National Catholic Reporter
Subscribers only section
April 6, 2007
 

Letters

War doesn’t work

Reading your article on the U.S. defense budget (NCR, March 9) was disturbing in so many ways. But the point that struck me was this: Even though we spend nine times more than No. 2 -- Russia -- and even though we spend more than all other countries combined, even though we spend half our tax revenue on our military, we still can’t “win a war” in Afghanistan. In spite of all the money spent, we have such poor military capability that we need to draft large numbers of National Guard people just to handle a war in two militarily-insignificant countries -- Afghanistan and Iraq. What this demonstrates so well, it seems to me, is the complete ineffectiveness of military solutions to world problems. Violence is hugely expensive, and it doesn’t work.

RAY TURNER
San Jose, Calif.


Jon Sobrino

John Allen ends his Web column on the Vatican censure of Jon Sobrino saying that Fr. Sobrino told Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, superior general of the Jesuits, that the notification will likely cause “some suffering” to his friends and family. Though not a friend of Jon Sobrino, I met him and heard him give a talk in El Salvador some 10 years ago. Having read the full text of the notification and the explanatory note of the notification, I am truly sad and suffering. My lasting impression of Jon Sobrino was that this was truly a spiritual and holy man. How seldom I have that experience with clergy, bishops and cardinals in our Catholic church. This whole process and explanation reminds me of what a fellow priest once said on visiting Rome and the Vatican. “Seeing how these prelates walk so auspiciously in their multicolored cassocks and attire, briefcase in hand, I understand now how they can take themselves so seriously.”

(Fr.) DAVID JACKSON, SCJ
Lyford, Texas

* * *

In response to your editorial about Fr. Sobrino: I don’t understand how the Vatican could have been “kinder” to him. They pointed out that some of his writings may lead others to misunderstand Catholicism. Isn’t that their obligation? They did not bar him from teaching or writing, or from performing his other works of charity. They merely pointed out that some of his liberation teachings may be misunderstood to be in conflict with church teaching. This editorial underlines what I personally believe to be a problem today with many of us: lack of humility. Perhaps what Fr. Sobrino, along with many of us, may need to remember is that we are not in charge. We have a wonderful pope and magisterium to lead us, and we need to trust and believe that Christ’s vicar will lead us along the right path. Let’s all -- bishops, priests, religious and lay people -- accept criticism from Rome with humility and gratitude rather than with pride and resentment.

NOLA LEAHY
Coto de Caz, Calif.


Catholicism’s future

It should be good news that 60 percent of the Catholics polled, of all generations, as reported in Rich Heffern’s article “The bookend generations” (NCR, March 9) affirmed that being Catholic was a “very important part” of their identity and that they would want future members of their families to grow up Catholic. Yet the authors of the studies fret, “If we follow the present pattern, the church of 2050 may well be a fraction of its present size” because so many younger Catholics see missing Mass as an “option” and regard Catholic sexual prohibitions as “anachronistic.”

One wonders, however, if these two latter categories will be the sole indicators of a vibrant Catholicism in 2050. My hunch is that the American church will be organized differently, with greater lay involvement, greater liturgical settings for both unregistered and registered Catholics, linking the church’s social doctrines to the reverence and mystery of the Eucharist, greater interchange between local parishes and Catholic colleges and universities.

Our bishops will adjust the membership criteria to include, besides baptism, a variety of spiritual practices, including Sunday liturgy as one important option among many, alongside a commitment to social justice, witness and service. These pastoral provisions would reflect a much broader view of Catholic participation in church life and in American society as a whole.

(Fr.) JAMES CHICHETTO, CSC
Easton, Mass.


High salary

Was there a typo in the article about Frances Kissling leaving Catholics for a Free Choice (NCR, March 9)? I was shocked to discover that the leader of this marginal organization which, to my knowledge, has not made one iota of difference either inside or outside the church in the past quarter of a century, earns $200,000 a year. Who on earth is giving her that kind of moolah? I would love to have that kind of money to hire folks in my diocese to actually make some progress in bringing about the reign of God.

GREGORY BYRNE
Morgantown, W.V.

* * *

Outgoing Catholics for a Free Choice director Frances Kissling had harsh words for “progressive Catholics” across the board, and for our organization, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, in particular. As a cofounder and executive director of the alliance, I must clarify that these statements were ill-informed with respect to the alliance’s mission and accomplishments. Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good was launched to engage the media, Catholics and all Americans on the fullness of the Catholic social tradition, with its focus on social justice, human dignity and the common good.

We work to bring this rich tradition, often described as the church’s “best-kept secret,” to the center of our nation’s values debate. A review of our highly publicized, widely distributed 2006 nonpartisan voting guide (“Voting for the Common Good”), our Web site (www.catholicsinalliance.org), our Catholic commentators bureau, and our other programs makes this clear. We do not serve any political agenda, only the Catholic social justice tradition.

Our focus on abortion, in this context, intends to help Americans move beyond the tired culture war polarization on the issue. In this spirit, we welcome several measures currently in Congress to prevent and reduce abortions through increased support for pregnant women, alternatives to abortion, and support for families and children. We believe that fully realizing these measures and building a culture of life in the truest sense are the best approach to reducing abortions. The Catholic social tradition and domestic and global data, bear this out.

ALEXIA K. KELLEY
Washington

Alexia K. Kelley is executive director of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good.


Visiting the imprisoned

Sr. Beverly Anne LoGrasso’s article “When I was in prison, you came to my cell” (NCR, March 23) portrays the viewpoint of all feeling human beings who respond to the ideal espoused by Jesus -- visit the imprisoned. In prison one quickly perceives the overwhelming goodness of inmates, despite their feet of clay. Their strength and endurance humble us who have had so many advantages in life.

As a volunteer in prison visitation and support, I am allowed to spend one hour a month with each of five inmates in a federal detention center. We talk about things and ideas as friends would. That is all that the rules allow, but it is enough to make a difference in their lives and in ours.

My dream is that our parishes will organize people and programs to reach out to prisoners in a far more comprehensive way, but at least in some way, so that we can give expression to the love of God, which inmates so desperately need.

RICHARD SULLIVAN
Aberdeen, N.J.


New Orleans stories

Fr. Bryan Massingale’s article on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (NCR, March 2) is brilliant and so needed. I was boated out of the rectory two days after the storm, grateful for the kindness of strangers. We had no idea what was happening in the city, because of the failure of radio and television. The stories are a part of our “shameful history.” I think Katrina, our presence in Iraq and Afganistan, our failure to push for greater Israeli concessions for the Palestinians all point to this administration’s indifference to our neighbor -- black, white, brown or purple. Main concerns: Win the war, maintain an image and bigger profits. The date Aug. 29, 2005, is long past but the stories need to be repeatedly told.

(Fr.) RON HENERY, OP
Ponchatoula, La.


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@ncronline.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, April 6, 2007