In All Things

Hoy la traducción español de My Life with the Saints, llamado, naturalmente, Mi vida con los santos, está disponible. Y créame, el español en el libro es mucho mejor que el español en esta blogpost.  Espero que el libro pueda ayudar a muchos hispanos en sus viajes a sentir bien a santos, y encontrar entre los patróns y los compañeros de los santos.  Usted puede comprarlo aqui y aqui.  Gracias!

I caught just the tail end of this much-talked-about ad last night on the Superbowl.  It's simple and effective.  And I wonder, How could anyone object to this?  Actually, I would have preferred for it to have been even stronger on the pro-life message, but maybe understatement is the way to go.  Dave Gibson said the ad's rollout was a brilliant strategy, too.

James Martin, SJ

Francis Cardinal George, archbishop of Chicago and president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, has denounced New Ways Ministry, a national organization based in Mt. Rainier, Maryland, which reaches out to gay and lesbian Catholics, runs conferences on issues concerning gay and lesbian Catholics, and sponsors regular retreats for that same population.  (It also offers a variety of resources on its websites, such as a list of Catholic parishes where gays and lesbians would feel welcome.)  Valued among the gay and lesbian Catholics, the organization and its founders (Sister Jeanine Gramick, SL, and Father Robert Nugent, SDS) have often found themselves at odds with the Catholic hierarchy.  Sister Gramick and Father Nugent have been for some years officially barred "from any pastoral work involving homosexual persons," as the USCCB statement affirms.  New Ways Ministry, which includes on its board and advisory board both priests and religious, said in a statement today that it was not contacted by the USCCB to explain its positions before the bishops' statement was released.  Here is part of Cardinal George's statement, dated yesterday.

New Ways Ministry has recently criticized efforts by the Church to defend the traditional definition of marriage as between one man and one woman and has urged Catholics to support electoral initiatives to establish same-sex "marriage." No one should be misled by the claim that New Ways Ministry provides an authentic interpretation of Catholic teaching and an authentic Catholic pastoral practice. Their claim to be Catholic only confuses the faithful regarding the authentic teaching and ministry of the Church with respect to persons with a homosexual inclination. Accordingly, I wish to make it clear that, like other groups that claim to be Catholic but deny central aspects of Church teaching, New Ways Ministry has no approval or recognition from the Catholic Church and that they cannot speak on behalf of the Catholic faithful in the United States.  The full text of Cardinal George's statement is here.

Today Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways, responded, in part: 

We are astonished that Cardinal George released such a statement, since New Ways Ministry has never been contacted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to discuss the nature of our work. We were not even extended the basic courtesy of being informed of the statement as it was being released to the press. Instead, we learned about it only by reading a press account.

When dealing with such a sensitive topic as homosexuality, it is not surprising that questions will arise from individual Church leaders. Yet, for more than three decades, New Ways Ministry has had its programs reviewed by scores of Catholic bishops, theologians, and pastoral leaders, and we have always been found to be firmly in line with authentic Catholic teaching. If the USSCB had concerns about our ministry, why didn’t they contact us before a judgment was made? Why was New Ways Ministry not given an opportunity to explain our positions?  The full text of their statement is here.

James Martin, SJ

The "lesser of two evils" is an important concept from the Catholic moral tradition that is being applied in a new way in the diocese of Albany, as RNS's Daniel Burke reports in this story of its needle-exchange program.  (In the past few decades a few theologians have argued that that traditional moral stance could be applied to the use of condoms in countries where AIDS is rampant.)  In any event, here is the story from Albany.

