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The Road to DisarmamentGERARD POWERS • STEPHEN M. COLECCHI

What the U.S. Bishops Have LearnedBL ASE CUPICH

he e-mail message was seriousand required a thoughtfulresponse. I decided not to

reply right away but to return to itwhen I had more time to think. But Inever did. I was busy, yes, but therewere other reasons for my reluctance.

The message concerned the sexualabuse crisis, a subject Catholics are alltoo familiar with these days. My friendwanted to know how I, a new fatherwhose adopted daughter was just bap-tized, was dealing with the slew ofmedia reports issuing from Europe.What makes you and your family stay,he asked?

The question was addressed to meas a friend, but also as an editor at arespected Catholic magazine. “I amlooking to America and people like youto help make sense of all this,” he wrote.

My colleagues and I are keenly awareof the special responsibility we bear inthis time of crisis. In editorial meetingsand casual conversations, we dissect thelatest news reports, weighing how torespond. In our most recent editorials,“Pilgrim Church, Part I” and “PilgrimChurch, Part II” (5/10 and 17), we havetried to provide encouragement to ourfellow Catholics while also looking atchurch structures that need reform.

Yet I feel obliged to distinguish mypersonal response to the crisis from ourinstitutional response. As an editor, Ihave done my due diligence: I have fol-lowed the news reports and contributedto group discussions. Yet when I leavethe office, when I sit at home or in thepew, I find myself tuning out when thesubject of the abuse crisis is raised.When friends ask about it, I give a briefanswer or don’t respond at all.

This is not new. In 2002 I worked ata newspaper in Connecticut when thescandal erupted in Boston. Because ofmy knowledge of the church, I waspulled from my regular beat to cover theemerging crisis. My first assignment wasto a parish where two priests had beenremoved from ministry for suspected

abuse. Reporting the story was a brutalexercise. The parish priests, and manyparishioners, declined to talk to me. Inthe evenings I would return home men-tally exhausted, loath to revisit the sub-ject. I was relieved several weeks later toreturn to my small-town beat.

I have great respect for the journal-ists who reported on the sexual abusecrisis, especially those Catholic journal-ists who continued to follow the storyeven when national media attentionflagged. Yet for me it proved to be agrueling endeavor. The latest round ofmedia reports have stirred in me thesame unease that first surfaced eightyears ago.

What are the reasons for my discon-tent? At the newspaper my unhappi-ness was easy enough to explain: here Iwas, a committed Catholic, assigned toinvestigate the church. The cognitiveand emotional dissonance was only nat-ural. Today I am proud to work at amagazine that seeks to serve the churchand can play a productive role in guid-ing it through the crisis. And yet theurge to “tune out the scandal” is stillstrong. The malaise persists.

I think I know why. In so many waysthe church has been a life-affirmingforce in my life—never more than overthe last year, as my wife and I pursuedadoption. That process revealed to methe deep ways in which we are allbrothers and sisters in Christ. It hasbeen difficult for me to reconcile thatsingular moment of grace with the cri-sis of 2010. For professional reasons, Iam obligated to read about the church’sfailures and endure the invective of itscritics; but when I can, I look away.

Some have reacted to the crisis withanger, others by leaping to the church’sdefense. Still others blame the media. Ichange the channel. It is not a responseI am especially proud of. I wish I hadthe passion of my crusading colleagues.Yet I know I am not alone. We all dealwith trauma in different ways.

MAURICE TIMOTHY REIDY

PUBLISHED BY JESUITS OF THE UNITED STATES

TOF MANY THINGS

Cover: A Ukrainian worker cutsapart the booster of an SS-19 nuclearmissile in 1999. Reuters file photo.

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www.americamagazine.org VOL. 202 NO. 16, WHOLE NO. 4894 MAY 17, 2010

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CONTENTS

A R T I C L E S

11 THE NUCLEAR ETHICS GAPFinding our way on the road to disarmament Gerard Powers

The U.S. Bishops and the Bomb Stephen M. Colecchi

C O L U M N S & D E P A R T M E N T S

4 Current Comment

5 Editorial Pilgrim People, Part II

6 Signs of the Times

8 Report Twelve Things the Bishops Have Learned Blase Cupich

9 Column Divided, We Stand Thomas Massaro

17 Faith in Focus Family TreesAlice Kearney Alwin

22 Poem One Glint in the Eye Leonard Cirino

29 Letters

31 The Word Breath of GodBarbara E. Reid

B O O K S & C U LT U R E

21 MUSIC Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” BOOKS Tattoos on the Heart; A Priest’s Life; Europe’s Promise

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, right, on the moral imperativeof immigration reform, and Clayton Sinyai on the state ofthe U.S. labor movement. Plus, an archive of Americaʼscoverage of nuclear arms control. All at americamagazine.org.

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4 America May 17, 2010

CURRENT COMMENT

Latinos, Unite!The best outcome, though unintended, of the harsh newimmigration bill passed by the Arizona legislature lastmonth might be to rally Latinos in support of comprehen-sive immigration reform.

The law that Gov. Jan Brewer signed in April goes intoeffect in 90 days. It requires police and sheriffs to check theimmigration status of individuals they reasonably deemsuspicious, demand proof of citizenship (a valid driver’slicense, passport or green card, for example) and makearrests if proof is lacking. It allows citizens to file lawsuitsfor lax enforcement but prohibits citizens from creatingsanctuaries to limit the reach of the law. Latinos are notexplicitly mentioned, but they make up 30 percent ofArizona’s population and are by far its largest immigrantgroup. It is estimated that some 450,000 illegal immigrantslive in the state.

The new law could be short-lived. Already PresidentObama has instructed the U.S. Department of Justice toscrutinize it for violations regarding racial profiling andcivil rights. Others, including the mayor of Phoenix, PhilGordon, are challenging its constitutionality in the courts.Clarence Dupnik, sheriff of Pima County, Ariz., called thelaw racist and said he would not enforce it.

Meanwhile, the law’s intrusive overreach may give Latinoactivists the impetus they need to build their organizations.All Hispanics in Arizona, most of whom are U.S. citizens,will be subject to police suspicion, pullovers and carding.They too will always have to carry identification as a pre-caution. That could bring native-born Latinos into com-mon cause with the foreign-born—both legal and illegal.

Activist Latino voters in Arizona could join Latinos inother states to lead the debate not merely to repeal thislaw, but to pass federal immigration reform. A strongnational Latino electorate could press Congress to act—ifnot this year, then next.

Damas de BlancoThe Damas de Blanco, Ladies in White, continue process-ing with gladiolas after Sunday Mass in Havana in peace-ful protest against the incarceration of relatives during theso-called Black Spring in mid-March 2003. Cuban statesecurity agents rounded up human rights activists, journal-ists and other free-speech advocates. Seventy-five receivedsentences of up to 28 years. Over 50 remain imprisoned.

In recognition of their peaceful protest, in 2005 theDamas received the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of

Thought, but the Cuban government barred the group’sleaders from attending the award ceremony in France. Thispast March, to commemorate the seventh anniversary of thearrests, the Damas processed not only on Sundays, but alsoon each of the seven days of that week, chanting, “Libertad!Libertad!” Cuban police again harassed and beat several, as ashrill mob cried, “Fidel! Fidel!” One of the Damas, ReynaTamayo, is the mother of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, a 42-year-old human rights activist. After a hunger strike todemand the release of those still held, he died in prison inFebruary. This spring his mother received especially roughtreatment at the hands of the police. “They dragged me,they beat me. I am all bruised,” she said afterward.

Cuba has made huge strides in literacy and medical carein the past half-century. The ongoing repression of dissentand denial of such basic human rights as freedom ofspeech, however, remain a blot on its achievements. Hopesthat Raul Castro might effect needed changes have notbeen realized, and the brothers Castro continue theirrepressive rule.

Alternative Energy HorizonsEven as a toxic tide from the blowout of a BritishPetroleum oil rig drifted closer to Gulf states’ beaches, fish-eries and fragile marsh ecosystems, official approval wasfinally granted for what will eventually become the nation’sfirst off-shore wind farm. Cape Wind will be a complex of130 turbines in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Cod inMassachusetts. Challenged by nature preservationists, theproposal had been in limbo for nine years.

When completed, the project will generate 468megawatts of electricity, about the output of a medium-sizedcoal-fired plant and enough to power 200,000Massachusetts homes. The reduction of carbon dioxideemissions promised by the grid represents the equivalent oftaking 175,000 cars off the road. Such tapping of Atlanticwinds may one day prove an important part of an overallnational strategy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.Similar wind farms are planned for other locations along theEast Coast and on the Great Lakes. Europe has been build-ing such off-shore, clean-energy powerhouses for 20 yearsnow, and China is already constructing its first off Shanghai.

The aesthetic harm of such energy innovation is real,but the loss of a beautiful view pales in comparison to thethreat to human life and ecosystems now posed by ourcurrent reliance on fossil fuel. To paraphrase one environ-mentalist: No one will ever have to clean up after a nastywind spill.

ur pilgrim church, “at once holy and always inneed of purification,” must constantly follow “thepath of penance and renewal” (“Constitution on

the Church,” No. 8). As in the United States eight years ago,in Ireland, Germany, India, and in Rome, steps are nowbeing taken to institute strict accountability for the sexualabuse of minors. But direct efforts to correct and preventabuse of minors are only the most obvious part of a largerhealing needed in the church. The less obvious part is thereform of structures of church governance that turned adeaf ear for so long to the victims and repeatedly disparagedbishops who were seeking remedies to the problems haunt-ing their dioceses. At all levels, right down to the parish,much of the church has proven deficient in its ability to lis-ten and interact with adult believers. But at the center of thepresent crisis are found members of the Roman Curia.

The Latin word curia means both administration, asin a government apparatus, and court, as in a company ofhangers-on whose life revolves around flattery and the favorof a ruler. Pope Benedict made a good start on respondingto the Irish scandals, but that promising beginning wasupended by the misguided statements of others in theVatican. For weeks we witnessed the hard issues of sexualabuse being dodged while elderly and retired Curial offi-cials, prodded by the press, made the red herring of PopeBenedict’s possible past mistakes the focus of their atten-tion. Intelligent leadership was obscured by a black cloud offlattery. As it turned out, some of these same prelates stoodat the very heart of the crisis, accepting payments fromfriends, like the disgraced Marcial Maciel, and offering high-level support to bishops for stonewalling civil authorities.What appeared to be vigorous emotional support for thepope turned out to be smokescreens for their own uncon-scionable actions. In those trying weeks, we witnessed theVatican at its worst—as the last Renaissance court.

Beyond taking responsibility for the crisis of sexualabuse of minors by clerics, the renewal of the church mustinclude the reform of the Roman Curia proposed by theSecond Vatican Council and begun by Pope Paul VI. Theinterpersonal and institutional practices that blocked prop-er handling of abuse cases must be rooted out. ManyAmerican bishops can testify to their frustration in theirattempts to get support from Vatican offices for discipliningoffenders. Along with the victims, many bishops have suf-fered because of this. Favoritism and personal influence can

never be wholly eliminated, butthey can be held in check.Institutional reform is not themost elevated religious activity, butit is religiously necessary; and it isprecisely the kind of endeavor for which God blesses uswith the gift of wisdom.

