Editorials

...If so, that's simply wrong, and flagrantly un-Chnstian to boot Was the bishop acting because McBnen can be blunt and abrasive1...

...COMMONWEAL Perspective on Whitewater T he business of government is governing That in a few words was the subtext of President Bill Clinton's March 24 news conference, he defended what his administration has so far accomplished and laid out the major legislative efforts that await, especially health-care and welfare reform In the executive branch a firmer grip on foreign policy, a surer sense of military strategy, and with it budgeting, and a sustained balancing of a jobs policy and a trade policy—all of these matters require serious presidential leadership But if that was the subtext, inevitably Mr Clinton's text was Whitewater Here he tried to fill in some blanks, offer some perspective, and, once again, assert that he and Mrs Clinton are innocent of the allegations that swirl around them In the succinct phrase of Mark Shields ("MacNeil-LehrerNewshour"), Chnton defended himself without being defensive Mr Clinton wants to govern Will Congress and the media let him^ Their institutional responsibilities for oversight and public information also entail responsibilities to act fairly and to maintain perspective It is now a given of the Whitewater affair that Mr and Mrs Clinton have brought this mess upon themselves Trying to avoid answering questions about their financial and political affairs in Arkansas, they first claimed innocence and pleaded privacy, when that failed to persuade, they tried candor while seeming to practice damage control Files related to the Clintons' Whitewater investments were removed from Vincent Foster's office after his suicide White House aides had conversations with officials from the Treasury and Justice Departments about the investigations of Whitewater and the collapse of Madison Guaranty New allegations about Arkansas loans as well as Justice Department stonewalling have emerged from the investigations of special counsel Robert Fiske and Congressman James Leach (R-Iowa) As a result, accusations of a cover-up have been added to the Whitewater dispute New questions, their merit unevaluated, emerge every day None of this is going away soon Until the report of the special counsel is completed and the promised congressional hearings are held, Whitewater will stay on the front pages and absorb a good deal of attention, at least in Washington If indeed the Clintons brought this mess upon themselves, they have been ably assisted by a media free-for-all and the hyperbolic insinuations of some Republicans Whatever the substance of the charges—and to date innuendo far exceeds reliable testimony and solid evidence—the prospect of protracted and inconclusive congressional hearings a la lian-contra and Hill-Thomas is dispiriting indeed Of course, to clear the air, if it is to be cleared, the investigations and the hearings must proceed But the real work of Washington cannot be put on hold while these continue If the legitimacy of this presidency and its agenda is not to be completely eroded, Mr Clinton should proceed, as promised, with the business of governing And Congress and the media should strive to practice the same level of responsibility and accountability they have demanded of the first family 3 BANNED IN TRENTON The temptation to respond to new situations with old habits is alive in the Catholic church To wit Old habit—barring a Catholic speaker from a Catholic parish to protect the faithful from his or her views New situation—at the end of the twentieth century not only are the media ready to step m, so is the Presbyterian or Unitarian or Methodist church down the street Bottom line Catholic church looks foolish, speaker is heard, episcopal authority is squandered, and at least a good number of Catholics feel belittled, angry, or unwelcome Bishop John Reiss of Trenton, New Jersey, forbade the pastor of Saint Anselm' s in Wayside to allow the Reverend Richard McBnen to address the 1994 annual meeting of New Jersey Pax Chnsti in the parish center The bishop's unexpected order came three days before the March 5 event, and m apparent response to anonymous phone calls that, like a subsequent flier, denounced McBnen as a "dissenter " Pax Chnsti decamped to the nearby Presbyterian Church on the Hill Could a bishop ever wisely declare Catholic premises offbounds for certain speakers...

...So can James Hitchcock, William Bennett, and, for that matter, a lot of pastors and a few bishops If banning Richard McBnen's voice from Catholic parishes becomes emblematic of what can and cannot be discussed within the Catholic community, we are in senous trouble ET CETERA BRAVO Sydney Callahan, Commonweal columnist, longtime contributor, professor of psychology at Mercy College, and much much more, has been named the 1994 Laetare Medal winner by the University of Notre Dame, which in awarding the medal "celebrates an intellectual career charactenzed as much by compassion as by clarity " Meanwhile, Michael Novak, once a Commonweal associate editor-at-large (1967-1971), now resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, and editor-in-chief of Crisis magazine has been awarded the Templeton Prize for Progess in Religion, especially for his pioneering work in the theology of economics Our hearty congratulations to both Ms Callahan will receive her prize at the Notre Dame commencement Mr Novak will have to leave these shores to receive his award at (gasp) Buckingham Palace...

...Sure Louis Farrakhan Jack Kevorkian Howard Stern Mother Angelica (just kidding) Bar them and plainly say why But the Catholic conversation in this country is broad, albeit chaotic Richard McBnen is very much part of it Was the bishop' s action an implicit endorsement of the notion that McBnen is a heretic...