In launching its needle-exchange program earlier this week, the Catholic Diocese of Albany, N.Y., said the decision came down to choosing the lesser evil. Illegal drug use is bad, but the spread of deadly diseases is worse.  The medical evidence is clear, the diocese argued on Monday (Feb. 1) when it began “Project Safe Point” in two Upstate New York locations through its local branch of Catholic Charities. Public health studies document that exchanging used syringes for new ones can effectively stanch the spread of blood-borne diseases such as AIDS, and even lead drug abusers to treatment and recovery.  “To guide us, the church provides us with the principles of licit cooperation in evil and the counseling of the lesser evil,” the Albany diocese said in a statement.  “The sponsorship of Catholic Charities in Safe Point, then, is based upon the church’s standard moral principles.”

Read the rest here.

James Martin, SJ

On Feb. 2, Pope Benedict XVI, in his homily marking this year's World Day for Consecrated Life, praised the commitment of men and women in religious orders.  "Each one of you," said the Holy Father, referring to men and women religious, "has approached [Christ] as the source of pure and faithful love, a love so great and beautiful as to merit all, in fact, more than our all, because a whole life is not enough to return what Christ is and what he has done for us. But you approached him, and every day you approach him, also to be helped in the opportune moment and in the hour of trial."

Two days later, Cardinal Franc Rode (pictured at right), prefect of the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life, which is carrying out the apostolic visitation of women religious in this country, has said that religious orders are in "crisis," because of their abandonment of traditional practices.  Here is the story, in full, from CNS:

Vatican official says religious orders are in modern 'crisis'

Catholic News Service.   VATICAN CITY -- By John Thavis.  A top Vatican official said religious orders today are in a "crisis" caused in part by the adoption of a secularist mentality and the abandonment of traditional practices.  Cardinal Franc Rode, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, said the problems go deeper than the drastic drop in the numbers of religious men and women.  "The crisis experienced by certain religious communities, especially in Western Europe and North America, reflects the more profound crisis of European and American society. All this has dried up the sources that for centuries have nourished consecrated and missionary life in the church," Cardinal Rode said in a talk delivered Feb. 3 in Naples, Italy.

"The secularized culture has penetrated into the minds and hearts of some consecrated persons and some communities, where it is seen as an opening to modernity and a way of approaching the contemporary world," he said.  Cardinal Rode said the decline in the numbers of men and women religious became precipitous after the Second Vatican Council, which he described as a period "rich in experimentation but poor in robust and convincing mission."  Faced with an aging membership and fewer vocations, many religious orders have turned to "foreign vocations" in places like Africa, India and the Philippines, the cardinal said. He said the orders need to remember that quality of vocations is more important than quantity.

"It is easy, in situations of crisis, to turn to deceptive and damaging shortcuts, or attempt to lower the criteria and parameters for admission to consecrated life and the course of initial and permanent formation," he said.  In any case, he said, "big numbers are not indispensable" for religious orders to prove their validity. It's more important today, he said, that religious orders "overcome the egocentrism in which institutes are often closed, and open themselves to joint projects with other institutes, local churches and lay faithful."

Cardinal Rode, a 75-year-old Slovenian, is overseeing a Vatican-ordered apostolic visitation of institutes for women religious in the United States to find out why the numbers of their members have decreased during the past 40 years and to look at the quality of life in the communities.  He spoke Feb. 3 to a conference on religious life sponsored by the Archdiocese of Naples. The Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, published the main portions of his text.

Cardinal Rode said it was undoubtedly more difficult today for all religious orders to find young people who are willing to break away from the superficial contemporary culture and show a capacity for commitment and sacrifice. Unless this is dealt with in formation programs, he said, religious orders will produce members who lack dedication and are likely to drift away.

The challenge, however, should not be seen strictly in negative terms, he said. The present moment, he said, can help religious orders better define themselves as "alternatives to the dominant culture, which is a culture of death, of violence and of abuse," and make it clear that their mission is to joyfully witness life and hope, in the example of Christ.  --CNS

James Martin, SJ

Every year a good friend calls me one morning in early February to quiz me on the Oscar nominees.  The game is that I'm not supposed to listen to any news broadcasts or read any papers (or now, surf the web).   Some years I'm batting 1000 or at least 900; other years not so much.  Rob has been doing this since I entered the Jesuits (except when I was in East Africa) so when January and February roll around I try to be extra-attentive to what's hot and what's not.  This year, with the expanded list of nominees (ten pictures instead of five, which is actually more historical but still feels gimmicky) it was even harder to guess.  Sure "Avatar," "Up in the Air," and "The Hurt Locker," but "The Blind Side"?  Really? 

