America · America Dec. 10, 2007 THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC WEEKLY $2.75 The Synod of Bishops Kevin E....

AmericaDec. 10, 2007 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 $2.75

The Synod of BishopsKevin E. McKenna

Facing Up to the Inquisition Ivan J. Kauffman

Daniel F. Polish on Hanukkah

The Eye and IGod and ScienceWilliam J. O’Malley

ad,” Rabbi Joel Meierexplained to an audience ofJewish and Catholic leaders,“means ‘hand’ in Hebrew.”

By extension it refers to a pointer lectorsuse as they read the Torah before a con-gregation. The occasion for his remarkon Nov. 19 was the conclusion of thesemi-annual meeting of the NationalCouncil of Synagogues, an association ofReform, Conservative andReconstructionist Jewish leaders, with theBishops’ Committee for Ecumenical andInterfaith Affairs. The rabbi was present-ing a “yad” to Cardinal William H.Keeler in gratitude for 20 years of leader-ship in Catholic-Jewish relations.

It was a quiet, low-key transition, suit-ed to the man it honored. For CardinalKeeler, the archbishop emeritus ofBaltimore, is a soft-spoken, modest gen-tleman, whose plain words are carefullychosen. It would be easy to mistake himfor just another Catholic prelate. Butwhen the history of the Catholic Churchin the late 20thcentury is written,his achievementswill stand abovethose of many.More than anyone else, he has beenresponsible for the progress of the U.S.church in ecumenical and interfaithaffairs, and above all for unique advancesin Catholic-Jewish relations that made thisspecial relationship a model for the world.

With calm determination, he has fos-tered those relations, earning the respectand affection of the Jewish community.Whether the climate was stormy orsunny, he was tireless in meeting withlocal Jewish groups around the country.With sureness of purpose, he worked withAmerican Jewish leaders through crises,like the controversy over the Carmeliteconvent at Auschwitz in the mid-90s.When Jewish defense groups complainedabout Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah’sdefense of Palestinian rights, he wouldcalmly urge them to meet the patriarch inperson; and when Patriarch Sabbahplanned visits to the United States, thecardinal would quietly offer to arrangemeetings for him with his Jewish friends.

In 1983 Cardinal Keeler becamechairman of the Bishops’ Committee onEcumenical and Interfaith Affairs. Afterhis term as N.C.C.B./U.S.C.C. presidentconcluded, he again became the modera-tor for Jewish relations; and after a splitbetween the Orthodox Jewish leadership

and the Reform and Conservative rabbisand lay leaders, he co-chaired the dia-logue with the National Council ofSynagogues, the Reform-Conservativeumbrella organization. (First the lateCardinal John J. O’Connor and morerecently Bishop William F. Murphy ofRockville Centre have chaired the dia-logue with Orthodox Judaism.)

When Bishop Keeler of Harrisburgtook over as moderator of Catholic-Jewish relations from Bishop FrancisMugavero of Brooklyn in 1987, planswere underway for Pope John Paul II’ssecond visit to the United States. Aboutsix weeks before the visit the Austrianpresident, Kurt Waldheim, a former Naziofficer whose unit had participated inkilling Jews, visited the pope at theVatican. A storm of protest went up fromthe Jewish community. Bishop Keelerwas at the heart of negotiations that putthe pope’s anticipated meeting withAmerican Jewish leaders during the visitback on track. At the same time, he

helped Jewishleadersresolve a dis-pute amongthemselves

about where in Miami they would meetthe pope.

Similarly, as a member of theDialogue of [Eastern] Orthodox andCatholic Bishops, Cardinal Keeler, evenin difficult times, always found ways tosustain relations. In 1997, afterEcumenical Patriarch Bartholomew hadgiven a provocative address atGeorgetown University, the cardinaloffered the patriarch an irenic welcomein Baltimore and soon after hosted one ofthe more contentious meetings of theInternational Orthodox-CatholicDialogue at Mount Saint Mary’sSeminary in Emmitsburg, Md. Afterwardhe worked steadily to re-gather the groupand re-establish the dialogue. ThatCatholic-Orthodox relations are now ona steadier, more positive course is due, inlarge part, to Cardinal Keeler’s fidelity tothe cause of Christian unity.

Among his other accomplishmentswere gaining the bishops’ approval tofund and staff interreligious dialogue,resulting in solid Islamic relations; inter-religious collaboration for peace; and theformation of Christian Churches ComingTogether in the USA, a Catholic,Protestant and Evangelical forum onpublic issues. Drew Christiansen, S.J.

AmericaPublished by Jesuits of the United States

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Articles

The Eye and I 9William J. O’MalleyDo the questions science poses diminish the God of faith?

Benedict XVI and the 15Synod of BishopsKevin E. McKennaMany hoped the synods of bishops would continue Vatican II’s collegial spirit. Is it likely the pope will make changes?

15

30

www.americamagazine.org Vol. 197 No. 19, Whole No. 4797 December 10, 2007

Current Comment 4

Editorial Following Conscience 5

Signs of the Times 6

Life in the 00s 8A Future Without Parish Schools Terry Golway

Of Other ThingsHanukkah and the Miracle of Self-Renewal 20Daniel F. PolishWaiting for Good News David Walsh-Little 23Facing the Inquisition Ivan J. Kauffman 25

Faith in Focus 29Advent 3: The Surprise Child James T. Keane

Bookings 30Deck the Shelves With Books AplentyPatricia A. Kossmann

Letters 36

The Word 39Salvation and the Savior Daniel J. Harrington

William J. O’Malley, S.J., critiques Carl Sagan's “Gospel of Scientism.” On our pod-

cast, Leo J. O'Donovan, S.J., reports on “The Age of Rembrandt.” Plus, the debut of

“In All Things,” our new editorial blog. All at www.americamagazine.org.

This week @America Connects

ties, victims rarely report the crime to police.The legislation deals with all forms of gender-based

violence, not only rape but also domestic violence, honorkillings and genital mutilation. It creates the first StateDepartment office working explicitly on this issue.Moreover, it aims to decrease the risk of sexual exploitationby military personnel, humanitarian workers and policeinvolved in foreign peacekeeping operations by creatingtraining programs for them and mechanisms for reportingabuse. Rita Sharma Fox, president of the Women’s EdgeCoalition, has said that the legislation offers hope that vio-lence will not continue to prevent women from going towork, getting an education and supporting their families.Given the widespread violence, Congress should not delayits consideration of this important measure.

‘Shut Up,’ He ExplainedThe usually unflappable King Juan Carlos of Spain brokecharacter last month at a gathering of Spanish andPortuguese-speaking nations in Chile, when he toldPresident Hugo Chávez of Venezuela to “shut up” afterChávez launched a tirade against perceived “fascists” at themeeting. It was the latest in a series of dramatic publicappearances for Chávez, who recently visited Iran andannounced the two nations “are united like a single fist”against the United States. Chávez has also cozied up toPresident Vladimir Putin of Russia and suggested theyform a “strategic alliance,” surely setting off alarm bells inWashington.

It can be tempting to view Chávez as little more thandiet Castro, a stuffed-shirt demagogue whose internationalpopularity stems almost entirely from his anti-gringo per-formances. Why does Chávez matter? The real foreignrelations story is oil, because Venezuela has it and every-one else wants it. But on the domestic front, Chávez hasshown disturbing signs that he aims to create a policestate. In August he suggested changes to the Venezuelanconstitution to keep him in power beyond 2012, and hisrepeated threats to declare a state of emergency are widelyinterpreted as a power grab that would result in severelycurtailed human rights. When Cardinal Rosalio CastilloLara of Venezuela, who died last month, lamented a yearago that Chávez’s machinations have come “at the cost ofso many human lives and the progress of his nation,”Chávez denounced him as a “devil in a cassock.” With oilprices reaching all-time highs, Chávez is in a position ofgeopolitical strength. Will the consequences includedomestic tyranny?

Current Comment

Identifying ImmigrantsThe proposal seemed sensible enough: grant driver’slicenses to undocumented immigrants to ensure the safetyof state roads and provide security officials with a means totrack residents who otherwise live in the shadows. Similarlaws are already in place in seven other states. Yet NewYork’s Governor Eliot Spitzer’s license proposal was quick-ly scuttled last month after a wave of criticism from bothRepublicans and Democrats, who argued the plan wouldprovide an opening for terrorists. Hillary Clinton, a presi-dential hopeful, eventually disavowed the proposal afterwaffling on the issue at a presidential debate.

“The idea was right, the timing was wrong,” saidCharles B. Rangel of New York. Perhaps he is right: thestill-raw memory of Sept. 11, coupled with the country’spolarization over immigration, may have doomed the planfrom the start. Yet there seemed to be another dynamic atwork as well, one that taps into the fundamental problemat the root of our immigration crisis. There are reportedly12 million undocumented immigrants in this country.They clean our offices, pick our produce and care for ourchildren. Yet for many people they remain merely statis-tics. By granting them licenses, we would be offering themrecognition, literally giving them faces and names. Criticsargue that “illegal immigrants” deserve no such legal vali-dation, but they offer no practical alternative for dealingwith the millions of undocumented workers in our midst.The demise of Governor Spitzer’s proposal makes it highlyunlikely that another lawmaker will take up the issue, espe-cially in an election year. So millions of immigrants willremain anonymous, making it that much easier for us toignore their existence.

Violence Against Women Violence against women has reached crisis proportions.The U.N. Development Fund for Women estimates thatat least one in three women will be beaten, raped or other-wise abused during her lifetime. Seeking to address theissue, a bipartisan coalition in Congress is working for pas-sage of the International Violence Against Women Act,which would authorize $1 billion over five years. Aimednot only at preventing violence, but also at supportinghealth care, survivors’ services and changing negativesocial attitudes toward women, the legislation is especiallyneeded now, when rape is used as a weapon of war by bothgovernment and rebel forces in developing countries.Fearful of being shunned by their families and communi-

4 America December 10, 2007

Department and the office of the Secretary of Defense, itwas an uphill battle. It fell, as it inevitably does in all wars,to conscientious officers and enlistees to stand up for therules of war. With a volunteer military in need of men andwomen to fight in Iraq, however, the military has grownincreasingly resistant to granting conscientious objectorstatus to soldiers and marines. (See “A Soldier’s Decision,”America, 1/29.)

Pleas for C.O. status, dissenting from all war, oftenemerge from repugnance at the repeated horrors of battle.It is understandable that the experience might turn someindividuals against war altogether. For Catholics, however,the issues are more complex. Catholic teaching requiresdisobedience to immoral orders. In their recent statement,Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, the U.S. bish-ops not only affirmed the duty of Catholics “to opposetorture [and] unjust war”; they went further, affirming theright of citizens not just to reject participation in all war,but also to resist serving in “a particular war, or a militaryprocedure” by what is known as selective conscientiousobjection. While the law and military regulation makeallowance for conscientious objection, neither law norjudicial decision permit it to be selective. Over the years,the U.S. bishops have repeatedly urged legalization ofselective conscientious objection.

THE MORAL CONFUSION AND ETHICAL DILEMMAS brought on bythe U.S. war in Iraq point to the need for legalization ofS.C.O. For as the Catholic Peace Fellowship advises poten-tial objectors already serving in the military, “Somebodymight refuse to fight in Iraq, believing it to be an unjust orimmoral war, but would not be opposed to fighting in awar of defense. [Such selective] conscientious objection isNOT legal, and an S.C.O. would face jail time.”

Logically, the case for S.C.O. should be stronger thanthe argument on behalf of a dispensation for consistentpacifists, since S.C.O. is a corollary of the just war tradition.If it is permissible to wage a just war, then it is forbidden towage an unjust war or execute an immoral order. S.C.O.can be said, in fact, to uphold the system; it guarantees theintegrity of the military. And the claim that S.C.O. endan-gers the national defense and the good order of the militaryis obviously fallacious, for it argues in effect that to supportjust wars, one must support unjust wars and immoral usesof force as well. Indeed, legalization of selective conscien-tious objection may add to the pressures that prevent politi-cal and military leaders from prosecuting unjust wars ofchoice, such as the Iraq war was at its inception.

December 10, 2007 America 5

Editorial

FollowingConscience

N THE OLD AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE,”

reports the Army Officer’s Guide, “the emperoror empress had a medal that was awarded toofficers who, by disobeying orders, turned thetide and won important battles. In the U.S.

Army,” it continues, “of course, there is no such medal:this sort of judgment, wrapped within a full, disciplinedunderstanding of the legal and moral impact of decisions,is expected.”

