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Letters
Letters
Our readers

Right Here

One of my duties as a newly ordained religious priest working in another diocese was that of offering the Eucharist and hearing confessions every Saturday morning in a state-run institution for about 1,300 troublesome girls, age 13 to about 25. I was reminded of those years, 1950 to 1954, as I read the review of The Magdalene Sisters by Richard A. Blake, S.J., and recalled that right here in the United States the girls in those state-run institutions had their heads shaved for major infractions of the rules, as in Ireland. For lesser violations, and far worse in my eyes, they were forced to take a pill that would make them sick to their stomachs for three or four days. Moreover, if the state officials decided that the girls were unfit to bear children, they would mutilate the girls’ bodies to that end. If someone wants to make a movie about the misuse of authority in such institutions, is it really necessary to go to Ireland and pick on Catholic sisters who, by and large, gave their lives for the well-being of young girls?

Edward V. Griffin, O.S.A.

The Word
When the Saints Go Marching In!
Dianne Bergant
I want to be in that number when the saints go marching in rdquo Who has not heard that rousing hymn and wanted to be part of that glorious parade But the fee seems so high One has to go through a time of great distress to wash one rsquo s robes in the blood of the lamb In other words to be
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Signs of the Times
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Pope Launches Anniversary CelebrationsBuoyed by the cheers of pilgrims and serenaded by Polish choirs, a frail Pope John Paul II kicked off 25th-anniversary celebrations with a reflection on prayer and divine grace. Addressing some 20,000 people in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 15, the pope spoke
New Educational Options
Tom Vander Ark
I married my high school sweetheart. When we started dating, this was not a popular thing to do; we attended cross-town rivals, Denver Christian and Denver Lutheran. The Metro League also included two urban Catholic schools, Machebeuf and Holy Family (who ruined a perfect season for us in the state
Columns
A Curious Silence
Terry Golway
A few years ago, the cultural community of New York worked itself into a frenzy when the city’s mayor denounced a piece of art he deemed to be anti-Catholic. The piece in question was a representation of the Virgin Mary covered in elephant dung and decorated with offensive images, designed no
Crowds await the arrival of Pope Francis for his Mass in Mother Teresa Square in Tirana, Albania, Sept. 21. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Faith
Remembering Mother Teresa
Brother Roger Schutz
We live in a world where light and darkness coexist. Through the life she lived, Mother Teresa invited people to choose light. In this way she opened a road to holiness for many others. So we shall be numerous, in Saint Peter’s Square on Oct. 19, rejoicing that Pope John Paul II, by declaring
Columns
The Choice Is Mine
Ellen Rufft
I used to like the idea of placing all people into one of two groups: the brave or the fainthearted. I willingly put myself in the latter category and therefore felt justified in not doing many things that only “brave” people do: being a missionary, going to jail to protest some injustic
The Word
What Did You Expect?
Dianne Bergant
Several years ago Bishop Kenneth Untener of Saginaw Mich reminded a seminary graduating class that building ramps will not give back to the disabled the use of their legs In other words ministry does not always turn circumstances around Sometimes the most it can do is hold back the tide of mis
Editorials
Helping Head Start
The Editors
Head Start, the federally funded program for preschool children from low-income families, is now up for reauthorization by Congress. Begun in 1965 by the Office of Economic Opportunity as an eight-week summer initiative, it soon expanded into a full-year program for children age 3 to school age. It
A Conservation Ethic For the Oceans
Leon E. Panetta
My grandfather was a fisherman and loved the oceans. He used to say to me, Protect the oceans and they will protect you. He understood the cycle of life and the fragile relationship between our oceans and all of us. Todaybecause we have largely taken our oceans for granted and failed to protect them
Priesthood Sunday
Robert J. Silva
At St. Benedict’s Parish in Ridgely, Md., parish groups are sending appreciation cards to every priest who ever served in the parish, as well as to all deacons, seminarians and other religious in the community. At St. Anne’s Church in Albuquerque, N.M., a children’s Rosary Rally wi
Books
Prejudiced Still
Andrew M. Greeley
Suddenly there are two books on anti-Catholicism both of which have the same subtitle The Last Acceptable Prejudice The one by Philip Jenkins purports to describe a ldquo new rdquo anti-Catholicism the other by Mark Massa S J portrays an ldquo old rdquo anti-Catholicism Philip Jenkins
Poetry
The Helpmate
Diane Engle

Safely young and just beginning,

News
Signs of the Times
From AP, CNS, RNS, Staff and other sources
Papal Envoy Says Events Proved Vatican Right About Iraqi WarSeven months after he tried to convince President George W. Bush not to invade Iraq, Cardinal Pio Laghi, papal envoy, said events have proved the Vatican right about the consequences of war and the difficulties of consolidating peace. Cardi
Cuba's Catholic Dissident: The Saga of Oswaldo Pay
Tim Padgett
Dissident movements never get much traction in Communist Cuba. That is partly because Fidel Castro is vastly more charismatic than the stone-faced apparatchiks of the old Soviet bloc and partly because his security apparatus would tax Orwell’s imagination. Either way, El Comandante has always
Faith in Focus
Matters of the Heart
Bo Caldwell
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Books
Civic Collapse
Clayton Sinyai
According to a certain triumphalone might say self-satisfiedview of recent American history our nation today is a far more democratic place than it was 50 years ago Then our republic was defaced in so many ways by invidious discrimination Today thanks to the civil rights crusades and the women r
Letters
Letters
Our readers

Voices of Which Faithful?

The three models for the Voice of the Faithful outlined by Thomas P. Rausch, S.J., (9/29), are interesting from a merely academic point of view. But his suggestion that the incorporational model may be the most effective in the long term appears nave when a practical application is considered. Does Father Rausch seriously believe that those who might be proponents of a bishop’s resignation or a sharing of power, authority and decision making with the episcopacy (not to mention ordination of women or optional celibacy for priests) would ever be allowed to serve as members of parish councils and diocesan offices...

diocesan committees and advisory boards? I think not.

Those who oppose the status quo or dissent from the policies of those in power will never be given an effective hand in shaping policy. Accordingly, until the day when the laity is given the opportunity to choose episcopal leaders and the authority to set policy, organized groups such as V.O.T.F. must remain independent. This is the only way that allnot somevoices will be heard.

Frank V. Pesce

Of Many Things
Of Many Things
George M. Anderson
Public libraries dot the landscape of Manhattan, and hardly a week goes by that I don’t pay a lunchtime or after-work visit to the one near America House to take out or return books. Although it is the closest, it is not the only one I visit. Walking home, I pass the city’s research libr
Books
Literary Road Map
Tom O
If she rsquo s not careful Susan Wise Bauer will wind up a guru on PBS Her maiden name doesn rsquo t hurt her chances but neither do her ideas which are both erudite and down-to-earth wise yet in touch with the commonplace If she talks the way she writeswith spark and flair but also the right