Correspondence
MATHEWS, MELANIE & KELLY, DAVID F. & TRINKHAUS, WALTER R. & JR., JOHN J. MITCHELL & DOERFLINGER, RICHARD & Marciniak, Ed & Flynn, Eileen P. & Doyle, Dennis M.
CORRESPONDENCE Women only? Chicago, 111. To the Editors: A. certain disquiet hovered over my reading of your six ' 'responses to the pastoral on women" ["Sexism, Sin, & Grace, June 17]. Their...
...I spoke about a predicament in which homosexual men may find themselves, as follows: A homosexual person who resolves to be celibate but fails is likely to engage in sexual acts as the result of impulse or compulsion...
...Their discussion was spirited, helpful, and to the point...
...Difficult questions are best addressed by calling forth the expertise of social scientists, by listening to the real life experience of people who are directly involved, and by being faithful to both the tradition of the church and the ongoing guidance of the Holy Spirit...
...Women and men have to dialogue, unless the pastoral is to be viewed only as a letter of the bishops to women alone...
...But why women only...
...The spirit of this letter, like the spirit of my book, is to encourage further discussion of the point at issue...
...Copyright 1988 Commonweal Foundation...
...Dr...
...Sexism and feminism, in their own way, are issues which command a response from men...
...To the Editors: It was recently my good fortune to read "Knowing When to Stop" by John J. Mitchell, Jr...
...In my chapter "Catholic Moral Teaching, Homosexuality, and AIDS," I pointed out the urgent need for a thorough reexamination of the revisionist critique of official teaching in light of the threat HIV poses to homosexual males...
...ED MARCINIAK Correcting the record Jersey City, N.J...
...On the one hand, there is being "critical of official Catholic teaching...
...Serials Data program No.: ISSN 0010-3330...
...Doyle's reading of Chapter Four of my book AIDS: A Catholic Call for Compassion (Sheed & Ward, 1985) is incorrect...
...Succumbing to temptation usually entails anonymous, promiscuous sex...
...As a Catholic, I was baffled and disturbed to see inserts in my church bulletin declaring such a policy of acceptance and respect "sinful" and "murderous...
...Microfilm from Vol...
...Eileen P.] Flynn is critical of official Catholic teaching about homosexual activity, and suggests that monogamous relationships be encouraged...
...And, from the standpoint of medical science, in the 1980s, the decade of AIDS, anonymous, promiscuous sex is the most dangerous kind...
...435 & 442, Paul Valerry...
...I work as a social worker in a Christian nursing home and have seen many elderly, facing the end of life, lose their desire for food and water...
...Illustrations: Cover and p. 429, Gervas Blakely, Random House...
...p. 444, Ross, Rothco...
...To the Editors: Dennis M. Doyle stated the following in "The Meaning of AIDS" [June 3]: "[Dr...
...DENNIS M. DOYLE Knowing when to stop Summit, N.J...
...Sex as a biological fact of life for procreation is that starting point, but human sexuality goes far beyond sex...
...Second-class postage paid at New York, N.Y...
...These documents proclaim that in all instances in which patients required artifi-(Continued on page 443) 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...
...It has always been the natural instinct of our nurses, doctors, other staff, and the home's medical ethics committee to respect the privacy of the patient and his/her family to decide if artificial feeding or hydration should be provided...
...On the other hand, there is her own approach of persuasively presenting challenging material with the intention of getting bishops to reconsider their position, but without formally committing herself to the position she persuasively presents...
...EILEEN P. FLYNN Saint Peter's College The author replies: Flynn makes a subtle distinction...
...p. 425, Arturo Kemchs...
...I accept her nuance, and am happy that she has taken this occasion to clarify her valuable approach to such a crucial and sensitive topic...
...I also advocate "establishing a forum in which there could be open debate and discussion on the pros and cons of monogamous homosexual unions" because "a church committed to justice, sensitive to human needs, and aware of the requirement all persons have for sound guidance, should be willing to invest the effort to examine the issues...
...The church is frequently required to face head-on the moral, catechetical, and pastoral dimensions of its teachings...
...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...
...From a moral point of view such sex would not be grievously sinful because passion lessens a person's culpability...
...Monsignor Charles Dollen, who reviewed my book in the May, 1986 edition of The Priest, was on target in his perception of my intentions: After going through this profoundly moving book, I was left with the impression that our Catholic theologians need to reexamine the whole notion of human sexuality, taking into account the new facts which the modern sciences, such as psychology and psychiatry, have uncovered...
...May 6...
...However, in psychological terms, this kind of sex is impersonal and demeaning, and it undermines a person's sense of self-esteem...
Vol. 115 • August 1988 • No. 14