Elizabeth D. Samet reflects on this passage in herrecently published account of teaching literature at WestPoint, Soldier’s Heart (Farrar, Straus and Giroux).Principled disobedience to orders has always been difficult,even when it is not just permitted, but required by law.The logic of battle, and so of military discipline, weighsheavily in favor of obedience to command. After theVietnam War and atrocities like My Lai, the Army andMarine Corps took pains to train their personnel inresponsible obedience. By the early 1990s, however, seniorofficers were already troubled that a new generation didnot share their commitment to “military honor.” The so-called war on terror, shaped by the belief that terrorismchanged all the rules, and then the protracted war in Iraq,with the uncertainties of counterinsurgency warfare alongwith the battle fatigue that comes with repeated rotationsof the same people into combat, have made conscientiousobjection even more difficult. In our day, judgment “with-in a full, disciplined understanding of the legal and moralimpact of decisions” has become more difficult to realizeand still harder to implement.

Much of the difficulty has been created by civilians atthe top of the chain of command. Assertions that theGeneva Conventions do not apply to the war on terrorpaved the way for atrocities like Abu Ghraib. Talk thatasymmetrical warfare demands relaxing established con-straints on what might be done in combat and that newforms of unconventional warfare require “new,” undefinedresponses contributed to a climate of permissiveness. Somein the military, especially military lawyers, to their credit,did their best to hold the line for observance of the laws ofarmed conflict. But against the White House, the Justice

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Cardinal Apologizes forProvince Leaders’ Sins Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec hasapologized and asked forgiveness for thesins of past provincial Catholic Churchleaders regarding sexual abuse by clergy,discrimination against women and homo-sexuals, anti-Semitism and racism. In anopen letter to the people of QuebecProvince issued Nov. 21, the cardinal,who is primate of the Catholic Church inCanada, acknowledged that before 1960certain Catholics favored “anti-Semitism,racism, indifference toward the FirstNations and discrimination regardingwomen and homosexuals. The behaviorof Catholics and some episcopal authori-ties relative to the right to vote, access towork and the advancement of women wasnot always equal to the needs of societynor even in conformity with the socialdoctrine of the church,” he said. “I alsoacknowledge that abuse of power andcounterwitness have tarnished the imageof the clergy among many and under-mined their moral authority,” he said.“Youth have suffered sexual abuse bypriests and religious, resulting in seriousdamage and traumas that have shatteredtheir lives. These scandals have shakenthe confidence of the people [in] religiousauthorities, and we understand.”

New Bishops in ChinaHave Vatican ApprovalThe Catholic Church in China is expect-ing the ordination of three new govern-ment-recognized bishops, all in their 40sand with papal approval. TheGuangzhou, Ningxia and Yichang dioce-ses are preparing for the ordinations,reported the Asian church news agencyUCA News. The Rev. Francis LuShouwang was set to be ordained Nov.30 at St. Francis Cathedral in Yichang, acity along the Yangtze River in Hebeiprovince. He became diocesan adminis-trator after Bishop Paul Francis ZhangMingqian of Yichang died in July 2005;diocesan priests, nuns and laypeopleelected the priest as a candidate for bish-op last December. Farther north, inNingxia-Hui Autonomous Region,Bishop John Liu Jingshan of Ningxia told

Religious leaders must speak out “loudand clear” against those who try to usesacred texts like the Koran or the Bibleto justify violence or human rights viola-tions, the Vatican’s nuncio to the UnitedNations said in a lecture at theUniversity of Notre Dame. ArchbishopCelestino Migliore spoke Nov. 15 on“Catholicism and Islam: Points ofConvergence and Divergence,Encounter and Cooperation.” He saidthe spread of terrorism has “triggered arenewed interest in Christian-Islamicdialogue. It’s not enough for any reli-gion to say: We have nothing to do with

extremists, with fundamentalists; or,extremists do not speak for our respec-tive religions,” Archbishop Miglioresaid. “Indeed extremists and fundamen-talists do make reference to the samesacred texts; they even dare to portraythemselves as the faithful interpretersand keepers of those sacred texts.

“Rather, we have to engage those whotry to justify their unjustifiable acts ofviolence and multiform violations ofhuman rights using those same texts andproclaim it loud and clear that thosetexts do not lend themselves to a readingwhich leads to violence,” he added.

Scientists and ethicists alike hailed asa breakthrough two studies showingthat human skin cells can be repro-grammed to work as effectively asembryonic stem cells, thus negatingthe need to destroy embryos in thename of science. Separate studiesfrom teams led by Shinya Yamanakaof Kyoto University in Japan and

Junying Yu andJames Thomson ofthe University ofWisconsin-Madisonwere publishedonline Nov. 20 bythe journals Cell andScience, respectively.“The methods out-lined in these papersfully conform towhat we have hopedto see for sometime,” said a spokes-person from theNational CatholicBioethics Center inPhiladelphia. “Suchstrategies shouldcontinue to be pur-sued and stronglypromoted, as theyshould help to steerthe entire field ofstem-cell research in

a more explicitly ethical direction bycircumventing the moral quagmireassociated with destroying humanembryos,” it added. By adding fourgenes to the skin cells, the scientistswere able to create stem cells thatgenetically match the donor and havethe ability to become any of the 220types of cells in the human body.


Signs of the Times

Stem Cell Studies Hailed as Breakthrough

Junying Yu of the Genome Center of Wisconsin in a lab at theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Nov. 19. Yu is the lead author ofa paper describing a novel method of reprogramming adult stemcells to create cells that are indistinguishable from embryonicstem cells.

Nuncio: Religions Must Speak Out Against Violence

dozen Catholic bishops Nov. 13 at a lun-cheon reception during the bishops’ fallgeneral meeting in Baltimore, Md. TheNational Leadership Roundtable onChurch Management, established in July2005, has published three “Standards forExcellence” booklets outlining codes ofethics and accountability for Catholicdioceses, parishes and nonprofit organi-zations.

It also worked in partnership with theArchdiocese of New Orleans to helprestore Catholic schools followingHurricane Katrina. “We have been ableto reopen 86 of the 106 schools” in oper-ation before the hurricane, includingseven regional schools in the areas mostdevastated by the 2005 disaster, saidArchbishop Alfred C. Hughes of NewOrleans. Because so many New Orleanspublic schools still remain closed, headded, “70 percent of our students afterKatrina are not Catholic; most comefrom families living below the povertylevel.”

Van Kaam, Religious Psychologist, DiesAdrian van Kaam, a Spiritan priest whowas a noted author in the field of forma-tive spirituality and a retired professor atDuquesne University in Pittsburgh, diedNov. 17 at age 87. A funeral Mass wascelebrated for him Nov. 24 in theDuquesne University chapel, followed byburial at Queen of Heaven Cemetery inPeters Township, Pa.

Father van Kaam was born in TheHague, Netherlands, professed his vowsin 1940 at the seminary in Gemert,Netherlands, and was ordained there July21, 1946. After serving in the Nether-lands for eight years, he moved to theUnited States and was appointed to thepsychology department faculty atDuquesne University, which is run by theCongregation of the Holy Spirit, or theSpiritans. He founded Duquesne’sGraduate Institute of FormativeSpirituality in 1963 and taught there as aprofessor until it closed 30 years later. Hetrained priests, nuns, brothers andlaypeople from around the world whoworked as directors of seminaries andnovitiates.

UCA News Nov. 19 that he will ordainthe Rev. Joseph Li Jing, 40, as his coadju-tor. He said the ceremony is tentativelyset for Dec. 8, the feast of theImmaculate Conception, at the cathedralin Yinchuan. Media outside mainlandChina reported that the Rev. Joseph GanJunqiu may be ordained in earlyDecember as bishop of Guangzhou, insouthern China’s Guangdong province.On Nov. 20, Bishop-elect Gan, 43, andother church officials in China told UCANews that no date had been fixed butpreparations for the episcopal ordinationwere under way.

Madden: U.S. Must TakeLead in Peace EffortsAs key leaders from Israel, the Palestinianterritories, Saudi Arabia, Syria and othernations gathered in Annapolis on Nov.26 to 28 for a peace conference on theMiddle East and related meetings, localCatholic leaders said they were hopefulthe meetings would trigger further dis-cussions for making a lasting peace in theHoly Land. Peace is attainable, they said,but it will take assertive leadership fromthe United States to make it a reality.“I’m guardedly optimistic in the sensethat I’m always happy when there’s somekind of negotiation going on in theMiddle East,” said Bishop Denis J.Madden, an auxiliary bishop and urbanvicar for the Archdiocese of Baltimore,Md. Bishop Madden previously served asassociate secretary general of the CatholicNear East Welfare Association and direc-tor of the Pontifical Mission for Palestineoffice in Jerusalem. He said the lack ofstrong leadership from the United Statesin recent years has been one reason thepeace process has stalled. He was hopefulthe U.S.-led Annapolis conference wouldchange that. The conference and relatedmeetings included participants from 50organizations and countries.

Leadership RoundtableReports ProgressLeaders of an organization working tobring better financial and managementpractices to church operations sharedtheir progress with more than three


Signs of the Times

From CNS and other sources. CNS photos.

Oregon Jesuits NearSettlement of Abuse SuitsThe attorney for plaintiffs in more than100 claims of sexual abuse by members ofthe Catholic clergy announced Nov. 18 a$50 million settlement with the Societyof Jesus for cases involving more than adozen Jesuits posted in Alaska between1961 and 1987. But John D. Whitney,S.J., superior of the Jesuits’ OregonProvince, said in a statement that “thereare still many issues that need to be final-ized before it is appropriate to make anofficial announcement about a settle-ment.” He said the province was disap-pointed by the announcement by theattorney Ken Roosa of Anchorage, whichhe described as “premature and detri-mental to the work of healing aboutwhich we are all concerned.” TheDiocese of Fairbanks is a co-defendant inthe cases. Separate lawsuits against thediocese remain unresolved.

Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit priest known to for-mer gang members in East Los Angeles as"G-Dog," is pictured in a 2005 photo.Father Boyle, who founded HomeboyIndustries in 1988 to provide "hope, notjail" for former gang members who want toturn their lives around, received one of theCaring Institute's 2007 National CaringAwards at a Nov. 16 ceremony inWashington, D.C.

G-Dog Honored

to prepare Methodist eighth-graders forconfirmation, but it is open to middle-schoolers of all faiths.

As an outsider, though hardly theonly Catholic parent whose childrenattend J.Y.F., I’ve been impressed withRev. Elhers’s ability to connect servicewith spirituality. My kids are getting thebest of both worlds: They are receiving asound background in Catholic doctrinein their parish school, and through theirmembership in J.Y.F. they are receivingan education in the application ofChristian principles.

Could programs like J.Y.F. offer amodel for what Catholic education mightbecome if schools grow increasingly hardto sustain? Frankly, that very thoughtoccurred to me recently as I watched mykids emerge from a meeting with smilesand chatter that are quite unlike theexpressions I associate with classroomlearning. Granted, J.Y.F. is not school,and even a faith-oriented youth groupisn’t a religion class or C.C.D. But still, Iwondered, could this well-organized,effective, and—let’s face it—cost-effectiveprogram provide a model for how a futuregeneration of Catholic children may becatechized?

I certainly thought so, but a conversa-tion with Rev. Elhers offered a cautionarytale. “We do service and fellowship well,”she said, “but the religious education pieceis the hard part, especially at the highschool level.” She also coordinates a highschool youth group that, among otherthings, carries out three service projects ayear. In a few months, the group will jour-ney to the Texas-Mexico border to assistMexican children whose parents havecrossed into the United States.

But service projects alone, no matterhow worthy, cannot provide the sort ofreligious education young people need,

Rev. Elhers said. A parent like myselfmight be impressed by earnest projects andgood fellowship, but without proper reli-gious instruction the picture is incomplete.

“In doing youth groups, I see how lit-tle time I get with high school students,”Rev. Elhers said. “I get them for two hoursonce a week, and in general, we haven’tquite figured out how to get theminvolved in the life of the church.”

That concern is hardly unique to anyone church or denomination today.Catholics have had a relatively easier timeof it over the last century or so, thanks tothat great building-block of faith and prac-tice, the parish school. But what happens ifthose schools continue to disappear? Andhere is another question that might wellbecome part of the Catholic conversationover the next three decades: Could region-al consolidations and well-planned clos-ings actually help us to create morevibrant youth ministries by redirectingresources and energy?

I don’t claim to have the answer, but Isurely would argue that this is a conversa-tion that ought to take place within thechurch, and that we ought to begin thesearch for alternative models of catechesisand values-centered instruction. Thatsearch would hardly be a lonely one, forother communities of faith will be similar-ly engaged.

