THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC EEKL APRIL 16-23, 2012 $3 ...111.a)#-'ca)a%a3'*#.+-% Vol. 206 No. 13, Whole No. 4969 April 16-23, 2012 18 ON THE WEB 11 15 CONTENTS ARTICLES 11 WONDERS OF THE

T H E N A T I O N A L C A T H O L I C W E E K L Y A P R I L 1 6 - 2 3 , 2 0 1 2 $ 3 . 5 0

onathan Haidt’s book TheRighteous Mind is addressed to ournational discontent. A study inmoral psychology, it aims to

explain why Americans are so polarizedover politics and religion. Haidt’s expla-nation? “The righteous mind,” whichmeans not only the human capacity tomake moral judgments, but even morethe tendency to be judgmental or“moralistic.” “Righteousness,” he argues,is essential to human society. Our over-stated moral intuitions bind us ingroups and divide us from others.

In the end, Haidt hopes to persuadeconservatives and liberals to understandone another a little better and get along.Wisdom, he writes, “requires us all totake the logs out of our own eyes andthen escape from our ceaseless, pettyand divisive moralism.” Liberals andconservatives are “the yin and yang” of ahealthy society; they should learn fromone another.

Haidt’s insights go a long waytoward elucidating the more vocal andunyielding attitudes we hear in every-day life. They invite us to think aboutmoralistic behavior, a phenomenon wetend to overlook. They especially illu-minate morally flat societies, like theUnited States today. Are we not thecountry where “Jersey Shore” is a popsensation and “Survivor” allows middle-aged adults to play out the nightmare ofLord of the Flies? Ours is not a culturethat values qualitative differences inmoral judgments.

What is missing in The RighteousMind is a sense of moral development,of growth and conversion in moral atti-tudes, of differences in moral percep-tions that are rooted in differences inworth. After all, Mr. Haidt himselfadmits to a transformation from a liber-al to a centrist persuasion in the courseof his research. Mutual understandingand social harmony are more importantto him now than when he was astraightforward liberal, valuing unham-pered individual liberty.

How can we account for this

change? In Haidt-land people can anddo change their moral views under theweight of gossip or the intense pressureof outspoken neighbors. But moral con-victions also change for better reasonsand out of experiences of better andfiner quality. Men and women evolve intheir attitudes to particular wars, likethe Vietnam War, and to war itself. Ittook a lifetime, but Robert McNamaraeventually confessed he had been mis-taken about Vietnam. More to thepoint, during the cold war HenryKissinger and George Schultz werepractitioners of deterrence; now theyargue for abolition of nuclear weapons.

We are not inevitably doomed byuntutored moral intuitions and ourfeelings of righteousness in the waysHaidt suggests. In these cases aboutnuclear abolition, moral conversiontook a rational form. Facts accumulat-ed, contexts changed, principlesevolved. Reasonable people changedtheir minds. Moral conversion alsoresults from profound shifts in con-sciousness. It can arise in a series ofawakenings, as it did for WilliamWilberforce confronting the slave trade,or in the form of an inescapable call, asit did to Martin Luther King Jr. duringthe Montgomery bus boycott. It can beforced on one by an unavoidable deci-sion, as for Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Thinkers from Plato in theSymposium to Erik Erikson in Gandhi’sTruth have traced paths of ascent inmoral awareness and responsibility.Their idealized plot-lines may over-sys-tematize what in life may be more ran-dom personal narratives of growth. Butsuch trajectories reflect the fact that wehumans can and do grow in moralawareness and the exercise of moralresponsibility. If “Survivor” is not toremain the image of American society,the narratives of real-life moral heroes,sages and saints must take their placeagain in popular culture; and theirstrategies of moral growth must be rati-fied by our cultural institutions.

DREW CHRISTIANSEN, S.J.

PUBLISHED BY JESUITS OF THE UNITED STATES

JOF MANY THINGS

Cover: The helix nebula, a gaseousenvelope expelled by a dying star.Photo: NASA, ESA, C.R. O’Dell(Vanderbilt University), M. Meixnerand P. McCullough (STScI)

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www.americamagazine.org Vol. 206 No. 13, Whole No. 4969 April 16-23, 2012

18

O N T H E W E B

11

15

O N T H E W E B

CONTENTS

A R T I C L E S

11 WONDERS OF THE UNIVERSENew scientific discoveries and old truthsAdam D. Hincks

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

4 Current Comment

5 Editorial “Stand Your Ground”

6 Signs of the Times

9 Column Early Spring Maryann Cusimano Love

15 Faith in Focus The WaitingCatherine Kirwan-Avila

21 Poem The Lonely Place Apart Darrin M. McCloskey

26 Letters

29 The Word Demanding but Constant Love; Where You Belong Peter Feldmeier

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

18 FILM “Habemus Papam,” an Italian satire BOOKS The Pope Who Quit; Broken and Shared; Night of the Republic

Mary Valle reviews HBO’s “God Is the Bigger Elvis.” Plus,Cardinal Roger M. Mahony talks about immigration reform

on our podcast. All at americamagazine.org.

O N T H E W E B

4 America April 16-23, 2012

CURRENT COMMENT

A Doctor for DevelopmentAt its meeting on April 21, the board of the World Bank,the world’s largest development agency, will choose its nextpresident. Nigeria’s finance minister has been nominated,as has Dr. Jim Yong Kim, an Asian-American. Somenations would like to see a non-American in the president’sseat for once, because Americans have occupied it since1944, when the bank was established. But Dr. Kim is astellar choice for the job and a credit to our nation.

Though Dr. Kim did not rise from poverty, his personalachievements are impressive. Born in Seoul and raised inIowa by highly educated parents, Jim Yong Kim became aHarvard-educated physician and anthropologist, and chairof the Department of Global Health and Social Medicineat Harvard Medical School. He was a highly effectivedirector of the Department of H.I.V./AIDS at the WorldHealth Organization and has co-founded two globalhealth organizations. Partners in Health works withimpoverished communities in Haiti, Peru and elsewhere;the Global Health Delivery Project improves public healthin disadvantaged populations by maximizing health deliv-ery systems. Dr. Kim, an expert on tuberculosis and aMacArthur Foundation “genius” grant winner, is currentlypresident of Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.

President Obama described the World Bank as “one ofthe most powerful tools we have to reduce poverty andraise standards of living in some of the poorest countrieson the planet.” As one who speaks three languages and hastraveled widely for decades to improve world health, Dr.Kim’s skills are a glove-like fit for a leadership post cus-tomarily held by a business executive.

Latinos on the MoveAs Latinos spread across the country, their influence with-in the U.S. electorate has become more complex and lesspredictable, as these three examples show.

While Latinos live primarily in the Southwest andFlorida, with large populations in New York, New Jerseyand Illinois, nearly half still live in just two states:California and Texas. But these geographic patterns arechanging. Whereas in 2000, two-thirds of Latinos lived inthe 50 counties with the largest Latino populations, 10years later that percentage had shrunk to 59 percent. Andin the interim, the Latino population of nearly every coun-ty in America grew; some doubled. These data, based onan analysis of the U.S. Census by the Pew HispanicCenter, contain other surprises.

Who would have thought that three of the 10 counties

with the fastest Latino growth rate would be in Georgia? Orthat Texas would contain all 10 counties with the highestproportion of Latinos? In eight of those counties, the Latinopopulation exceeds 90 percent of the total. In a representativedemocracy, that ought to translate into political clout, whichhas occurred to some extent. When Latino populationgrowth enabled Texas to add four new House seats, the par-tisan redistricting battles went to the U.S. Supreme Court.After the ruling, only two of the four new districts reflectedthe Latino growth spurt. Still, Latinos gained influence.

Latino immigration is a third complicating factor. Whileimmigrants themselves cannot vote, citizens tend to castballots based on their experience and perception of immi-grants. Surprisingly, the percentage of Latinos who are for-eign-born is greatest in Maryland, the District of Columbiaand Alabama. After the November election, it may becomeclearer how native-born Latino and non-Hispanic voterstook immigrants into consideration at the polls.

Round and Round We GoHere is a disturbing fact: close to a third of automobiletraffic in some urban areas can be attributed to driverslooking for parking spaces. In other words, a notable num-ber of city drivers are not traveling anywhere. They havealready arrived and simply cannot find an appropriate placeto stop.

Try not to dwell on the absurdity of this daily waltz.The practical problems are cause for worry enough.Higher pollution levels, excessive noise, congestedstreets—the headaches caused by roaming drivers arelegion. And think of the personal costs. Spending yourevening behind the wheel circling for parking is a waste oftime and money no matter what may be on NPR.

What is city government to do? Restricting parking tolocal residents is one option. Another: raise parking meterrates to free up valuable street spaces. Yet these are onlyminor fixes. Cities like San Francisco and New York werenot built for heavy car traffic, but they are now home toresidents who have grown reliant on personal transporta-tion. The U.S. car culture, nurtured on Eisenhower’s high-way system, has infected our cities. The proper solution isto reduce the number of cars through expanded mass tran-sit and the promotion of bicycle use. Congestion pricing, asuccess in London but twice rejected in New York, alsomerits further consideration.

Frustrated motorists sometimes like to pray for a park-ing space. They might also offer up a prayer for city plan-ners. Without their help, we may never escape the urbanmerry-go-round.

n Sanford, Fla., an African-American teenager in ahoodie and a self-appointed neighborhood guardianwith a gun clashed on a dark night in late February.

Trayvon Martin, 17, lay dead. George Zimmerman, 28, aformer altar boy of white and Hispanic origin and a crimi-nal justice major at Seminole State College, had pulled thetrigger. Mr. Zimmerman had followed Mr. Martin, againstthe advice of a 911 operator. Over the last 14 months he hadcalled police 46 times to report problems and suspicions inhis gated community. Mr. Zimmerman has twice beenaccused of violence or criminal misconduct; but he has aconcealed weapons permit and remains at large becauseFlorida, like 23 other states, maintains a “stand yourground” statute that allows individuals to use deadly force ifthey have a “reasonable fear” of harm.

Mr. Martin, 6 feet 4 inches tall but weighing only 140pounds, earned extra money washing cars. He babysat forhis younger cousins. His offense that night was to be a blackyouth delivering a bag of Skittles to his soon-to-be step-brother. The Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinsondescribed the tragedy best: Mr. Martin may have been killedbecause of “the bull’s eye that black men wear throughouttheir lives” and for failing to obey “the vital imperative tonever, ever be caught on the wrong street at the wrong time.”

Mr. Martin’s death has sounded a national wake-upcall regarding the still imperfect status of race relations inthe United States, but it also calls for an examination of adecades-long retreat from rational gun control. A brief peri-od of legislative progress for gun control in the 1980s fol-lowing the shooting of President Ronald Reagan was metby a counteroffensive from U.S. gun lobbies, principally theNational Rifle Association, that continues to this day.Legislators and citizens who should have known better wea-ried of the struggle to better regulate America’s “militias,”thinking perhaps that gun-rights advocates would eventual-ly be satisfied with various incremental victories against guncontrols. But instead, each extension of gun-use rights hasonly provoked hunger for more.

What has been the effect of this unilateral cease-fire?Pro-gun rationalizations that used to be dismissed as paro-dy have moved into the mainstream. Events at ColumbineHigh School and Virginia Tech, the shootings in Tucsonthat left Gabrielle Gifford gravely wounded and other dead-ly incidents should have driven the nation toward morerational gun restrictions, but America has gone the other

way and seems closer to a gun-happydystopia than ever before.

