American Catholics

One of my most conservative friends is Catholic, but he is not a "conservative Catholic. " In my book, he'd only be a conservative Catholic if he opposed the death penalty (he supports it), opposed abortion (he believes women should have the right to chose) and engaged in natural family planning (he appreciates the fact that all women he's had sex with, including his wife, used the Pill or another artificial contraceptive to avoid unwanted pregnancy). His opposition to the legalization of same-sex marriage puts him in agreement with the leadership of his church.

I've read a couple of stories recently about Episcopal congregations converting to Roman Catholicism ("Anglican parish in Towson switches to Catholicism," June 25). The reasons always cited by such parishioners are the Episcopal church's willingness to ordain women and gays into the priesthood, which your paper calls "liberal positions. " But giving full civil rights to all of God's children is now a mainstream position among Catholics as well as many others. Your articles make it sound like the wild-eyed Anglicans have run-off the decent folk.

He was Pope John Paul II's right-hand man, a sort of vice president to the pontiff who led the church for a quarter-century. So the election yesterday of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new pope is unlikely to radically alter the church's teachings, its influence in the United States or its role for American Catholics. "Do not expect any major surprises," said the Rev. John Langan, a professor of Catholic social thought at Georgetown University. "There might only be some differences in nuance."

One of my most conservative friends is Catholic, but he is not a "conservative Catholic. " In my book, he'd only be a conservative Catholic if he opposed the death penalty (he supports it), opposed abortion (he believes women should have the right to chose) and engaged in natural family planning (he appreciates the fact that all women he's had sex with, including his wife, used the Pill or another artificial contraceptive to avoid unwanted pregnancy). His opposition to the legalization of same-sex marriage puts him in agreement with the leadership of his church.

Pope John Paul II's arrival in Denver today begins his third and shortest visit to the continental United States. But his four days in the Mile High City will highlight what is perhaps the biggest challenge facing the Catholic Church -- or any religion, for that matter: ensuring its perpetuity by nurturing the next generation of believers.Denver is host to World Youth Day, a gathering that draws young Catholics from around the world. The range of tongues and cultures is vibrant testimony to the rich diversity of the Catholic Church (see article on Opinion * Commentary page)

Pope John Paul II's four-day stay in Denver ended Sunday on a more conciliatory note than many observers had predicted. Rather than conclude his visit with an exclamation-point of a speech deriding American moral values, the pope addressed the 400,000 worshipers at a four-hour Mass in terms that for the most part were upliftingly pastoral.To be sure, his prepared text for the occasion included direct condemnations of abortion and euthanasia as examples of this century's "culture of death."

I've read a couple of stories recently about Episcopal congregations converting to Roman Catholicism ("Anglican parish in Towson switches to Catholicism," June 25). The reasons always cited by such parishioners are the Episcopal church's willingness to ordain women and gays into the priesthood, which your paper calls "liberal positions. " But giving full civil rights to all of God's children is now a mainstream position among Catholics as well as many others. Your articles make it sound like the wild-eyed Anglicans have run-off the decent folk.

Catholic tenets are not subject to public debate The insistence by some Catholics that the church act as a kind of community association in which all members share an equal voice, and that its rules should automatically change for the times in which we live, is incomprehensible ("In the church, on their own terms," April 10). The church is not a democracy, and those wanting it to be one are wasting their time. Nothing forces American Catholics who believe in abortion, euthanasia and birth control to stay in the church.

With the turmoil in Wichita, we Catholics have become unfashionable once again.It's high time, too.We have a long countercultural history in America. Now the most numerous religious community in the country, we started out here as an embattled minority, learning how to negotiate a culture formed and dominated by Protestant social ethics. One conspicuous example was our willingness to pay for, but not to patronize, public schools, preferring instead to build our own parochial school system, to educate our young in our own way at our own expense.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Anthony and Carol Zadzilko had a quarrel with the Roman Catholic church from the start of their marriage 18 years ago. They missed a premarital counseling session because of a scheduling mix-up, and the priest berated them. "It was not our fault, but he had a bird. He threatened not to marry us because we missed a class," said Anthony Zadzilko, still burning with the memory of what he considered clerical arrogance. The relations of the Zadzilkos with the Catholic church went downhill from there.