To begin with, a system that effectively grants favoredindividuals virtual life-tenure as heads of offices must beended. There must be term limits for senior officials androtation back to regular pastoral roles for secretaries andprefects of congregations, as there are for ministers in secu-lar governments and for major religious superiors. (In 1967,Paul VI tried to set five-year terms, with the possibility ofone renewal.) In addition, communication and interactionbetween Vatican offices need to be improved. Crises occur,we are told, because communication within the Vaticanitself is “broken.” To stimulate the needed give-and-take willrequire overcoming a culture in which major offices func-tion as baronies immune to influence from others.Interagency committees, protocols for inter-office consulta-tion and coordination would help; but recruitment of per-sonnel with listening skills and readiness to cooperate withothers, not just their superiors, are equally necessary, as areleaders who encourage open communication both with theirpeers and their subordinates.

Likewise, two-way communications must open upbetween bishops and the Holy See. In an age of globalization,centralized church government has a special role to play, butovercentralization was a contributing factor to the dysfunctionthat has prolonged this crisis for more than two decades.Curial officials expected deference and bishops gave it.Centralization will be healthy only insofar as there is genuinesubsidiarity within the church, with dioceses and bishops’ con-ferences able to carry on their pastoral activities without undueintrusion from favored cliques and individuals in Rome.

Finally, the council called for laymen and laywomen tobe given greater voice and to take greater part in churchaffairs. Diocesan pastoral councils, presbyteral councils andparish councils must have a say in the running of their localcommunities. Pastors or bishops who dissolve them or refuseto work with them regularly should be regarded as delin-quent. For the good of the whole church, the faithful need tobe heard and fully engaged in local church life. Bishops andpeople, priests and people must act as the one body of Christ.

Pilgrim People, Part II

O

May 17, 2010 America 5

EDITORIAL

SIGNS OF THE TIMESN U C L E A R D I S A R M A M E N T

‘Mary the Survivor’ of Nagasaki Visits Nonproliferation Conference

’m traveling with the statue of Mary, the survivor of theatomic bomb of Nagasaki,” said Archbishop JosephMitsuaki Takami of Nagasaki, Japan, before unlocking

a security case and gently revealing its contents, a statue rem-nant, showing the ruined visage of Mary. “The message of thisMary is to tell the people of the world the absurdity and fool-ishness of war, militarization and nuclear weapons,” the arch-bishop told America. “Mary is inviting us to work for peace.”(Listen to the interview at www.americamagazine.org.)

The scorched head of Mary is all that remains of a statuethat had once graced the main altar of Nagasaki’s UrakamiCathedral before it was destroyed by the atomic bomb, knownas Fat Man, on Aug. 9, 1945. The archbishop was an unbornchild in his mother’s womb when the second atomic bombobliterated his hometown in a blast that killed 75,000 people.

Archbishop Takami has accompanied this Mary all aroundthe world this year: to Guernica in Spain, to remember the firstvictims of the aerial bombing of civilians, and to Rome, whereher image “quite moved” Pope Benedict XVI. “This Mary,” saidArchbishop Takami, “accompanies all people who suffer fromviolence, especially the victims of war and conflicts.” On May 2the archbishop brought Mary, perhaps one of the most com-pelling artifacts of Nagasaki’s inferno, to St. Patrick’s Cathedralin New York, where he concelebrated Mass. Archbishop

‘I


Takami, who was in New York toattend the U.N. Review Conference ofParties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, saidhe hoped the statue would focus atten-tion on the enormous destructivepower and inhumanity of nuclearweapons and on the importance ofworking toward their elimination. Thepartial bust depicts a haunting and tor-tured beauty, the eye sockets black andempty like the eyes of those who gazedinto the fury of the initial flash.

“My message in bringing the statueis to ask, through the intercession ofMary, that such weapons no longer beused, that we work for peace,” the arch-bishop said after a Japanese-languageMass on May 2 for New York’s

Japanese Catholic community at St.John the Evangelist Church. In a letterhe wrote with Bishop Joseph AtsumiMisue of Hiroshima for the nonprolif-eration conference, ArchbishopTakami called on world leaders to“take a courageous step toward thetotal abolition of nuclear weapons.”

“We, as the bishops of the CatholicChurch of Hiroshima and Nagasaki inJapan, the only country to have suf-fered nuclear attacks, demand that thepresident of the United States, theJapanese government and the leadersof other countries make utmost effortsto abolish nuclear weapons,” the state-ment reads.

As a first step, the Japanese prelates

called upon U.S. President BarackObama to establish a policy of “solepurpose,” which would “limit the pur-pose of retaining nuclear weapons todeterring others from using suchweapons only.” The archbishop saidthe people of Japan support the presi-dent’s nuclear disarmament effortsthus far and hoped to see him “con-cretize” the commitment he madetoward nuclear weapons reductions inPrague last month in renewing armsreductions agreements with Russia.Archbishop Takami said the newreduction treaty with Russia was afirst step, but that President Obama“should pursue this process toward thetotal elimination of nuclear weapons.”

Archbishop Takami has more thana purely spiritual or philosophicalrationale for seeking the elimination ofnuclear weapons. The Nagasaki blastclaimed the lives of two of his auntsand his grandmother. A cousin died 14years after the war from bomb-relatedillnesses. The archbishop was born onMarch 6, 1946, and raised in the longshadow cast by Nagasaki’s mushroomcloud. “My mother spoke about it, butnot so many times,” he recalled.“Because she didn’t want to speakabout it. Her experience was so sad.”

Roadside Bombs Strike Iraqi Christians At least four people died and morethan 170 were injured when buses car-rying Christian university studentswere bombed in a roadside attack nearthe northern Iraqi city of Mosul onMay 2. The buses, carrying studentsfrom the village of Qaraqosh to a uni-versity in Mosul, were struck by anexplosion followed by a car bombing.Victims included bystanders. Thebuses were escorted by Iraqi soldiers,and the bombings occurred betweentwo checkpoints staffed by U.S., Iraqiand Iraqi Kurdish soldiers. “It was abrutal, unprecedented attack. We areshocked, since the victims were not sol-diers or militants but just students whowere carrying books, pens and theirdreams of growing up and serving theirown nation,” said Bashar Wardu ofIrbil, a Redemptorist priest. Theminority Christian community “feelsunprotected and left at the mercy ofextremists,” said Father Wardu.Archbishop Georges Casmoussa ofMosul, a Syrian Catholic, said thatChristians were ready to call for theUnited Nations to intervene and helpprotect them. He said that the injusticeagainst Christians has been met with

“general indifference” by civil and gov-ernment authorities. Auxiliary BishopShlemon Warduni of Baghdad, aChaldean, said that Iraqi Christiansfeel at a loss as to how to protect them-selves from further attacks. Having amilitary escort in front and behind thebus convoy was not enough to preventthe attack, he pointed out.

Thai Catholics Try To Bridge DivideAs Thailand’s political crisis continues,Catholic university students inBangkok are taking action to promotepeace and prevent further outbreaks ofviolence. The Catholic UniversityStudents Centre of Thailand, based atXavier Hall, the Jesuits’ residence inBangkok, has been encouraging itsmembers to meet “red-shirts” and theiropponents in order to listen to their

views. It has also urged members to joincivic peace movements, visit peopleinjured in the protests and to take indi-vidual action to promote peace in thecountry. “The church as an institutioncannot get involved directly, but it canand should encourage laypersons to tryand help solve the country’s problems,”said the center’s chaplain, MaharsonoProbho, S.J. “The center is encouragingstudents to listen and get as muchinformation as possible from both sidesabout their grievances and demands.”The red-shirts, many of whom areallied to the ousted former premier,Thaksin Shinawatra, have occupiedBangkok’s major business and commer-cial districts for almost two months inan effort to force the government to callsnap elections. Clashes with securityforces have killed at least 26 people andinjured hundreds of others.

From CNS and other sources. CNS photos.


Church Ready to Help in Louisiana

and another 1,000 in Plaquemines.(In Louisiana civil jurisdictions arecalled parishes.) Gordon Wadge, co-president and chief executive ofCatholic Charities says his agency isgearing up for the test to come. “Weare going to be making case manage-ment and counseling available,”Wadge said. “You also can’t underesti-mate the value of pastoral presence.”

The images of the British Petroleumdisaster and a monster oil spill creep-ing closer to Louisiana have triggeredunwanted flashbacks for people whosescars from Hurricane Katrina remainraw. “Today we are crying out, ‘Whyus, Lord?’” said Tony Fernandez, theformer chief criminal deputy sheriff ofthe St. Bernard Sheriff ’s Office andchairman of the pastoral council ofOur Lady of Prompt Succor Churchin Chalmette, La. Fernandez, whooperates a marina and figures to beheavily affected by the oil spill, saidthe church must help hard-workingpeople who cannot protect them-selves. “It’s been one catastrophicevent after another. But our focus isnot so much on our sorrow; but it’s onwhat we can do for others.” The oilspill threatens the livelihood of 300fishing families in St. Bernard Parish

John Arnone, pastor of St. BernardChurch, leads fishermen in prayer on May 1 in Hopedale, La.

Twelve Things the Bishops Have Learned From the Abuse CrisisBY BLASE CUPICH

he Catholic bishops of theUnited States have learnedmany lessons from the sexual

abuse crisis. These 12 are among themost important.

1. The injury to victims is deeperthan non-victims can imagine. Sexualabuse of minors is crushing preciselybecause it comes at a stage in their liveswhen they are vulnerable, tender withenthusiasm, hopeful for the future andeager for friendships based on trustand loyalty.

2. Despite the justified anger felt byvictims toward the church, bishops stillneed to reach out to them as pas-tors. Meetings with victims can be chal-lenging for all involved, but they alsocan be a moment of grace and insight.

3. The causes of the clerical sexualabuse are complex, and it is simplisticto reduce them to easy answers. Manyfactors have been alleged to “explain”this misconduct by clergy, but the factis that sexual abuse of minors is foundin many different circumstances, per-petrated by family members, leaders ofyouth organizations, doctors, teachersand others. “Easy answers” underesti-mate how wide the scope of this prob-lem is in our society.

4. Catholics have been hurt by themoral failings of some priests, but theyhave been hurt and angered even moreby bishops who failed to put childrenfirst. People expect religious leadersabove all to be immediate andforthright in taking a strong stand inthe face of evil, such as the harm done

to children and young people by sexu-al abuse.

5. The counsel of lay people, espe-cially parents, is indispensable in a mat-ter that so deeply affects families. Ourcapacity to respond to sexual abuse ofyoung people has been bolstered by theinsights shared with us by parents as tohow to do so effectively.