Thirty-six states have relaxedrestrictions for concealed weapons per-mits under so-called “shall issue” proce-dures. Four states require no registra-tion of handguns at all. Other states have severely curtailedcommon sense restrictions on where handguns may be car-ried. Now Second Amendment enthusiasts carry guns intoshopping malls, bars, college campuses, restaurants, evenchurches. On March 21 Indiana’s Governor Mitch Danielssigned legislation that allows citizens to use deadly forceagainst the police if they perceive police actions to be unlaw-ful. This has created an entirely new arena for unintended,mortal collisions between police and the public.

In 2005 Florida became the first state to expandbroadly the right to use deadly force for self-defense, oblit-erating the “duty to retreat” from threats in public places. Inthis new situation, once self-defense has been invoked, theburden is on the prosecution to disprove the claim. “Stand”laws have led to the multiplication of cases in which gangleaders, drug dealers and bar-room pugilists have killedthose who have provoked them and gone free. Justifiable-homicide claims in Florida have more than tripled since thelaw was passed.

The incident in Sanford raises questions about race,ethnicity, neighborhood tensions and violence in U.S. cul-ture. A common factor in these issues is the failure of politi-cians to stand up to the N.R.A. and insist that the safety ofthe nation’s young people, for example, has a higher prioritythan a gun-toter’s absolutized version of SecondAmendment freedom. Trayvon Martin paid the ultimateprice for the public’s declining interest in responsible limita-tions on gun ownership.

Even if Mr. Zimmerman is prosecuted, gun worshipwill remain. The Martin tragedy has not discouraged theN.R.A.’s current press for a national right-to-carry reciproc-ity bill that would nationalize concealed-carry permits.Only a national law that restricts who can own a gun orcarry a concealed weapon and limits where guns may bekept can confront this crisis. Rational gun control mightsave the lives of future Trayvon Martins of every race andage entitled to walk city streets; but it will require coura-geous civic leaders who really value human life and willstand their ground against the N.R.A.

‘Stand Your Ground’

I

April 16-23, 2012 America 5

EDITORIAL


ope Benedict XVI’s brief visit to Latin America included a stop-offin Mexico and ended a few days later in Cuba after a private meet-ing on March 26 with the aging former President Fidel Castro.

The pope expressed his concerns about the ongoing violence of the drugwar in Mexico and commented on the “schizophrenia” of Latin AmericanCatholics who claim, for instance, to keep the faith but do not seem great-ly concerned with the rising inequity in the region between its richest andpoorest. “These individuals,” he said, “are Catholic believers, but in theirpublic lives they follow other paths that do not correspond to the greatvalues of the Gospel.”

As he returned to Rome on March 27, the pope also had some partingshots on the Havana tarmac for both Cuban socialism and the U.S. eco-nomic embargo of its one-time surrogate. “May no one feel excluded fromtaking up this exciting task” of spiritually and physically rebuilding Cuba,

the terms of a Department of Healthand Human Services contract with theU.S. bishops’ Office of Migration andRefugee Services, as the AmericanCivil Liberties Union ofMassachusetts charged, indeed consti-tuted a violation of the FirstAmendment’s establishment clause.Stevens decided a religious accommo-dation accepted by H.H.S. and writ-ten into the contract with M.R.S.allowed the bishops’ agency to imposea religiously based restriction on thedisbursement of taxpayer-funded ser-vices. That accommodation permittedM.R.S. to prohibit its social servicesubcontractors from providing abor-

eeply mired in a controversyover a new mandate for theprovision of contraception

services, the U.S. Conference ofCatholic Bishops and the U.S.Department of Health and HumanServices nevertheless remain partnersin social services involving millions ofdollars in federal funding and over thepast year or so on one court docket inMassachusetts. On March 23 a U.S.District Court decision there addedanother layer of complexity to theongoing dispute over religious libertybetween the Obama administrationand U.S. bishops.

Judge Richard Stearns ruled that

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

R E L I G I O U S L I B E R T Y

Federal Court Rules AgainstContract Exception for Conference

tion or contraception counseling orservices to trafficking victims.

Calling the ruling “a disappoint-ment,” Mary Ann Walsh, R.S.M.,director of media relations for thebishops’ conference, said, “The deci-sion seems to ignore the right of freeexpression of one’s religious beliefs.”She added, “It’s very likely that wewould appeal.” She said the confer-ence’s general counsel was reviewingthe decision.

The Massachusetts A.C.L.U. hadsued H.H.S. to contest the five-yearcontract for services for human traf-ficking victims awarded to M.R.S.The office had been hired as a nation-al general contractor for social servicesfor women escaping human traffick-ing. The office was not selected for arenewal of that service last year,launching one of the U.S.C.C.B.’s

he said, “because of limitations of hisor her basic freedoms, or excused byindolence or lack of material resources,a situation which is worsened whenrestrictive economic measures,

imposed from outside the country,unfairly burden its people.”

The Cuba that Pope Benedict XVIvisited is a country where the Catholic

D

P

Church enjoys significantly more free-dom and official recognition than itdid when Blessed John Paul II madethe first papal visit to the island in

C U B A / M E X I C O

Pope Benedict XVI, Our Man in Havana

Watching Pope Benedict XVI'scaravan make its way to the air-port in Havana on March 28


beliefs. No one is arguing that theU.S.C.C.B. can be mandated by gov-ernment to provide abortion or con-traceptive services or be discriminatedagainst for its refusal to do so. Rather,this case is about the limits of the gov-ernment’s ability to delegate to a reli-gious institution the right to use tax-payer money to impose its beliefs onothers (who may or may not sharethem).”

Catholics. Soon after the pope’s depar-ture, Good Friday was declared anational holiday.

But plenty of reminders of old-school Cuba remained. Prior to hisarrival, security teams swept up manydissidents who threatened to provokea scene during the pope’s visit. Mostwere released soon after the pope left.

Pope Benedict, in public statementsjust before he arrived in Cuba and dur-ing his visit, affirmed the value of indi-vidual freedom. “The church is alwayson the side of freedom: freedom ofconscience, freedom of religion,” hetold reporters on March 23. “God notonly respects human freedom: Healmost seems to require it,” the popesaid in his homily during a Mass inSantiago de Cuba on March 26. Butaddressing those frustrated by the paceof change in Cuba after half a centuryof Communism, the pope said that the“path of collaboration and constructive

ongoing conflicts over religious libertywith the Obama administration.

According to court documents,M.R.S. entered into subcontracts withover 100 service providers nationally;each contract included the restrictionon abortion or birth control counsel-ing. The Massachusetts A.C.L.U.argued that the government “wouldappear to have endorsed a Catholicbelief ” and impermissibly delegateddiscretion to the U.S. bishops.

Judge Richard G. Stearns agreed.He wrote, “Here…the restriction onthe use of [federal] funds for abortionservices and contraceptive materials isnot a subject of truly voluntary parti-cipation; subcontracting organizationsand trafficking victims cannot ‘opt out’of the restriction without shoulderingthe financial burden of doing so.

“The government defendants’ dele-

gation of authority to the U.S.C.C.B. toexclude certain services from govern-ment funding ‘provides a significantsymbolic benefit to religion,’ in violationof the Establishment Clause,” he added.

“To insist that the governmentrespect the separation of church andstate is not to discriminate against reli-gion; indeed, it promotes a respect forreligion by refusing to single out anycreed for official favor at the expense ofall others,” thejudge said.

Stevens addeda final observa-tion: “This caseis not about gov-ernment forcinga religious insti-tution to act con-trary to its mostf u n d a m e n t a l

dialogue” between church and regimethere is long and “demands patience.”

Before he departed, Pope Benedict,in a veiled reference to the U.S. embar-go of Cuba, urged an end to geopoliti-cal obstinacy and encouraged dialogue.“The present hour urgently demandsthat in personal, national and interna-tional co-existence we reject immov-able positions and unilateral view-points that tend to make understand-ing more difficult and efforts at coop-eration ineffective,” the pope said.

Regarding his 30-minute privatesession with Fidel Castro, there wereno bedside conversions to report; butaccording to the Vatican spokespersonFederico Lombardi, S.J., Castro’s manyquestions for the pope were an indica-tion that “now his life is one dedicatedto reflection and writing.” Lombardiadded, “In the end, CommandanteFidel asked the pope to send him a fewbooks” dealing with his questions.

1998. Cuba’s Communist regime hasmade Christmas a national holiday,and it now allows party members toidentify themselves as practicing

HUMAN TRAFFICKING


From CNS and other sources.

Appeal for AfricaCaritas Internationalis is launching anappeal for a preventive strike onhunger in West Africa’s Sahel region.A poor harvest in 2011 and risingglobal commodity prices threaten asmany as 12 million people with mal-nutrition. Nearly two million peopleface hunger in Burkina Faso alone,where the price of corn has increasedby a third compared with 2010 andthe production of grain has fallen by16 percent. Caritas is launching anappeal for $2.3 million to provide foodand other aid for over 45,000 people inBurkina Faso. Caritas is also workingacross the Sahel region. “We must actnow to avoid tragedy in the months tocome,” said the Rev. IsidoreOuedraogo, executive secretary ofCaritas Burkina Faso. “Today, we arewitnessing thousands of people whoeat only one meal a day. By interveningnow, Caritas will help them survive thelean season, when the lack of food ismost acute.”

Amicus on ImmigrationThe U.S. Conference of CatholicBishops and several other Christiandenominations on March 26 filed anamicus curiae brief with the U.S.Supreme Court in the case of Arizonav. United States, supporting the princi-ple that the federal government con-trols the enactment and implementa-tion of the nation’s immigration laws.Citing numerous examples of federalimmigration policies designed to fur-ther family unity and human dignity,the brief argued that Arizona’s immi-gration law is not a solution to theproblems in federal law and in fact cre-ates more problems than it solves.“The Catholic Church’s religious faith,like that of many religious denomina-tions, requires it to offer charity—

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

Christian human rights lawyer GaoZhisheng, imprisoned in China’sXinjiang Province, was allowed a visitfrom his brother and father-in-law onMarch 24, the first time he has beenseen since April 2010. • On March29 the Dalai Lama was named thewinner of the 2012 Templeton Prize,to be presented in London on May14, because of his “incomparableglobal voice for universal ethics.” • U.S. bishops announced on March26 Vatican approval for the publication of a new Rite for the Blessingof a Child in the Womb. • More than 40,000 people from 41 coun-tries and 47 U.S. states gathered in Anaheim, Calif., for the annualLos Angeles Religious Education Congress on March 23-25. • Bishop Fabio Colindres of El Salvador persuaded leaders of MaraSalvatrucha and Barrio 18, El Salvador’s most notorious gangs, to enda wave of killings across the country after negotiating better prisonconditions for 30 gang leaders. • On March 29 Nigerian Army troopsstormed a neighborhood of Kaduna, Nigeria, and arrested 33 mem-bers of Boko Haram, an Islamist terrorist group suspected in a seriesof attacks against Christian churches.

N E W S B R I E F S

L.A. Religious Education Congress

ranging from soup kitchens to home-less shelters—to all in need, whetherthey are present in this country legallyor not. Yet SB 1070 and related stateimmigration laws have provisions thatcould…criminalize this charity…[or]exclude from that charity all thosewhose presence Arizona and otherstates would criminalize,” the briefargued.

