Correspondence Covers, coverage, cover-ups
ELY, HERBERT P. & REVITTE, BOB & KOKKELENBERG, EDWARD & RILEY, STEVE & TOWNLEY, PHYLLIS L. & MAHER, (REV.) RAYMOND & HENNESSY, KATHLEEN FREEMAN & LEAHY, IRENE P. & ROBBINS, CHARLES J. & CLANCY, JOHN & Ferris, Paul & Moore, Nina Polcyn
CORRESPONDENCE To the Editors By the rules Commonweal is correct in calling for Cardinal Bernard Law's resignation ("Lawless in Boston," May 17). To put the matter in perspective, consider the...
...Herbert p. ely Charlottesville, Va...
...If I were the editor I would have declined the article and suggested Foreign Affairs or the New Statesman...
...Not by its cover Your May 17 cover did not have much to do with the William Pfaff's lead article or the magazine itself...
...it belonged in a different venue, not Commonweal, because of its topic...
...STEVE RILEY Sarasota, Fla...
...Lawyers & morality I appreciated Professor John Garvey's "Law and Morality" (April 19...
...In the church, our leaders prefer hiding snakes to giving scandal, and by retaining their leadership positions demonstrate their continued ignorance of the scandal they cause...
...IRENE P. LEAHY South Bend, Ind...
...This prompting has been too often stifled by the very people we expect to do the nurturing...
...I refer specifically to the Eastern tradition of requiring men to be married before they are ordained and prohibiting marriage after ordination...
...These baptized, sacramental people are uniquely sovereign because they have been empowered by God the Holy Spirit who lives in them and prompts them to transform his world...
...There will be no comfort in the household of God until it is routed out...
...Unlike the snake in the garage, our snakes and their protectors have already wounded and killed...
...PHYLLIS L. TOWNLEY New York, N.Y...
...military and Saint Benedict...
...bob revitte Pagosa Springs, Colo...
...Commonweal's leadership along with that of other lay leaders is needed now...
...In the case of the Tailhook convention, the secretary of the Navy accepted the resignation of two admirals for tolerating the sexual harassment of adult women...
...Then & now Peter Steinfels's April 19 article on "The Church's Sex-Abuse Crisis" overlooks a minor but important point...
...Checks & balances I hope that an open examination of the sex-abuse scandals in the church will move us to restructure areas that go far beyond this problem...
...Rest in peace, George...
...This is a technique used by editors nowadays, but is not endearing and simply takes the reader's time to find the article that attracted the attention in the first place...
...The editors reply: Well yes, editors write cover headlines that they hope will entice the reader to look inside-we are delighted to have succeeded with Mr...
...The word rite is theologically improper because it implies only "a different way of saying Mass," instead of a complex liturgical, cultural, and theological heritage...
...On closer look at Eastern church practice, it may only appear that the grass is greener...
...Like George, he was tall, lean, and lanky...
...If the Latin church were to adopt the Eastern church practice of allowing priests to marry before ordination but not after, based on a perception of "ancient tradition," then the door would still be closed to Latin priests already ordained and to those Latin priests who have been forced out of ministry because they married...
...She has given us a compelling scriptural image for meditation and preaching on this topic...
...Once more he articulates the concern of those who truly care for our republic and yet believe that knee-jerk conformity with Washington's program is neither the moral nor the responsible way to express our patriotism...
...they preyed and perhaps continue to prey on the children of our house...
...When lawyers focus exclusively on the legal aspects of a question, moral concerns are relegated to some other authority...
...Yes, because we are truly democratic, we should not shy away from voting and from checks and balances...
...edward kokkelenberg Ithaca, N.Y...
...Father & son There's an old story that George Hig-gins's father, a postal worker, had George read Commonweal aloud to him ("George G. Higgins, R.I.P.," May 17...
...I'd like to see Jo McGowan (and all of the Commonweal staff) have another go at this one...
...Reprint request Regarding William Pfaff's "American Destiny": Great article-should be in every Catholic newspaper in America...
...The facts have been fairly well reported and I was pleased by Commonweal's recent editorial calling for Cardinal Law's resignation as he has lost credibility and effectiveness...
...This was when George was a Quigley High School seminarian, and the dad wanted his son to be aware of Catholic social thought...
...They may be sure that they will receive a good reward for this action if they do it with a pure intention and out of zeal for God...
...In the case of a corrupt abbess, the Rule of Saint Benedict (480-522) recommended the following: "But if (which God forbid) the whole community should agree to choose a person who will acquiesce in their vices, and if those vices somehow become known to the bishop to whose diocese the place belongs, or to the abbots, abbesses, or the faithful of the vicinity, let them prevent the success of this conspiracy of the wicked, and set a worthy steward over the house of God...
...The cover story had a different name in the table of contents ("American Destiny") than it had on the cover ("Bush's War against 'Evil'"), and had yet another in the title on the article...
...Continued on page 4) CORRESPONDENCE (Continued front page 2) Snake house It seems to me that Jo McGowan's snake-in-the-garage analogy falls well short of describing the pervasive, ongoing sexual abuse and cover-up scandal that the church is facing...
...NINA POLCYN MOORE Evanston, III...
...It's nice to think we might stay to help reclaim the house, but how is an ordinary lay Catholic to do that...
...Yes, perhaps "American Destiny" could have appeared in Foreign Affairs-but why not Commonweal, whose readers are more than ready and able to consider the origins and consequences of the foreign policy of the United States...
...What difference does ordination make to entering into the sacrament of marriage...