6. Our priests have a resiliency thatfuture generations will recall withadmiration. They have remained com-mitted to their vocation day-in, day-out, despite suffering from the actionsof those who have besmirched thepriesthood they love. Their steadfast-ness has built a reservoir of good willwith our people and is a major factorin explaining why during this terriblecrisis most Catholics in our countryremain faithful to the church.

7. The church needs to maintainthe mandatory safe environmentefforts that have been developed.Experience shows that institutions arenot as effective in protecting children ifstandards are voluntary. Any backslid-ing on this endangers children first ofall, and also the credibility gainedthrough the efforts to eradicate theeffects of this scourge. Parishes mustbe the safest places for a child to be.

8. Bishops need to be mutuallyaccountable in their efforts to protectchildren and must be willing to partic-ipate in transparent, independentaudits to demonstrate they are keepingthe promises we made. What happensin one place happens to us all.

9. Bishops need to resist the defen-siveness that institutions often fallback on in crisis moments. Resorting

to a conspiratorial interpretation ofattacks and adopting a “circle the wag-ons” approach only prolongs a problemand does nothing to settle it or heal thevictims.

10. Self-deception is an inherentpart of the illness abusers suffer andincludes the inclination to diminishthe gravity of their behavior and itseffects on the individuals abused andon the church at large. Many evenmanage to convince themselves thatthey genuinely cared for the childrenwhom they harmed. This makes italmost impossible for them to come togrips with the evil they perpetrated.Claims often made by perpetrators inthe past that they were contrite andwould stop abusing are never againgoing to be taken at face value.

11. Our people’s faith is strong andsustains them even in times of chal-lenge. We receive from them a level ofemotional and spiritual support thathumbles us. Their trust in God sus-tains not just themselves but us too.

12. Bishops must partner with pub-lic authorities by complying with civillaws with respect to reporting allega-tions of sexual abuse of minors andcooperating with their investigation. Allleaders of the community whether reli-gious or secular need to work togetherto protect children and young people.

The Charter for the Protection ofChildren and Young People, which webishops adopted in 2002 and renewedtwice since, provides direction for ourhandling the sexual abuse of minors bypriests. It can be found on theU.S.C.C.B. Web site at http://www.usccb.org/ocyp/charter.shtml.


REPORT

MOST REV. BLASE CUPICH is chairman ofthe Committee for Child and Youth Protectionof the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

T

such matters. But it is comforting torecall that we have weathered moreintense episodes of fractiousness withour national unity intact.

Indeed, it would be surprising if thesettlement of a divisive issue likehealth care reform did not spark agood deal of backlash. From the daysof Shays’ Rebellion to the tax revolts ofrecent decades, recurring bouts ofantigovernment sentiment have been a

constant in U.S. poli-tics. Some episodeshave rightly inducedconcern, but the smartmoney is still ridingagainst predictions of abloody apocalypse any-time soon.

In the end, the goodsense of the Americanpeople deserves ourdeepest confidence.Displaying the prag-

matic centrism that has served ournation so well through its trials, theAmerican populace instinctivelyaccepts compromises and half-loafsolutions as the very staff of politics. Inour most laudable political culture,resorting to violence is recognized forwhat it is: an admission of one’s ownfailures to be patient and creativeenough to win support for one’s pro-posals. As long as our democratic sys-tem of government remains responsiveto demands for the redress ofgrievances, political legitimacy and sta-bility will be maintained, no matterhow incendiary the rhetoric of pop-ulist anger might grow.

Sure, there are rifts today, butmarking the past will help us distin-guish garden-variety partisan bicker-ing from serious threats to our nation.

ack in the days when Jesuits inseminary studies had to endurebatteries of intimidating oral

exams, the traditional advice offered toa quaking scholastic was direct: alwaysdistinguish. The board of examinersmight try to trick an unsuspectingexaminee into affirming or denying asimple thesis that in actuality requiredlarge doses of nuance. Rememberingto introduce the appropriate distinc-tions in key categories often suppliedthe shortcut through the intellectualminefield. This particular pearl of wis-dom saved me several times.

Recent events on the national stagelead me to recall this morsel of Jesuitarcana. Especially since the passage ofthe health care overhaul several weeksago with nary a Republican vote, manyobservers have yielded to the tempta-tion to render certain simplistic judg-ments about the state of our nationaltemper. Has President Obama’s suc-cess on this pivotal issue unleashed averitable avalanche of resentment thatwill prove impossible to rein in? Is thebacklash indeed on the verge of cas-cading into political violence?

A good number of media punditswould have us believe that America isteetering on the brink of a civil war.They cite just enough evidence forconcern (Tea Party movementrhetoric, death threats against law-makers, F.B.I. investigations of theHutaree group, vandalism on CapitolHill) that predictions of widespreadcivil strife being just around the cornerhave gained some superficial plausibil-ity. But before we buy wholesale into a

“Chicken Little” scenario, it would bewise to recall the lesson about usefuldistinctions.

We should not equate scatteredexpressions of frustration with clearand imminent danger to our republic.Watching people blow off steam is notthe same as witnessing the openingsalvos of a violent revolution. Whilethe nation is not completely free ofright-wing extremism, neither is it onthe verge of civil chaos.There is nothing humorousabout the hate-motivatedincidents that do pop upfrom time to time, but weare hardly witnessing amassive insurgency.

What we are in fact wit-nessing is a fairly strongbout of partisan divisive-ness that has gained somemomentum as it ripplesoutward from the halls ofCongress. Millions of people are step-ping forward to embrace the antago-nistic posture that they are indeed“mad as hell”—angry not just about anew set of health insurance arrange-ments, but often about a range ofrecent measures that they interpret asfederal overreaching, including ele-ments of the stimulus package andvarious financial bailouts. This phe-nomenon of “rage on the right” is any-thing but new in a nation founded ona tax revolt. It is also worth recallingthe rather intense “rage on the left” notso long ago, which often went by thename “Bush bashing.”

Just how serious, in the grandscheme of things, is our current fit oftemper? I doubt that even latter-dayhistorians will be able to construct areliable “vitriol index” to adjudicate

Divided, We StandB

We haveweathered

more intenseepisodes

with our unity

intact.


THOMAS MASSARO, S.J., teaches socialethics at the Boston College School of Theologyand Ministry, Chestnut Hill, Mass.

THOMAS MASSARO


Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev sign the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty at Prague Castle, Czech Republic, on April 8.

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The NuclearEthics Gap

BY GERARD P OWERS

uclear disarmament has gone mainstream. Nuclearhawks like Henry Kissinger, who derided the U.S.Catholic bishops in 1983 for their naïve and utopiancall for an ultimate ban on nuclear weapons, now areinspiring a global chorus of prominent military and

political figures—including President Barack Obama—to endorse thatvery goal. The bishops and other religious leaders were ahead ofKissinger and Obama in calling for nuclear disarmament not just as amoral ideal but as a policy goal, and the bishops continue to offer a moralframework and to advocate for policies in keeping with that goal. Butthere is a gap in ethical reflection. The moral framework for disarmamentthat the bishops and the Holy See have developed since the end of thecold war would benefit from deeper reflection by ethicists on the moralissues that arise on the road to nuclear disarmament.

Nuclear disarmament will never be accepted as a moral imperative andwill have little traction in policy circles unless people are convinced thatit is not a utopian dream but rather a realistic policy objective that can beachieved, and achieved in a way that ensures that the cure (disarmament)is not worse than the disease (deterrence). An abundance of books andhigh-level reports by nuclear strategists in the past decade have made aconvincing case that nuclear abolition is possible and necessary.

The “can” of disarmament is not just about nuclear strategy, however,but also about ethics, and, in particular, moral attitudes. In The SeventhDecade, Jonathan Schell describes the “profound fatalism” that hasshaped the nuclear debate: “an anxiety or conviction that the bomb,though a human creation, is somehow immune to human control.” This

N


GERARD POWERS is director of Catholic peacebuilding studies at the Kroc Institute,University of Notre Dame, and co-editor of Strategies of Peace (Oxford 2010).

FINDING OUR WAY ON THE ROAD

TO DISARMAMENT

fatalism not only denies our moral responsibility but risksreplacing the virtue of hope with the sin of despair. Nucleardisarmament requires the development of a “can do” ethic.Nuclear ethicists can complement the strategists by remind-ing people that although nuclear weapons cannot be disin-vented, we still have a moral obligation to ban them.

Deterrence vis-à-vis DisarmamentIn their 1983 peace pastoral, “The Challenge of Peace:God’s Promise and Our Response,” the bishops proposed an“interim ethic” whereby nuclear deterrence could be morallyacceptable under three conditions: 1) if it is limited to deter-ring the use of nuclear weapons and not expanded toinclude nuclear-war fighting strategies or using nuclearweapons to deter against nonnuclear threats (the sole use cri-terion); 2) if the goal is to have enough weapons only todeter nuclear use, not to achieve nuclear superiority (the suf-ficiency criterion); and 3) if deterrence is used as a steptoward progressive disarmament (the disarmament criteri-on). This strictly conditioned moral acceptance of deter-rence is tied to the bishops’ categorical rejection of nuclearuse against civilian populations, opposition to first use anddeep skepticism about the morality of a limited retaliatoryuse. The first two criteria and the analysis of the morality ofuse constitute a deterrence ethic insofar as they define thekind of nuclear deterrent that might be morally acceptableduring the interim period before nuclear disarmament isachieved. The third criterion tightly links this deterrenceethic to a nonnuclear ethic, one that combines nonprolifera-tion with abolition, such that all countries must do theirpart both to prevent proliferation and to negotiate a verifi-able global ban on nuclear weapons.

The moral status of deterrence and its link to disarma-ment need to be reconsidered. Nuclear pacifists have longargued that if the church wants disarmament, it must firstcondemn deterrence. Recent Vatican statements haveseemed to do just that. In a talk at Woodstock TheologicalCenter in Washington, D.C., in March 2010, ArchbishopCelestino Migliore, the Holy See’s observer at the UnitedNations, decried the “second nuclear age” (the first being thecold war) when nuclear weapons are proliferating, nuclearterrorism is a threat and nuclear weapons “are no longer justfor deterrence but have become entrenched in the militarydoctrines of the major powers.”

“It is evident,” the archbishop concluded, “that nucleardeterrence is preventing genuine nuclear disarmament.Consequently, the conditions that prevailed during the coldwar, which gave a basis for the church’s limited toleration ofnuclear deterrence, no longer apply” [italics in original].

It would be a mistake to interpret this and other Vaticanstatements as breaking the link between deterrence and dis-armament, rejecting the former in order to achieve the lat-

ter. Clearly the conditions for the moral acceptability ofdeterrence are not being met. Supporters of the status quoin U.S. nuclear policy, in 2010 as in 1983, will find little tocomfort them in the bishops’ strict conditions for the moralacceptability of deterrence (see pg. 13).

But criticism of existing nuclear deterrents is not tanta-mount to condemning nuclear deterrence per se. What thechurch rejects is the widely held view that nuclear weaponsbring security but nuclear disarmament would bring insecu-rity. In order to counter the idea that nuclear deterrence isan end in itself, church statements have dramatically shiftedthe emphasis from the need to meet the two conditions ofthe deterrence ethic (the only realistic objective during thecold war) to the need to embrace a nonnuclear ethic, in linewith the third condition. Disarmament has become the pri-mary condition (though not the only one) for the moralacceptibility of deterrence, the lens through which otherconditions must be viewed.