If we are destined to have fewer (and,perhaps, stronger) Catholic schools in thefuture, if Catholic parents will find them-selves hard-pressed to pay tuition whentheir property taxes hit five figures, itwould seem imperative that clergy andlaypeople think about what comes next.Vibrant youth organizations that combinereligious education with service and fel-lowship require trained leaders, and eventhen, as Rev. Elhers points out, the task isnot easy.

But the burdens are lighter when theyare shared. Whatever our differences overdoctrine, Christians in the 21st centurysurely share a concern about the spiritualwell-being of their young people. Whereschools are becoming untenable,Catholics ought to take a hard look at howother denominations transmit faith andvalues without the benefit of classrooms.

And, even better, we ought to join inon the fun. Terry Golway

A Future WithoutParish Schools

We ought to begin the search foralternative models of catechesis.

Life in the 00s


AST TIME WE MET, Iexpressed some concernsabout the future of Catholicschools in states and munici-palities with high property

taxes. I suggested that the next generationof closings and consolidations will be cen-tered not in the inner cities, but in theolder suburbs that support services suchas paid fire departments, local policeforces, extensive parks and recreationfacilities, and, of course, public education.In such areas, five-figure property taxesare bound to have an important effect onfamilies deciding between free publicschools or tuition-charging Catholicschools. Based on the reaction I havereceived in recent weeks, I’m not the onlyperson with such concerns.

The question Catholics may face inthe next quarter-century may be this: Canwe imagine American Catholicism with-out Catholic schools, or certainly withoutthe number of schools we have now? Andif further closings and consolidations areinevitable, even in strong, affluent parish-es, what models of religious educationshould we investigate today in preparationfor tomorrow?

Even as I write, my two middle-schoolchildren are attending a meeting of theirfaith-based youth group, which is spon-sored not by our parish but by a localMethodist church, and is supervised by anenergetic minister named Brenda Elhers.The group, part of a broader Methodistnetwork called Junior Youth Fellowship,coordinates service projects, encouragesfellowship, and—here’s the hard part—attempts to offer instruction in the tenetsof Christianity. The program is designed

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‘TERRY GOLWAY is the curator of the JohnKean Center for American History at KeanUniversity in Union, N.J.

OR 40 YEARS, I HAVE TAUNTED high school seniors with the problem of God.Given their only recently evolved capacity to reason and its concomitantresistance to authority, it would be easier to market acne. The ethos con-firmed them, long before the church did, as relativists (“Up to the individu-al”), materialists (“Show me!”) and pragmatists (“This on the test?”).

But I always held the trump card (I thought): the elegant human eye, a near-perfectmechanism whose exquisite parts are pointless without the others. A transparent lenscorrects for color and spherical distortion; an iris diaphragm fine-tunes focus continu-ously, even for those whose vision is otherwise impaired. The retina’s 125 million color-coding cells automatically switch among wavelengths. They take three-dimensionalcolor pictures as long as one can stay awake, and they never need developing or newfilm. Then images converge into a brain that turns them into abstract ideas. And oftenif they are damaged they repair themselves. No way could that just “happen” in correctsequence, even with a gazillion lucky chances! It is as close to certainty as one can getthat God, not evolution, created the universe. Darwin himself found the eye a puzzle-ment: “To suppose the eye with all its inimitable contrivances...could have been formed


WILLIAM J. O’MALLEY, S.J., teaches English and religious studies at Fordham Preparatory

School in the Bronx, N.Y. This is an excerpt from his newest book, Help My Disbelief (Orbis).

Do the questions science poses diminish the God of faith?

The Eye and I – BY WILLIAM J. O’MALLEY–

December 10, 2007 America Vol. 197 No. 19, Whole No. 4797A

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by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in thehighest degree.”

For 40 years, I was smug as a bug in a rug.Then, to my chagrin, I found not only that the eye could

evolve, bit by infinitesimal bit, but has done so more thanonce. And the defenders of that capacity were not onlyapostolic atheists like Richard Dawkins and fair-mindedagnostics like Steven Jay Gould, but also an evangelical likeFrancis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project, andCatholics like the Brown University biologist KennethMiller and George Coyne, S.J., former head of the VaticanObservatory. Evolution had more latitude than I hadguessed even from John Paul II’s address “Truth CannotContradict Truth” (1996) and Joseph Ratzinger’s In theBeginning (1986).

It was like the shock I had studying theology, acceptingthat snakes never talked, or learning that scientists find theBohr model of the atom, with its companionably orbitingelectrons, as far from actuality as 15th-century maps: notuseless, but quite inadequate. I was Alec Guinness standingamid the ruins of his beautiful bridge on the River Kwai.

The unpleasant facts: Limpets have just a few pigment-ed cells in an eye-spot, but these are effective enough tosense predators. One step up, split-shell mollusks’ eyesrecede into pits; the marine snail, the Nautilus, has its focusnarrowed by a pinhole lens. Octopuses and most vertebrateshave sharp-focus camera eyes just like ours. Using comput-er mock-ups (and presuming a pre-existent photo-sensitivecell), the Swedish biologists Dan-Erik Nilsson and SusannePelger estimated that an animal could go from flat-skin eyeto camera-lens eye in less than 500,000 years. Cells have“motive, means and opportunity.”

Time and ChanceBut does Darwin necessarily displace God? For a philoso-pher, “random” means “haphazard, purposeless”; but for ascientist it merely means “imperfectly predictable,” lackingcertainty but still constrained by the laws of physics andchemistry and the particular environment. By definition,unexpected changes are a break from what had been prettymuch predictable behavior. And while mutations in aspecies over vast savannahs of time do arise from purelychance “blips” in cell replication, the selection and continu-ance of those changes is anything but haphazard. Onlychanges making the host a better predator (or more elusiveprey), a more seductive attraction to mates and provider foryoung win the chance to continue in the opportunisticgame.

So at horse races, experts who study the contenders, con-trollers and environment make quite confident guesses aboutoutcomes. Similarly, atomic probers track errant electrons,and theologians grapple with the elusive Creator. The

astounding rationality of the physical world, coupled withthe analytic and imaginative powers of the human mind, giverise to both science and theology—making educated guessesabout unseen causes of visible effects. Annie Dillard writes:“What is the difference between a cathedral and a physicslab? Are they not both saying: Hello?” Newton, Einstein andHeisenberg are like Isaiah, Paul and Rahner in exploring thesame terra incognita with approximating tools, assessing allthe pertinent factors and taking calculated risks. Despite ourinadequate grasp of the divine nature, God would seem thebest odds-maker in the universe.

Diminishing God?Many believers in creationism and intelligent design balk atyielding much to evolution (or relativity or quantum theo-ry), lest it jettison God after such long service. Atheist evo-lutionists worsen matters by reminding us that God gave usan appendix with no function but to rupture on occasion,viruses whose sole aim is to destroy, and a world “red intooth and claw.” In River Out of Eden, Dawkins writesremorselessly: “This is one of the hardest lessons forhumans to learn. We cannot admit things might be neithergood nor evil. Neither cruel nor kind, but simply callous—indifferent to all suffering, lacking all purpose.”

In 2004 the International Theological Commission ofthe Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith wrote inCommunion and Stewardship (No. 69): “According to theCatholic understanding of divine causality...even the out-come of a truly contingent natural process can nonethelessfall within God’s providential plan for creation.” God didnot have to rig natural history so a particular branch of pri-mates would begin to stand up and look around, any morethan God had to steer us toward Babylon or Rome orBuchenwald. As Kenneth R. Miller writes: “If we can seeGod’s will in the flow of history and the circumstances ofour daily lives, we can certainly see it in the currents of nat-ural history.... Given evolution’s ability to adapt, to inno-vate, to test, and to experiment, sooner or later it wouldhave given the Creator exactly what He was looking for.”

A constantly meddlesome God leads to the Deist“watchmaker” of the 19th century, consolingly purposefulbut inflexibly determinist. Our lives would be nothing morethan unrolling prewritten scrolls, constantly edited bySomeone Else. On the contrary, could it not be that God ismore dedicated to freedom than we are comfortable with?God could well get a kick out of watching even genes learn-ing. Divine wizardry is in the power and fecundity of theuniverse itself.

God as CauseScience still yields plenty of clues to a Designer, who mightnot be as intrusive as we have been led to believe. Every


planet circles the sun at precisely the one speed that willkeep it from drifting into deep space or crashing into thesun. The four fundamental forces in the universe are gravi-ty (the attractive pull of every body), electromagnetism(bonding atoms), the strong nuclear force (binding elementswithin the nucleus) and the weak force (radioactive decay).If any of these forces were even minutely different, theadvent of humans would have been unthinkable. In fact,according to Stephen Hawking, “If the rate of expansionone second after the Big Bang had been smaller by even onepart in a hundred thousand million million, it would haverecollapsed before it reached its present size.” Conversely, ifgravity were weaker, Big Bang dust would have just contin-ued to expand, never coalescing. If the strong nuclear forcewere a little weaker, no elements heavier than hydrogenwould have formed. If electromagnetism were stronger,electrons would be so tightly bound to atoms, chemicalcompounds would have been impossible. Any weaker, andatoms would disintegrate at room temperature.

Miller writes: “As His great creation burst forth fromthe singularity of its origin, His laws would have set withinit the seeds of galaxies, stars, and planets, the potential forlife, the inevitability of change, and the confidence ofemerging intelligence.” God works not in the intimate, pal-pable anthropomorphism of Genesis, kneeling in the mudto fashion Adam and turn his rib into Eve, but God is—and

always will be—vibrant and at work in every physical lawthat evolution presumes.

The Missing Link in AtheismDawkins flirts with being hoist with his own petard. In RiverOut of Eden, he writes, almost huffily:

We humans have purpose on the brain. We find ithard to look at anything without wondering what itis “for,” what the motive for it is, or the purposebehind it. When the obsession with purposebecomes pathological it is called paranoia—readingmalevolent purpose into what is actually random badluck. But this is just an exaggerated form of a nearlyuniversal delusion.

Thus is the core of humanity dismissed as merely bother-some, like an appendix.

But the very term “natural selection” seems a misuse ofwords, since only an intelligence can assess options andchoose. How do we get laws out of luck, predictable “pro-cesses” out of brute chance? If what differentiates ourspecies from other animals is learning and altruism, why doNeanderthals still wildly outnumber the wise? The atheistpopularizers, of course, never use the word “soul,” since theonly difference they acknowledge between ourselves and


other apes is a smattering of renegade DNA. Even the bestChristian philosophers, however, have also contented them-selves with the woefully inadequate “rational animals,” as ifthat could account for a MASH unit treating North Koreanprisoners or Teihard’s obedient silence.

Atheists like Dawkins and Carl Sagan go way beyondtheir scientific passports. They are disconcertingly learned,sorcerers of analogy, writers of sinewy prose. But when theydepart from “how” into “why,” they are way beyond theircredentials, like athletes plugging Wheaties. To anyone out-side a lab, the difference between humans and our chimpcousins is not simply a measurable difference in DNA.

We are the only creatures we know who are aware weare selves, able to use the future tense and to regret. Otheranimals know facts, that danger is near, but do not seem toask why. They give their lives for their own but not, like us,for a principle or for people we do not even like. Only wehave hungers not rooted in a needful body or coldly ratio-nal mind: to be honorable, to find meaning, to survivedeath. Ignoring those indisputable facts is the rankestreductionism.

Charles Darwin, brilliant herald of this astonishinglyfruitful theory, was less simplistic than some of his ardentdisciples. In the final sentence of The Origin of Species, he

concludes:

There is grandeur in this view oflife, with its several powers, hav-ing been originally breathed bythe Creator into a few forms orinto one; and that, whilst thisplanet has gone cycling onaccording to the fixed law ofgravity, from so simple a begin-ning endless forms most beauti-ful and most wonderful havebeen, and are being evolved.

Perhaps we might find more motivatedbelief if we were more at peace withintriguing questions than prefabricatedconclusions, if we could stop needing toprove anything and delight in pursuingthe clues.


