The Scarlet letter

...Pope John Pa l II a g ein Redemp oHomini , hen he e y exi ence ofhe chch in pa i he ,chooland apo olic mo emenibo h a wi neohe poibili y of jice and peace, aanding challengeoheich and powe f l, and a ne wo k of cen efofo ming andppoing ci izencommi ed o a con anggleoan fo mocie yo all peon ha e f lly in poli ical, economic, and c lal life . Clea ly, epi copal p ono ncemen, conl a ionamong Ca holic , and effec i e pa o al wo k alone will no accompli h ha objec i e . Mo e delibe a e, c a egic ac ion i needed...

...The ultimate arbiter of military planning is Commonweal: 556...

...A strategy which seeks to bring forth real dialogue about the dangers and opportunities which now confront the nation and the world, a dialogue based on the ongoing reflection in faith on human experience in parishes, apostolic movements, every place where Catholics gather, alone will enable the promise of renewal to bring about a world responsive to the will of the Father and alive to his promises...

...To ay cche ha e no igho peak oon ma epoli ical i fooli h on iface...

...He is the author of The Warat Homeand The Man Who Kept the Secrets: Richard Helms and the CIA (Knopjg.II The result is a return to Clausewitzean concepts of warfare, which identify the object of military operations as destruction of an enemy's military forces...

...I THE IMPLICATIONS OF P.D...

...wi h al o ofhe a g meninhe cono ey ihahey,, beg oo many q e ion . I iea onable fo libe al , who ha e a acked he chch fo ipoli ical q ie i m on ma eof wa and ocial injice,on a o nd and a ackhe ca dinal fo choo ing o ake a poli icaland' on an ie whe ehe chch'po i ion habeen o clea ? Iiighfohe chch, who eandomae of ocial jice ha e been q i e clea ly oppo edoho e of he NewRigh ,o i eeneagaincandida e who ag eewi h he ch cho look on moia e abo ion...

...The e a e mo al impe a i e in poli ic , a ino he a ea . The p oblem i ha , ine i ably, con cien ioCh i ianwill of en di - ag ee;on a wideange of poli ical ma e , e en if hey a e applyingo ghly heame p inciple . The e a e, o bee, ome po i ion which a e o an i he ical o Ch iian docinehaonlyhe modefo med concience co ld ai e aheminhe name of Ch iiani y . Who doe no wi h he ch ch' hadaken a mo e mili an me againhe NazWhodoe no appla d ch ch effoo endoand poli ical imp i onmenin a co e of dic a ohipa oidhe wo ld...

...Befo e' going on,ho ld acknowledge a peon in e ein all hi . Jim Shanno ibo h a f iendand omeone I ega d aa modeloyo ng libe al Cong e man ho ld be abo...

...Wha ihchch-and iog e con i ency- o do...

...If all this is to be done, if Catholic lparticipation in the 1984 election is to be more intelligent and significant than it can possibly be in 1980, then Catholics are going to have to help reshape the options before the American people...

...The ca dinal'lee e o men ion a idehey a e on . The p achowedhachch leadedo ngle name o make clea which cal q e ion i: Aminghe obliga ion fochch leadeinche Ch iian' con cience in he poli ica a m, jwhaho ldhe ch ch be doing a o nd elec ion i The an we , Ihink, ihafew ofa e comfoable wi hhe no ion of a chch inc ing people how o o e.e e e y Ch i ian wi h fi mly held poli ical iew i likely o feel a leaa o ch of joy whene ehe chch comedown on whahe ohe pe cei eo hehe gh "ide...

...Wi h haealiza ionin mind,he deba e o ehe ch ch' poli ical ole co ld p oceed wi h a lo mo e in ellecal honey, and a loleaogance on all ide . And one hing, a lea , i cleal and in ellecal aogance a e noCh iianie...

...In ping ie like efo m of he c iminal code and h man ighin La in Ame ica, D inan challenged he people of hidiico go beyondhei own na ow in e eand he p o ided an example of a p blic official g ided byome hing mo e han poll oo e analy i . (Con in ed on page 556) Commonweal: 554HE SC AniT LETTER UESTIONS FOR CATHOLIC LIBERALS LIBERAL AND RADICAL CATHOLICha elong...

...Bi hopmighim la e andppoch ini ia i e , bheyho ld be independen ; bi hopho ld concena e onhe p blic mo al dialog e and he con in ing enewal of pao al wo k, g ad ally de eloping a pao al and en i i e app oacho inco po a ing Ch i ian ci ic in o o dina y chch life...

...Bhe e a e co eoo he ieon which Ch i - ian , like e e ybody el e, will di ag ee...

...Howa d Phillip . he head ofhe Con ea i e Ca c,aid wi h glee hahe ca dinal had joined he Mo al Majo i y . Thep oble n E. . DIONNE, JR , q ee ,U iboo Commonweal...

...Libe al Ca holic who objecoMedei ole e - o ghohink ca ef lly aboheiea on . Some libe - al in he ch ch imply, di ag ee abohe aboion ie elf,eeinga ioexcep iono ip ohibi ion a mo ally pe mi ible . O heaccepwi hoq alifica ion e ch ch' mo aleaching on aboion bdo b whe heican pden ially beeflec ed in Ame ican law...