Mixed MessagesTo ImmigrantsIn a presentation on March 24 at theLos Angeles Religious EducationCongress, in Anaheim, Calif., CardinalRoger M. Mahony pointed toMatthew 25 to find this sacred man-date—“For I was a stranger and youwelcomed me.” Cardinal Mahony dis-

cussed the major historical waves ofimmigration into the United Statesand spoke about the different backlashmovements against immigrants. “Theso-called ‘flood of immigrants’ hasalways alarmed some native-bornAmericans,” he said. “Some feared jobcompetition from foreigners. Othersdisliked the religion or politics of thenewcomers. Has anyone heard thatrecently? We’re still hearing the samething today.” Cardinal Mahony saidthe United States as a nation has beensending “two clear messages at thesame time: ‘no trespassing’ and ‘helpwanted’; ‘no, we don’t want you here’and ‘yes, we need you.’ So that’s createda big, big problem now and especiallyfor the future.”

From CNS and other sources.

human condition. People so shockedand saddened by death may beimpaired in their crisis efforts to fur-ther safeguard life. Now, a year later,the plan is for the Fukushima nuclearpower plant to be covered with a con-crete sarcophagus to contain the radia-tion.

Tomioka, the Japanese town nearthose nuclear reactors, was known forits cherry blossom displays. The trees

are now in bloom, butno one can enjoy them;the radiation levels aretoo high for the inhabi-tants to return. Over320,000 people dis-placed by the quake andtsunami are still livingin temporary shelters.

I cannot imaginehow my husband’sJapanese colleaguesgrieve for so many loved

ones dead, so suddenly and unexpect-edly. Here we struggle as we miss justone. But I suspect we all know therhythm of it, first the pain of crucifix-ion, the sharp thump of the nail, beforethe light and peace of resurrection.

There is an Easter story after suchsuffering, though. My CatholicUniversity students often wonder ifreconciliation after war is ever reallypossible. Look at Fukushima, I tellthem. In 1945 the United States killedJapanese civilians with atomicweapons. A year ago Americansrushed to help save Japanese civiliansfrom a nuclear accident.

“This was so nice of the Japanese togive us such beautiful cherry trees,” our5-year-old remarked, glittering withpetals. “Is this what heaven looks like?”He may be on to something.

ith wide eyes turnedupward, holding ourhands, the kids were mes-

merized. “Can we touch them? Can wesmell them? They look like clouds!”My father and I took turns hoistingthe children up to be haloed in cherryblossoms. Spring came suddenly lastweek, unexpectedly in full petal all atonce, spiking the temperatures somuch that early crocuses and forsythiaare uncharacteristically blooming sideby side with late tulips andWashington’s famous cherry trees.The fairyland vistas are exquisite,except for the timing.

City planners had worked hard toprepare for the 100th anniversary ofthe day in 1912 when Mrs. WilliamHoward Taft, the nation’s first lady,and the wife of the Japanese ambas-sador planted two trees at a ceremonycelebrating the gift by the Japanese cityof Tokyo of 3,000 cherry trees toWashington, D.C. The anniversarycelebration was not scheduled to beginfor another week. Spring came anyway.

My father-in-law died suddenly lastweek. He was an active, vigorous man,exquisitely carving inlaid wood in hisworkshop till the end, but death cameanyway, ready or not. Each time I passthe front hall table he made for us, Ifinger the edges of the inlaid leaf, adoubting Thomas with my finger inthe holes, processing. One minute thechildren say, “Granddaddy is in heav-en.” The next, our three-year-old askswhen will we next visit Granddaddy athis home. My parents came for thefuneral. Afterward we enjoyed a wel-

come respite among the trees aroundthe newest D.C. monument, theMartin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.Visitors walk through a rectangle ofgranite (the mountain of despair)before coming upon Dr. King’s figure(the stone of hope). Perhaps it is mypresent mind-set or the timing of theliturgical year, but this felt like walkingthrough a stone sarcophagus intoblinding light, freedom and blossoms,resurrection.

The cherry blossomsalso mark another anniver-sary. A year ago Japan’searthquake unleashed a 65-foot wall of water thatkilled nearly 20,000 peoplesuddenly and unexpectedly.The U.S. government,including military forcesstationed in Japan, offeredemergency humanitarianassistance, only to be caughtoff guard by a quickly deterioratingnuclear crisis at the Fukushima nucle-ar power plant. My husband, Dr.Richard Love, a U.S. government rep-resentative who works with theJapanese, was assigned to help coordi-nate the disaster response. We saw lit-tle of him for months.

How do you suddenly provide dis-aster assistance in the middle of anuclear crisis, with no money in themidst of a budget crisis? Informationand communications were challenged,both within the U.S. government andwith the Japanese. The governmentdoes not have a playbook for providingassistance within a contaminated zone.My husband is helping to write one,proposing an all-hazard approach toguide future U.S. policy. Yet betterplanning may not help overcome the

Early SpringW

We know therhythm of it:the pain ofcrucifixion,

the light andpeace of

resurrection.


MARYANN CUSIMANO LOVE is professor ofinternational relations at The CatholicUniversity of America in Washington, D.C.

MARYANN CUSIMANO LOVE


Wonders of the UniverseNEW SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES AND OLD TRUTHS

BY ADAM D. HINCKS

any Christians who learn about modern cosmology from popularsources wonder how new discoveries about the universe mesh withtheir faith. A host of questions may arise: What is the nature of theuniverse as a whole, and how did it come to be as it is now? Did it havea beginning in time, or has it undergone cycles of birth and destruc-

tion? Is the cosmos infinite in its extent? Are the laws of nature the same everywhere?Cosmology is a branch of astronomy that seeks to answer questions like these. It is thescience of the universe on the largest scales of space and time. These days, it is progress-ing by leaps and bounds.

MThe Milky Way

ADAM D. HINCKS, S.J., is studying philosophy at Regis College, University of Toronto. Before entering theSociety of Jesus, he earned a doctorate in physics at Princeton University, specializing in observational cos-mology.P

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In my experience, most popular curiosity about cosmolo-gy boils down to two issues: beginning and bigness. Doescurrent science support the Christian doctrine that in thebeginning God created the universe from nothing? Andnow that we know that the universe is so much bigger thanthe biblical authors believed, does that change how weought to conceive of its creator and God’s relationship withus?

These questions, though profound, are not new. Moderncosmology might keep these questions relevant and givethem freshness, but itdoes not significantlyalter the theological ter-rain. It is not my inten-tion, however, to deflateinterest in integratingscientific discovery withreligious faith. Oncethese questions are putin proper perspective, the real value of today’s cosmology forChristian faith can shine through.

A Tour of the UniverseWe live in an exciting era for cosmology. Although inge-nious and profound cosmological theories have been pro-posed throughout history and across cultures, only relative-ly recently have astronomers been able to start figuring outwhich theories are actually right—and to discover that thereare new puzzles to be solved.

The medium of astronomy is light. The spectacularadvances in cosmology over the past century are thanks inlarge part to the increasing size of telescopes and theincreasingly sensitive cameras that can capture more andmore of the precious light coming from the heavens.

With the help of such improvements, scientists estab-lished for sure, less than 100 years ago, that our own MilkyWay, itself made up of a few hundred million stars, is butone galaxy among a multitude. Today we know that we arepart of a “local group” of about 50 galaxies in a volumeroughly 10 million light years across. (A light-year is the dis-tance light travels in one year—about six trillion miles. Toget a sense of scale, the sun is about eight light-minutesfrom the earth, the next nearest star is four light-years away,and the Milky Way is about a hundred thousand light-yearsin diameter.) Our local group is not alone. Everywhere welook, we see other groups of galaxies, some large, somesmall, numbering in the billions. The universe is truly gigan-tic.

Since light travels at a finite speed, looking farther in dis-tance means peering further back in time. This has allowedus not only to study the universe as it looks today, but tounderstand its history. For about 50 years now, it has been

clear that the universe is expanding. The universe began asa tiny seed 14 billion years ago and has been growing eversince. With powerful telescopes, we can detect the faintglow of microwave light that the infant universe emitted justafter its birth, when it was a thousand times smaller thantoday and before stars and galaxies had even been formed.

What is expanding is space itself. Imagine galaxies asdots painted on a giant rubber sheet. It is not that the dotsthemselves are moving, but that the rubber sheet—space—is being stretched, pulling them along with it. The universe

is not expanding intoanything: the very spacein which stars, galaxies,planets and everythingelse exist is stretching,causing the distancesbetween all its contentsto grow.

The fact that we havebeen able to determine this much is what makes cosmologytoday exciting. What makes things equally exciting is thatthere are new questions to be answered. Although it is clearthat the universe as we know it began in some kind of BigBang, the physics of the very few instants is not understood.It is not known what might have triggered the universe’sexpansion, nor what things were like before that time.

There is also this puzzle: the ordinary matter that formsplanets, stars and galaxies—hydrogen, helium and the otheratomic elements we learn about in chemistry class—cannotaccount for all the gravitational strength we observe in theheavens. The rotation and interaction of galaxies, as well asthe rate of expansion of the universe, all indicate that there isa large quantity of dark matter contributing to gravity’s pull.We have very little idea what this dark matter is made of.Even more surprising was the discovery in the late 1990s thatthe universe is not only expanding; it is expanding more andmore rapidly. Since gravity would tend to slow the expansion,there must be some mysterious force pushing everythingapart. We call it dark energy. When everything is added up,the universe is made up of about 72 percent dark energy, 23percent dark matter and just 5 percent atoms, or “regular”matter. Although we can describe its evolution, we still do notknow what 95 percent of the universe is actually made of.

New Science, Old QuestionsThis brief summary does not do justice to the scope andrichness of modern cosmology and astrophysics, but itshould lead to an understanding of how to approach thereligious questions that arise about the universe’s origin andsize.

Through much of Western history, it was thought thatthe motions of the heavens were regular and unchanging.

New cosmological discoveriesremind us of the wonder we

ought to have before creation.


pared to the rest of creation that it should be treated like amathematical point. One medieval author whimsicallyreported that if one traveled vertically at a rate of 40 milesper day, it would take more than 8,000 years to reach the fir-mament of stars—a distance of more than 100 millionmiles!

To the human imagination, big is big. Whether the dis-tance to the nearest stars is 100 million miles or, as we knownow, 25 trillion miles, the size is beyond the range of humanimagination. This explains why people throughout historyhave reacted in a similar way before the scale of the cosmos.The author of Psalm 8, writing thousands of years ago, didnot need to have exact numerical measurements to exclaimin wonder to the Lord:

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them,human beings that you care for them?

The rest of the psalm implicitly answers the perennialquestion it asks. Physical bigness makes no difference toGod. Perhaps it is the opposite. After all, David defeatedGoliath, and Jesus decided to dine with Zacchaeus. Thehumility with which God took flesh, who “made himselfnothing...being made in human likeness” (Phil 2:7), strikes

The Christian notion that the cosmos had a beginning intime had to be accepted as an article of faith. With theadvent of the Big Bang theory, it might seem that sciencecorroborates revelation, but it is not that simple. The firstinstants of the Big Bang are not understood. Perhaps it real-ly was the temporal beginning of the universe, but it is alsopossible that the universe existed in some prior state beforethe Big Bang. Some leading theorists have even developedcyclical models involving higher dimensions, where the BigBang repeats itself over and over again.

