Sarah Palin's Choice

My friend Sharon Mollerus has written a very interesting article in ilsussidairio.net on the debate (which I was completely unaware of) that surrounded some comments made by Sarah Palin at a recent Right to Life dinner in Evansville (which the Bishop there boycotted because of an invitation to Michael Steele).  I think it's worth reading.

Glendon Will Not Accept the Laetare Medal

It's too bad for Notre Dame, really.  I am moved by Prof. Glendon's witness.  This was her decision to make and I'm glad that she is doing this as a way to be faithful to the Church.  I think this is the point of the flyer.  She's not interested in condemning Notre Dame, but certainly pointing out her disagreement.  As she is being honored that day she had to take a stand.  I think her position is well articulated.  What I find unfortunate is that Obama will not have the opportunity to meet this truly Christian woman.

That's what makes me said, really.  If there is any hope for this day (and believe me, I do have hope for this day) it's that in meeting a Christian you meet Christ.  Who knows if Obama would take seriously the attractiveness of anyone he meets that day?  Who knows if anyone will witness to Christ at all?  But I hoped that at least Mary Ann Glendon would.  I'm sad she won't be there.

As my friend said to me, "It's too bad really, I think the only one who became more Catholic today is Mary Ann Glendon."

In a public letter sent to Rev. John Jenkins, President of the University of Notre Dame:

April 27, 2009
The Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
President
University of Notre Dame

Dear Father Jenkins,

When you informed me in December 2008 that I had been selected to receive Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal, I was profoundly moved. I treasure the memory of receiving an honorary degree from Notre Dame in 1996, and I have always felt honored that the commencement speech I gave that year was included in the anthology of Notre Dame’s most memorable commencement speeches. So I immediately began working on an acceptance speech that I hoped would be worthy of the occasion, of the honor of the medal, and of your students and faculty.

Last month, when you called to tell me that the commencement speech was to be given by President Obama, I mentioned to you that I would have to rewrite my speech. Over the ensuing weeks, the task that once seemed so delightful has been complicated by a number of factors.

First, as a longtime consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, I could not help but be dismayed by the news that Notre Dame also planned to award the president an honorary degree. This, as you must know, was in disregard of the U.S. bishops’ express request of 2004 that Catholic institutions “should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles” and that such persons “should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.” That request, which in no way seeks to control or interfere with an institution’s freedom to invite and engage in serious debate with whomever it wishes, seems to me so reasonable that I am at a loss to understand why a Catholic university should disrespect it.

Then I learned that “talking points” issued by Notre Dame in response to widespread criticism of its decision included two statements implying that my acceptance speech would somehow balance the event:

• “President Obama won’t be doing all the talking. Mary Ann Glendon, the former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, will be speaking as the recipient of the Laetare Medal.”

• “We think having the president come to Notre Dame, see our graduates, meet our leaders, and hear a talk from Mary Ann Glendon is a good thing for the president and for the causes we care about.”

A commencement, however, is supposed to be a joyous day for the graduates and their families. It is not the right place, nor is a brief acceptance speech the right vehicle, for engagement with the very serious problems raised by Notre Dame’s decision—in disregard of the settled position of the U.S. bishops—to honor a prominent and uncompromising opponent of the Church’s position on issues involving fundamental principles of justice.

Finally, with recent news reports that other Catholic schools are similarly choosing to disregard the bishops’ guidelines, I am concerned that Notre Dame’s example could have an unfortunate ripple effect.

It is with great sadness, therefore, that I have concluded that I cannot accept the Laetare Medal or participate in the May 17 graduation ceremony.

In order to avoid the inevitable speculation about the reasons for my decision, I will release this letter to the press, but I do not plan to make any further comment on the matter at this time.

Yours Very Truly,

Mary Ann Glendon

Mary Ann Glendon is Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. A member of the editorial and advisory board of First Things, she served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican from 2007 to 2009.

Taking A Step

Our visitor, Giorgio Vittadini, very much wants all of our communities to hold an assembly, as soon as possible, on the Notre Dame flier and the answers of Fr. Carron to questions posed to him on Sunday morning at our National Diakonia in January.  He is convinced of the possibility of an important step in our maturity in this issue that is rapidly becoming very important for many people in our communities.

So this Sunday, April 26, 2009, we will gather at 2:00 PM at:
 
Knights of Columbus Rosensteel Council
Columbian Room,
9707 Rosensteel Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Chris Bacich, the head of CL in the United States, will be in DC this weekend and will join us for this gathering.  Please make every effort to attend this meeting as it is very important.
 
Below you will find the text of the of the Notre Dame flyer.
 