One implication of this shift is that the disarmament lensrefocuses the deterrence debate on how the sole-purposeand sufficiency conditions can contribute to delegitimizingthe expansion and modernization of nuclear arsenals andprovide a rationale for reducing U.S. and Russian stockpilesto the 100 or so weapons that most experts consider suffi-cient to deter.

This shift also has implications for the relationshipbetween use and deterrence. If the moral possibility, howeverremote, of isolated uses of nuclear weapons has been replacedby an unequivocal rejection of any use (in part because usewould undermine prospects for disarmament), does thatimply that the threat of use is not necessary to deter?

A third issue is how to address the fact that the problemof deterrence is not eliminated by going to zero. Moving tozero could make nuclear weapons even more valuable, moreusable and more destabilizing, since keeping a few nuclearweapons or being able to rebuild quickly or reconstitute anarsenal could offer a tremendous strategic advantage. Theproblem of nuclear terrorism would be reduced but noteliminated with a global ban.

At the low numbers that correspond to the sole purposeand sufficiency conditions, does the case for “existentialdeterrence” become more credible strategically and offer amorally superior form of deterrence?

The term existential deterrence refers to the theory thatif it is known that a country possesses nuclear weapons orcan build them, that is enough to deter nuclear use by oth-ers. If that theory is correct, it would not be necessary tocontinue with strategies and doctrines based on a condi-tional intent to use nuclear weapons in ways that would beindiscriminate or disproportionate. Likewise, in A WorldWithout Nuclear Weapons, Sydney Drell and James Goodbyargue convincingly that a form of existential deterrence



The U.S. Bishops and the BombBY STEPHEN M. COLECCHI

mament that was published by The Atlanta JournalConstitution. More recently, the conference weighed in onthe Nuclear Posture Review, asking President Obama tonarrow the purpose of the nuclear arsenal solely to deterringnuclear attack.

In a “swords into plowshares” initiative, the U.S.C.C.B. ispromoting the Global Security Priorities Resolution (H.R.278). The legislation aims to reduce nuclear weapons anddirects the savings to strengthen nonproliferation, securenuclear materials and also improve child nutrition and edu-cation in developing countries.

The signing of the new Start Treaty on April 8 in Pragueand the possible submission of the Comprehensive Test BanTreaty to the Senate next year will undoubtedly elicit morepublic engagement.

Parish Resources

The U.S.C.C.B. offers the following resources forparishes on nuclear disarmament:

1. Letter from Cardinal Francis George to PresidentObama welcoming the signing of the new Start treatybetween the United States and the RussianFederation and urging members of the U.S. Senate tocome together across party lines to ratify it.

2. Action Alert: Inviting Catholics to urge senators toratify the new Start treaty to verifiably reduce nuclearweapons.

3. Catholic study guide for use with “Nuclear TippingPoint,” a free DVD, based on Catholic social teaching.It is designed to help small groups of adults andmature young people explore issues related to nuclearweapons in the light of their Catholic faith.

4. Background on nuclear arms treaties: explores theNuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the new Start treaty,the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the church’sactivities and teaching related to nuclear weapons.

For U.S.C.C.B. resources on nuclear weapons, goonline to: http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/nuclear.shtml.

The letter of the U.S. bishops in 1983, “The Challenge ofPeace,” and their follow-up letter in 1993, “The Harvest ofJustice Is Sown in Peace,” established the U.S. Catholic bish-ops as a moral voice on nuclear disarmament. They argued,“The eventual elimination of nuclear weapons is more thana moral ideal; it should be a policy goal.” This vision of aworld without nuclear weapons guided and continues toshape their public engagement.

The bishops supported ratification of the Strategic ArmsReduction treaties (Start I and II) between the UnitedStates and the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. In the late90s they lamented the defeat of the Comprehensive TestBan Treaty in the Senate. The bishops welcomed the 2002Moscow Treaty between the United States and Russia as apositive step, but called on the United States to do muchmore.

During the past decade, the conference has opposed fed-eral funding for research on the Robust Nuclear EarthPenetrator, the Reliable Replacement Warhead and othernew nuclear weapons.

Recently, as public debate over nuclear questions hasgrown, the engagement of the bishops has intensified. At itsDeterrence Symposium in July 2009, the U.S. StrategicCommand turned to the U.S.C.C.B. to offer moral reflec-tions. At that event Archbishop Edwin O’Brien, a memberof the bishops’ Committee on International Justice andPeace, gave a major talk, titled “Nuclear Weapons andMoral Questions: The Path to Zero.” He urged the nuclearpowers to “move beyond” deterrence. Subsequently, hejoined Global Zero, a group of prominent leaders commit-ted to a nuclear-weapons-free world and addressed theirsummit meeting in Paris last February.

Last fall Bishop Howard Hubbard, chairman of the bish-ops’ International Committee, sent the text of ArchbishopO’Brien’s July address to every senator and urged each oneto take steps toward a nuclear-weapons-free world by ratify-ing the anticipated Start follow-on treaty and theComprehensive Test Ban Treaty. At the same time BishopHubbard joined other leaders in writing President Obamaand endorsing an advertisement in political publicationsthat called for reductions in nuclear weapons. Early this yearthe bishop teamed up with the Nobel physicist LeonLederman to write an op-ed piece supporting nuclear disar-

STEPHEN M. COLECCHI is the director of the Office of InternationalJustice and Peace of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

would also work once a global ban is in place, since thecapacity to reconstitute a nuclear arsenal would deter othercountries from doing so.

An existential deterrent based on the ability to rebuild anuclear arsenal quickly is not without its own problems,however, since a few states would have such a capacity andmost would not. The same disparity in capacity arises ifpowerful countries rely on conventional forces to deternuclear cheaters. A world in which a few pow-ers dominate because of their capacity toreconstitute their nuclear arsenal and exercisesuperiority in conventional weaponry wouldnot be acceptable to other countries, wouldnot reduce the incentive for them to obtain orretain a nuclear capacity and could spark a conventional armsrace. Therefore, getting the relationship right between nucle-ar deterrence, nuclear disarmament and conventional disar-mament is a key task for ethicists as well as for policymakers.

Constraining Counterproliferation The invasion of Iraq by the United States in 2003 and itsaftermath should have been the death of the misbegottendoctrine of preventive war, but progress toward nuclear dis-armament could give the doctrine new life. If the debateover Iran is any indication, the pressure for preventive forceagainst proliferators and cheaters, especially difficult-to-deter “rogue” regimes with ties to terrorists, will likely inten-sify in a world of few or no nuclear weapons. Calls for anethic of “disarmament intervention” akin to humanitarianintervention could emerge. In my view preventive force, evenat the end stages of disarmament and under U.N. auspices,should continue to be considered an act of aggression thatwould threaten the international stability that nonprolifera-tion and disarmament are meant to ensure.

Unlike the rejection of preventive force, however, theethics of missile defense will need to be reconsidered as theworld makes progress toward nuclear disarmament. In 1988,the bishops opposed the deployment of missile defenses bythe Reagan administration. They were not convinced thatthe Strategic Defense Initiative, popularly known as StarWars, would make it possible to supersede deterrence. Theywere concerned about its feasibility, its negative impact onthe stability of deterrence and efforts at arms control, and itsdisproportionate cost. A different assessment will be neededas the world goes to zero. With no or only a few weapons,missile defense becomes more feasible (assuming furthertechnical progress) and could, in fact, supplant some (not all)forms of nuclear deterrence. As David Cortright and RaimoVäyrynen point out in a recent report in the Adelphi Papersmonograph series, if it were shared or under internationalsupervision, missile defense would not be destabilizing andan impediment to disarmament.

A Peacebuilding Ethic Nuclear abolition is a long-term objective that ultimately isas much about politics as it is about arms control. In thatsense, the bishops’ “interim” ethic is less a function of timethan context. Nuclear abolition does not require a change inhuman nature or an end to war. It does require a change inpolitics: a sustained and united political will and, as the U.S.bishops have consistently said, the development of an ethic

of cooperative security and peace-building that offers effective alterna-tives to existing nuclear deterrentsand preventive force.

The United States and othernuclear powers must lead by example

in disarming. But like politics, problems of proliferation arelocal. Enforcing the Nonproliferation Treaty will probablybe less a factor in stopping the spread of nuclear weapons inthe Middle East, for example, than resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and others in the region and makinggood on a longstanding commitment to negotiate a nuclear-weapons-free zone there.

Failed states will also remain a source of conflict andwill pose a serious challenge to achieving and enforcing aglobal ban. An often-ignored part of the peace pastoral isthe bishops’ call for further development of a theology ofpeace. Much more needs to be done to develop a peace-building ethic to match the sophistication of the just warethic.

The Security-Sovereignty NexusA nonnuclear ethic requires a reconsideration of the rela-tionship between sovereignty and security and a redefini-tion of the rights and responsibilities of sovereignty. If thenuclear “have nots” have to practice an ethic of restraint inforgoing nuclear weapons to protect their national securi-ty in the name of the global good, the shift in duties is evenmore pronounced for the nuclear “haves.” Because of therisks they have imposed on the world by possessing nucle-ar weapons, the United States and other nuclear powersbear a heavy burden: to take the lead in global peacebuild-ing. As they pursue nuclear disarmament, they have a spe-cial obligation to forgo pretensions of military, politicaland economic dominance over other nations and, instead,take the lead in building a system of cooperative securitythat will make a global ban more likely and sustainable.

How would an ethic of cooperative security andresponsible engagement for the global good redefineapproaches to strengthening international law and inter-national institutions? If a global ban is to be effective, bothnuclear and nonnuclear nations will have to give up some oftheir rights of sovereignty. For one, the potential doublingof nuclear power generation in the next 20 years will fuel


ON THE WEBAn archive of America’s coverage of

nuclear arms control.americamagazine.org/pages


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proliferation unless the International Atomic EnergyAgency is strengthened and nations agree to much moreintrusive inspections, stronger safeguards and toughersanctions. International measures to verify, enforce andensure compliance with a ban on nuclear weapons will beeven more important. In addition, missile defenses wouldalso have to be shared or put under some common author-ity. For these and other reasons, the current understandingof the rights of sovereignty and the limits and reach of theauthority of the United Nations and other internationalentities will have to be rethought to make a global ban onnuclear weapons a reality.