...The real cause of PD 59, which calls for pointing American strategic weapons at Russian military targets, rather than industrial and population centers, is technical improvement of missile guidance systems, coupled with development of Multiple Independently-targetable Re-entry Vehicles, known as MIRVs...

...It is a long and honorable tradition of Catholic politics that particular justice requires general justice, that specific reforms of economic, social, and cultural life depend upon and relate to the overall structure of economics, politics, and culture, the way of life, within which that structure exists...

...Shannoa kep fai h h hi pa y' com m menohe lewell-off, while hi libe ali m ioo ed inhe needof hiwo kin cla con i enin Lowell and Law ence . Poli ic a ide, I wa naally nhappyhaa f iend'poli ical ca ee mighbe endange ed byhe ac ionof a chch leadeI admi ee y m ch...

...FWALL AND MOSTimpoan ly,he chch in ipon he obliga ion of ilay membeo paicipa e inhe poli ical p oce , and iho ld aiandppohapaicipa ion in i pa o al wo k. Fa he D inan' poli ical demi e io beeg e - ed nobecae iia goodhing fop ieo hold p blic office, bbecae in a ime when he poli ical p oceielf andin low eeem, ahe bi hophem el eempha ized in hei8 elec iona emen , D inanood aaymbol ofhe nece a y connec ion be ween fai h and poli ic . Eq ally impoan , by hiac i e acknowledgemenof poli ical acco n abili y in hi diic , D inan poin edohe poibili y of a poli ical enewal which wo ld engage he in e eand enh ia m of ci izen by g an ing hem eal powe o ehe elec ion of candida eandheelec ion of ieo be empha ized by elec ed official...

...This amounts to a silent crossing of what is now called the nuclear threshold, and its proximate effect over time will be the absorption of nuclear we/lpons as one more item in the military inventory...

...The new strategic policy, laid out in a document called Presidential Directive 59, comes in response to a decade of debate about Soviet military intentions, but its real cause is not a sudden revival of early Cold War fears of global ambition in Moscow...

...Ca holic a e p ominen and ac i e a all le el of Ame ican poli ic . The ch ch i p e en in he midof e e y p e ing ie conf on inghe na ion, inban cen eand b ban de elopmen , among he Black and Hi panic poo , in nion , in Appalachia, in ol n a y agencie and mo emenof all kind , Ca holic and non-Ca holic . I i inconcei - able ha fo m co ld be c ea ed wi hinhe chch,h o gh ni e i ieoeligioin ie , fohe exchange of info - ma ion and de elopmenof commona egie ? Co ld no Ne wo k be de eloped in o a la ge , e en mo e effec i e lobbying agency on a n mbeofelec ed ie , onhe model of he F iend Commiee on Na ional Legi la ion...

...But departures have a seismic signature all their own, and the tremor was unmistakably underfoot in August of 1980, when a new strategic policy was announced by Secretary of Defense Harold Brown, a man who has spent his entire professional life designing nuclear weapons and deciding what to do with them: Brown insisted the policy was not new at all but only an ' "evolutionary development" in American theories of how to keep the peace...

...And in democ a ic co n ie whe e he ie a e nooa kly d awn,,he q eionbecome mo e diffic l.Le ame fo ,he momenhahe chch decidedo p h i, b oad "p o-life" agenda and mo ed away f om a ingle-minded empha i on he abo ion ie . To wha ex en wo ld p og e i e Ca holicill wanhe ch ch o become di ec ly emb oiled in elec o al poli ic '? Thei diffic l y in dealing wi hhe ca dinal'leelie in i ing i hing be ween oppo i ion o poli ical ac ion by e ch ch, and oppo i ion o hi fo m of poli ical ac ion..We ehe e libe almad ahe ca dinal becae he ac edoo poli ically, owe ehey ang y becae he in eened on whaheyega ded ahe w ongide...

...If they will open themselves to the possibilities contained in their tradition and in the rich human resources of the contemporary church, perhaps they can reshape those options and the entire landscape of American political'culture...

...Ei he po i ion i defen ible, bheya e adically diffe enpo i ion...

...Specters are in the eye of the beholder...

...59 Crossing the nuclear threshhold THOMAS POWERS THE BIGTHINGSin history tend to start off in small ways...

...an intention is not a definite thing...

...To the new language of human rights and liberation which comes to them from the church universal, they must add the traditional language of the common good, once the central theme in discussions of social justice...

...And make no mi ake :Ca dinal'Medei o i , no way he di an , con ea i e cle ic who playch a ae ain libe al Ca holic demonology .He i , fiof all, a wa m and gene oman who ha q i e con cio ly e chewed' aegal lifeyle . Dinghechool,, bing con o e yinBoon,- he in iedhahe chch' chool y em no beed aa ehicle fohwaing in eg a ion . And a a bi hop in Texawa on he ide of poo fa mwo keeeking jice...

...This was just talk...

...His regular reelection showed that his confidence in the people of his district was not misplaced...

