller. Devel- For more than two years now, news interview a few days before Francis’ visit. opment Coordinator Kerry Goleski. Business Operations Staff Glenda Castro, Katy Zhou, of Francis’ papacy and personality has In other words, the papal visit has Frankarlos Cruz. Advertising contact ads@ inundated many American Catholic put the spotlight not just on Francis americamedia.org; (212) 515-0102. Subscription households. His accessible, merciful, the man, but on the Gospel message contact/Additional copies subscriptions@ americamedia.org; (800) 627-9533 pastoral tone and the authenticity of his he proclaims and lives: Mercy. Always faith have clearly come across in both mercy. Over and over again, Francis © 2015 America Press Inc. Catholic and secular media, and many directs us back to Christ, who guides us Americans, Catholic or not, feel close to in our own journeys and whom we must Cover: Mosaic of the Resurrection in the Basilica this man who lives thousands of miles recognize in all those we meet along the of Our Lady of the Rosary in Lourdes, France. away in Rome. For many his arrival felt way. KERRY WEBER Wikimedia Commons/Vassil Contents www.americamagazine.org VOL. 213 NO. 9, WHOLE NO. 5102 October 5, 2015

ARTICLES 15 BRINGING NEW LIFE The Passion’s vocabulary of consolation Ronald Rolheiser

19 THE HOUR OF OUR DEATH Contemporary approaches to end-of-life care John J. Paris

24 STILL SEEKING HOPE Dealing with the aftermath of suicide Richard G. Malloy

COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS

4 Current Comment 15 5 Editorial Family Matters, Part 2

6 Reply All

9 Signs of the Times

14 Washington Front Faith on the Stump John Carr

26 Vatican Dispatch A Synod of Solutions? Gerard O’Connell

27 Faith in Focus The Joy of Another Day Mary F. Blehl

38 The Word The Spirit of Wisdom John W. Martens 19 BOOKS & CULTURE

29 TELEVISION “The Jim Gaffigan Show” POEM After This OF OTHER THINGS Digital Confessions BOOKS All the Wild That Remains; A Still and Quiet Conscience; The History of the National Encuentros

ON THE WEB Full coverage of Pope​ Francis’ visit to the United States​ with on-site reporting from ​America​’s editors and contributors. Visit papalvisit.americamedia.org​ ​ for commentary, photos and a timeline of the papal trip. 29 CURRENT COMMENT

refugee camp and food and water supplies. A hospitalized Open Doors, Open Hearts 20-year-old man with bandages covering burns on 65 In more than two years as pontiff, Pope Francis has not yet percent of his body told The New York Times (9/13), found the time to take a break at the famed papal vacation “They are targeting the whole population,” which included home in the hills of Castel Gandolfo. But that does not seven members of his family. The dead now total 4,500. mean others cannot enjoy it. Francis recently opened the The civil war reflects the region’s Shiite-Sunni split and doors of the papal summer residence to tourists, who can a rivalry between the Islamic State and Al Qaeda. Human reach the botanical and architectural beauty of the gardens Rights Watch and Amnesty International have described and buildings there by taking a chartered train that runs the bombing as a war crime. The Obama administration between Vatican City and Castel Gandolfo. has declined to publicly chide Saudi Arabia, an important Reporters on the inaugural journey on Sept. 11 rode ally in the Iran nuclear pact. But the United States has a a 1915 coal-powered steam locomotive, but everyday clear moral obligation to cut off any arms sales to the Arab travelers will ride a more eco-friendly electric train. Visiting coalition until this slaughter stops and to use its power to the attractions will not only offer a chance for visitors to stop this terrible little war. experience a part of Catholic history; it will also help the merchants in town, who in the past have relied upon an influx of tourists arriving to pray with popes in the summer Civility Course months. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is used to drawing The decision to literally open the doors to church big crowds. But the 12,000 students who packed Liberty structures is one that Francis has emphasized throughout his University’s auditorium on Sept. 14 were not his typical papacy and encourages both transparency and community. audience. The self-described democratic socialist “Empty convents are not ours, they are for the flesh of candidate for president had accepted an invitation from Christ: refugees,” Francis said in 2013. He again emphasized the evangelical Christian college, well known for its this last month, when he called on “every” parish and religious conservative politics, to give its fall convocation. community in Europe to take in a Syrian refugee family. This Mr. Sanders did not hide the fact he and many in the is a model that can be followed in more peaceful times, as crowd likely did not see eye to eye on abortion and same- well. We must ask: What church spaces can be made more sex marriage. But that did not keep the senator from welcoming to people in need? Are there empty rooms that seeking common ground. Mr. Sanders touched on many could be filled with young volunteer groups or intentional of his usual talking points but asked those listening to communities? The church must make sure that we offer both “put this in the context of the Bible.” He quoted the Book open hearts and open doors to all who knock. of Amos and the Gospel of Matthew when condemning income inequality. He said that none of “God’s children” Death in Yemen should die because they lack health insurance. And Mr. “I saw a bomb exploding in the air and pouring out many Sanders appealed to his family values in making the case smaller bombs,” said Muhammad al-Marzuqi, a villager for paid family and medical leave. The response to his in Malus, Yemen. It was a cluster bomb—a particularly speech was respectful, though not enthusiastic. vicious weapon banned by a 117-nation agreement that This is the type of civil discourse our country neither the United States nor Saudi Arabia signed— desperately needs. Instead of denigrating those with which sends thousands of bomblets and metal fragments different beliefs, Mr. Sanders asked them to take their faith over a broad area. Thrown to the floor, unconscious, seriously. For their part, the students and administration of with burns and wounds all over the left side of his body, Liberty University should be commended for welcoming Muhammad woke up in the hospital. For over six months a voice that was sure to challenge and even offend many a coalition including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United listeners. There is an unfortunate trend on campuses Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan and Morocco, along today to retract invitations from “controversial” speakers of with Egypt and Sudan, has been waging war against the every ideological stripe, from Bill Maher to George Will, Houthis, rebels who drove Yemen’s president into exile. if enough students find their views disagreeable. Bernie The bombings, which have become random and daily, Sanders and Liberty have demonstrated that respectful have devastated a country that is among the poorest in the dialogue is possible. The presidential campaign will be world, destroying cities, roads, neighborhoods, hospitals, a much more fruitful if others follow their lead.

4 America October 5, 2015 EDITORIAL Family Matters, Part 2

ast month Pope Francis surprised the Catholic world stories of women, mostly working and with two decrees aimed at streamlining the annul- middle class, who had no choice but to Lment process in the church. The pope’s decrees did return to work just weeks after giving nothing to change church teaching on the indissolubility of birth. Natasha Long recounts crying as marriage, but they should mean that Catholic couples who she pumped breast milk in the parking seek an annulment will not have to face what many had lot of the factory, which had no lactation come to perceive as an unnecessarily onerous, costly and room, to which she returned three weeks even punitive bureaucratic process. after her child was born. In a country where only 13 per- We hope these reforms will encourage Catholics to cent of workers have access to paid family leave, there are reconsider the healing potential of the annulment process too many women like Ms. Long, who in the words of Pope and perhaps open a path back to the church for many who Francis, are held “hostage” to work. Surely the church should thought an annulment was impossible for them. Only time be on the forefront of the fight to reclaim this sacred time of will tell if that ambition is achieved. The current figures are bonding between mother and child. not encouraging. Beyond this country’s borders, threats to the family According to the Center for Applied Research in the are even more immediate. The civil war in Syria and chaos Apostolate at Georgetown University, about eight in ten of across the Middle East and Africa have torn children from the U.S. Catholics who began an annulment case eventual- parents and husbands from wives as those who are able to ly received a decree of nullity. But CARA reports that only flee seek refuge in Europe. Pope Francis has called on “every about 15 percent of divorced Catholics in the United States parish, every religious community, every monastery, every were willing to give the process a try. Many couples believe shrine of Europe [to] house a family.” As important as such their marriage has broken down beyond repair but cannot immediate acts of charity are, it is equally necessary for the accept the idea that their union was broken from the be- church to continue to take a stand against those who would ginning. What to do about those who have no intention of deny refugees their moral and legal right to flee persecution, availing themselves of the annulment process, or for whom whether at the U.S.-Mexico border or at the gates of Europe. it is not appropriate but who wish to remain connected to Catholics and people of good will all over the world the church, will surely be among the priorities of the second will be watching the deliberations of the synod with hope meeting of the Synod of Bishops on the family in Rome this as it grapples with these socioeconomic and political issues. month. We also hope that the relative paucity of references to these But also on the agenda are a number of other chal- problems in the synod’s working document is not a sign that lenges to contemporary family life that have not received as the synod will give little attention to these important mat- much media attention. Nonetheless, they represent acute ters. threats to the family that require the church’s attention, wis- Finally, there is another force assailing contemporary dom and even, at important junctures, advocacy. Since the Catholic families that calls for careful consideration. While synod’s first meeting in 2014, Pope Francis has dedicated some perceive the growing public acceptance of same-sex his weekly general audience to catechesis on marriage and unions as a grave threat to marriage, mere apathy may be the family, and has spoken frequently of the deleterious ef- doing far more harm to married life in America. CARA re- fects of poverty, social exclusion, war and migration on these ports that in 1965 there were 352,458 marriages celebrated institutions. in the Catholic Church in the United States. In 2014 only In an address on family and work on Aug. 19, for ex- 154,450 were celebrated, a decline of 56 percent. ample, the pope spoke of a “dangerous tendency” in modern The steep decline in sacramental marriage suggests organizations “to consider the family a burden, a weight, a that many couples do not see the need for spiritual support liability for the productivity of labor.” In the United States and strengthening of their family life. Along with the exter- this tendency and its devastating impact on working fami- nal challenges to family life, the church must also find a way lies are clearly evident in policies toward new mothers. An to encourage deeper recognition among the faithful of the investigative report by In These Times (Aug. 18) tells the sacredness of marriage and the family.

October 5, 2015 America 5 REPLY ALL ten to the voice of God speaking with cent from 33 percent. Are the charter a female timbre, I remain a staunch and schools perfect? Of course not: People The Missing Half happy practicing Catholic. complain about a strict, disciplinary en- Mention of the ordination of women VERONICA MEIDUS-HEILPERN vironment and high expectations, but to the priesthood was conspicuously Online Comment change is difficult and these types of absent from the letters that were cho- changes are needed. sen to deliver to the pope, or at least Needed Change KEN BALASKOVITS the topic was not mentioned in “Dear “Our Segregated Schools” (Editorial, Park Ridge, Ill. Pope Francis,” by Elizabeth Groppe 8/31) properly sets the vision for (9/14). I am certain Pope Francis is Christian education in the United Canonization Contradiction not so foolish as to think that women States. In order to realize that vision, Re “Serra’s Sainthood,” by Jeffrey M. have abandoned the idea so that it does we need to acknowledge certain reali- Burns (8/31): At this time in American not need to be continuously addressed. ties. First, the fact that inexperienced history, when the debate about rac- The patriarchal arguments put forth teachers are sent to inner-city schools ism rages again, it is disturbing that to continue this blatant discrimination is a reflection of union seniority pref- America would publish an article against more than half of the human erences and union work rules. These so wishy-washy about the coloniz- population is abominable. union practices have done more to keep er-in-chief Junípero Serra, O.F.M., as a I am certain that if Jesus Christ were inner-city children from receiving a proposed saint. walking the streets today, he would quality education than any other factor. The California missions are to the have several women among not only Second, look at the reality of the per- Native peoples what the Confederate his disciples but his apostles. The fact formance of (nonunion) charter schools flag is to blacks—they conjure up all the that women are “allowed” to be nuns, in New Orleans (the Recovery School pain and trauma that haunt the Indians to teach, to counsel, to do most of the Districts) in the past 10 years, since the to this day. As for the argument that we things priests do except celebrate the time of Katrina. Graduation rates have cannot judge the past by today’s stan- Eucharist and forgive sins is, frankly, increased to 73 percent from 56 percent dards, what is a canonization for except ridiculous. I am amazed sometimes and standard test results for third to to propose emulation of someone from that, despite this blatant refusal to lis- eighth grade have increased to 63 per- the past? Even in his own day, Serra was criticized for his cruelty (including by fellow Franciscans). This canonization STATUS UPDATE with a priest through confession to contradicts Pope Francis’ strong words On Sept. 8, Pope Francis issued two resolve the matter, so that the church about the “sin” of destroying indigenous papal documents that aim to make the can be part of the healing process and cultures. annulment process quicker, simpler and keep the family in the faith. MATTHEW FOX less costly in certain cases. Readers re- EMMET DELANY Online Comment spond. One of the blessings to come out of A Sullied Tribute an annulment is the opportunity for Perhaps other readers were as mystified I have great admiration for the Holy both parties to do a reflective “autop- as I was as to why Matt Malone, S.J., Father, but the church’s process for sy” on that relationship. What was felt the need to spoil the well-earned an annulment will continue to result my or my prior spouse’s understand- and excellent tribute to Mr. Carter with in a growing number of people leav- ing of marriage? Did we really under- the snarky rhetoric of “ethically-im- ing the church. To isolate divorce as stand what it means to be married? poverished imperial presidency” and seemingly the most grievous of all Were there obstacles to that under- “B-movie Hollywood blockbuster” in sins is beyond misplaced. So, a mur- standing? And in doing that autopsy reference to two former Republican derer can simply go to confession to you allow a person to have a better presidents (Of Many Things, 8/31). confess his sins, as can a child mo- understanding going into that next If the invidious comparisons were lester, a terrorist, a drug dealer and relationship. Annulment was never irresistible to Father Malone (better left more. If a family is breaking up, the intended to be punitive, but sadly our edited out, frankly), then he should have church needs to be there to support limited experience or understanding considered at least also contrasting Mr. the family, not to destroy their faith. of annulment often skews our per- Carter’s high standards of morality and I recognize that divorce is a serious spective of the gift that can be found governance in relation to Democratic matter, but let’s allow the conscience there. President Clinton’s low moral bar, of a divorcing party in consultation MARTHA BYRD BROYLES based on the relative definition ofis ,

