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Regarding your editorial “Another confrontation with ourselves” (NCR, April 27): There is wisdom in the slogan one often hears, “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” But after Virginia Tech, and after the six 2006 school shootings -- Nickel Mines, Pa. (Oct. 2), Cazenovia, Wis. (Sept. 29), Bailey, Colo. (Sept. 27), Pittsburgh (Sept. 17), Hillsborough, N.C. (Aug. 30), and Essex, Vt. (Aug. 24) -- one is inclined to reflect more seriously on the experience-inspired and perhaps deeper wisdom of the dictum, “Guns don’t kill people. People with guns kill people.” Tragedies like Virginia Tech do not happen in the United Kingdom, Canada or Japan, where gun ownership is restricted.
(Fr.) LARRY N. LORENZONI, SDB
San Francisco
Regarding your editorial about Don Imus (NCR, April 16): It prompts this question: Is Imus just Inus (in us)? I eat breakfast often at a restaurant in a suburb where two middle-aged men and one woman eat together frequently. Twice recently I was seated close enough to them to hear their morning commentary on the news: first the Don Imus debacle, next the killings on the Virginia Tech campus. About Mr. Imus the decree was that the only “problem” he had was that he is “not black. Blacks can talk like that but let a white person say it and ...” About the campus killings there was this cogent observation: “Was the person [shooter] a ‘dot head?’ ” I hardly had time to process the term when the speaker clarified it: “Did he wear a turban?” Next, when one of the breakfast orders was incorrect, one said: “What’s his [the cook’s] problem? Is he Asian?” (the ethnicity of the shooter).
There is no excuse for Don Imus’ remarks -- or for the similar remarks, or worse, of any other so-called shock-jock, rapper or “talking head” in any medium. But perhaps the time is long past for each of us to stop pointing and wagging fingers at “them” and do some real soul-searching. We might be stunned to discover that the same attitudes, thoughts and mindless offhand but ugly comments as these are actually part of us too.
RITA HESSLEY
Cincinnati
The attack on Fr. Jon Sobrino remains as a self-condemning act by the Vatican. The pathetic and tragic figure, Archbishop Fernando Sáenz Lacalle, certainly wants to gag Fr. Sobrino. Fr. Sobrino witnessed the behavior of the prelate when Archbishop Lacalle was military vicar to the Salvadoran death squad army. And now Archbishop Lacalle is praying to God, “that Fr. Sobrino will remain docile before the teachings of the church.”
Such words could not have been better said by the Grand Inquisitor prior to a burning at the stake. The Incarnation is all about the humanity of Jesus and his lifestyle, which remains so misunderstood by much of the hierarchy.
As we carefully study the history of doctrine over two millennia, we can see the profoundly political nature of many dogmatic declarations. Whether it was the Council of Nicea under the Emperor Constantine or the schism between the Romans and the Greeks in 1054, the political implications are glaring. And so it is today. Liberation theology is simply an effort to transcend the imperial theology that has negatively impacted the church for centuries. The people of Latin America and the world will continue their imitation of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Oscar Romero (canonized by the people) and Fr. Jon Sobrino. This is not the ugly message of sectarian exclusion. This is the inclusive message of all being one through the practice of the fruits of the Spirit, justice, peace, love, joy, endurance, courage and compassion.
BLASE BONPANE
Los Angeles
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If there is one institution that should be an example of reconciliation and healing to the world, it should be the church. In Matthew 18, Jesus gives steps for the process of reconciliation when there is a dispute within the community. Various stages in the process proceed toward an open, public examination. The recent Holy Office case against Fr. Jon Sobrino seriously violates this process. The secrecy of the investigation and the charges against Fr. Sobrino and his responses beg for public documentation.
Theologian Nicholas Lash in a recent letter to the editor in England’s The Tablet suggested that the Holy Office proceeded in this case with a hermeneutics of suspicion toward one of its best minds. How sad. In an open church there would be nothing to hide. Most people believe that nobody hides anything except those who have something to hide. Regardless of the final decision against Fr. Sobrino, the truth will ultimately out.
(Fr.) NEIL J. MOORE
Beaverton, Ore.
The future of the church will depend on how effectively church leaders concern themselves with realities such as those mentioned in two sociological studies headlined “The ‘bookend’ generations” (NCR, March 9). The conclusions of the findings speculate that the U.S. church may be only a fraction of its size in the future. Findings refer to the pre-Vatican II Catholics who grew up with the Latin Mass and dated theological virtues. To them serious failings consisted of missing Mass on Sundays, premarital sex, masturbation and lying. With the younger generation, social sins -- bigotry, failure to give women equal rights, lack of respect for diversity, neglect of the poor -- are major ills that need to be confronted.