...By contrast, in the case of ongoing priestly molestation of minors, church leaders give us evasions of responsibility, statements of apology, and more regulations...
...writes that it works for the Orthodox...
...john clancy Wyandotte, Mich...
...Was the article really so hard to find...
...Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles expressed a desire to put the discussion of a married priesthood on the magisterial table because, in his opinion, "the practice works fine in the Eastern churches...
...To say "It's legal and that's my only responsibility" makes one ask, "Where have we heard that before...
...Is it really "wrong" for an ordained priest to "fall in love" after he is ordained...
...Boca Raton, Fla...
...Catholic Church to deal with sexual-abuse issues involving both genders...
...Pere Higgins paid an annual visit forty years ago or so, to the late departed Saint Benet Shop in Chicago to purchase his Christmas cards...
...Our "snake" is not one snake but many snakes, an incredible, shocking number of snakes, and I doubt we've found them all yet...
...Serpentine metaphors I appreciated Jo McGowan's serpentine analogy with regard to the current scandal in the church ("Snake in the Church," May 17...
...john clancy Wyandotte, Mich...
...In evaluating the culpability of bishops in neglecting the victims of sexual abuse, we need to recall society's attitude toward the victim thirty or forty years ago...
...Rhetoric and moral outrage have their place in developing a strategy, but neither is an end unto itself...
...I hope the call of people like Cardinal Roger Mahony will enable us to restructure the church in a way that will include a close look at the ramifications of our belief in the theology of baptism and the other sacraments that empower all of us to be alive in the Holy Spirit...
...The emphasis generally was on the perpetrator and ways of treating and punishing the person...
...American Catholics and their non-Catholic neighbors want action now that is meaningful and measurable...
...What seems to prevent this much-needed reform is the inability of the hierarchical church-and the laity who are enamored of a mystique or intimidated by the power of a pastor-to recognize that, in a profound way, our church is democratic...
...Grass not greener One effect of the pedophile crisis is that more attention is being paid to the Eastern church practice of a married priesthood...
...Finally, the article itself was misplaced...
...It wasn't until a decade or so ago that much attention was paid to the victim...
...KATHLEEN FREEMAN HENNESSY Eugene, Oreg...
...The bishops fell in line with this attitude...
...I hope Commonweal and Garvey will continue to provide nuanced comment and insight into these questions in a way that transcends the dualities too often brought to such issues...
...The title in the table of contents and on the article, "American Destiny," is the same, and in all three places, of course, the author is the one and only William Pfaff...
...Actually, Rome will not allow Eastern churches to ordain married men in the United States...
...He offers an analytical clarity too seldom encountered today, even in the most liberal and outspoken press...
...What hasn't been advanced is a strategy on the part of the U.S...
...Perhaps the seriousness of the effect on the victim was not well understood...
...As an ex-Eastern church seminarian, I think the Eastern church needs to take a look at this aspect of its discipline...
...I think I'm on top of the issue as it has been reported in the religious and secular press, as well as excellent sources on the Internet...
...Peter Steinfels also refers to the "Latin rite" when speaking about "The Church's Sex-Abuse Crisis" (April 19...
...In my archdiocese in the 1980s, some pastors summarily moved in a higgledy-piggledy fashion to do all of the above and to close the parish school as well...
...This does not excuse their conduct in the matter...
...Paul ferris Upper Marlboro, Md...
...Before the June meeting in Dallas, could we please hear from church and lay leaders on a plan of action that could be the basis for a comprehensive strategy that addresses clergy abuse in all its ramifications...
...To put the matter in perspective, consider the leadership standards established by the U.S...
...We should not judge the conduct of the bishops several decades ago by present standards and attitudes...
...For example, to prevent a pastor from arbitrarily dismissing the secretary, religious coordinator, youth minister, school principal, or custodian-without answering to anyone...
...What are rank-and-file Catholics to do...
...charles j. robbins Renesselaer, Ind...
...Kokkelenberg...
...Leadership wanted I've kept current on the clergy /bishop abuse issue over the past three months...
...can work in the community of the church...
...It would be unspeakable for the bishops to gather, ask for forgiveness and prayers for the offended, and then form a commission to report back in 2003...
...as, on the contrary, they will sin if they fail to do it" (chapter 64, emphasis mine...
...Unlike the house with the snake in the garage, it is not at all clear that we can reclaim this house by summoning some gumption, rolling up our sleeves, and setting to...
...If these instruments can work in a secular society, isn't it reasonable to hope that they can work in the community of the church...
...The proverbial "elephant in the living room" has become "the python behind the credenza...
...What took a community perhaps generations to build was dissolved by a single sweep of a pastor's hand...
...If there were ever an issue for a lay Catholic magazine, this is it...
...They live not in the garage but all over the house, in our very best rooms...
...Continued on page 29) CORRESPONDEMCE (Continued from page 4) John Garvey in his May 3 column ("Married Priests...
...REV...
...The fact that he raised the issue of legal concerns in a moral context, to say nothing of a context of faith, I found refreshingly welcome...
...This theology, so strongly promoted at Vatican II, has been too often viewed through a glass darkly and reluctantly applied...
...Clear-minded William Pfaff has again "disintoxicat-ed" our minds with his brilliant analysis of American foreign policy and its often devastating effects on the international community...
...Please grab the opportunity to lead...
...Our snakes have lived here for years, fed and protected by family members, indeed, by family leaders...
...RAYMOND MAHER, O.CARM...
Vol. 129 • June 2002 • No. 12