As it turns out, the Culture section had a pretty good year in figuring out what movies were Oscar-worthy and which were not.  Many of the nominated films (and performances) have been featured either in print or online in the Culture section.  We've rounded them all up in an "Oscar race," section, which will enable you to pronounce authoritatively at any Oscar party, and, most importantly, discharge your obligations should anyone say, "Well, what's a Catholic think about the film?" 

Here's our Oscar roundup.

And by the way, an overlooked medical drama this year, "Extraordinary Measures," is reviewed here by William van Ornum, who works for the American Mental Health Foundation in New York.

James Martins, SJ

A contact at the White House sent us these remarks, and since I'm not sure if they are on the web yet, I'll post them in full. 

Heads of state, cabinet members, Members of Congress, religious leaders, distinguished guests – it’s good to see you. Let me begin by acknowledging the co-chairs of this breakfast, Senators Isakson and Klobuchar, who embody the sense of fellowship at the heart of this gathering. Let me also acknowledge the director of my faith-based office, Joshua DuBois. I also want to commend Secretary Clinton on her excellent remarks, and outstanding leadership at the State Department. And I’m particularly pleased to see my dear friend, Prime Minister Zapatero, and ask him to relay our greetings to the Spanish people.

I am privileged to join you once again, as my predecessors have for over half a century. Like them, I come here to speak about the ways my faith informs who I am – as a President, and as a person. But I am also here for the same reason you are.  For we all share a recognition – one as old as time – that a willingness to believe; an openness to grace; a commitment to prayer can bring sustenance to our lives. There is, of course, a need for prayer even in times of joy, peace, and prosperity.  Especially in such times is prayer needed – to guard against pride, to guard against complacency. But rightly or wrongly, many of us are most inclined to seek out the divine not in moments when the Lord makes His face to shine upon us, but in moments when God’s grace can seem farthest away.

Last month, God’s grace, and mercy, seemed far from our neighbor in Haiti. And yet, I believe that grace was not absent in the midst of tragedy. It was heard in prayers and hymns that broke the silence of an earthquake’s wake. It was witnessed among parishioners of churches that stood no more, a roadside congregation, holding bibles in their laps. It was felt in the presence of relief workers and medics; translators and servicemen and women, bringing water, food, and aid to the injured.

One such translator was an American of Haitian descent, Navy Corpsman Christopher Brossard. Lying on a gurney aboard USNS Comfort, a woman asked Christopher: “Where do you come from? What country? After my operation,” she said, “I will pray for that country.” In Creole, Corpsman Brossard responded, “Etazini.” The United States of America.

God’s grace; and the compassion, the decency, of the American people, is expressed through Corpsman Brossard. It’s expressed through the efforts of our Armed Forces, through the efforts of our entire government, and through similar efforts from Spain and other countries around the world. It is also, as Secretary Clinton said, expressed through multiple faith-based efforts. By evangelicals at World Relief. By the American Jewish World Service. By Hindu temples, and mainline Protestants, Catholic Relief Services, African-American churches, and United Sikhs.  By Americans of every faith, and no faith, uniting around a common purpose, a higher purpose.

This is what we, as Americans, do in times of trouble. We unite, recognizing that such crises call on all of us to act, recognizing that there but for the grace of God go I, recognizing that life’s most sacred responsibility – one affirmed by all of the world’s great religions – is to sacrifice something of ourselves for a person in need.

