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Inside
NCR
This weeks issue is a heavy
one, replete with the worlds problems, yet leavened with a spirit of
hope. For example:
- A trial ends in Guatemala City, convicting three military men
and a priest in the savage killing of a bishop. Juan Gerardi was a target only
because he was committed to truth-telling in a place and time when power was
better served by lies.
- Nearly 4 million women are physically abused each year by their
spouses or live-in partners, in many cases the men who have promised to love
and honor them for life. And millions of others are affected by domestic
violence, if only because -- as is the case with some members of our staff --
they have passed by a house and heard the screams or seen a man hit a woman on
the street.
- Children are also victims, and in societys efforts to
address the problem of abuse in the home, presumably innocent people get caught
in the web. That is the case with Maria, featured in our cover story package,
on page 6.
- And then we are reminded again, on page 15, of reports
describing sexual abuse of nuns by clergy in 23 countries, particularly in
Africa. We first wrote about these reports in mid-March.
If you look beyond the obvious in these stories, youll see
that, though each is based on bad news, the events that brought them to the
surface are actually good news.
The trial in Guatemala was a landmark. The convictions are a first
step toward justice and a victory for individuals and organizations that have
courageously labored in behalf of truth.
In societys efforts to address the problem of domestic
violence, Catholics are increasingly involved. Clergy, sometimes slow to
recognize the seriousness of the problem, are beginning to follow the lead of
nuns, who have been in the forefront.
In the case of sexual abuse of nuns by clergy, the Leadership
Conference of Consecrated Life in South Africa has pledged to seek ways to
combat it.
It may not be light reading in our news pages in this second issue
of summer, but it isnt as dreary as it might at first appear. In each
case, the articles we entrust to our readers are just as much about people
working for justice and a better world as they are about the problems that all
of us, in one way or another, face.
As we go to press with this issue,
we are missing our dedicated editor Tom Roberts, even as we vicariously revel
in the two weeks he is spending with his family at the Jersey shore. This
vacation marks the first time in the NCR staffs memory that Tom
has made a complete break with land phones, cell phones and e-mail. Hell
be back next issue, tanned and fit.
-- The editors
National Catholic Reporter, June 29,
2001
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