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Editorials
The mood this easter in the American church is particularly solemn. The penitential season of Lent and the six-month anniversary of the attack on our country have combined with almost daily revelations of clerical misconduct to create a most somber tone. Despite all the scandal and muckraking, the l
Books
Apr 08, 2002 issueThe story of seven men who literally lost their heads for Christor more accurately for their fellow humans whom they selflessly loved in Christis one of heroic beauty And John W Kiser tells it in full The Monks of Tibhirine the author rsquo s third book after Communist Entrepreneurs and Stefan
Books
Apr 08, 2002 issueThomas Cahill rsquo s highly successful Hinges of History series has established him as one of the most engaging and popular authors in the field of religion today Three volumes have been published thus far How the Irish Saved Civilization The Gifts of the Jews and Desire of the Everlasting Hills
Jodi Zierhut, a parole and probation agent for the Department of Corrections in Milwaukee, Wis., escorts a client out of her office. She has a caseload of about 40 sex offenders. Another agent comes up to her and whispers, I can’t believe he’s a sex offender. Even people trained to think
"Gay priests are living a lie", declares Garry Wills in his book Papal Sin: Structures of Deceit (Doubleday, 2000). As a priest-psychotherapist who has spent 25 years conducting workshops, support groups and retreats for gay priests and religious men and women, this statement and those who
Letters
Our Own Penance
To add to the tragedy of pedophile priests (Signs of the Times, 3/18), there have been no words of sorrow, no admissions of complicity, no words of compassion from the pope or his Vatican officials addressed directly to the victims (and their families) of sexual abuse by priests. The victims have been stonewalled and ignored. The only thing we hear about is damage to the church.
Pope John Paul II has repeatedly exhorted us that there is no peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness. In order to make just amends, we must begin by doing our own penance at the highest level in the church. Anything less only adds to this continuing injustice that eats away at any credibility we may yet have.
(Rev.) Charles E. Irvin
The painful news of priest sex offenders is back, emerging with the familiar tale of suffering, shame and sorrow. Even though most of these stories are about events that took place over a decade ago, they have the effect of re-wounding. The pressing questions: How frequent are cases of priest-offend
Editorials
In this issue, America deals with a crisis that is causing enormous pain and great scandal in the churchsexual abuse by priests. These crimesthere is no other word for themhave physically, psychologically and spiritually damaged hundreds, perhaps thousands, of children and their families. They have
News
Cardinal Law Hears Concerns of Boston Catholics On the verge of tears, a sorrowful Boston Cardinal Bernard F. Law told more than 2,500 area Catholics who gathered March 9 to discuss clergy sex abuse of minors, "In my most horrible nightmares I would never have imagined that we would have come to th
Of Many Things
A few months ago I received a phone call from a parishioner at St. Leo’s Church, in Stamford, Conn. It was something of a surprise: the last time I had set foot in that church was almost 14 years ago. During our conversation, I mentioned how important the parish had been in my life, and that I