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Contents © 1999
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

LETTERS
FEBRUARY 2000

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LEAVE DEM BONES ALONE!

I don't think it's right to troop somebody's bones over the face of the earth, like is being done with the physical remains of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. The human body is sacred and any of its parts should be considered sacrosanct and not used as a moveable drawing card. Instead, I recommend that a holy person's artifacts or possessions be put on display for the curious and the reverent. Like the treasures of Assisi, which were on display in San Francisco, the prie-dieu of Thérèse of Lisieux, or a piece of one of her garments, or her diary, or one of her letters could be put on display and be venerated just as well, since she represents persons in glory with God. But a holy person's remains, just like any other person's remains, should requiescat in pace.

Clem DeAmicis
San Francisco


THE DATABASE GAP

Regarding Father Thomas Lucas's letter printed in the January Faith (re: the faith identity of the University of San Francisco). I applaud that he defended USF's Catholic identity as defined by the University of San Francisco. He even offered to be a tour guide for the chapels he identified. Though I applaud his gumption in speaking out, I have to admit that I am operating on a different database than he is. That he is willing to guide people to the chapels is good because they are not immediately locatable without that service. He mentions SI (St. Ignatius) Church as an example of USF's Catholic identity. He described it as the "historic centerpiece of USF". I find that an unfortunate description inasmuch a few years back that church was legally segregated from the USF campus and the ownership was transferred from USF to "the Jesuit Community". That community was presumably housed at what was once fondly called "the Jesuit Hilton". I am aware of this fact because, as a property owner contiguous with USF property, I was so notified when it happened. I was even provided with a map of the campus showing exactly where the new line between the USF campus and SI Church was drawn. The line is the north-south sidewalk bordering the east side of the church; the line turns west just past the church and continues to the sidewalk on Parker Street. This leaves the church...off campus. This geographic severance from USF removed it as the "historic centerpiece". The archdiocese came to the rescue of SI church by declaring it a parish of the Archdiocese [of San Francisco] thus reestablishing its reason to be. The geographic area for the new parish was formed by carving out areas from surrounding parishes.

A second weakening of the Catholic identity is the removal of the occupants of the Jesuit residence thus sharply minimizing the casual or background atmosphere of the witness provided by the incidental presence of Jesuit priests on campus.

A third weakening of USF's Catholic identity is the abandonment of the effort to bring homosexuals back into the Church when the Jesuit priest moderator of the organization, Courage, was banished from the campus two years ago. I would hope that all the talk about Catholic identity would become moot when Catholic colleges wholeheartedly support the notion that Catholic identity equates to being in harmony with the Magisterium of the Church.

Regards,

F.R. Geraty
San Francisco


TRUTH ON THE RADIO III

Regarding a statement made in the article "Truth on the Radio" (December, 1999), that "Father (Joseph) Fessio held to the Church's position that the state has the right to take the life of a criminal," and Father Fessio's own statement, that "if you don't believe capital punishment is just, you're not a Catholic." I would point out that the authoritative Latin version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that while "The traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude ... recourse to the death penalty ... if bloodless means are sufficient to defend human lives against an aggressor ... public authority should limit itself to such means, because they are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person." The Church further teaches "...Given the means at the state's disposal effectively to repress crime by rendering inoffensive the one who has committed it, without depriving him definitively of the possibility of redeeming himself, cases of absolute necessity for suppression of the offender today are very rare, if not practically non-existent". Please note that the pope advocates eliminating the death penalty, and has in several cases asked that the lives of persons facing execution be spared. As the pope is the spokesman for God on Earth, I ask that priests follow his lead and work to abolish the culture of death of which that heinous form of vengeance is a part.

Sincerely,

Stephanie Choury
San Leandro


CLARIFICATION

In the December issue of the Faith, an ad appeared under the headline "Exorcism" which said "the Church cannot regulate or prohibit Exorcism." Though the ad, as far as we know, was placed by well-meaning Catholics, it contradicts Church teaching. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1673, reads, "The solemn exorcism, called 'a major exorcism,' can be performed only by a priest and with the permission of the bishop." We regret any confusion this ad may have caused.

--Jim Holman, publisher, S.F. Faith

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