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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Faith in Focus
Vigil
James Rucquoi
Our Palestinian friend Khaled, a respected elder in the local Arab-American community, called last week: “We’re planning a prayer vigil for peace at a downtown church. Could you call some of your Jewish friends to join us? I don’t know many.”It took a flurry of faxes, e-mails
Columns
How Will I Be Remembered?
Thomas J. McCarthy
For 60 seconds or so this past summer, I found myself on the dark side of a capsized kayak being swept along in treacherous, frigid waters. My eventual survival was a mixed blessing, for the whole experience had the predictable but unfortunate effect of intensifying my preoccupation with death. In t
Editorials
Crisis in Housing
The Editors
With rents soaring, low-income renters face harsher struggles in their efforts to find a place to live. In its recently released report, Out of Reach 2002, the National Low Income Housing Coalition compares wages and rents throughout the country. Among its findings: at the fair market rate, the nati
The Word
Tax Time in Autumn
John R. Donahue
At times we are tempted to wish that certain sayings of Jesus were lost or omitted from the Gospels Jesus rsquo sharp answer to the Pharisees and Herodians in today rsquo s Gospel might be one of these ldquo Repay render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God rdquo T
Books
Out of This World
Mary E. Giles
This book blends several stories into a rich tapestry The governing story is that of the Carmelite community in Indianapolis from its beginnings in 1922 when three sisters made of a small house in New Albany their temporary quarters for a new foundation to the permanent monastery in Indianapolis
Books
Moving Ahead in Unity
Paul Wilkes
When The Changing Face of the Priesthood was published two years ago it created a virtual firestorm in the church The Rev Donald Cozzens was praised for his honesty and vilified for his unsportsmanlike conduct He had the nerve to say not only that a substantial number of priests and seminarians
Another Generation Gap
Thomas P. Rausch
Are the concerns of Catholic theologians changing? It seems so. The concerns of younger Catholics in the academy today are different, perhaps considerably different, from those of my own generation of theologians. First of all, some younger theologians seem uncomfortable with the enormous polarizati
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
Half a Look at Our Cultural Predicament
Edward Curtin
Deviance by definition presupposes a society rsquo s way of life bounded by norms and values that justify institutions and induce people to enact institutional and private roles This makes any study of deviance controversial both politically and morally When that study is sociological the cont