Letters

The Democrats and Abortion Debates will continue on the efficacy of criminalization as an antidote to the practice of abortion, but I agree heartily with John F. Kavanaugh, S.J. (“Dear Senator Obama,” 8/18) that it would be folly to put all our eggs in that one basket. I hope someone on

Taking Risks As a woman religious and former member of a formation team, I read “Religious Life in the Age of Facebook,” by Richard G. Malloy, S.J. (7/7), with interest. I have had a number of experiences where hundreds of young adults of diverse backgrounds immersed themselves in a comm

Ministry at Home The special issue on lay ministry (7/21) contained several interesting articles, but I was disappointed (though not surprised) that I found no reference to Catholic parenting as a lay ministry. I understand it is not recognized as such in any official document. Parents are neglected

A Modest Proposal Since America expresses such confidence in the ability of the United Nations to resolve humanitarian crises in “The Duty to Protect” (6/9), I propose that the U.N. and its entire bureaucracy be moved out of New York to Khartoum, capital city of Sudan and the location of

A Guarantee Thank you for “The Forgotten,” by Pierre de Charentenay, S.J. (6/9). The fate of Iraqi Christians should be as important to humanity as was the fate of Muslims in Sarajevo in the early 1990s, and their tragedy should inspire the same solidarity around the world, especially fr

Reformulating Reform In my review of Bishop Geoffrey Robinson’s book Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church (3/10), I professed a profound sympathy for much of Bishop Robinson’s analysis of the clerical sexual abuse scandal. Indeed, I believe that his analysis of much of what a

Corrections and Clarifications Thank you for publishing the article “Human Bondage” (4/14), of which I am a co-author. I have received many positive responses to it. Because of an editorial error, however, which reversed my meaning, I need to correct and clarify an important point. Once

Bush and Branches Your editorial, “Abuse of Office” (4/28), needs clarification. You assert that President Bush made so-called “power gains” with the acquiescence of the legislative and judicial branches. Really? My dictionary defines “acquiescence” as acceptance

What’s New? I found “A Life in Theology,” by Avery Dulles, S.J. (4/21), to be somewhat disheartening, because he is dismissive of innovation and new insights, labeling some of them as deviant. “Very few new ideas, I suspect, are true,” he says. This suggests a claustrop

Dumb Brutes

Regarding Stafford Betty’s “Letter to a Reluctant Atheist” (4/14): It is very difficult to conceive of contemplative experience divorced from any theological construct. After all, human nature is rational. We strive to find answers to our fundamental questions, to find meaning in and around us. To experience anything at all without finding meaning or adequately understanding what has been experienced amounts to life in the animal kingdom.

Joanna Ionescu