Correspondence

...RUTH ford 30...

...Manon Burkhart's timely article "In the Paraclete I Trust" [May 6] presents a cool approach to the heated argument on the ordination of women...

...Every issue of Commonweal contains articles and reviews that are helpful, informative, and absorbing...

...He frequently serves as lector and is an, excellent lay preacher whose sermons show a deep knowledge of Scripture Are faithfulness in worship, love of Scripture, acts of chanty and hospitality not "traditional Chnstian values"9 What underlies my distress at Carlin's implied slight to Justice Blackmun is the insinuation that those like myself who may not agree with Carlin's assessment of the issues surrounding legalized abortion must have forsaken Chnstian values...

...BENF FORDNEY A good Methodist Washington, D.C...

...that is, the teaching must be pronounced directly and conclusively...

...I thoroughly enjoyed reading her presentation...

...16:1-8, John 20.1-3...

...I respect the arguments of those opposed to abortion, and I am not wnting in an attempt to persuade anyone to forsake wellreasoned positions I am asking for recognition that many of us have arrived, within the context of Judaeo-Chnstian teachings, at a reluctant acceptance of the need for legally available abortions Our view may be wrong, or Carhn's view may be wrong, but we are all committed to "traditional Chnstian values " The issue has ecumenical dimensions The fact that vanous branches of the Chnstian church have issued statements with diffenng views on abortion should not be overlooked If we are to diffuse the violence that emanates from extremist views and move toward eliminating the need for abortions, we must proceed ecumenically BLAIR GILMER MEEKS Trust the Spirit Brookline, Mass...

...In the brief period preceding and following the death of Christ—the time in which, the pope maintains, the Apostles became "specifically and intimately associated in the mission of the Incarnate Word himself—it is women who display a fidelity, constancy, and devotion to the Son of God that constantly eludes the Apostles In the garden of Gethsemane, at Christ's arrest, and when he is brought before the Sanhedrm, each of the Twelve conspicuously fails Christ—sleeping while he is at prayer, fleeing when he is arrested, and outnghtly denying him...

...We could begin with the reluctance of early male religious to let women form their own faith communities But that's a whole other letter...

...She does so with felicity, wit, and erudition...

...The dogmatic definition of 1870 specifies four elements which constitute an ex cathedra definition 1. The pope must speak "by virtue of his supreme apostolic authority," in his capacity as "the pastor and teacher of all Christians " 2 The subject matter must be doctrine of faith or morals 3 The doctrine put forth in the statement is "required to be held by the whole church " 4. The pope "defines" the doctnne in question...

...Remember, too, that the Apostles did not believe Mary of Magdala when she spoke of the Resurrection (Mark 16.9-11) nor did they recognize Christ when he appeared to them on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24 13-27) Only when Christ appeared before the disciples m the locked room did they accept his Resurrection as fulfillment of prophecy . True, as the pope writes, it was in this scene that Christ commanded the Apostles to "proclaim the good news to all creation " True, Mark makes no record of women's presence in the room But before we accept their nonpresence as proof that Christ did not choose to have them present, we need to remember that the doors to the room were locked, and not by Christ's command but by the Apostles', for fear of the crowd (John 20.1920) This has not been the only time when men (not Christ) have blocked women from holding power in the church...

...His Syllabus of Errors condemned the modern world root and branch He was the pope of Vatican I, which routed the conciliarists and collegiahsts with the dogma of papal infallibility...

...In the June 3 issue, I particularly enjoyed the pieces by Joe Lersky and Rosemary Ridd In David Carlin's column, "Announcing Early," however, I found a statement to be disturbing and lacking ecumenical sensitivity...

...The pope states in Ordinatw sacerdotalis that he is speaking in view of his Petnne ministry to confirm the brethren [Luke 22 32], thus fulfilling the first condition The subject matter—which concerns "the matter of a sacrament"—is of faith or morals, thus fulfilling the second The pope states that "this judgment is to be definitively held by all the church's faithful," thus fulfilling conditions three and four Thus the teaching that the church has no authority whatever to confer priestly ordination on women is manifestly demonstrated as a defined infallible teaching of the church to which all the faithful must give interior assent Upon examination, these conditions were also fulfilled by the encyclical Humanae vitae, binding all the faithful to the teaching about the intrinsic evil of abortion, artificial contraception, and contraceptive sterilization Please correct your error of fact (REV ) JOHN W BRODERICK The winner: Pius IX Providence, RI To the Editors Is Pio Nono alive and well, and living in John Paul IP To me, the apostolic letter "On Reserving Priestly Ordination to Men Alone" [June 17] says "Yes " The centuries-old conflict between papahsts and concihansts ended in what seemed complete victory for the papallsts m the reign of Pius IX [ 1846-78...