6 America October 5, 2015 and President Obama’s governing prin- U.S. Army War College. His brilliance, John W. Marten’s focus on our sens- ciple of “my pen” over the constitutional however, has little to do with the flaws es as a pathway to seeing, feeling and distribution of checks and balances of of the Iran deal. Verification, the criti- connecting with spiritual realities. I’ve powers of governance (also both better cal element in any arms control deal, been a hospice volunteer for many left edited out, but fair play should level is the big problem. There is a 24-day years. Often, especially with people of the goose-gander playing field of mod- delay before inspection of nuclear fa- advanced age who have hearing, sight ern-day politics). cilities can be done. The delay would and cognitive deficits, the only way to JOSEPH W. BELLACOSA allow Iran to hide evidence. Moreover, communicate one’s concern and love is Ridgefield, Conn. the United States cannot inspect uni- through touch—hugging, massaging, laterally. It requires majority approval soothing sounds. The tactile, especial- Education Encounter by the joint commission of eight mem- ly, is paramount. The frailty and utter Re “Unplugged but Connected,” by bers. Americans are right to question dependence that the very old and very Mike St. Thomas (8/31): Thanks for the deal. ill experience and the anxiety and fear a thought-provoking article that gets GABRIEL MARCELLA these generate can be assuaged by a lov- to the heart of the dilemma facing our Carlisle, Pa. ing, tender touch, just as it is for infants. Catholic schools. There are many in WINIFRED HOLLOWAY the world of education (not to mention Beyond Homo Economicus Online Comment Silicon Valley) that seem to believe the The editors make a very good point in world was recreated on Jan. 1, 2000. It “Economy for the People” (Editorial, A Pastoral View is necessary for Catholic educators to 8/3). Though Adam Smith himself America’s interesting and scholarly think critically about the place of tech- saw the economy as an element of a series of comments on “Laudato Si’” nology in our schools. broader moral context, too often that (“Praised Be Creation,” 7/20) left me While an over-use of technology can connection is lost. But it seems to me with a feeling that something—or diminish human relationships, this is that this is only half the picture. If the someone—was missing. I would have not always the case. It is now possible observation that economics is a facet welcomed the views of what might be for American children to interact with of broader moral philosophy is cor- called a “pastoral theologian,” some- children in Peru and French children rect, we should expect that individual one whose theology is grounded and with their counterparts in Ivory Coast. conversion is as important as proper inspired by long and intimate contact I concede that these experiences are macroeconomic policies. Too many with women and men who live on the never the same as genuine personal in- Christians in particular have, I think, peripheries of this world. There must teractions, but they do offer opportuni- come to accept the lack of connection be many out there like the late Dean ties for children of different countries, as a given. If profit maximization is the Brackley, S.J., who constantly walk the cultures and even religions to learn to- only value, we can and do create great “villas miserias” of this world, as Jorge gether and share their ideas about the wealth, but we also create great social Bergoglio did in Buenos Aires, and can world. Given the universal nature of our costs. And these social costs eventually articulate their theology from that priv- church, this brings tremendous oppor- interfere with those very markets, not ileged place. tunities for our Catholic schools. The to mention the damage to the earth JOSEPH NANGLE, O.F.M. words of Pope Francis, quoted by the and its people. If we do Washington, D.C. author, stress that “encountering others” not begin to rediscover is at the heart of our human experience; the interconnection of this must be something that Catholic economic and other val- educators are conscious of and promote ues in each individual continuously. human heart, it is hard ADRIAN SCARLETT to see how we will policy Online Comment our way out of the box we are putting ourselves Judging the Deal in. Re “Diplomacy Deficit,” by Margot BRYAN VINCENT Patterson (8/17): Chas Freeman is Baton Rouge, La. a brilliant statesman and gifted writ- er and speaker. He served our nation Touch of Love well. We used his book on diploma- I so appreciate in “A cy and statecraft when I taught at the Sense of God” (8/3) HARLEY SCHWADRON CARTOON:

October 5, 2015 America 7 8 America October 5, 2015 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

PAPAL VISIT Jesus provided an answer that opened “a new horizon” for the dis- In Cuba, Pope Urges ciples then and for us today. He sets before us “the logic of love” that brings Young to Be Signs of Hope with it “a mindset, an approach to life, which is capable of being lived out by all, because it is meant for all”, and is “far from any kind of elitism,” even of a spiritual kind. Pope Francis concluded his first full day in Cuba on Sept. 20 with an inspiring encounter with Havana’s young people in a park near the city cathedral. Abandoning his prepared text and indifferent to the soaking rain, he urged Havana’s young to remain “dreamers.” He told them that a Latin American writer said we have two eyes: one of flesh and one of glass. With the first we see what we see, but with the glass we dream. “We need to have THE POPE’S CUBAN the ability to dream. A young “DREAMERS.” Young people cheer as Pope person who does not have this Francis arrives at the ability is closed in on himself or cathedral in Havana, herself.” Sept. 20. He urged them: “Dream that with you the world can be differ- inutes after arriving in Cuba on Sept. 19, Pope Francis hailed “the ent. Dream that if you give the best of process of normalizing relations between the two peoples of Cuba yourself, you’ll help to make the world Mand the United States” after more than 50 years of estrangement as a different place. But please dream, “a sign of the victory of the culture of encounter and dialogue” that “fills us with and dream big. And share your dream hope.” with others!” He urged the political leaders on both sides “to persevere on this path of peace One of the event’s speakers had and to develop all its potentialities as a proof of the high service that they are talked about the differences that ex- called to carry out in favor of peace and the well-being of their peoples, of all ist among Cubans because of ideolo- America, and as example of reconciliation to the entire world.” gies and religion. Pope Francis urged In a lengthy welcome speech, President Raúl Castro said he believed Pope Francis’ Cuba’s young people to seek the things visit would be “a transcendental and enriching experience for our nation.” By the time that unite them. “Let’s dare to talk the pope departed on Sept. 22, Castro’s expectation seemed well fulfilled. about what we have in common, and “Service is never ideological, for we do not serve ideas, we serve people,” Pope then we can talk about the differenc- Francis said in his homily at Mass on Sept. 20 in the Plaza de la Revolución in es,” Pope Francis said. He urged them Havana. Wearing green vestments, he began by recalling the embarrassing ques- to commit themselves to cultivate the tion Jesus put to the disciples who were discussing which of them was the most culture of encounter. important. Francis said this question—“Who is the most important?”—is one The pope was by now very wet that surfaces many times during our lives and to which we must respond. Indeed, from the rain, but he had one more “the history of humanity has been marked by the answer we give to this question.” word to share: hope. He told them,

October 5, 2015 America 9 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

“Young people are the hope of a na- please wish me well. And I will pray The number of poor people in the tion; they are its future.” He said hope for you!” He then gave them his bless- U.S. in 2014, according to the Census knows how to suffer, to turn a project ing, and to a mighty cheer from the Bureau, was 46.7 million, up from the into reality. young people he walked to the pope- previous year’s figure of 45 million, He then asked them to pray for mobile—drenched! which Catholic Charities used for him, and “if you are not a believer, then GERARD O’CONNELL its anti-poverty campaign. The 2014 number includes 15.5 million children. The Census Bureau said the size of the POVERTY increase is not statistically significant. Catholic Charities served nine mil- Catholic Charities Launches New lion individual Americans last year Campaign to Assist U.S. Poor through its 177 affiliates in the United eeking to create awareness tionally. The new campaign can help States and its territories. As to how the about poverty in the United increase awareness about their efforts other 36 million or more might have SStates and to stand in solidari- and allow them to help more people, been helped, Sister Donna said, they ty with Pope Francis’ commitment to he said. may have been served by other agen- the poor, Catholic Charities USA has Looking ahead to the Year of Mercy cies, but she suggested many merely launched a new national campaign. that begins in December, Sister Donna fall through the cracks, unaware that Donna Markham, a Dominican sis- said, “We’re ready to stand with [Pope help is available to them. ter, discussed the effort on Sept. Sister Donna said she expect- 10 in her first address as presi- ed Pope Francis’ address before dent and chief executive officer a joint meeting of Congress on of the organization during its Sept. 24 to be “disturbing to ev- national convention in Omaha. erybody” sitting in the gallery, The campaign, called #End45— regardless of political party. “I Raise a Hand to End Poverty in have no idea what that man’s go- America, reflects the 45 million ing to say. It’s going to be honest,” people in the United States who she added, noting, “I’m sure he’s live in poverty. “That’s scandal- FEED THE HUNGRY. Canned goods at the going to make everybody a little ous,” said Sister Donna, the or- Helping Hand Outreach Program at the Church uncomfortable.” ganization’s first female presi- of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary It is possible that from that in Washington. dent. sense of discomfort policy solu- The campaign is appearing tions may arise to give the poor a online nationwide on member web- Francis] as missionaries of mercy genuine boost, Sister Donna said. sites, Facebook, Twitter and other across this country and beyond.” In the meantime, Sister Donna in- social media accounts, with videos At a news conference at the dicated that some corporate leaders of people who have been helped by National Press Club on Sept. 17, less had approached Catholic Charities Catholic Charities. In addition, peo- than one week before the pope was about what they could do. Part of the ple are encouraged to show support scheduled to arrive in the United States, solution lies in getting people through by taking a picture of their hand with Sister Donna said Pope Francis “serves the day-to-day; she said 54 percent of “End45” written on their palm and as a powerful catalyst” for the change Catholic Charities clients who visit for post it to their social media channels American society needs in its regard the first time do so because they are using the hashtag “End45.“ and treatment of the poor and vulnera- hungry. “We are asking our country to work ble. Her remarks came one day after the But the second part of the equation with us to end 45,” said Sister Donna. Census Bureau issued its annual assess- is to give them a start that will allow John Griffith, executive director of ment of U.S. poverty. The new numbers them to shake off their poverty. Sister Catholic Charities of Omaha, said the are not only disheartening; they could Donna cited the food and horticultural local agency has long partnered with mean Catholic Charities will have to re- sectors of the economy as two that have other organizations locally and na- cast its “#End45” branding. a continual call for trained workers.

10 America October 5, 2015 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

October Is NEWS BRIEFS Respect Life Month Pope Francis named Brother Guy People discover their worth when they Consolmagno, a Jesuit from the United discover their true identity as created States, to be the new director of the in God’s image and called to an eternal Vatican Observatory on Sept. 18. • The destiny with him, said Cardinal Seán P. Archdiocese of Cincinnati is one of the O’Malley, O.F.M.Cap., archbishop of latest U.S. dioceses to heed the call of Boston and chairman of the Committee Pope Francis, announcing that annul- on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. ment fees would be eliminated effec- Conference of Catholic Bishops, in the tive Sept. 14. • Philippine church leaders conference’s annual Respect Life Month warned the faithful on Sept. 12 against Guy Consolmagno statement. Catholics and all people of making money out of reported “mir- good will in the United States are invit- acles” and “apparitions” of Mary after stories of weeping images of ed to participate in Respect Life Month. Jesus’ mother surfaced in local media. • Embracing Pope Francis’ re- Observed in October, it begins the year- quest to sponsor a refugee family, St. Anne parish in Vatican City long cycle of the Respect Life Program. welcomed a family of four from Damascus, Syria, on Sept. 18, spon- The theme of the 2015-16 program is soring the Melkite Catholic family in a Vatican apartment near St. “Every life is worth living.” In his intro- Peter’s Square. • TheDiocese of Lincoln, Neb., announced on Sept. ductory statement, Cardinal O’Malley 10 that it will take part in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ writes: “Whether it lasts for a brief audit of sexual abuse by clergy, the first time the diocese has done so moment or for a hundred years, each of since the audits began in 2003. • Calling himself “a bit feminist,” Pope our lives is a good and perfect gift. At Francis praised women religious on Sept. 17 for always heading to every stage and in every circumstance, the “front lines” to bring the church’s tenderness and motherly love to we are held in existence by God’s love.” those most in need—which he called “a beautiful witness.” Nothing can diminish a person’s God- given dignity or the worth of his or her life, he said, only that others may fail to the United Kingdom, a member of the content; it will also feature exclusive, respect human dignity. I.P.P. steering group. “An international in-depth coverage of events like Pope problem requires an international re- Francis’ visit to the United States in Parliamentarians Meet sponse.... Collective action is needed September. “This is the most com- now more than ever.” prehensive virtual connection to the On Religious Freedom Catholic faith available,” said Bishop In the face of rising religious perse- The U.S. Church Christopher Coyne, chair-elect of cution of people on the grounds of the Committee on Communications faith or belief, over 100 parliamentar- Gets an App of the U.S. Conference of Catholic ians from almost 50 countries met in The leadership of the Catholic Church Bishops, which created the app. “We New York City on Sept. 18 and 19 to in the United States has introduced its understand many people are looking discuss ways to advance freedom of first mobile application, called “USA for more ways to connect with the religion or belief. The event was co- Catholic Church.” Designed to draw church and incorporate Catholic liv- sponsored by the International Panel Catholics closer to their faith by pro- ing into their busy lives—that’s exactly of Parliamentarians for Freedom of viding access to church information what this app is designed to do.” The Religion or Belief, a network launched on all screens and devices, this is the “USA Catholic Church” app is free last year in response to the rising crisis only app that brings together infor- to download from Google Play and of religion- or belief-based persecution mation from all Catholic sources: Apple iTunes in English and Spanish by both terrorist groups and authori- parishes, dioceses, the U.S. bishops or visit www.USACatholic.church tarian governments. “There is a global and even the Vatican. Not only will from a smartphone or tablet device. crisis for freedom of religion or belief,” the app include religious news, daily said Baroness Elizabeth Berridge of Scripture readings and local parish From CNS, RNS and other sources.

