Correspondence Weakland, deacons, Mary
CORRESPONDENCE To the Editors Weakland is not Law Commonweal deserves our gratitude for publishing Rembert Weakland's "Looking Forward" (August 15), to my knowledge the first theological piece of...
...Still, I disagree with Gaillardetz's assertion that the diaconate has gone beyond the role envisioned for it at Vatican II...
...Meanwhile, the workshops I have led on how to promote Catholic funerals at a reasonable cost have been very well attended, attracting thirty to one hundred and fifty people...
...Ward claims that what I call four "reflections" are in fact "four sweeping criticisms of Johnson's book...
...Had the church in North America been a patriarchate, more or less able to make its own decisions in Dallas, we might have enshrined a set of practices for dealing with priests accused of sexual abuse based on accusation alone without adequate safeguards for priests' rights...
...The overwhelming response is a resounding yes there is just so much yet to do...
...DIANE A. WARD Los Angeles, Calif...
...Soft rock does not belong in a church any more than Gregorian chant belongs in a dance hall...
...The people who come are those making personal funeral plans...
...I have been part of two diocesan workshops on end-of-life decisions, which were well-publicized throughout the diocese...
...We have had to adapt to the needs of family and job...
...attentive and responsive to the Holy Spirit...
...DAVID SCOTCHIE Winter Park, Fla...
...but they are still of historical interest...
...Furthermore, I disagree that, in the absence of a priest, deacons should not exercise pastoral leadership...
...As to the first "the Patriarchal Feminine" Ward writes, "Egan comments, 'there's more to this than a patriarchal conspiracy,' giving as support for his assertion the example of his female relatives who were anything but submissive...
...I think it has been and continues to be enormously important and beneficial...
...Of a lesser God Richard R. Gaillardetz's article was a thought-provoking piece on the dia-conate in the United States...
...RICHARD R. GAILLARDETZ End-of-life decisions Toward the end of his article ("End-of-Life Decisions," August 15), Andrew Lustig suggests that churches would seem to be a natural venue for people to talk about what it means to die well...
...The author replies: I thank John Howett for his contribution...
...Besides the panel (composed of a doctor, a lawyer, and me, the priest), the first workshop had eight attendees...
...ROBERT J. EG AN, SJ Celebration time Peter Steinfels's article on liturgy ("Fixing the Liturgy," July 18) proposed four headings for examining the quality of parish worship: "presiding, preaching, participation, and music...
...The bishops were stampeded by a media onslaught into an almost hysterical reaction that your journal has described well...
...The shortage of priests must be addressed straightforwardly, and not through the diaconal "back door...
...I suggest that when Mary is explicitly understood as "a symbol" of God, all the art, music, and poetry she inspired might still mediate for us "the maternal blessing of a loving God...
...Egan then proceeds to spend four paragraphs arguing for the validity of understanding Mary as the maternal face of God, precisely because it "mediat[es] the maternal blessing of a loving God...
...I do contend that these activities were never intended to dominate the ministry of the deacon...
...The impact of the visual arts is often more important than written theology, especially given the long history of illiteracy...
...I find the comparison to Cardinal Bernard Law puzzling (Et cetera, "Rembert Weakland," August 15...
...We do not minister in a vacuum...
...Yet two paragraphs later, in his conclusion, Egan seems to buy into Johnson's portrait of Mary as a "prophet and friend of God...
...Most veteran deacons feel they are greatly underutilized...
...A much healthier model was employed with the introduction of Communion in the hand and changes in the sacrament of reconciliation...
...What do the two men have in common...
...When it comes to music, the answer is yes...
...This is a fabrication...
...ELEANOR MERRICK Medford, N.J.han Gregorian chant belongs in a dance hall...
...Lustig's article encourages me to add an "End-of-Life" session next time and to see if we break the diocesan record of twelve attendees...
...I do not dispute that the liturgical presidency and the sacramental ministry of deacons is canonically permissible...
...EVA FLEISCHNER Claremont, Calif...
...mike evans Anderson, Calif...
...Some have even referred to deacons as "the children of a lesser God...
...Not so...
...rather we reflect and re-present the activity of the church immersed in the culture...
...The second had twelve...
...There are many deacons whose ministry consists almost entirely of presiding over baptisms, weddings, and funerals, or alternatively, of administering parishes...
...Nor do I contest a deacon's right to administer a parish in the absence of a resident priest...
...Since feminist theologians frequently disagree with one another, who could...
...Egan's fourth criticism appears to be based on the uncertainty caused by historical consciousness in biblical interpretation (an uncertainty clearly acknowledged by Johnson...
...Much of the music heard in churches today fails to raise the mind and heart like Gregorian chant...
...I taught some twenty-five summers in the United States in graduate schools of religious education...
...By the thirteenth century, of course, belief in Mary's role in the salvation story had achieved cult status, inspiring the building of cathedrals and painted programs such as Giotto's at Padua...
...As to the first, which Johnson calls the "Patriarchal Feminine," Egan comments, "there's more to this than a partriarchal conspiracy," giving as support for his assertion the example of his own female relatives who were anything but submissive...
