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Moral Depth NeededRe “The Hunted and the Haunted,” by John Anderson (2/11): Maya, in “Zero Dark Thirty,” is a stand-in for the post-9/11 generation, compressed between the clips and sound bites of the towers falling and the 9/11 taped calls on one hand and the aftermath of th
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Faithful TheologiansRe “The Noble Enterprise” (2/4): Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl focuses on the important aspect of the ecclesial foundation of theologians. The role of faith in the theological task places revelation at the very center and implicitly indicates the worshipping community as i
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Liberation ApproachAs a lay missionary in western Honduras, I’m grateful for “Still ‘Presente’?” by David Golemboski (1/21), especially for the emphasis on economic issues in Central America. The economic issues are harder for U.S. Catholics to deal with, especially the
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Worthwhile InvestmentRe “Culture Shift,” by Archbishop Robert J. Carlson (1/7): I am happy to note Archbishop Carlson’s support for promoting a culture of vocations through Catholic schools, especially among the growing Hispanic population in our country. For the past two decades,
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Too Right? The editorial “Obama’s Scandal” (10/22) begs for response. I am personally aware of the pressures on the editorial board—financial, civil and ecclesiastical—in this confounding election season. Nonetheless, why Guantánamo a week before the election? W
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Readers respond to Bishop Emil A. Wcela's call for women deacons (Oct. 1)
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Our readers respond to Kristin Shrader-Frechette
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No Simple Answers The editorial Amnesty and Abortion (10/29) raises difficult questions. I agree that we should continue to reach out to those with whom we disagree. But I think it is incorrect to say that Amnesty Inter-national adopts a utilitarian calculus. It is a murky world in which we work, a
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Those Who Serve

Religious You Will Always Have With You, by Richard Rohr, O.F.M., (10/16) was one of the finest and most thoughtprovoking articles I have read on the subject of religious life in today’s world. The author has shown how religious life can be and often is an initiation to a fuller Christian life, which may well be lived outside the convent or monastery.

When I go to Pax Christi meetings and others, in which I find many dedicated persons trying to live a life according to the Gospels, I am not surprised to find that a large number of them are former religious. Each had his or her own reason for leaving, but the reason was rarely that they wanted a more comfortable and less demanding life. On the contrary, they have often chosen to live a difficult life of service.

But I also believe that the loss of members in religious life as well as the opening of opportunities to do the work formerly done by religious is the nudging of the Spirit. The old elitist concept of the called can now be changed to a call to all of us to be a part of the only kind of elite that Jesus spoke about, those who serve others.

Lucy Fuchs

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Avoid Racism

Thanks to George M. Anderson, S.J., for the interview with James Cone, Theologians and White Supremacy (11/20).

I am a member of a Dismantling Racism team in the greater Philadelphia area, and one of the few Catholic members. Our focus is primarily on racism as it survives today within the Christian churches.

So I was pleased that America used the interview as a cover story. Usually Catholic publications feature stories about racism only on special occasions, as in February for Black History Month. But as the interview indicates, this is an ongoing, serious moral issue and an area where the Christian churches have been very remiss. Many Christians seem to avoid racism on a personal level, but seem oblivious to its deeper systemic life, which affects so many of our structures and institutions, including Catholic theology and the church itself.

Jim Ratigan