Correspondence
CORRESPONDENCE To the Editors Tasmanian delight I think I may be the Commonweal reader closest to the South Pole, down here in the "roaring forties" latitude of Tasmania, though there may...
...This Lutheran does not feel in full communion with the Reformed, the Presbyterian church, or the United Church of Christ — but yearning for Rome and an end to disunity is getting a little dicey...
...According to the reviewer, Jewish Gehenna is akin to the Christian concept of purgatory, and, in Gehenna, Jewish souls spend twelve months purging their sins by fire...
...I have long been a fan of the Robert Shaw Chorale and Keith C. Burris's November 6,1998, "Music as Sacrament" was a godsend...
...Did you pick a Jewish example at random from world religions...
...The relation of indulgences to the Jewish practice of the kaddish as explained in your editorial was, just three days later, reinforced by a review in the Times (December 21,1998) of Leon Wieseltier's book Kaddish...
...In light of the review, apparently not...
...no more, no less...
...I'm not sure I understand it all, but it did make me wonder what the current LutheranRoman flap was all about...
...First, Christianity's roots are Jewish and knowledge of Judaism deepens our understanding of our own faith...
...Self-indulgent...
...Meanwhile, kudos to Sidney Callahan ("Forgive Me, Father") for seeing some of the church's "confessional tactlessness...
...Gregory p. stein Buffalo, N.Y...
...After some very tough times and one very good priest, I startled myself and my family by return(Continued on page 36) Commonweal 4 January 29,1999...
...dr...
...Raised Catholic and married in the church to a non-Christian some twenty-five years ago, shortly afterward I had had enough of the church and left with no intention of coming back...
...Finally, we have even fewer illusions about our influence on the Times than does Dr...
...THOMAS M. CURRAN Auburn, Ala...
...Second, Kaddish, Leon Wieseltier's fascinating new book (reviewed on page 25), had made an impression on the editors...
...Lancaster, Pa...
...Underappreciated My experience with confession is quite different from Sidney Callahan's ["Forgive Me, Father," December 18, 1998], but my journey is undoubtedly different as well...
...Why does the church keep shooting itself in its feet...
...Stein...
...The editors reply: The kaddish analogy was chosen for two reasons...
...Someone should tell the pope about the Times and how they will snigger: maybe he wouldn't lead with such a weak card, one Tetzel and Luther and maybe even you and I cannot understand outside of cultural Catholicism, so nostalgically evoked by John Cogley in "Christmas Past" [same issue...
...Karl Haas's regular Saint Patrick's Day program on "Adventures in Good Music," which we get here, features the group's "The Wearing of the Green," sung with all the vigour and feeling that Burris speaks of in his article...
...But neither do we have any illusions about the infallibility of the Times...
...But, says the reviewer, each recitation of the kaddish "freezes the fires of Gehenna for ninety minutes...
...Having just read Exsurge domine (1520) to finish up, I was tickled to read of a new bull on indulgences...
...Well, you certainly told the New York Times about indulgences...
...As your editorial said, "One might ask if the Times would be quite as supercilious in reporting on the traditional Jewish practice of saying kaddish...
...CORRESPONDENCE To the Editors Tasmanian delight I think I may be the Commonweal reader closest to the South Pole, down here in the "roaring forties" latitude of Tasmania, though there may be a New Zealander or Argentine that might outdo me...
...peter mcgrath Riverside, Tasmania Indulgence granted "Indulge Us" (Commonweal, December 18,1998) was right on target in pointing out the snide treatment by the New York Times of the Catholic practice of indulgences (front page Times, no less...
...Bumpy path to Rome To mark the last ninety-five days of anesthesia practice before my recent retirement, I read one of Luther's Ninety-Five Theses each day...
...No doubt your final sentence in the indulgence editorial will cause a queue of Timesmen to the nearest Roman Catholic church for instruction in the faith...
...WINTHROP P. WILCOX, JR...
...Why do I doubt not...
...With thanks, (rev...
...If we basically agree on justification, why does Rome keep dusting off what sounds like "semi-Pelagianism...
...Your ]ewish/kaddish analogy came close to an explanation, if such is possible...
Vol. 126 • January 1999 • No. 2
