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Letters
Letters
Our readers

Church Blessed

The editorial on Ordaining Gay Men (11/11) does not want to come to grips with the fact that the overwhelming number of priestly sexual abuse cases that have come to light have been committed by gays. It does no one any good to pretend there isn’t a problem here. This does not, however, mean that the church hasn’t been blessed by many priests who are gay. No doubt it has.

The editorial struggles to say that it would be ill-advised to ban gays from the priesthood. Of course it would be, and for one very good reason: no sooner would the ban go into effect when we would learn that a great gay priest, who is celibate, got past the radar. What then? The scandal that would erupt by bouncing this priest would be nothing compared to what we’ve been going through all year.

The answer, then, is to screen more carefully so that immature men are not allowed to become priests.

William A. Donohue,

Editorials
Prisoners and the Right to Vote
The Editors
Whether they exercised it in the fall elections or not, most citizens of the United States took it for granted that they had the right to cast a vote on Nov. 5. But for close to four million people with felony convictions, no such right existed, because almost all states have disenfranchisement laws
Opening Doors
William A. Proefriedt
One afternoon in the late 1940’s, the eighth-grade classroom in Our Lady of Lourdes elementary school in Brooklyn was disrupted by the entrance of five or six boys from the local public school. They were part of a released time program that allowed public school children to attend religion cla
Letters
Letters
Our readers

Protecting

I commend you on the most timely and relevant editorial on domestic violence (11/18). My experience is that one of the best-kept secrets in the Catholic Church is the bishops’ document When I Called for Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence Against Women. Very few pastors talk about this issue from the pulpit. Often the women who come to our center, Woman’s Place, are told by their pastors, Just be a good wife, try harder, pray more. The pro-life stance of the church must be proactive in protecting women and their children from the abuser in their family. Your editorial should be available to all pastors and pastoral councils as the first step in the education process of our parishes.

Jeanne Meurer, F.S.M.

Faith in Focus
What Power? Whose Glory?
Mary Sherry
Is he your father? The woman smiled benevolently as I coaxed Father Don to take another spoonful of puréed meatloaf. With his huge bony frame randomly folded and tucked into the wheelchair and his head supported by a neck pillow, Father gave no indication he had either heard or understood the quest
Books
Holy Collaborators?
Marc Saperstein
I cannot identify any constructive role for this new book by Daniel Goldhagen currently an affiliate of the Minda Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard University Unlike his previous book Hitler rsquo s Willing Executioners whichfor all its problemswas based on original research into a
Poetry
Night Thoughts
William F. Bell

It is our emptiness and lowliness that God needs, and not our plenitude. --Mother Teresa

Somehow by day, no matter what,

The Word
Do You Hear Voices?
Dianne Bergant
The wilderness which can seduce us with its beauty and its majesty has many faces In one part of the country its dense forests and lush vegetation fill up our senses In another its stark barrenness purges us of affectation while its grandeur takes away our breath It is a place of wonder and e
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
George M. Anderson
The name Kateri Tekakwitha may not strike chords of recognition in the minds of many readers, nor did it in mine until I made a retreat this past summer at the Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, N.Y. The shrine is dedicated primarily to eight French Jesuits who came to evangelize w
Interreligious Dialogue for Peace
Antonio J. Ledesma
In the Philippines, we have a Muslim minority living together with a Christian majority. One Indonesian bishop explained his country’s situation to me in this way: “The manner in which you majority Christians deal with the minority Muslims in the Philippines will be the way the majority
Editorials
Haitians at Dives's Door
The Editors
The eight million Haitians who share the Caribbean Island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic have the unwelcome distinction of populating the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It is also a country that has endured for two centuries a series of governments inept and oppressive in vary
The Word
Chosen to Be Holy
Dianne Bergant
The readings for the feast of the Immaculate Conception are rich in meaning but frequently misunderstood when viewed through the lens of the feast itself First contrary to some artistic depictions of the Immaculate Conception the Genesis account states that it is the woman rsquo s offspring rath
News
Signs of the Times
From AP, CNS, RNS, Staff and other sources
Vatican Official Says New Norms Give Greater ProtectionsFar from weakening the church’s ability to protect children, the revisions to the U.S. bishops’ norms on sexual abuse establish a rigorous procedure for dealing with offending priests and highlight the gravity of such crimes, the Va
Portfolio
Suffering Tenderness
Leo J. ODonovan
Some images are so powerful that, if we take time for them, they can alter our lives. The spirit hovering over the waters, the Lord who is our shepherd, the mountain on which every tear will be wiped away are such images, given us by the Jewish people and still nourishing us centuries later. Others
A Wellstone Pro-Lifer?
John F. Kavanaugh
Reactions to my Ethics Notebook column on leaving the Democratic Party to become an Independent reminded me how volatile discussions can become when they meld the world of politics with the moral life. I’ve received some strong comments from both wings of the spectrum. How could you ever have
Books
Democracy Meets Doctrine
Thomas Bokenkotter
Jay P Dolan professor emeritus of history at the University of Notre Dame and founding director of the Cushwa Center there sets out in his new book to examine the interaction of American culture with Roman Catholicism ldquo in the land of the free rdquo under the heading of a ldquo search for
It's Not Just Priests
James O. Clifford, Sr.
As a Catholic and a retired journalist, I feel shame when I read about the latest sex scandal involving my church. I am also ashamed of my former profession. I spent 40 years as a reporter and editor with wire services, a career that encompassed newspapers, radio and television. I don’t plan t
Books
American (Mis)Fortunes
Clayton Sinyai
The debate over the compatibility of wealth and democracy is as old as the republic With this truism author and political commentator Kevin Phillips begins Wealth and Democracy From the start we have no doubt where the author stands on that issue Extreme inequalities of wealth he is certain end
News
Signs of the Times
From AP, CNS, RNS, Staff and other sources
Bishops Approve Revised Norms and Charter With Zero ToleranceThe United States Conference of Catholic bishops on Nov. 13 overwhelmingly approved revised norms to deal with removal from ministry of any priest or deacon who has sexually abused a minor. By a vote of 246 to 7 they adopted the new docume
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
Thomas J. Reese
Three years ago I had the pleasure of introducing John R. Donahue, S.J., as our Word columnist. He joined the roster of successors to Vincent P. McCorry, S.J., who had written the column for 20 years until 1973: Thomas H. Stahel, S.J., George McCauley, S.J., Joseph A.Tetlow, S.J., John C. Hawley, S.