...I do not argue for the validity of this theology in its original form...
...This is not true...
...The 1998 papal document Directory for the Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons clearly states that "where permanent deacons participate in the pastoral care of parishes that do not, because of a shortage, have the immediate benefit of a parish priest, they always have precedence over the nonor-dained faithful...
...If we ever do undertake structural change in the church, we should look to two models from the past...
...She criticizes me for asking "whether it is really possible to say with assurance that Mary 'was a disciple of Jesus,'" only to later "buy into Johnson's portrait of Mary as a 'prophet and friend of God.'" Unfortunately, Ward skips over the phrases, "if we use the ordinary principles of critical historical investigation" and "if we start...from 'the raw, mostly unknown historical reality of Miriam of Nazareth.'" Plus, I clearly state that Johnson shows how, read in context, the Gospels the Gospels, not critical historical scholarship provide a moving characterization a characterization, not a factual portrait of Mary, writ-Send your letter to the editor to editors@oommonwealmagazine.org ten in memory of her as a jubilant and grieving mother, and, yes, "as prophet and friend of God...
...I suggest that in making any structural change in the church, a model that respects all laypeople, not just those who agree with the changes, should be adopted...
...The author replies: The solution to the underutilization of deacons is not to encourage them to engage in ministries more appropriate to the priest, but to explore ministries more appropriate to the role of deacon, such as catechesis and ministry to the sick, infirm, and imprisoned...
...Nor is this phrase related to the subsequent thought about the women in my mother's family, immigrants from southern Italy, who while deeply devoted to Mary, were strong, independent, and outspoken, a fact which never struck me as anomalous...
...Local funeral directors then present sessions on veterans' benefits, cremation, cemeteries, out-of-state arrangements, and preplanning...
...john howett Atlanta, Ga...
...Many have had to "shop" for a cooperative pastor or institutional setting where they can perform diaconal service...
...Egan then indirectly criticizes Johnson for ruling out the "two types of androcentric Marian theology" as a useful source for her project...
...In the change from the liturgy of Pius V to the novus ordo, there were no options...
...GERARD M. FOUREZ, SJ Namur, Belgium No soft rock In his article on the liturgy, Peter Ste-infels asks a crucial question: "Have the reforms...obscured the sense that God rather than the community is the primary actor in the Mass...
...I suggest that music be composed setting English texts to Gregorian structures...
...Granted that Weakland covered up his out-of-court settlement with the man who eventually betrayed him, surely this does not compare with Law's cover-up, over decades, of literally hundreds of criminal acts by his clergy...
...may be appropriate, let us hope that we shall hear him speak out loudly and clearly in the years to come...
...This exhibited a stunning lack of charity and regard for the faithful, many of whom left the church in despair...
...Nor do we wish to replace the priest-pastor as parish leader or to live in the rectory...
...Consider chant's free-flowing rhythm, which in any one phrase may move from two-count to a three-count and back again, so that you do not feel as tied-to-the-earth as you do, for example, in "Onward Christian Soldiers" with its marked 4/4 rhythm...
...These points were intended to be just what I called them: reflections...
...My suspicion is borne out by his four sweeping criticisms of Johnson's book, which he characterizes as "reflections" rather than as critiques...
...Here, the faithful were given the option of following, to some degree, more familiar forms and thereby have been able to reorient themselves to the church's ministry at their own pace...
...This is not an organic development of diaconal ministry, but rather an accommodation intended to ease the pastoral consequences of our priest shortage...
...tom powers Guelph, Ontario Job description Regarding "Are Deacons the Answer...
...He asks "whether it is really possible for us to say with assurance that Mary "was a disciple of Jesus...
...the change was made and the old rite was suppressed, even though many had built that rite into their faith lives...
...They are obviously of no use for her project...
...It was those meddlesome bureaucrats in Rome who brought a greater sense of due process to the crisis and thereby ensured some measure of fairness...
...As deacons, we do not come from a monastic tradition or lifestyle...
...We receive the gift of dialogue and feedback from our spouse...
...Second, Ward believes I "indirectly criticize" Johnson for "ruling out the 'two types of androcentric Marian theology' as a useful source for her project...
...He apparently doesn't see that his own justification proves the truth of Johnson's critique...
...Short of this, at the very least the Kyrie, Gloria, and Sanctus should be sung in the original Gregorian...
...CORRESPONDENCE To the Editors Weakland is not Law Commonweal deserves our gratitude for publishing Rembert Weakland's "Looking Forward" (August 15), to my knowledge the first theological piece of writing from the archbishop since his resignation...
...Ward questions why I endorse Johnson's argument against considering "Mary as the maternal face of God," only to "spend four paragraphs" arguing for its validity...
...The feminist project I was disappointed that you chose a reviewer as ambivalent about the entire feminist theological project as Robert J. Egan to review Elizabeth's Johnson's Truly Our Sister...
...To these I would add "celebrating people's lives...
...of the church bring to mind one caveat and one suggestion...