I hope to see you all there on Sunday at 2pm.

D'Arcy is a Bad-Ass

 I love what Bishop D'Arcy is saying these days.  In response to the Notre Dame-Obama kerfuffle, I am more and more impressed by how Bishop John D'Arcy is handling these things.  I know the man personally.  I have great esteem for him, but I have not ever been particularly impressed by him.  I have heard him preach more times than I can remember, and I never found him particulary moving.  He was, in my opinion, kind of daffy.  However, in the last few years, he has seemed to really come into his own.  The last, I don't know, 10 years or so, he has become quite courageous and honest and interesting.  I'm glad he's still the Bishop of South Bend, he has had the most clear and charitable position of any of the bishops who have, ahem, exercised their ecclesial bully pulpits.  And, after all, he is the competent ecclesial authority.

BTW, I still don't see the big deal with Obama speaking at Notre Dame.  My conscience is not scandalized, nor am I particularly disturbed by it emotionally.  I don't agree with the moral outrage.  And I still think that most of the arguments against it make it seem as if the only thing that matters in Catholic identity is opposition to abortion.  I still find that ideological.  Yet, D'Arcy clearly has concern for those who do see things this way, and he has such flair.

3 at Last Count

The ex-bishop, kinda-communist, President of Paraguay Fernando Lugo has fathered 3 kids at last count.  I love a chance to play a little Diana Ross.

Notre Dame and Obama: A Witness to an Event

I seem to be all things Notre Dame and Obama lately.  Oh well.  I wanted to share one more, which is the personal account of Paolo Carozza, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame, who led, with Chris Bacich (National Responsible of Communion and Liberation in America) an assembly (discussion) on the CLU's judgment/flyer on the invitation of President Obama to Notre Dame as the commencement speaker.  It was written as a letter to Giorgio Vittadini, the International Visitor of Communion and Liberation to America.  It is moving to read his account because you see that for him, this event was a point of certainty in the relationship with Christ.  This is what we hope for, no?

Dear Giorgio,
 
I would like to tell you a little bit about our assembly at Notre Dame yesterday, which I think was a great and important sign of our presence as something new and exceptional in the university and in the society.
 
The room we used – in the middle of the campus, in the campus ministry building – was full, with 35 or 40 people, mostly undergraduate and graduate students, with a few others from faculty and staff.  We had published the flier in the student newspaper and invited many administrators and faculty to the assembly, too.
 
We played music to begin (Beethoven’s violin concerto) and a few of the students then sang a song (A New Creation).  They explained their singing as a way of being united, and the song as an expression of the same ideals that the flier contained.  I gave an explanation of the purpose of the flier and what we mean by a “judgment”, and invited everyone to use our experience of faith together as a method of knowledge, referring to the Beethoven to explain how we depend on our belonging to the community in order to grow in a mature relationship to reality that frees us.  Chris introduced the theme of Catholic education and why we thought it was important in the flier to begin not from a specific approval or condemnation of the university’s decision but instead to call attention to the “something that comes before,” the presence of Christ and the unity of faith and reason that makes the university have a meaning.  Then we immediately opened the conversation up, and for an hour and a half it was very intense and lively.
 
It was very clear that our judgment touched upon an open wound, a theme of great relevance that many wanted to talk about but that had not been raised openly in any of the debates on campus so far.  Instead of the typical factions, the taking of sides on Obama or on prolife policies, we had a discussion that was new, that provoked people to ask deeper questions about what was going on in our environment.  We talked a lot about what makes Notre Dame Catholic, and even more about why it should matter – why do we care about building and living a Catholic university at all?  What does it mean?  What is our responsibility before this great ideal?   What does it imply for student life, for teaching and for research? One thing in particular became very clear to me in this moment:  that we carry the hope and ideal of the university in our presence here.  While others might be prepared to give up on their hope for Notre Dame because it is based on who controls the power of the university, we can give reasons for it that do not disappoint – we are the witnesses to why Notre Dame does and must exist, and what it aspires to be, and for those reasons we will still be here even when everyone else has gone in disillusionment.
 
Chris was wonderful, and through his words and responses in particular the discussion seemed inevitably to grow from one about the university into a great announcement of our charism, of what we have met that makes us passionate for the heart of man and for the education of all.  One friend of ours wrote this to me afterwards:  “As I sat there yesterday listening to the dichotomy of remarks made by those who grasped what you and Chris and the flyer were proposing and those who saw it only as a fog (or worse), I was struck by the fact that what I have experienced in CL is truly extraordinary. Not just for me, as someone for whom the Movement was a path to Catholicism, but extraordinary even as amongst lifelong, serious Catholics…”
 
This morning, the student newspaper published a front-page story about our assembly, which I attach for you below (it’s not exactly the story as we would have reported it, but for student journalism it is not bad, at least basically accurate).
 