October 5, 2015 America 11 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

DISPATCH | MIAMI from that larceny. President Juan Orlando Hernández’s Worth the Investment National Party admits it took hundreds of thousands of dollars from companies resident Obama wants to ear- Congress stripped him of his immu- involved in the crime. Hernández denies mark a billion dollars to aid nity from prosecution. It did so to he knew about it, but few Hondurans PCentral America—specifi- make him face charges that he took believe him. Calls for his resignation are cally, the isthmus’s “northern trian- part in a scandal in which high-rank- widespread. gle” of Guatemala, El Salvador and ing Guatemalan officials allegedly “Corruption like this, if it’s met with Honduras. pocketed tens of millions of dollars impunity, creates a fatal sense of na- The U.S. military’s Miami-based in bribes from importers wanting to tional hopelessness,” Wilfredo Mendes, Southern Command has labeled the evade customs duties. one of the protest leaders who recent- northern triangle the “deadliest zone What’s more remarkable: In a coun- ly went on hunger strikes, told me in in the world” outside Afghanistan try whose history is synonymous with Tegucigalpa last month. and Iraq. And for good reason. It is dark lawlessness, Pérez, a former army So are we watching a Central plagued by some of the world’s American Spring unfold? That is highest murder rates, thanks to The region’s epic still unclear. But the United States, the bloodthirsty, tattooed maras, whose chief aim is to stem the flow or street gangs, that control whole venality plays a large of desperate Central American mi- swaths of territory there. role in its poverty and grants, is taking the trend seriously. Combine that with the region’s The U.S. ambassador to Honduras, destitution—almost two-thirds violence. James Nealon, has met with protest of Hondurans live in poverty— leaders there to facilitate a reform and it is small wonder the United dialogue with the government. States has seen a surge in undocu- general and military intelligence chief, “The protest movement is a positive mented Central American migrants in went straight to a lock-up and then a thing,” Nealon told me. “We’re going to recent years, including the more than court hearing. Pérez denies the charges help [Hondurans’] efforts to confront 60,000 unaccompanied children who against him, but most Guatemalans the problem of impunity and corrup- showed up on our doorstep in 2014. seem convinced he is guilty. tion.” But there is a third factor that mer- What outrages them most about the Which brings us back to Mr. its far more attention than we outside import duties scandal is that Guatemala Obama’s billion-dollar plan, one of the Central America give it: corruption. already has one of the world’s highest largest foreign aid requests for fiscal In fact, the region’s epic venality— tax evasion rates. That has reduced its 2016. Instead of focusing on conven- and the way it bleeds national econo- public revenues to just a tenth of its tional security assistance, like military mies—plays a large role in generating gross domestic product, making it im- helicopters, it emphasizes more effec- the region’s poverty and violence. This possible to provide meaningful social tive strategies like police and judicial is why folks in the northern triangle and security services—in other words, reform—not to mention enhanced job seem to have finally lost all patience making the country ripe for economic and education opportunities and, per- with it—and why a president was not and criminal misery. haps most important, promoting more only thrown out of office this month The situation is even more appall- transparent governance. but thrown behind bars. Meanwhile, ing just to the south in Honduras. For There is a dilemma involved here, of the head of state next door faces street months now, Hondurans—not a peo- course. Dropping a billion bucks into a protests demanding the same. ple known for taking to the streets— region as corrupt as the northern trian- Guatemala’s President Otto Pérez have railed against a bribery and embez- gle is risky—but it’s also urgent. Either Molina resigned on Sept. 3 after zlement scheme that has gutted more way, it reflects Washington’s long over- than $300 million from their country’s due realization that the place to address public health and social security system. illegal immigration is not at our border TIM PADGETT, Latin America editor for NPR affiliate WLRN, isAmerica ’s Miami correspon- Their marches feature skulls on pikes but at its sources. dent. to symbolize the deaths likely to result TIM PADGETT

12 America October 5, 2015

WASHINGTON FRONT Faith on the Stump

have been searching in vain for an he called upon Christians to oppose Sanders, known more for his social- earlier column of mine in which I abortion and support religious liberty. ist label than for his Jewish identi- Ipredicted that Donald Trump and Bobby Jindal and Rick Santorum are ty. Democratic candidates seem to Bernie Sanders would surge, Hillary at the back of the pack. Chris Christie worship at the altar of “reproductive Clinton and Jeb Bush would be in is also far behind, but volunteered “I’m rights,” reflecting liberal orthodoxy trouble and Ben Carson would show a Catholic, but I’ve used birth control. more than a consistent ethic of life. unexpected strength in the race for the And not just the rhythm method.” The most compelling discussion White House. Ben Carson says he got into the race of these matters came on “The Late The way faith is playing out in the to answer God’s call and is gaining in Show.” Stephen Colbert and Joe Biden campaign is also a surprise. Donald Iowa. Governor John Kasich is doing talked about faith and family, personal Trump says he is Presbyterian, part of well in New Hampshire and defends loss and public service. The vice pres- a New York congregation, which said his Medicaid expansion ident anguished over he is not an active member. He admit- by saying that St. Peter is The whether he could fully ted the Bible is a better book than his “probably not gonna ask commit himself to a The Art of the Deal but could not iden- you much about what you candidate presidential race after tify any verses that guide his life. He did about keeping govern- who most the death of his son cannot remember asking God for for- ment small, but…what you Beau. Colbert asked, giveness but added “when I drink my did for the poor.” quotes Pope “How has…your faith little wine...and have my little cracker, Mike Huckabee and Ted Francis helped you respond?” I guess that’s a form of asking for for- Cruz are offering fire and Biden replied: “My reli- giveness.” This thrice-married former brimstone homilies. Carly is Bernie gion is just an enormous supporter of Planned Parenthood and Fiorina and Ron Paul talk a sense of solace…. I go to single-payer health care who attacks lot about “Hillary’s failures” Sanders. Mass and I’m able to immigrants and women who dare and little about faith. Scott be just alone even in a to challenge him is the Republican Walker, a preacher’s son, has faded crowd…. I say the rosary. I find it to be front-runner. as he echoes Mr. Trump without his incredibly comforting. Five Republican candidates are persona. Republicans speak of their “What my faith has done is it sort Catholics. Mr. Bush has fallen back faith but rarely about “welcoming the of takes everything about my life with and Marco Rubio has failed to gain. stranger” or a priority for the poor. my parents and my siblings and all the Mr. Bush deserves credit for resisting Rick Perry’s best moment was his de- comforting things and all the good Mr. Trump’s nativist polemics, but he parting comment: “Demeaning people things that have happened…around responded to Pope Francis’ environ- of Hispanic heritage is not just igno- the culture of my religion and the the- mental encyclical by saying, “I don’t rant, it betrays the example of Christ.” ology of my religion, and I don’t know get my economic policy from my bish- Among Democrats, Hillary Clinton how to explain it more than that. But ops or my cardinals or my pope” and returned to thank her Methodist con- it’s just the place that you can go.” added that religion “ought to be about gregation in Washington but is strug- I differ with Mr. Biden and Mrs. making us better as people and less gling to overcome the perception that Clinton on abortion, with Mr. Bush about things that end up getting into she has a problem with the Eighth on the death penalty and with Mr. the political realm.” He had a different Commandment about bearing “false Trump on deporting immigrants. But message at Liberty University, where witness.” on religion in public life, I believe both The candidate who most quotes faith and politics are better served by Pope Francis is not Martin O’Malley, the honesty and anguish of Mr. Biden JOHN CARR is director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at a Jesuit-educated Catholic who bare- than the cynicism and glibness of Mr. Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. ly registers in the polls, but Bernie Trump. JOHN CARR

14 America October 5, 2015 The Passion’s vocabulary of consolation ART: RENDING OF THE VEIL BY WILLIAM BELL SCOTT. 1869. PHOTO: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/SHAKKO RENDING OF THE VEIL BY WILLIAM BELL SCOTT. ART: Bringing New Life BY RONALD ROLHEISER

here are certain things we know deeply, risk our lives upon, but can never ad- equately explain to ourselves or others. This is particularly true of the death of Jesus and how that death washes us clean of sin, opens the gates of heaven for us and teaches how to give our own deaths away as he did. That Jesus’ death does these things is a core truth that underlies most Teverything within our Christian faith. We celebrate it in the liturgy. We define it in dogmas. We depict it in icons. We risk our lives upon its truth. But only at some gut level do we inchoately grasp its meaning. We have certain words for its substance, but we do not have a full vocabulary to describe it, and we will never fully find one since the redemptive val-

RONALD ROLHEISER, O.M.I., is the author, most recently, of Sacred Fire: A Vision for a Deeper Human and Christian Maturity. This article is part of America’s series, “The Living Word: Scripture in the Life of the Church,” cosponsored by the American Bible Society.

October 5, 2015 America 15 ue of Jesus’ death is, in its depth, a mystery beyond normal to perform sacred ritual, ever went behind the curtain and understanding. But the theological, catechetical, spiritual saw what was there. What Matthew tells us, then, is that the and human task is still to search for that vocabulary. We can death of Jesus took away the veil that prevents us, the ordi- understand only partially what Jesus’ death means, but that nary people, from seeing into the true “holy of holies,” that partial understanding is badly needed. is, the inner heart of God. In Jesus’ death we get to see right How do we enter that understanding? How can we be- into the heart of God. There is no longer a veil between us gin to unfurl the mystery of and God’s heart. We can now Jesus’ death in a way that we see what God really looks like. can explicitly grasp more of To understand the richness its meaning? The Gospels, The death of Jesus is of this image, it can be helpful of course, are our best entry, to compare it to a parallel im- particularly the Passion narra- the ultimate icon of the age in the Jewish Scriptures, tives. These narratives are not namely, that of the rainbow. intended as a literal recording Trinity and the ultimate Scripture tells us that God is of Jesus’ death. Rather they revelation of God. “light”; but, paradoxically, we tell us how those around Jesus, cannot see light. We see by that first Christian communi- light, but we cannot see light ty, experienced his death and itself, except in one instance, its aftermath. With this in mind and for the purposes of this the rainbow. When light is shone into a prism, the prism re- short article, I would like to focus on two passages given in fracts that light, literally breaking it up so that we can see its the Gospels wherein the Evangelists describe the effects of inside. And the result is stunning. We see that the inside of Jesus’ death. light is spectacularly beautiful, seven magnificent colors (the basis of all color). In a rainbow, in a manner of speaking, we ‘Torn in Two’ physically see the inside of God and we see that God’s inside The first of passage is found in Mt 27:51-53, where we are is spectacularly beautiful. told that at the exact moment of Jesus’ death “the veil of the The death of Jesus, how he died in love, forgiving his exe- sanctuary was torn in two, from top to bottom, the earth cutioners, forgiving all the ignorance and malice that brought quaked, the rocks split, the tombs opened and the bodies of about his death while he remained faithful to truth and love many holy people rose from the dead.” What happens here? in the face of their opposites, is a prism that refracts God’s My imagination has always been able to picture this mo- moral interior; it breaks open God’s heart and tears away ment. What comes automatically to mind is an image of it the veil that prevents us from seeing inside God’s heart. It is growing dark in the middle of the day and then, at the sec- a moral rainbow. And what we see there, like the colors in a ond of Jesus’ death, as if by lightning, the temple veil is ripped physical rainbow, is spectacularly beautiful. The moral heart from top to bottom while everyone looks on stunned, con- of God also breaks down into spectacularly beautiful colors vinced now, too late, that the person they have just mocked (the basis of all morality): unconditional love and its various and crucified is the Christ. But, spontaneous imagination manifestations. The death of Jesus is the ultimate icon of the aside, what is really meant by that phrase? Trinity and the ultimate revelation of God. Biblical scholars tell us that the veil of the sanctuary was And what does it reveal? It reveals how we are washed precisely a veil, a curtain, which hid from the ordinary wor- clean by Jesus’ blood. By dying as he did, Jesus did not pay off shipper the “holy of holies.” It shielded persons from seeing some debt to God that humanity incurred through original into the holiest part of the temple where, in a manner too sin and that we personally incur through our personal sins. awesome for normal sight, God was understood to dwell. God does not keep a scorecard and does not need a bank Thus, when Matthew says that at the moment of Jesus’ balance. Rather Jesus’ death washes us clean by revealing the death the temple veil was ripped apart from top to bottom, heart of a God whose love is faithful enough to not let us die, the point he is making is not that God shredded what was to open our graves and empty our cemeteries, even when in most precious to those who crucified Jesus to show them ignorance or malice we go on killing God and each other. how wrong they were. Instead, the point is rather a positive The death of Jesus reveals a God who sheds his own blood one. to cover up all the blood we are shedding in our ignorance, The temple veil was, as just mentioned, a curtain that jealousy and sin. As our creedal formulae and icons so beau- physically separated the people from that part of the temple tifully depict it, in Jesus’ death we are being washed clean by that was considered “the holy of holies” and that was always the blood of the lamb. Among other things, this is a moral beyond the sight of the ordinary people. Only the priests, metaphor that we can spend our lifetime contemplating.

16 America October 5, 2015 Blood and Water A second text within the Passion narratives sheds light more specifically on how Jesus’ death was experienced by his con- temporaries as a cleansing, a blessing and a new empower- ment to live. The Gospel of John tells us that at the moment of Jesus’ death “blood and water” flowed from his dead body (Jn 19, 33-34). This image has several levels of meaning. First, the image is clearly one of birth; blood and water accompany a newborn out of the womb. Jesus’ death was experienced as giving birth to something in the world. What is being born? Cleansing and empowerment. That much is clear in the image. What is blood? Blood is the life-principle inside us. We are alive so long as blood flows through us. What is water? Two things: Water quenches thirst and it washes us clean. When we combine these concepts, we get a sense of what John is trying to teach us. In the face of Jesus’ death, his initial disciples felt an outpouring of blood and water, that is, they felt a deeper and richer flow of life within themselves and a sense of being nurtured and cleansed in a new way. They felt something flow out from Jesus’ death that made them feel freer, less guilty and more open to life than ever before. This might sound quasi-magical, but it is something very concrete. We have that same experience whenever someone we know dies with the same trust, forgiveness and gracious- ness that Jesus exhibited at his death. If someone were to ask me, “What have been the singularly most joy-filled occasions that you have been present to within the last 10 years?” my answer might seem curious. The most joy-filled occasions that I have been present to over the last decade have been a number of funerals of both women and men, who, in the way they died, figuratively set off a flow of blood and water from their caskets. Here is one example. A couple of years ago, I went to visit a man who was already in palliative care, dying of cancer. He was a young man, still in his 50s, but he was dying well be- cause he was dying the same way he had lived his life, with- out bitterness and without enemies. He spoke to me of the intense loneliness of dying and then added: “I’ve had a good life and I’ve no regrets. I don’t think I have an enemy, at least I don’t know of one. And I want to do this right. I want to die with a dignity that makes my wife and kids proud of me. I want to do this right for them and for everyone else.” He died some days later, and his family and everyone else who knew him were deeply saddened. But inside that sadness there was also something else: an outflow of blood and water. After his funeral, as we walked out of church to a small reception, there was not one person who knew this man well, including his grieving wife and children, who, at a level deeper than the sadness of the moment, did not feel freer, less guilty and more open to life than ever before. He

October 5, 2015 America 17 wanted to do his death right, and he did, and that reinforced everything good he had done in his life, so that what he wanted to leave us stayed with us, his love and the goodness of his life. They flowed from his casket, like blood and water.