Perhaps more than at any other time in the nuclear age,the world is at a critical crossroads: The moral ideal ofnuclear abolition is now a realistic long-term policy goal, yetthat goal could become unachievable if the world reaches atipping point in nuclear proliferation. Just as they did withthe moral dilemmas of deterrence, Catholic ethicists need toaddress in a systematic way the moral and strategic chal-lenges involved in going to zero. The end goal is adoption ofa nonnuclear ethic whereby any nation that keeps or seeksnuclear weapons would be marginalized as a proliferator. Amore sophisticated moral case for nonproliferation and dis-armament is essential if the new mainstream support fordisarmament is to be sustained over the decades most thinknecessary for it to become a reality. A

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cannot imagine being eightmonths pregnant any time butduring April. But then again, if I

were due during the summer harvestor the autumnal foliage, or pregnantduring Advent, like Mary, I wouldmost likely be partial to those seasonsand would never consider it could havebeen otherwise. As it is, my first baby,choosing to be born in June, has grownmy belly to full blossom in springtime.

I started a notebook to write aboutthe physical changes of my pregnancy,but ended up writing about the trees.Outside, the natural world hasarranged itself into a liturgical proces-sion suitable for a major feast day. Theordo: the crocus acolytes lead in thefosythia choir, followed by the shrub-bery deacons, azalea to lilac, attendingthe fat and jolly magnolia, cloaked inthe finest fragrant vestments, spunwith white golden thread.

There is such a magnolia on FifthAvenue in Manhattan. It burst intoblossom on Easter Monday. Unfor-tunately, that was a blustery day, and thesweet petals adorning every branch ofthe tree at 7 a.m. were all blown off andtrodden underfoot, browned and com-posting, 12 hours later. Still, themoment before the winds began, thepetals’ release saw a magnificent show.And then, as suddenly as it began, itreturned into a regular, unremarkable,leafy tree. Magnolia is an ancient andresilient genus; its glory is fleeting, butmemorable.

Family Trees

IAn expectant mother’s cycles of graceBY ALICE KEARN EY ALWIN

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Spring in the suburbs is luxuriousand sprawling. It rolls in at a controlledpace, seen over kitchen sills andthrough school bus windows. There aregreening lawns and morning dew androbins searching for earthworms. But inthe city, spring arrives unannounced onone day, a crazed explosion, a detonatedbomb. I cannot deal with it; it’s too fastand sudden. Thank-fully, as the babymakes my bodygrow larger, I amunable to rush pastanything anymore. I have to stop my lifeto catch the spring. My gaze is forced upfrom the grimy streets to the theaterhappening in the treetops. I can’t helpbut try to stay balanced on my two feet,a witness to this renewal of nature.

During the short days of winter,when the growing baby was putting meto bed on the couch around 8 p.m., the

tiny buds were setting on the branchesof these trees. The promise of thespringtime blossoms was there all win-ter, invisible, an inner hidden mysterywaiting and longing to blossom, a visi-ble sign of an invisible reality. In thesacraments, God breaks through.

I was born into a sacramentalworld, and the sacraments have been

the ordering princi-ple within whichand into which I live.There is a cycle tothe church’s sacred

moments. The sacraments of initia-tion, of healing and of vocation cancatch us up when we need to bereminded to slow down and witnessthe blessings of the moment. There isalways something to celebrate; eventhe long stretches of ordinary time arepacked with feast days. My pregnancyhas been blessed in light of this sacra-

FAITH IN FOCUS

ALICE KEARNEY ALWIN is the spiritual lifecoordinator at the Marymount School of NewYork in Manhattan.

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mental framework, offering me agreater awareness of my location with-in the liturgical cycle. The cycle ofnature is partnered with the cycle ofthe sacraments, coming around andaround year after year with the samemystery and regularity.

The earth, the church, the body arealways changing seasons, alwaysshowing off in ways that can be appre-ciated. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin,S.J., said, “Purity does not lie in sepa-ration from but in deeper penetrationinto the universe.” The experience ofbeing pregnant in spring has beenpleasing to my senses: fragrant andsunny and irresistibly optimistic.Feeling the rumbles within my womb,sinking slightly into springy sod, I amreminded that my body is doing whatit has been gifted to do. I feel thepower of creation passing through me.I am filled with a nature-inspired con-fidence that my body and my faith willtake care of me.

This season is always about morethan the fertility rites of springtime. Itis Eastertide, the season of theResurrection, of the ultimate surprise,and of the Ascension. This year I havebeen thinking of the disciples as expec-tant parents, nesting in the upperroom, being showered with gifts atPentecost, struggling to set up a prop-er home, a church awaiting its birth.There is a spirituality of pregnancywithin the Acts of the Apostles, whichfor me has been more instructive read-ing than any childbirth manual.

These are the reflections of a labor-ing mother, perhaps even the start ofan attempt to construct a theology ofmaternity. As the trees release theirblossoms and spring marches onwardtoward the summer solstice, my duedate creeps closer. Soon I will let go ofthis child I have been carrying throughthree of nature’s seasons and sevenliturgical ones. Next spring, no longerpregnant, I will watch the trees burstforth with blossoms, but with anotherwitness to the Resurrection.


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Prozac, Paxil, Welbutrin, Effexor,Ritalin, Focalin. I also turned to a rig-orous and profound study of the reli-gions and the philosophies, but cheer-fulness kept breaking through.”

Leonard Cohen’s song “Hallelujah,”first released in 1984, attracted littleattention at first except from diehardfans. The record company was initiallyreluctant to release the song. But todaythings have changed for this gospel-ytune that saunters along with a gentlewaltz-like feel. Right now there areabout 200 cover versions of the songavailable in various languages. InFebruary, K. D. Lang gave a mesmeriz-ing performance of “Hallelujah” at theopening ceremony of the Vancouver

he Jewish singer-songwriterLeonard Cohen has been mis-chievously dubbed “the poet

laureate of pessimism” and “the godfa-ther of gloom.” He does not write thekind of songs guaranteed to get a partyoff to a rousing start. Perhaps themelancholic Irishman in me is drawnby the heartbreaking songs producedby his resonant baritone voice, at timesindistinguishable from a husky growl.

I’ve wondered if the Canadian-born

Cohen has some Irish blood. As W. B.Yeats is supposed to have said of acompatriot, “Being Irish, he had anabiding sense of tragedy which sus-tained him through temporary periodsof joy.” During a concert last April inLos Angeles, Cohen made a similarcomment. “It’s a long time since I’vestood up on the stage,” he said. “It’sabout 14 or 15 years. I was 60 yearsold at the time, just a kid with a crazydream. Since then I’ve taken a lot of


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Leonard Cohen at the Klimainham Royal Hospital, inDublin, Ireland on June 14, 2008.

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Winter Olympics. The tragic death ofNodar Kumaritashvili, the 21-year oldGeorgian luger, a few hours beforemade the lyrics of the song especiallyappropriate. A month earlier, a high-light of the Hope for Haiti Telethonwas a haunting performance of“Hallelujah” by Justin Timberlake andMatt Morris. In a moment of greattragedy for the Haitian people, thesong captured the appropriate moodand, not surprisingly, became the top-selling song from that telethon.

The English singer AlexandraBurke released a cover version of“Hallelujah” as her debut single inDecember 2008. It raced to the top of

the U.K. charts, became Britain’s top-selling song of the year, and madeBurke the first British soloist to sell amillion singles in her native U.K.Meanwhile, fans of another version of“Hallelujah,” by the late Jeff Buckley,campaigned to have his version reachnumber one. As a result, two versionsof the same song occupied the numberone and number two slots aroundChristmas 2008. Earlier that yearBuckley’s version had powered to thetop of the iTunes chart, also thanks toa performance by a competitor on“American Idol.”

Many people still regard the JeffBuckley recording from 1994 as

definitive. Buckley succeededin transforming the gloomi-ness of Cohen’s original lamentto an uplifting tribute, captur-ing the beauty and pain ofhuman life. Like Cohen’s origi-nal rendition, Buckley’s versiondid not achieve instant recog-nition. It became a hit onlyseveral years after his death in1997, when the song was usedin the 2001 film “Shrek.”

It was not Leonard Cohenbut another singer, John Cale,who came up with the defini-tive lyrics in 1991. Cale hadheard Leonard Cohen perform“Hallelujah” live, but when heasked Cohen for the lyrics, hewas surprised to receive 15 dif-ferent verses. Cohen had beenexperimenting with so manydifferent lyrics that he hadnever fixed on one version.Cale went through all the vers-es and arrived at the versionthat has since become stan-dard, and which even Cohenhimself now tends to follow.

How did a song with somany biblical references (noneof which refer to the NewTestament) become ubiqui-tous? How did a lyrical, slow-moving tune become popular

in an era when aggressive percussionand insistent drum-beats power popsongs? Why has the song been used tocreate atmosphere and mood in thesoundtracks of many movies and TVshows? Why can’t people get enoughof it?

Precisely because it embodies a realand gritty spirituality. It is not afraid toembrace the tragedy of human life. AsCohen sings in “Anthem”:

There is a crack, a crack in everything

That’s how the light gets in.

There is always a crack, even in themidst of profound suffering. At thebeginning of “Hallelujah,” KingDavid, the composer of psalms inpraise of God, has happily discovereda secret chord with which to give Godjoy. But soon the king succumbs totemptation:

Well your faith was strong but you needed proof

You saw her bathing on the roofHer beauty and the moonlight

overthrew you.

The reference to David is mixed upwith allusions to Samson and Delilah,as the song goes on to tell how

She broke your throne and she cut your hair.

The power of David and thestrength of Samson are cut away; thetwo are stripped of their facile certain-ties, and their promising lives toppleinto the dust. The man who composedsongs of praise with such aplomb andthe man whose strength was the envyof all, now find themselves in a starkand barren place. When we fall to sin,we wake up to bitterness. We realizethat love is not the easy triumph weonce imagined it to be:

Love is not a victory march


One Glint in the Eye

The tenderness of snow flaming

from the glass sky, unending delight

on the meadow, forcing the stream,

foraging the cedars and maples,

frosting the few stars left in heaven.

A witchcraft of sorts, a staple

for springs, the purity of what sticks,

a garment of delirium, chastity.

This is how it descends, flying ribbons

and fluttering moths, candles reflecting

the little light left to this evening.

The shadows open and close, my heart

flits to a bird, one glint in the eye

of this storm, lingering over the pond.

L E O N A R D C I R I N O

LEONARD CIRINO, the editor of Pygmy ForestPress in Springfield, Ore., has recently publishedChinese Masters (March Street Press) andRussian Matinee (Cedar Hill Publications).

to shine through. We can only hope ifwe can let loss run its course, withoutgiving in to the compulsion to end itsdiscomfort prematurely. There is abeauty in this kind of acceptance, a wis-

dom hidden in theknowledge that evenwhen we suffer, thereis still light. This illu-mination ennobles useven as we labor to

find vindicating words and reasons.There is a transfiguring dimension toour struggles, because our nights arepierced by a divine light. We can learn torecognize hidden springs of water gush-ing from what seems to be only a desert.

Leonard Cohen has spoken of theredemptive potential of the word“Hallelujah,” and how it can be asource of inspiration and illuminationin a spiritual wasteland: “Regardless ofwhat the impossibility of the situationis, there is a moment when you openyour arms and you embrace the thingand you just say ‘Hallelujah! Blessed isthe name.’ And you can’t reconcile itany other way except in that positionof total surrender, total affirmation.”

