| June 18, 2007 | Volume 82, Number 17 | |
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Informed conscience requires actionAt this point perhaps we should again review the Catholic Church’s Just War teachings. In brief summary, it states that for a war to be “just,” the following conditions must be met:
It is the responsibility of every adult to exercise his informed conscience and to act accordingly. Neutrality or passivity in this matter cannot be an option.
CV defended on military priestsJust two points to buck you up on subjects that seem to be getting you a lot of guff from readers. First, the war and the military. We all know that Pope John Paul and Pope Benedict both cautioned strongly against the 2003 invasion of Iraq. They also recognized, however, the responsibility of lay statesmen to make decisions. They did not read pro-war Catholics out of the Church, and therefore it seems to me that reader Max Couchman (Letters, June 4) has no call to do so either. (Pro-abortion “Catholics” are in quite a different boat, since the Church teaches clearly that every act of abortion constitutes unjustifiable aggression against the unborn child.) Of course no one would mistake the CV for a pro-war paper. Mr. Couchman’s display of talking points was provoked merely by your excellent article on priests volunteering for the military, where there is great need and an acute shortage. As the father of a U.S. Marine who has served in Iraq and may do so again, I thank you for honoring our military volunteers. Second, the Latin Mass. My goodness, what a lot of baggage pops open when someone so much as uses a Latin word (or the word “Latin”)! Well, here’s some of mine: I became a Catholic in 1982, as an adult, accepting that the Mass would always be in the vernacular and would always be said in a manner that was just a little too much like a cooking class or a magic show for my taste. And that was OK: the Church didn’t have to unlock the treasures in her attic just to keep me happy. But she is unlocking them, and you may count me among those who are delighted. For many people, an ancient liturgical language is a liturgical recharger. It links you up with generations gone by, and therefore also with generations to come; the tyranny of “now” is transcended. As human beings we’re very present-oriented, which is fine, especially for those whose vocation is “in the world;” but it’s a great thing if the liturgy can link us up with eternity.
War in Iraq not a ‘just war’I wonder if your church is like mine. Do they pray for our troops? Do they cheer when our soldiers return from the battlefront? Do they ever pray tearfully for the country and lives torn apart by our invasion? Do they have the names and photos of your parishioners serving in the war on your walls and bulletins, or are there names and photos of their innocent victims? We were warned before that Iraq was immoral. Pope John Paul II called the war an unjust war of aggression. He said that the church opposed a preemptive or preventive war. The conditions of the just war theory had not been met. There was no imminent threat. The war was not a last resort as long as inspectors were still in Iraq. It could not reasonably be assured that the damage that would be inflicted and the costs incurred by the war would be proportionate to the supposed good expected by invading Iraq. Then Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict) said, “The United Nations is the institution that should make the final decision.” Fearing defeat, the U.S. didn’t wait for the United Nation’s vote that would have rejected the use of force in Iraq. So, the U.S. was not the competent authority in this case. In the church’s just war theory, ALL the conditions must be met with reasonable (or strict) certainty or the war is unjust. Did moral-thinking Christians really think we had met the church’s conditions for a just war? Or did they follow the Commander-in-Chief while ignoring the Prince of Peace? History has now shown the two Popes to be right. There were no ties between Iraq and 9/11 as the administration kept insinuating. We were also guilty of careless disregard for the lives of Iraq’s civilians. We didn’t prepare to protect the civilians immediately following the overthrow, nor in the four years since “mission accomplished.” Besides the indiscriminate bombing and the targeting of merely suspicious groups (such as wedding parties), the use of depleted uranium in American shell casings has caused needless deaths by cancer in sections of the country. The justification based on “freeing the people from Saddam Hussein” was an afterthought, and not sufficient for an invasion either. He was bad but not the worst dictator according to most nongovernmental human rights groups. So I ask, why are so many priests silent on this unjust war? Why do so many Catholics still support the war and the troops if it is an unjust war? If it was known to be unjust before they went, why aren’t the soldiers guilty of a mortal sin? When and where will we repent?
Read the about a soldier back from Iraq >>
Military chaplains called dedicatedMax Couchman’s letter in the June 4 issue of The Catholic Virginian opposing military chaplains can only be explained by his lack of experience of being exposed to these fabulous dedicated individuals. During the Korean War I served with a Fighter-Bomber Wing. I found chaplains to be marvelous friends and spent time with them and found great spiritual stimulation in theological discussions. During my overseas tour, I served with three different Catholic chaplains. One was Father Robert Langen. When an airman who served with me had a family emergency, Father Langen arranged to get him home within 24 hours. He was “Padre” to all, regardless of their religion. Protestant and Jewish chaplains were also friends of mine. Typical of military clergymen, all these chaplains were good and religious men. Today special individuals are those valiant clergymen serving with our troops around the world ministering to their spiritual needs with special dedication to the injured and dying. I don’t believe Mr. Couchman would deny our service men and women the spiritual guidance these chaplains provide. I found it interesting that Mr. Couchman’s letter appeared in the column next to the concluding paragraph quoting Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien who heads the U.S. Archdiocese for Military Services. Archbishop O’Brien was an Army chaplain and served in Vietnam. The archbishop is well aware of the importance and need of clergy in military service. His insight in helping the Iraqi people is edifying. Of course, we could eliminate clergy in the military as Mr. Couchman suggests. Then we would be like the Nazis, the Communists and others who deny their citizens the practice of religion.