How We Live and How We Die Less happily, we sometimes experience the opposite; not every death is a gift to those who knew that person. All of us have also been to funerals where, because of the manner in which the person lived or died, we did not feel freedom and cleansing flowing from the casket but rather felt as if the very oxygen was being drawn out of the room. Instead of feeling freer, less guilty and more open to life, we felt guilty about the very act of breathing. How we live and how we die leaves behind a spirit after we have gone, a happy blessing or some unhappy unfinished business. Our caskets will either emit a flow of life-giving and guilt-freeing blood and water or they will suck some of the oxygen from the rooms and the hearts of those who knew us. Jesus, by the way he lived and by the way he died, set forth a flow of “water and blood” from his dead body. His death was experienced by his contemporaries as bringing them new life. And this is more than something we should admire. Rather, as the First Letter of Peter puts it, it is an example for us to imitate. To the degree that we die as Jesus did, without bitterness and without holding anyone hostage, our dead bodies too will give off, to all who knew us, a flow of blood and water. This is a moral metaphor that we can spend a lifetime contemplating. And, admittedly, all of this is partially a mystery, Jesus’ death as well as our own. There is more here than can be grasped in purely human terms. In the end, we do not have the vocabulary to adequately express this. Dogmatic formu- lae and icons are perhaps still our richest avenues for un- derstanding since they simply hold the mystery up for us to meditate upon. With this in mind, I leave you with a medi- tation from Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J., on death, Jesus’ death and our own, and the connection between the two:

When the signs of age begin to mark my body (and still more when they touch my mind); when the illness that is to diminish me or carry me off strikes from without or is born within me; when the painful moment comes in which I suddenly awaken to the fact I am losing hold of myself and am absolutely passive within the great unknown forces that have formed me; in all those dark moments, O God, grant that I may understand that it is you (provided only my faith is strong enough) who are painfully parting the fibres of my being in order to penetrate to the very marrow of my substance and bear me away within yourself.... Teach me to treat my death as an act of communion. A

18 America October 5, 2015 The Hour of Our Death Contemporary approaches to end-of-life care BY JOHN J. PARIS

he contemporary American approach to end- mutation found in females with lung cancer. of-life care is captured in an essay by Atul Tests subsequently revealed Sara did not have the muta- Gawande, M.D., in The New Yorker (8/2/10) tion that drug targets. She was then changed to a more stan- entitled: “Letting Go! What Should Medicine dard drug. That drug also failed. A third regimen was tried, TDo When It Can’t Save Your Life?” Dr. Gawande, a sur- but it too failed to slow the tumor. All known interventions, geon at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a including the use of a drug in a Phase I trial, had been uti- professor at Harvard Medical School, regrets what is oc- lized without success. Dr. Gawande then asks: “What do we curring in medical practice. Yet he feels helpless to resist. do now?” The question was not about science or medicine. In his beautifully written essay, Dr. Gawande tells the It was, “What does the patient want?” Patient autonomy, for story of Sara Monopoli, a young woman who was eight weal or woe, has become the fundamental value in American months pregnant with her first child when doctors diag- medicine. It trumps all other values. Gone is the tradition nosed her lung cancer. Her husband assured her, “This is that prevailed from the time of Hippocrates until the mid- going to be O.K. We are going to work through this.” The dle of the 20th century that the physician determines what next day she delivered a healthy baby. That same day her should be done in the face of an overwhelming disease. oncologist informed Sara that the non-small cell lung can- How did we get to this state of affairs? The late Edmund cer had metastasized. Her condition was non-operable. D. Pellegrino, M.D., described in an essay in The Journal There was, however, the possibility of chemotherapy. She of the American Medical Association what he labeled “three was started on an experimental drug that targets a gene eras of medicine:” Hippocrates to 1960; 1960 to 1990; 1990 onward. In the first era physician paternalism prevailed. The

JOHN J. PARIS, S.J., the Michael P. Walsh Professor of Bioethics at Boston doctor decided what was to be done. In later centuries the College, is currently a visiting professor at the Center for Biomedical Ethics physician was readily identified by his small black bag. It at Stanford University School of Medicine. contained everything the physician needed to practice—

A FAMILY VIGIL. Leo King’s sister, left, and his wife at his bedside at the Center for Compassionate Care in Pittsburgh

(CNS PHOTO/NANCY PHELAN WIECHEC on Sept. 7. Mr. King died the next day.

October 5, 2015 America 19 very little. Little could be done and little was attempted. The Catholic Mindset Most people succumbed to death at an early age from an The assessment that patient autonomy is the dominant val- intractable infection. In that era, the rules for the practice ue in medical practice as well as in bioethics is correct. The of medicine were relatively simple. They were laid out as far Catholic approach to bioethics operates out of a different back as the Hippocratic Corpus: Alleviate suffering, treat mindset. Richard McCormick, S.J., the most influential disease where possible and do not impose treatment on Jesuit moral theologian of the late 20th century, noted in the patient “overmastered by disease,” because in such cases an essay entitled “Bioethics: A Moral Vacuum” (America, medicine proves powerless. 5/1/1999) that in our age autonomy has consumed the en- Three developments occurred in the years 1960 to 1990 tire range of bioethics. In doing so, he argued, we have ex- that changed medical practice: technology, third-party pay- cluded from consideration those goods and values that make ment and loss of trust in institutions. That final factor led choices right or wrong. But those are precisely the factors to the rise of rights language. The predecessor of the em- that make bioethics a moral enterprise. When the rightness phasis on the rights of patients is found or wrongness of a decision is reduced in Justice Benjamin Cardozo’s opinion When the rightness to an individual’s choice, the result is in the landmark Schloendorff case in autonomy run amok. 1914 that “every human being of adult or wrongness of a This is captured in a statement by years and sound mind has the right to decision is reduced to Jack Kevorkian, M.D., (sometimes determine what shall be done with his called Dr. Death) on physician assisted own body.” The Schloendorff ruling an individual’s choice, suicide: “In my view the highest princi- recognized the competent adult’s right ple in medical ethics—in any ethics— to refuse an unwanted medical inter- the result is autonomy is personal autonomy, self-determina- vention. It did not confer on a patient tion.” His approach gives no consider- the right to determine or demand a run amok. ation to the impact of individual choice treatment, nor was there an obligation on family and friends, the medical pro- on the part of the physician to honor such requests. fession or society. Dr. Pellegrino noted that the rise of autonomy trans- When contemporary bioethics talks about patients as au- formed the doctor-patient relationship from a joint venture tonomous persons, it is mostly talking of a pipedream. Such of trust and dependency into a commercial model in which talk leaves the impression that desperately ill and dying pa- the patient (or proxy) alone determines what is to be done. tients are in Olympian control. But as we have all experi- The furthest reach of “autonomy” is found in several recent enced, even with something as minor as the flu, illness inevi- cases in which parents requested and physicians continued tably means dependence. We rely on others for whatever we life support on an infant born with anencephaly, a condi- need. This is all the more true of the seriously ill. tion in which the infant has no brain, or congenital dwarfism Lost in the clutter of clinical details are the “big-picture” such that the child’s small rib cage prevented lung expansion, issues that concern the patient. Medical costs, for example, thus causing suffocation. The most extreme cases were those have an enormous impact on the sick. But that issue is gen- of a brain-dead child whose parents refused to accept the di- erally passed over in silence. What are the patients’ fears, agnosis and insisted on continued ventilator support of the hopes and doubts? These rarely appear in the medical chart. child. In all of these cases the treating physicians believed, Clinical details are noted, but to paraphrase T. S. Eliot, do much like Dr. Gawande, that absent a court ruling to the we measure out our lives in data? contrary, they had no option but to follow the treatment de- An emphasis on bioethics that reduces the patient to cision of the mother. medical details or to the patient’s desires—ignoring big-pic- The morphing of the right of the competent patient to ture issues like the common good, distributive justice and decline an unwanted medical intervention into the right to the spirituality of the patient—misses an understanding of be provided whatever medical intervention—indifferent to who the patient really is. To achieve that big picture, Catholic efficacy or cost—the patient (or proxy) demands results in moral theology insists we focus on the patient viewed in all what Dr. Pellegrino described as “the chaos” of present day his or her complexity—physical, financial, social and spiritu- health care delivery in the United States. It also led doc- al. Patients are not reducible to organ systems, like the heart, tors like Dr. Gawande to lament the fact that when physi- liver, lungs or kidneys or, worse, to biochemistry. Rather, we cians today confront patients and families like Sara and her ought to look at what Paul Ramsey famously called “the pa- husband, who believe that there is a technological fix for tient as person” (2002). every medical problem, they feel powerless to resist their A Catholic approach to bioethics begins not with the pa- demands. tient’s autonomous will but with a theological understand-

20 America October 5, 2015 ing of “the meaning, source and goal of life.” This is seen in lator with tubes coming from every orifice, is reduced to little Father McCormick’s landmark article in America, “ To Save more than a cog in a machine. or Let Die” (7/7/1974). Although the essay was published si- More morally problematic in today’s world of high tech multaneously in a medical journal (JAMA), it is replete with medicine is the notion that “once we start, we cannot stop.” It theological presuppositions, language and conclusions. The is believed by some that while it might be acceptable to with- article is a commentary on a legal case in which Judge David hold certain treatments, once they have been initiated it would Roberts of the Maine Superior Court ruled that if a patient be unethical to shut off a ventilator, stop dialysis or withdraw has a medical need and there is a medically feasible response, artificial nutrition and hydration. In the now famous 1973 that medical treatment must be provided. In Judge Roberts’s Quinlan case, for example, both the attorney general of New words, “The most basic right enjoyed by every human being Jersey and the local district attorney denounced the proposal is the right to life itself.” That pro-life stand might be taken to withdraw a ventilator from the patient in a persistent vege- by many as the orthodox Catholic approach to life-death de- tative state as state-sanctioned murder. cisions. In utterly unflinching language Father McCormick In the subsequent case, Barber (1993), the Los Angeles rejected that reading of the Catholic moral tradition. In his district attorney brought first degree murder charges against words, such a standard is nothing short of “idolatry.” Human the chief of surgery and the chief of medicine at Kaiser life, he tells us, is a gift of God given for a limited purpose. Its Permanente Long Beach Hospital for removing, at the re- raison d’etre is not our earthly life but eternal life. As Father quest of a patient’s wife and seven children, a ventilator and McCormick understood the Catholic moral tradition, it is then a feeding tube from a man for whom the physicians had an attempt to formulate a balanced middle ground between no realistic expectation of restoration to cognitive function- “medical vitalism” that acts to preserve life at any cost and ing existence. After a preliminary hearing, a judge dismissed “medical pessimism” that kills when life seems frustrating, the charges. The district attorney appealed. The California burdensome or useless. Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal. It framed the ques- Both alternatives, in Father McCormick’s view, are idolatries. tion before it thus: “Does a doctor have a duty to keep his In support of that opinion he quoted Pope Pius XII’s famous patient alive through forced respiration and nutrition?” It re- allocution to the International Congress of Anestheologists, sponded “No.” In doing so the California Court of Appeals entitled “Prolongation of Life” (Nov. 24, 1957), stating that we determined as a matter of law that artificial respiration as are normally obliged to use only ordinary means to preserve life. In over 500 years of consistent Catholic moral thought, the terms ordinary and extraordinary refer not to hardware or technique but to moral obligation. Ordinary are those things one is obliged to do. Extraordinary are those things one may do but is not obliged to do in order to save one’s soul. Failure to act appropriately is a sin. The punishment for such failure, if not absolved, is eternal damnation. The question then put to the moral theologians was, What exempts an individual from the obligation to undergo a medical technique? The re- sponse was that one would be exempt if the treatment were too costly, too burdensome or too painful or if the procedure did not offer a reasonable expectation of benefit to the patient.