Based on other conversations that I have had since Sunday with friends among the faculty and administration, I have very good reasons to believe that our presence and our approach has not only been noticed, but it also is having a real impact in internal discussions around the university among those who desire to turn this “crisis” into an occasion to reaffirm the Catholic character of the university, including its clear commitment to the sanctity of human life.  You see, our capacity to propose something that really starts with Christ and not from values or from politics or from ideologies has already struck people as something truly worth looking at and following! 
 
Finally, I want to emphasize how beautiful the relationship is that Andrea Simoncini and I have had with some of our students and friends in all of this.  Those who have stayed with us, and who truly used our companionship as an experience of faith to judge this situation with openness and sincerity, have grown up before our eyes, seeing what they could not see before and going out and bearing witness to their friends of what they have encountered.  And in the process, we ourselves have been changed, have moved, as well – in our fatherhood we have again rediscovered ourselves to be children of another Father.
 
I am so grateful for what we have been given, and so awestruck that Jesus should show a human preference in this way, through us who are nothing…  Thank you for your help and guidance in all of this, which has been so important.
 
In friendship and affection
Paolo

CLU at Notre Dame: The New Commencement Begins

The Observer, the student newspaper of the University of Notre Dame had a front page article on an assembly (discussion) of the well-commented judgment I posted below which the University students of Communion and Liberation wrote in response to President Obama's invitation to speak at Notre Dame's commencement.  It's interesting to note that the student following the discussion seems not have missed the point that for CLU at ND the interesting thing to talk about in response to this flyer is the encounter with Christ.

Y Tu Mama Tambien! And in all things, Charity.

I am not inclined to agree with Deal Hudson in general, but I think he writes a good essay.  I'm not advocating that we should just try to "play nice" with each other.  I don't really care about that and, in fact, I think we err to often on politeness rather than the truth.  I prefer the truth.  Still, as is evidenced by the debate surrounding (Obama, abortion, gay marriage, etc.) we seem to have lost all capacity for honest, civil dialogue.  We scream past each other and all charity is lost in our attempts to convince, convict, be "right."

Or maybe we should just take up fisticuffs?

Hallelujah!

And for those of you who read:  The Evidence of the Resurrection?

and:  A Mystery of Hope, Forgiveness, and Resurrection

Easter Message from the Patriarch of Jerusalem

Easter Message 2009 By
H.B. Fouad Twal
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem

Dear Brothers and Sisters

        We have arrived at the doorstep of Holy Week, the great week, which is the summit of the Christian year.   During this blessed week, God gives us the grace to relive the event of our salvation: with Jesus, and in Jesus, we pass from death to life, we strip off the old man in order to clothe ourselves with the new man.  This week is the synthesis of our entire Christian life.

Let’s be clear about this.  The account of the Passion, of the Death and the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus does not just relate to historical events already completed, events that we drag out from a dusty tome in order to give pious remembrance to them, but which nonetheless remain outside of the real drama and tragedies that are being played out in our lives.  No, in these feasts we find ourselves on the inside of the drama, the same drama that is being played out within us.  We are participants in the mystery of salvation, and the mystery of salvation is accomplished in us!  This is because we recognize ourselves very well in each one of the characters of the Pascal event: in Jesus and his suffering, those same sufferings that each one of us must undergo in the course of our lives: hunger, betrayal, exhaustion, injustice… in Peter, so impulsive and generous, but ever so vulnerable; in Judas and the apostles; in Pilate and in the chief priests, who judge and strike out without mercy; in the crowd that now is cheering and then roaring in its hate; in the Virgin Mary, whose heart is pierced by a sword, but who accompanies Jesus along his way of the cross and stays by his side in the most dramatic moments in a total and confident abandonment; in the soldiers who mock him, strike him and are completely indifferent to the sufferings of the Christ; in Veronica and the other holy women who weep and attempt to assuage the sufferings of his Mother; in Simon the Cyrene and Joseph of Arimathea; in the good thief who calls on Jesus and manages, in the very last moments of his life, to snatch for himself paradise itself…

In the course of our lives, we are in turn each one of these characters. 

