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Devastation, Faith and Resilience
Dean Brackley
In an earthquake one feels very small. During the earthquakes in El Salvador on Jan. 13 and Feb. 13, the street heaved underfoot; buildings and light posts rocked; telephone cables swung like jump-ropes. The first quake, 7.6 on the Richter scale, had its epicenter off the coast, while the second, 6.
News
Signs of the Times
From AP, CNS, RNS, Staff and other sources
Egan to Be a Leader at Synod of BishopsPope John Paul II appointed Cardinal Edward Egan of New York to be one of the principal leaders at the Synod of Bishops in October (see page 15 of this issue). As the synod’s general rapporteur, or recording secretary, he will have the very influential ro
Congo: A Tale of Two Churches
Timothy Longman
The assassination of President Laurent Kabila in Kinshasa on Jan. 16 was but the latest violent episode in the tumultuous recent history of the Democratic Republic of Congo, home to Africa’s largest Catholic community. Having himself come to power in 1997 as head of an armed rebellion, Kabila
Public-Religious Partnerships
Fred Kammer
President Bush recently unveiled his promised White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. For Catholic Charities USA members across the nation, the ensuing debate has been stimulating, frustrating and important. It invites us to share with the president our own hopes and concerns. I
The Word
By the Cross, Weeping
John R. Donahue
Each year Holy Week begins with a re-enactment of Jesus entering Jerusalem amid shouts of praise The week soon moves to his rejection suffering and death and concludes with the preconium paschale the ringing proclamation that he has been raised Each Evangelist highlights different aspects Luke
Books
Exploring the Holy
J. Patout Burns
This study of miracles draws upon excellent contemporary scholarship in the study of religion its acknowledgment of interpretative assistance reads like a who rsquo s who of academics working in the various fields its bibliography is extensive Kenneth Woodward rsquo s intention however is to ma
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
George M. Anderson
My mother was an immigrant, and ever since coming to New York a few years ago, I have wanted to visit Ellis Island. Now I have been there twice within the past year—last June and then on a bitterly cold day during Christmas week. My mother was luckier than most immigrants. Having grown up in t
Letters
Letters
Our readers

People Before Profits

The article by Thomas J. Massaro, S.J., and Mary Jo Bane, Compassion in Action: A Letter to President Bush on Social Policy (3/12), was much needed. In recent weeks public dialogue has focused on across-the-board tax cuts and other proposals that do little to foster a just economic system in our country.

The electorate should impress upon President Bush and Congress the need for an economy that provides access to jobs and services that enable all people to support themselves and care for their families. We also need assurance that natural resources are protected for the universal common good in a sustainable and mutually beneficial way.

In short, we need an economic system that focuses on people before profits, a sustainable economy that addresses the needs of present and future generations. If people take up pen and paper now to demand this of their elected officials, we can all play a part in achieving this vision of economic justice.

Kathy Thornton, R.S.M.