A Cog in a Machine The 1980 Vatican “Declaration on Euthanasia,” aware that today the terms ordinary and extraordinary are confused, misused and abused, proposed substituting “proportionate and disproportionate” burden and benefit to the patient. The opening statement of Part IV of the declaration applies that analysis to end-of-life care: “Today it is very important to pro- tect, at the moment of death, both the dignity of the human person and the Christian concept of life against a technolog- ical attitude that threatens to become an abuse.” An example of such abuse would be the intensive care unit described in Dr. Gawande’s “Letting Go,” where a patient, tethered to a venti-

October 5, 2015 America 21 well as artificial nutrition and hydration—are extraordinary truncated if all one’s energy is expended on clinging to life in means of medical support. Further, it ruled that the deci- an intensive care unit. sion to withdraw support should be determined in terms of When, one might ask, do life-supporting technologies a benefits-versus-burdens analysis as seen from the patient’s become so burdensome as to cease to be a moral obligation? perspective. Since the patient had indicated he did not want The use of an I.C.U. makes sense if it serves to restore the to be maintained by extraordinary means, the court ruled the patient to a cognitive functioning, integrated existence. It physician had no duty to provide such measures. makes no Christian or human sense when it functions as a high tech hospice. Such a practice, in the words of Ivan A Jesuit Approach Illich’s Medical Nemesis, is “a world gone mad.” The Catholic approach to these cases is “back to basics.” We The Jesuit approach to bioethics goes by the sometimes reflect on such fundamental questions as “Who are we?” and pejorative term casuistry. As Albert R. Jonsen and Stephen “Why are we here?” The answer to these questions is found Toulmin demonstrate in The Abuse of Casuistry, casuistry in the old Baltimore Catechism, a standard Catholic school is not, as Pascal characterized it, a sly way in which Jesuits textbook from 1855 to the late 1960s. The responses found twist things to get whatever result is desired. Rather, it is the there are: “God made us” and “God made us to know love application of basic theological or philosophical principles and serve him in this world and to be everlastingly happy to cases or actual situations to discern whether there is a way with him in the next.” out of an apparent dilemma. Unpack those penny catechism statements. What do An example will suffice to see this application in prac- they imply with regard to use of medical interventions to tice. A 75-year-old patient had a recurrent, large cancerous prolong the life of a dying patient? The purpose and goal of growth on his tongue. The tumor was surgically removed, life is not the mere prolongation of biological existence. It is but it reoccurred. The patient declined further surgery. The rather the attainment of everlasting life with God in heaven. problem was that with a tumor the size of an orange on How is that goal achieved? Scripture tells us it is based on his tongue, if the patient lay on his back and fell asleep, the “love of God and love of neighbor.” Father McCormick’s in- tumor would block his trachea, which would cause him to sight in his now classic 1974 essay is that to achieve that goal cough and wake up. As a result the patient was always sleep one must have the capacity to relate. That capacity is severely deprived. The patient and his family asked if there was any- thing that could be done to relieve the patient’s distress. The medical resident caring for the patient recommended mor- phine to keep the patient pain free so he would be able to sleep. With the medication the patient was able to sleep even with the tumor blocking his trachea. But in that position his air supply was inadequate and he died. The nurses believed the resident had “caused” the patient’s death. They wanted to the call the police to report a homicide. In an age in which there is widespread public support for patient autonomy, even to the point of physician-assisted sui- cide, some argue that the patient’s or proxy’s request for se- dation is warrant enough to end the patient’s life. That view contradicts the long tradition in medicine to “do no harm” and the tradition of society’s high barrier against one individu- al terminating the life of another human being. A Catholic approach to the problem would be to apply the traditional principles of medicine and moral theology to the patient’s situation. Do we accept with utter indifference the suffering of the dying patient? That would not only be inhumane; it would violate the physician’s obligation to “do no harm.” Using the traditional Catholic principle of “double effect,” relief from pain and distress may be provided even if one can foresee, but does not intend, the possible foreshortening of life. Respect for God’s design for life and the God-given dignity of each human being, not deference to the “autonomy” of the patient, is the norm in a Catholic approach to such cases. A

22 America October 5, 2015 October 5, 2015 America 23 Still Seeking Hope Dealing with the aftermath of suicide BY RICHARD G. MALLOY

try so hard to hold onto pleasant images of Tim, but despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have tak- all I can see is him hanging there in the garage.” So en their own lives” [No. 2238]. By ways known only to said my sister a few months after our older brother God they can be helped and healed. We cannot give up died of suicide. That was one comforting linguistic hope for Tim. As the Gospel attests, God searches out ‘Isuggestion, that he “died of suicide,” not that he “committed and saves the lost. suicide.” But there is little comfort when a family member dies The hard but true reality is that no one can stop at his or her own hand. someone who decides to die by suicide. When my At the funeral, Sister Rosemarie, the Franciscan who has brother died, part of me, part of all of us, was hurting served so many years in Camden, N.J., with grace, courage and and angry and confused and wishing we could have compassion, told me: “You have to write about this. You need done something to prevent his act. But in my more to help people who suffer this.” I learned a long time ago to prayerful moments, I hear how much hurt was howling do whatever the sisters tell you. Still, this is a difficult writing in my big brother. And I realize there is nothing anyone assignment. could have done to stop this. At the funeral I tried to address the “elephant in the room” As much as I’m shocked, stunned, angry, hurt and as Maureen, my sister-in-law, put it. Here is what I said: sad at how he ended his life, to put ourselves in his skin provides another perspective. Fires burned within him. None of us want to be here today. Least of all Tim. And Searing flames scorched his soul. He was in deep dis- the last word is really the word we all have for Tim: love. tress: long-term psychic pain, years of struggling with We loved him. He was lovable. He was funny and fun. feelings of failure, days and days in the depths of depres- But he was also tortured and hurting, much more than sion. What many of us saw in public were the highs. His we ever knew. To read the notes he left reveals a soul in wife, Maureen, and my mom were witnesses to his lows. searing pain. The notes he left revealed the depths of his agony. Several years ago, at the university where I work, All his friends and family, especially his three boys, a first-year student’s dad committed suicide. I had to loved Tim. But we couldn’t save him. Now we must de- break the news to the kid. His mother was out of town pend on God to save him, heal him, transform him and and the local police hadn’t been able to contact her. They make him happy and healthy and holy and free. That’s didn’t want the young man getting the news by text or the promise of our faith. That God can and will save Facebook. It was not easy to tell him, but at least we got and transform us. the young man through that evening. Most important, let’s not let the last six minutes of A few days later, the priest who preached at the man’s his life make us forget the previous almost 60 years. funeral sculpted an image that helped me understand a Keep your favorite images and memories of Tim pres- bit about those who take their own lives. “Think of 9/11 ent in your mind and heart. and the people atop the towers,” he said. “They had the choice to be fatally burned by the fires climbing up the That is some of what I said that day. In the months since, I’ve building or jump to their death. People who take their learned some more. own lives have fires burning inside them, flames we can’t see. And sometimes they jump rather than continue to Healing Through Faith suffer their internal torture.” Suicide causes a particularly pulverizing pain. Like all death, I take some consolation in the fact that the Catechism suicide stings. Yet there is something about suicide that hurts of the Catholic Church clearly teaches that “we should not more acutely. Suicide stuns and scars us. Suicide of a loved one is a particularly painful cross to bear. There is a welling RICHARD G. MALLOY, S.J., is university chaplain at The University of up of agony and despair that, for me, can only be held off and Scranton in Scranton, Pa., and the author of Being on Fire: Top Ten eased by prayer. Essentials of Catholic Faith (Orbis Books). Our faith tells us we will see again our loved ones who have

24 America October 5, 2015 died. We hope God will achieve in the next life what was not you love than it does of harming an intruder). Male suicides able to be achieved in this one. Jesus finds and saves the lost outnumber female suicides four to one. More women attempt Still Seeking Hope sheep. We hope and wait with endurance for God’s saving suicide than men, but men are more likely to complete suicide. grace and mercy in our lives. This is our hope. This is our faith. While 80 percent of those who seek treatment for depression Many factors predict that a person may be at risk for sui- are treated successfully, many who complete suicide never cide: mental illness of many kinds, especially depression and sought professional help. severe hopelessness; alcohol and drug abuse; family history of The depressed and mentally ill often become so distorted suicide; and previous suicide attempts. Job loss, divorce or the in their thinking that they convince themselves that the world will be better off without them. They believe their suicides SUICIDE: 2015 FACTS & FIGURES will stop them from Suicide is a preventable public health problem and a leading cause of death in the United States. More investment being burdens for in suicide prevention, education and research will prevent the untimely deaths of thousands of Americans each year. those who strive to help them. SUICIDE – BASIC FACTS SUICIDE – THE COST About 20 per- An American dies by suicide For every woman who dies cent of people who every 12.95 minutes i by suicide, four men die by $44 suicide, but women are 3x frequently attempt more likely to attempt suicidei suicide eventual- Americans attempt suicide BILLION ly complete it. My an estimated The combined medical Over 40,000 Americans die by suicide every and work loss costs in the brother had checked i year. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of United States each yeari 1 MILLION deathi in the United States himself into a sui- iii times annually • 2nd leading cause of death for ages 10-24 cide prevention unit • 5th leading cause of death for ages 45-59 More than five years before he 90% of those who die by suicide • The suicide rate among American Indian/ had a diagnosable psychiatric Alaska Native adolescents and young adults finally ended his disorder at the time of their deathii ages 15-24 is 1.8 times the national average 1.5 life. One common phenomenon is that In 2012, firearms were the most common MILLION method of death by suicide, accounting Veterans comprise years of life are lost for 50.9% of all suicide deaths, followed those who struggle 22.2% of suicidesiv annually to suicidei by suffocation (including hangings) at for years can all of 24.8% and poisoning at 16.7% a sudden seem fine.

i Datai obtainedData obtained from from CDC’s CDC’s Web WebBased InjuryBased Statistics Injury Query Statistics and Reporting Query System and (WISQARS) Reporting System iii Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Suicide – Facts at a Glance ii National Center for Health Statistics for the year 2006 You often hear, “I (WISQARS)iii Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Suicide – Facts at a Glance iv Department of Veterans Affairs 2012 Suicide Data Report ii Nationaliv Department Center of Veteransfor Health Affairs Statistics 2012 Suicide forData theReport year 2006 just saw him last GRAPHIC: AMERICAN FOUNDATION OF SUICIDE PREVENTION. WWW.AFSP.ORG GRAPHIC: AMERICAN FOUNDATION week. He seemed 120 Wall Street, 29th Floor • New York, NY 10005 • (212) 363-3500 afsp.org really good.” Experts loss of a loved one are often too much for someone contem- theorize that such persons have finally decided to end their plating suicide. My brother took his life less than two weeks life. They know their pain will end. They relax because they after we buried our mother. know it will soon be over. The phenomenon of suicide contagion is well known. If There are many options available for individuals consider- a suicide occurs in a high school, the principal and counsel- ing suicide. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention ors immediately begin to monitor closely other troubled kids. provides helpful information. If people speak to you of being About 10 percent of all suicides in the United States are con- suicidal, ask if they have a plan and/or means to carry out the tagion or copycat events. act. If so, get them help. Do not leave them alone. If someone Each year some 35,000 to 40,000 Americans die of suicide. you know is feeling suicidal, or if you are feeling suicidal, call In 2010, there were 38,364 suicides reported in the United the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800-273-8255). States. That is one every 13.7 minutes. There are more sui- As Catholics, we believe that transformation comes cides—the 11th leading cause of death in the United States— through the crosses of life. There is no resurrection without than homicides, the 15th leading cause. For young people ages the cross, which means there is no cross in life that does not 15 to 24, it is the third leading cause of death. Suicide among contain within it the seeds of resurrection. Let us pray for young adults has tripled in recent decades. More than 50 per- hope and for the grace to trust in the promise of resurrection cent of suicides are by men between the ages of 25 and 65, for all our loved ones “who have gone before us marked by the and more than 50 percent of suicides are by firearm (a gun in sign of faith,” especially those so troubled and tortured that your household has a much higher chance of killing someone they took their own lives. A

October 5, 2015 America 25 VATICAN DISPATCH A Synod of Solutions? ome 250 bishops from all over the Catholic marriage are morally ac- This divide is not merely a part of the world will gather in synod ceptable and can be mainstreamed into the discussion of the coming synod. In Sin the Vatican from Oct. 4 to the life of the family and the church. its essence, it encapsulates the choice 25 for what many consider to be the The second, perhaps graver danger, is that confronts the church in every fac- most important assembly of this kind that of an erosion in the content and et of its teaching and pastoral outreach since the Second Vatican Council. integrity of the Catholic theology of at this time in history. That fundamen- They gather exactly 50 years after that marriage. Those who belong to this tal choice can be framed as follows: council to focus on the family and, in camp believe that Catholic teaching on Should the church concentrate more the words of Pope Francis at the end sexuality and marriage is an integrated on pointing to the gap between the of the 2014 synod, “to find concrete whole, philosophically, theologically Catholic moral vision and the lived solutions to so many difficulties and and pastorally. It cannot be shaved at reality of people in the modern world, innumerable challenges that families the margins to attain pas- or should it concen- must confront; to give answers to the toral objectives without This synod trate more on walking many discouragements that surround sacrificing its structure and with men and women and suffocate families.” integrity. has raised precisely in their lived This synod has raised great expec- The opposing camp reality, accompanying tations on the one side and many fears views this approach as im- great them and pointing to on the other such as we have not seen prisoning the pastoral out- expectations the moments of grace since Vatican II. Cardinals, bishops reach of the church within already present in their and lay commentators have expressed such narrow limits that it on the one lives as the foundation their hopes or fears in books, articles is cut off from the realities side and for moving toward the and interviews over the past two years, of marriage and family life Christian ideal? and this has revealed both the recog- as they exist in the world fears on the The synod’s an- nition of the importance of the synod today. They view the pri- other. swer to this question, and the existence of a divide among mary pastoral challenge of through the solutions it them—also evident in the 2014 syn- the church on issues of marriage and comes up with, could have far-reaching od—that can be presented as two family life as the call to offer real ac- implications for how the church will to camps. companiment to men and women as carry out its mission in the 21st cen- For one camp, the primary pastoral they confront the central decisions of tury. responsibility is to convey with unwav- their lives. Looking ahead to the synod, ering fidelity the doctrinal articulation This can only be effective if it in- Francis reminded new cardinals on of Catholic faith regarding marriage, cludes an embrace of the good and Feb. 15 that throughout the church’s in the full recognition that this risks grace-filled elements of life choices history “two ways of thinking are alienating many from the life of the that men and women are making, even present: casting off and reinstating.” church. Advocates of this perspective when those choices are embedded in There is “the thinking of the doctors view two dangers from a failure in this actions and relationships that do not of the law, which would remove the pastoral responsibility. The first is that conform to major elements of the danger by casting out the diseased it would probably send the message, to church’s theological and philosophi- person, and the thinking of God, who young people in particular, that pat- cal vision. Accompaniment is not rec- in his mercy embraces and accepts by terns of life that reject key elements of oncilable with a doctrinally oriented reinstating him.” From the time of the suspicion that can see only the gap be- Council of Jerusalem, he stated, “the tween the lived reality and the church’s church’s way has always been the way GERARD O’CONNELL is America’s Rome vision, without acknowledging pro- of Jesus, the way of mercy and rein- correspondent. America’s Vatican coverage is sponsored in part by the Jesuit communities of foundly the goodness of heart and will statement.” the United States. Twitter: @gerryrome. and action that are already present. GERARD O’CONNELL

