Correspondence
CORRESPONDENCE Damage control New Haven, Conn. To the Editors: Having had some experience in these matters, I know that an author's reply to a negative review can never undo the damage. I...
...I have always seen Vatican II as a sign of total papal weakness under pressure from liberals who felt that power entitled them to do anything they saw fit...
...In light of this, I question his decision later in the letter to spotlight a gay "spokesman" who would deride "safe sex" on national television...
...to claim that a crackpot, like the one referred to by Mr...
...Serials Data program No.: ISSN 0010-3330...
...Classified payable with order...
...Curran case produces a disarming intellectual malaise...
...Contrary to Mr...
...68<J, three times...
...Not only are the practices and ideologies of Tel-Aviv and Pretoria in many ways similar, but the rhetoric both countries use to defend them rings a suspiciously familiar tune...
...262, 264, Valerry...
...Many stable and responsible gay people choose not to participate in these surveys...
...His pas(Continued on page 300) Commonweal is indexed in Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, Catholic Periodical Index, Index of American Periodical Verse, Book Review Digest and Book Review Index...
...So erstwhile theologians like Curran attempted to fill the pastoral void by offering mediating guidance...
...I might be willing to concede that homosexual activity "is not inextricably, tied to pederasty, sadomasochism, pornography, promiscuity, or any of the other destructive behaviors which [people] rightly fear,'' but I would 8 May 1987: 301 be hard put to say the evidence is overwhelming...
...I love the Catholic church from the bottom of my heart, but my mother has a problem, and when she becomes like this, I find it necessary to detach with "tough love...
...Aelred of Rievaulx as the patron saint of homosexuals as well as institute a ritual whereby persons of the same sex can be publicly, perhaps even sacramentally, bound together in a deep, intimate, profound, chaste, spiritual friendship...
...For brochure contact: Institute on Sacred Scripture, College Misericordia, Dallas, PA 18612...
...J. BURT TOTARO Komonchak's clarity Newton Centre, Mass...
...I am not familiar with the McKusick study which he cites, but I gather that it focuses on the behavior of promiscuous homosexuals...
...The unspoken assumption that there is, or should be, unanimity among homosexuals regarding homosexuality is perhaps the greatest and most harmful 300: Commonweal myth in all of gay rhetoric...
...John Pilch, Ph.D...
...Since opposition has been summarily neutralized, we can all assume a spectator's posture as the church re-walls itself in, with even less intellectual and moral mortar than ever before...
...To the Editors: I would like to contest some of the assumptions in Stephen Elred's "Gay Rights/Gay Plight" [December 26, 1986] to which Cardinal Bernardin did not respond in his excellent letter...
...To the Editors: I haven't seen Woody Allen's Radio Days but after Tom O'Brien's review [February 27] I'm satisfied that it "reveals everything that's wrong with Woody Allen even when he makes good movies...
...Christ did make reference to eunuchs (Matt...
...Guay labels recent biblical scholarship "highly debatable," but fails to demonstrate a sound grasp of even the more "conservative" principles of interpretation...
...REV...
...parents are, after all, the basis of identity and security in those formative years...
...Thev insist that the Palestinian resistance first "renounce violence" and accept the "legitimacy of the state" before being even considered for negotiations...
...Representative Ratzinger, speaking for the damaged fortress church, declares Curranoids nonpersons, rewrites the history of Vatican II, and proclaims that the fortress will be rebuilt...
...Unfortunately, in the sixties, everyone backed into reform, going backwards...
...p. 266, Huck...
...it would seem that those who are eunuchs from birth and those made so by men do not automatically qualify for sanctity, whereas those who become so for the Kingdom of Heaven exemplify decision, conversion, repentance...
...I apologize if my brevity has contributed to a tone of waspishncss...
...Biblical Institute 22nd Biblical Institute, Trinity College, Burlington, VT 05401, June 21-26, 1987...
...What is the public to make of a gay spokesman who derides "safe" sex, claiming death is preferable, or of an AIDS patient asserting on national television his right to continue having sex as well as his right not to inform his partners...
...Is this not what most people feel on the doorstep to true repentance and conversion...
...Not enough plot to sustain a single genuine role...
...Or call (717) 675-3862...
...19:12...
...Theology Workshop 23rd Theology Workshop.St...
...They clamor about "terrorists" and "security measures" to justify frequent crossborder raids...
...p. 295, Baloo...
...Though all my instincts are with the path he traces, I would complete the spectrum of his, admittedly "oversimplified," prototypical responses by pointing out that in late thirteenthcentury Paris there were those who stood to the right of Bonaventure and to the left of Aquinas...
...RUSS COLE Editors' note: For another view of Hannah and Her Sisters, see page 294...