Today’s science does not say whether the universe wascreated from nothing. It is arguably not even a question forphysical science. St. Thomas Aquinas taught that the tem-poral beginning of creation is known only by faith, and cau-tioned anyone trying to prove it using either philosophy orscience. His reason is especially pertinent today: “lest any-one, presuming to demonstrate what is of faith, shouldbring forward reasons that are not cogent, so as to give occa-sion to unbelievers to laugh, thinking that on such groundswe believe things that are of faith.”

There is similar continuity regarding the universe’s big-ness. Although modern cosmology allows us to speak inmore quantitative terms about the size of the cosmos, peo-ple have always known that it is big. Even in the MiddleAges, when people believed that the earth was the center ofthe universe, it was taught that the earth is so small com-


home when we consider how small that really was. It oblit-erates any notion that God’s love depends on size.

Contemplatives Beneath the HeavensIf modern cosmology does not provide new theologicalinsight into questions of origins or bigness, one can discov-er anew the lessons of old.

New cosmological discoveries remind us of the wonderwe ought to have before creation. Unlike our ancestors, whosaw the stars above them every night,many city-dwellers, surrounded by artifi-cial lights 24 hours a day, have been cut offfrom the heavens. Half the world’s popu-lation is now urbanized, and the fractionis growing. Ironically, despite our greatscientific knowledge, we may be regressing in our aestheticexperience of the night sky, for we rarely see it. A connectionwith the heavens was important to the psalmist and to otherbiblical authors. We could also look to St. Ignatius Loyola,who during one period derived his greatest spiritual conso-lation from contemplating the stars.

We can today reclaim an aesthetic appreciation for thecosmos, but we have to be more intentional than our fore-bears, who needed only to wander outside after dark. Thebeautiful images and fascinating discoveries that come frommodern observatories are an excellent aid. As Christians, we

ought to welcome astronomical research. Not only will itdispel the tiresome but tenacious myth that Christianity ishostile to science; more important, it will help us be bettercontemplatives.

This attitude can also put theological questions like thatabout the temporal beginning of the universe in proper per-spective. Instead of being disappointed that physical scienceis incapable of clarifying religious or metaphysical questions,we ought to be grateful for the authentic complementarity

between religion and science. Physical cos-mology cannot tell us whether or not theuniverse was created ex nihilo, but it doessomething better. It tells us things thatdivine revelation never has: how long agothe Big Bang occurred; how the first stars

came to coalesce out of the expanding, primordial gas; howgalaxies have grown, interacted and merged. It is also reveal-ing wonders that we never expected, like the fact that ordi-nary matter makes up only a small fraction of the material inthe universe, or that there is an energy field stronger thangravity accelerating the expansion of space.

“The heavens declare the glory of God,” Psalm 19 begins.As science continues to uncover the beauties of the heavens,we hear that voice more clearly. We understand more of thework that the Divine Artist has wrought and continues toaccomplish. And in doing so, we give God greater glory.


A

ON THE WEBThe editors blog at “In All Things.”

americamagazine.org/things

The Society of Jesusin the United States

Responding to theCall of Christ.

Everyone has a great calling.Let us help you discern yours.

www.Jesuit.org

o you’re probably going tobecome a nun, right?” my bestcollege girlfriend said casually

as we chatted about my post-grad-school plans.

“I don’t know for sure,” I replied,“but it’s a distinct possibility.” Thequestion surprised me bothbecause it was so nonchalantand because it had comefrom a woman with a fairlycomprehensive view of who Iam. She has seen the good,the bad and the un-nunly. Yetthere was no trace of “Are yousure?” in her voice. Were we reallypast the point of endless questioning?Was my future as a woman religiousmore or less settled?

Not quite. A nun friend observedthat I would drive myself crazy until Imade some decisions. God’s timetableis a little different from mine.

Last spring I knew it was time togive serious consideration to the nig-gling feeling in my gut. I was in a rela-tionship with someone who had beena dear friend for several years and was,by all standards, a fantastic boyfriend.Ending that relationship was painful,and on several occasions I foundmyself shaking my fist in God’s gener-al direction. Life suddenly seemed lesspredictable and a whole lot scarier.“Please help” and “this better be good,”were sometimes the only prayers Icould muster.

In spite of this, I felt a sense of pur-

The Waiting

‘SA student discerns a call to religious life.BY CATHERINE KIRWAN-AVILA

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pose for discovering what was in store.Unexpected angels provided tips. Afriend from my parish offered to con-nect me with a young woman who had

adjustment and a loss for them toimagine a future without grandchil-dren. More than that, they are dis-turbed by attitudes and actions in thechurch that contradict the spirit ofhumility and transparency the Gospel

teaches. They balance supportand skepticism, but offer love

and respect.

Two Years in BoliviaExperience also leads me tobelieve an answer will come.

I spent two challenging andinvigorating years after college

in Bolivia with Jesuit VolunteersInternational that grew my faith andinformed my sense of global commu-nity. Right through the orientationprocess, however, I was consumedwith uncertainty as to whether I wastruly called to Bolivia.

On a silent retreat, a part of our ori-entation, I was anxious and uncom-fortable, not knowing how I wouldstay quiet in the company of the 20amazing people I had just met anddreading the prospect of spending thetime alone. What if I discovered some-thing I didn’t want to know? I stockedup on spiritual books from the library,but as I flipped through them I real-ized that I wasn’t sure what I was look-ing for. I met with one of the spiritualdirectors, a quiet, funny nun and excel-lent listener. She gently asked if per-haps I was trying too hard and sug-gested that I try “wasting time withGod.” “Go for a walk, take a nap, pray,just invite God into it.”

Her advice changed the wholeexperience. It was permission to allow

FAITH IN FOCUS

CATHERINE KIRWAN-AVILA is a graduatestudent at the School of Social Work at BostonCollege and a resident of Roxbury, Mass.

recently entered religious life. Anothertold me about a group of Ignatian sis-ters in Georgia she thought I mightlike to meet. Old friends respondedwith support and encouragement.You will know, say most of the wise

women I talk with as I ponder a reli-gious vocation. There will come a pointwhen you have an answer. I’m holdingout for that.

The groundwork for my vocationalquestions was laid early. My parentstaught me to value justice and commu-nity and to take responsibility for myown life. They instilled in me appreci-ation for the dignity of all people andtaught me about God’s love by offeringme their own unconditional love. Igrew up learning that we are put onearth to do good, help others and behappy. While my parents support myquest, they have concerns about thepossibility that I may join a religiousorder. I am an only child, and it is an

God the space to work, and it remind-ed me to have some faith. I asked Godfor guidance and trusted that I wouldget what I needed.

Eventually, an answer came.Walking in silence one night, I saw afuture community-mate seated at apiano, improvising a beautiful song. Ilistened and something fell into place:I had a breathtaking sense of beingloved and provided for and was acute-ly aware of God’s closeness. Neverbefore and never since have I felt socompletely blessed and certain that Iwas precisely where I was meant to be.I decided to say yes to going to Bolivia.I had fallen in love with God and withthe life I was offered. I had no ideawhat that life would hold, but I wascertain I would not be alone.

In Bolivia I worked with Jesuits andan inspiring group of sisters from theMisioneras de Cristo Jesús. Theyappeared completely alive, and theyhad a global sense of community. Their

faith was constantly evolving, which Ifound exciting and admirable, particu-larly among older women. The experi-ence of immersing myself in a new cul-ture was humbling, exciting and deeplyspiritual. I imagined what it would belike to live as the Misioneras did.

When I returned home five yearsago, dating, work, exploring a new cityand friendships occupied my time andenergies. I craved spiritual community,found a vibrant parish, became part ofa small faith group and began spiritualdirection. I continued to meet womenreligious whom I admired. I coordi-nated an adolescent mentoring pro-gram in Boston and collaborated withother youth advocates to strengthensupports for the young people weworked with. It was powerful workthat I found fun, gratifying and full ofsmall miracles.

Steps Toward DiscernmentThe steps of my current discernment

process have included conversations,reading, prayer and visits to religiouscommunities. I have visited two ordersand spent two weeks over the summerwith a community in Georgia. On thatvisit, I participated in a weekend dis-cernment retreat and worked along-side a small community of sisters. Imarveled at the energy to serve thatthey drew from prayer and their senseof mission. This spring I am visitingtheir novitiate and spending time withthe women in formation.

I have also sought mentors. Manywomen and men (vowed religious andlay) have been generous with theirtime and stories. I have connected withan accomplished, vivacious sister whorevealed that she had never wanted toenter religious life as a young womanand had been a “grand failure” as ayoung nun, only later coming tounderstand her own path to the con-vent; with a mother, educator andparish leader who decided to live in a


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peers who understand this path.The women religious who have

most inspired me balance reverencewith brave willingness to question thestatus quo. They are grounded inhumility and a sense of their ownhumanity; they embrace critical think-ing and dialogue about the church andits evolving mission.

Currently, I take care of an old rec-tory at St. Mary of the Angels parish,study social work at Boston College,work as an intern at two nonprofits,mentor a group of undergraduate stu-dents, continue my Spiritual Exercisesretreat and spend time with friendsand family. Living at the parish hasbeen a gift. I moved in to save moneyand because I thought it would be anadventure. Lovingly referred to as a lit-tle United Nations, the parish isdiverse and has a proud history ofcommunity involvement. DuringAdvent, I was struck by how tangiblethe idea of community had become for

me since moving to St. Mary’s. Myown vocational discernment becomesmost clear among a group of peoplewho worship, argue and work togeth-er, a group that welcomes newcomersand strives to respond faithfully andlovingly to God’s call.

I graduate in May; the unknownthereafter is both exciting and daunt-ing. I will have loans to pay off, so Imay not be able to enter any order forseveral more years. Yet my vocation isalready underway, even in this time ofuncertainty.

Reflecting on the last five years, Ifeel my heart swell at how God hasrevealed Godself to me over and overthrough relationships, readings, con-versations and prayer. Patience andtrust seem like small things to ask.Father Greg Boyle, the Jesuit author,notes that “grateful people are happypeople.” I agree. As I grow into anunderstanding of my vocation, I try tomake daily use of his formula.

troubled area of Boston and buildpartnerships to increase communityempowerment; with a Nicaraguanpriest who has learned that the pointof life is to arrive at the end havingpoured oneself out; and with myfather, whose Buddhist practice opensup fresh realms of conversation aboutprayer and compassion. These conver-sations have given me a sense of com-panionship.

Last November I began theSpiritual Exercises in daily life, aretreat over many months aimed tohelp participants grow closer to Godand learn to discern where God callsus.

Drawn to cross-cultural work, I amalso looking at orders with interna-tional communities that have otheryoung women in formation. I grapplewith the role of international aid andmission and my own place in it, but Ithink there is much richness in learn-ing and sharing across borders. I seek


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ty to counter its more surreal and anti-thetical notes.

The film never comes off as cynicalor blindly critical. Moretti, whose pre-vious film “The Caiman” lampoonedItaly’s Prime Minister SilvioBerlusconi, is not a believer. But herespects Catholicism enough to treatthe psychology of faith with subtletyand sophistication. If you’ll pardon anoxymoron, the tone can be describedas cheekily reverent.

