Correspondence
CORRESPONDENCE Let Ireland be Ireland Staten Island, N.Y. To the Editors: The Irish people in referendum, a most democratic means of expressing a people's will, determined that there shall be...
...WILLIAM DAUENHAUER 30: 10 April 1992 Commonweal...
...If he were to reread the first few paragraphs of my essay, he would see that I understood full well the reasons the Greek Archdiocese (and, in the months to follow, the other canonical Orthodox jurisdictions in America) chose to suspend relations with the National Council of Churches...
...ROBERT KANKA Conscience rules Collegeville, Minn...
...HUGH T. KERR The writer is senior editor of Theology Today...
...It isn't enough to suggest that only the zealots take pen in hand...
...For this I make no apology...
...My guess is that she would not claim to be a theologian but an op-ed writer in the New York Times, writing as she sees fit and with a large following who Commonweal 10 April 1992: 29 find her columns invariably provocative and incisive...
...Baumann, who sets himself up as a proper Catholic theologian, complains that Anna Quindlen is not as he is...
...It seems to me that some apology is in order...
...my "conversion" was precisely to the sort of ecumenical endeavor that the Greek Archdiocese and other canonical Orthodox jurisdictions have practiced for years—and, I hope, will eventually decide to continue practicing...
...The author replies: I thank Father Griffith for his letter...
...Here was a glimpse into the world through the eyes of a dexterously poetical soul—one that could flirt with bathos ("in the summer of my mind") and get away with it...
...them' Readfield, Maine To the Editors: Like Anna Quindlen I"From the '60s to the '90s," February 141, I consider myself a liberal Catholic, conscience-guided, antiestablishment...
...Phrasings such as "green water tunnels through glass hoods" and "fisherman gently unhooks his prey" demonstrate skill in observation and a delicate touch with words...
...74-5...
...Artificial birth control could be seen to be an 'objective' or `premoral' evil...
...My response, as I 28: 10 April 1992 Commonweal believe I stated quite clearly, was to welcome the decision...
...The Irish authorities were upholding that law in not cooperating with a fourteen-year-old girl who wanted to go to England to have an abortion...
...My heart sank, however, when I saw that his conversion to the dialogue of charity among the churches is announced with what amounts to a gratuitous slap at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, not to mention the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem...
...At some point, perhaps, my zeal for addressing what I see as a serious (and destructive) injustice may have overtaken my diplomatic impulse, but I assure you I said what I did out of genuine concern for the well-being of world Orthodoxy and for those Arab Orthodox Christians of the Jerusalem Patriarchate who are struggling to preserve their faith and heritage against enormous odds...
...The satisfaction of having come away unsullied from a situation inevitably involving compromise is a chimera...
...REV...
...He can either vote actively by choosing the candidate he sees as best (or as least reprehensible), or he can vote passively for whoever happens to win...
...As a result of my experiences last summer, however, I came to appreciate this long-standing investment...
...While they emphasized the importance of the conformity of conscience to the church's interpretation of divine law, they recognized the possibility that Catholics might, in conscience, have to reject noninfallible papal teaching...
...THEODORE PULCINI 'Us' vs...
...But if "understanding" implies passive acceptance of the situation as it now exists, I demur...
...It is unfortunate that Commonweal chose to award the Graymoor Prize to a piece which in my opinion misrepresents the position the Greek Orthodox church in this country has taken toward interreligious dialogue...
...Your use of an Irish typology serves no purpose since this is not a Catholic country...
...for a very long time I had not understood why the Greek Archdiocese had invested itself so enthusiastically in such ecumenism...
...It is inadmissible that the Irish should be adopting American or British practice on abortion, nor should the Irish paradigm be used in this country to support or hinder abortion...
...Objective evil would only involve subjective guilt for someone acting against conscience...
...That may be comfortable...
...To the Editors: "Dual Loyalties in Catholic Theology" by William M. Shea [January 31] was illuminating, delving into the tensions that develop as experts try to keep the heart of their heritage while enriching it with insights from other sources...
...They quoted Newman's description of circumstances in which conscience could oppose the supreme, though not infallible, authority of the pope" (Why You Can Disagree ...and Remain a Faithful Catholic, Meyer Stone, pp...
...The bishops included two statements about conscience in their November 1968 letter...
...When bishops addressed the then inflammatory issue of conscientious objection, they described themselves as "witnesses to a spiritual tradition which accepts enlightened conscience, even when honestly mistaken, as the immediate arbiter of moral decisions" ("Human Life in Our Day," 43...
...This girl could have gone to England and had the abortion before she brought charges in law against the man she says impregnated her through rape...
...REV...
...MARIAN BURKHART To Shea: Yes, but Trumansburg, N.Y...
...Where we part company is over the simplistic division of a church of the people and another of the hierarchy...
...The writer is associated with the Institute of Christian Oriental Research at The Catholic University of America...
...I fail to see how any of this amounts to a "gratuitous slap" at the archdiocese...
...A gratuitous slap Washington, D.C...
...Paul Baumann, apparently, has no feeling for this possibility whatsoever...
...SIDNEY H. GRIFFITH, S.T...
...For the pope, contraception is 'intrinsically wrong' because it frustrates 'the design established by the creator' and 'contradicts the author of life' (Humanae vitae, no...