Read about a new Air Force chaplain >>
Catholic schools should welcome allAs a parent of a special needs student attending Guardian Angel Regional Catholic School (in Staunton) and a teacher with over 24 years of experience teaching, what you present in your editorial, in my opinion, is an oversimplified view of Catholic schools and their relationship to students with special needs. I also find it offensive that you have reduced the discussion of these children’s lives to simply dollars and cents. What you are saying is that they are welcomed in Catholic churches, but not in Catholic schools. There seems to be some hypocrisy in that. I will agree that in some cases, special needs students do require additional services, but the reality is that most special needs students are mainstreamed. Special needs students can keep up and can do very well, but at times, there is a need for accommodations and modifications to be put into place. Even national standardized tests and colleges allow accommodations for these students. This sports analogy might help you understand the comparison. For example, in golf, players with varying degrees of skill level often play together, to compensate for the difference in skill levels, players are given a handicap. That handicap functions to level the playing field. The same is done in a classroom when accommodations and modifications are made for special needs students.Remember that most simply learn differently. Instead of simply wishing to exclude these students, members of the Catholic school community need to be embracing these students, because, unlike you and others, I think that Catholic schools will have a difficult time being “marketable” and “financially sound” if they continue to operate under the assumption that exclusion of certain Catholic children is the way to achieve success. I find great irony that instead of thinking “outside the box” to move to an ideal world where Catholic schools could and would welcome all students who wish to come — regardless of their disabilities — some choose to live within the confines of a world that seeks to exclude such children. Why shouldn’t every Catholic child be allowed an opportunity to enjoy and benefit from a “quality academic program within a Catholic Christian environment,” as your editorial states? “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers that you do unto me.”
Internet porn considered sinfulI want to thank the Catholic Virginian for the illuminating article, “Clergy study effects of online pornography,” in the June 4 issue.It really helped me to understand a lot of things. First, even though the speaker was a priest speaking to the priests of our diocese, he never mentioned the word “sin” in connection with on-line pornography, or the sacrament of penance. In fact, he went out of his way to insist that people who indulge in internet pornography are not actually commiting a sin. Anyone who is obsessed with internet pornography is actually suffering from an addiction over which he has no control: “As with other addictions, it is not a matter of moral or spiritual weakness and it’s not about willpower,” this priest said. He added that cybersex was nothing but a “behavioral” issue that must be treated “as psychological, biological and sociological because that’s what it is.” In other words, the sixth and ninth commandments don’t actually apply to people who enjoy internet pornography! Good news for them, I guess. So, if using internet pornography is no sin, then a whole bunch of other nasty behaviors may not be sins either. They are just “behavioral problems” that don’t really point to a “moral or spiritual weakness” at all. Boy, have I ever been misled by the Catechism!
Refugees need help and prayersThe United Nations has designated June 20 as World Refugee Day, hoping that once a year we would take time out to reflect on the innocent people uprooted by persecution and dependent on countries of refuge for their survival. The day seeks to focus global attention on the plight of refugees and the causes of their exile, and also on their determination and will to survive and the contributions they make to their host communities. Most of the 8.4 million in refugee camps are malnourished, receive inadequate health care and are in physical danger. Our country allows up to 70,000 refugees a year to escape this misery and rebuild their lives in safety. Refugee resettlement helps secure the safety of those left behind, removing the most vulnerable: those less able to be repatriated, such as mix-marriage families to lands that have been ethnically cleansed, and those who stood up to dictators. Our diocese, working closely with parish volunteers, assists in the refugee resettlement effort. Over the past three and a half years we have welcomed 1,200 people from across the world. These survivors, despite their lack of English, education and exposure to western ways, go to work soon after arrival and in a few months are paying their bills. They are eager to learn English, discover how things work here, to share their cultures and to give their children hope for the future.They become part of the story of our lives. On Sunday, June 24, parishes across the diocese will observe World Refugee Day. Bishop DiLorenzo has requested that a second collection be held to support Refugee and Immigration Services in our effort to resettle refugees and assist immigrants to rebuild their lives in safety in welcoming communities. Ours is an immigrant church within a nation of immigrants. It was not so long ago that our own families made the difficult passage and transitions to life in America. It is our strong, broad diversity that makes our nation vital and makes the issue resonate with our own experiences. Please help the Diocese of Richmond be a welcoming community by sharing your prayers, giving generously on this occasion and if possible sharing your time by volunteering with RIS. It will truly change lives, including your own.
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