Bill Cosby once said, in one of his nightclub routines, that he was one of nine children, and until he was eleven he thought his name was “shut-up.” In an age of small families, that was a side-splitting line. A child allowed to be unknown? In our time, every child is examined, measured, weighed, tested, … Read more
A new “crisis” now grips American Catholics. The popular professor of moral theology at Catholic University, one of the most esteemed in the United States, the Reverend Charles Curran, has been informed that Pope John Paul II rejects some of his approaches to questions of sexual ethics. The Vatican has specifically cited some of Father Curran’s … Read more
George F. Kennan’s “Morality and Foreign Policy” in the Winter (1985) Foreign Affairs, drawn to its radical conclusions, dramatically reverses the arguÂment Mr. Kennan made thirty-eight years ago under the pseudonym Mr. X, proposing the “containment” of the Soviet Union. Today, Mr. Kennan wishes to “contain” the United States within very narrow bounds. Making no … Read more
The United States, Daniel Patrick Moynihan pointed out many years ago, is the only major nation without a famiÂly policy. It looks as if the nation is suddenly going to get one, if President Reagan has his way And just in time. The fastest-growing segment of the poor in the U.S. consists of young single … Read more
On television overseas, hundreds of millions see aimless, V passive homeless persons in the cities of the United States. This shocking scene is shown over and over again. How can this happen in the glittering media world of “Emmy” and “Oscar” awards? How can it happen on streets surrounding the White House? These images deeply … Read more
The Synod in Rome: What to Look For To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, Pope John Paul II has convened an Extraordinary Synod in Rome November 25-December 8, in which leading bishops from every part of the world will take part. How shall we interpret it? No bishop in the Church … Read more
What are the proper roles and limits of dissent? What are the demands of orthodoxy? These have become, once again, basic questions for all Catholics. “No longer can we speak about the perennial theology or the perennial philosophy,” writes one distinguished American Catholic theologian, whose work and practice I very much adÂmire. “There are many … Read more
Most of the defects that show up in the second draft of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ pastoral on the American economy arise from the inadequacies of its foundational second chapter, “The Christian Vision of Economic Life.” This chapter does not really represent “the” Christian vision (nor even “the” Catholic vision). It is only one Catholic … Read more
Nobody has noticed, but the “Sanctuary movement,” after more than three years of frenetic and deceptive organizing, isn’t going anywhere. There are 339,843 churches and synagogues in the U.S. Of these, only 253 have offered “sanctuary.” The chief reason is the fraud on which the movement is based. At great expense, with careful screening, and … Read more
In Milwaukee, they say the second draft is better than the first. So it is with the second draft of the Catholic bishops’ pastoral letter on the U.S. economy. The bishops cut 20 pages (of 112) from the original draft, made some key rearrangements, clarified some disputed concepts, and helpfully altered the document’s tone. I … Read more
Recently, a theologian friend explained to me the “hurdle” he had to jump before he could accept the concept of “economic rights.” He had been raised to believe, he said, that if an able man doesn’t work, he shouldn’t be fed by others. He could not at first accept the concept that every person deserves … Read more
When I represented the U.S. at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, I spent as much time with delegates from Black Africa as I could. They showed a special warmth, gentleness, and candor in return. I usually inquired about South Africa. Most admitted that their own nations trade heavily with South Africa. Most recognized … Read more
It is a new tactic for Foreign Ministers of nations to go on a fast for peace, but it is a wonderful propaganda ploy. The Maryknoll priest who is Foreign Minister of Nicaragua, Miguel D’Escoto, is valued by his order as a propaganda weapon. This is, in any case, the argument that the Superior General … Read more
In Sao Paulo, Brazil, late in May, scheduled to present a lecture on “Creation Theology in Latin America” in the ninth-floor auditorium of the city’s major left-wing paper, La Folha do Sao Paulo, I was subjected to my first international demonstration. Earlier, some left-wing editors had opposed giving a democratic capitalist such as myself any … Read more
Editor’s Note: The article that follows is Msgr. George Higgins’ syndicated column, The Yardstick, which appeared in several Catholic newspapers in April. (Copyright 1985 by NC News Service. Reprinted by permission.) Msgr. Higgins criticizes Catholicism in Crisis for taking exception to some statements by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin in the Chicago Catholic—statements we thought (despite the … Read more
It is a good thing that the second draft of the bishops’ pastoral has been delayed. There are several errors of fact and doubtful interpretation in the first draft, to which there really had not been sufficient time to call attention, given the press of other issues. The errors of fact I have in mind … Read more
Pope John Paul II took the first part of his name from Pope John XXIII who twenty-five years ago electrified the world by calling for Vatican Council 11 (1962-65)—and, exactly on the anniversary of that summons, Pope John Paul II called for a new, two-week Extraordinary Synod in Rome to evaluate the results of that … Read more
Once when I was about eleven, my father drove me out to one of the hollows in the hills south of Johnstown, Pa., where he was to collect insurance from a family he wanted me to meet. The yard of their home up above the road was littered with old rusting automobiles, barrels, and small … Read more
Even Walter Mondale asserts that President Reagan is clever on television, but the good Vice-President doesn’t know the half of it. For two years in a row, while seeming to be their friend in Washington, President Reagan has succeeded in getting more tax revenue from the rich than any President before him. The man charms … Read more
Lecturing recently in Toledo and in San Diego, I saw at first hand the hot and contradictory passions stirred among Americans by Nicaragua. Arguments fly back and forth. The moral judgments of some directly oppose the moral judgments of others. Worse still, the moral issue cannot be settled simply by agreement on the facts. Even … Read more