...Baumann sprinkles his critique with innuendos such as "liberal," "infuriating," "personalist morality," "idiosyncratic," "quirky," "simple," "cliché," "tautological," "uncritical," "subjective," "sentimental"....Anna Quindlen can speak for herself, but I find her saying what many other Catholics are saying, for example, Michael Leach, president of Crossroad/Continuum [America, November 30, 1991], who predicts that the church for the next century will look as different from the church of today as ours does from the "immigrant church" at the beginning of this century...
...JOHN BRANIGAN One of the above New York, N.Y...
...It is indeed unfortunate that he feels I have taken a "gratuitous slap" at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese...
...PHILIP S. KAUFMAN, O.S.B...
...If, however, my understanding is deficient, I am quite willing to be instructed by those who know more about it than I do...
...And they will bear responsibility as well for the saddest of abortions, those to which women who want their babies are forced to resort because there is nowhere to turn for help under a government which pretends to do something about its monumental debt by cutting funds for social programs, and adds insult to injury by blaming our ills on welfare bums...
...To the Editors: Could I add a historical note to Russell B. Connors, Jr.'s "Contraception & Communion: Bishop Flavin Has It Wrong" [March 13...
...Though many possess the former, the latter is as rare as blackberries in June...
...Even a "unique case in a tragic situation" can, I believe, be responsibly challenged...
...Quindlen acknowledges "hundreds of letters" opposing her published views on abortion, gay rights, and similar hot-button issues...
...There are no run-offs...
...R. J. SIEGLER Quindlen not alone Princeton, N.J...
...Many American bishops wanted to introduce the classic objective-subjective distinction, not used in Humanae vitae...
...To the Editors: It was with great anticipation that I opened the January 17 issue of Commonweal to read the Graymoor Prize articles on ecumenism, and particularly the essay by the Reverend Theodore Pulcini, "The Alternative Is Worse...
...As for my remarks regarding the situation in Jerusalem, I stand my ground...
...Once charges were made, the state was involved, and those who work for the state were not permitted to cooperate...
...Subjectively, guilt could (Continued on page 28) 2: 10 April 1 992 Commonweal CORRESPONDENCE (Continued from page 2) vary from 0 to 100 percent...
...In a minority opinion one of the Irish Supreme Court justices said that the life of the unborn fetus should not have been destroyed when that life had been protected by a government injunction, a traditional and valid Catholic position on abortion...
...Those who did not vote in 1968 because Humphrey was not enough of a dove bear their share of responsibility for Nixon's victory and, therefore, for dirty tricks, Watergate, the Pentagon Papers...and, yes, for four or five more years of war, the bombing of Hanoi, the rape of Cambodia, among other consequences...
...Whatever we—call us the church of change have won since Vatican II have been skirmishes only, not a battle, let alone the war...
...I would still like to see a straightforward statement about the unique place of Jesus Christ...
...If we accept his claims—"I am the way, the truth, and the life"—that puts him in a position above all others...
...To the Editors: I should like to point out to John Garvey, who plans to draw the line ["None of the Above," February 28], that it is impossible to be apolitical in a presidential election...
...Thus, someone who sits out the election gives the winner a negative vote, the one less he needs to defeat the opponent for whom one less vote has been cast...
...it is also self-righteous and self-deluding...
...Having worked with numerous Orthodox Palestinians in various pastoral contexts during the past decade, I feel that I have a tolerably good grasp of the ecclesiastical scene in Jerusalem, both in terms of its historical genesis and its present dynamics...
...To the Editors: The Irish people in referendum, a most democratic means of expressing a people's will, determined that there shall be no government cooperation in destroying the life of a fetus except to save the life of a mother, and put that into law [editorial, March 13...
...Praise for a poet Wickliffe, Ohio To the Editors: Kudos to poet Bruce Ducker and poetry editor Rosemary Deen for the lyric "The Frying Pan in Winter" [February 14...
...Here is my published report on the American bishops' meeting in November 1968 as they worked on "Human Life in Our Day," their official response to the birth control encyclical, Humanae vitae: "First, after serious discussion the bishops changed the pope's language from `intrinsically wrong' (ideoque intrinsice inhonestum) to 'objective moral disorder,' or 'objective evil.' So important is the word `intrinsic' in the natural law tradition used by the pope, that change from 'intrinsic' to 'objective' is significant...
...Here conscience, not mentioned by the pope, becomes the supreme guide...
...To the Editors: I can't believe I'm the only one of your readers to find Paul Baumann's critique of Anna Quindlen [February 28] gratuitous and demeaning...
...If he likes the outcome, so be it, but take note that "None of the Above" never wins an election...
...For the record, the archdiocese has been an enthusiastic participant in dialogue with the Roman Catholic church in the United States continuously since the early '70s...
...I admit that the illiberal stance of the Democratic party on Roe v. Wade is wrong, but if Bush wins Mr...
...Then, the encyclical gives no hint of a possible contrary decision in conscience...
...Garvey and others who refuse to vote on this ground need to acknowledge their complicity in promoting environmental Band-Aids, in such solutions to economic problems as Japan-bashing and visits to supermarkets, to say nothing of any other surgical wars we may stumble into...
...The situation in Jerusalem is a unique case in a tragic situation which deserves more understanding than Father Pulcini is ready to give it...
...Us and them...
...The winner needs only a plurality of votes cast, not a majority...
...It should be evident to her, as it is to me, that the liberal voice in the church is in the minority, that her church of the people is by and large as reactionary as the church of the hierarchy...
...My critique was certainly not intended as a "slap," and I never "gratuitously" call into question any policy of my church's leadership...
Vol. 119 • April 1992 • No. 7