I don’t see any threats to the church as long as these differences are confronted by church leaders who can make decisions, either by requiring uncritical acceptance of what the pope calls fundamental values or boldly stepping up to the plate and making spiritual and religious decisions that can stand up successfully to critical examination. Members of the hierarchy, the clergy and the laity, with mutual respect for each other, can enable the U.S. church to grow, not shrink to an organization of only blind followers.
JOSEPH P. MANTHORNE
North Andover, Mass.
I read with great interest Tim Gallagher’s proposal to restructure parishes under civil law (NCR, March 9). Twenty years ago I studied the issue and came up with an alternate solution, offered it to my bishop and got nowhere. The idea is simple. The people in the parish are the beneficiaries of parish structure. In the 19th century, many parishes were formally organized as a trust, with governance through a group of lay trustees. Trusts were abandoned in the 20th century. Autocratic clerical governance became the rule. We all know the mess this created. I have personal experience with a pastor who never reported bingo earnings nor the support he furnished his woman and their child.
The trust is the better way to administer a parish. It’s a creature of the chancery court in medieval England, a Catholic institution, and is consistent with the idea that the parish exists for the parishioners. Most states now have statutes following the Model Trust Code, a civil law already extant. This code has ample structure for all the procedures identified by Mr. Gallagher and a review process in a civil court if trustees go astray. A trust is a creature of the parishioners; it requires one public filing usually with a country clerk. The only disadvantage I know is that the trust may not seek relief in bankruptcy, but this should never be necessary if laypeople pay attention.
ANTHONY F. AVALLONE
Las Cruces, N.M.
Austin, Texas, Bishop Gregory Aymond says he opposes establishing a searchable, Internet-based registry containing the names of clergy facing credible accusations of sexual abuse (NCR, March 30). He states that such a list could never be comprehensive or accurate enough and may lead to a “miscarriage of justice.” That miscarriage has already occurred. Conservative figures show that more than 17,000 children were molested or raped by clergy. These criminal acts have been a travesty to the young lives dashed to ruin by trusted authority figures who manipulated their ways into the destruction of souls. It is way overdue for our church to regain its own morality and walk the talk.
The bishop’s caution is misdirected and continues to protect the very institution that moved perverted priests from one parish community to another knowingly. Bishop Aymond, you are incorrect. It is time for you and your kind to humbly and contritely open the doors and windows and live transparent lives of servanthood, as did Christ. A national/international predator database is needed not just for moral bishops to do the right thing but to protect children from the clerical culture of secrecy and cover-ups. It is time for us to be people of the light and release ourselves from the bounds of a covert, secretive and feudal institution that has actively undermined its own credibility.
JANET W. HAUTER
South Barrington, Ill.
Regarding “Catholic bishops condemn Maguire on birth control, gay marriage” (NCR, April 6): The bishops’ comment, “The bishops are the successors of the apostles, who are given the authority to proclaim the teaching of Jesus Christ. ... Laity and clergy embody and express the sense of the faith precisely when they conform their consciences to what the church authentically professes and teaches.”
I’m confused. I thought it was the pope who was infallible. And if memory serves me, there has only been one infallible pronouncement, and that refers to Mary, the Mother of God. How does gay marriage and birth control fit into that category? Further, once again relying on memory, I believe that in the New Testament, only in Romans is homosexuality even mentioned. The clergy and laity have two choices: They can pay, pray and obey, or they can study an issue and listen carefully to the bishops. If agreement on an issue is impossible, then dissent must be expressed lovingly and clearly. But then, I am female, so who will listen?
SHIRLEY BIANCHI
Cambria, Calif.
Your editorial is correct there has been “little genuine progress on sex abuse” (NCR, April 20). In the state capital here, Albany, N.Y., there is no legislative progress and little talk of repealing the statute of limitations. Worse, bishops still have not been required to be mandatory reporters of sexual abuse accusations. Such information remains behind closed chancery doors. Doctors and educators are required to report allegations to the district attorney for investigation and adjudication. Though a few dozen priests have been removed from active work, their names have not been officially listed, the settlements incurred are unknown and we do not know where they reside. Though the bishops have lobbied against mandatory reporting, it is one way to insure that we do not have to live through another series of allegations, abuses and cover-ups.
FRANCIS W. RODGERS
Rensselaer, N.Y.
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, May 4, 2007