The movie opens with file footageof an unnamed pontiff ’s funeral Mass,after which chanting cardinals areshown entering the Sistine Chapel toelect a successor. We are privy to theinterior thoughts of the leading candi-dates, each of whom dreads becomingthe Holy Father. Their relief is palpa-ble when, following several votes, thedark horse Cardinal Melville (por-trayed by the august French actorMichel Piccoli) is chosen. But just ashe is about to appear on the balconyoverlooking St. Peter’s Square,Melville balks and refuses to proceed.After a medical examination, Rome’spreeminent psychoanalyst is broughtin to offer an opinion.

The parallels with “RomanHoliday” arise after Melville is secretlytaken from Vatican City to visit anoth-er psychiatrist (the first therapist’s ex-wife) and bolts. He wanders Romeincognito, like Hepburn’s royalprincess in the William Wyler classic.Melville rubs shoulders with ordinaryRomans and meets an acting trouperehearsing Chekov’s “The Seagull.”Meanwhile, the cardinals remain

hat if I told you a newmovie, set at the Vaticanduring a papal conclave,

has much in common with HBO’smob drama “The Sopranos” and alsowith the Audrey Hepburn-GregoryPeck romance “Roman Holiday”(1953)? Would you be intrigued?Suspicious? Nostalgic?

Habemus Papam (“We Have aPope”), by the Italian satirist NanniMoretti, evokes a complicated set ofreactions. You’ll be relieved to learnthe “Sopranos” connection has noth-ing to do with Mafia-like mayhem orlarceny; and no major character,including multiple “princes of thechurch,” forms an untoward romanticalliance. Still, don’t expect a flatteringportrait of the hierarchy or inspira-tional fare like “The Shoes of theFisherman” (1963).

Taking place in the present day,“Habemus Papam” centers on anobscure cardinal who is elected pope.Like the Jersey boss Tony Soprano, thestunned prelate suffers a major panicattack and sees a psychiatrist.Catholics will be drawn to the well-made picture by its subject matter yetare likely to be saddened by what ulti-mately transpires.

Director Moretti, who co-wrote thescript and plays the pope’s shrink, pre-sents a moving, unsettling and oftenhumorous piece. He depicts thechurch hierarchy, specifically theCollege of Cardinals, in a satiricalmanner that borders on farce. But heinfuses the portrait with enoughbelievability and emotional authentici-

sequestered, and the world waits tolearn the identity of the new pope.Afraid to admit the pope has goneAWOL, the Vatican spokesmanenlists a member of the Swiss Guardto make it appear as though Melville isholed up in the papal apartments.

How will this calamitous charade,the ultimate vocational crisis for aprelate, be resolved? Convinced he isincapable of serving, Melville wandersin a state of pitiable anguish and con-fusion, probably experiencing theonset of senile dementia. We cannothelp but wonder whether his reluc-tance is fueled by humility or selfishweakness.

Moretti and his two co-writers arecoy about addressing Melville’s faith inGod and sidestep the most significantpossible cause for his breakdown. Thescript does not examine anyone’s moti-vations or psychic make-up in detail,partly because it also makes light of thepsychiatric profession and the ratherpassé Freudian approach taken by theanalysts who (briefly) treat Melville.The movie comes closest to explainingMelville’s behavior in the scene inwhich he confides that before becom-ing a priest he desperately wanted to bean actor. It is telling that an unhingedthespian from the Chekov troupe func-tions as a doppelganger of sorts.

We are left to infer that Melvillewas chosen not because his fellow car-dinals thought him able or willing, butbecause they were eager to pass thebuck. The male psychiatrist, whomMoretti limns with hilarious insou-ciance, appears quite batty himself.Confined to the Vatican for three dayswhile Melville is on the loose, hebecomes chummy with the cardinals.He even organizes a volleyball tourna-ment, dividing the conclave into teamsbased on geographic region. Gently


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F I L M | JOHN P. MCCARTHY

VOCATION CRISIS‘Habemus Papam,’ an Italian satire

most obvious interpretation is thatMelville’s breakdown mirrors thechurch’s recent mistakes and misdeeds;the election of such an unstable bishopreflects a broken institution and acolossal failure of leadership. WhenMelville is told he was the victim of“parental deficit,” we are reminded ofthe hierarchy’s inability to protect vic-tims of clergy sexual abuse.

While it is possible to interpret“Habemus Papam”as a condemnationof the church or asecular broadsideagainst religion, it ismore instructively

taken as a parable about moral psy-chology. Melville’s doubts about hisown suitability to succeed St. Peter areextreme. Surely belief ought not to be,and arguably cannot be, feigned in thiscontext. Popes are not immune fromdoubt, but the test, as with any believ-er, is whether those misgivings areaccompanied by sincerity. In otherwords, it is a matter of conscience

between Melville and God. It is impos-sible for another human to parse hissoul and judge his actions. Put indeli-cately, if Melville cannot shake the feel-ing that he is a fraud, it is likely he is afraud—provided he ignores that self-knowledge. Seen in this light, we canbetter process Melville’s reluctance tocommit.

Melville’s faith crisis is no differentin kind from that of any other priest.Analogously, the frustration Hepburn’sprincess in “Roman Holiday” feelsabout her duty-filled life is comparableto that of, say, a young woman in the1950s who finds her secretarial jobstultifying. When it comes to theprincess and the secretary, we would bequicker to counsel staying the courseuntil something better comes along, or,alternatively, suggesting an abruptchange in circumstances. Regardingthe parish priest and the Bishop ofRome, it is possible that God’s grace,along with more prayer and deeper dis-cernment, might enable either man togrow into his respective role. But unless

absurd, these segments provide theoccasion for a few inside-the-Curiajokes. Some viewers may not appreci-ate seeing red hats doffing their digni-ty. But the sequence underscores theidea that everyone in the movie’s uni-verse is a little loopy, which is to say,flawed and therefore human.

Moretti’s skill at identifying everyindividual’s frailty and the absurdity inevery scenario makes the film’s operat-ically somber andsudden ending allthe more jarring.Watching the dole-ful conclusion,Catholics will likelygrow defensive, their fealty toward thechurch and respect for the papacysharpening. Our expectation as movie-goers that things will end well adds tothe sting. My initial response wasshock and indignation, mingled withthe knee-jerk criticism that the plot of“Habemus Papam” is woefully under-developed.

What is Moretti trying to say? The


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Nanni Moretti and Michel Piccoli in “Habemus Papam”

ON THE WEBMary Valle reviews

“God Is the Bigger Elvis.” americamagazine.org/culture

there is honesty and a solid faith foun-dation, going through the motionswould be morally suspect and poten-tially disastrous. Evidently Melvilleunderstands this.

Still, he leaves the church in anuncertain position as the film ends.The discomfort, if not the sorrow, thisevokes in the audience recalls theblack-out finale of “The Sopranos,”when the fate befalling Tony and hisimmediate family is never revealed. Itis natural to prefer the certainty of atidy ending in which a fictional protag-onist, good or evil, receives his justdesserts. Such resolutions, particularlyof the feel-good variety, are often asso-ciated with traditional Hollywoodentertainments. In actual fact, rarelyare the endings of classic films as cut-and-dried or pat as we assume. As inlife, most desires remain unfulfilled.

At the end of “Roman Holiday,”Hepburn’s princess returns to her min-

ders and resumes her official duties.Although she is in love with Peck’sAmerican journalist, they do not runaway together; nor is a courtship with acommoner in the offing. Both havegrown more fully human during theirwhirlwind romance, yet realism andpracticality win out. Their pain willpass. The trauma endured by Melvilleand the church in “Habemus Papam”will take longer to heal, but the alterna-tive could be worse. Judging by whatMoretti shows us, we see that only in afantasy realm tenuously linked to reali-ty could Cardinal Melville’s papacy be asuccess. Yet according to Catholicbelief, no matter how bad things get,hope and the possibility of renewal willnever be extinguished as long as westrive to love God with pure hearts.

JOHN P. MCCARTHY reviews films forCatholic News Service and various publica-tions.

missed as naïve and incompetentbecomes an engaging mystery and anenjoyable primer on the ecclesiasticalwheeling and dealing of the lateMiddle Ages.

Peter Morrone, the future PopeCelestine V, was born in 1209. Hefound his calling at the age of 21, whenhe left a Benedictine monastery to livealone atop a mountain. Later he stud-ied in Rome, where he was ordained.Then he returned to the hermit life,settling first on the 6,700-foot MountMorrone in the Apennines and thenon the even taller Mount Maiella(9,100 feet). Renowned for his holi-ness, he formed a community of her-mits during the 1240s and gainedpapal approval for his congregation in1263.

Unfurling the story, Sweeney showshow the reclusive holy man was a savvyplayer in the iron-fisted ecclesial poli-tics of the time. He notes that Petertraveled 700 miles to be at the Councilof Lyons in 1274, fighting for hisHermits of Saint Damian at a timewhen church authorities wanted tostop the proliferation of new orders.He persuaded Pope Gregory X to lethis hermits be incorporated as abranch of the Benedictines andsecured Charles I of Anjou, king ofNaples and younger brother of KingLouis IX, as their protector.

Acting on what he said was a visionof the Blessed Virgin in a dream, hebuilt the Basilica of Santa Maria inCollemaggio in Abruzzo; it quicklyattracted pilgrims and increased theprestige of his order, later called theCelestines. He founded and acquirednew monasteries and visited Rome,where he was applauded. In 1293 hereturned to Mount Morrone to live insolitude.

The point Sweeney makes is thatfor nearly all of his long life, no onewould have called Peter Morrone naïveor incompetent. When Peter spoke,powerful people listened—unfortu-nately for him, it turned out.


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By Jon M. SweeneyImage Books. 304p $14 (paperback)

Celestine V, the pope who quit, isremembered mostly as a footnote.Histories of the popes treat him as amedieval curiosity. Dante condemnedhim to the inferno for his cowardice.More recently, his resignation has beenviewed as the odd precedent thatwould permit an ailing pope to stepdown.

Jon M. Sweeney, whose many booksinclude Praying With Our Hands, hasrecognized that this story of a saintedhermit who was stunned to be electedvicar of Christ—and then resigned thepapacy 15 weeks later—is an enter-taining tale in itself and one that serves

to remind us of the intrigues embed-ded in Catholic tradition. In Sweeney’shands, the story of a man often dis-

matter is unclear. The book does not dig up any new

answers to the questions surroundingPope Celestine, but Sweeney’s tale is apleasure to read, written very smooth-ly for a general audience. He keeps itinteresting throughout, and there is anote of enchantment in it.

Since the reliable historical recordon Peter Morrone is thin, there is a fairamount of speculation in the account.To fill out the story, Sweeney weaves ina great deal of background on the peri-od to produce a larger and moredetailed tapestry. On a few points, thebackground is overly simplified, but onthe whole it adds to the landscape by

providing helpful context. Even whennot strictly necessary, the excursionsare interesting.

There are sections, for example, onthe many popes who were murdered,intrigue at the Council of Lyons, andthe origins of canon law. While read-ing this book, I often felt as if I werewalking through a medieval hill town,on my way up to the castle, when awinding lane would catch my eye anddraw me aside. I sometimes wonderedif I was being taken to a dead end, butthese side trips eventually led back tothe main street, and I was glad I went.