...ROBERT IMBELLI Eros between men Allston, Mass...
...717) 675-3862...
...272, 275, 287, Arturo Kemchs...
...However, he does draw the line rather sharply at genital contact...
...Registrations being accepted now...
...COMMONWEAL, 15 Dutch St., NYC 10038...
...Although he alludes to recent biblical scholarship, Brother Stephen does not explain to us how these exegetes reconcile their discoveries with his own admission that "the Church has never condoned homosexual behavior...
...Does he in fact know which they are...
...Unlike poor Mr...
...To me they are "metaphorical links of the slimmest kind...
...Mostly consists of 'meanwhile.'" "The little asteroid of Manhattan...
...In a better world, we could all go to a bar and hash things out over a beer...
...While I do not deny that eros has its dark side, I am still convinced that the church's traditional discomfort with sexuality has poisoned the well from which he has been drinking...
...My own personal peeve is that the Catholic church has still never come to terms with either the Renaissance, or what might be called "Man's Coming of Age" in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, exemplified by Descartes, Michelangelo, Newton, Spinoza, etc...
...However, I do think that there are many of us who would appreciate some guidance from you and others as to what we can do to keep the church Christian and Catholic...
...The second assumption is that it is shameful to feel shame, especially in our shameless age of sexual revolution...
...But I don't agree that Allen has gifts of irony and mock heroism...
...Relative to civil rights, what would a nuanced position begin to look like when statistics show that the least promiscuous homosexuals leave a lot to be desired as far as temperance goes (e.g., the McKusick study...
...Registrations are being accepted now...
...The charge of "chronological snobbery" which he makes against today's cxegetes could be leveled with equal justice against the allegorical interpretations advanced by St...
...The celebration of his sperm count in Hannah and Her Sisters was not for everybody...
...Brother Stephen is convinced that the desires of his heart and loins are "of God" and are morally good...
...Hale ["Where He Started & Where He Stands," January 30] who still seems to think that the problem centers on Curran's views on sexual ethics, Komonchak realizes that we are dealing with a crisis into which Catholic Christianity has been plunged by those who would reduce the church to a mere Roman sect...
...Exhortations to chastity and purity of heart apply to gays as much as to straights...
...p. 278, Bas...
...In light of this, I do not understand why he uses it as a basis for sweeping generalizations...
...I find Mr...
...19th Annual Institute on Sacred Scripture August 2-7, 1987...
...But what are the most effective channels...
...At the risk of mixing metaphors, I would like to offer another image: the church has often (especially of late) behaved like an abusive parent toward gay people...
...Do you know," he asks, "what it's like to have your identity treated as a 'problem' or a 'weakness...
...To my knowledge, no one has more profoundly expressed the beauty of love between men and the naturalness of that desire than Plato, who not only designates it the most divine of madnesses but also allows for and describes intense physical intimacy...
...If so, it is also the bleak landscape of many generations of our descendants, if we are to judge by the longevity of the prior period of ecclesial fortification...
...Everything seems inevitable, determined by circumstances...
...It is precisely such assumptions as these that continue to go unchallenged both in the homosexual community as well as in Christian journals like Commonweal...
...STEPHEN ELRED Pretoria & Tel-Aviv Pierrefonds, Quebec To the Editors: Thomas M. Ricks's article, "Coming of Age on the West Bank" [December 5], ciearty reveals that the Palestinians of those territories are subjected to repressive measures not unlike those imposed upon the blacks of South Africa...
...JOHN DIRLIK Backing into reform Cambridge, Mass...
...NICHOLAS R. CLIFFORD Sticky moral mortar Princeton, N.J...
...RICHARD GILMAN Woody's canonization Barstow, Calif...
...No reputable teacher ever finds the answers of the tradition perfectly aligned with the questions of the moment...
...As Catholic Christians, is this our dismal future...
...p. 304, Donegan._______________________ 258: Commonweal CORRESPONDENCE (Continued from page 258) sionate concern for a Catholicism that is not constricted, but comprehensive and creatively engaged with contemporary culture can only evoke fervent cries of "Amen...
...JEROME MINOT CLASSIFIED RATES: 75£ a word, one time...
...Who cares if Woody Allen has reached majority...
...PAUL EDWARD GUAY The author replies: To paraphrase Thomas More at his execution, I have been commanded to be brief, and brief shall I be...
...Guay that the church has made "too little" of Plato's theory...
...Also, optional pre-conference seminar (June 18-20) for those new to this ministry...
...for some it was ridiculous, even somewhat disgusting...
...Half of our select little movie-going clique are party to Woody's canonization, and the aforementioned high culture enthusiasm...
