OF MANY THINGS y first foray into Republican is it simply an accurate reflection of Mr. 106 West 56th Street New York, NY 10019-3803 politics was in the winter Bush’s true character? Ph: 212-581-4640; Fax: 212-399-3596 of 1980, when George H. I suspect that it’s somehow both. Subscriptions: 1-800-627-9533 M www.americamagazine.org To my knowledge, no one has ever W. Bush was battling Ronald Reagan facebook.com/americamag for the presidential nomination. really called his character into question. twitter.com/americamag At the invitation of Marty Flynn, a Sure, his worldview stems from an old- local Republican and an old Central fashioned (some would say naïve) way of PRESIDENT AND EDITOR IN CHIEF Matt Malone, S.J. Intelligence Agency chum, Mr. Bush thinking about the world, one in which EXECUTIVE EDITORS made a whistle stop on Cape Cod en faith, know-how and neighborliness Robert C. Collins, S.J., Maurice Timothy Reidy route to the New Hampshire primary. can tackle even the toughest problems: MANAGING EDITOR Kerry Weber Well, it wasn’t literally a whistle stop, “There is a God and He is good, and his LITERARY EDITOR Raymond A. Schroth, S.J. but rather a quick speech at the Red love, while free, has a self-imposed cost: SENIOR EDITOR AND CHIEF CORRESPONDENT Coach Grille near Barnstable Municipal We must be good to one another,” he Kevin Clarke Airport. My dad was a friend of Marty’s told us in 1988. EDITOR AT LARGE James Martin, S.J. and a fan of Mr. Bush and, with his On the other hand, Mr. Bush has EXECUTIVE EDITOR, AMERICA FIlmS Jeremy Zipple, S.J. 8-year-old son in tow, he set out in our made some very questionable public POETRY EDITOR Joseph Hoover, S.J. yellow AMC Pacer to meet the future choices, about war and peace and right ASSOCIATE EDITOR AND VATICAN CORRESPONDENT president. and wrong, especially his decision to Gerard O’Connell I don’t remember anything that Mr. launch a barely credible, unrelentingly SENIOR EDITOR Edward W. Schmidt, S.J. Bush said that day, but I do recall some negative assault on his opponent, ENGAGEMENT AND COmmUNITY EDITOR of the tidbits I picked up from the buzz Michael Dukakis, during the 1988 Elizabeth Tenety ASSOCIATE EDITORS Ashley McKinless, Olga Segura that filled the room: “He’s a family man, presidential campaign. That wasn’t ASSISTANT EDITORS Francis W. Turnbull, S.J., a true American hero,” they said, “a guy very neighborly. It also helped to usher Joseph McAuley who can put the country back on track.” in our contemporary slash-and-burn ART DIRECTOR Sonja Kodiak Wilder The “family man” talking point was in politics, and it should be included in any COLUMNISTS Helen Alvaré, John J. Conley, S.J., part a veiled critique of Mr. Reagan, discussion of Mr. Bush’s public character. Daniel P. Horan, O.F.M., James T. Keane, John W. Martens, Bill McGarvey, Angela Alaimo O’Donnell, who was divorced. The United States No one should travel to College Margot Patterson, Nathan Schneider, Robert David had never elected a divorced man as Station, however, expecting to see a Sullivan president, and many people were asking balanced assessment of the politics of CORRESPONDENTS John Carr (Washington), An- thony Egan, S.J., and Russell Pollitt, S.J. (Johannes- whether we could or even should. In the Willie Horton ad. Fair enough. It’s burg), Jim McDermott, S.J. (Los Angeles), Timothy any event, later that year we settled his library, and it reflects Mr. Bush’s Padgett (Miami), Steven Schwankert (Beijing), the question by electing the man who, self-understanding. Still, he must have David Stewart, S.J. (London), Judith Valente (Chi- cago), Mary Ann Walsh, R.S.M. (U.S. Church) with Mr. Bush as his vice president, a regret or two, even about his public MODERATOR, CATHOLIC BOOK CLUB inaugurated the Reagan Revolution. life. Why not share it with us? It might Kevin Spinale, S.J. This was all on my mind when I help us to understand better the people EDITORIAL E-MAIL visited the George Bush Library and who govern our country. It would help [email protected] Museum last week in College Station, us to see that while politicians like Mr. Tex., part of my effort to visit every Bush might be decent folk, they are just PUblISHER AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Edward Spallone. DEPUTY PUblISHER Rosa Del Saz. VICE presidential library before I shuffle off as imperfect as the rest of us, and we PRESIDENT/ADVANCEMENT Daniel Pawlus. DEVEL- to the big Buffalo in the sky. Regrettably, should be reluctant, therefore, to invest OpmENT COORDINATOR Kerry Goleski. OPERATIONS but understandably, Mr. Bush’s trip to in any one of them our messianic hopes, STAFF Chris Keller, Glenda Castro. ADVERTISING CONTACT [email protected]; 212-515-0102. the Red Coach Grille does not feature in whether they originate with the duty- SUBSCRIPTION