Ultimately, it is difficult to judgeCelestine. Good people suffered as a

Observing from his mountaintop,Peter became frustrated in 1294 with atwo-year deadlock in choosing a pope.He dispatched a letter to the cardinalswarning that the wrath of God wouldfall on those responsible for such inac-tion.

Thus Peter became the compro-mise, a caretaker pope elected at theage of 84. In some ways, the choicemight even have seemed inspired, rais-ing the hope that a truly holy manwould be the one to lead the medievalchurch out of its corrupt ways. In thatlight, Celestine V’s decision to rulefrom outside Rome—he was crownedin his basilica in Abruzzo—couldseem wise. He was the outside-the-Beltway pope.

But he immediately became a pup-pet of Charles II of Anjou (son ofCharles I), and in his 15 disastrousweeks as pope made one bad decisionafter another. Some were self-serving;he granted a plenary indulgence toanyone who attended his coronationor visited his basilica on the anniver-sary. Mostly, he just did what Charleswanted, turning the papacy into themonarch’s patronage pool. Ill at easewith the power handed to him, heturned over many of his duties to a trioof cardinals. Finally he stood up forhimself and against Charles II: Heannounced that he would resign, thefirst and only pope to do so.

This had to be cleared by canonlaw; it was determined that if the res-ignation was voluntary, enacted prop-erly and absolutely necessary—if thepope was useless or suffered a seriousimpediment such as insanity—resig-nation would be acceptable.

The holy man, officially deemeduseless, fled. But his authoritarian suc-cessor, Pope Boniface VIII, was evi-dently uneasy with having anotherpope about and ordered him impris-oned. It is “not far-fetched” to suggestthat Boniface had Peter murdered,Sweeney writes, although after exam-ining the evidence he decided that the


The Lonely Place Apart

When you think of the place,

the place apart

think of Nova Scotia,

of Maud Lewis

painting

red and yellow tulips,

butterflies

and little black kittens

on scallop shells

in the dry stagnant empty recess of winter.

And this with two hands so crippled

that one was required to rest on the other for support –

overlapping as if in prayer.

And this, her offering,

with a smile that said,

Here.

Here is a part of my lonely place.

D A R R I N M . M C C L O S K E Y

DARRIN M. MCCLOSKEY, born and raised on Prince Edward Island,Canada, now teaches ESL in Vancouver. His poem is a meditation on Mt 14:13 and 22:14.

result of his abdication. Look at itfrom the point of view of the SpiritualFranciscans, the dissident Franciscanswhom Boniface VIII persecuted forthe sin of insisting on living the life ofpoverty as rigorously as had theirfounder, Francis of Assisi. Celestine,no stranger to the ascetic life, had beenthe Spiritual Franciscans’ friend. Hewas not any good to them after hequit. And yet, contrary to Dante’s ver-dict, St. Pope Celestine V was canon-ized in 1313 by Pope Clement V; hisfeast day is May 19.

Sweeney concludes that Celestine’s

life should not be reduced to the cow-ardice of his resignation. He knew heshould not have accepted the papacy,he writes. “His sanest expectationswere confirmed within weeks ofascending the chair of St. Peter,prompting him to make the decisionthat would save his soul—if not theChurch,” he adds. “And for that singleact, he showed himself to be enlight-ened, not naïve.”

PAUL MOSES, professor of journalism atBrooklyn College/CUNY, is the author of TheSaint and the Sultan: the Crusades, Islamand Francis of Assisi’s Mission of Peace.

Several chapters are on the church,the eternal conflict between the churchinstitutional and the prophetic. CitingDorothy Day, co-founder of theCatholic Worker, he argues movinglyfor fidelity to the church in spite ofwhat he sees as its many sins and its“really orthodox” members who speakof the magisterium “as if the poorHoly Spirit has been locked in a tinybox in the basement of the Vatican, tobe consulted only by the Pope duringencyclical season.” And yet he still goesto Mass, unlike many of his fellowcommunity members today, becausethe church gives us the faith, theGospel and the Eucharist and is thechurch of Dorothy Day, MotherTeresa, the Berrigans, César Chávez,Oscar Romero and the manyCatholics who support their commu-nity, and he wants to be in communionwith them.

Most of the book is about theexploitation of the poor and vulnera-ble, a critique of “empire” with its mili-tary, religious and economic might, the“Arms Bazaar” that the CatholicWorker helped to drive out of

Anaheim in 1980; thecredit economy withits greed and competi-tion, so different fromthe “Sabbath eco-nomics” of Leviticus25, which calls for thecancelling of debts atseven year intervals;industrial agriculture,which that floods theenvironment withchemicals and leavespoor farmers unableto compete; the waron drugs that fills our

prisons with the poor, largely African-Americans, supporting the “prisonindustrial complex”; technology thatprizes production and power overpeace; blood banks that purchaseblood from the poor with insufficientremuneration and health care; the


THOMAS P. RAUSCH

THE WORKER’S TALEBROKEN AND SHAREDFood, Dignity, and the Poor On Los Angeles’ Skid Row

By Jeff DietrichMarymount Institute Press. 450p$29.95

For over 40 years Jeff Dietrich hasbeen a member of the Los AngelesCatholic Worker community, servingmeals to the poor of the city’s SkidRow, writing for the community’sappropriately named newspaper, theCatholic Agitator, and doing jail timefor various protests and acts of civildisobedience on behalf of justice,peace and the forgotten poor of ourinner cities. More than 40 times he hasbeen arrested. Broken and Shared is apowerful collection of essays writtenover those years.

In the introduction he tell us howhe rediscovered his Catholic faith. Toavoid induction into the military dur-ing the Vietnam War, he had fled toEurope; on his return he encounteredsome Catholic Worker members whooffered him hospitality. They were, hesays, people doing what Jesus would be

doing, “feeding the hungry, clothingthe naked, and burning draft files.” Alight went on in his head that was tochange his life.

Dietrich writes with a keen eye fordetail and a sense of humor; the book isboth passionate and per-sonal. One chapterdescribes the CatholicWorker campaign toprovide the city’s home-less with their own regis-tered shopping carts,eventually totaling over50,000. Several describehis prison experience,recounting to his wifeCatherine Morris theconstant threat of vio-lence, his fear of rapeand gratitude for a cupof coffee from a guard,even more precious for its acknowl-edgement of a shared humanity.Another describes the indignity of stripsearches and the probing of his bodycavities, the hours-long wait in the coldof a basement cell for his hearing, theintimidation of the court process.

city’s Safer Cities Initiative, really aprogram to get the homeless off thestreets; and the hugely expensive warin Iraq paid for by cuts in public healthcare, transportation and education, allof which affect the poor, while thewealthy receive tax breaks.

His vision is rooted in the Gospelstory, in the counter-intuitive approachof Jesus, who condemned trying to castout Satan by Satan’s demonic power,using instead the self-sacrificing powerof the cross. Building his chaptersaround citations from Jacques Ellul,Walter Brueggemann, Ched Myers,René Girard, Noam Chomsky,William Stringfellow and WalterWink, his social critique is wide-rang-ing.

The book is brutally honest.Dietrich acknowledges that his protestagainst the cardinal’s new cathedralhas to do in part with his own unre-solved issues with authority. He doesnot romanticize the poor; they are “notnice,” stealing batteries from theWorkers’ cars and goldfish from theirdining-garden pond. He personalizesthem, giving them names—Cheryl,the inveterate crack addict with H.I.V.;Ron, who threatens the Workers withan empty wine bottle; Mean Ed, a pas-sionate despiser of white people; theangry Wheelchair Bob—and yet hefinds always the humanity withinthem.

Much as I enjoyed reading thisbook, I found it deeply disturbing,entering into my prayer, challengingmy own certitudes. Many will disagreewith the Catholic Worker’s anarchistapproach to contemporary society. Butit is deeply Catholic, rooted in theGospel, centered on the works ofmercy and the eucharistic meal, callingall Christians not just to worship Jesusbut, in Dietrich’s words, to practicehim.

THOMAS P. RAUSCH, S.J., is the T. MarieChilton Professor of Catholic Theology atLoyola Marymount University, Los Angeles,Calif.


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NIGHT OF THE REPUBLICPoems

By Alan ShapiroHoughton Mifflin Harcourt. 80p $21

Alan Shapiro, author of nine previouscollections of poetry, two memoirs, abook of criticism and two classicaltranslations, has published anothervolume of poems. Night of the Republicis accessible, engaging and playful, andif it does not probe deeply into darkquestions, it enables us to see moreclearly where those questions might bebeneficially raised—namely, in theshops, industries and public venueswhere American life so often, andoften unthinkingly, takes place.

It is a terrific idea. The dry cleaner,the race track, the post office, a shed—poem by poem the “public” of therepublic is inventoried and detailed.The effect of the book is to awaken usto our surroundings (especially urbansurroundings), to achieve new andinformed awareness of where we areand what we are doing in our dailylives. To read this collection is toacquire greater consciousness.

Shapiro gathers his poems into fourgroups. The first focus-es on mundane buticonic places, mostlyduring night-owl hours(these poems bring tomind the paintings ofEdward Hopper); thesecond presents por-traits of seemingly ordi-nary people; the thirdexplores public spaces;and the last appears toapproach, though per-haps not quite to be,autobiography. Parts Iand III share the sametitle, which is the title of the book, I

imagine because both sections examineempty spaces at night.

The majority of the poems in Nightof the Republic share a strategy: shortlines lead us down the page, forminglonger sentences, many with subordi-nate clauses.

Occasionally a poem may leave usbreathless, or slightly dizzy, as if we’verun a race to get to the end. Here, forexample, is the opening of “Museum,”my favorite of the night poems:

So much of onceand now and soonis or will soon becaught here, framed and glassed—

free of the drifting air—and hung, so thatthe very hallsthat lead from roomto room are roomsthemselves that make roomin little dim-lit alcovesall along them for whatthere wasn’t room forin the other rooms.

Paradoxically, this torqued, ortwisted, or waterspoutsyntax speedingtoward the end obligesus to start over, to readthe poem again, slowly,and take a closer look at phrasing.Occasionally, Shapirocarries the strategy aword or a few wordslonger than necessary,as if repetition willheighten the effect. Idecided to think ofthese ornamental con-tinuations as akin to

grace notes in music.

Another memorable example isfrom “Amphitheater.” I’ve visited a fewamphitheaters recently, but this poemmade me think of them in a way thathad not occurred to me before: as sitesof gravitation.

In the dream timeof the molecularwhat persists ascolonnadeor stair is strugglingblindly to holdback, holdin, what in it,of it, everymoment wantsto whirl awayfrom what it is.

The poet goes on to suggest thatmolecular gravity—this resistance tochaos, this essential integrity—is akind of “keeping/ faith, a loyalty” andthen quotes from Pindar’s fourthPythian ode—presumably this quota-tion is Shapiro’s own translation—andthe poem holds these referents togeth-er easily, even casually, but also in away that offers enlightenment. Bypoem’s end, we feel as though we haveheard Pindar himself reciting in anamphitheater.

In a move that seems to me collater-al to the torqued syntax and repetition,Shapiro sometimes expresses positivestatements in negative terms, height-ening a sense of irony or dismay. In“Supermarket,” for example, “[T]hecover girl”…has “compassion for every-one/ who isn’t her”). Another example,from “Edenic Simile”:

The way there wasn’tanything to cover upor hide from tillthey heard in the suddenleaf shiverand fret of gravelthe Lord approaching....