26 America October 5, 2015 FAITH IN FOCUS The Joy of Another Day Finding God in cancer BY MARY F. BLEHL

ive years after my first battle me one of his books. When I told him with breast cancer, a new one of my diagnosis he advised, “Look for Fstruck. There it was: a dime- God.” So I decided to look for signs of sized tumor, spotted by my doctor even God in ordinary events. I found plen- though the rest of my right colon was ty. difficult to see. “How presumptuous of First it was in the operating room. me to think that because I had cancer I was so nervous my heart was racing. once there would never be another,” I The anesthesiologist said, “You’re very thought after the initial shock. Later, nervous.” after the surgery, I was concerned I “Yes,” I agreed. would have to have another colonosco- “I often have that effect on women,” py right away. “It’s good news,” the sur- he replied. geon told me. “You don’t have a right “Well, you are pretty cute,” I ob- colon any more!” served. As a child I heard the nuns say that “Oh, don’t say that,” the nurse shot when something doesn’t go your way, back. “Don’t make his head any bigger you should offer it up for the poor than it already is.” Then she put her souls in purgatory. This approach hand on my arm. I will never forget worked well when my mother bought how that simple human touch made me colored socks instead of the more the nervousness wash away. expensive white ones I preferred. Or My 89-year-old dad was able to when I had to give a bath to four of visit the hospital twice, thanks to the my nine younger siblings instead of efforts of his home health aide, Phil. reading a Nancy Drew novel about Then my son Erich showed up four the girl whose housekeeper did all the times within one week. I think my chores. three grandsons were shocked to see But the first surgery for the breast Grandma walking down the hallway cancer had been so painful I created of the hospital holding a bag of urine. an alternative system to give it value. The following week they went to work Whenever I felt a pain I would turn on my lawn, another small source of it into a prayer for someone. I must joy. have said thousands of prayers those There was the beauty of my own first few months! I called it transfor- bed after sleepless nights in the hospi- mational prayer. tal where the nurses came in to ask the During that time I attended a lun- woman in the bed next to me, “Are you cheon where a Catholic author gave comfortable?” And I never went hun- gry. In fact, the refrigerator was always MARY F. BLEHL teaches college writing cours- packed with every type of good food. es and has written about her experience as a My neighbor Joan turned out to be an cancer survivor for curetoday.com. She lives in Hackensack, N.J., and is the grandmother of angel in disguise, doing laundry, walk- Avery, Cameron and Graham Walsh. ing the dog and bringing good cheer. ART: MEGAN HALSEY ART:

October 5, 2015 America 27 One Day at a Time days, seeing the spring flowers for the But I must admit I was not too pleased first time that season lifted my spirits when I learned about the new cancer; incredibly. Every day now I sit outside this time I knew well what the side ef- and look at the clouds in their nev- fects of the chemotherapy would be. It er-ending variety. wasn’t going to be pretty. That constant Any treatment certainly encourages feeling of “blah” is hard to take. How humility, and maybe some other bene- was I going to find the value in this fits as well. Perhaps God uses suffering cross? for his own purposes, and the secret is There’s the effect called “chemo to find out what that purpose is. If it is brain.” The mind gets jumbled. Six greater patience (perhaps that’s why we years ago during chemo I couldn’t find are called patients), that too is a good. the phone. Hours later I opened the But what about the suffering that refrigerator, and voila! There it was. goes on and on? I think of the 23-year- Chemo patients all understand this. old nurse I met who will be on chemo- At a meeting one day, I said, “I’ll see therapy for the rest of his life because you next Wednesday,” although the of a rare condition. We can only as- meetings are on Thursday. The group sume that God has some purpose for laughed. I am convinced that being able such hardship, which we cannot under- to laugh is a huge chunk of finding God stand. It is often said that people who in the ordinary. have endured enormous suffering are But before the chemo was barely in very close to God. But as the Carmelite swing, an extraordinary event occurred. martyr Father Titus Brandsma said My sister Connie and I were talking about Auschwitz, it is not the kind of one day about second opinions. “You thing one longs for. have to get one for the colon cancer,” During the first cancer I had lost she said, so I went to Memorial Sloan all my white blood cells several times Kettering Cancer Center in New York. and had to stay home for five days each A month later a call came, to tell me time, waiting for them to grow back. I there was something odd about my called the counselor at a cancer support ovaries. It was a third cancer. service. I joked that God heard of my dis- “I just can’t take it,” I said. “There are like of chemo, so this time he sent me a so many things I want to do, and I can’t cancer that did not require it. The news do any of them!” also spurred another attitude, to have He replied, “Just live today. Don’t fun regardless of where I was. Outside bother thinking about tomorrow, or the operating room, the nurse putting yesterday. Focus on just one day. And in the I.V. told me to clench my fist. But keep saying this mantra. ‘I’m right the arthritis in my hand made it impos- where I belong. I’m right where I’m sible to get the middle finger down. We supposed to be.’” He was right. The were cracking up. mantra works when I’m emptying the The day after my hysterectomy I dishwasher or taking the dog out for was walking around the block. There’s the thousandth time. I will keep say- something very therapeutic about ing it during my recuperation from the walking, even when your body is telling lung cancer surgery that’s coming soon, you, “I can’t do it.” It brings a refresh- another reminder of how import- ment of the soul and an energy that en- ant it is to try to live in the moment. dures beyond that half-hour of moving, Detecting this, my fourth cancer, was regardless of the treatment you’re in. another extraordinary event. I try to be It also seems God is especially pres- thankful that we caught it. And I will ent in nature. As I was riding in a car continue to look for the resurrection after being trapped at home for several after the cross. A

28 America October 5, 2015 Books & Culture

TELEVISION | JAKE MARTIN religion, our gender or what have you. We owe it for the sake of justice and all things good to laugh, even if, even SMART, CLEAN, FUNNY though, it isn’t very funny. And we do ‘The Jim Gaffigan Show’ delivers laugh, and then we say “It’s funny,” with equal parts doubt and hope. CATHOLIC DAD. Jim and Jeannie (Ashley Williams) spend I approached “Gaffigan” with the fear quality time with the kids. that it was going to be funny, because, well, the red flags were there. The show has been in development purgatory for three years, having been picked up and then dropped before ever seeing the light of day by more than one major network. It went through a couple of cast and writer changes along the way before finding a home at TV Land, a network whose original fare has con- sisted of primarily supplying work to Betty White and a seemingly endless chains of TV has-beens. But I wanted “Gaffigan” to be funny, because Jim Gaffigan is one of the few stand-ups these days who is both clean and funny, and then there’s the matter of his faith, because, let’s not beat around the bush, the man is Catholic and so am I, and I root for the home team. must admit I approached the “The er it is actually funny or not. And we Gaffigan is unapologetically Catholic Jim Gaffigan Show,” now airing do laugh, but not instinctively, not (or as unapologetic as a comedian can Ion TV Land, with much fear and viscerally, because funny is the kind of be) and along with Stephen Colbert has trembling. I wanted the show to be funny that requires a bit of effort on given the faith two of its most media funny, but I was afraid it would be, our part. With funny, laughter isn’t a friendly, likable public representatives well, funny. There is the funny that is destination, as the saying goes, but a since Pope Francis. So I wanted to like of the immediate, visceral kind, the journey, as there usually has to be some “Gaffigan,” but the doubts were plen- kind that makes us laugh instantly and sort of mental gymnastics involved to ty, and as Scripture said, “has anything does not tiptoe around our personal get to there. good come from TV Land?” (I might be relationships, ethical standards and We get to the laugh through a pro- paraphrasing a bit). religious convictions. And then there cess of apologetics and justifications. But “Gaffigan” is funny, not funny is funny. We feel we should laugh, we want to funny, but really funny. The show is Funny is the sort of humor (and that laugh. We want to laugh oh so very a semi-autobiographical account of term is used loosely) that, whatever its much, because the laugh isn’t about us, the day-to-day life of the titular star source, brings with it an obligation to and it isn’t about the content, it’s about as himself, a stand-up comedian liv- laugh, either because it’s said by a loved so much more than that, it’s about ing in New York City in a two bed- one, or it favors our religious, ethical or who we love, what we believe in, who room apartment with his wife Jeannie political stance. Whatever the reason, we are. And because of this deep exis- (Ashley Williams) and their five chil- there becomes a sort of Kantian im- tential investment, we feel we owe it to dren. The five kids is one of the true to

CNS PHOTO/COURTESY OF TV LAND CNS PHOTO/COURTESY perative to laugh, regardless of wheth- our ethical stance, our loved one, our life elements of the show, and Gaffigan

October 5, 2015 America 29 in both his stand-up and on the show The rube husband/put upon wife is no elderly, Irish, brogue-spewing ste- refers to his wife as a “Shiite Catholic.” trope in sitcoms is as least as old as the reotype from the 1950s but a young The show is shot on location first time Ralph Kramden said, “To the Zimbabwean, an authentic casting throughout the city, a choice which moon, Alice!” But what has frequently choice which speaks to the very real sit- saves the show from the sterile sitcom gotten lost in this dynamic is any sort uation of the contemporary American feel it might have had otherwise, be- of believable notion as to why or how church. That Gaffigan’s wife is fre- cause while the show is funny, it’s not a sane, reasonable woman would fall in quently stuck taking her entire brood reinventing the sitcom wheel. love with such a buffoonish man-child. to Mass on Sundays solo is another Recent reviews have compared it to With Williams’s Jeannie you see the authentic note, and though “Gaffigan’s” both “Seinfeld” and “Louie,” primar- love; it’s very clear why she fell in love Jim isn’t the most observant of believ- ily because of its New York location with her husband, and his buffoonish- ers, it’s still very clear that he believes. and protagonists’ occupation, but in ness is central to that, not in spite of At the end of the day, though, all truth “Gaffigan” bears far more resem- it. As an audience we’re privy to the that matters is whether or not it’s fun- blance to a more orthodox sitcom pre- warmth and tenderness Jeannie feels ny. Not funny. And “Gaffigan” is fun- decessor: Ray Romano’s “Everybody for Jim, not through overt dialogue or ny. The show is peppered with other Loves Raymond.” Like “Raymond,” behavior but rather through the oc- real-life stand-ups including Adam the show focuses primarily on the do- casional look and gesture, just as you Goldberg as Jim’s bizarre, sex-starved, mestic world of its protagonist with would with a real married couple. mother-dominated best friend in a little focus given to his profession- And then there’s that whole very funny turn and Michael Ian Black al life. Though she does not have the Catholic thing. The show, while hardly as Jeannie’s gay ex-boyfriend, in a, shall comedic gifts of “Raymond’s” Patricia proselytizing, doesn’t back away from we say, less funny turn. “Gaffigan” will Heaton—who set the gold standard, Gaffigan’s faith life. There are always a not change the face of the television for the exasperated sitcom housewife few incidental references to his faith in sitcom, but it just might change TV type—Williams does a fine job of each episode, be it his daughter’s appli- Land. And most important. it will deftly working within the tension of cation at an all-girls Catholic school or make you laugh, because it’s funny. playing the responsible spouse/parent Jim’s being shamed by his parish priest and allowing for moments of reckless (Tongayi Chirisa) for his truancy from JAKE MARTIN, S.J., is studying theology at abandon. Sunday Mass. Indeed, the parish priest Heythrop College, London.

AFTER THIS

We will live on a paved street or a rough Our heads and fingers may be too-heavy burdens Alley left between walls, almost forgotten, Or easy as the air encircling us here. Or on the bank of a dry river bed With rose petals running over jagged stone, This much, however, we may safely assume— Or we will live, naked as bees, in a patchwork Guns will be slung over the shoulders of angels, Forest stitched with water drawn from the sky’s groin. Guardian saints will be ready to call out the dogs, Floodlights will sweep up the night, Sooner or later we will find ourselves Tanks will patrol the outer perimeter, In the next world. And it will be like this Landmines will litter the far fields, Or that. We will bring with us gold or shells Lest a sorry soul attempt to return And find them useful or not, in the next world, To correct the wrongs that it has done. Or there will be no time to pack. DANIEL J. O’CONNELL

DANIEL J. O’CONNELL is a four-time award-winning poet from New York, whose work has appeared regularly in small and large journals since 1986. He taught philosophy for many years at the university level and is now a practicing attorney in San Francisco. He is a Foley Contest 2015 runner-up.