CONTACT/ADDITIONAL COPIES his library and museum, nor does much family-country crowd or with the so- [email protected]; of anything else from his unsuccessful called liberal elites. It’s six of one, half a 1-800-627-9533 run for the 1980 nomination. What’s dozen of the other. As Dennis O’Brien © 2015 America Press, Inc. interesting, however, is how the writes in this issue: “The temptation of museum’s narrative is built on the very conservatism is that of wandering off same themes he stressed that day on into outmoded historical formulae that Cape Cod: duty, family, country. Is this a are as distant from living reality as the singular example of consistent political liberal’s utopian projects.” messaging across three-plus decades, or MATT MALONE, S.J. Cover: Shutterstock.com/rmnoa357 Contents www.americamagazine.org VOL. 212 NO. 9, WHOLE NO. 5082 MARCH 16, 2015 ARTICLES 16 REDISCOVERING JESUS Pope Francis wants you to get personal. Timothy P. Schilling 19 WHO SPEAKS FOR ISLAM? Muslim authorities call for an end to militant violence. Elias D. Mallon 23 ON DYING WELL A paradoxical relationship with death Jessica Keating COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 16 4 Current Comment 5 Editorial Ars Moriendi 6 Reply All 9 Signs of the Times 14 Washington Front The Lives of David Carr John Carr 26 Vatican Dispatch Partners in Protection Gerard O’Connell 27 Faith in Focus Paying Our Respects Brian Doyle 39 The Word Following the Servant John W. Martens 23 BOOKS & CULTURE 29 FILM “Merchants of Doubt” OF OTHER THINGS The Sounds I Live By BOOKS Richard John Neuhaus;The Tyranny of Experts; The Bright Continent; We Are Not Ourselves POEM True Believer ON THE WEB Sean Salai, S.J., interviews Camille Paglia, right, and Eric LeCompte of Jubilee USA talks about debt relief on “America This Week.” Full digital highlights on page 15 and at americamagazine.org/webfeatures. 29 CURRENT COMMENT lingering anti-Washington sentiments have so far inoculated Father Ted’s Legacy President Maduro from having to give a full accounting for Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., popularly known as Ted, his leadership, which is pressing Venezuela into political and who died on Feb. 26, was one of the pre-eminent public humanitarian collapse. If the United States is scheming in figures of American Catholicism in the late 20th century, Venezuela, it is failing. Maduro’s challengers have yet to win noted for his devotion to his twin vocations as a Holy Cross over poor voters despite the economic and security chaos. priest and a university educator. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church in Venezuela has been During his 35 years at Notre Dame (1952–1987), he engaging in full-throated denunciations of the Maduro was a pioneer in stressing academic achievement, making government. Archbishop Roberto Lückert of Coro called the university coeducational and, most important, stressing the arrest of the mayor “proof ” of dictatorship. Fair enough greater lay participation in the university’s governance. In under the circumstances, but the church is already estranged 1967 he and other presidents of Catholic universities issued from the government in Venezuela. A clear alignment with a statement at Land O’Lakes, Wis., that committed Catholic the opposition will obliterate any hope that it could play universities to standards of excellence and academic freedom a mediating role. Venezuela’s problems—and the cast of that would equal those of any secular school. At Notre characters leading the nation—are not going away soon, Dame, Father Hesburgh accomplished those goals and then and Venezuela’s bishops should consider toning down some, while remaining committed to the importance of the rhetoric and reaching out more to help get the nation Catholic identity and scholarship. through this crisis. Another state teetering on the brink of an His initial involvement in national affairs began when abyss is the last thing this hemisphere needs. President Eisenhower appointed him a charter member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He long held the view that university presidents must be involved in national affairs Deliver Them From Evil and lamented the dearth of such influence among educators “First of all, I thank God Almighty. I thought I would never in recent years. be safe. God has saved me,” said Alexis Prem Kumar, S.J., Notre Dame’s current president, John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., freed in late February after eight months in captivity. Before hailed Father Hesburgh as “a steadfast champion for human his abduction by the Taliban, the Indian Jesuit priest had rights, the cause of peace and care for the poor.” As William served as the country director for the Jesuit Refugee Service J.