...Referring to Bill Clinton, Carhn writes, "Anyone who can show genuine sympathy for both the gay movement and Richard Nixon, who can show genuine admiration for both Harry Blackmun and traditional Chnstian values, certainly has a broad reach " By its parallelism, the statement implies that Justice Blackmun and "traditional Chnstian values" are opposing categories If that is his meaning, Carhn owes Justice Blackmun an apology Justice Blackmun is an active member of a United Methodist congregation He is a gracious presence at many gatherings...

...Aggwrnamento displaced the Syllabus of Errors, ecumenism replaced heresy-baiting, collegiahty replaced papal absolutism, vernacular languages replaced Latin in the liturgy We became a different church, and the vast majority of lower clergy and laity saw the council as the Holy Spirit rescuing the church in its hour of need The papahst counterattack began with Humanae vitae, which was more about the reassertion of papal authority than it was about contraception Under John Paul II, the counterattack has gained strength each year Now, with this apostolic letter, I wonder how much validity Vatican II still has The way the letter was issued shows that collegiahty is dead The letter's substance shows that ecumenism is dead, and so are the opening to the laity and the spirit of aggwrnamento I see the letter as aggravating a spiritual schism in the heart of our church We will probably never break out into open civil war but this spiritual family is split and confused The leaders order a retreat but the ranks resist Holy Spirit, where are you'' (REV ) EDWARD W K MULLEN Lei's go lo the tape Washington, D C To the Editors • There is no doubt that John Paul II wishes to acknowledge how women have borne witness to their faith But, he maintains, "priestly ordination, which hands on the office entrusted by Christ to his Apostles of teaching, sanctifying, and governing the faithful, has in the Catholic church from the beginning always been reserved to men alone " In proof, the pope cites Scripture and tradition The evidence, however—from the same sources as the pope cites—does not exactly seem to bear this out...

...It is women who first learn of the Resurrection (Mark 28-1, Matt...

...Somehow, for now, "In the Paraclete I Trust" quiets the turbulent waters and holds out the hope that "all shall be well...

...MARGARETM DEVER Defining definitions Camillus, N.Y To the Editors Whoever wrote the editonal "Don't Even Think of It" [June 17] needs to do further research into Pastor aeternus [1870], the dogmatic constitution of Vatican I, through which it can be seen that the recent letter of the pope on the ordination of women is an ex cathedra statement According to Pastor aeternus, papal infallibility is not limited to definitions of dogma (revealed truth) and its opposite (heresy), but covers all "doctnne" concerning faith and morals, that is, both points of revealed truth and other secondary truths (knowable by reason, or deduced rationally from revelation) which are nec(Continued on page 30) CORRESPONDENCE 2 (Continued from page 2) essary for faithfully guarding and expounding revealed truth Since Vatican II the magistenum has stated explicitly, m giving an authentic interpretation of Lumen gentium (25), that infallibility extends also to these secondary truths...

...At Calvary (apart from John, who appears to have recovered his courage), it is the women who are present and counted as witnesses and supporters Christ's mother, Mary, and Mary, mother of James the younger, and Salome (Mark 14 40-41...

...Along with Joseph of Anmathaea, they witness his death and remove his body for burial...

...I share with many women the frustration and the deep gnevance over the pope's apparent shortsighted position...

...Although not perfect, the policy is designed to remove the pedestrian performers, just the sort of officer that Gaffney finds so objectionable By and large, the Foreign Service consists of able and qualified individuals who are selected after a rigorous competitive process and who develop language and area expertise that few political appointees can offer to the conduct of our nation's diplomacy...

...Edward Gaffney's comments ["Late for His Appointments," June 17] go awry when he uses the appointments of Daniel Patrick Moynihan and John Kenneth Galbraith to New Delhi as examples to support his argument for more noncareer ambassadorships Surely he realizes that these two gentlemen were the exceptions rather than the rule The Clinton administration should be applauded for largely avoiding the practice of using ambassadorial appointments as rewards for large campaign contributions and party loyalty The Foreign Service has suffered much from the politicization of appointments to sensitive diplomatic positions, a practice that often amazes and distresses leaders of foreign nations Gaffney also misinterprets the "up or out" policy of the Foreign Service, which he characterizes as a reward for incompetent bureaucrats...

...He ruled the church unquestioned through a series of successors ending with Pius XII Then came Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council...