...Aging Religious: Our Responsibility June 21-26, 1987...
...Komonchak offers us little hope but concludes with a suggestion with roots to Bernard Lonergan: before we proceed further, we need a whole new set of critical foundations, as St...
...But then the prototypes of the via media were not only scholars but saints...
...Brother Stephen wishes a teacher had been there to help him through his crucial formative years, while I know some whose formative years were crucial because they had teachers who were literally too close for comfort...
...It is imperative, however, that someone eventually explain to them that they have been receiving false messages...
...There may be a lesson lurking there...
...281, 282, 283, 284, 286, Emil Antonucci...
...The other half find him trivial, pretentious, and even boring...
...There was a time when to be Christian meant that suffering contributed to the development of character and temptation to the cultivation of virtue, and that to be tested meant one was among the elect...
...To the Editors: Joseph A. Komonchak's article ["Issues Behind the Curran Case," January 30] is certainly the most lucid, short exposition of the problems I have seen...
...To the Editors: Joseph Komonchak's explication of the Ratzinger vs...
...Today we prefer self-gratification, selfacceptance, self-affirmation, in fact those very selves we are told to lose if we are to find ourselves...
...J would also disagree with Mr...
...They are also fond of charging with "hypocrisy" especially the Arab states who criticize Israel's treatment of the Palestinians...
...Philip Neri and Cardinal Newman contact: Vocation Director, Brooklyn Oratory, P.O...
...p. 296, Origone...
...Surely there must be some way in which we can make our voices heard...
...Leslie Hoppe, O.F.M...
...What if shame, though, is not the mere result of social or historical repression but something far more intimate to our human, and fallen, nature — the spiritual recognition of a transgression or violation of our createdness...
...For brochure contact: Institute of Gerontology, College Misericordia, Dallas, FA 18612...
...Faculty: Elizabeth Achtemeier, Paul Achtemeier, Joseph Agius, Peter Ellis, Wilfrid Harrington...
...1 do not go in for that "chrono-logical snobbery" which assumes that our quasi-scientific techniques give us better answers, especially in matters spiritual and moral, than those ancients who were more divinely inspired than most moderns could ever dream of being...
...Mary's College, Moraga, CA 94575, June 15-19...
...p. 271, Dennis Renault...
...The church has unfortunately made little or nothing of Plato's sublime insights in this regard, though neither have homosexuals bothered to understand one whom they enlist in their echelon of the famous while neglecting the realism of his idealism, namely, that the sexual consummation of such love is unnatural and that the necessary virtue of chastity draws heroic blood...
...64£, six times...
...They praise Israel for being a "strategic Western asset" and bulwark against "Soviet expansionism...
...Box 951, Brooklyn, NY 11201...
...Not surprisingly, this Israel-South Africa analogy (which has even been made by some Israelis) has deeply offended apologists for Israeli policies, who inevitably have countered by hailing Israel as the "only real democracy in the Middle East...
...Until homosexuals can prove that sex rather than personhood is a basis for civil rights, and until they are willing to assume far more responsibility for their actions, I will continue to warn straight society to be wary...
...Paul Achtemeier, Ph.D...
...Just as fear of the Lord prepares us for love of Him, so shame and humiliation are often what open our hearts to His mercy and to reconciliation...
...Why indeed must shame or humiliation necessarily be deemed bad...
...Young children caught in a situation are naturally inclined to internalize the abuse...
...Distinguished Faculty: Elizabeth Achtemeier, Ph.D...
...Both can be detained without charge, news reports can be censored, curfews imposed, collective punishment applied, and entire villages scaled off...
...p. 291, Rita Corbin...
...Myself, I continue to find this scholarship highly debatable...
...are they, then, to be tarred with the same wide brush...
...I have no intention of trying to correct Mr...
...Plunged into crisis Cambridge, Mass...
...With due respect for Plato's contributions to Western culture, I confess that I 302: Commonweal find his insights into sexuality somewhat less than "sublime," resting as they do on a denigration of the physical...
...Guay that any supposed unanimity among gay people regarding homosexuality is a harmful myth...
...I do not know a single gay person who does not fear the effect of AIDS on himself or on those he loves...
...Second-class postage paid at New York, N. Y. Copyright © 1987 Commonweal Foundation...
...You will find such people as myself in denominational and non-denominational groups like Courage, Regeneration, the Exodus Coalition, and Homosexuals Anonymous...
...Microfilm from Vol...
...Brother Stephen "cannot believe that a loving God would put 10 percent of the population in the bind that [Cardinal Bernardin] propose [s...
...Illustrations: Cover and pp...
...The consciences of God's people would have remained far healthier over the centuries if we had retained the original Hebraic insight into the unity of body and spirit...
