Category: Crisis Magazine 2000

Sed Contra: The U.S. Catholic Conference Strikes Again

Deal W. Hudson December 1, 2000 Catholics must wonder sometimes why the U.S. Catholic Conference (USCC) exists. On October 16, Catholic News Service (CNS) of the USCC issued a story with the headline, “Gore sees hope for ‘common ground’ movement on abortion.” Written by Patricia Zapor, based on an interview with the vice president, the… Continue reading Sed Contra: The U.S. Catholic Conference Strikes Again

Sed Contra: What’s All the Fuss?

Deal W. Hudson November 1, 2000 On the heels of Cardinal Ratzinger’s letter to bishops, Dominus Iesus (Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church), comes the predictable chorus of boos. Once again, the papacy of John Paul II is accused of destroying post-Vatican II progress toward genuine interreligious dialogue by affirming the… Continue reading Sed Contra: What’s All the Fuss?

Sed Contra: Bishops Put Kids First!

Deal W. Hudson October 1, 2000 Catholics who crave greater political involvement by their bishops should take note of Michigan’s seven bishops, led by Adam Cardinal Maida. Two years ago, they helped defeat a referendum legalizing euthanasia; now they are weighing in on the most important contest over school choice yet to arise in our… Continue reading Sed Contra: Bishops Put Kids First!

Sed Contra: Reading Madeline St. John

Deal W. Hudson September 1, 2000 Crisis readers, I am sure, will want to know about the recent publication by Carroll & Graf of three novels by Madeleine St John (pronounced “sin-gin”), an Anglican and a Londoner, of Australian birth. St John’s work deserves to be widely read by Catholics who are in the habit… Continue reading Sed Contra: Reading Madeline St. John

Sed Contra: Mortimer J. Adler, Catholic

Deal W. Hudson July 1, 2000 The most influential American philosopher of the 20th century was received into the Church this past December. Those familiar with the trajectory of Mortimer Adler’s work, not just the Great Books Program, should not be surprised. Born December 28, 1902, Mortimer has been a Catholic philosopher all his long… Continue reading Sed Contra: Mortimer J. Adler, Catholic

Sed Contra: Gore’s Catholic Strategy

Deal W. Hudson June 1, 2000 Vice President Gore had the opportunity to address the Catholic Press Association at its May convention in Baltimore, Maryland. He decided not to at the last minute, but I couldn’t help thinking about what he might have said. Here’s how I imagined the question-and-answer period following his speech: During… Continue reading Sed Contra: Gore’s Catholic Strategy

Sed Contra: Stem Cells Equal Baby Parts

Deal W. Hudson May 1, 2000 A sense of tragedy helps to keep a culture moral. Tragedy reminds us of the suffering we cannot alleviate, the finite boundaries we must not cross, no matter how tempting the horizon. In the ancient world, tragic boundaries were policed by the gods so that the men who acted… Continue reading Sed Contra: Stem Cells Equal Baby Parts

Sed Contra: Late-Night Humor That Hurts

Deal W. Hudson April 1, 2000 With the departure of Johnny Carson, I lost my late-night viewing habit. Like his predecessor, Jack Parr, Carson could entertain a broad audience while maintaining a reasonable standard of taste and decorum. When we laughed at Carson’s jokes, we laughed not just at others but at ourselves, as well… Continue reading Sed Contra: Late-Night Humor That Hurts

Sed Contra: Catholics and the GOP

Deal W. Hudson February 1, 2000 Catholics make up the largest religious denomination in this country-65 million. They are also one-third of the electorate in a presidential election, some 30 million. Yet in more than 200 years, a Catholic priest has never served as chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives. In December, an 18-member… Continue reading Sed Contra: Catholics and the GOP