...Richard R. Gaillardetz and Thomas Baker, August 15): With more than twelve thousand deacons in the United States alone, the restoration of the permanent diaconate has had a major impact on a multitude of parishes and Catholic institutions...
...The phrase, "there's more to this than a patriarchal conspiracy" occurs in a different context...
...In Lumen gentium, the role of the deacon is made explicit by the council fathers: "It pertains to the office of a deacon...to administer bap-(Continued on page 27) (Continued from page 4) tism solemnly, to be custodian and distributor of the Eucharist, in the name of the church, to assist at and to bless marriages, to bring Viaticum to the dying, to read the sacred Scripture to the faithful, to instruct and exhort the people, to preside (emphasis added) over the worship and the prayer of the faithful, to administer sacramentals, and to officiate at funeral and burial services...
...it is built into the musical structure of chant...
...I agree that Jesus' early followers consisted of women and men in a dis-cipleship of equals, sisters and brothers, with no one to be called "father" or "teacher," with no one "lording it over" anyone else...
...First, Egan criticizes Johnson's failure to use Freud and Jung as a source of interpretive strategies, even though this omission is consistent with Johnson's stated use of feminist hermeneutical methods...
...The point I wish to make is the importance of these texts in the history of art, and the subsequent importance that art had on the formation of Christian veneration of the Virgin...
...Perhaps in the end Egan cannot accept Johnson's argument that Jesus' early followers consisted of a group of men and women, one of whom was Mary, who participated equally in discipleship and apostleship after Jesus' death and Resurrection...
...For example, the baptism of a child should help us to realize what it means to welcome a child into a society that is, in many instances, threatening...
...He is correct about the influence of apocryphal texts on Catholic devotional life, especially the Protevangeli-um of James...
...What was missing from my students' education was an awareness that liturgy should always be geared toward celebrating people's lives helping them to understand that our piece of human history is "holy history...
...That doesn't mean I agree with every sentence spoken or published as part of it...
...Models of change Archbishop Rembert Weakland's proposal for changes in the organization Addendum Because of an editorial error, Commonweal omitted the publisher of a forthcoming book co-edited by Bruce Russett and Francis Oakley in Russett's identification for his September 12 article, "We the People of God...
...Something about Mary Robert J. Egan's July 18 review of Elizabeth Johnson's Truly Our Sister on the theology of Mary does not mention the two most widely read sources for the Virgin's story: the Pro-tevangelium of James (second century) and the so-called Assumption of Mary (fourth century...
...He seems initially to agree with Johnson's argument against this approach in which the feminine is understood as representing only an aspect, rather than the whole of the divine because such an understanding reinforces the notion that God is "really" masculine...
...It would be a tragedy if Weakland's wisdom and many years of experience, first as Benedictine primate, then as archbishop, were to be lost to the church...
...Nonetheless, we do prize our liturgical roles which give meaning and authenticity to our other ministries in the parish and the world...
...Music carries strong powers of association...
...the intent of my article was merely to warn against such a stopgap measure gradually redefining the diaconate as an auxiliary priesthood...
...This is not simply a matter of aesthetics or taste...
...While Weakland's decision "not to continue as a visible presence within the bishops' conference" (unlike Law...
...Ask members of any parish with a deacon or two if they could use a few more...
...Although it has grown and matured since its restoration, the diaconate has generally been ignored in the oft-heard triumvirate of "priests, religious, and laity...
...What I actually suggest is that the de facto historical phenomenon of Marian devotion remains to be interpreted theologically, and that theologically it makes sense is to say that Mary became "a symbol" of God, a persuasive disclosure of certain truths about the reality of God...
...REV...
...ELEANOR MERRICK Medford, N.J.J...
...I sincerely praised the book...
...Ward reads selectively...
...In our current pastoral situation, the use of deacons in this fashion may be justified...
...I say nothing about Johnson's compelling critique of the theological treatment of Mary as an embodiment of idealized femininity (from a masculine viewpoint), except to remark how few male theologians ever succeeded in thinking of Mary as a flesh-and-blood woman...
...As deacons, we do not aspire to priestly ministry...
...Diane Ward seriously misrepresents what I wrote...
...Let it be so...
...Nor are they theologically valid...
...I have not read Johnson's book so I do not know if she mentions these apocryphal accounts...
...Governance, Accountability, and the Future of the Catholic Church will be available from Continuum in November...
...In the first, I suggested how a theology of Mary as a historical person might be supplemented by a psychological study of the history of Marian devotion and a critical theological interpretation of what it uncovers...
...If you sit in on any deacon support group, however, you will quickly detect frustration...
...As to the second, which Johnson calls "Mary as the maternal face of God," Egan is even more indirect...
...Any form of worship that does not celebrate how people live, that does not touch on all dimensions of their lives, is a farce...
...I was even more disappointed that he was not willing to own up to his ambivalence...
...They are thrilled to get some church guidance and to find out the huge differences among local funeral homes...
...I am not "ambivalent about the entire feminist theological project...
...dean j. collins Milwaukee, Wis...
...Even though they come as consumers, I give them a fifteen-minute presentation on Catholic funerals and theology...
Vol. 130 • September 2003 • No. 16
