The U.S. Catholic Conference statement on Religion and the ’84 Campaign may have come about because some politicians — notably, some Catholic politicians — cannot seem to differentiate between legally determined religious practices and general moral principles. Legally determined religious practices, as one Catholic governor has pointed out, cannot and should not be forced on … Read more
Editor’s Note: The incommensurability between occasion and reaction has been called the mark of genius. Mary Daly’s new work, Pure Lust: Elemental Feminist Philosophy (Beacon Press 471 pp., $18.95), is not, a first blush (we speak advisedly) the kind of book we would want to review, let alone devote a symposium to. It reaches a … Read more
My dear Wormwood… What we want, if men become Christians at all, is to keep them in the state of mind I call “Christianity And.” You know — Christianity and the Crisis, Christianity and the New Psychology, Christianity and the New Order, Christianity and Faith Healing, Christianity and Psychical Research, Christianity and Vegetarianism, Christianity and … Read more
The President of the United States has appointed you as an officer in the U.S. Navy under the conditions indicated in this document. If appointment is accepted you must complete oath of office. If it is not accepted, sign and date declination. Indicate reasons for non-acceptance. We mark our passages with paper, and one of … Read more
About a month ago a nun familiar with New York’s peace demonstrators predicted that if Bishop John J. O’Connor, then of Scranton, was named Archbishop of New York, there would be people lying all along Fifth Avenue in front of the Cathedral in protest. That does not seem to be the case. Yet. Bishop O’Connor … Read more
Is the pope a socialist? Which would serve Marxist propaganda better, that he is perceived to be a socialist or that he is perceived not to be a socialist? If he is perceived to be a socialist, the perception alienates him from capitalists, including those in democratic countries, who argue that only capitalism can create … Read more
(Ed. Note: This article ran in defective form in the April issue) No doubt many people depend for their information about important issues on the media. Because they lack intelligence, inclination, or means, they must rely on second-hand facts and second-hand interpretations. From this, we gather, they make their personal decisions and they make their … Read more
No doubt many people depend for their information about important issues on the media. Because they lack intelligence, inclination, or means, they must rely on second-hand facts and second-hand interpretations. From this, we gather, they make their personal decisions and they make their political statements. While Americans may rely on objectivity in the media, it … Read more
…there is what I would call the phenomenon of rhetoric. In an area already tense and fraught with unavoidable dangers, there is no place for exaggerated speech or threatening stances. —John Paul II The Papal statement to the United Nations’ Second Special Session on disarmament warns against the abuse of language. Clearly, in such serious … Read more
IT IS SAID that Pope John Paul II once declared that if St. Paul were around today, he’d be on NBC. We might add, if he was lucky. The tremendous confusion regarding the position of the Holy See on nuclear weapons is no doubt exacerbated by the American press’ determination of what is “news.” Clearly, a person of stature calling … Read more