THOMAS G. CASEY, S.J., is director of theCardinal Bea Center for Judaic Studies inRome and professor of philosophy at theGregorian University. His most recent book isMusic of Pure Love (Templegate, 2006).

It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah.

When we find ourselves in desola-tion, we ask: How can we stay alivewhen we havekissed death? Isfaith still possible?Has love lost itssavor and sweet-ness? David,Samson and all of us are vulnerable,exposed to the chill of a spiritualwasteland. Yet we need not surrenderto despair; instead, we can find ourway forward to a new way of hopingand praising God, though one devoidof sugary sweetness and false romanti-cism. We no longer come before Godwith full arms, but only with emptyhands:

And even though it all went wrongI’ll stand before the Lord of SongWith nothing on my tongue but

Hallelujah.

One reason that “Hallelujah”appeals is that it gives voice—andsong—to the spiritual hunger of mil-lions who find it difficult or impossibleto identify with orthodox expressionsof their longings. This song expressestheir human fragility and their desireto be released from the shallowness ofour age, which offers substandard spir-itual fare. They search; they desire toreconnect with the transcendent, eventhough their search is often handi-capped by an astonishing spiritualinarticulateness. The danger is that alack of spiritual anchors will condemnthem to aimless drifting or submersionin the inescapable sameness of a cul-ture for which all forms of spiritualityare of equal indifference, a culture notrooted in the definite contours offeredby religious faith.

“Hallelujah” does not end with neat-ly packaged answers. Instead it is con-tent to stay with the rawness of an openwound, though allowing a sliver of hope


ON THE WEBJack McLain, S.J., assesses

the zombie craze.americamagazine.org/culture

B O O K S | J . PETER N IXON

HOPE FOR ‘HOMIES’

TATTOOS ON THE HEARTThe Power of BoundlessCompassion

By Gregory BoyleFree Press. 240p $25

“Nothing stops a bullet like a job” isthe motto of Homeboy Industries,the largest gang intervention program

in the United States. Founded in1986 by Gregory Boyle, a Jesuitpriest, Homeboy offers job training,tattoo removal and employment toLos Angeles gang members who areseeking to leave gang life behind.Boyle and his work have been fea-tured in newspapers and magazinesacross the country.

Boyle—a k a Father Greg, G-Dog,or simply G—has written a new bookabout his experiences entitled Tattooson the Heart: The Power of BoundlessCompassion. The book is less aboutBoyle, though, than about his“homies,” the young men and womenwho come to Homeboy in search of abetter life. The result is a set of storiesthat will stir many emotions. Theywill leave you dumbfounded at thepower of love and compassion tobreak down high walls built by angerand pain.

Early in the book, we encounter ayoung gang member named Scrappy.Assigned to do community service inBoyle’s parish by his probation officer,Scrappy spends his hours snarling atthe priest. Five years later, Boyle is

preaching at the funeral of a gangmember and suggests that the best wayto honor his memory is to embracepeace and forgiveness. Scrappy, a closefriend of the deceased, walks to thefront of the church to confront Boyleand then stalks out the side door.Three years after that, Scrappy pulls agun on Boyle when he tries to break upa fight.

When Scrappy walks into Boyle’soffice years later, the reader can be for-given for thinking that this is not goingto end well. Instead, there is laughter,then tears, then a confession: “I’vespent twenty years building a reputa-tion for myself and now I regret that Ieven have one.” Similar words couldhave been placed on the lips of almostall the gang members whose storiesBoyle recounts.

Sometimes, though, even a job can’tstop a bullet. Just a few months afterScrappy started work on Homeboy’sgraffiti removal crew, he was killedwhile rolling a paintbrush over somegraffiti in Boyle Heights.

Too many of Boyle’s stories end thisway. After a while the reader begins topray that these young men and womenwill live to enjoy the fruit of theirchanged lives. Boyle—who has buried168 of his homies—no doubt praysthat prayer as well. It raises the ques-tion asked by many gang memberswho are considering a change in life,“What’s the point of doing good if thiscan happen to you?”

Boyle agrees that it is a good ques-tion, worthy of an answer. He citesJulian of Norwich’s observation thatlife is a struggle to discover that we are“clothed in God’s goodness.” Oncethese young men and women makethat discovery, nothing can be the sameagain. “What is death compared toknowing that?” writes Boyle, “No bul-let can pierce it.”

All too often, though, the greatestrisks these young people face comefrom within, the bad choices madefrom a set of limited options. Boyle

admits that he sometimes strugglesagainst the despair inherent in “watch-ing the kids you love cooperate in theirown demise.” Nevertheless, he hopesthe reader will “stand in awe of whatthe poor have to carry rather thanstand in judgment at how they carryit.”

Despite the fact that HomeboyIndustries has been lauded as a nation-al model in its effectiveness, Boyledoubts that what is ultimately a min-istry can be assessed in those terms.“I’m not opposed to success,” he writes.“I just think we should accept it only ifit is a byproduct of our fidelity. If ourprimary concern is results, we willchoose to work only with those whogive us good ones.”

What is needed, suggests Boyle, isnot another set of well-intentionedinterventions targeted at “them.”Instead, we need a radical commit-ment to re-weave the bonds of com-munion that have been eroded by ourinsistence on drawing lines thatexclude: race, class, neighborhood,gang membership. “The margins don’t

get erased by simply insisting that thepowers-that-be erase them,” he writes.Those powers “will only be moved tokinship when they observe it. Onlywhen we see a community where theoutcast is valued and appreciated.”

Which is why, in the end, Tattoos onthe Heart is a profound work of theol-ogy. More powerfully than any trea-tise, it reveals a God who “dines withtax collectors and sinners,” and leavesthe 99 sheep to find the one who hasstrayed; a God who forms one peoplefrom a group of fractious tribes andone church from a motley collection ofJews and Gentiles.

“When the vastness of God meetsthe restriction of our own humanity,words can’t hold it,” writes Boyle. “Thebest we can do is find the momentsthat rhyme with this expansive heartof God.” At Homeboy Industries, it isclear that such moments are far fromrare.

J. PETER NIXON is a volunteer with KairosPrison Ministry in Northern California and agraduate of the Jesuit School of Theology,Berkeley.


DENISE LARDNER CARMODY

IN FAITHFUL SERVICE

A PRIEST’S LIFEThe Calling, the Cost, the Joy

Compiled and edited by PatriciaMitchellWord Among Us Press. 200p $11.95(paperback)

This is a collection of reflections by 29priests on the origins and meanings oftheir vocations. I use the plural delib-erately because while there is a com-mon theme in these short pieces, eachman came to his vocation and findssustenance in living it in ways that areuniquely his own. The book celebratespriesthood as a gift to the wholechurch. In their introduction, Patricia

Mitchell and Jeff Smith, the presidentof The Word Among Us Inc., tell us“we wanted to compile these storiesand witnesses to honor the manythousands of priests worldwide whoserve us so selflessly.” They have suc-ceeded admirably.

Along with the introduction, thereis a preface by Archbishop Edwin F.O’Brien of Baltimore. The book con-cludes with the “Letter of HisHoliness Pope Benedict XVIProclaiming a Year for Priests.”Included among the reflections aretwo that deserve special mention. Thefirst is an excerpt from a homily givento his priests by Cardinal Joseph

sent to another parish, he realized howmuch those dinners had influencedhim. So, after calling his mother forsome recipes, he began to invite the

local clergy to dinneron a weekly basis. Hecooked; otherscleaned up. Theyspent the eveningtogether, sharing sto-ries that evokedlaughter and some-times chagrin. Soonthey were supportingone another in practi-cal ways: helpingwith penance ser-vices, Forty Hoursdevotion, etc.

As I read theaccount, I realized

again, sadly, how much has changed.Seminaries today draw far fewer men,and they are older and come from dio-ceses across the country and aroundthe world. After ordination few canexpect to live within “dining” distanceof classmates whose friendships willsustain them in their ministries.

As to the potential audience for thisbook, my first thought was of vocation

directors who might give this paper-back to men interested in pursuing apriestly vocation. Then my mind shift-ed to the audience who would benefitfrom reading A Priest’s Life. That audi-ence is wider: all Catholics—and allfair-minded people—who are trou-bled by the seemingly unstoppableflood of stories of abuse and coverup.What a jolt of courage it is for oursouls wearied by sorrow and betrayalto read about the chaplain whose ser-vice in Iraq ended when he suffered abrain injury that contributed to hisdeath, or the missionary who sharesthe poverty of the people he serves, orthe retired priest whose bed is his altarwhere he experiences the joy of “hori-zontal prayer.” For prayer is the com-mon theme that threads through allthe stories.

Prayer—sometimes deep, oftenfleeting, full of pain and grace, butmore and more a constant compan-ion—is what makes and keeps themgood priests. This perhaps is the les-son they have to teach us.

DENISE LARDNER CARMODY is a professorin the religious studies department at SantaClara University, California.

Bernardin the evening before hisinstallation as archbishop of Chicago.It is entitled “My Vision of thePriesthood.” The second is the homilyBishop VictorGaleone of the dio-cese of St. Augustine,Fla., gave to hispriests in 2002 as thepedophilia scandalwas breaking. Its titleis “Celibacy: A Signof Love for Jesus.”Read together thesewritings portray forme the beauty and thetragedy surroundingtoday’s priestly voca-tion.

Edited works areoften uneven. But—whether because the reflections arebrief or, more likely, because of theskill of Patricia Mitchell, who com-piled them—these stories are consis-tently engaging. Some are funny;others poignant. All are worth read-ing. They tell of men working in mis-sionary lands, in inner cities, in pris-ons, at ground zero in New York in2001, doing scholarly research,teaching students in high school andgraduate school, preaching and heal-ing in charismatic ministries andsuburban parishes. They are menlooking back from 15, 30, 50 andmore years after ordination. Somebelong to religious orders; most arediocesan priests.

Several reflections reveal the deepfriendships that these priests sharewith their brother priests. Someentered the seminary before highschool and thus were part of cohortsthat grew up together. In those days oflarge seminary classes, they could besure that a fair number of them wouldcontinue to be nearby after ordination.One man related that his first assign-ment was to a parish where the pastorregularly invited neighboring priestsfor dinner. When the young priest was


EUROPE’S PROMISE Why the European Hope Is theBest Way in an Insecure Age

By Steven Hill University of California Press. 488p$24.95 (paperback)

If we wanted to know what a societyand economy molded by Catholic socialteaching since Rerum Novarum wouldlook like, a sage observer of the churchonce told me, we would not do badly byobserving Western Europe, meaningwhat some now call Old Europe. Thenever-Communist West of the OldWorld underwent a remarkable, iflargely peaceful, social and economicrevolution after World War II.

Britain introduced its NationalHealth Service in 1948. A year laterthe American Medical Associationand the Republicans definitively killedPresident Harry Truman’s nationalhealth insurance plan in aCongressional committee.