Sadly, though, that spirit is too often absent when tackling the long-term, but no less profound issues facing our country and the world. Too often, that spirit is missing without the spectacular tragedy, the 9/11 or the Katrina, the earthquake or tsunami, that can shake us out of complacency. We become numb to the day to day crises, the slow moving tragedies of children without food, men without shelter, families without health care. We become absorbed with our abstract arguments, ideological disputes, contests for power. In this Tower of Babel, we lose the sound of God’s voice.

Now, let’s acknowledge that democracy is always messy, and divisions are hardly new in this country. Arguments about the proper role of government, the relationship between liberty and equality, our obligations to our fellow citizens – these things have been with us since our founding.  Moreover, I am mindful that a loyal opposition, a vigorous back and forth, a skepticism of power, is part of what makes our democracy work.

Still, there is a sense that something is different now; that something is broken; that those of us in Washington are not serving the people well. At times, it seems like we’re unable to listen to one another; to have at once a serious and civil debate. This erosion of civility in the public square sows division and distrust among citizens. It poisons the well of public opinion. It leaves each side little room to negotiate with the other. It makes politics an all or nothing sport, where one side is either always right or always wrong when, in reality, neither side has a monopoly on truth.

Empowered by faith, consistently and prayerfully, we need to find our way back to civility. That begins with stepping out of our comfort zones in an effort to bridge divisions. We see that in the many conservative pastors who are helping lead the way to fix our broken immigration system. We see that in the evangelical leaders who are rallying their congregations to protect our planet. We see that in the increasing recognition among progressives that government can’t solve all of our problems, and that talking about values like responsible fatherhood and healthy marriages are integral to any anti-poverty agenda.

Civility also requires relearning how to disagree without being disagreeable; understanding, as President Kennedy said, that “civility is not a sign of weakness.” Now, I’m not always right. Just ask Michelle. But you can question my policies without questioning my faith. Challenging each other’s ideas can renew our democracy. But when we challenge each other’s motives, it becomes harder to see what we hold in common. It becomes harder to see that we share the same dreams – even when we do not share the same plans for how to fulfill them.

We may disagree about the best way to reform our health care system, but surely we can agree that no one ought to go broke because they got sick in the richest nation on Earth. We can take different approaches to ending inequality, but surely we can agree on the need to lift our children from ignorance; to lift our neighbors from poverty. We may disagree about gay marriage, but surely we can agree that it is unconscionable to target gays and lesbians for who they are – whether it’s here in the United States of America, or more extremely, in the odious laws that have been proposed in Uganda.

Surely we can agree to find common ground when possible, while parting ways when necessary. In doing so, let us be guided by our faith, and by prayer. For while prayer can buck us up when we are down; keep us calm in a storm; and stiffen our spines to surmount an obstacle, prayer can also do something else. It can touch our hearts with humility. Fill us with a spirit of brotherhood. And remind us that we are all – every one of us – children of an awesome God.

Through faith, but not through faith alone, we can unite people to serve the common good. That is what my Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships has done since I announced it here last year. We’ve slashed red tape and built effective partnerships on a range of uses, from promoting fatherhood here at home to spearheading interfaith cooperation abroad. Through that Office, we have turned the faith-based initiative around to find common ground among people of all beliefs; and make an impact in a way that’s civil, respectful of difference, and focused on what matters most.

It is this spirit of civility that we are called to take up when we leave here today. I know that in difficult times like these – when pundits start shouting and politicians start calling each other names – it can seem like a return to civility is not possible, it can seem like the very idea is a relic of some bygone age.

But let us remember those who came before; those who believed in a brotherhood of man even when such a faith was tested. Remember Dr. Martin Luther King. Not long after an explosion ripped through his front porch, his wife and infant daughter inside, he rose to that pulpit in Montgomery, and said “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.” In the eyes of those who denied his humanity, he saw the face of God.

Remember Abraham Lincoln. On the eve of civil war, with states seceding and forces gathering, with a nation divided half slave and half free, he rose to deliver his first Inaugural and said, “We are not enemies, but friends…Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.”  Even in the eyes of confederate soldiers, he saw the face of God.