...For that example, all Americans have reason to be grateful to Drinan...

...In fact the world came full circle...

...A generation ago, John Cogley asked if Catholics were always to be standing in judgment on their country, as if its failures were not their failures, as if its problems were not their own...

...One can think of nothing more necessary to restoring the vitality of American politics than a courageous pursuit of the real issues of the contemporary world in a context of dialogue and accountability between public officials and the electorate...

...Some see them, and some don't...

...In Ando e , one h nd ed Shannonppo ehowed in hei pa i h ch ch he S nday befo ehe, p ima y wea ing Shannon bonaa ilen p o eagainhe a d'nal'a emen . Shannon won, inho, becae a o of Ca holiccho eoo e fo him . Th ca dinal'leehaq i e p ope ly caed a majo ibo h in ide and oidehe chch . Libe al , pa ic - la ly;ofheec laa ie y, we e q icko cha gehaheca dinal had iola edome bo nda yha ippo ed o exibe weenhe chch and poli ic...

...It's easy to miss them, or to read them wrong, or to point them out before they're really there...

...a ing in Ame ica, M g . Geo ge Higginwa ned If hi i a ion iallowed o con in e, he e i an inc ea ingly g a e dangehaheigh - o-life mo emen a a whole will be di c edi ed a a igh -wing ha e . l Oc obe8 : 555Mo e b ow y jwhaihe chch'p opepoli i alole...

...Mighno leadeof Ca holic o ganiza ion and mo emencon ene occa ionallyo di cp io i iefona ional ac ion, like he leadeof majo Jewi h o ganiza ion ? Co ld waynobe fo nd o gi e he ne wo k of Ca holic Cha i ie andhe Campaign fo H man De elopmenmo e di ecacceo elec ed officialachch leade,ohaaamighbe made owa d fo m la ing a cohe en poli ical agenda of wide pop la appeal...

...a lot of new arguments finally lost out to an old argument...

...They can do so only if they transcend single issue politics and demonstrate concern for the public interest across a wide variety of issues In a very real way, the challenge of the 1980s for Catholics in the United States is situated at the intersection of faith and politics...

...changed nuclear weapons from the hammer-like to the rapier-like--if anything with such pronounced side-effects (called "collateral damage" by the military) can be likened to a rapier...

...Today Catholics and other Americans face unacceptable choices in the election of their president...

...I THOMASPOwERsreceived the Pulitzer Prizefor national reporting in 1971...

...Accurate MIRVs have...

...Andill o heppobo h mo al and legal oppoi iono aboion bdo o a paof a b oad "p o-life agenda ha al o incl deoppo i iono capi al p ni h en and he a maceandppofodome ic and in e na ional aid ohe poo...

...Whani e all he e Ca holic libe alia beliefha ch ch ha no b inebecoming in ol ed, albei nin en ionally, in he poli ical machina ion of he New Righ , which ha fo nd he abo ion ie a con enienga zing ool...

...i iedhachch leadeha e beenooimid in making known he poli ical and ocial impe ai e of he Go pel . Ea ly lamon h, one ch ch leade H mbe o Ca dinal Medei o of Bo on, cho e o mo e him elf, andhe efo ehe chch, in ohehick of hing poli ical . He ied, a pa o al le e wa ning ha legi - la owhoppoed legalized aboionha edin he g il and blame in ol ed in aboion...

...Catholics, of course, must seek to understand the specific responsibilities which are theirs as contemporary Christians, but they also need to examine the requirements which rest on them as successful, strategically situated Americans...

...The great open questions of nuclear weapons--what to point them at, and why?--were finally answered by the world's military men, not the civilian strategists who had long sought paradoxical shelter in the prospect of Armageddon...

...Given the historic location of Catholic voters in this most crucial of nations at this point in history, they can make a difference...

...Argument about intentions is by its nature inconclusive...

...Andooo, he in ied, dido ewhoppoedch poli ician . Th ca dinal' le e wa ied he week befo e a Demo c a ic p ima y elec ion in Maache, an elec ion in whichwo libe al Democ awe e figh ing mo econe a i eopponenwho e-andon aboion mo e clo ely compoed wi hho e ofhe ca dinal, Bo h Cong e man Jim Shannon and S a e Rep e en a i e Ba ney F ank,he oeofhe Maachelibe al comm ni y,i edhe ca dinal'aack, and -- gi enMa - ache'lo eaffaiwi hhe Democ a ic pay --- bo h a e likelyo findhem el einWa hing oncony Jan a y,8 . And pa ic la ly in F ank' ca e, i appea ed hahe ca dinal'leedid mo eo helphan h. Analyzing he elec ion'elinheBoon Globe, Ch i Blac no edhawhile o enoin Ca holic ci ieI' Fi chbgand Ga dne d opped,noin libe al and hea ily Jewi h a ealike B ookline and New ono ha ply.Inhe o he key ace, Shannon- o Ca holic - co ed-hea ily inhe libe albb ; held hiown inhe la ge Ca holic indial ci ie;and inLaw ence, hihomeown,won by ab an ial ma gin...