Further ReadingProceedings of the Royal Society B:Biological Sciences (London 2003,Nov. 22)

Richard Dawkins, “Is Science aReligion,” Humanist (1997); RiverOut of Eden (Perseus, 1996)

Kenneth R. Miller, Finding Darwin’sGod (HarperCollins, 2007)

Carl Sagan, The Dragons of Eden(Random House, 1986)

Steven Hawking, A Brief History ofTime (Bantam, 1998)

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From the archives: William J. O’Malley,S.J., on “Carl Sagan’s Gospel of

Scientism,” Feb. 7, 1981, at www.americamagazine.org

T THE TIME OF POPE BENEDICT’S ELECTION inJuly 2005, Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angelesmade a conjecture. Based on the way then-Cardinal Ratzinger had run the College of

Cardinals’ meetings before the conclave, Cardinal Mahonysaid that he would be surprised if the new pope did notreform the church’s process for the World Synod ofBishops. During the cardinals’ meetings most of the initialspeakers came from Europe or North America. “The futurepope paused the discussion and asked for cardinals fromsouthern Africa, English-speaking Africa, French-speakingAfrica and different areas of Asia to prepare presentationson the pastoral challenges they face,” said CardinalMahony, “I thought that was extremely helpful…and thatgave me an insight into what he is looking for at synods”(Catholic News Service, 7/8/05).

Since the Second Vatican Council, synods have bornethe hopes of many who desire a continuation of the coun-cil’s collaborative, collegial spirit. Yet numerous complaintshave been raised about the synod process; some have ques-tioned the synods’utility, given that theprocess seeks so littleinput into the topicsdiscussed and theresults promulgated.

On Oct. 5, 2008,Pope Benedict willconvene the 12thordinary assembly ofthe Synod of Bishops,to discuss “The Word

of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.” Aware ofthe criticisms that have been expressed, the pope couldmake changes to the synod structure and process. The ques-tion is, will he?

Paul VI and a New Collegial StructurePope Paul VI, desiring to maintain the momentum of con-ciliar collegiality sparked by Vatican II, issued the apostolicletter Apostolica Sollicitudo on Sept. 15, 1965, which gaveform and structure to a new creation, the Synod of Bishops.It is an assembly of bishops representing the Catholic epis-copate as a whole; its task is to help the pope govern the uni-versal church by giving him counsel. In the wake of VaticanII, it had become clear to Paul VI that such a body could beuseful, a “continuance after the council of the great abun-dance of benefits that we have been so happy to see flow tothe Christian people during the time of the council as aresult of our close collaboration with the bishops.”

Today, in accordance with Paul VI’s legislation and the1983 Code of Canon Law, the Synod of Bishops provides

REV. KEVIN E. MCKENNA

is pastor of St.

Cecil ia’s Church,

Rochester, N.Y. His lat-

est book is The Battle

for Rights in the United

States Catholic Church

(Paulist Press, 2007).


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Benedict XVI And the Synod of BishopsAre significant changes in the synod process likely?B Y K E V I N E . M C K E N N A

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The first general session of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican on Oct. 3, 2005.

information and advice to the pope. Ordinary generalassemblies (as opposed to the extraordinary general sessionsthat are called to deal with matters requiring a “speedy solu-tion” or special sessions that deal with matters concerning aspecific region or regions) have addressed a number ofthemes, such as “The Ministerial Priesthood” and “Justicein the World” (1971), “Evangelization in the ModernWorld” (1974), “Catechesis in Our Time” (1977), “TheChristian Family” (1980), “Penance and Reconciliation”(1983), “The Bishop: Servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christfor the Hope of the World” (2001) and most recently “TheEucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission ofthe Church” (2005).

The synod also enjoys the power of decision-makingwhen “conferred upon it by the Roman Pontiff; in this caseit belongs to him to ratify the decisions of the synod.”

Pope Benedict and the CriticsPope John Paul II referred to the synod as “a particularlyfruitful expression and instrument of the collegiality of bish-ops,” and the Second Vatican Council elucidated the impor-tance of the worldwide episcopacy in caring for the entirechurch (Lumen Gentium, No. 23). But some wonderwhether such participation can take place given the stric-tures currently imposed on the synod—limitations on the

formulation of the agenda and the power of decision-mak-ing, for instance. One critic describes the current synodprocess as offering intriguing debates at the start that leadto no substantive changes at the end. Some observers com-plain about a lack of outside experts (periti), the kind of the-ologians whose behind-the-scenes contributions were aprominent and valuable part of the council, and posit theirabsence as a reason forceful, creative suggestions fail toreach or influence the pope. Still others comment that thesynod has lost sight of its purpose and now moves in reverse,seeking the pope’s advice, with bishops quoting him in theirpublic addresses, as if he does not know what he himselfsaid.

While he was a bishop in Germany, Joseph Ratzingerparticipated in 15 of the 20 general, extraordinary and spe-cial synods held. Perhaps because of his experience, someprocedural changes were made at the October 2005 synod:the gathering’s length was reduced from four weeks to three,and the time allotted each bishop for speaking was shortenedfrom eight minutes to six. That year, too, each bishop wasstrongly encouraged to focus his reflection on but one of thefour main points in the synod’s working document, and thebishops were asked to sign up to speak in the order of thechapters of the synod’s working paper. In addition, the popeadded an hour of open discussion at the end of each day dur-ing which formal sessions were conducted, permitting allmembers to dialogue with or ask for and obtain informationfrom the synod fathers who had spoken that day.

Structural ChallengesIn 1988, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger published “TheStructure and Tasks of the Synod of Bishops,” in Church,Ecumenism and Politics: New Essays in Ecclesiology (Crossroad,1988). The essay analyzes the Synod of Bishops from theo-logical and canonical perspectives and may reveal much ofthe pope’s thinking about the role of the synod in the life ofthe church.

Although many had hoped the synod would developgreater collegiality between the pope and the bishops—where collegiality entails a sharing of power in thechurch—Cardinal Ratzinger does not understand colle-giality in this way. As he understands Pope Paul’s vision,the synod was intended to involve the bishops of thechurch collectively in the formation of policy on majorquestions. But according to the council, there are only twoways in which the college of bishops could act with legalforce: in an ecumenical council (such as Vatican II) or byall the bishops of the world acting together. The synodassists the pope by giving advice and counsel in the defenseand development of faith and morals and in the preserva-tion and strengthening of ecclesiastical discipline, but itcannot make decisions or issue decrees.


Furthermore, Cardinal Ratzinger argues, the legal sta-tus of the synod is not changed by the additional provisionthat in certain cases the pope can confer deliberativepower on the synod. That is because this deliberativepower is not inherent in the college of bishops but ratherremains dependent on the pope. The college of bishops,then, can exercise its own deliberative powers only as awhole, either in council or in practice. Bishops’ participa-tion in the governance of the church does not come byhaving representation in some central organ; the commu-nion of churches is not governed by a central parliamentor by an aristocratic senate or a monarchical head, but isentrusted to bishops who lead the Catholic Church in itsparticular churches and thus lead the universal church. “Itis in governing the particular church that the bishops sharein governing the universal church and not otherwise,”writes Cardinal Ratzinger. The bishop of the particularchurch of Rome makes the church’s unity visible andupholds its realization as a communion.

Cardinal Ratzinger argues that making the synod a reg-ular component of the church’s life would deform thenature of the episcopacy. The Tridentine reform empha-sized the importance of the bishop’s responsibility to residein his own diocese. This duty is not purely a matter of dis-cipline but a requirement of divine law: “To be a bishop

means to be a shepherd of one’s church,” CardinalRatzinger writes, “not its delegate at some center…. Thefundamental principle of a bishop’s duty to reside in his dio-cese is not something for the church to make up as it goesalong.” A council, as a rare and extraordinary event, isexceptional in the life of the church and, in CardinalRatzinger’s estimation, justified the excessive absence of abishop from his diocese. But an ongoing sense of unitybetween a diocese and its bishop is essential in his view: Thepeople “need a shepherd who is not looking to be a biggerfish somewhere else but is simply their shepherd and pastorwho knows his own and stays with them. In this sense onecan call the Tridentine reform truly pastoral; princes had tobecome shepherds, pastors, once again.”

The Power of the Episcopal ConferencesAnother proposal Cardinal Ratzinger challenged in his1988 essay is the concept of individual bishops’ conferencesdiscussing a synod agenda, deciding on it as a conferenceand mandating their delegates, who would serve as repre-sentatives of the conference, to put forward and supportonly the conference decisions. Such a format he founduntenable, because it presumes that delegates would beunanimous in their opinions. Consistent with a theme thatruns through his thought, particularly in regard to episcopal


conferences, Cardinal Ratzinger believes that on matters offaith and morals, no one can be bound by majority deci-sions. Truths are defined not by resolution but by recogni-tion and acceptance of the truth. He wrote: “My view is thatthe work of bishops’ conferences should by its nature bedirected not towards a lot of resolutions and documents butrather towards consciences becoming more enlightened….”In a similar manner, the discussions of a synod derive theirweight, not from the number of votes cast in favor of aproposition, but from the truth found in the individual con-sciences of the participants.

The Service of the Synod to the ChurchAs pope, will Benedict XVI make any significant gover-nance changes in the operation of the synod? Given his pre-vious writings and ecclesiological perspective, most likelynot. He might, however, enhance or emphasize his previ-ously stated understanding of the proper responsibilities ofthe Synod of Bishops.

Information. The Synod of Bishops is held to exchangeinformation. The bishops’ conferences inform the pope andthe Curia; the pope informs the bishops, the bishops informone another. But there is more involved than just theexchange of items of interest. “It is a mutual process offorming oneself in learning to understand the ideas, theactions, the urgent questions and the difficulties of the otherperson,” writes Cardinal Ratzinger. “Informing oneself inthis way in learning to share in the ideas of others so as tobecome capable of acting together thus becomes a processof communications in the truth, the maturing of that aware-ness which the shepherd needs in order to know his ownand to be known by them.”

Self-correction. There takes place in the synod discussionsa manner of mutual self-correction. To enter into the pro-cess more deeply, one must be ready to learn: to acceptsomething different, to re-examine what is one’s own and, ifnecessary, to change it. The synod must also be ready tospeak to the world, offering fraternal correction by way ofprophetic ministry when needed.

Encouragement. The synod must above all encourage andstrengthen the positive forces inside and outside the churchand foster all activities that let trust and love grow and thuscontain hope.

WE KNOW THAT POPE BENEDICT XVI can surprise and that hispapacy is not easily categorized or predictable. But whatev-er form future synods of bishops take, they will during histenure undoubtedly reflect his understanding of the church.Whatever structures have been devised organically to makefruitful God’s saving work, it is essential that the church bethe place where Christ binds himself to humanity in a newcovenant, to which God is always faithful.


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Orthodox Christmas: the same Nativity,the same birth of the Messiah, the samewise men. What Jews celebrate, however,is hardly a Jewish Christmas. The ele-ments central to what Christmas means toChristians are clearly absent in our Jewishcelebration. The holidays are hardly paral-lel and certainly not proportionate in reli-gious significance. Just ask any Jewish par-ent who has had to sit through some pub-lic school celebration of the Christmasholidays. The splendor of “Adeste Fidelis”is not challenged by the folk ditty that tellsus, “I have a little dreidel, I made it out ofclay….” One is magnificent, the otherbanal. One makes an assertion that is the-ologically consequential; the other about

the plasticity of clay. The disparity evokesan underlying difference between the twoholidays: Christmas celebrates an affirma-tion central to Christian faith, while theevents of Hanukkah are not at the core ofJewish history or religious belief. TakeChrist out of Christmas and you have lit-tle left. You could not have Christianitywithout the events celebrated onChristmas. Judaism without Hanukkah,however, would look pretty much like itdoes already.

Light for a Dark WorldOn another level, the two holidays doshare something deep in common. It ishardly an accident that both occur around

HEY START ARRIVING inAugust: the interminableparade of catalogues hawkingtantalizing Christmas wares.

Before I have finished writing my HighHoly Day sermons, before the start ofschool, long before the leaves have turned,before anyone has given the remotestthought to getting bags of candy for theneighborhood children’s trick or treat, mymailbox begins to flood with the glossyspreads about tree decorations, gift stock-ings and this year’s must-have accessory toenhance the family celebration. More thana few of these catalogues now devote spaceto accommodate those of us who light amenorah (a nine-branched candelabra) andspin a dreidel (a four-sided top), inspiringmany to imagine that it’s all the samething, Hanukkah and Christmas, justdressed up differently. On this page of acatalogue Mickey Mouse is a Christmasornament; on the next he is part of aHanukkah menorah. Such images rein-force a popular misperception ofHanukkah as “the Jewish Christmas.” I wastold as much last summer when I inquiredat my daughter’s day camp why she wasgiven the choice of making a Christmasstocking or a clay dreidel as an arts andcrafts activity in July (!): “It’s just two waysof celebrating the same holiday, isn’t it?”