Remember William Wilberforce, whose Christian faith led him to seek slavery’s abolition in Britain; who was vilified, derided, and attacked; but who called for “lessening prejudices [and] conciliating good-will, and thereby making way for the less obstructed progress of truth.”  In the eyes of those who sought to silence a nation’s conscience, he saw the face of God.

So, yes, there are crimes of conscience that call us to action. Yes, there are causes that move our hearts and offenses that stir our souls.  But progress doesn’t come when we demonize opponents.  It is not born of righteous spite. Progress comes when we open our hearts, when we extend our hands, when we recognize our common humanity. Progress comes when we look into the eyes of another, and see the face of God. That we might do so – that we will do so – is my fervent prayer for our nation and the world. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.

James Martin, SJ

As part of our promise to furnish ample coverage of films in our online Culture section, here is a new review of the blockbuster "Avatar," from a slightly different perspective.  Michael V. Tueth, S.J., of the Fordham University's Communication and Media Studies department admits he is no great technophile, nor is he a professional theologian.   But he loves movies, knows a great deal about them, and loved "Avatar."  In fact, it took him 25 minutes to "calm down" after the film.  And he disagrees--politely--with the Vatican's (or at least L'Osservatore Romano's) partial condemnation of the film: 

Such is the current cultural prominence of “Avatar” that even the Vatican has weighed in with observations. Gaetano Vallini, a film reviewer for the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, praised the film’s “stupefying, enchanting technology.” However, he termed the screenplay unoriginal and “standardized” and felt that the film’s sentimentality diverts viewers from “more thoughtful observations on militarism, imperialism, and environmentalism.” What has drawn considerably more attention is his comment that the film “gets bogged down by a spiritualism linked to the worship of nature.”

But, in my opinion, the religious beliefs and practices of the Nav’i are not genuinely pantheistic; they are closer to the Transcendentalism of Emerson and Thoreau, and their Catholic contemporary, Orestes Brownson, who saw nature as a powerful link to the divine—for Emerson that would be the Christian God; for the Nav’i, it is the compassionate Mother Goddess, Eywa, to whom they pray for victory, for healing and even for resuscitation from death.

Read the rest of his appreciation here.

James Martin, SJ

David Gibson over at Politics Daily has a great piece on the "uproar" over the newly announced "Mother Teresa stamp."  Seems that some are objecting to her smiling visage gracing our letters and postcards.  And they're objecting for good reason.  The U.S. Postal Service's list of requirements for those who should appear on stamps includes this rather clear-cut restriction: "Stamps or stationery items shall not be issued to honor religious institutions or individuals whose principal achievements are associated with religious undertakings or beliefs."  The risibly named Freedom from Religion Foundation (named, I suppose, after one of the Four Non-Freedoms that Norman Rockwell famously commemorated in World War II) has used that restriction as an airtight argument opposing her.  Joe Carter at First Things takes a different tack, though: "Mother Teresa should certainly appear on a stamp -- but only after we change the law. We shouldn't look for loopholes that require denying the importance of her faith in order for her to qualify. Mother Teresa should be honored for who she really was -- a Catholic nun motivated by the love of Christ -- and not as a faux, secular saint."  

That makes sense, especially since, as Gibson notes, the Postal Service has honored The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was, um, a religious leader, and Fr. Edward J. Flanagan of Boys Town fame.  According to the USPS, they're acceptable because they were not known primarily as religious leaders, which would have surprised Rev. King and Fr. Flanagan (not to mention their congregations).  And as Gibson notes, the Blessed Virgin Mary somehow slips through those religious restrictions every Christmas.  That pesky BVM!  His article says, tongue-in-cheekly, that perhaps she's seen primarily as a mom.  Or maybe just a painting.