“Fret of gravel” is one of many spot-


KELLY CHERRY

STREET SIGNS

two from the National Endowmentfor the Arts, a Guggenheim, the O. B.Hardison Jr. Poetry Prize from theFolger Shakespeare Library, a LilaWallace–Reader’s Digest Writer’sAward and an award in literature from

the American Academy of Arts andLetters. His first novel, BroadwayBaby, was published in January.

KELLY CHERRY is the current Poet Laureateof the Commonwealth of Virginia.

on lines in the collection, though“black as night,” which is less wonder-ful, occurs twice in different poems.But even Homer....

Like Homer, Shapiro is much laud-ed. His awards and honors include


CLASS IF IED

PositionsST. JOHN BREBEUF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL,Niles, Ill., a pre-school to 8th grade elementaryschool, located in a suburb adjacent to the north-west side of Chicago, invites applications for theposition of elementary school PRINCIPAL for2012-13 school year, beginning July 1, 2012. Theprincipal is the administrator, faith and instruction-al leader of the local school and serves as the execu-tive officer of local governance board in a Catholicschool of the Archdiocese of Chicago. In addition,the principal oversees the fiscal vitality of theschool. The elementary school principal is hired byand accountable to the pastor for the operation ofthe school and must abide by the established poli-cies and procedures of the Archdiocese of Chicago,the Office of Catholic Schools.

The successful candidate should be a deeplycommitted Catholic who desires to engage the fac-ulty, students and school parents in a deeperencounter with their Catholic faith. Should haveknowledge and experience in school marketingstrategies, be knowledgeable and proficient in edu-cational technology, have excellent oral and writtencommunication skills and have successful experi-ence in management of school personnel, programsand budgets. Requirements: practicing Catholic,compliance with safe environment requirements,master’s degree, state certification in administra-tion, minimum three years’ professional experiencein a Catholic school.

If you are interested in being considered forthis opening, please prepare the following docu-ments (for details, see www.sjbschool.org): (1)one-page cover letter describing the reason(s) foryour interest in the position; (2) résumé or cur-riculum vitae; (3) listing of at least three references,including job title, e-mail address and phone num-ber for each; (4) letter of certification fromArchdiocese of Chicago, Office of CatholicSchools (schools.archchicago.org).

Send to: Search Committee, c/o Rev. MichaelG. Meany, Pastor, St. John Brebeuf CatholicChurch, 8307 N. Harlem Ave, Niles, IL 60714;Ph: (847) 966-8145; or send e-mail [email protected].

TEACHER AND SERVICE COORDINATOR.Marymount School of New York is seeking a reli-gious studies teacher to implement our UpperSchool social justice curriculum. The positionentails coordination of service trips and activities aswell as retreats. The ideal candidate is a practicing

Catholic with knowledge of Catholic social teach-ing and a degree in religious studies or related field.Send résumé and references to: Sr. ClevieYoungblood, R.S.H.M., Marymount School, 1026Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028, or [email protected].

VICE PRESIDENT, MISSION INITIATIVES fos-ters the integration of Catholic identity and theAscension Health mission and values withinstrategic initiatives. Specifically, this position co-leads the Model Community Strategic Enabler,provides a comprehensive and integrated missionassessment at the System and Ministry levelthrough the use of the Catholic Identity Matrixtool and process, and supports development andlearning for the affinity group of Vice Presidents,Mission Integration. This individual reports to theSenior Vice President, Mission Integration, and isresponsible for leading all aspects of implementa-tion, coordination, ongoing development and eval-uation for the above mission initiatives.

Qualifications: The applicant must have a mas-ter’s degree; At least eight years’ experience in lead-ership roles and background in at least one of thefollowing: mission integration, organizationaldevelopment and change leadership, theologicalstudy, program development or a related field;Should agree to pursue master’s level theologicaleducation if he/she is not already prepared at thatlevel; Should give evidence of an intentionalapproach to his/her personal spiritual formation;Must have excellent group facilitation and commu-nication skills and the ability to foster communityin an environment of trust; Must give evidence oflong-range strategic thought and an understandingof organizational change processes; Must haveexcellent relational skills and must give evidence ofeffective personal integration of spiritually cen-tered, values-based leadership; Must be willing tofoster learning consistent with the frameworks andsource documents that inform leadership inAscension Health and Catholic Healthcare; Mustevidence a balanced approach to spiritual, theolog-ical and ethical reflection.

Ascension Health is an Equal OpportunityEmployer M/F/D/V. Please log on to www.ascen-sionhealth.org to view more information and sub-mit a résumé. Refer to job number 5131.

RetreatsBETHANY RETREAT HOUSE, East Chicago,Ind., offers private and individually directed silentretreats, including dreamwork and Ignatian 30days, year-round in a prayerful home setting.Contact Joyce Diltz, P.H.J.C.; Ph: (219) 398-

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WillsPlease remember America in your will. Our legal titleis: America Press Inc., 106 West 56th Street, NewYork, NY 10019.

America classified. Classified advertisements are acceptedfor publication in either the print version of America or onour Web site, www.americamagazine.org. Ten-wordminimum. Rates are per word per issue. 1-5 times: $1.50;6-11 times: $1.28; 12-23 times: $1.23; 24-41 times:$1.17; 42 times or more: $1.12. For an additional $30,your print ad will be posted on America’s Web site for oneweek. The flat rate for a Web-only classified ad is $150for 30 days. Ads may be submitted by e-mail to:[email protected]; by fax to (928) 222-2107;by postal mail to: Classified Department, America, 106West 56th St., New York, NY 10019. To post a classi-fied ad online, go to our home page and click on“Advertising” at the top of the page. We do not accept adcopy over the phone. MasterCard and Visa accepted. Formore information call: (212) 515-0102.

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LETTERS lenge before us today.NICHOLE M. FLORES

Waltham, Mass.

The Elastic ChurchConcerning the article by DrewChristiansen, S.J., “Engaging theSpirituals” (3/26): Thanks for recog-nizing that one size does not fit all.Certainly structure is necessary, but sois flexibility. The church needs to beelastic enough to stretch out and enve-lope all the different ways humanbeings can find that help them torelate to God in real, tangible, concreteand not artificial ways. Otherwise it’snot a universal church.

STEVE KILLIANBettendorf, Iowa

Climate CheckConcerning Elizabeth Groppe’s“Climate for Change” (3/26): Morethan 10 years ago, when I was living inIndiana, I worked with a consortiumof religious organizations tasked with“getting the word about climatechange” out to folks in the pews. It wasthe most challenging job I’ve ever had,and I’ve had some doozies! I was thefeatured speaker at a number of adult

education gatherings in both Catholicand Protestant churches, and at everymeeting the overwhelming response tomy presentation was “God told us inGenesis to ‘subdue’ the earth, and thatmeans using it.”

Most of the folks I met at theseevents would not consider the possi-bility that humankind was evenremotely responsible for the climatechanges that were occurring, if indeedthey were really occurring and werenot just normal cyclical changes. Theidea of our being stewards and protec-tors of the earth was new, radical and,frankly, mostly rejected by good peoplewho believe in a good and generousGod. What can we do?

KATHERINE DUCKAustin, Tex.

Catastrophic ComplacencyRe Elizabeth Groppe’s “Climate forChange” (3/26): While the scientificcommunity has become more certainof the seriousness of the problem, theAmerican public has gone in the oppo-site direction, with only 40 percentthinking climate change is a problem.The problems of energy conservation,alternative energy infrastructure andpopulation control have to beaddressed. Otherwise global civiliza-tion will fall into a pit from which itmay never recover.

We had a gift of cheap energy.Instead of using it to advance our civi-lization to a sustainable level, it hasalready been mostly wasted. Add tothis the “Don’t worry, be happy” tranceinduced in the Reagan era, and it lookslike we may not make it. It will take adramatic turn in public opinion to pre-vent the coming catastrophic change inclimate. Sit in a car on a sunny day andclose the windows. That’s a basicapproximation to what’s happening,and it’s no hoax.

STANLEY P. KOPACZEast Stroudsburg, Pa.

Blood on Their HandsRe your editorial “Democracy and

Walk the WalkRe “Engaging the Spirituals” (3/26) byDrew Christiansen, S.J.: Many of mystudents are among the “spirituals”—“recovering Catholics” who are explor-ing world religions as a source forunderstanding their own spirituality

It is not that the church is sayingthe wrong things or not speaking fromthe heart. If anything, my studentsfind church teachings reasonable, evenif they feel some doctrine is behind thetimes. The real problem is thatChristians do not always practice whatwe preach. We teach a compellingvision of social justice and view of thehuman person, but then some of ushoard our possessions and earningsand mistreat “the least of these.” I can’tspeak for all the spirituals, but I thinkmy students want to see the CatholicChurch put its money where its mouthis—not just when it comes to advocat-ing for unborn people, but for thethirsty, the naked, the stranger, the sickand the imprisoned. Lives of fidelity,justice and service will renew thechurch. I think this is the real chal-


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“It’s not exactly the way I pictured it.”

Stability” (3/26): President Bashar al-Assad and his henchmen have somuch blood on their hands that theyare no longer concerned with savingSyria but only with saving their ownhides.

As a world community governed byuniversal principals of fairness andempathy for our fellow man, we can-not avert our eyes from the crimesagainst humanity these monsters arecommitting. Assad has gone beyondthe point of any return to civilizedgovernance. He knows it and we knowit. It is time, therefore, that we dealwith him as the criminal he hasbecome. We acted with resolve againsta similar criminal in Libya, and weshould now act with resolve againstthis one in Syria. Enough is enough.Once more, the world has to do whatneeds to be done.

GEORGE KAFANTARISWarren, Ohio

Keep It CivilRe “Time to Cool Down” (3/26), byThomas Massaro, S.J.: I think part ofthe problem many of us are havingwith one another is a difficulty accept-ing that there are times when people offaith, after a process of discernment,reach different conclusions about veryimportant issues. This is where civilitybecomes important. In my view, theregular practice of civility allows us toengage in respectful dialogue withpeople of opposing views. In this pro-cess, we are able to get to know themand are less likely to demonize them.When we recognize the decency inothers, even those with whom we donot agree, we are able at least to try toseek compromise in the areas where itis possible.

Although I am a yellow-dogDemocrat, in college I interned forSenator Orrin Hatch. Until then, Ihad a very different view ofRepublicans and of Mormons. While Iwas on the Hill, I witnessed the deepfriendship between Senator Hatch

and Senator Ted Kennedy, people ofdifferent faiths and backgrounds butboth men of goodwill. They were ableto hold often diametrically opposingviews, while regularly working togeth-er on mutual projects for the good ofour country. The bedrock of this pro-cess was simple civility, and I was gladI was able to witness it and learn fromit so early in life.

DEB TRUITTOak Harbor, Wash.

Essential ArgumentsThe problem with the sugggestions ofThomas Massaro, S.J., in “Time toCool Down” (3/26) is that abortionand contraception are essentials.There is no nuance there. The popesare very clear that we have liberty inapplying the church’s economic justiceteachings and should be respectful ofone another there. A person who issincerely anti-abortion and anti-con-traception, but liberal on economicissues, like the late, great governor ofPennsylvania, Robert Casey Sr., hasmy full respect, even if I disagree onnuances.

