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Editorials
The Future of Vouchers
The Editors
Ohio’s school voucher program survived in the Supreme Court because five justices took into account all the educational choices Ohio provided for parents, not just the voucher choice. In the 1970’s and 80’s, the court looked only at the individual programs under challenge. Since mo
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
John W. Donohue
Jimmy Carter, who learned Spanish in the Navy, found a special use for that skill in 1969, when he was a state senator in Georgia. In that year he worked for some days as a Southern Baptist lay evangelist in a Spanish-speaking neighborhood of Springfield, Mass.In a speech at the University of Havana
The Word
Finders Keepers!
John R. Donahue
This Sunday concludes Jesus rsquo sermon in parables with three kingdom parables and a covert reference to the Evangelist himself The kingdom or better God rsquo s way of reigning is first compared to the joy of unexpected discovery of a treasure in a field which causes a person to sell everyt
Books
Peacenik Adrift
Peter Heinegg
In 1998 just before he turned 50 Edward Gargan did what any normal Vietnam-era c o former Berkeley Ph D candidate in medieval Chinese history New York Times foreign correspondent and bureau chief West Africa India and Hong Kong and current Newsday Asia hand would do for a midlife sabbatical
Letters
Letters
Our readers

Inquisitorial Witch Hunts

The editorial Toward Dallas (5/27) contains many thought-provoking concepts for structural changes that I pray our church leaders will consider and implement during their upcoming meeting in Dallas. The church has been guilty of hiding behind the obfuscation of legal minds more interested in reducing liability than promoting justice. When Cardinal Egan equivocates, If mistakes were made, or Cardinal Law stonewalls the many lay Catholics in his archdiocese about urgently needed reforms, then we as concerned lay Catholics cry out to God to change their hearts and ask the Spirit to give them courage to reform themselves and the church.

But reforms can go too far in the opposite direction, causing more harm than good. I am referring to your suggestion that the church must step in when the police refuse to investigate because the statute of limitations has passed or because there is insufficient evidence. I respectfully disagree. All of us are protected by the law, even priests. You are correct in suggesting that every allegation (no matter how flimsy) of sexual abuse of a minor by a church worker will be turned over to the police. Then you state, It will be up to the police to determine the credibility of the allegation. I agree. But after the legal authorities have determined that the allegation is groundless, your suggestion that the church renew the investigation strikes me as cruel and unusual punishment. Let the police do their jobs. Inquisitorial witch hunts after the priest has been exonerated by the police remind me of a time in the church that I don’t think anybody wants back.

Edward J. Thompson

Pre-empting Moral Discourse
John F. Kavanaugh
In one of his better moments last year, President Bush clearly articulated his ethical position on embryonic stem cell research, the principles and evidence his judgment was based on and a considered review of moral stances other than his own. We could use such clarity now, as the president mounts h
Faith in Focus
Threatened by Resurrection
Richard Broderick
...What won’t let us sleep
The Word
How Odd of God!
John R. Donahue
This has got to stop Why doesn rsquo t somebody do something about this The refrains are heard from family kitchens to rec rooms of religious communities perhaps more frequently Jesus rsquo followers were no different Jesus compares God rsquo s kingdom to the work of a sower who sows good se
Books
Papaphobia
John Jay Hughes
With Popes and Politics Justus Lawler has written two books His first four chapters analyze recent works about Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust His final three chapters address issues of church renewal and reform So massive has been the devastation inflicted on the memory of Pius XII by Rolf Hochhu
Another Step Forward
Thomas P. Rausch
One of the most heartening aspects of the ecumenical movement today is the growing relationship between Catholics and Evangelicals. Their history had long been marked by disparagement and rejection. In 1873 the Evangelical Alliance in the United States said its greatest foe was not atheism, but the
Seminaries Await Vatican Visitation
James F. Gill
The communiqué released on April 24 at the close of the Vatican-U.S. summit on clergy sexual abuse contained some surprising news. According to the communiqué issued at the end of the meeting in Rome between the U.S. cardinals and Vatican officials, investigating teams will be sent to all of the 5
Film
Clash Conscious: The Importance of Being Earnest
Richard A. Blake
Those of us of a certain age can sympathize with poor Cecily (Reese Witherspoon), a prisoner of grammar lessons taught by the indefatigable and assertively dull Miss Prism (Anna Massey). Oscar Wilde certainly did, when he put her in The Importance of Being Earnest. Yet those tedious days of Latin an
Faith in Focus
God in the Tangled Sheets
Valerie Schultz
If marriage is a source of sacramental grace, why are we as a church so uncomfortable about sex?
Books
Nothing More Than a Feeling
Ron Hansen
In his 40th year Chris Offutt took his wife and two sons home to the hills of eastern Kentucky so he could teach creative writing at Morehead State University his alma mater which he confesses was more of a high school with ashtrays than a genuine college Even the location was not much just a
Vocation Education
James VanOosting
One can distinguish between two radically different approaches to making life choicesthe professional and the vocational. The professional approach is so familiar as to be a cultural commonplace. It has such primacy in personal power, economic currency and institutional warrant that it claims near m
The Strengths of Priests Today
John R. Quinn
Since I became a bishop 32 years ago, I have seen and worked with priests all over the United States. I have been a bishop in a rural diocese and in an urban diocese. I have given priests’ retreats in the East, West and Midwest. I have worked with priests in committees and on the staff of the
Columns
The Ghost Walks
Terry Golway
I wonder if Jim Florio, the former Governor of New Jersey who became famous because he raised taxes, feels any better about his fate now that he has been included in Caroline Kennedy’s new book of modern profiles in courage. Florio took office in 1990 and found himself staring at a recession-b
Books
They Tell the Story
Nancy Hawkins
Over the years many theological texts have brought fresh insights to the well- known story of the sisters from Bethany named Mary and Martha Now we can add the fine scholarship and fresh ideas of the Japanese feminist theologian Satoko Yamaguchi to the list I truly enjoyed this book The author s
News
Signs of the Times
From AP, CNS, RNS, Staff and other sources
U.S. Bishops Rule Zero Tolerance for Priests Who AbuseAt a historic meeting in Dallas, Tex., on June 13-15, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops ordered dramatic changes to protect children throughout the Catholic Church in the United States, notably forbidding a second chance in ministry for any
The Word
After the Parade
John R. Donahue
Independence Day Parades streaming down main street band concerts of patriotic music fireworks displays cookoutsall celebrating the birth of a nation with paeans of praise for freedom democracy and military might With the memory of Sept 11 still fresh the celebrations will be bittersweet Ho