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Editorials
Washington and Schools
The Editors
As presidents, neither George Washington nor Abraham Lincoln spent time worrying about schools. Since the Constitution did not assign care for education to the federal government, that became the states’ concern. Until after the Civil War, however, the states pretty much left it to families an
Crown of the Year
Don Saliers
Resurrection seems an unlikely notion for contemporary minds. Creation is much easier for us to understand, given its prevalence in naturethe caterpillar and the butterfly, the seed and the plant, the bud and the rose. But Easter is more than the scent of lilies and the rolling of eggs or the genera
Seeing, Tasting, Telling
Michael A. Signer
As the gray days of winter move toward spring, Jews and Christians begin to prepare for their festivals of rebirth and freedom: Passover and Easter. Since the Second Vatican Council’s publication of the Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions in 1965, many Chri
Letters
Letters

The Divide

After reading Terry Golway’s column Renew-ing Theology on Tap (3/12), I hope my experience with our local program is not typical. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati sponsors a Theology on Tap program, which last summer was meeting in my neighborhood in Covington, Ky., a city across the river. Mine is a diverse inner-city neighborhood, and our parish is the most inclusive in the area. When we sing All Are Welcome, we mean it. The Theology on Tap schedule included a talk on homosexuality. Since the bar where they meet is near my house and across the street from my church, I decided to find out what they had to say on this topic. What I encountered was appalling. The talk, given by a priest from the Diocese of Covington, was reactionary, psychologically nave and deeply homophobic. At one point, in response to a question, this priest compared gays and lesbians to Nazis. Amazingly, not one member of the large, relatively young audience challenged these comments. In fact, many expressed complete agreement. If Theology on Tap is using this kind of reactionary theology to appeal to young adults, it will only deepen the divide between younger and older Catholics.

Daniel A. Burr

The Word
The Pivotal Day
Daniel J. Harrington
Easter is the pivotal day in the Christian calendar As Paul wrote ldquo If Christ has not been raised your faith is vain you are still in your sins rdquo 1 Cor 15 17 At the heart of Christian faith is the paschal mystery mdash Jesus rsquo life death and resurrection some 2 000 years ago
Arts & CultureBooks
Holy,' Indeed
Gary A. Anderson
Christian tradition has not been kind to the Jewish claim to the land of Israel For many of the fathers of the church the fact that Rome had invaded that land and destroyed the temple in Jerusalem A D 70 seemed to be an objective marker of divine disfavor Already in the fourth century John Chr
Culture
The Art of Believing in Things Unseen
Paula Huston
The summer solstice was around the corner, but our seasonal fog had not yet appeared. Instead, we were experiencing day after day of clear, brilliant skies. Without any shades on our second-story bedroom window, I could raise up my head at first light and survey from my pillow what seemed to be a ne
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
Drew Christiansen
As I rode Amtrak’s Regional from Washington to New York one cold February afternoon, I was reminded that for me one of the delights of train travel is getting the lay of the land. Gazing out the window, I had just noted how one semi-rural settlement lay on the flood plain, and I wondered how f
Arts & CultureBooks
A Communion of Subjects
Stephen Bede Scharper
In future years when the history of our lagging environmental consciousness is written there may well be a special place devoted to the work of Thomas Berry.
News
Signs of the Times
From AP, CNS, RNS, Staff and other sources
Vatican Criticizes Jon Sobrino, Liberation TheologianThe Vatican has strongly criticized the work of Jon Sobrino, S.J., a leading proponent of liberation theology, saying some of his writings relating to the divinity of Christ were not in conformity with the doctrine of the church. In publishing a d
Evil: Good Corrupted
John C. Cavadini
I remember watching a television episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. I would like to say I was watching it with my kids, but actually I was watching for my own interest, without them. Mr. Rogers was interviewing the Wicked Witch of the West from the classic film The Wizard of Oz. For the b
Poetry
Modern Warfare
William J. Rewak

A cockroach clicks

The Word
The Best Example
Daniel J. Harrington
The long and rich readings for Passion Palm Sunday usher us into Holy Week and prepare us for the Sacred Triduum and the celebration of Easter Sunday Each reading can contribute to our appreciation of Jesus rsquo sufferings and their significance for us nbsp The Old Testament passage from Isaia
Current Comment
Current Comment
The Editors
A Report From Los AngelesAnyone lamenting the health of the Catholic Church would have been cheered by this year’s Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, the largest Catholic convention in the country, held every year since 1967. This year’s gathering attracted nearly 40,000 pastoral
Arts & CultureBooks
Magic in the British Isles
Franklin Freeman
E M Forster wrote in Aspects of the Novel 1927 that fantasy asks us to pay something extra that is first to accept the fantasist 8217 s impossible story as a whole and second to accept the specific beings say fairies and events say miracles that are in it Those who can do this howe
Columns
Between Yesterday and Tomorrow
Margaret Silf
Lent can be a disorienting, dislocating time, and sometimes it seems that it observes us more than we observe it. Twice recently I had the feeling that Lent was observing me and gently tweaking at my mind and heart, not without a smile on its face. The first of these moments happened in the middle o
The Lesser Evil
James T. Bretzke
In a Dilbert cartoon, “Mike the Vegan” takes pride in claiming that he uses “no animal products whatsoever.” Dilbert reminds him, though, that his clothing was made on sewing machines that use electricity produced from fossil fuels. The last panel shows Mike walking down the
Letters
Letters

Vital Care

The reasons given in your editorial for the condition of the homeless of our country (Homelessness: A Solvable Problem, 3/5) are on target. Many of the homeless are mentally ill and in need of care that would provide a structured setting and promote recovery in most instances. Taking medication for mental illness, under supervision, is one of the best methods for enabling people to return to live in the community, where follow-up care is vital.

Having worked in the mental health field for several years, I know that providing a structured setting for those in acute phases of mental illness and then follow-up care in the community is the best approach to that cause of homelessness. Inexpensive housing is also very important. But finding building contractors is difficult, since the profits from such homes are much less than from the building of McMansions.

Anna M. Seidler