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Faith in Focus
Collateral Damage: How One Priest Feels These Days
In my 32 years as a priest, I have been threatened by the Ku Klux Klan, have been thrown out of a ministerial association because I am a Catholic, have had fundamentalist preachers run me down by name on the radio and have had a knife pulled on me in church for a homily I gave. I have also seen one
Books
Jul 29, 2002 issue
The World on Our Doorstep
Richard Ryscavage
Every year the president determines how many refugees will be allowed into the United States for permanent resettlement In 2001 President Bush set the number at 70 000 But in the wake of Sept 11 the government decided to carry out a security review of the refugee screening process and shut down
Books
Jul 29, 2002 issue
Religious Apartheid
Nancy J. Curtin
ldquo Take religion away and the Irish are a pretty friendly people rdquo a Protestant woman from Derry remarked to Marcus Tanner the author of this rather unfocussed history of religious conflict in Ireland Tanner the assistant foreign editor of the London Independent came to the project as
News
Signs of the Times
Bishops Respond to Dallas Actions with Reflection, PromisesBishops around the country assured their people that they intend to make certain their dioceses follow the new policies on handling cases of sexual abuse by priests that were approved by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on June 14. In
Letters
Letters

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

Another Step Forward
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
A New Kind of Busing
On the Friday morning just before Mother’s Day, a group of children and caretakers board a chartered bus in a South Central Los Angeles neighborhood. One expects to hear a free-spirited ruckus, but the mood on the bus is oddly quiet and contemplative. These children are not, as one might guess
Pre-empting Moral Discourse
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
Seminaries Await Vatican Visitation
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
Editorials
The Future of Vouchers
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