30 America October 5, 2015 OF OTHER THINGS | EDWARD W. SCHMIDT DIGITAL CONFESSIONS echnology—what a gift! I was and Facebook, tweets and hashtags. cretions to my hardware, software and muttering the other day about Slack sends email to inform me it has methods for using these fine tools? Tmy printer. A colleague here sent me a notification. And little notes Could it safely keep what’s good and at America advised me simply, “Get a keep popping onto my screen every needed and even add new elements to new one.” “It is a new one,” I mumbled couple of minutes telling me that strengthen the mix? That would cer- back. Well, it’s six months old, and I Dropbox has been synced or that I tainly help my blood pressure! guess that’s pretty old. have a free backup available (it doesn’t I draw some comfort from an article Last Saturday, in full frustration at work, actually) or that The Toledo in the recent edition of Conversations, being able to print out an article only Blade wants to send me an exciting a Jesuit education journal. (Full disclo- by doing one page at a time, I’d had new article. sure: I edit Conversations.) The author, enough. I knew that just turning the A recent New Mike Serazio, analyzes printer off sometimes solves prob- York Times column the impact of technol- lems, so I pushed the power button. by Thomas Friedman I know there ogy on higher educa- “Shutting down,” the little lit panel in- helped me understand are apps upon tion and clearly argues formed me. I left the office, took a long my problem. He was that human contact walk and returned a few hours later. analyzing the refugee apps waiting remains essential to The panel still read “shutting down.” I crisis and the “ordered” for me, the whole experience pulled the plug. That worked! and “disordered” re- of education. He ad- I know there are apps upon apps gions of the world. He but I cannot mits to using YouTube out there waiting for me, thousands of found three factors at download clips and Facebook in them. But I cannot download a one. I play: Mother Nature, class and is fully at ease need a password, and that password with population ex- a one. with a litany of new sits on one of a dozen-plus post-it notes plosion and climate education-tech terms all covered with passwords for this and change; Moore’s law like edX, Coursera, for that. If I enter one and it’s wrong, I on rampant evolution Udacity, MOOC just try again. But do that three times, in technology; and and later TED Talk, and the computer or iPad revolts, pre- the globalization of Flipped classroom and suming I’m a hacker. I try to reset the the marketplace. The Minerva. But Mike still password, but the electronic wizard I Wikipedia entry on self-identifies as a “fel- am negotiating with wants to send an Moore’s law is pret- low Luddite.” And he email to an address that doesn’t work ty detailed, but it boils down to the is only in his early 30s! Thanks, Mike. any longer. It wants my date of birth, fact that in technology things change There is no absolute correlation be- but tells me I am wrong when I enter fast. Friedman warns us that at least tween my ineptitude and my age, but it. I cannot even buy e-books—and the first two are just revving up their it is pretty strong. Young people on I know they want my money. That’s engines and observes that we “haven’t our staff are totally helpful and even what they are all about! seen this play before.” patient. Kind of them! And with their I protest that in the early 1980s I A play I have seen is the musical patient help, this “Senior Editor” is re- was using primitive computers with “Wicked.” In its song “Popular,” Glinda solved to start some intense learning screens the size of a four-by-six pad. offers to help Elphaba, telling her not when our schedules loosen up after the I filled up my 5.25 inch-discs. I knew to be offended by her personality anal- papal visit. Watch out, world! dBase II. I was a whiz at PerfectWriter. ysis but rather to “think of it as person- I am looking forward to seeing I could set the dip switches on a new ality dialysis.” I have been wondering this piece in print in America, since printer. But that is meaningless now. lately if I don’t really need some tech- I’ve had trouble printing out a copy Today I sit in on meetings and miss nology dialysis. Among other things, in my office. Printer problems again. half of the content as we discuss blogs kidney dialysis removes waste and salt Showing my age again. I should just and maintains some chemicals safely, pull it up on my Kindle and quit wast- EDWARD W. SCHMIDT, S.J., is the senior edi- and it can lower blood pressure. Could ing paper. I really need that dialysis. tor of America. technology dialysis remove useless ac- EDWARD M. SCHMIDT

October 5, 2015 America 31 BOOKS | JAMES M. LANG the American literary establishment, winning both a Pulitzer Prize and a FRAGILE FRONTIER National Book Award. He was mar- ried to the same woman for 60 years and spent much of his career as a pro- ALL THE WILD THAT on the environment—including, most fessor at Stanford University. He was REMAINS recently, Pope Francis—who have ar- the buttoned-up family man, his life Edward Abbey, Wallace Stegner, gued that we need to pay more careful and writing a sharp contrast to the and the American West attention to our relationship with the shaggy yelps of wild-man Abbey. By David Gessner natural world. Gessner’s efforts to put these two W.W. Norton. 368p $26.95 Edward Abbey and Wallace Stegner writers into dialogue takes an un- may strike readers familiar with their conventional form, mixing road-trip In 1955, the novelist and nonfiction work as an unlikely pairing for such memoir, literary analysis, political writer Wallace Stegner called on a journalism and environmental advoca- like-minded group of writers and pho- cy into a book that puts his own pas- tographers to contribute to a book sion for the wild places of America on called This Is Dinosaur, which was de- bright display. Gessner first discovered signed to showcase for the American America’s West when he left his native public the natural beauty that would New England, in the wake of a suc- be destroyed by proposed dam proj- cessful cancer treatment, for graduate ects in Colorado’s Dinosaur National school in Colorado. Like many before Monument. A copy of the book was him, he sought renewal and reinven- given to every member of Congress, tion by heading westward. He fell in and it both helped derail those dams love with the dramatic contrasts of and found America’s modern environ- desert and mountain, and although he mental movement. physically moved on—he now teaches Forty years later, Terry Tempest at the University of North Carolina at Williams followed in Stegner’s foot- Wilmington—the West seems to have steps by putting together a book called remained a ghostly terrain that haunts Testimony: Writers Speak on Behalf of his environmental imagination. the Utah Wilderness, which was in turn The book’s frame takes the form distributed to members of Congress of a road trip from North Carolina and likewise designed to protect wild out west and then back again, with places in the American West. A year Gessner visiting people and places that later, when Bill Clinton spoke at the a project, as Gessner immediately ac- figure prominently in the literature and dedication of the Grand Staircase- knowledges. Abbey, author of the nov- lives of Abbey and Stegner. He spends Escalante Monument, nearly 1.9 mil- el The Monkey-Wrench Gang, which a Sunday afternoon with Wendell lion acres of newly preserved wilder- helped inspire radical environmental Berry in Kentucky, visits with one of ness in Utah, he held up the book and organizations like EarthFirst!, was an the men that Abbey transformed into said, “This made a difference.” outlaw who believed in pulling up sur- a memorable character in The Monkey- David Gessner, who recounts these veyor stakes and crippling bulldozers Wrench Gang, and strolls the family two stories in his new book, All the for the sake of preserving the wilder- farm in Vermont with Stegner’s son. Wild That Remains: Edward Abbey, ness. He dropped his beer cans in the He takes a raft trip down the San Wallace Stegner, and the American wild places where he lived, followed his Juan River with his favorite literary West, hopes likewise to jolt the reading romantic and sexual interests wherever sidekick, a congenial bear of a man public into action—or at least into a they led and did not work well in for- named Hones, and brings his daugh- better understanding of the effects of mal political channels. ter, Hadley, up to Stegner’s childhood their actions on the wild places that Stegner, by contrast, fought quietly home in Saskatchewan. remain in the American West, home and legally, but no less passionately, for But Gessner also draws from a deep of the two writers who have long in- the western landscape which he loved. well of research into the geography spired his own writing and thinking. In He wrote many novels and nonfiction and nature of the American West, and so doing, he joins a long list of writers books and fit more comfortably within from interviews with experts in a range

32 America October 5, 2015 of areas, from environmental scien- tists to literary scholars. That research, along with with his generous quota- tions from the works of Abbey and Stegner, mixes artfully with his candid and entertaining personal narratives, all of which comes in service to his at- tempts to understand what motivated the shared environmental advocacy of his two environmental heroes. Throughout the book Gessner helps us understand what has enchanted so many readers, visitors and residents of the American West, and argues passionately that the open and seem- ingly endless expanses of the western deserts and plains and mountains are anything but endless. They are a fragile ecosystem, one that we seem hell-bent on destroying with our reckless pur- suit of both unlimited energy and un- restrained development. Unlike many environmental writers, though, who see nothing but doom in the crystal ball, Gessner maintains hope that we can yet change our habits, or at least turn them in directions that capitalize on the restless energy of our species while still maintaining some of the wild places on the earth. Near the book’s opening, Gessner calls the American West a “place of startling beauty and jaw-dropping sights. But also a place in a world of trouble.” We cannot ignore either of these realities, the book argues. “It seems to me,” he continues, “that any- one who cares to really think about the planet today has to hold both of these things in mind, to remember to see the beauty, and to still take joy in that beauty but not shy away from the hard and often ugly reality. And it seems to me that Stegner and Abbey, who after all walked this same path before us, are well suited to help guide us in this dif- ficult task.” Gessner finds in the works of Abbey and Stegner no easy formulas for us to follow; you won’t read in here recommendations to turn off the water when you brush your teeth or to com-

October 5, 2015 America 33 post your vegetables. Instead, Gessner Catholics digest and respond to Pope on Mass attendance, adult conversions challenges us to look more carefully at Francis’ new encyclical. Unlike Stegner to the church and monetary contribu- how we treat the earth, to consider the and Abbey, who spoke primarily on tions by some 20 percent. extent to which our hunger for oil and behalf of the wild places in the west- Born in Anaconda, Mont., gas, or the desire for a second home, or ern United States and sought to mo- Hunthausen became a priest of the for neatly manicured lawns in the des- bilize America’s environmentalists diocese of Helena, a faculty member, ert have implications for the creation and politicians, Pope Francis calls all coach and, at the young age of 35, pres- from which we have grown increasing- of humanity to the table, with an eye ident of Carroll College in Helena. At ly distant. Although he swings broadly, toward the entirety of creation. If his the age of 41, Hunthausen was chosen he makes for a convincing advocate, words have the kind of power evinced to be the bishop of Helena in 1962. and his book should follow in the tra- by the books of Stegner and Abbey, the He is the only living bishop to have dition of Stegner and Abbey to inspire scope of that change could be unprece- attended all the sessions of Vatican II, real change in his readers. dented—and, for writers like Gessner, which left a deep impression on him. The power of writing to make a dif- would be most welcome indeed. Even as a seminarian, Hunthausen ference to the environment may yet see had been horrified by our dropping an even more dramatic demonstration JAMES M. LANG is an English professor at atomic bombs on Japan. He puzzled in the coming months and years, as Assumption College in Worcester, Mass. over why we couldn’t have warned the Japanese or dropped the bomb in the Pacific to show its potential devasta- JOHN A. COLEMAN tion. Why, he wondered, did we have to drop it on people? At the coun- ACTIVIST IN THE CHANCERY cil, again he pondered the moral evil of nuclear weapons. The pursuit of A STILL AND QUIET vestigation under Cardinal Ratzinger Hunthausen mainly stemmed from CONSCIENCE and Archbishop Pio Laghi, the his opposition to the Trident subma- The Archbishop Who Challenged Vatican’s ambassador to the United rine nuclear weapons stored in the a Pope, a President, and a Church States. He then let his proposed book Seattle area. By John A. McCoy on Hunthausen lie Installed as Orbis Books. 288p $26 fallow in reams of Archbishop of notes on his com- Seattle on May 22, John McCoy, an excellent writ- puter for many 1975, Hunthausen er, tells an insider’s account of the years. chose not St. James public humiliation of Archbishop Finally, the per- Cathedral for the Raymond Hunthausen of Seattle. I son of Pope Francis ceremony but the met Hunthausen on a number of oc- led him to complete large Seattle Center casions. I always came away with the his biography. As Arena, where all image of a humble, deeply pastoral he says of Francis: could attend. Over and collegial bishop. He was one of “He reminds me 5,000 people did so, my heroes. Bishop William McManus in many ways of including Protestant of Fort Wayne told Seattle’s Msgr. Hunthausen. He’s and Jewish leaders. Michael Ryan: “Stay with this man and humble, kind, Hunthausen wore a continue to back him. The American compassionate, simple white alb and hierarchy has produced very few great plain-spoken and a white cloth mi- men. He is one of them!” unpretentious. He ter without adorn- McCoy, a former reporter for The has a Vatican II vi- ment. His crozier Seattle Post-Intelligencer and director sion of the church, was a smooth ma- of public affairs for the Archdiocese of a church that is inclusive, loving, hogany stick, void of decoration. He of Seattle (in Hunthausen’s last years transformative, of a church with a set aside his predecessor’s crozier, and also under Hunthausen’s succes- heart for the poor and the oppressed.” richly ornamented in gold and silver. sor), gathered copious interviews and The Vatican seemed unimpressed He strongly supported women in the notes on Hunthausen’s pastoral pres- that, under Hunthausen’s leadership, church, stressing affirmative action, ence as bishop and on the Roman in- Seattle exceeded the national average equal access to diocesan jobs and the

34 America October 5, 2015 removal of sexist language. He cham- homosexuals (the diocese had allowed sign that the main cause was not pas- pioned a priests’ senate. When he a Dignity Mass in the cathedral). toral failures but the peace activities attended ecumenical breakfasts and But in a visit to Cardinal Sebastiano was that the only other bishop to get was asked by a Protestant what to call Baggio of the Congregation of an auxiliary with special faculties was him, since they addressed his prede- Bishops, Baggio told Hunthausen Bishop Walter Sullivan of Richmond, cessor as “Archbishop,” he responded: he suspected the visitation “stemmed Va., who, as bishop advisor to Pax “I also called him that. You can call from his involvement in the arms race Christi, was also a peace activist. The me ‘Ray.’” Hunthausen was pro-life question.” Later, Hickey told an old 17 bishops of the Northwest (ex- and adhered to “a consistent ethic of friend in Seattle, the Rev. Larry Reilly: cept Archbishop William Leveda of life.’ In 1980 he persuaded his fellow “Well, I guess we both know why I’m Portland) sent a letter to Pope John Washington State bishops to issue a really here.” Reilly answered: “Yes, Paul II praising Hunthausen and ask- letter, “The Morality of Being a Single- you’re here because of Ronald Reagan ing that he return Seattle to normal Issue Person,” against those who made and the Archbishop’s position on nu- ecclesial governance. The American abortion a single litmus test for all vot- clear disarmament.” “That’s right, that’s bishops in 1986 took up the case. A ing. It said: “A Catholic Church which right Larry,” was Hickey’s response. three-member commission suggested thinks in terms of only one issue has The Vatican’s reaction was to appoint a new coadjutor, Thomas Murphy of given up its birthright.” an auxiliary bishop with special fac- Billings, Mont., who would have re- Beginning in the late 1970s ulties, Donald Wuerl. Hunthausen sponsibility but not ultimate pasto- Hunthausen began to speak out and sought the advice of the Rev. James ral decision on the areas assigned to protest against the buildup of nucle- Coriden, the best canon lawyer in the Wuerl. Both worked hard at this task, ar weapons, especially the Trident United States, who told him he did but it is unworkable to have, equiva- submarine, harbored near Seattle. He not know what to advise because the lently, what is, in effect, two archbish- showed up at a protest in 1978 but Vatican seemed to be making up the ops in one diocese. stated, “I’m here out of my own per- rules as it went along. Bishop Wuerl Notably, Hunthausen was one of sonal conviction. Not here as the arch- gained final authority over six areas: the first archbishops to deal forth- bishop.” Later, as the Reagan admin- liturgy, marriage, clergy and seminar- rightly with the clergy abuse issue. He istration built up the nuclear arsenal, ians, ex-priests and any issues related turned over priest pedophiles to the Hunthausen publicly stated that he to health care and homosexuals. In ef- law and said, in a letter to all his priests was withholding his taxes and giving fect, the archbishop was symbolically sent in 1988, that he would name pe- them to charity “in resistance to nucle- stripped of office. dophile priests and asked the priests ar murder and suicide.” It was an unworkable arrangement to follow procedures if a victim came Unfortunately for Hunthausen, (which even Wuerl later admitted). A forward. Jason Berry, the first jour- a kind of entente cordial grew be- tween the Reagan administration and the Vatican. Reagan recognized the Vatican diplomatically and gave infor- mation to Vatican officials about the Communist bloc. Many in the Reagan administration (especially Catholics, including Reagan’s secretary of the navy, secretary of state, director of the C.I.A., and national security advisor) asked Cardinal Ratzinger to make an example of one of the U.S. bishops who was anti-war. The Vatican sent Cardinal James Hickey of Washington, D.C., as an apostolic visitor. Hunthausen was accused of al- leged liturgical abuses, inability to en- force church law, laxity in allowing an- nulments to marriages, being soft on abortion and being too lenient toward

