National Catholic Reporter
Subscribers only section
November 24, 2006
 

Letters

Purifying vessels

Regarding “Laity must not purify vessels,” (NCR, Nov. 3): Millions are dying in Sudan, the horror of sexual abuse continues to plague the church, the pope has managed to offend most Muslims, the war in Iraq batters at the hearts of those of goodwill, the rich get richer while the poor struggle to survive, and Pope Benedict and the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments are worried about who does the dishes after Communion. Will they ever “get it”? Talk about rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. No wonder even cradle Catholics throw up their hands in frustration and turn their backs on the institutional church. Let us pray for wisdom in discerning the meaning of respect.

JOANNE MARRIOTT
Vernon, Conn.


Worthy of Communion

I find it to be the height of hypocrisy when bishops lecture pro-choice politicians in a pluralistic society on their worthiness to receive Communion while ignoring the worthiness of bishops who protected pedophiles presiding at Eucharistic celebrations.

JACK NEARY
Rochester, N.Y.


Spokane cover-up

The disclosure of the continuing horrors in the Spokane diocese shows that the hierarchy is still attempting to cover up (“Compensating for the sins of the fathers,” NCR, Nov. 10). The difference is that now bishops do so openly. They attempt to hide under the protection of their canon law when they have violated the civil and criminal laws of our society. Add to that their total insensitivity and that of their lawyers toward victims and you have a view of an institution that has nothing to do with Jesus. It does not deserve to be called Christian. The first attention of bishops is to the “bottom-line” money just as it is with secular corporations. Jesuit Fr. Tom Reese is right in his observation that the bishops are not sacrificing fine lodgings and meals. That’s shorthand for their pretenses at royalty that start with the pope and the Vatican. Of course, Fr. Reese was canned by Benedict right after his election. It makes one recognize the reason the Vatican manipulated concordats to call itself a state. It’s all about worldly power, not about continuing Jesus’ message. Randy Costan expresses the clearest and most honest observation, “We’ve all lost sight,” sight of the Jesus who is proclaimed Lord and the words that were chosen to be called Gospel.

GILBERT CANTLIN
Berea, Ohio

* * *

Regarding “Compensating for the sins of the fathers,” William Sloan Coffin once said, “One of the attributes of power is that it gives those who have it the ability to define reality and the power to make others believe their definition.”

The current leader of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, William Skylstad, is neither incompetent nor inept. He followed his lawyers’ advice over the years with eyes wide open. But in recent years the ability that Mr. Coffin talked about has lost its power to compel belief. When Molly Harding, director of the Spokane chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, first approached “Skylstad in 2001, telling him of her desire to form a Spokane SNAP group, he responded, ‘Oh Molly, please, we don’t have that problem here,’ ” when he was very much aware there was a terrible problem. This from the bishop who fought so hard to keep any records from becoming public and whose diocese declared bankruptcy rather than settle with victims of sexual abuse by priests under his authority. And Bishop Skylstad himself avoided going to trial for violating the law on mandatory reporting by entering the diocese into bankruptcy proceedings. For there to be any actual change in the bishops’ behavior, some of them actually will have to start going to jail. Bishop William Skylstad should be a candidate to lead that procession.

CATHERINE MARY HENRY
Havertown, Pa.

* * *

Tom Roberts’ column that accompanies the article about the Spokane diocese gets to the heart of the damage caused by the sexual abuse crisis and cover-up -- the breach of trust between and among God’s people. Denial, as in other dysfunctional closed systems, exacerbates the damage and delays justice for victims and victimizers. Solidarity (www.solidarityrebuildtrust.com) proposes a nonadversarial way to justly compensate victims of sexual abuse and rebuild trust within the Catholic community. Telling the truth and hearing it with compassion is the disciples’ work, and right action can only flow from compassion. Each instance of abuse or cover-up is like a land mine, damaging great numbers of us. Might not the wise solution be to adopt strategies that heal in like manner, exponentially, by dealing compassionately and with honor? Speaking truth and doing justice with humility will create the possibility of forgiveness and reconciliation. Accepting anything less does not serve God.

SUSAN PAVLAK
St. Paul, Minn.

Susan Pavlak is the founder of Solidarity.