Father Massaro writes, however, asif it’s O.K. that Sandra Fluke supportsgovernment funding of birth control.It’s not. New York’s Cardinal TimothyDolan and the U.S. bishops have beenin dialogue with the Obama adminis-tration for months over this matter. Ifanything, the Obama administrationhas been duplicitous in giving thebishops the idea that their concernswere being taken seriously when they

obviously had no intention of address-ing their concerns. If I recall correctly,Jesus had a few choice words for thePharisees (e.g., “brood of vipers”), andthen there is his cleansing of the tem-ple. Perhaps our good Lord shouldhave read Father Massaro’s article firstto get a few tips on civility!

BOB HUNTKnoxville, Tenn.

Church BoundariesConcerning “Government’s Task”(Current Comment, 3/26): Healthinsurance is an earned benefit, part ofthe wage package received by employ-ees in exchange for their labors. Thus,it makes as much sense for the bishopsto withhold birth control coverage foremployees as it would for the bishopsto withhold that portion of theiremployees’ cash wages that might bespent on contraception.

The government is not interferingwith the right of the church to beopposed to artificial birth control, butit does have the obligation to preventthe church from imposing its teachingson those who reject them.

JIM PALERMOSouthampton, Mass.

Grasping HistoryRe Maurice Timothy Reidy’s discus-sion of Rick Santorum’s commentsabout John Kennedy’s famousHouston speech (Of Many Things,3/26): The circumstances were vastlydifferent for the man who was to bethe first Catholic president. A consor-


tium of respected Protestant ministers(led by Norman Vincent Peale) voicedobjection to the possibility of aCatholic president on the grounds thathis primary loyalty would be to Rome.Today, we have legal abortion, aCatholic vice president and the veryProtestants who once believedCatholics harbored guns in theirchurches hoping for a violent take-over of the United States now supportpro-life Catholics.

Most surprising of all is thatSantorum is only one of the Catholicsrunning today (and that the other oneis the thrice-married Newt Gingrich),not to mention that the leadingRepublican contender is a Mormon.All of these candidates face a sitting

African-American president. No onein the 1960s could have imagined sucha future. It seems Rick Santorum haslittle grasp of this history or of theanti-Catholicism Kennedy faced in hisera.

CAROL DECHANTOcean Ridge, Fla.

Power BrokenConcerning “Afghanistan Burning”(Current Comment, 3/19): It is ashame on our country that the onlynations that we will “save for democra-cy” are those that either supply us withcheap raw materials or are of strategicmilitary value. If we were honestlyinterested in promoting justice andpeace, we would be involved in

addressing the slaughter of innocentpeople in a place like Syria.

Wealth and power are the prioritiesof our country. The only parts of theChristian Gospels that address thosepriorities relate to the Sanhedrin andthe Roman governor. Like those powerbrokers, we seem to support the voca-tion of the money changers in theTemple. Jesus physically expelledthem, for which, like so many youngsoldiers of ours today, he died a fewdays later, because the powers that bewanted to protect their self-servingstatus quo.

LARRY BOUDREAUSan Antonio, Tex.

The Letter of the LawYour editorial “N.Y.P.D. Blues” (3/19),focusing on intelligence gathering bythe N.Y. Police Department in thispost-9/11 world, is right on target. Assomeone who spent a career protectingU.S. embassies abroad and then direct-ing the public safety efforts in one ofNew York City’s major businessimprovement districts, I fully under-stand the need for timely and clearintelligence. Following the letter, andmore importantly, the spirit of the law,however, is essential in a free and opensociety.

Having worked with N.Y.P.D.’s best,I know their hearts are in the rightplace strategizing defenses in the pro-tection of New York and its wonderfulpeople. N.Y. Police CommissionerRaymond Kelly and N.Y.P.D.Intelligence Chief David Cohen needto find ways to include a diverse num-ber of community and policy leaders intheir strategic discussions as they striveto prevent another 9/11.

BRIAN FLANAGANSouthport, N.C.


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THE WORD

he First Letter of John is bothparticularly inspiring and par-ticularly disjointed, bouncing

around as it does from one statementto another with little cohesion. Today’sshort reading is a perfect illustration ofthis dual character. The reading bringsus through a quick succession of ideas.First we are told that if we sin, then wehave “an advocate with the Father, JesusChrist the righteous one.” Then weread that whoever “does not keep hiscommandments is a liar, and the truthis not found in him.” Finally we learnthat “whoever keeps his word, the Loveof God is truly perfected in him.”

If I were reading a student paperand encountered these three successivepoints within such a short span of text,I might write something like the fol-lowing in the margin: “John, slowdown here. Write an explanatory para-graph for each claim, and be sure to tellthe reader how they all go together.”

It seems that John is going torequire us to do this for ourselves. Weshould start by recognizing that theletter’s central theme is love. This isalso true of the Gospel of John, the let-ter’s theological foundation: “As I haveloved you, so you also should love oneanother” ( Jn 13:34). To love as Jesusloves is no easy task. As FyodorDostoyevsky famously articulated inThe Brother’s Karamazov, “Love inaction is a harsh and dreadful thingcompared to love in dreams.” Love

demands; it demands utterly. Mereobedience requires a bit of discipline.Love requires that we call forth thevery truth about us: we aremade for love. For thisvery reason, love is alsoutterly beautiful andtranscendent. Only inloving do I experienceand express my truewealth.

So keeping God’sword is nothing lessthan both expressing our lovefor God and experiencing God’svery love being perfected in us. Webecome expressions of the livinglove of God. To fail to follow God’scommandments is to deny both ourdeepest truth and the truth of Godwithin us.

The commandments of God are,on one level, various, ranging frombasic honesty to fulfilling the imper-atives of justice. On another level, theyare simply expressions of the singularcommand of love: Love fulfills the law(Rom 13:8). This should not surpriseus, since “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8).Where there is no love, there is simplyno God; and no matter how well-behaved we are, there is no truth in us.

Love is difficult and demandingprecisely because it calls on our deep-est selves. Wholly genuine love allowsfor no half-measures. So, until God’slove is perfected in us, we are going tofail again and again and again.

If I focused on my failures, I wouldbe utterly deflated. Today’s readingbegins with words of comfort: “We have

an Advocate with the Father.” Do notthink this means that Jesus is pleadingour cause with the Father, for John tiesthis to Jesus’ sacrifice. I take this to mean

that his self-emptying giftfor us to the Father is aneternal redemptiveexpression of his love,perpetually uniting us tothe Father. His very

redemptive gift is an eter-nal advocacy on our behalf.

This means that he is con-stantly offering us his mercy even

Demanding but Constant LoveTHIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER (B), APRIL 22, 2012

Readings: Acts 3:13-19; Ps 4:2-9; 1 Jn 2:1-5; Lk 24:35-48

Whoever keeps his word, the love of God is perfected in him (1 Jn 2:5)

T

PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE

• Consider the ways you are best at loving.

• Where is loving most “dreadful” in yourlife?

• What does God ask of you there?

PETER FELDMEIER is the Murray/BacikChair of Catholic Studies at the University ofToledo.

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as his love is constantly calling us to liveour souls’ deepest truth.

For me, the most heroic life is notthe one with the grand gesture; it is theone that is most constant in love. Thisis why, for example, Pope John Paul IIdeclarerd St. Thérèse of Lisieux a doc-tor of the church. Her “little way” isboth simple and profound. As sheframed it in her Story of a Soul: “Thisis how my life will be consumed. I haveno other means of proving my love foryou than that of strewing flowers, thatis, not allowing one little sacrifice toescape, not one look, one word, profit-ing all by the smallest things and doingthem through love.”

any years ago I had a con-versation with a man whosewife had just been buried.

He had led a rather dysfunctional lifeand perpetrated much abuse on hisspouse and children. He asked mewhat I thought of his chances of goingto heaven. This was not a great ques-tion, since our salvation is not a matterof odds, but rather the assurance offaith in Jesus Christ who has alreadywon this for us. Obviously, salvation isnot a lock, as if our cooperation withGod’s saving grace is not necessary. Itis! But odds are not part of the picture.

I decided to base my reply on somesense of how he conceived of the situ-ation. “Have you reformed your morallife?” His response was, “Well, youknow…. I guess that’s a hard one. I stillhave some anger issues and now andthen some alcohol concerns.” I askedhim, “Are you engaged in the church?”

His response: “No. Apart from thefuneral, I haven’t been to church in 30years [that is, since the late 1950s]. Ican’t stand all these changes.” “But youleft the church before they came in,” Isaid. “I know! This sure as hell isn’t thechurch I left 30 years ago.” (True con-versation, I swear.)

I kept going: “Do you at least pray?”

He pondered: “Not so much like Isuppose I should.”

I encouraged him to go to confes-sion and tell all. I gently urged him tomake the rest of his life one of amends.I suggested to him how important itwas to return to the church and tostart a prayer life. But inside my head Iwas wondering: “Why do you evenwant to go to heaven if you’re notinterested in God? Heaven is all Godall the time!”

In the second reading we hear,“Beloved, we are God’s children now;what we shall be has not yet beenrevealed. We do know that when it isrevealed we shall be like him, for weshall see him as he is.” This will beheaven: being like God. Peter framesthe fulfillment of God’s promises bysaying that we “may come to share inthe divine nature” (2 Pt 1:4). Thechurch has called this theosis, ordivinization, which refers to livingGod’s life by grace as God lives it, par-ticularly loving as God loves.

If this seems a bit too heavy or a bittoo abstract, we would do well to con-sider the Gospel. Jesus tells his listen-ers that he is the good shepherd.Unlike uncaring shepherds, who leavethe sheep in time of danger, this good

shepherd will protect us even with hisvery life. The theme of shepherding ismuch used throughout the OldTestament. Ezekiel 34 is the classicpassage in which the prophet excori-ates the bad shepherds (leaders) whoexploit their sheep (the people ofIsrael) without care. Ezekiel prophe-sies that God himself will personallypasture the sheep as well as placebefore them a new David, who “shallfeed them and be their shepherd”(34:15, 23). Jesus most assuredly ful-fills this prophecy on both scores.

Jesus has come to feed us, to protectus, to guide us and to love us. What isparticularly touching is that twiceJesus assures his listeners that he andhis disciples (shepherd and sheep)have an intimate relationship: “I knowmine and mine know me,” and “theywill hear my voice.” There is great ten-

derness in Jesus’ image. In coming toknow him and letting him know us, wecome to develop a deep bond.

When I was in college, I was given apamphlet that began by asking mewhat I would say at the gates of heav-en when asked why I should be admit-ted. The definitive answer was,“Because Jesus died for my sins” (youcannot go wrong with that). Today’sGospel answer would be, “Because Ibelong there.” So maybe I should haveasked that cantankerous old man whowanted to know his odds of going toheaven: “Do you belong there?”

PETER FELDMEIER


Where You BelongFOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (B), APRIL 29, 2012

Readings: Acts 4:8-12; Ps 118:1-29; 1 Jn 3:1-2; Jn 10:11-18

“I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me” (Jn 10:14)

M

PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE

• Take time to consider how the GoodShepherd calls you by name.

• How has Jesus guided you this pastweek?

• On what occasions do you feel most inti-mate with him?

THE WORD

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