No One Now Believes

Why We Must Withdraw From Iraq, by Msgr. Robert W. McElroy, (4/30) is an excellent argument against war in general; but before we carry out his suggested prudently crafted American military withdrawal from Iraq, we should make sure that Iran, Syria, Osama bin Laden, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah and so on read and concur with the article. Then we can all relax.

No one now believes that the pre-emptive attack against Iraq was a good move. Many at the time believed that Iraq posed a greater threat to us than Osama bin Laden did a few short years prior to the disasters of Sept. 11, 2001. So our leaders made the best decision based on what we thought we knew. Unfortunately we cannot take back our move; so now we must make the wisest choices possible to ameliorate the situationnot only in Iraq, but also in the entire Mideastwith the least harm to all concerned, especially those Iraqis who have been our allies. Before even contemplating our prudent withdrawal, we should examine all likely consequences, one of which is the likelihood that any potential future ally would hesitate to place confidence in our loyalty and commitment.

Martin Kinnavy

Matter for Reflection

Your advertisement that reads, Do you have a child or grandchild going to a non-Catholic college? Give them a Catholic education. Send them America. (4/9) has appeared numerous times over the past several years. As a Catholic ecumenist, I have always wondered how this advertisement strikes religion teachers and librarians in non-Catholic colleges, both secular and those sponsored by Protestant religious bodies.

I believe your excellent publication should be in the hands of college students regardless of the sponsorship of their college. I began my subscription to America upon the recommendation of my campus minister at the secular university I had attended in 1969.

I taught for many years in an American Baptist college in my town; two of my daughters and two of my nephews attended a United Methodist College in a nearby town; and, quite frankly, I believe that religion teachers and librarians at these two colleges could be offended by your advertisement. I find myself wondering how Catholic theologians teaching at non-Catholic universities and seminaries might feel as well. The finest Catholic and non-Catholic colleges and universities should encourage religious inquiry that is respectful of the many religious traditions represented within their student bodies. There is, I believe, a subtle implication in your advertisement that the Catholic faith of students attending non-Catholic colleges is in some sort of peril. Although this may be true at some colleges, I cannot believe this is generally true, certainly not true among the non-Catholic colleges with America in their libraries or on the suggested reading lists of their religion teachers.

Finally, a word about the use of the term non-Catholic. That it appears in your advertisement is understandable, because the term is freely used throughout the Catholic community. Nonetheless, to thoughtful persons from other faith traditions this term must surely be offensive. Never, in all my 33 years of active involvement in the ecumenical apostolate, has anyone referred to me and other members of the Catholic Church as non-Presbyterians, non-Episcopalians, non-Orthodox, non-Protestants or non-anything else, for that matter. Surely this issue does not concern the editors of your publication alone. Rather, I believe it should be a matter for reflection generally within the Catholic Church.

A. Ray Shaw

Understanding the Journey

To Embrace the Other, by Thomas P. Rausch, S.J. (4/16) speaks with clarity and hope. The title itself is hopeful: To Embrace the Other, not To Embrace the Self, which seems to be the problem at times.

Cardinal Walter Kasper is right on target when he says, Either the ecumenism of the future will be a spiritual ecumenism or it will cease to be. Recommending a new elementary vocabulary toward this spiritual ecumenism will help a greater number to understand that journey and why it is good for all concerned. We must remember that Christ is the center and that we best carry out Christ’s mission by calling, inviting, encouraging and challenging one another.

Sometimes the gap between differences seems impossible to close, but when the conversation turns to Jesus and what he was about, it does not seem great at all.

Leonard Marie Lichinchi, C.S.J.

Unaccountable Journalism

Paul Rusesabagina, the man who inspired the film Hotel Rwanda, writes in his book An Ordinary Man, Words are the most powerful tools of all, and especially the words that we pass to those who come after us. In a speech at Wake Forest University on April 4, 2007, Mr. Rusesabagina reiterated this point. With that in mind, I agree with America’s recent Current Comment, Unrepentant Media (4/30), which appropriately speaks of the shallow moralism that drives media coverage of the news here in the United States. Lives, reputations, hopes for a future with truth and reconciliation are too often disrupted and sometimes even crushed by the irresponsible reporting and the inappropriate use of words that has become all too commonplace in the U.S. media today. I applaud America for asking the talking heads...to take a hard look at themselves and the harm wrought by today’s unaccountable journalism of personal destruction. Words are powerful tools! I implore the media to use these powerful tools more responsibly, and I thank the writers and editors of America for doing just that.

Michael Lorentsen, O.F.M.Conv.

Syndicated Columnist

Reading the tongue-in-cheek-but-with-a-punch column by Jim McDermott, S.J., (4/9) had me laughing out loud, as it resurrected a personal memory of my beginning writing days back in 1952.

I had written something, long forgotten from my memory, and sent it to Sign magazine, a respected Catholic publication. I do remember, though, that I included a note telling the editors something like I was a beginning writer and weren’t they lucky to get one of my first pieces. Practically by return mail, the article came back to me with a rejection slip. On the back of it an editor, no name, wrote bluntly to the point: Professional writing requires much practice.

I patched up my wounds, but somehow I knew that was the best advice I would ever be given. It is now 55 years and I’d guess about 10 million words later, published because of much practice thanks to that unknown editor. Could his name possibly have been Brother Mortimer F. X. Snerd? Thanks for the memory, Father McDermott!

Antoinette Bosco

Joyful Evangelizers

The reflection by James Martin, S.J., on joy in the Christian life appeared most appropriately in your Easter issue (4/2); overwhelming joy was the Easter experience of Jesus’ first disciples. Their encounter with their risen Lord transformed them into dynamic evangelizers. I am convinced of the intimate connection between Christian joy and effective evangelization. If people today do not receive the Christian message from joyful evangelizers, I doubt they will receive it at all. I say this based on 37 years of foreign missionary service in Bangladesh and the Philippines.

In 1975 Pope Paul VI wrote two apostolic exhortations for the jubilee year. His well-known Evangelii Nuntiandi (Evangelization Today) is probably the best document he ever wrote; his little-known Gaudete in Domino (Christian Joy) was written for Pentecost 1975. Paul VI affirms the evangelization-joy dynamic. He asserts that the Gospel must be proclaimed by witness...the witness of an authentic Christian life; and this task must be done with ever increasing love, zeal and joy. The pope identifies various obstacles that impede evangelization; the most serious is lack of joy and hope.

At the conclusion of GD, Paul VI writes about the joy of being Christian and he notes that it would be very strange if this Good News, which evokes the alleluia of the Church, did not give us the look of those who are saved.

In the final exhortatory section of EN, Paul VI speaks personally to all evangelizers: Let us preserve the delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing, even when it is in tears that we must sow.... May the world of our time...receive the Good News, not from evangelizers who are dejected, discouraged, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervor, who have received the joy of Christ.

Indeed, Father Martin got it right: Christian joyand joyful evangelizersare the most effective witnesses of the Gospel. They are the most infallible sign that Jesus lives!

James H. Kroeger, M.M.