Not the SameHanukkah, the Jewish Christmas? GreekOrthodox Christians do celebrate a Greek


Of Other Things

Hanukkah and the Miracle of Self-RenewalBY DANIEL F. POLISH

RABBI DANIEL F. POLISH, former director ofSocial Action of Reform Judaism, is nowspiritual leader of Congregation ShirChadash of the Hudson Valley inPoughkeepsie, N.Y. His latest book, TalkingAbout God: Exploring the Meaning ofReligious Life With Kierkegaard, Buber,Tillich and Heschel was published bySkyLight Paths Press in October.

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how to worship.” Israelis and Zioniststend to hear Hanukkah as celebrating thenational self-liberation of the Jewish peo-ple: “By the might of our own arms wehave thrown off all who would oppress

us.” And when we get down to therealities of personal celebration,Jewish children (at least in theUnited States) may not be all thatdifferent from Christian children inthe focus of their observance: pre-sents—no matter the reason whythey are given, and no matter howmuch we might decry it. For many,then, Hanukkah is wholly devoid ofmiracles.

The Greatest MiracleEven so, smack in the middle of theHanukkah story is that cruse of oil.Perhaps the greatest Hanukkah gift we aregiven is an encounter with “perhaps.”Perhaps that cruse of oil actually did burnfor eight days. After all, the story of theMaccabees was written well into the timeof accurate historical record-keeping.Perhaps things do occur that exceed ourability to explain. Perhaps, as Shakespearesaid, “There are more things in heavenand earth, Horatio,/ Than are dreamt ofin your philosophy.” Perhaps there ismore to our world than things we canexplain. Hanukkah allows us to open our-selves to that “perhaps.” It may well be,after all, as Albert Einstein once said,“There are only two ways to live your life.

lowed the victory—the name Hanukkahmeans dedication. And they emphasized amiracle concerning a small jar of oil forthe eternal light that burned in the templeand was never to go out. Only enough oil

remained in that jar to keep the flameburning for a single day, and the speciallyconsecrated oil needed for the lamp wasan eight-day round-trip journey away.Miraculously the light continued to burnfor the entire eight days. For the rabbis—and for the Jewish tradition that followedthem—Hanukkah came to celebrate thatmiracle.

There is an element of the supernatu-ral, then, in Hanukkah, no less than inChristmas. Perhaps we all need suchassurances of hope when the night growslong and the weather raw. But the reli-gious faith of most modern Jews does notrest on the miraculous. Hanukkah isHanukkah with or without the miracle.

American Jews tend to hear the storyof Hanukkah as an encomium to religiousfreedom: “No one has the right to tell us

the winter solstice. In this regard both areresponses to profoundly human needs,anthropologically deeper even than themanifest theological or historical contentof the two celebrations. Both come at the

time of year when days are shortest (atleast in the northern hemisphere whereboth religious traditions had their origins)and the weather the least hospitable. Bothcome when the darkness of night looks asif it might well prevail. And both respondby celebrating light. The lights of theChristmas tree, the Yule log and “Jesusthe light of the world” represent lightentering a dark world. Before that, on theJewish side, at a time of year when theworld grows darkest, Jews responded bylighting one light and then another andanother until they had, by their ownefforts, brought warmth and light into acold, dark world. On each night of theeight-day festival, we light one more can-dle—as well as the shamash (the helpercandle), which lights all the others; by theend nine candles are burning. Hanukkahmay not be the Jewish Christmas, but bothHanukkah and Christmas—like Dewali inIndia—grow out of human responses to athreatened dominance of darkness.

Hanukkah began as a celebration,instituted by the Hasmonean dynasty inJudea, of a great military victory by theirancestors over the remnants of the empireof Alexander the Great. Their celebrationof Hanukkah told of the overbearing rulerAntiochus, who tried to impose his ownreligious practices on the Jewish popula-tion of Judea. The Macabbees, ancestorsof the Hasmoneans, led a popular guerillauprising that defeated the mighty Greekarmy. The rabbis, who established the pat-terns of Jewish life, were no admirers ofthe Hasmoneans. So they reshaped andtransvalued the holiday. The military vic-tory was relegated to the background. Inits place the rabbis emphasized the reded-ication of the temple in Jerusalem that fol-


Christmas celebrates an affirmation central to Christian faith; the events ofHanukkah are not at the core of Jewishhistory or religious belief.

One is as though nothing is a miracle. Theother is as though everything is a miracle.”

This we know for sure. Our lives areshaped and given richness by thosethings that exceed our ability to explain:love, deep contentment and happiness;the joy we feel in being with loved onesand friends—these are all beyond theability of the mind to comprehend. Ourability to rise above adversity, to triumphover seemingly insurmountable obsta-cles—the strength to accomplish thesecomes from a source we do not under-stand and cannot begin to put intowords. Indeed we overcome when reasonwould tell us we have been defeated. TheHasidic Rebbe Simcha Bunim (d. 1827)once taught, “We don’t know how…[ourredemption from destruction] hap-pens—but it does.” More recentlyChaim Weizmann, the first president ofthe State of Israel, has said, “a Jew mustbelieve in miracles if he is a realist.”

The miracle, in this understanding,may not be in that cruse of oil so long ago,but right now, within each of us.Hanukkah reminds us that we can find thecapacity to overcome the darkness thatwould engulf our lives. Every one of us hasthe ability to overcome the forces thatwould oppress us. Each can break theshackles of our destructive habits andinclinations. That is a Hanukkah miraclewe can celebrate at any moment whenthings get dark around us.

There is a story about RabbiNachman of Bratzlav (1772-1810), a greatHasidic rabbi, indeed the great-grandsonof the founder of the Hasidic movement,and himself a profound spiritual master.He was also a man well acquainted withthe darkness that can envelop us.Nachman taught that the way we light theHanukkah candles—first one candle andthen an additional one each night—is aprofound lesson in changing ourselves andour world. When things get the darkest,he taught, it is up to us to find a singlepoint of light—then increase it andrebuild from there. Nachman points ustoward the real Hanukkah miracle.

The greatest gift of Hanukkah may beour ability to recognize that miracles canhappen for us. And the greatest miraclemay well be the miracle of self-renewalthat is available to us all the time. In thatspirit I wish everyone a Chag UrimSameach, a joyous holiday of lights.


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across the nation, encouraging hope forits abolition. Our conversation too wasencouraging, optimistic and fittingly“adventful” for the season.

Slow DeathIn mid-December 2006, the state ofFlorida executed Angel Diaz by lethalinjection. The killing took 34 minutesaccording to the Florida medical examin-er. The needles, as explained by theexaminer, were inserted in and throughDiaz’s veins, causing the poisonouschemicals to be pumped directly intoDiaz’s flesh. This prolonged the killingprocess. Witnesses to the executionreported Diaz licking his lips, grimacingand appearing to try to speak 24 minutesinto the execution. A second lethal doseof poison was necessary to kill Mr. Diaz,who clearly suffered both unnecessary

and severe pain. Governor Jeb Bushimmediately called for a suspension of allexecutions in his state, a promise that thenew governor, Charlie Christ, alsopledged to honor.

That same week, a federal judge inCalifornia banned the current use of lethalinjection in his state as unacceptably crueland unusual. The judge’s order did notpreclude a change in the execution proto-col by Governor Schwarzenegger to makeCalifornia’s procedure constitutional. Itdid recognize the inhumanity of the pre-sent execution process and again raisedquestions about the legitimacy of capitalpunishment in principle.

Similarly, the Maryland Court ofAppeals, the highest court in the state,struck down the present lethal injectionprotocol in Maryland as illegal. Thelethal injection process in place was never

RAMMED IN SOMEWHERE

among the pre-schoolChristmas show of my twoyoungest daughters, the ele-

mentary school holiday concert of my sec-ond grader and an ongoing murder trial, Ivisited with my condemned client, JohnBooth-El, a few days before Christmas lastyear. I have been to the MarylandCorrectional Adjustment Center, or“Supermax Prison” as it is called, in down-town Baltimore many times to discuss var-ious facets of John’s case. He has been ondeath row for 23 years, and I have repre-sented him for the last seven. This visitcame amid a changing political landscapefor the death penalty in Maryland and


Of Other Things

Waiting for Good NewsA lawyer hopes for an end to capital punishment.B Y D A V I D W A L S H - L I T T L E

DAVID WALSH-LITTLE, a graduate of

Fordham University and Columbia Law

School, practices law in Baltimore, Md.

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method of execution, used in 37 states,and is judged superior to hanging, the fir-ing squad and use of the gas chamber.But its continued use has been challengedall over the country. Is the issue simplythe need for a more efficient way for thestate to kill?

The recent history of the death penaltysuggests otherwise. In 1972, the U.S.Supreme Court struck down the deathpenalty because of its recognized inequities.Since its restoration by the court in 1976,the practical implementation of the deathpenalty has encountered problem after

problem, defying the attempt to make themethod of execution “fair.”

Take Maryland for example. In 1988,the Supreme Court struck downMaryland’s entire capital punishmentdecision-making process because individ-ual jurors were not given the appropriateopportunity to consider all argumentsagainst the death penalty. In 1993 KirkBloodsworth, wrongly convicted of mur-der and sentenced to die, was exoneratedand released. After his nine years ofincarceration, DNA evidence conclusive-ly showed that he was innocent.

In 2002, Gov. Parris Glendening ofMaryland declared a moratorium on thedeath penalty because of concerns ofracial bias in the use of capital punish-ment. The state undertook an extensiveempirical study of the history of capitalpunishment in the state. The study con-cluded that the race of the murder victimwas an important factor in determiningwho was to be executed. WhenCaucasians were the victims, the defen-dant was far more likely to be condemnedto death than when African-Americanswere the murder victims.

None of these practical inequities isunique to the State of Maryland. All ofthem recur across the country. Whileproponents of capital punishment claimthese problems can be solved, they are infact symptoms of a much deeper societalsickness, the belief that killing solvesproblems. We need to confront this sick-ness. Placing people, poor people at that,on a gurney and pouring poison throughtheir blood cannot be made legitimate.

The debate on lethal injection as themeans of capital punishment should beseen as inextricably related to the purpos-es of capital punishment. Will lethal injec-tion be rejected as a method of execution?I do not know. I know my client’s life iscurrently safe from the government’sreach. I know we will debate this issue inMaryland and across the country in theyear ahead. I know there is some hope.

So even though Christmas 2006 islong past, for me Advent continues.Maybe at the right moment, when lead-ership is most needed, shepherds likethose described in Luke’s infancy narra-tive will emerge to announce the goodnews. Lord knows, the abolition of thedeath penalty in the United States isgood news long overdue.

submitted to the appropriate committeein the state legislative body for review ordebated at a public hearing, as is mandat-ed. The Maryland prison system ignoredpublic and legislative review of the pro-cess as required by the law. As a resultMaryland, too, has suspended use of itscapital punishment machinery, and myclient is for the moment spared.

Rethinking Why a State KillsWhat does all this mean? Only that

we need to refine our death penalty pro-cedures? Lethal injection is the preferred


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embedded in popular culture, the historyas told by those who view the CatholicChurch as the foremost obstacle to every-thing modern and progressive.

Although advertised as based onrecently opened Vatican archives, theseries contained little that is new. Despitethe interviews with Catholic historians, itignored virtually all the recent scholarshipthat could have produced a much morecomplete view of the Inquisition. Itsbiggest omission, though, was ignoringthe story of Pope John Paul II’s efforts to

bring the Inquisition into the open. Thateffort constituted a major chapter in JohnPaul’s long, eventful papacy, yet it is littleknown even within Catholic circles.

Finding the FactsWhen John Paul II came to Rome in1978, he brought with him a deep aware-ness that two historical events—the con-demnation of Galileo and theInquisition—were essential to anti-Catholicism, and he was determined todeal with both.

In the first year of his papacy, the popeformed a commission to study the Galileoincident, asking the group to tell thechurch: “What happened? How did ithappen? Why did it happen?” The com-mission issued a report 14 years later sup-porting neither the ecclesiastical right,which seems to hold that the CatholicChurch can never err, nor the secular left,which seems to hold that the CatholicChurch can do nothing right. John Paulsaid of the report, “Often, beyond twopartial and conflicting perceptions, thereexists a wider perception which includesthem and goes beyond both of them.”

He addressed the Inquisition in thesame way in 1994, including an inquiryinto its history among the preparations forthe Jubilee year 2000. In a memo outlin-ing the plans, John Paul told the world’scardinals that confessing institutional sinwould be a prominent part of the event.“How can we be silent about so manykinds of violence perpetrated in the nameof the faith?” he asked, specifically men-tioning “religious wars, courts of theInquisition, and other violations of therights of the human person.” He went sofar as to compare them to “the crimes ofHitler’s Nazism and Marxist Stalinism.”

