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Feb 10, 2003 issue
Statesman and Strategist
Nancy J. Curtin
Winston Churchill is defined by historyhe studied it he wrote it and he made it While the notion that great men shape the course of human events is somewhat outmoded among professional historians Churchill transformed Britain rsquo s darkest hour in 1940 into its finest Inspiring Britons with hi
The WordFifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B), Feb. 9, 2003
The Long and the Short of It

Preaching and driving out demons (Mk 1:39)

News
Signs of the Times
March for Life Speakers Enthused About Congress, PresidentSpeakers at the kickoff rally on Jan. 22 for the 30th annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., expressed optimism that the current Republican-dominated Congress and White House could change abortion laws in this country. “For eight ye
Faith in Focus
Hold On to What Is Good: Home
It was an unexceptional Catholic childhood in the Rochester, N.Y., of the 1950’s: St. Boniface parochial school, the family rosary (for the conversion of Communist Russia), pennies placed in our cardboard collection boxes to save pagan babies and serving as an altar boy. Although we had neighb
The Next Christianity
In his book The Next Christendom (2002) and his recent article “The Next Christianity” (Atlantic Monthly, October 2002), Philip Jenkins, Distinguished Professor of History and Religious Studies at Pennsylvania State University, argues that the current crisis in the Catholic Church, broug
Of Many Things
Of Many Things
Appalachia stands out as a section of the eastern United States long regarded as a symbol of poverty and exploitation. But as several visitors from Wheeling Jesuit University observed during a visit to America House, it also represents a proud people with a strong tradition and culture. The visitors
Letters
Letters

Keener Comprehension

One of your correspondents (Letters, 1/6) was outraged that the severe penances practiced by Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha were described in a favorable tone in the Of Many Things column on Dec. 2, 2002, by George M. Anderson, S.J. I think the correspondent is forgetting that things were viewed in a different light 300 years ago. Among us, pain is practically a dirty word. We do not wish to suffer a minute of it, and we believe that our doctors should immediately find medications and treatments to relieve us of it. But years ago, pain was simply a fact of life. This was well known to Blessed Kateri. But her deep faith enabled her to understand that the pain Jesus suffered was not a necessary part of our divine Lord’s life; she knew he had suffered pain willingly for our salvation, and she was grateful for that. And her love encouraged her to be like him; since he had suffered, she wished to suffer with him.

Furthermore, saint that she was, she had a much keener comprehension than we do of her human failings, and saw them as more grievous than they really were, or than we would be willing to acknowledge. Her faith made her want to suffer in order to resemble her suffering Savior, but also to make reparation for her failings and those of people who had not responded to the love Jesus poured out for us.

In speaking as he did of Kateri’s penances, I don’t believe Father Anderson was saying, Go thou and do likewise. Rather, he was presenting this indication of the depth of Kateri’s love and devotion that we might admire it and be moved, in our own modern way, toward a similar devotion to him who has loved us so much.

John J. Paret, S.J.

Thirty Years After
They showed the ad again, a week before thousands would traipse off to Washington. The advertisement was not about the Pro-Life demonstration, and yet it had everything to do with it. In the middle of Tim Russert’s Meet the Press, General Electric presented, once again, a riveting commercial f
Faith
Remembering the Poor: An Interview with Gustavo Gutierrez
Each year the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences announces the incorporation of new members. This year’s list of honorary fellows includes the world-renowned Peruvian theologian Gustavo Gutiérrez, O.P., who is best known for his book A Theology of Liberation (Span. 1971,
Habla Ingles?
The New York Times recently published a book review about a biography of the writer Neil Bissoondath. The reviewer mentions that Bissoondath dedicated his book, Doing the Heart Good, to his uncle and mentor, who had warned him that race is a trap; to make that the center of your worldview limits you