He was Pope John Paul II's right-hand man, a sort of vice president to the pontiff who led the church for a quarter-century. So the election yesterday of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new pope is unlikely to radically alter the church's teachings, its influence in the United States or its role for American Catholics. "Do not expect any major surprises," said the Rev. John Langan, a professor of Catholic social thought at Georgetown University. "There might only be some differences in nuance."

Catholic tenets are not subject to public debate The insistence by some Catholics that the church act as a kind of community association in which all members share an equal voice, and that its rules should automatically change for the times in which we live, is incomprehensible ("In the church, on their own terms," April 10). The church is not a democracy, and those wanting it to be one are wasting their time. Nothing forces American Catholics who believe in abortion, euthanasia and birth control to stay in the church.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Anthony and Carol Zadzilko had a quarrel with the Roman Catholic church from the start of their marriage 18 years ago. They missed a premarital counseling session because of a scheduling mix-up, and the priest berated them. "It was not our fault, but he had a bird. He threatened not to marry us because we missed a class," said Anthony Zadzilko, still burning with the memory of what he considered clerical arrogance. The relations of the Zadzilkos with the Catholic church went downhill from there.

For five days, Pope John Paul II spoke from his American pulpit, lecturing his flock on the enduring themes of Christianity: feed the hungry, visit the sick, defend the weak. He repeated familiar Roman Catholic prohibitions: no abortion, no assisted suicides, no euthanasia.He called on Catholics to join religious orders and to evangelize. He defended the family. He exhorted the young to "stand up for purity." And before he left last night for Rome, he praised ecumenical cooperation.Was anyone listening?

Pope John Paul II's four-day stay in Denver ended Sunday on a more conciliatory note than many observers had predicted. Rather than conclude his visit with an exclamation-point of a speech deriding American moral values, the pope addressed the 400,000 worshipers at a four-hour Mass in terms that for the most part were upliftingly pastoral.To be sure, his prepared text for the occasion included direct condemnations of abortion and euthanasia as examples of this century's "culture of death."

Pope John Paul II's arrival in Denver today begins his third and shortest visit to the continental United States. But his four days in the Mile High City will highlight what is perhaps the biggest challenge facing the Catholic Church -- or any religion, for that matter: ensuring its perpetuity by nurturing the next generation of believers.Denver is host to World Youth Day, a gathering that draws young Catholics from around the world. The range of tongues and cultures is vibrant testimony to the rich diversity of the Catholic Church (see article on Opinion * Commentary page)

Paris -- During the 42-odd years of the Cold War, the United States ceased to be the society it was when that era began. When people examine the anxieties and uncertainties provoked among Americans by the Cold War's end, and by the loss of the political certainties that governed American life during four decades, they are inclined to overlook how much has changed that had nothing to do with the Cold War.The first and fundamental change is very simple....

For five days, Pope John Paul II spoke from his American pulpit, lecturing his flock on the enduring themes of Christianity: feed the hungry, visit the sick, defend the weak. He repeated familiar Roman Catholic prohibitions: no abortion, no assisted suicides, no euthanasia.He called on Catholics to join religious orders and to evangelize. He defended the family. He exhorted the young to "stand up for purity." And before he left last night for Rome, he praised ecumenical cooperation.Was anyone listening?

Paris -- During the 42-odd years of the Cold War, the United States ceased to be the society it was when that era began. When people examine the anxieties and uncertainties provoked among Americans by the Cold War's end, and by the loss of the political certainties that governed American life during four decades, they are inclined to overlook how much has changed that had nothing to do with the Cold War.The first and fundamental change is very simple....

With the turmoil in Wichita, we Catholics have become unfashionable once again.It's high time, too.We have a long countercultural history in America. Now the most numerous religious community in the country, we started out here as an embattled minority, learning how to negotiate a culture formed and dominated by Protestant social ethics. One conspicuous example was our willingness to pay for, but not to patronize, public schools, preferring instead to build our own parochial school system, to educate our young in our own way at our own expense.