“The church must on its own initiativeexamine the dark places of its history and

ITH ITS VIVIDLY re-enacted scenes of torture,book burning and vio-lence, the PBS series

“Secret Files of the Inquisition” madeclear that stereotypical views of theInquisition are not going away anytimesoon. It also ensured that a negative inter-pretation of this Catholic history will be


Of Other Things

Facing the InquisitionA pope seeks pardon.BY IVAN J. KAUFFMAN

IVAN J. KAUFFMAN, of Washington, D.C., is aCatholic co-founder of Bridgefolk, aMennonite and Catholic ecumenical group.

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that year in the apostolic letter TertioMillennio Adveniente, the issue of confess-ing the church’s past sins was prominent.“Acknowledging the weaknesses of thepast,” it said, “alerts us to face today’stemptations and...prepares us to meetthem.”

A Meeting of MindsGeorges Cottier, O.P., then the pope’spersonal theologian, was asked to form ahistorical commission on the Inquisitionmodeled after the Galileo commission. Heenlisted prominent scholars, Catholic andnot, who were given complete freedom intheir proceedings. The commissionincluded 30 scholars from nine Europeannations and the United States and Canada.

When the commission met at theVatican in October 1998, John Paul toldmembers he could not take “an actionbased on ethical norms, which any requestfor pardon is, without first being informedof exactly what happened.” His first stepwas to ask historians to reconstruct theevents of the Inquisition “within the con-text of that historical period.”

The appointment of the commissionwas largely ignored in the U.S. press, andeven in those Catholic areas of Europewhere it was reported, it was soon forgot-ten. For the next six years the effortappeared to have been quietly shelved. In2004, however, the Vatican held a heavilypromoted press conference, which includ-ed three cardinals, to announce that thepapers from the 1998 conference had beenpublished by the Vatican Press in its pres-tigious series Studi e Testi. To demon-strate that his Inquisition project had notbeen forgotten, John Paul issued a person-al statement strongly supporting the pub-lication. The overall tone of his messagemade rather clear that he regarded theactions of the Inquisition as contrary tothe Gospel.

The book itself was a collection ofpapers written by experts, largely forother experts, and typical of the resultsof a scholarly conference. Its editorialmatter and 10 of the 30 papers were inItalian, with other papers in French (11),Spanish (6) and English (3). The authorswere major authorities in their fields.The papers ranged across the entire his-tory of the Inquisition, from its origins insouthern France in the 13th century tothe development of the Spanish

judge it in the light of Gospel principles,”he wrote to the cardinals. “The churchneeds a metanoia,” he added, “a discern-ment of the historical faults and failures ofher members in responding to thedemands of the Gospel.” The memo wasan internal document, which allowed JohnPaul to speak more directly than he wouldhave in public, but it was leaked to thepress—a rather rare event in Vatican cir-cles—giving the public an uncommonglimpse into the pope’s thinking.

John Paul’s 1994 proposal did notmeet with an enthusiastic reception by all

the cardinals. Many Europeans saw it asaiding their longtime critics; many fromAfrica and Asia regarded the Inquisition asa European issue from the distant past thatwould only confuse their people and giveammunition to their enemies if an apolo-gy were aired at the papal level. Somemore conservative cardinals were troubledby the doctrinal innovation it seemed toinvolve.

Despite these objections, voiced withunusual openness by several cardinals,John Paul proceeded. When the programfor the Jubilee 2000 was announced later

Inquisition in the 16th century, its insti-tutionalization in Rome and its post-Reformation history.

The volume also included an effort byseveral Catholic scholars to acknowledgethe essential sinfulness of the Inquisition.The commission included scholars whomaintained the traditional belief that thenegative effects of heresy on civil societywere so great that capital punishment wasjustified, but on the whole the revolutionin Catholic doctrine that took place atVatican II when the “Declaration onReligious Liberty” was adopted prevailedin the reports. One author, for example,referred to the execution of heretics underPope Pius V as “legal murder.” Jean-Miguel Garrigues, O.P., a member of thePontifical Theological Academy, tookboth St. Augustine and St. ThomasAquinas to task in no uncertain terms forhaving provided the theological rationalefor the Inquisition, and called their justifi-cation of religious coercion a prime exam-ple of the “ways of thinking and actingwhich were truly forms of counter-witnessand scandal,” quoting John Paul’s wordsin Tertio Millennio Adveniente.

Despite all this, the book was virtuallyignored in the United States. And while itreceived widespread coverage in Europe, aheadline in the British paper TheGuardian was typical: “Historians SayInquisition Wasn’t That Bad.” Thatreport claimed that Agostino Borromeo,the volume’s editor (and a Catholic com-mentator for the PBS series), had toldreporters that “many executions attributedto the church ‘were in fact carried out bynon-church tribunals.’” Of course, tomany historians the distinction betweendeclaring someone a heretic, knowing thatdoing so will result in her or his death, andactually executing that person might seeminsignificant.

But the book’s primary significancelay less in its contents, valuable as theyare, than in its history. That the Vaticanwould initiate an open-ended process inwhich previous popes and other high-ranking clerics would almost certainly becondemned—as indeed they were—wassurely a historic event. In the 19th cen-tury, Pope Gregory XVI had called it“insulting” to “infer that the churchcould be subject to any defect.” PopeJohn Paul II obviously had a somewhatdifferent perspective.

The Church’s Mea CulpaIn fact the Inquisition project was part of alarger effort that seems likely to gain sig-nificance in Catholic history as we acquireperspective on John Paul’s papacy. Almostfrom the start of his pontificate, John Paulbegan asking, in the name of the church,for forgiveness for actions taken by hispredecessors. These included the role ofCatholics in dividing Christianity, in pro-moting hatred of Jews, in mistreatingNative Americans and in enslavingAfricans, to mention only a few cases. Thepublic apologies were chronicled by Luigi

Accattoli, the Italian reporter who coveredthe pope for the Italian daily newspaperCorriere della Sera, and published in 1998with the English title When A Pope AsksForgiveness: The Mea Culpas of John Paul II.

John Paul’s apologies in effect subject-ed the Catholic Church to the same stan-dards to which business corporations arenow held in civil law, whereby corpora-tions take responsibility for the decisionsof officials no longer living and who hadno way to know their actions would causegrave damage in the future.

This admission of fault stirred much



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acontroversy. In response John Paul askedCardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then prefect ofthe Congregation for the Doctrine of theFaith, to form a theological commission tostudy the issues involved. It was this com-mission’s report which provided the theo-logical foundations for a historic penanceservice known as the Day of Pardon,which took place at St. Peter’s Basilica inRome on the first Sunday of Lent 2000.

At the press conference beforehand,the Vatican announced that “the churchtoday, through the Successor of Peter,”would name and confess “the errors ofChristians in every age,” including “acts ofviolence and oppression during theCrusades,” and the “methods of coercionemployed in the Inquisition.”

John Paul was willing to admit thatthe sins of intolerance committed byChristians “in the name of faith andmorals” had “[sullied] the face of thechurch.” Such an admission does notrequire acknowledging doctrinal error,since the Inquisition was never formallyapproved either by a council or an infal-lible papal declaration. It does, howev-er, require abandoning dogmatic tri-umphalism. It also necessitates learningfrom the past. That requires us to facethe facts, all the facts, fearlessly andhonestly, and to ask why actions weretaken by our predecessors which nowshame us so deeply.

John Paul’s penitential initiative pro-vides a way for Catholics to create a narra-tive of the Inquisition that tells the wholestory, as opposed to any selective, biasedaccount that Catholicism’s severest criticshave fashioned or might fashion. That isthe road John Paul has set us on, and sure-ly it is the way to free us from this ghost inthe Catholic closet. A

A friend declines a glass of wine at dinner;sisters start whispering in the corner atfamily gatherings; boxes of clothes reap-pear out of attics and closets, and sudden-

ly everyone realizes the good news. Eachtime, though, there is worry, but moreoften than not it is the worry of middle-class Americans supported by family, soci-ety and financial security. It is not theworry of an unmarried teenager living atsubsistence level in a land under foreignmilitary occupation; it is not that of awoman struggling to avoid public scandal,yet singing a hymn of hope in an environ-ment more suggestive of its opposite.

The great German theologianDietrich Bonhoeffer once called Mary’sMagnificat, her response to the angel inLuke’s Gospel, “the most passionate, thewildest, one might even say the most rev-olutionary Advent hymn ever sung,” not aChristmas carol or a recitation of pioustreacle but “a hard, strong, inexorablesong about collapsing thrones and hum-bled lords of this world, about the powerof God and the powerlessness of

humankind.” The woman who sang thatsong was not the serene and half-asleeproyal figure depicted in Western art overthe centuries, but a young woman fully

alive in history, whose answer to Godhad consequences both long-rangeand immediate for herself, her familyand the world.

Some have argued that the churchwould benefit from further reflectionon Mary’s “yes” at the Annunciation,acknowledging that a component ofevery pregnancy, expected or not,should be a woman’s actively choosingto say yes to the child she will bear.That equation, however, works just aswell turned on its head, because we asa church would also profit from reflec-tion on what the angel Gabriel says toMary in Luke’s account: “The Lord iswith you. Do not be afraid.” Even themost unplanned of pregnancies,Gabriel tells Mary (and us), enjoysdivine protection and care. The

implied message is a profound one: “Yes,this situation you are in seems impossible,and no one can guarantee you and yourchild a life without suffering. But you andyour child are part of a divine plan, and forthis reason, you are never alone.” An unex-pected child can be treated as a liability ora mistake, not a birth to be anticipated withhymns and celebration, but a problem tobe solved. Mary’s response, though, isexemplary: she embraced her new realityand her new child.

In this Advent season, let us remem-ber and be grateful for the yes Marygave to that sudden visitor who broughtsuch shocking news. For Mary’s deci-sion brought life to the world. The childshe bore and reared has changed ourfates forever. Perhaps the joy and grati-tude we bring to the new arrivals in ourworld give us a starting point for lovingMary’s son.

OR MANY CHRISTIANS it has per-haps become commonplace toview Advent as a season ofinevitability, a ritual expectation

of the birth of the Son of God, surely,but one that lacks suspense. Wealready know how the story will turnout, don’t we? The Holy Family willmake it to Bethlehem; they will find amanger; Jesus will be born; everythingwill run as planned and on schedule.Yet it is worthwhile to recall thatAdvent celebrates birth, one of themost vulnerable of human moments,and to remind ourselves that Jesus wasan unexpected child: Mary had a dif-ferent life planned for herself andJoseph, not to mention Joseph’s ownhopes and dreams for his family.

What must those cold finalmonths of pregnancy have been likefor Mary, away from home and des-perate for shelter? In our still male-centered world, we may think more ofthe coming of Jesus than of the worriesand concerns of his mother, who knew alife we often do not admit, one surely fullof confusion about her role as well asdreams and fears for her family’s well-being and future. Do we give enoughattention in our prayer and celebration toher interior life—this young woman calledby forces she did not fully understand togive birth to a child whose coming wasshrouded in so much mystery?

I am of an age where my friends andsiblings seem to have acquired an incredi-ble fecundity. Not a month goes by with-out the good news that one or more ofthem is expecting. Pregnancy involvesuncertainty, of course, so they are carefulnot to make an announcement too soon.Often they communicate the news subtly.


Faith in Focus

The Surprise ChildThe third in a series for Advent and Christmas

BY JAMES T. KEANE

JAMES T. KEANE, S.J., is an associate editorof America.

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management, prayer life, sacrifices, mar-riage and family, keeping a chapbook,love, death. Before I Go belongs in everyChristian family’s library, to be dippedinto often.