Sexual orientation

For most of human history, left-handed folk were regarded as truly sinister -- objectively disordered and sinful, even. Thankfully, most but not all of the world has come to realize that although left dominance is an innate result of brain hardwiring, it is not a factor in determining one’s worth as a person or one’s value as a child of God. The same should be true of sexual orientation. However much sexuality and sexual orientation may define one’s view of oneself as a person, it is not particularly relevant in the capacity and willingness to love God, to see God in those around us, and to contribute to the Catholic church. The bishops just don’t get this (“Planned documents take on hot-button topics,” NCR, Nov. 3). Sexual orientation isn’t that big a deal, guys. Until the bishops figure this out, we can take comfort -- and get the occasional chuckle -- by reading their pronouncements and substituting “left-handedness” for “homosexuality.” I hope that in the not-too-distant future, one reading will be regarded as laughable as the other.

CLAIRE E. TOTH
Summit, N.J.


Free tuition

Tom Beaudoin’s article, “Free tuition: A socioeconomic sign of peace” (NCR, Nov. 3), hit close to home. I thank God every day for the excellent education and the spiritual formation I received at Regis High School in New York -- tuition free. Yet I lament the fact that I cannot give back to the extent that I’d like because the bulk of my bank account has gone to Fordham University to educate my daughter and Fairfield University to educate my oldest son. Perhaps my youngest will opt for a state school instead of the Jesuits. Mr. Beaudoin’s suggestion that the Jesuits already have a model of a “free tuition” school in Regis should be taken seriously. Ironically, the day before I read this article I received the results of Regis’ annual fund drive: 55 percent of the alumni contributed over $4.4 million. Obviously, treating students with dignity and generosity results in the same treatment by its alumni toward the institution. To use Beaudoin’s words, this is certainly an example of a spiritual exercise for both school and alumni/ae that results in the building of the reign of God.

FRANK V. PESCE
Westbury, N.Y.

* * *

Free Jesuit tuition is a great idea. Let’s start a national movement by focusing upon the smallest Jesuit institutions. According to the 2006 Catholic Almanac, Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., and Wheeling (W.Va.) Jesuit University have 1,050 and 1,703 students respectively. They are in poor areas of the country. A national effort by Jesuit education supporters would reduce tuition quickly at these institutions, perhaps making them tuition free within a decade. Such small institutions could become laboratories for Catholic educational renewal with innovative programs whose impact might be lost on larger campuses.

In the interests of full disclosure, I am a Voice of the Faithful member who established the Rakosky Memorial Scholarship at Wheeling Jesuit University in honor of my parents to support students from Washington County, Pa., where I grew up. Dad was a steelworker; my parents supported my education when it was not so expensive. The money is there to do this whether from great or small donors like myself. A couple of demonstration projects will show the idea works.

JACK RAKOSKY
Concord Township, Ohio

* * *

Tom Beaudoin’s piece regarding free tuition for Jesuit colleges and universities is an appealing idea, especially to parents and students. It is certainly a radical approach to the complex issue of college costs and also seems consistent with a long-standing Jesuit commitment to serve less-advantaged students. But is free tuition really possible? The problem is that it contradicts the stark realities of financing higher education today. A quick look at financial data tells why. Overall expenses for the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities for 2004-2005 totaled approximately $5.2 billion, with tuition covering two-thirds of those costs. Subtracting the average one-third of tuition that is discounted, nearly $2.3 billion would have to be raised each year to replace the lost tuition, for an average of more than $80 million per institution -- over and above current fundraising goals.

This reality check emphasizes the need for institutions to find better and more creative ways to address the college costs issue. Each of our institutions is searching for ways to keep costs down so that a Jesuit education is as accessible and affordable as we can make it. Examples include cost-effectiveness studies of campus operations and outsourcing many nonacademic services such as food service while avoiding hurting employees in the process. Working with parents, students, government and donors, Jesuit schools must continue to address the challenge to keep costs down as best they can, at the same time maintaining academic excellence and responding to demands for increased services. Our commitment to pursuing the common good that promotes access to quality higher education for all qualified and interested students remains our top priority.

MELISSA C. DI LEONARDO
Washington

Melissa C. Di Leonardo is director of communications for the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.