October 5, 2015 America 35 nalist to break the priest pedophile the Doctrine of the Faith. in the fact that Hispanics are today story, said, “Hunthausen was the first Hunthausen retired in 1991 when present in more than a third of U.S. archbishop to deal with this problem he was 70. He returned to Montana parishes and account for about 40 publicly. The fact that Hunthausen and has said, “Francis is doing the percent of all Catholics in the coun- spoke out and was so forthright—you things I tried to do!” This stellar bi- try and for 70 percent of the church’s cannot overestimate that!” ography shows a truly courageous and growth in the United States. The U.S. Hunthausen was investigated, holy man but also deeply unjust and Conference of Catholic Bishops is also punished and humiliated. He had no humiliating actions by some church currently in the initial stages of plan- official legal representation, no right officials. ning the next Encuentro. of appeal, no due process or access The book is divided into three to the report of the allegations made JOHN A. COLEMAN, S.J., is an associate pas- parts, one for each Encuentro, and against him to the Congregation for tor at St. Ignatius Church in San Francisco. is mostly Paredes’s summary of the many documents produced by each of these gatherings, like the working LUIS A. TAMPE documents, agendas, plenary-session presentations, minutes and the recom- ENCOUNTERING THE FUTURE mendations approved at the three na- tional Encuentros. THE HISTORY OF THE Encuentros. Hinze’s oversight, while My own doctoral research on the NATIONAL ENCUENTROS unfortunate, is not surprising, since Encuentros helps me to recognize the Hispanic Americans in the One at the heart of what gave rise to the importance of providing a summary Catholic Church Encuentros (literally, encounters) of these documents. Indeed, some of By Mario J. Paredes in the first place is the sad fact that them are extremely difficult to ob- Paulist Press. 256p $27.95 U.S. Catholic tain—more so now Hispanics have that because of bud- In his book Practices of Dialogue in often been under- get constraints, the the Roman Catholic Church, Bradford appreciated and U.S.C.C.B. has made Hinze of Fordham University skill- underserved, if not access to its archives fully explores various examples of di- worse, by society virtually impossible. alogue within the church, including at large and the Paredes also the pastoral letters on peace (1983) church itself. comments on each and the economy (1986) issued by the This book by Encuentro and dis- U.S. bishops following wide-ranging Mario J. Paredes is cusses the pros- consultation. Hinze also focuses on an important step pects for the next the two-year consultation sponsored in presenting to Encuentro, which will by the U.S. bishops that culminated in a new generation be the fifth of its kind the national assembly Call to Action, the Encuentros since a fourth was held in October 1976. and their impact convened in 2000 as Hinze’s analysis, however, fails to on U.S. Catholic the “Encuentro 2000,” mention the vast grassroots consulta- Hispanics and though without the tion—in total, perhaps as widespread the wider church, consultative dimen- as that of Call to Action, if not more as well as their sion and pastoral aim so—sponsored by the U.S. bishops of promise for them. Paredes is well of the previous three. the church’s Hispanic American pop- situated to be our guide in this sig- The idea to convene the first ulation during this same time period. nificant endeavor: as one of the dele- Encuentro (June 19-22, 1972) This consultation was divided into gates from Brooklyn, he participated emerged in September 1971 in New three different periods and resulted in in the first Encuentro and, as exec- York City and soon garnered grass- national gatherings of U.S. Catholic utive director (1976-2003) of the roots support in the subsequent Hispanics in Washington, D.C., in Northeast Catholic Pastoral Center months. The primary aim of the first 1972, 1977 and 1985. The consulta- for Hispanics, he helped organize the Encuentro was to begin “to develop a tion process and the gatherings were second and third Encuentros. The im- pastoral plan for Hispanic-Americans, called National Hispanic Pastoral portance of this book is partly rooted who at the time made up 25 percent of

36 America October 5, 2015 the U.S. Catholic faithful.” First, Paredes does not include ac- any example of inculturation, certain The second Encuentro (Aug. 18- tual descriptions of what the mood limits to any pastoral process of con- 21, 1977) was preceded by a concert- was like at the Encuentros, nor does sultation are to be expected precise- ed, wide-ranging consultation that he address events of note that might ly because these endeavors attempt began by focusing on la base (the have taken place outside of the offi- to balance our understanding of the grassroots, the base) nearly two years cial agendas. When describing the Gospel within the context of a partic- earlier. Throughout the country, dif- third Encuentro, for example, Paredes ular time and place. ferent groups and dioceses organized makes no mention of the raucous ten- Paredes’s book will undoubt- local gatherings to take the pulse of sion that arose over the ordination of edly prove a rich resource as the U.S. Catholic Hispanics. In all, some women. A fair number of the women U.S.C.C.B.’s Committee on Cultural 100,000 people participated in the delegates left the plenary session in Diversity in the Church brings to re- second Encuentro’s countrywide con- protest. This event, as well as the fact ality the fifth Encuentro, an ambitious sultation. that all three Encuentros called for a undertaking that will require five years The third Encuentro (Aug. 15-18, re-examination of women’s role in the to complete (see www.enhave.org for 1985) was by far the best organized church, could dampen Paredes’s view more information). The current pre- and most ambitious of the three. More that for Hispanics “ordination, power paratory stage will be followed by a than 100,000 people were consulted and competition are not in play nor countrywide consultation culminating during the process leading up to the does the subject produce an aggressive with the national gathering of the fifth national gathering. The delegates at the climate.” Encuentro, presently scheduled to third Encuentro also laid the ground- Second, Paredes is disheartened take place in late September 2018 in work for the National Pastoral Plan by certain aspects of the Encuentros’s Dallas, Tex., followed by an extensive for Hispanic Ministry approved by the methodology, lamenting their use of assessment period. U.S. bishops in 1987. Although not insights derived from liberation the- consistently implemented, this plan ology that limit the flexibility of their LUIS A. TAMPE, S.J., teaches theology at remains the official touchstone for recommendations. However, as with Wheeling Jesuit University. Hispanic ministry in the United States. The delegates at the Encuentros approved recommendations related to CLASSIFIED school to internal and external community groups. education, social justice and intra-ec- To learn more about the position, visit: www.jesu- itportland.org/employment. clesial matters such as co-responsibil- ity, evangelization, a greater Hispanic Clothing Baptism garments and Nativity sets from Retreats role in the decision-making process Bethlehem. Allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery; SAVE THE DATE. Late winter retreat with Ron and the type of church U.S. Hispanics www.GuliGifts.com. Rolheiser, O.M.I., “The Cross of Christ: Revealing Secrets Hidden Since the Foundation of the wanted to form. The Encuentros’ most World.” Oblate School of Theology Campus, prominent ecclesial stress is succinct- Poems San Antonio, TX 78216. Feb. 21–25, 2016. ly expressed in this book’s subtitle, Xavier Wakes Poems, mostly lyric, which recall the Information: Brenda at (210) 341-1366 ext. life and reveal the afterlife of St. Francis Xavier, by 212.;www.ost.edu. Hispanic Americans in the One Catholic Michael T. Soper. Buy now at amazon.com. Church. U.S. Catholic Hispanics could Positions have favored the formation of a na- WANT YOUR AD HERE? tional church existing parallel to the THE JESUIT SCHOOL in Portland, Ore. is seeking a PRESIDENT. As the chief executive Visit americamagazine.org. established church. Instead, the “Spirit officer of the school, the President will have over- Email: [email protected]. has called Hispanic Catholics in the all responsibility for the management of Jesuit Call 212-515-0102. United States to a far more difficult High School and for providing leadership to its educational mission and values consistent with Ten-word minimum. Rates are per word per issue. path: that of the Hispanic faithful’s in- directives of the Catholic Church and the Society 1-5 times: $1.50; 6-11 times: $1.28; 12-23 times: tegration, without assimilation, in the of Jesus. The leadership responsibility extends to $1.23; 24-41 times: $1.17; 42 times or more: $1.12. U.S. Church.” the student population and the Jesuit High School For an additional $30, your print ad will be posted on faculty and staff. The President will also be the America’s Web site for one week. The flat rate for a As noted previously, Paredes’s book Web-only classified ad is $150 for 30 days. institutional spokesperson and will represent the represents a significant step toward presenting the Encuentros to a new America (ISSN 000-7049) is published weekly (except for 13 combined issues: Jan. 5-12, 19-26, April 13-20, May 25-June 1, generation of Catholics. I nevertheless 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 Street, New York, NY 10019. Periodical postage is paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing offices. Circulation: have a few quibbles with the author’s (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 year for international priority airmail. Postmaster: Send address changes to: America, P.O. Box 293159, reflections and will mention two here. Kettering, OH 45429.

October 5, 2015 America 37 THE WORD The Spirit of Wisdom TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (B), OCT. 11, 2015 Readings: Wis 7:7–11; Ps 90:12–17; Heb 4:12–13; Mk 10:17–30 I called on God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me (Wis 7:7)

n elected county clerk in Rowan issues? What is needed is wisdom. the thoughts and intentions of the County, Ky., Kim Davis, was Wisdom, sophia in Greek, hochmah in heart.” Wisdom comes through atten- Ajailed for refusing to grant mar- Hebrew, is personified in Scripture as tive reading, when we allow Scripture riage licenses. She is required by law a divine figure who comes from God to to interrogate our hearts and minds. to offer marriage licenses to same-sex guide us. “Therefore I prayed,” says the When we read with the teaching and couples, which she refused to do since Wisdom of Solomon, “and understand- tradition of the church, we are able to it affronts her understanding of the na- ing was given me; I called on God, hear the wisdom of the people of ture of marriage as a Christian. The sit- and the spirit of wisdom came to God and the magisterium, and uation has riled up many people. Some me.” We are told that wisdom it is more than just a process of consider her a martyr who is being per- must be valued above all hu- looking to the correct page and secuted for her religious beliefs; others man gains—“I preferred her chapter in the catechism. Think consider her a hypocrite for refusing to to scepters and thrones, and of Jesus, who met a man who do her elected duty, especially since she I accounted wealth as noth- had followed all the command- herself has been divorced three times. ing in comparison with her”— ments exactly, but when Jesus While numerous evangelical Christians but that with wisdom “all good asked him to sell what he owned support her, Catholic commentators things came to me along with her, have also defended her, on the basis of and in her hands uncounted wealth.” Scripture and natural law, specifically Wisdom can take time to find and PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE the principle that an unjust law is no counsel us, and wisdom requires our Free yourself from distractions and seek law at all and might even demand civil attention. In these days, filled with out wisdom. What difficult social issues disobedience. more distractions than ever before, or church teaching demand your prayers and reflections? What helps you to make This dispute has become a source we are called to make complex mor- certain you are seeking out wisdom, the of rancor among Christians because it al judgments in an instant. Yet the eternal treasure, and not simply your own exposes deep cultural fault lines about psalmist prays, “Teach us to count way? the relationship of civil law to divine our days that we may gain a wise mandates. But while the particular issue heart.” Wisdom is not the product of might be new, Christian allegiance to the wittiest tweet, the snarkiest put- and to give the money to the poor so divine commands in the face of contrary down or the cleverest meme but the that he would “have treasure in heaven; civil law has a long history, grounded fruit of prayer, reflection and humility. then come, follow me,” the man balked not only in the teaching of the apostles Wisdom means carefully examin- at accepting Jesus’ wisdom, as most of and the behavior of the first martyrs but ing the positions of others, especially us might. also among Jews like the Maccabees and when we are convinced we are correct. Peter, too, cried out to Jesus after the figure of Daniel. The well-formed Wisdom asks us to see the human be- the rich young man left, “Look, we conscience has a genuine integrity that ings behind the soundbites, searching have left everything and followed you!” cannot be dismissed with snide remarks out their humanity, even when we are Jesus was challenging his disciples to or by harshly judging the authenticity of convinced their stance is wrongheaded. look beyond commandments simply participants in a dispute. As Christians, we have Scripture to as a form of proper procedure to the How does one navigate contentious introduce us to wisdom, and we know value of wisdom, “uncounted wealth,” that “the word of God is living and ac- “treasure in heaven,” which can guide tive, sharper than any two-edged sword, us in the most tumultuous of times to JOHN W. MARTENS is a professor of theology at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn. piercing until it divides soul from spirit, eternal life. Twitter: @BibleJunkies. joints from marrow; it is able to judge JOHN W. MARTENS

38 America October 5, 2015 ART: TAD A. DUNNE TAD ART:

October 5, 2015 America 39