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Harvesting Organs from Cadavers An Ethical Challenge
John J. Paris
“We are being pressured to participate in non-heartbeating cadaver organ transplants at our hospital, and we don’t think it is ethical,” commented the I.C.U. director of a major medical center. He and his staff opposed the process that removes life-sustaining ventilation from a ter
Culture
Blooding the Ghosts
Paul Mariani
For the past several hundred years, since the invention of the printing press and the dissemination of books in fact, the most frequent encounter with the poem has been with what we find on the page. But that is not the way poetry was meant to be experiencedany more, I suppose, than Scripture should
Editorials
Executing the Mentally Retarded
The Editors
Should Mentally retarded people be executed? That the question is even being posed shows how deeply entrenched capital punishment remains in the United States. But this is the question now under consideration by the Supreme Court. The court’s decision will determine whether executions of peopl
The Word
Time to Move Out
John R. Donahue
In one of the annual preached retreats I was subjected to as a young Jesuit the director presented a vivid picture of the ascension long before the age of shuttle launchings As Jesus rose heavenward he saw Jerusalem Nazareth Galilee Asia Minor Greece and finally Rome This is precisely what
Books
What Johnny Needs Most
John A. Coleman
Finding quality child care in America is almost every parent rsquo s quest or nightmare Presently 13 million American children out of a population of 21 million are in child care Half of those in child care spend 35 hours or more a week in some facility away from the home One-third of the chil
News
Signs of the Times
From AP, CNS, RNS, Staff and other sources
Vatican Summit Seen as First Step in Solving Abuse CrisisBy convening a summit meeting with U.S. cardinals, the Vatican has sent the strongest signal to date that it views the clergy sex abuse scandals as a grave crisisnot just for the dioceses involved but for the entire church in the United States
A Cautionary Tale
Michael R. Panicola
Catholic health care is a ministry whose deep roots can be traced back to the healing works of Jesus and to the compassionate care of religious women and men and laypersons around the world over many centuries. Though never easy, working in this ministry has become increasingly difficult with the ri
Letters
Letters
Our readers

Gospel Message

Thanks to John R. Donahue, S.J., for his beautiful, reassuring words, so badly needed in the shadowy dim and darkness of this unusual Eastertide (The Word, 4/1).

For the past four or five weeks, our local newspaper has featured a major news feature almost every day on some aspect of priestly misconduct. For all Catholics, and certainly for our priests, the vast majority of whom are deeply committed to Christ and to his people, this has been vastly upsetting and troubling; and as Father Donahue suggests, we are, indeed, walking with flagging spirits. But then...from the shadows, in the midst enters our Christ, transforming, consoling, lifting up, reminding us again and again, I am with you...peace with you.... It is I.

As we walk through these troubled days, may we journey with hope and courage, to rise up in our beloved church stronger, more loving, more deeply committed to Jesus, more compassionate and more determined than ever to live the reality of the Gospel message.

Rose Christine Wagner, S.S.J.

Architects of Success
Kenneth G. Davis
Although parents may well attend whatever church makes their children feel most welcome, young people are not as likely to attend a church simply because it appeals to their parents. Win over the youth and perhaps win the whole family. If this anecdote is reasonable, the future of the Catholic Churc
Books
Sustaining Baby
James T. Bretzke
While the majority of the 53 000 babies born prematurely each year in the United States would have died soon after birth if they had been born years ago this improvement is not an unmitigated success story since a good number of these children will endure long-term suffering and disability John L
Columns
Jigsaw Therapy
Valerie Schultz
Spring break, in our mountainous part of the country, does not always coincide with spring. The chill of winter often lingers past the vernal equinox. Today, for example, it is snowing on our poor, tentative tulip shoots. The wind is at war with forward progress, and the ice on the road has kept us
Letters
Letters
Our readers

Not Deterred

The article Guatemala’s Violent Peace, by Robert B. Gilbert, (3/25) must have tugged at the heart of every New York Sister of Charity as we recall with sorrow the assassination of our sister, Barbara Ann Ford, on May 5 of last year.

Barbara had served the poor of Guatemala for almost 20 years as a nurse and trained counselor when she was fatally shot by someone determined to steal her vehicle.

Your graphic piece leaves one appalled at the level of cruelty people are capable of when they inflict such horror on others for an economic, social or racial pretext.

The situation in Guatemala described in the article ranks right up there with the malice of the terrorism we experienced here on Sept. 11. By the grace of God, it has not deterred the five remaining Sisters of Charity who continue working among the Guatemalan people.

Yolanda De Mola, S.C.

Books
Orphaned by the Superpowers
Anthony Egan, S.J.
The major culprit for the disasters in Africa is none other than foreign involvement claims the distinguished journalist Mark Huband First came the European colonialists who delineated territories according to their political interests and then either created or exploited cultural differences am
Politics & SocietyFeatures
Keeping pedophiles out of the priesthood
Melvin C. BlanchetteGerald D. Coleman
A major problem now exists for the future of priestly vocations because of “the alliteration of priest and pedophile.”
The Word
Christians, Recognize Your Dignity
John R. Donahue
As the Easter cycle moves to Ascension and Pentecost the readings foreshadow the ongoing life of the church Acts describes an early conflict in the community and the choice of seven men filled with the Spirit One is Stephen who immediately afterward is put to death This leads to the spread of t
A cross outside the U.S. bishops' Office of Child and Youth Protection is covered with photos and prayers for the victims of clergy sexual abuse. U.S. dioceses and religious orders received 505 new credible allegations of child sex abuse by clergy in 2010, a slight decrease from the previous year and a significant drop from the 1,092 new allegations reported in 2004, according to a report released April 11, 2011, by the U.S. bishops' conference (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)
Politics & SocietyFeatures
Five misconceptions about child sexual abuse and the Catholic Church
Stephen J. Rossetti
Child sexual abuse, in the priesthood and in society at large, is a complex issue that does not admit of simple understandings or simple solutions.
Books
Meanwhile, Back in Albany...
Tom Deignan
In a new book of essays entitled Reading William Kennedy Syracuse University Press Michael Patrick Gillespie writes that Kennedy rsquo s novels are infused with Catholic dogma however a broad more diverse ethical system than that articulated in The Baltimore Catechism informs his writing That
Can the Church Be Healed?
Harry J. Flynn
In recent weeks, dioceses all across the United States have re-examined their policies on clergy misconduct, as priests across the country have been removed from parish duty because of their derelictions. Media coverage of these events has encouraged the faithful to wonder and to question.Among both
News
Signs of the Times
From AP, CNS, RNS, Staff and other sources
Seminary Enrollment UpU.S. Catholic theological seminaries enrolled 101 more students this year than last year, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate said. The figure rose from 3,483 in the 2000-01 academic year to 3,584 in 2001-02. It marked the fifth straight year of increases and the
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
James Martin, S.J.
Suddenly everyone is an expert on celibacy. Suddenly everyone is an expert on the priesthood. Suddenly everyone is an expert on gay priests. Or more accurately, suddenly everyone is happy to talk about the Catholic Church, no matter how little they know about Catholicism.Maureen Dowd, in a hateful c