Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options

Clear filter
News
Signs of the Times
From AP, CNS, RNS, Staff and other sources
Pope Introduces New Mysteries of the Rosary The rosary is a powerful prayer for peace, for families and for contemplating the mysteries of Christ’s life, Pope John Paul II said in a new apostolic letter. Pope John Paul marked the 24th anniversary of his election on Oct. 16 by signing the apost
The Potential of a Plenary Council
Philip J. Murnion
Eight bishops recently sent a proposal to the administrative committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for the convening of a plenary council of the bishops of the United States. Coincidentally, the editors of Church magazine, of whom I am one, circulated an editorial also calling for a p
Editorials
Design for Disaster
The Editors
Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th president, was a military strategist who believed in the exercise of arms to advance U.S. interests. He was also a Nobel Peace Prize-winner who successfully negotiated an end to the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5). His “Big Stick” policy—“Speak softly
Transforming Love
Anonymous
I am a happily married Roman Catholic woman. Attendance at Mass and time spent in meditation are my daily sustenance. I am a eucharistic minister in our parish and have been a sponsor in our adult initiation program. Our prayer group meets regularly, and I receive spiritual direction once a month. I
Covenant and Mission
Avery Dulles
On Aug. 12, 2002, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Web site published a story to the effect that the Bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, in dialogue with the National Council of Synagogues, had just issued a document, Reflections on Covenant and
The Word
Back to Basics
John R. Donahue
Just for fun with the help of Google I did a search on the World Wide Web for the word ldquo love rdquo I found there were at least 54 700 000 sites well ahead of ldquo hate rdquo with 6 400 000 ldquo All You Need Is Love rdquo was a stunning Beatles rsquo hit in 1967 and the Centrum S
A New Chapter
Fred J. Naffziger
Could the gargantuan financial burdens from settling and losing the numerous sexual abuse cases force the Catholic Church in the United States into bankruptcy? Not if one thinks of the American Catholic Church as a national entity. But it is possible that a particular American diocese, or a part the
News
Signs of the Times
From AP, CNS, RNS, Staff and other sources
Vatican Prepares Draft Against Admitting Gays to OrdinationThe Vatican has prepared a draft document containing directives against the admission of homosexuals to the priesthood, informed Vatican sources said. The document takes the position that since the church considers the homosexual orientation
Books
Why?
Nancy Hawkins
The topic of suffering is never far from the lips of theologians or those who take seriously their relationship with their God In light of the horrific events of Sept 11 2001 the questions posed by suffering especially innocent suffering seem especially pertinent for examination John E Thiel
Theology's Sacred Obligation
Philip A. Cunningham
As members of the Christian Scholars group on Christian-Jewish Relations, we helped write a statement released in August, “A Sacred Obligation: Rethinking Christian Faith in Relation to Judaism and the Jewish People.” At the heart of this statement is our belief that “revising Chri
Editorials
Senators, Judges and Ideologies
The Editors
The delegates to the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 that drafted the U.S. Constitution had no liking for popular democracy—what the more blunt called “mob rule.” They were reacting against radicals who had taken over the government of Rhode Island and canceled debts. The delegates
The Word
Still Marching In
John R. Donahue
During the moving memorials of the attacks on Sept 11 2001 we gazed upon a collage of the extraordinary goodness of ordinary people Those who would flinch if called saints acted just as saints did Today we celebrate such saints throughout the ages mdash that great cloud of witnesses whose lives
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
George M. Anderson
William Lloyd Garrison—when I first saw that name on a headstone in the Forest Hills Cemetery near Boston last year, it struck only a small note of recognition. But this past June, I again visited the area and once more stood before the two-tiered but simple monument. This time, though, it wa
Books
You Still Can't Get There From Here
Peter Heinegg
Right beneath the title the jacket of The Whore rsquo s Child displays a bare black cross and we soon discover why The subject of the title story is of all things an aging nun whose beloved absent father turns out to have been her hated mother rsquo s pimp What the embittered Sister Veroniqu
Faith in Focus
A Mother's Divine Office
Motherhood is monastic. Walking into Gethsemane Abbey during Night Prayer, I had to catch my breath. Not one to be swept up by hero worship, even of such a worthy figure as Thomas Merton (or for that matter, Kathleen Norris), I had braced myself to be critical. Nevertheless, entering the chapel, sea
Letters
Letters
Our readers

Fewer Whiners

Congratulations on the choice of articles for the Sept. 23 issue. These were real articles about the daily problems that people encounter. It is encouraging to hear that good people are still working so hard for the church. Fewer articles by whiners, nit-picking theologians and about the politics of the clergy would be appreciated. Maybe there is still hope for the church.

Michael F. Melloy

Columns
Never Attribute to Maliciousness...
Ellen Rufft
As the daughter of a woman who prized her Irish heritage, I grew up believing that most of life’s problems could be solved over a comfortable cup of tea. When a crisis occurred in my family when I was a child, my mother’s first words were not “Call 911,” but rather “Put
Books
An Gorta Mr': The Great Hunger
Tom Deignan
In recent years several states have passed laws mandating that the Irish Famine of the 1840 rsquo s be taught in public schools alongside African slavery and the Jewish Holocaust Equating this trinity of horrors Famine curriculum supporters say is not only appropriate but historically enlighten
Letters
Letters
Our readers

Variation

I write to disagree respectfully yet strongly with the position taken by the Rev. Andrew R. Baker in America’s issue of Sept. 30, opposing the ordination of men who happen to be homosexual in their orientation. Though all of the important points he has raised merit substantive discussion, I focus here on two of those points only.

First, I must take issue with Father Baker’s presentation of the way in which the phenomenon of homosexual orientation or same sex attraction might be most adequately understood. While not overlooking the insights contained in that presentation, I am dismayed by the fact that no mention at all is made of the great amount of scholarly work that has been done in the field of the empirical and human sciences regarding this phenomenon. Studies that I have undertaken in connection with my work in moral theology have brought to my attention the general consensus among scientists and psychologists that sexual orientation is a complex human reality, admitting of no single explanation. I have found a similar consensus that same sex orientation is not an abnormality nor an aberration, but rather a variation in human makeup that appears with statistical frequency and that, in many instances, does not in and of itself affect an individual in a deleterious way. Adding to my dismay is the fact that in mentioning some experts who believe that same sex attraction can be treated and even prevented with some degree of success, Father Baker does not acknowledge that this is an opinion held by few.

Second, I must object to what appears to be Father Baker’s assumption that men who happen to be same sex in their orientation will inevitably exhibit some or all of what he lists as significant negative aspects arguing against their suitability for holy orders. In general, I find those aspects alarmingly stereotypical and the discussion of them lacking in essential nuance. Moreover, while the church, in speaking to or of homosexual persons, has insisted repeatedly that human beings must never be reduced to their sexual orientation, this list could, even while greatly inaccurate, be read as doing just that.

My thanks to Father Baker for his thoughts and insights on this most important topic and to you, America, for the publication of both Father Baker’s and Bishop Gumbleton’s articles.

(Rev.) Robert J. Smith

Books
The Coolest Edwardian
Peter Heinegg
Well he was also a late Victorian born in 1872 He did his most celebrated writing and drawing in the reign of George V and he survived George VI dying in 1956 But as Hall convincingly claims For Max the past remained present From the day he left the London scene in 1910 he was for nearly