Moving from philosophy to poetry,

Pulitzer Prize-win-ning poet MaryOliver has writtenOur World (BeaconPress), a book ofreminiscence andreflection on herd e c a d e s - l o n gfriendship with thegallery owner andprofessional pho-tographer MollyMalone Cook(dozens of whosephotos run through-out the book). Oneof the first photog-raphers hired byThe Village Voice,Cook also owned abookstore and laterin life becameOliver’s literaryagent. Oliver inter-weaves entries fromCook’s journal withher own prose-and-poetry text, reveal-ing a richly texturedlife, a shared worldthat included pro-minent writers andartists. Among thosedepicted on (candid)camera are JeanCocteau in Venice(1954), the photog-rapher W. Eugene

Smith in New York City (1962), “A Raisinin the Sun” playwright LorraineHansberry in New York (1958) and theCatholic activist Dorothy Day with chil-dren (1950s). Oliver’s lifelong observationof the glistening beauty of her landscape in

ON’T WAIT

till it’s toolate. ReadOur Town

by Thornton Wilder andlearn Emily’s wisdom aftershe returns as a ghost.”This advice to seize life, tobe present to it in both itswonder and gloom, to seeimportance, value andpurpose in the quotidianwhile we are still alive isamong many pearls of wis-dom in Before I Go:Letters to Our ChildrenAbout What ReallyMatters, by the Catholicphilosopher Peter Kreeft(Paulist Press). The authorchides himself for not hav-ing been a better parentand leaves these notes ashis legacy to his grownchildren and grandchil-dren.

The book offers 163lessons for the good lifebased on Kreeft’s ownexperiences and study andjust plain living (more thansix decades). It is commonsense delivered withuncommon ease and sin-cerity. The reader—andthis is a book for all ages—will stop often along theway, so obvious are thesebits of wisdom we fail to remember.Topics range broadly: making choiceswisely, prioritizing, handling worry, time


Bookings

Deck the Shelves With Books AplentyBY PATRICIA A. KOSSMANN

PATRICIA A. KOSSMANN is literary editor ofAmerica.

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Massachusetts yields fruit inmuch of her nature writing.Our World would make a won-derful gift this Christmas. Youmight wish to accompany itwith Oliver’s last book of poet-ry, Thirst.

Now, from poetry to Pi—specifically Life of Pi: DeluxeIllustrated Edition (Harcourt).Yann Martel’s award-winningtale of a shipwrecked teenageboy who spent over 200 daysadrift in a lifeboat with a fewnon-human companions,including a 450-pound Bengaltiger, is considered a modernclassic. In reviewing the origi-nal edition for America(4/14/03), Gerald T. Cobb,S.J., said the book “reinventsthe lost-at-sea novel in quitestriking terms.” For this newedition the publisher spon-sored an international contestin 2005 that drew thousands ofsubmissions from illustrators.The winner was the Croatianartist Tomislav Torjanac,whose 40 lavish four-color illustrations(his medium is oil) bring new life and per-spective to the best-selling novel. Theseare stunning, creative depictions of keyscenes in the story, reflecting both tran-quility and ferocity, and always stop thereader in her tracks. Instead of anothermincemeat pie on Christmas, considergiving this handsome “Pi” to a favoritefriend. It will surely be passed around toothers.

A truly impressive treat is MoravianChristmas in the South, by Nancy SmithThomas (Univ. of North Carolina Press).When I visit my brother every Christmasin North Carolina, we take a long drive toWinston-Salem, where the Moravians(one of the earliest Protestant groups,hailing from Germany) took root in themid-18th century. It was the Piedmontwildernesss at the time. And we strollthrough Old Salem’s cobbled streets, visit-ing shops, museums, Salem College (theoldest educational institution for womenin the United States), the huge bakery,Home Moravian Church, the cemeteryand the Inn (for a superb home-cookedmeal). It is all here—and more—in a lav-ishly illustrated volume full of historic

detail, traditions and more. The illustra-tions span from the 1700s to the presentand include photographs, paintings, pencilsketches and other forms.

The Moravians brought with them adistinct culture and unique customs. It isbelieved that the first verifiable Christmastree in the South appeared at theMoravians’ Springplace Indian Mission inGeorgia. Family and community are cen-tral (and sacred) to this devout Christiansect. So is simplicity in terms of Christmasgift-giving. The book abounds in fascinat-ing and unusual details, from worship tocuisine, from delighting the children tomusical traditions. Readers of all stripescan learn some wonderful and differenttraditions worth introducing in their ownfamily’s Christmas observances. MoravianChristmas in the South is a book the wholefamily can enjoy. It’s the next best thing tobeing there (take it from me).

An equally deluxe book that wouldmake a welcome centerpiece on one’s cof-fee table—and a conversation starter forguests—is Art of the Crèche: Nativities FromAround the World, by James L. Govan(Merrell). The author and his late wife,Emilia, were avid collectors of crèches,

many of which were gifts;others were procured dur-ing their travels. They alsoengaged museum curators,merchants, missionariesand others in building thisunique and unusual collec-tion. Their story brimswith little-known facts, tra-ditions, spiritual and artis-tic insight and captivatinghistorical and culturaldetail. Accompanying eachcrèche depicted is detailedbackground text on its ori-gin and meaning. As theseworks of art originate in avariety of countries aroundthe globe, so they convey avariety of forms, imagesand symbolism. FromPoland to Peru, Texas toTanzania, Ireland to IvoryCoast, Montana to Malawiand dozens of other places,each full-color piece tellsits own story. We observethe celebration of Christ’sbirth in virtually every cor-

ner of the world. Add Art of the Crèche toyour Christmas gift list.

A book as much fun to give as toreceive is Inventing English: TheImaginative Origins of Everyday Language,by Dale Corey (Booksurge). If you’re a fanof William Safire’s weekly column, OnLanguage, in The New York Times, thisbook is for you. It is fun, informative anda handy resource. “From the Elizabethanstage to the Sunday funny papers,” theauthor notes, “fictional people, places, andconcepts have left their mark on theEnglish language.” She explores the originof scores of expressions, ranging from“Aladdin’s lamp” to “yellow journalism.”And in between are such favorites as“Beauty and the Beast,” a theme commonto folk literature, and the writings ofShakespeare, Robert Frost, CharlesDarwin and many others, who likewiseprovide the source for our literary allu-sions. Inventing English would be a usefulstocking stuffer for the students on yourshopping list.

The next book I read in galley form.Its official publication date is Dec. 26.Unlike the foregoing, this one is not at alla fun read. But it is a noteworthy entry to


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treacherous regime and win-ning back her dignity.

Also, we cannot forgetthe little ones on our list—those inquiring minds, withlife “aspirations” that changedaily. For yours who don’tknow what they want to bewhen they grow up, here area couple of suggestions.Ernie & the Big Newz: TheAdventures of a TV Reporter,by the award-winning NewYork television anchorper-son Ernie Anastos (NewWorld Books), tells the storyof a young boy who fulfilledhis dream to become a tele-vision reporter. The epony-mous hero is a voraciousreader at a young age. Froma make-believe studio in hisbasement, and with helpfrom a few “assistants,”young Ernie kept everyoneup to date on local events.We follow him all the way toadulthood and his first hugebreaking story on

Thanksgiving Day. The book has charm-ing illustrations by the distinguished DailyNews cartoonist Bill Gallo.

Growing Up With Loukoumi, by NickKatsoris (Loukoumi Books) is a book forthe littlest ones. The titular Loukoumi is a

lamb we follow during the course of a dayafter she meets a farmer who plants“seeds” of possibility with our heroine.We watch her “try on” many possiblechoices, each deftly illustrated (by anIndian artist known only as Rajesh) andsharing a common refrain: “Believe inyourself and dreams come true.” Thebook comes with a CD featuring the voic-es of Gloria Gaynor and OlympiaDukakis, among others.

Finally, for the Civil War buff on yourlist—or anyone who enjoys great histo-ry—consider A Slave No More: Two MenWho Escaped to Freedom, by the YaleUniversity professor David W. Blight(Harcourt). The book includes two newlydiscovered slave narratives and the grip-ping story of the men who wrote them—Wallace Turnage (Alabama) and JohnWashington (Virginia). They were buttwo of the four million who traveled fromslavery to freedom in the 1860s. Blight, anoted scholar who has devoted himself toadvancing black studies and whose priorbooks include Race and Reunion, has onceagain written a compelling history of oneof our nation’s darkest times. AbrahamLincoln described the signing of theEmancipation Proclamation as “the cen-tral act of my administration, and thegreatest event of the nineteenth century.”Messrs. Turner and Washington un-doubtedly said “Amen” to that.

Merry Christmas, dear readers!


the growing genre of resistance literature.My Life as a Traitor, by Zarah Ghahramaniwith Robert Hillman (Farrar, Straus andGiroux) is the memoir of a young Iranianuniversity student arrested and sent to theinfamous Evin prison, where she under-went horrific inquisitions and torture. Thedaughter of fairly well-off parents, livingin a suburb of Tehran, Ms. Ghahramaniwas 20 at the time. Her arrest was ostensi-bly for baring part of her hair on a sunnyday. A more or less model Islamic womanin public, she and her family were less soin the privacy of their home. The story istold in alternating chapters of personalgrowing-up reminiscences and her dailyordeal in a tiny cell. Disaffected by theirgovernment’s repressiveness, she and agroup of friends had taken to airing theirviews and asking questions. After gruelingweeks wracked by despair, she yieldedinformation on members of her group,identified in photos taken by the police.That won her a mock “trial” and ultimaterelease in the dark of night, dropped in themiddle of nowhere. The writing is taut,clear and always engaging. At the risk ofsounding clichéd, My Life as a Traitor is apage-turner. But most of all, it is a vividtestament to one woman’s rising above a

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edge of textual criticism and the languages needed(Biblical Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Syriac, Latin)and a record of scholarly publications. The candi-date should be prepared to teach in all major areasof the Old Testament in graduate, undergraduateand seminary programs, advise students, directmaster’s theses and doctoral dissertations, andserve on committees. Assistant or associate profes-sor preferred, but rank and salary are negotiable.Minorities and women are encouraged to apply. Acurriculum vitae and three letters of recommen-dation should be sent by Jan. 31, 2008, to theChair of the Search Committee in OldTestament, School of Theology and ReligiousStudies, Caldwell Hall 113, The CatholicUniversity of America, Washington, DC 20064.

The Catholic University of America wasfounded in the name of the Catholic Church as anational university and center for research andscholarship. Regardless of their religious affilia-tion, all faculty members are expected to respectand support the University’s mission. TheUniversity is an equal opportunity, affirmativeaction employer.

THEOLOGY FACULTY. St. Mary’s Seminary andUniversity (Baltimore, Md.), founded in 1791 bythe Society of St. Sulpice, pontifically charteredin 1822, has faculty positions open in the Schoolof Theology in the areas of systematic theology,spirituality and homiletics. Theological train-ing, ecclesial commitment, pedagogical skill,experience in ministry formation and an earned

doctorate in an appropriate area are required.These are contractual positions and considera-tion will be given to full- or part-time appli-cants. Contact Rev. David B. Couturier,O.F.M.Cap., Dean of the School of Theology,[email protected].

WASHINGTON THEOLOGICAL UNION, a RomanCatholic graduate school of theology and min-istry, announces an open FULL-TIME FACUL-TY POSITION IN SPIRITUALITY STUD-IES, beginning fall 2008 semester. Primaryresponsibilities: teaching and developing coursesin Christian spirituality (master’s and D.Min.level), advising and directing D.Min. in spirituali-ty students. Applicants must hold Ph.D. or S.T.D.in spirituality or related field. Preference given tocandidates with demonstrated excellence in teach-ing, research and publication, as well as commit-ment to teaching graduate students preparing forministry or engaged in ministry. Rank and dura-tion of appointment open. Applicants send letterof application, including statements of teachingphilosophy and research interests, curriculumvitae and three letters of recommendation to:Office of the Dean, Washington TheologicalUnion, 6896 Laurel St., N.W., Washington, D.C.20012; Ph: (202) 541-5219; e-mail:[email protected]; Web site: www.wtu.edu.Deadline for applications: Jan. 15, 2008.

RetreatsBETHANY RETREAT HOUSE, East Chicago, Ind.,offers private and individually directed silentretreats, including Ignatian 30 days, year-round ina prayerful home setting. Contact Joyce Diltz,P.H.J.C.: (219) 398-5047; [email protected]; www.bethanyretreathouse.org.

VocationsDESIRE PRIESTHOOD? Relgious life? Lay min-istries? Enriching sabbatical? Vocation discern-ment retreat? Ph: (907) 339-2486. Web: www.gonzaga.edu/ministryinstitute

VolunteersFRANCISCAN COVENANT PROGRAM seeks full-time mature Catholic volunteers to live, pray andwork in community with Franciscan Friars atretreat houses and missions in California.Ministries include hospitality, maintenance,bookkeeping, administration, gardening and serv-ing the poor. One year renewable. Under 67,healthy, married or single. Contact: (760) 757-3651, ext. 173 or [email protected].

WillsPlease remember America in your will. Ourlegal title is: America Press Inc., 106 West 56thStreet, New York, NY 10019.