But the One who attracts us most of all, who touches us, moves us and transforms what is inside of us, this is Jesus the Christ.  It is He.  During all this Holy Week, we must never allow ourselves to take our eyes off of Him… For it is towards Jesus that we have to turn our eyes and hearts “to know him and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death, if somehow [we] may attain the resurrection from the
dead.” (Ph 3:10-11)

Here we have Jesus, the Messiah, the one who we cheered so much just a few days ago on Palm Sunday, who staggers out of Pilate’s house bearing upon his shoulders the heavy cross.  His path moves through those narrow, winding and steep streets of Jerusalem.  We follow this scene, but from a distance; in this way no one notices our presence…  We are too afraid of ending up like him, suffering and dying.  The soldiers shout and strike the Lord in order to stir up within him the last dregs of energy that he has left.  Look, Jesus falls. To see our Lord fall, the same one who we beheld in all his glory on Mount Tabor…  Three times he falls, but struggles up again and just barely manages to continue on his “via crucis.”

He finally arrives at Golgotha, and there is crucified between two criminals.  Mary his mother is near him, with two other women.  John is there also. What a terrible sight.  It is too much to bear… Our hearts are torn between compassion and revulsion – compassion for the Master who suffers this martyrdom though “he has done nothing wrong.”(Is 53:9)  On the contrary: “He always went about doing good.”(Acts 10:38).  How things have turned around, that this Lord here, who so many times showed his power in words, lets these men have their way with him and stands there mute “like a sheep before its shearers.”  This Lord here who so many times revealed his power in gestures, hangs there impotent...  We too sometimes are tempted to say with the chief priests: “Let him come down from the cross now!  Save yourself, you who saved so many others! (Mt 27:42)

Seeing Jesus on the cross really puts our faith to the test.  He performed so many signs during his public ministry… but this time, where is the sign?  What can be the meaning of all this?  And here is Jesus shouting out in a loud voice: “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?” (Mt 27:26)

Then he expires.  He is dead.  It is finished.  Why stay here to watch this, to look upon this pitiful failure?  Let’s go home.

Today is Holy Saturday.  It is all emptiness.  The Lord is dead.  Our fondest hopes have taken flight and departed.  We are gathered here with the apostles and their disciples, and we brood over our sadness, our disappointment but also our shame and our guilt at not having “been up to the task.” The only comfort that we find in our midst comes from Mary his Mother.  She suffers, you can see that, but at the same time she is at peace.  She invites us to believe, to hope against all hope.  Jesus can neither be deceived nor deceive us.  The truth will come to light.  When?  How?  And what has all this been for?  This is the day of “why’s”, but still no answer comes.  Still there is Mary whose mother’s heart beats with an unutterable premonition.  Mary believes with her whole heart, with her whole soul and with all her strength.  We do as she does. 

Resurrection Sunday:  We have trouble believing what Mary Magdalene and the women have come to tell us.  They say that they have seen the Lord alive!  They say that we are to wait for him in Galilee. 

Woman’s talk, nothing more…

And yet...

And yet, if it’s true…

Here are Peter and John racing to the tomb.  We follow them.  Our hearts are pounding in our chests… What has happened?  Has someone taken his corps off somewhere? The Romans?  The Sanhedrin?  No, no we have an inkling that something else has happened.  The fragments and half phrases of the Lord, which were lying dormant in us, rush back to our memory.  "The Son of Man is to be handed over to men,
and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day." (Mt 17:22)  Are not those the same words that the angels spoke to the women?  But whatever can it mean to “be raised” from the dead?  In the tomb, the corps has disappeared!  And this cannot have been a robbery since, just as the women and Mary Magdalene confirmed, everything is in its place: there is the shroud, empty on the inside, in the very same place where the corps had been lain… there is the cloth that surrounded the Lord’s head, collapsed in on itself…

Could the women, then, have been telling the truth? The Lord, who was dead, could he be alive?

With the eleven disciples, we hurry on to Galilee, to the mountain that Jesus mentioned.  The Lord is waiting for us in Galilee.  Galilee, our Church, our home, it is there that we performed our service; Galilee, that is the place where the Lord sent us to be joyous witnesses of His death and resurrection. 
We come to the mountain.  The Lord is there!  Yes, it is really him!  He is different and yet the same.  Yes, it is really us!  The same, and yet so different.

With Thomas we cry out: “My Lord and my God!”  With Mary, we say with our whole heart: “Rabbi”
Yes, Christ is risen!  He is truly risen!

The adventure now continues.  Or rather, it now begins again, all new!  For ourselves, for our country, for our Church.  Salvation has been accomplished and must be proclaimed to all men. 

Once again, Easter has taken place in our Churches, in our houses, in our towns and villages, in our parish communities, monasteries and convents, in our souls and our hearts, on the beautiful faces of all of our dear pilgrims and tourists.  Halleluiah rings out once again far and wide!

This is our feast!  And participating in our joy, Jesus says to each one: “I am with you always, until the end of the age."