...Heavy dose of Allen's usual narcissism...
...The Tenth annual Workshop for those working in retirement homes or programs for the aging in our religious communities...
...Vocations ORATORIAN LIFE: A new Oratorian community is forming in the diocese of Brooklyn with an emphasis on stability within a small community dedicated to the Liturgical, Spiritual, and Intellectual life...
...Guay's equation of homosexuality with blindness or retardation to be a comparison of apples and oranges, for the reasons just given...
...One might as well say that one cannot believe a loving God would allow any percentage of His creatures to be born blind, lame, or retarded...
...First we had a fortress church, separate, in-bred, intellectually suspect...
...Guay, speaks for anyone but himself is insulting...
...1, 1924, to current issues available through University Microfilm, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106 and on Microfiche from Bell & Howell, Wooster, Ohio 44691...
...Yet the critical via media which he so deeply desires — one which confesses a distinctive Catholic identity, yet renounces the retrenchment that is the constant sectarian temptation — seems to stand little chance in a culture where the Quaestiones disputatae are not confined to the lecture hall, and where the omnivorous media feast on polarities...
...That reform should have come about some time after World War II (and perhaps considerably earlier), I am willing to agree...
...All the marks are there...
...A fundamental question such apologists have not seriously considered, however, is how any country that denies the right to vote of almost one-third the population it controls can be described as democratic...
...Thomas himself would surely conclude if he were struggling with us...
...he also says they lack the procreative dimension and are morally neutral...
...I suggest that man can both be proud of his own achievements and still be a good Christian and a good Catholic...
...Also Jike the blacks of South Africa, the Palestinians of the occupied territories do not have the right to vote: they are an indigenous majority ruled by an armed settler minority and are systematically exploited as a source of cheap labor...
...Then Vatican II knocked down the walls but neglected to supply a new master plan...
...monthly in advance for more than three times...
...p. 285, Al Ross...
...Guay's impression, I do not believe that it is shameful to feel shame...
...Write: Sister Miriam Ward...
...A cliche to begin with...
...Augustine centuries ago...
...James DiGiacomo: Youth and the Church...
...ranging as it does from the disingenuous to the tendentious hardly convinces me", not even when I desperately wanted to be convinced...
...to my mind we have made too much of ii...
...I agree with Mr...
...To the Editors: In the history of the church, it is surely demonstrable that whenever councils asserted themselves, it was a time of decline for the papacy...
...To the Editors: With accustomed clarity and balance Joseph Komonchak has provided something of a guide for the perplexed in these stormy times...
...I'm talking about Hannah and Her Sisters...
...They cite the "improved living conditions" and the "autonomy plans" for the indigenous population...
...If you are interested in becoming a priest or brother in the tradition of St...
...Perhaps if our latter-day Bonaventurians boldly denounced the dishonesty of the reactionaries, the fragile via media might yet prevail...
...A growing number of homosexuals have come to consider themselves Catholics or Christians first, who do not find their true identity in genital orientation nor equate their homosexual desires with their "deepest feelings," as Brother Stephen would have them do, but instead as an impediment to true identity...
...However inadvertently, he does touch upon a very significant point here...
...For him eros between men is no less procreative than the love between a man and a woman: the impact of the beloved's exceeding beauty upon the lover renders him "pregnant...
...Should our best minds now be looking to Thomas, or do we need a more fundamental and immediate response to those who would wall off our religion...
...I do sincerely hope there will soon come a day when the church will uphold St...
...Painfully superficial...
...It is important, however, to distinguish between the salutary effects of moral guilt ("I have done something wrong'') and the crippling effects of psychological guilt ("I am a bad person...
...Write: Timothy McCarthy, Director...
...They may not like it, but they'll have read the real book...
...But the children that this love breeds are necessarily of the soul rather than the flesh,' 'a marriage of true minds" with great blessing for the whole society and culture...
...There is an infinite difference between human kindness or compassion and God's terrible love, and to forget the utter mysteriousness of His purpose is itself to court blindness, eventually disaster...
...8 May 1987: 303...
...Baumann's errors of fact ["Leaving the Hound at Bay," February 13], his flagrant misreadings, and his supercilious attitude to a book whose substance cost me much to create...
...Although my own desires run deep and strong, I must admit that my conscience's deepest need is truth, my heart's deepest reverence the church, and my soul's deepest longing for Christ...
...p. 279, Religious News Service photo...
...But I would like to tell the readers of Commonweal, a magazine for which I wrote and for which I have much affection, that I'm confident many of them, should they read Faith, Sex, Mystery, will see a very different book from the one Baumann described...
Vol. 114 • May 1987 • No. 9