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Bound VolumesAMERICA PRESS INC. is looking to acquire a setof bound volumes of America for a digital scan-ning project. A complete set is preferred, but par-tial sets are also acceptable. In return for the vol-umes, America Press will provide a searchableCD or DVD set with the full contents of themagazine from 1909 until the present. For moreinformation contact Tim Reidy at [email protected], or Ph: (212) 515-0111.

CardsNOTE CARDS for pastoral ministry. Free shippingto continental U.S.; www.smallsmallacts.com.

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PositionsTHE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA, Schoolof Theology and Religious Studies: FULL-TIMETENURE TRACK POSITION IN OLD TES-TAMENT. Doctorate in Biblical Studies with aconcentration in Old Testament and training intheology required, as well as a thorough knowl-

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they fight for the rights and dignity ofwomen in the third world.

Joseph J. KoechlerOrmond Beach, Fla.

Called and GiftedIn “A Struggle for the Soul of Medicine”(11/05), Myles N. Sheehan, S.J., reviewsthe many challenges that confront medi-cal education as it tries to confer thehighest qualities of the profession uponits students. The soul of the practice ofmedicine lies in how we care for ourpatients. Our Catholic concepts of virtueand vocation are powerful guides to thoseof us called to care for patients andshould direct us to the soul of our prac-tice of medicine.

Embracing what we do as vocationand cultivating virtues are important forthe physician of faith. St. Benedict’sadmonition is a bold testament to this:“Before all, and above all, attentionshould be paid to the care of the sick sothat they shall be served as if they wereChrist himself.” When physicians use

their talents to the utmost to care forothers, guided by virtues, the Christianconcept of person informs the physician-patient relationship, and that relationshipbecomes one of love. At the same timewe realize the great blessing inherent inthe call to serve.

Andre F. Lijoi, M.D.York, Pa.

Beyond the Hospital DoorI enjoyed reading “A Struggle for theSoul of Medicine,” by Myles N. Sheehan,S.J. (11/05). Appearing as it did in thesame issue as Jim McDermott’s percep-tive review of “Sicko,” it made me won-der if the soul of modern medicine stopsat the consulting room or hospital door.Medical education in the context of socialjustice involves more than clinical skills. Isuggest that it should include a preferen-tial focus on the poor and underserved,given that the greatest burden of illnessin any society falls on the lowest levels. Itshould also provide students with abroader appreciation of medicine in the

No Simple AnswersThe editorial “Amnesty and Abortion”(10/29) raises difficult questions. I agreethat we should continue to reach out tothose with whom we disagree. But I thinkit is incorrect to say that Amnesty Inter-national adopts a “utilitarian calculus.”

It is a “murky world” in which wework, and there is no simple answer here.But more respect and response to womenwho have been raped is called for.

The “right to privacy,” “unwantedpregnancy” or “reproductive rights” arenot issues here. It is the treatment ofwomen in a most horrible situationwhere no choice is perfect. I do not seeAmnesty’s position as troubling, but oneof utmost concern for individual womenin the most difficult imaginable circum-stances.

Most of us will never be in a positionto experience such violence againstwomen or confront its results. AmnestyInternational should be supported in thisinstance. I certainly will continue to sendmy support to Amnesty International as


Letters

community, including preventive andpublic health, and early low-tech butaffordable interventions. Yet this aspectof medicine is too often undertaught orgiven short shrift.

Michael W. Ross, M.D.Houston, Tex.

Political CalculusRegarding “Bishops on Citizenship,” byMatt Malone, S.J. (11/5): I hope that thisbishops’ document explicitly distinguishesbetween support for or opposition tosome moral doctrine and my vote forsome candidate’s policy. A vote can becast in a political contest for any numberof defensible reasons.

For example, in casting a ballot for acandidate, I may be supporting him orher as the best available candidate, votingagainst opponents, casting a protest voteagainst all major candidates, or support-ing or opposing some major politicalparty or coalition.

Similarly, I may vote for or againstspecific policy proposals for severaldefensible reasons. A proposed policymay aim to support a good moral princi-ple but still be a bad policy.

For example, a specific policy propos-al aimed at outlawing or restricting abor-tion may still be a bad proposal anddeserve to be defeated. Everythingdepends on what the proposed policy saysand the particular context in which it isproposed.

The bishops should explicitlyacknowledge that neither they nor any-one else can rightly deduce solely fromhow I vote whether I adhere to Catholicmoral doctrine.

Bernard P. DauenhauerWatkinsville, Ga.

Into Great SilenceI am always interested to read about con-templative prayer in your magazine, so Iwas especially delighted to read “InMystic Silence,” by William Johnston,S.J. (11/19), on the practice of Zen and


America (ISSN 0002-7049) is published weekly (except for 11 com-bined issues: Jan. 1-8, 15-22, April 16-23, June 4-11, 18-25, July 2-9, 16-23, July 30-Aug. 6, Aug. 13-20, Aug. 27-Sept. 3, Dec. 24-31)by America Press, Inc., 106 West 56th Street, New York, NY 10019.Periodicals postage is paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mail-ing offices. Business Manager: Lisa Pope; Circulation: Judith Urena,(212) 581-4640. Subscriptions: United States, $48 per year; addU.S. $22 postage and GST (#131870719) for Canada; or add U.S.$32 per year for overseas surface postage. For overseas airmaildelivery, please call for rates. Postmaster: Send address changes toAmerica, 106 West 56th St. New York, NY 10019. Printed in theU.S.A.

our country was founded. James Madisonfelt that civic virtue in American citizenswould allow them to elect men of equalcivic virtue as their leaders and actively toparticipate in political life, but somewherealong the road to territorial and economicexpansion this vision of public virtue, this“aristocracy of merit,” was dimmed.

Utilitarian individualism is not thelanguage we need to solve the problemsof our relativized society today. As weprepare to elect new leaders, shouldn’t weremember our Catholic worldview, whichis based on our understanding of theGospels and of the human person? Don’twe have the duty to participate in civic lifeand to discern our choices carefully?

Alexis de Tocqueville worried that ademocracy could easily atrophy becauseof citizen apathy. Madison emphasizedthe need for the citizens of the newborn“republic with a democratic constitution”to participate in the political process andthus to seek the common good. To pre-serve our rights as Americans now, isn’t itour duty as people of God to speak pub-licly Catholicism, the language by whichwe live?

Mary Jo HarringtonHouston, Tex.

War No MoreRegarding the editorial “Thanking OurSoldiers” (11/12): Lost in the fog of warare the civilian casualties, which numbermuch higher than soldiers, by a ratio of 8to 1. Civilians who suffer the horrors ofwar receive no honor. There are noparades or memorials for them. Theirsuffering and death are seldom includedin our church prayers as we pray weeklyfor our troops in harm’s way. We shouldnot forget that this “collateral damage” ofwar is done by marching armies.

If dioceses and parishes took theteachings of Jesus more seriously, wewould actively encourage our young menand women to consider conscientiousobjection as an alternative to thisimmoral and illegal war. We can makewar and those who fight in wars out to behonorable and heroic by our prayers. Ourunconditional support for “the troops”could be another unintended anthem forsending our youth to a disastrous fate.

(Rev.) Rich Broderick Cambridge, N.Y.

other forms of quiet prayer. His descrip-tion of praying with a mantra was veryfamiliar to me since I have been practic-ing this way of prayer for more than 30years. There are Christian meditationcenters in more than 25 countries, andmore than 1,000 weekly meditationgroups meet in churches, homes, prisons,schools and places of business. Twiceeach day, thousands of individual medita-tors around the world follow this selflessway of prayer marked by silence, stillnessand simplicity.

Gregory RyanWall, N.J.

Virtue Civics Regarding “A Catholic Call to theCommon Good,” by Alexia Kelley andJohn Gehring (10/15): There is more tothe concept of the common good than asum of social benefits. It is also a con-cept of balance between the order ofthings and the order of persons, a bal-ance based on the dignity of the humanperson.

Today’s American culture speaks alanguage of individualism, a distortion ofthe civic republican language upon which


To send a letter to the editor please use thelink below articles on America’s Web site,www.americamagazine.org or send them by mailto America’s editorial office.


HE WORD “SALVATION” andthe related terms “save” and“savior” are heard frequently inAdvent. Their basic meaning

concerns being brought to healing andwholeness; the process involves a transi-tion from one state or status to another.Today’s Scripture readings can help usbetter understand the various biblical con-texts of these words and reflect on twofundamental questions: What is salvation?Who is the savior?

Today’s reading from Isaiah 35alludes to Israel’s return from exile in the6th century B.C., a topic treated exten-sively in what is commonly called SecondIsaiah (Chapters 40 to 55). It refers toIsrael’s journey home from Babylon toMount Zion. For Jews in the mid-6th cen-tury B.C. this was salvation. According toIsaiah 35, salvation involves the renewal ofthe earth through the glorious presence ofGod with his people. The desert willbloom, and nature will enter into the cele-bration. It also includes the physicalwholeness of the travelers: the blind see,the deaf hear, the lame leap about and themute sing. Moreover, it involves lastingjoy on the pilgrims’ part as they arrive atthe site of their ancestral temple onMount Zion. In the context of Isaiah 35,salvation is the deliverance of God’s peo-ple from captivity, physical obstacles,opposition and conflict. It is both materialand spiritual. It brings about perfect peaceand renewed relationship with God andother persons. The savior here is the Godof Israel: “Here is your God, he comeswith vindication; with divine recompensehe comes to save you.”

Psalm 146 paints a similar picture ofancient Israel’s hopes for salvation. Heresalvation is justice for the oppressed, food

for the hungry, freedomfor captives, sight for theblind, protection forstrangers, sustenance forthe orphan and widowand frustration for thewicked. As in Isaiah 35,salvation is primarilyconcerned with life in this world. Againthe savior is the God of Israel, because“the Lord God keeps faith forever.”

The theme of salvation is also centralin the first part of today’s selection fromMatthew 11. When John the Baptistinquires from prison about Jesus (“Are youthe one who is to come?”), the reply fromJesus echoes many of the themes in Isaiah35 and Psalm 146. Jesus points to the signsand wonders he has been accomplishing:the blind see, the lame walk, lepers arecleansed, the deaf hear, the dead areraised, and the poor have the good newsproclaimed to them. This list not onlycorresponds to its biblical prototypes butcovers much of what Jesus had done,according to Matthew 8 and 9. The newelement here is the identity of the savior.Here the savior is Jesus of Nazareth. Thesalvation hoped for by the prophet and thepsalmist has been brought to a new levelby Jesus. The name Jesus means “the Lordsaves.” Because Jesus does what God doesin the Old Testament, he earns the nameSavior.

What Jesus does is sometimes called“the works of the Messiah.” In responseto John’s inquiry, Jesus replies in effect,“What kind of messiah are you lookingfor?” He is not a warrior messiah likeDavid or a splendid king like Solomon.Rather he appeals to his own acts ofcompassion and healing. They define thekind of messiah he is. He lives up to hisname; he is Jesus the savior. With hismighty acts the kingdom of heaven hasdawned, so those who are privileged tohear and see him in action are even

greater than John the Baptist.Today’s reading from the Letter of

James reminds us that through Jesus’ life,death and resurrection the concept of sal-vation has been expanded from the this-worldly concept of salvation so prominentin the Old Testament to include rightrelationship with God and eternal life inGod’s kingdom. In the context of the NewTestament “the coming of the Lord”refers to the second coming of Christ aspart of the process of resurrection, judg-ment, rewards and punishments, and thefullness of God’s kingdom. Against thehorizon of these hopes, James counselspatience after the example of the biblicalprophets and Job. What the prophetswaited for has been accomplished in partthrough Jesus the savior. But as ourAdvent readings keep reminding us, thefullness of salvation is yet to come. In themeantime we must not ignore the chal-lenge present in both Testaments to imi-tate the example of the Lord who is “com-passionate and merciful” to those in great-est need. That is part of the patience wemust exercise in our everyday Christianlives. Daniel J. Harrington

Praying With Scripture • What comes to mind when you hearthe word “salvation”?

• What do Jesus’ name and his sav-ing actions suggest about his person?

• Have you ever experienced the sav-ing action of God in your life? Howmight you describe it?

Salvation and The SaviorThird Sunday of Advent (A), Dec. 16, 2007

Readings: Is 35:1-6, 10; Ps 146:6-10; Jas 5:7-10; Mt 11:2-11

“Go and tell John what you hear and see” (Mt 11:4)

DANIEL J. HARRINGTON, S.J., is professor ofNew Testament at Weston Jesuit School ofTheology in Cambridge, Mass.A

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