Editorials
Missile Defense Follies
The Editors
It is understandable that at first glance the idea of a national missile defense system is appealing. It promises perfect safety, rendering obsolete the madness of nuclear deterrence based on mutual assured destruction. If the system were to work, the threat of some enemy from across the ocean pulve
Books
We Remember
George F. Giacomini, Jr.
These are two very different books on a similar topic Rychlak rsquo s is the lawyer rsquo s brief Phayer rsquo s the scholarly monograph Both approach Pope Pius XII from the standpoint of Vatican diplomacy Rychlak concludes that the criticism of Pius XII for not speaking out against Hitler and t
The Coming Synod of Bishops
Bernard M. Daly
Future development of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council on collegiality, liturgy, ecumenism and lay participation in church and society may depend heavily on how diocesan bishops face up to the prelates in Vatican offices before and during next October’s Synod of Bishops in Rome.The
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
George M. Anderson
Snapshots play a part in the lives of many of ussmall pictures of family groups, children, friends, co-workers. You find them not just at home, but in the workplace too, as well as in wallets and purses. On my way to work on the subway, or going home in the evening, I sometimes see passengers sharin
Faith in Focus
The Light Under the Basket
Johanna Gulay
A reading from the letter of Paul to... began the lector; but instead of following St. Paul’s epistle, I opened the parish bulletin and read, once again, a mother’s letter of gratitude to her fellow parishioners and the outreach program they support. The woman was not a single mom, but a
Dominus Iesus as an Event
Peter Chirico
Dominus Iesus, the declaration of Aug. 6, 2000, of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has received myriad interpretive responses. This article is not an attempt to add to these. Rather, I shall consider Dominus Iesus as more than a document. I propose to consider it, along with various
Books
Civilizing Greed
William J. Byron
Chapter by chapter page by page the reader of this book is engaged with a stimulating thinker who writes journalistically within disjunctive categories He poses a formidable array of issues between the Party of Yeah meaning economic optimists cyberspace enthusiasts and technoutopians over a
News
Signs of the Times
From AP, CNS, RNS, Staff and other sources
Youth Ministers, Chaplains Offer Comfort to Shooting VictimsIn an outpouring of faith in the midst of tragedy, Catholic youth ministers, priests, chaplains, parents and teens ministered to one another following the shooting on March 5 of 15 people at Santana High School in Santee, Calif. Five youth
Letters
Letters
Our readers

Beacons of Hope

Your editorial Saying No to Israel (3/5) provides a beacon of hope for the many who have raised protests in this Holy Land against the Israeli occupation, protests that rarely surface in Western media. These protests have come from Israelis and Palestinians, from Jews, Muslims and Christians, and they deserve a hearing.

Israel Shamir, a Russian Israeli journalist, has pointed out that these are the darkest days for the people of Israel, because the worldwide silence of Jews indicates that the country’s policies are now rapidly undermining the long-term achievement of Jews in the struggle for democracy, human rights and equality.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, has continuously appealed during these six months for justice and understanding. From the opening weeks of the intifada he pointed out that the Palestinian revolt should not be considered simply a public disorder that has to be quelled and punished. The issue that must be faced is that a people who have been kept hostage are struggling for their freedom. It is a struggle that must be carried out with love, not with hatred and vengeance. In his Lenten message he appealed to both Palestinian and Israeli to see God in one another. He called upon Israelis to see in Palestinians not the image of terrorists, of those who want to hate and kill, but rather the image of the poor and oppressed who are struggling for their liberty, their dignity and a right to the land. He called upon Palestinians to see in Israelis, who withhold liberty in the name of security, carriers of the image of God whom we approach with love, not with anger, and whom we ask with the full force of the Spirit to put an end to oppression and occupation.

In his long and distinguished career, Elie Wiesel has often mentioned that the vocation of the Jew is to teach the world how to be human. I fear that the policies of the State of Israel vis--vis the Palestinian people are a betrayal of this noble and ancient heritage of our Jewish sisters and brothers.

Donald J. Moore, S.J.

Columns
A New Saipan
Terry Golway
Here’s the latest dispatch from the global marketplace. Dozens of Vietnamese women working in a sweatshop in American Samoa were beaten, deprived of food and not paid minimum wages as they carried out their assigned role in our great borderless economy. The workers were making clothes for a Ko
Stem Cells: A Bioethical Balancing Act
Lisa Sowle Cahill
Some day medical science may be able to heal or alleviate ailments like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, spinal cord injuries, heart disease and cancer by giving patients new cells that have been guided to act as replacements for their own damaged tissue. Sometimes the
Books
Keeping a Killer in Check
Dr. Daniel P. Sulmasy
This book is at least as interesting because of the process of its creation as it is because of its content It was born of the efforts of a group of concerned scholars who have called themselves the Catholic Theological Coalition on HIV AIDS Prevention convened by Jon Fuller S J and James Keena