In the 1950s West Germany’sChristian Democrats introducedMitbestimmung (codetermination)into labor relations. The practice led tothe inclusion of workers and unions inprivate sector decision-making, fromthe plant floor to the boardroom.Flaws are flagged by observant work-ers in Mercedes and B.M.W. plants.The workers know their voices will beconsidered at the highest level and theproduct will be improved.

In contrast, in the United States,under punishing business campaignsand freewheeling federal encourage-ment, unionization declined from thepostwar era’s peak of 32 percent of theworkforce to a mere 12.5 percent atpresent. The curve parallels the widen-ing gap in income and corporate deci-sion-making between workers andexecutives, a phenomenon to whichsome experts attribute the collapse in

workers receive two months’worth of paid vacation and holi-days every year, and paid sick leave,too, as well as generous retirementbenefits, and if laid off receivehelpful levels of unemploymentcompensation and job retraining.

Hill ably demolishes a series ofcommon myths concerning differencesbetween Europe and the United

States, among themthe notion thatEuropeans are moreheavily taxed thanAmericans and that,all told, Americansare wealthier. You'llhave to read the bookto get the full-blownstory, but here’s a teas-er: U.S. child andelderly poverty rates,20 and 23 percent,respectively, are so farabove WesternEurope’s as to matchthose of Russia and

Mexico. Granted, Europe is not quite par-

adise. Hill acknowledges the conti-nent’s challenges in facing up to racial

and national preju-dices, especiallyregarding much-needed immigra-tion. He also nodsin the direction of

Europe’s below-replacement birth rate.In this case, however, he attempts toargue that Europe’s economy will bekept going by productivity gains. Inother words, fewer people will makemore goods. His reasoning and evi-dence on this score do not satisfy.

Hill also comes across as somethingof a Polyanna in his treatment of theEuropean press. As a journalist whohas worked in Europe, I am painfullyaware of European governmentrestrictions of the press, from theBritish Defense Advisory notice


quality of the U.S. auto industry—notto mention its loss of market share.

Steven Hill, director of the politicalreform program at the New AmericaFoundation, based in Washington,D.C., is not satisfied with even thesedisparities. In this beezily written andw e l l - d o c u m e n t e dbook, he argues notonly that theEuropeans can buildcars that are better,made by workers whohave a better safetynet, and that the vehi-cles can be more prof-itably sold (oftenenough toAmericans), but thatEuropean publictransportation, heat-ing and energy gener-ation systems, fromwindmills to “smart”buildings, are well on the way toreducing the influence of the combus-tion engine and pollution.

Indeed, Hill describes what he callsEuropean socialcapitalism at theoutset of Europe’sPromise, in theseglowing words:

Imagine a place where doctors stilldo house calls, or where everyonehas quality, affordable health careand child care is affordable, profes-sional, and widely available. Orwhere all new parents are paid tostay home and care for their new-borns, and receive a monthlystipend for diapers, food, andother daily needs. Or imagine aplace where a young persondoesn’t have to mortgage his or herfuture by going into debt to pay fora college education. Or where all

CECIL IO MORALES

POWER ACROSS THE POND

ON THE WEBClayton Sinyai reports on the state of

the U.S. labor movement.americamagazine.org/podcast


Villanova’s Center for the Study of Church Management

2010 Parish Case StudyCompetitionVillanova’s Center for the Study of Church Management invites yourparish to submit an entry into its “Parish Case Study Competition”. Thetop three entries will receive $3,000, $2,000, and $1,000 respectively.

TOPIC: Has your parish struggled with a complicated managementissue? Did you use an innovative approach, develop a creativesolution, deliver a new program, or arrive at some key learningsthat could benefit other parishes?

For more information, including the Parish Case Study Entry Form,go to the Center’s website, www.villanova.edu/business/excel-lence/churchmgmt/ or email [email protected].

Deadline for submissions is June 30, 2010

Master of Arts in Religious Education (33 credits)Master’s Certificate in Religious Education (18 credits)

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quashing embarrassing stories to thebullying and bribing of reporters inFrance and Italy. Worse, all Europeannewspapers traditionally hold to aneditorial “line,” a point of view dictatedby the publisher and enforced by mid-level editors—even in material intend-ed as straight news.

Carried away with his amazementat the circulation figures of Europeanprint publications, Hill, a former jour-nalist, does not touch on either ofthese serious problems.

To anyone wondering whether by2099 the current era will be viewed asa second “American century,” Hill’swarnings are worth considering. If thecompetitive advantages he ably enum-rates continue to evolve in Europe’sfavor, the claim to the century may wellcross the Atlantic.

CECILIO MORALES has covered economic pol-icy as a journalist in Washington, D.C., since1984. He is currently executive editor of theEmployment and Training Reporter.

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BooksHELP SEVERELY AUTISTIC adults. Buy a book atdouglasacres.com.

EducationOBLATE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY offers anM.A. degree in spirituality; regular semester andintersession courses. Web: www.ost.edu.

Parish MissionsINSPIRING, DYNAMIC PREACHING: parish missions, retreats, days of recollection; www.sabbathretreats.org.

PositionsASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS, Archdiocese ofCincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. The Catholic SchoolOffice of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati is seekingto fill an Assistant Superintendent position in thecentral office in Cincinnati. Candidate must be apracticing Catholic with minimum of master’sdegree in education, have at least three years ofexperience in educational administration, plusprior service as a principal in an elementary or sec-ondary school in Catholic schools, ability to workin a complex organizational setting and work col-laboratively with a variety of boards and commit-tees. This person will serve as School Consultantto assigned Archdiocese of Cincinnati elementaryschools, as a member of the Principal MeetingPlanning Committee, Leadership Committee andon the New Principals Committee. Will assist inplanning the Principal Overnight and chair thecommittee on planning the Principal AppreciationLuncheon. Represents the Catholic School Officeon the Corryville Catholic School Board ofTrustees and on the St. Nicholas Academy Boardof Trustees. Reviews O.C.S.A.A. Plans, S.P.D.P.,I.P.D.P. and school calendar for each school inwhich he/she consults. The salary is commensu-rate with experience based on the archdiocesanscale. Applications accepted until position is filled.Please send letter of interest, résumé and applica-tion for employment to: Office of HumanResources, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, 100 E. 8thStreet, Cincinnati, OH 45202, or apply by e-mailto [email protected].

DIRECTOR OF FAMILY LIFE, Archdiocese ofCincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. The Archdiocese ofCincinnati is searching for a Director of its FamilyLife Office. The Director is responsible for vision-ary leadership, pastoral planning and programdevelopment in the areas of family life, marriageand respect for life. The position calls for experi-enced and collaborative pastoral leadership in fam-ily ministry and assists parishes and other arch-diocesan offices and institutions in supportingfamilies in all their diversity. The position requiresa master’s in theology, pastoral studies or otherrelated degree; a minimum of three years’ workexperience in diocesan, parish or other religiousorganizational settings, preferably in family min-

istry; and fruitful experience in implementing AFamily Perspective in Church and Society(U.S.C.C.B., 1998). Must be a participating mem-ber of the Catholic community and have ability andexperience in writing, public speaking, organizationand administration. Salary is commensurate witheducation and experience. Qualified candidatesshould send a letter of interest, résumé, salaryrequirements and application (www.catholiccincin-nati.org/files/personnel/pdf/application_for_employment.pdf) to: Bill Hancock, Archdiocese ofCincinnati, Office of Human Resources, 100 EastEighth Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202; or by e-mailto: [email protected]. Résumés willbe accepted until May 31, 2010.

DIRECTOR OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. NuestrosPequeños Hermanos is an international familywith homes caring for over 3,500 orphaned andabandoned children in Latin America and theCaribbean. This position would coordinate thespiritual life (Masses, sacraments, retreats, etc.) inour homes in Central America including:Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua andHonduras. Since a good part of this ministry issacramental, we are particularly interested in apriest or permanent deacon. For more informationabout N.P.H., visit www.nph.org. To apply, pleasecontact the Rev. Phil Cleary at [email protected].

SEMINARY SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR. SacredHeart School of Theology in metropolitanMilwaukee seeks a priest as a full-time associatedirector of human-spiritual formation. SacredHeart is North America’s premier seminary spe-cializing in formation for men of all ages.

Requirements for the position, which becomesavailable in August 2010, are: master’s degree inspirituality, psychology or sacred sciences or equiv-alent; and experience in spiritual direction and for-mation. Responsibilities include one-on-one advis-ing and group sessions with possibilities for teach-ing. This is an ideal opportunity for an experiencedpriest looking for a new challenge.

Send letter and résumé by June 15 to Directorof Human-Spiritual Formation, Sacred HeartSchool of Theology, P.O. Box 429, Hales Corners,WI 53130-0429, or to [email protected].

YOUTH MINISTER. A vibrant, 2,800-familyCatholic parish just outside of Boston seeks aDirector of Youth Ministry and MiddleSchool/Confirmation Religious EducationPrograms, who will help our young people grow infaith and love of God by giving them opportunitiesto encounter God through worship, prayer, com-munity and service. Responsibilities include direct-ing the religious education program for grades 6-8and the confirmation program for grades 9 and 10;overall direction of the high school and middleschool youth ministry; planning and leading anannual summer service trip with high school stu-dents; and various other parish ministries in col-laboration with the pastoral staff. Applicantsshould possess at least a bachelor’s degree inCatholic religious education or a discipline relatedto youth ministry and have some experience in


CL ASS IF IED either or both. Send a letter of application and cur-riculum vitae to Our Lady Help of ChristiansParish, Newton, Mass., by June 13 to [email protected]

RetreatsWISDOM HOUSE, Litchfield, Conn. Retreatsinclude: May 14-16, Women’s AA/AlanonRetreat, Maurice Doody, O.P.; June 11-12,Exploring Catholic Culture—Racism, Tribalismand Xenophobia, Dawn Nothwehr, O.S.F., PhD.Summer retreats include Rabbi Rami Shapiro,Barbara Fiand, S.N.D.deN. Contact (860) 567-3163; e-mail: [email protected]; Website: www.wisdomhouse.org.

Treatment CenterINTENSIVE OUTPATIENT PROGRAM, clergyand religious. Multidisciplinary approach to per-sonal healing, behavior change and weight manage-ment. Local community housing arrangements.Program for Psychology and Religion, St. LouisBehavioral Medicine Institute. Ph: (314) 289-9407. www.slbmi.com.

Web SitesTHE EVOLUTION OF SYMBIOSIS is nature’spattern and God’s plan. Enrich your faith with thesynthesis of science. Free resources at: www.secon-denlightenment.org and www.evolution101.org.

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Compelling and Principled I was gratified to see the editors ofAmerica acknowledge (“HowCompelling?” 4/12) that the U.S.Conference of Catholic Bishopsopposed the final health care reformbill for a range of reasons, includingthe law’s lack of “protection of the con-science of health professionals,” its lackof “coverage of undocumented immi-grants” and its “possible funding forabortions.” I was even more pleased tosee them acknowledge: “All [of theseconcerns] merit further legislative andlegal action as health care reform isimplemented.”