But let's use an even simpler argument.  US stamps rightly honor deserving people, events, inventions, achievements and even landmarks.  And so the question: Does Mother Teresa live up to these high standards?  Can she, for example, be counted in the august company as the two estimable figures, public servants and international humanitarians already honored by the Postal Service who are pictured at right?

Give me a break.  Put her on the damn stamp already.

James Martin, SJ

In October of last year, I made a pilgrimage of sorts to Cincinnati, Ohio, a city that boasts great chili, serves great (Graeter’s, to be specific) ice cream, and, most importantly, is home to very warm people.  Several years ago, I had spent a marvelous summer in nearby Milford, Ohio, at the Jesuit Retreat House learning how to direct the Spiritual Exercises, and I had grown to love the city.  This time my host was St. Anthony Messenger Press, the Franciscan Order's publishing apostolate, and I was there to record the audio version of my book My Life with the Saints. 

When St. Anthony first contracted for an audio book of the same title (they retained the audio rights from Loyola Press) I thought, “Well, how hard could recording it be?”  After all, I had done radio recordings before and enjoyed it.  What’s more, how long could it take?  Matt Wielgos, from St. Anthony Messenger Press, laughed when I asked him that question.  Based on his work with many other books and many other authors, he had an answer ready.  “Three days,” he said.  Three days?  “That’s impossible!”  I said.  But his “impossible” calculation proved exactly right.  Three days, from 9 a.m., to 6 p.m. in an airless little soundproof studio.

Despite the long hours, it was great fun.  For one thing, it was wonderful meeting the welcoming, talented and highly professional St. Anthony Messenger Press (or SAMP) team.  Sponsored by the Franciscan Order, St. Anthony Messenger Press is located in an immense complex in Cincinnati that includes the publishing house, the amazingly high-tech audio book division, St. Anthony Messenger magazine, Catholic Update, as well as, in the same complex, a gorgeous Franciscan parish (in whose chapel I was happy to celebrate Mass on Sunday morning) and the offices of the St. John the Baptist Province of the Franciscan Order.  Spending time with Franciscans and their colleagues is always good for a Jesuit.  And I mean that.  All that plus some great burgers and dinner at a local hangout where "Rain Man" was filmed.

Happily, the actual recording wasn’t physically difficult (plenty of throat lozenges and plenty of breaks helped with that end), though it was surprising even to me how many saints I had written about!  A few weeks later, another friend who was recording his book with St. Anthony's called and said, “Boy, next time I’m writing a shorter book!”  The technical expertise of the group amazed me as well.  At one point I felt (rather than heard) my stomach growl, as we approached lunch.  The voice on the other end of the earphones said, "Um, Father Jim, did we hear a...noise?"  So I can assure you the sound quality is superb!

The St. Anthony team said that they were happy that the author had recorded the book (rather than a professional voice-over person with perhaps a more mellifluous voice) since there were a few words and phrases in Latin, Italian, Spanish, French and Swahili (I am by no means fluent in any of those, but the book includes a few foreign phrases), as well as the odd Ignatian turn of phrase that a voice-over artist might puzzle over (like the standard pronunciation of examen).  But I didn’t know how to pronounce everything.  The team had to clue me in on the most accurate pronunciation of Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, aka Mother Teresa.  And a few times my Philadelphia accent made it hard for the Midwesterners to understand a word or two.  “What was that?”   But after the three days, I was delighted to have completed the task. 

In any event, today is the official “pub date” of the audio book.  It’s available on St. Anthony’s page here, and on Amazon.  In a few weeks, it will also be available in a few weeks on audible.com, for downloading for your Ipod.  So if you’d like to hear Philadelphian talk about his life with the saints, well, I spent three days making sure that you would be able to!

James Martin, SJ

NPR takes Pope Benedict XVI's latest letter for World Communications Day and asks several bloggers (including one from "In All Things") for advice were the pope to start blogging himself.  It's rather tongue in cheek but gets at some interesting points about the blogosphere and religion.  Listen to it here.

James Martin, SJ