A Proclamation By the President of the United States of America Whereas great nations of the world have taken up arms against one another and war now draws millions of men into battle whom the counsel of statesmen have not been able to save from the terrible sacrifice; And whereas in this as in all things … Read more
Then I was a small child, and the Mass just a fragile year or two away from its post-Vatican II transformation, I lived across the street from four brothers. Donald was my age, Billy and Bobby were nearer my older brother, and Jimmy was too old to hang around us much. My parents were very … Read more
The fashionable topic these days is American decline. The topic seems to recur generationally. In 1934, Reinhold Niebuhr published Reflections on the End of an Era, and throughout the early part of that decade Niebuhr was preoccupied with the descent of the capitalist West and the ascent of Adolf Hitler. For more than forty years, … Read more
Known as the “Philosopher of Solidarity,” Rev. Jozef Tischner is a leading Polish philosopher and theologian. Rev. Tischner is currently director of the Institute of Philosophy at the Papal Theology Faculty in Krakow (in which position he is a successor to John Paul II, and he remains a close adviser to the Holy Father). He … Read more
One of the principles basic to Catholic social thought and clearly enunciated by Pope John Paul II is “the common destination of created goods.” The idea is this: God made the world for the common good of every human being on the planet. Creation has been given to all of us to cherish, to develop, … Read more
Amen to Ben Hart Regarding Ben Hart’s article [“The Evangelical Temptation: Why I’ve Stopped Attending the Catholic Church,” February], I can only add: “Amen.” I would like to be more forthcoming, because I feel very strongly about the issues Ben raises in his piece. However, counsel (Mr. Brendan Sullivan) has advised me that while Mr. … Read more
Recently a heated controversy has emerged within the medical community and among legal and ethical professionals over an account in The Journal of the American Medical Association, published in Chicago, of the “mercy killing” of a young cancer patient by a hospital resident. The Cook County State’s Attorney office has subpoenaed the records pertaining to … Read more
Why Christopher Hitchens Opposes Abortion  Along with his good friend Alexander Cockburn, Christopher Hitchens is regarded as one of the nation’s sharpest and wittiest voices on the radical left. His “Minority Report” which appears regularly in The Nation inevitably punctures right—wing orthodoxies. (The right, for Hitchens, sometimes appears to stretch from Jesse Helms all the … Read more
Only a few years ago several authors warned the Maryknoll order and Orbis Press that they were publicly linking their fate to Marxism, the most cruel and oppressive ideology known to modern history. Despite the flagrant use of “Marx” and “Marxism” in Maryknoll news releases and book titles, several Maryknollers issued emotional denials. “Liberation theology” … Read more
Lions 14, Christians 0 “Why haven’t Christians demanded that the world remember the destruction of the Armenian Christians as the Jews demand that the world remember the Holocaust?” “Why are Christians silent about the terrible persecution of fellow Christians in the Soviet Union? There are more Christians in the Gulag than Jews. Yet when Billy … Read more
Question: In what do you see the main task of Christians’ struggle for a more just world in general and in Latin American countries in particular, and how does the liberation theology contribute to this effort? Ernesto Cardenal: First of all I should like to say that your movement, Christian Peace Conference, help us Christians … Read more
The exercise of discipline is often a painful experience — not only for the one disciplined, but for the one who disciplines him as well. Although the Vatican did not intend to cause Father Curran distress (indeed, the Sacred Congregation made every effort to find a mutually acceptable solution), no one can deny that his … Read more
Cartegena, Colombia June 8-9, 1983  1. INITIAL ACTIONS Priest — Liberation and peace in the name of the Father of the oppressed and Jesus our Brother, for all those present here and for all of the People. Response — Yes, let peace and liberation come for all the oppressed of our fatherland and the world. P … Read more
Sanctuary Support On May 1, Sister Darlene Nicgorski, a School Sister of St. Francis, was convicted of smuggling illegal aliens to sanctuary in this country. (Several other sanctuary workers, including two priests, were found guilty in the same case.) On May 2, Sister Darlene held a press conference in New York, re-affirming her dedication to … Read more
No matter how they judge the merits of the case, thoughtful Catholics should agree that the current controversy surrounding Rev. Charles Curran is the most crucial intellectual issue now facing the Catholic Church in America. To assess this uniquely important controversy, Catholicism in Crisis asked a number of prominent Catholic thinkers to contribute their thoughts … Read more
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT Editor’s note: Earlier this year, a U.S. district court handed down a decision in a case brought against Marquette University by Marjorie Maguire, a prominent “pro-choice” advocate. Maguire had sued Marquette for refusing to hire her to teach in its theology department, because — she alleged — … Read more
American bishops have often clashed with members of the Reagan administration, and Nicaragua has often been the focus of those disputes. But rarely has the conflict been as sharp — and as shocking —as the recent exchange that took place between Elliott Abrams, the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, and Auxiliary Bishop Thomas … Read more
Editor’s Note: Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi is the elected leader of South Africa’s KwaZulu tribe, which, with a population of almost 6 million, is South Africa’s largest. In 1975 he helped found Inkatha, a mass organization of Blacks committed to the abolition of apartheid. Prince Euthelezi presently serves as the elected leader of Inkatha. The … Read more
Comments on the Central American Policy of the U.S. Catholic Conference EDITOR’S NOTE: Catholicism in Crisis has obtained from Nicaragua an advisory (in Spanish), prepared earlier in 1985 by Nicaraguan citizens for the bishops of Nicaragua, in reply to the memorandum on the policies of the United States Catholic Conference towards Central America. The USCC … Read more
Editor’s note: The following report notes the marked increase in the number and intensity of attacks on the Catholic Church within the Soviet Union. The report was prepared by Catholics For Religious Freedom in Totalitarian Nations (P.O. Box 33883, Washington, D.C. 20033-0883) and is reproduced here with the group’s permission. In the last decade Western … Read more