But in the very next paragraph, theeditors claim it was actually the issueof abortion funding at CommunityHealth Centers that represented “[t]hegreat stumbling block to [the bishops’]endorsing the bill.” Though this is cer-tainly a major problem with the law, itwas not the only deal-breaker. TheC.H.C. funding issue first entered thedebate late in the process, by whichtime the bishops had already declaredrepeatedly—by letters of Dec. 14, Dec.22, and Jan. 26—that the Senate billfailed to satisfy the bishops’ moral cri-teria in other ways and should there-fore be opposed.

The editors also claim that the con-cern over abortion funding at C.H.C.’swas based on “[t]enuous legal argu-ments,” “debatable, technical questionsof law” and an inconclusive “tissue ofhypotheticals”—all of which the bish-ops inappropriately elevated to thelevel of principle. But the legal founda-tions are far stronger—and far lesscontested—than the editors suggest.

As the editors note, my office pre-pared a detailed analysis of the finalbill and executive order, explaining theshortcomings of the new law regardingabortion funding—both directlythrough C.H.C.’s and indirectlythrough plans that cover abortion—and regarding conscience protection.That document has now been avail-able to the public for about a month,without a single substantive critique inresponse.

Only one scholar (Prof. TimothyJost) and one government agency(Health and Human Services) werewilling to provide any reasoned basisat all for opposing the numerous anal-yses of the C.H.C. problem thatU.S.C.C.B. offered before the billpassed. Neither Jost nor H.H.S.undermine our analysis. C.H.C. ser-vices that receive federal funding aredefined by a federal statute that usesbroad categories, such as “family plan-ning services.” For over 30 years, courtshave consistently read such broadstatutory categories to include abor-tion, and so to require—not just allow,

but require—federal funding for abor-tion unless Congress passes a statutethat expressly excludes abortion fromfunded services. It is this long line ofcourt cases that created the need forthe annual Hyde Amendment, whichhas since provided that express statu-tory carve-out for certain federalfunds.

But the Hyde Amendment coversonly the one large appropriation thatCongress makes each year to H.H.S.Hyde does not cover separate appro-priations like the health care reformstatute’s multiyear appropriation ofbillions of additional dollars forC.H.C.’s. As a result, courts willrequire those additional funds to bemade available for abortions.

If there were a legally valid way toovercome this statutory problem shortof a statutory solution, we would wel-come it warmly—but as it is, we seenone ourselves and have heard nonefrom others.

The U.S.C.C.B.’s analysis has beencareful and sound throughout, andeven today it stands substantially

uncontested on the merits. In this con-text, it would have been an error ofprinciple to reject that analysis, infavor of last-minute attempts to paperover serious moral problems with thebill. Thankfully, the bishops followedthe principled course.

ANTHONY R. PICARELLO JR.U.S.C.C.B. Office of Media Relations

Washington, D.C.

Thread of CreationRe “Resurrection Redux,” by Kyle T.Kramer (5/10): I am hanging by athread to my Catholic faith. The threadthat I hang by is my love of creation, theresplendence and faithfulness of spring,the many colors of green, the emergentgrowth of the spruce outside my win-dow and the earth ministry connectionto my parish.

I am an organic farmer in my smallacre of suburbia, and your articlereminded me of the similarity of litur-gical and growing seasons, that bothare hopeful symbols of not only God’spresence in creation, but also in histo-ry in Christ—ecological and cosmichistory. For now, my onlyreligious/spiritual practice is my carefor creation (in community) and mywillingness for ongoing conversion.Thank you for the timeliness of yourarticle for me.

JANE GIBLINRochester Hills, Mich.

Contagious SmilesRe “Pilgrim People, Part I” (Editorial,5/10): You write: “The sisters tookme to the back country to meet thevery poor.” I just returned from a visitto my sister, a member of Maryknoll,at their motherhouse in Ossining,N.Y., where I felt the joy of these most-ly elderly but vibrant women whocheerfully and often laughingly telltheir stories of working with the poorall over the world. Their peaceful

smiles after a life of dedicated andoften dangerous work with the poorare contagious.

JOHN HENRY, S.J. Baltimore, Md.

Learning From One AnotherRe “Pilgrim People, Part I” (Editorial,5/10): I made the pilgrimage fromRome to Canterbury 35 years ago.Although I feel the pain of the divi-sion, I had discovered that I was moreAnglican than Roman in my thinkingabout church.

I appreciate the Anglican checks andbalances on the authority of bishops,our married priesthood and women inholy orders as well as our vowed reli-gious. I regret our lack of a more visibleand viable center as in the papacy. Wewould regard the pope as primus interpares but not as solus supreme.

No church is perfect, but I think wehave a lot to learn from one another,especially in light of the sexual abusescandals. Our married and femalepriesthood and the checks on episco-pal power offer effective safeguardsagainst abuse.

(REV.) DON HANDSMilwaukee Wis.

Who or What Is Illegal?Re “Bishops Challenge Arizona Law”(Signs of the Times, 5/10): The rootcause of border violence on our side anduntold murders on the Mexican side isAmericans’ desire for illegal drugs. Ilived for six years on the Tijuana side ofthe border. Those who are coming herewithout documents are hard-working,very good people. Yes, more so on theMexican side of the border than theU.S. side. We suffer the horrible effectsof the American need for illegal drugs.Racial profiling will do nothing to stopthe violence and indeed might provokemore violence. A culture of rehabilitat-

ing American addicts would make a dif-ference.

JOHN CURRAN, O.M.I.Pacoima, Calif.

Quality Control of BishopsMy hat is off to Bishop Blase Cupich“Twelve Things the Bishops HaveLearned From the Clergy SexualAbuse Crisis” (Online 5/10, also inthis issue, p. 8) for his honesty andcourage. But it is crucial to put in placea system that will minimize the proba-bility that the present situation willrepeat itself. Even if all the presentguilty parties could receive the punish-ments they deserve, that will notensure us for the future. The presentsystem of papal appointment of bish-ops, which violates ancient churchteachings, must go. The church mustreturn to the election of bishops by theclergy and people of each diocese—this time for a defined term. Electionsnever prevent all problems, Godknows, but they are the best way wehave to achieve accountability andquality control.

CHARLES MCMAHONLafayette Hill, Pa.

Reverse MissionRe “African Beliefs” (CurrentComment, 5/10): I first became awareof African Catholicism while workingon schistosomiasis in Kenya 40 yearsago. Encountering Catholics in thethird world greatly helped me in turn-ing my own faith around. Even moreexciting has been encountering mem-bers of the Nigerian diaspora sincemoving to Michigan in 2003. At St.Michael’s (now Transfiguration)Parish we had a vibrant subcommuni-ty of Nigerians. And Nigerian andKenyan priests are playing an everincreasing role in our archdiocese.This is truly reverse missionary activi-ty. People from sub-Saharan Africa arestrengthening our Catholic faith herein the United States. I love it.

RON PELLEYAllen Park, Mich.


To send a letter to the editor we recommend using the link that appears below articles on Ameri-ca’s Web site, www.americamagazine.org. This allows us to consider your letter for publication inboth print and online versions of the magazine. Letters may also be sent to America’s editorialoffice (address on page 2) or by e-mail to: [email protected].


THE WORD

ollowing the recent coal minedisaster in West Virginia, manynews stories focused on the dan-

gers of mining and the risks minersface, like being trapped below groundwithout air or exposing themselves tothe possibility of an agonizing deathfrom black lung disease. Those whosuffer from breathing difficultiesrecount how terrifying it is not to beable to catch their breath. And as ourconsciousness rises about air pollu-tion, we become ever more concernedabout the quality of our air, knowingthat we cannot live without being ableto breathe clean air.

Breath is the very symbol of life andhas been since ancient times. Indeed,the first creation account in Genesisdepicts the life force of the Creator asruah, meaning “breath” or “wind,”which swept over the face of the pri-mordial waters. And in the secondaccount of creation, the first humancreature becomes a living being onlywhen the Creator breathes the breathof life into its nostrils (Gn 2:7). AtPentecost, it is this same divine life-force that recreates a frightened groupof disciples into bold proclaimers ofthe Gospel.

The symbols of divine presencedescribed in Acts 2 are familiar from theOld Testament: thundering noise, asGod’s manifestation at Sinai; a whirl-wind, like that from which God spoke

to Job ( Jb 38:1); and flames of fire, suchas Moses saw at Mount Horeb (Ex 3:2).As in previous times of criticalneed, God’s presence is visibleand audible, profoundlytransforming those who expe-rience it.

The disciples, like anyonewho has experienced thedeath of a loved one, wouldhave felt that something oftheir own spirit and zest for lifehad also been snuffed out withJesus’ death. Huddled together,trying to comfort one another, theywere unable to muster any energy forcarrying on his mission. Grief and fearhad deflated any impetus to continuethe movement into which he haddrawn them.

In both Gospel choices for today,we have a glimpse of some concreteways in which the Spirit brings themand us back to life so as to go forthagain in mission. In John 14, Jesus istelling his disciples before his passionthat he will not leave them alone. Hepromises to send the Paraclete to bealways with them. Only the fourthEvangelist uses this term for the Spirit.It comes from the legal world and con-notes one who stands alongside anotheras an advocate, or as comforter. Not onlydoes the Paraclete teach the disciplesand remind them of everything Jesustold them, but this consoling one is asnear as one’s own breath. When Jesusspeaks to those whom he loves of theironeness with him and with the Onewho sent him, he speaks of mutualindwelling.

In John 20, the risen Christbreathes on the disciples and infuses

them with the Spirit. He unleash-es in them the power of the

Spirit, who alone can bringpeace and joy in the wake ofterrifying woundedness. Hedirects them to open them-

selves to the gift of the Spiritthat allows them to receive andgive forgiveness. For it is only

through the power of forgive-ness that the air can be cleared and

all can breathe in the peace for which

we so long and that the Risen Onedesires to give.

Perhaps it is breath that best signalsthis intimacy. God, in the person ofJesus and the power of the Spirit, is asclose to each and every believer as isour very breath, taken deeply into ourlungs thousands of times every day, aconstant vivifying force. Just as breathmust be exhaled and cannot be keptwithin, so too, does the Spirit’s powerdirect us outward to mission, exudingthe love, peace and forgiveness we haveinhaled from the Living One.

BARBARA E. REID

Breath of GodPENTECOST SUNDAY (C), MAY 23, 2010

Readings: Acts 2:1-11; Ps 104:1-34; 1 Cor 12:3b-13; Jn 14:15-16, 23-26 or Jn 20:19-23

“He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (Jn 20:22)

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PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE

• Focus on your breathing, and as youinhale and exhale, remember the gifts ofthe Spirit with which you receive and minis-ter.

• What actions can be taken to ensure theavailability of clean air for all?

• How does the action of the Spirit makepossible forgiveness and understandingamong diverse peoples?

BARBARA E. REID, O.P., a member of theDominican Sisters of Grand Rapids, Mich., isa professor of New Testament studies atCatholic Theological Union in Chicago, Ill.,where she is vice president and academic dean.

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