New headline proposed

My reaction to your headline on Christine Schenk’s “Viewpoint” article (NCR, Nov. 3), “Vatican shows new openness to women” was … well, thanks a lot! I would have composed one of the following headlines to more cogently reflect the thrust of the article: One, “Holy Spirit nudges the Vatican,” or two, “Half the church gets a little recognition,” or three, “A slight light breaks through in Rome.” How sad that the Vatican prefers to stumble around in the dark rather than freely acknowledge the essential actual and potential contributions of the women of the church. How tragic that the legalisms of canon law, not written in stone, are allowed to obscure the fullness of the light.

KATHLEEN KELLY
Syracuse, N.Y.


‘Deliver us from evil’

Since your newspaper first broke the priest abuse scandal in the 1980s, you have done a service keeping this issue before the public, including your recent article on troubles in Spokane (NCR, Nov. 10). Thank you for your tenacity in the face of denial coming from many places within the church. I went to see the documentary film “Deliver Us from Evil” recently and was encouraged by how well it was done. It’s a balanced portrayal of a sick church in dire need of redemption. The heart-wrenching stories, told not by actors but by real people who were affected by Fr. Oliver O’Grady, give the audience a true sense of what families went through at the hands of those they implicitly trusted. The hierarchy’s cover-up continues the ongoing saga of pain, deceit and corruption. I encourage as many people as possible to see this film.

MARIANNE THOMPSON
Santa Rosa, Calif.


Sisters’ ministry overlooked

A heartfelt “thank you” for the article on St. Martin de Porres Parish in Philadelphia, written by Mike Newall in the “Paths to Peace” insert (NCR, Oct. 20). I have no illusions that our efforts in a small congregation in a large violence-ridden area of North Philadelphia will solve the problem. Our boat is small, and the sea is large and rough. Nonetheless, reminiscent of the prayer (and switching metaphors), we sow seeds and leave the results to God. Still, it is humanly gratifying to have our ministry noticed, encouraged and supported by the article in NCR.

In the course of discussing activities specifically targeting violence, I regret that we overlooked the educational ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Philadelphia. Our parish school is our single largest parish ministry, and education is the finest, longest-term life-altering ministry the church has historically offered to the poor, in our case specifically African-American poor, who suffer more than their share of violence and so many other social ills and injustices. The St. Joseph Sisters, with a legendary commitment to social justice in Philadelphia and elsewhere, still maintain five sisters here at St. Martin de Porres School, one of their largest commitments anywhere. Without them and our dedicated lay faculty and staff, we would have to rewrite our history. I pray that our discussion of the “Paths to Peace” will increasingly identify, support and celebrate the lives and labors of so many in the field.

(Fr.) ED HALLINAN
Philadelphia


Educational dialogue

Cardinal Avery Dulles made a noteworthy observation during his interview with John Allen (NCR, Nov. 3). Commenting on the difficulties of engaging in dialogue with Muslims, the cardinal stated: “They generally consider dialogue a sign of weakness, to admit that they might have something to learn.” What a prescient insight. Now if the cardinal could just persuade his friends in the Roman curia of the educational value of dialogue, on subjects such as gay unions and the ordination of women, we might get somewhere.

L. WILLIAM STAUDENMAIER
Wauwatosa, Wis.


Bishop KO’s letters

Bishop Gerald Kicanas, according to the managing editor of the monthly Catholic publication in Tucson, Ariz., has authorized deleting the space previously devoted to letters to the editor. Letters are received and read but not printed. The bishop now controls what parishioners are allowed to read. In the past, the bishop has refused to print any letter that discredited the Tucson diocese regarding the costly failures that total close to $50 million. Bishop Kicanas stated that reminding the parishioners of past bad news is not good for the healing process. Where is honesty? Where is accountability? If parishioners are not allowed to voice their opinions in the paper they finance because the bishop editor controls what is printed, it’s time for the parishioners to demand a new editor or consider a Tucson Tea Party. Only then will the true healing begin.

DOM TOMASSO
Tucson, Ariz.


Letters to the editor should be limited to 250 words and preferably typed. If a letter refers to a previous issue of NCR, please give us that issue’s date. We reserve the right to edit all letters. Letters, National Catholic Reporter, PO Box 411009, Kansas City, MO 64141-1009. Fax: (816) 968-2280. E-mail: letters@natcath.org (When sending a letter via e-mail, please indicate "NCR Letters" in the subject line. We've installed a new spam filter on our letters e-mail account. If it's not clear to us that yours is a letter, we might delete it.) Please be sure to include your street address, city, state, zip and daytime telephone number

National Catholic Reporter, November 24, 2006