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Editorials
Public Schools and the Pledge of Allegiance
The Editors
In June 2002 the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in California, rocked the nation with a broad ruling against the constitutionality of including “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. Last February, however, the same court rewrote and greatly narrowed its decision
O Happy Day!
Christopher Pramuk
I sit with Shakespeare and he winces not....
Apocalypse When?
David E. NantaisMichael Simone, S.J.
Our world is in turmoil. There is fighting in the Middle East, an outbreak of a strange new disease in East Asia, natural disasters and economic woes in the world’s richest country. Could the “end times” be near? If so, will you be among the “saved?” For some, these que
Letters
Letters
Our readers

Balanced Approach

The article by Drew Christiansen, S.J., (5/19) drew my immediate attention, because I had spent October 2001 to June 2002 in Jerusalem and on more than one occasion had met and listened to Patriarch Michel Sabbah speak or preach. I first met him in December 1987 in Rome, when he spent his days of preparation for his episcopal ordination in the house where I then lived, and I have followed his work, at a distance, since then. I have always found him to be very balanced in his approach and in his words.

I do agree with the general thrust of the article.

I was taken aback by the statement that George Cottier, O.P., the papal theologian, and other French churchmen supported the idea with vigorous attacks on Patriarch Michel Sabbah in the French Catholic press. Other than an article by Father Cottier in the periodical Nova et Vetera, I have found nothing and am unaware of anything in the French Catholic press. Thus my questions: who else? and where?

Considering where it originates, Switzerland, Proche-Orient Infoat least to me as a Canadiancan hardly be included in the French Catholic press. Further, was what was printed in Proche-Orient Info on Dec. 10, 2002, signed by Father Cottier, or was it a reprint from elsewhere? (I’m sorry, I don’t have access to back issues of Proche-Orient Info.)

Father Cottierand othersmay have done a grave injustice to Patriarch Sabbah, but there may also be a perceived injustice to the French Catholic press.

(Most Rev). John Stephen Knight

FaithThe Word
To Whom Shall We Go?
Dianne Bergant
We must believe that our religious tradition can carry us into new situations, and that its values can continue to be vital despite the challenges we find there.
Books
In Their Own Image
John B. Breslin
Margaret Atwood rsquo s last novel The Blind Assassin won the millennial Booker Prize for most writers a once-in-a-lifetime award Salman Rushdie notwithstanding Three years later she is back with a rather different kind of book more reminiscent of The Handmaid rsquo s Tale an earlier dystopia
Editorials
AIDS: The Ever-Growing Scourge
The Editors
President Bush has signed into law a measure that will allocate $15 billion to fight AIDS in the poorest countries of Africa and the Caribbean. This is a hopeful sign. It shows that the rich nations are finally taking concrete notice of a pandemic that is affecting ever greater numbers of people. Ad
Marital and Ecclesial Commitment
Richard R. Gaillardetz
In the Judeo-Christian tradition, marriage has offered a set of images helpful in illuminating our communal relationship with God. Whether it is Israel’s covenant with Yahweh or the church’s bond with Christ, the nuptial images of bride and bridegroom have long helped believers reflect u
Speaking Truth to Power
Patrick Lang
What is truth? John the Evangelist attributes this question to Pilate in his examination of Jesus. Pilate was expressing his frustration over the unpleasant reality that the man before him was probably innocent of the charge of treason to the Roman state, but that it would nevertheless be necessary,
Faith in Focus
A Dancing Baby and Other Notes From the Choir
Lorraine V. Murray
It is the first rehearsal for the Emory University Chorus, and I am sitting in a seat in a huge classroom next to a college student who beams me a shy grin and tells me her name is Jeanna. My husband and I have been singing in our tiny church choir for years, but we have been eager to stretch our wi
The Word
The Son's Mother
Dianne Bergant
Many homes proudly display pictures of family members or of times not to be forgotten Some of these pictures are individually framed Others are combined two or three photos hinged together As we celebrate this Marian feast the church offers us two depictions of Mary In the Western church this
Books
Imperial Tradition
Victor Ferkiss
Empire looks like a coffee-table book Handsomely produced on slick paper replete with copious illustrations and maps it was originally published as a companion volume to a BBC television series One would expect its contents to be bland reflective of conventional wisdom One would be fooled how
News
Signs of the Times
From AP, CNS, RNS, Staff and other sources
Report Details Decades of Abuse, Failure of Leadership’ in BostonA 91-page report detailing the sexual abuse of at least 789 children by 250 priests or other workers of the Archdiocese of Boston since 1940 documents a massive, inexcusable failure of leadership in the archdiocese, Massachusetts
Jazz Goes Back to Church
Michael Sherwin
Dave Brubeck is recognized as a gifted jazz pianist and composer. His use of innovative techniques, like the unique time signatures showcased in the breakthrough album, Time Out (1959), made him a leading light of West Coast jazz. Indeed, the singular chemistry of his classic quartet established him
God and Caesar in the New Europe
John Coughlan
A draft constitution for the European Union was presented at a summit meeting in Greece on June 20. The debate over whether the constitution should include references to religion has raised fundamental questions about European identity. Despite the trans-Atlantic acrimony of recent months, the 105 m
FaithThe Word
You Are Warmly Invited...
Dianne Bergant
Jesus offers us himself, his flesh for the life of the world. If we turn down his invitation, we would be more than fools. We would be rejecting life itself.
Books
Sound Science'?
Kristin Shrader-Frechette
Promoting the largest deregulation campaign in the last half century the Bush administration says deregulation will bring prosperity and health But will it Cass R Sunstein a professor of law at the University of Chicago makes the case for the Bush claims He says that environmental laws kill m
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
Dennis M. Linehan
I confess; I am a pack rat. Let those who would point a bony finger or raise a censorious eyebrow take comfort. I suffer from this. I know that I shouldn’t be living in a secondhand bookstore, still less on a rubbish tip. And I promise to reform. The gift of 50 trash bags, 30-gallon size, from
Columns
Bush's Nuclear Folly
Ronald E. Powaski
The Bush administration’s response to North Korea’s nuclear weapon challenge has been hypocritical. While the North Korean decision to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty last January was lamentable, it is also understandable. The Bush administration itself has done much to
Sister-to-Sister: A New Approach to AIDS in Africa
George M. Anderson
Although both women and men are dying of AIDS at ever increasing rates in Sub-Saharan Africa, it is women who bear the brunt of the epidemic’s destructive impact. Not only do they account for close to 60 percent of H.I.V.-AIDS infections there, they also suffer disproportionately from the stig