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Contents © 2000
by Jim Holman.
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NEWS
JANUARY 2000

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TRUTH ON THE RADIO II. The difference in content between EWTN programming and the Bishop's Hour program continues on Auburn's KSMH, Immaculate Heart Radio. A KSMH employee told the Faith that the station has received phone calls from numerous listeners who say they turn off KSMH during the Bishop's Hour program until EWTN programming resumes again in the afternoon.

The November 16th Bishop's Hour featured Sister Moira Power of the Sisters of Mercy in Auburn to talk about centering prayer and the labyrinth meditation. Sister Power said, "as we pray I think we have a deepening of consciousness and then I think there's also an expansion of consciousness and we have the development around the world of the deeper awareness and deeper consciousness. And prayer kind of flows into that, and kind of affects the consciousness of different people." Sister Moira continued, "So we started off here today about saying prayers and that is really good. But we have to move into the inner journey and really discover within ourselves." Sister Moira moved on to the labyrinth meditation. "It's a circle or path," said Sister Moira, "It's not like a maze. It only goes in one direction, but if you walk it slowly and reflectively and come to the center, it's really another form of centering prayer in a very real sense. And people who've really walked it very carefully and reflectively on their lives or on God in their lives, achieve a certain calmness, a certain centeredness, by the time they arrive at that center. And when you come to the center, you can spend as much time as you want in reflection and prayer ... there's an image that is used in many religious traditions. Certainly Jesus did. You know, he said, 'the road is narrow.' So it's a form of focus prayer. And the walking prayer. And we find that in other religious traditions too, which is very interesting."

Donna Steichen, author of Ungodly Rage, the Hidden Face of Catholic Feminism, and this year's Prodigal Daughters, spoke to the Faith on the labyrinth meditation. Steichen calls the labyrinth, "a silly thing" and said that is chiefly popular among New Age adherents both lay and religious. According to Steichen, the labyrinth is a meditation that is pushed in particular by a group founded by Mary Hunt called Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER). WATER is a member of Women-Church Convergence and is affiliated with Call to Action. Hunt is also a board member of Catholics for a Free Choice. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said in 1989 on Christian Meditation, "Christian prayer is always determined by the structure of the Christian faith, in which the very truth of God and creature shines forth.... Thus Christian prayer is at the same time always authentically personal and communitarian. It flees from impersonal techniques or from concentrating on oneself, which can create a kind of rut, imprisoning the person praying in a spiritual privation which is incapable of a free openness to the transcendental God." The Congregation also pointed out that the Fathers of the Church always insisted that the soul's union with God is realized in a mysterious way, and in particular through the sacraments.

On November 22nd, Father Jim Murphy was Bob Dunning's guest on the Bishop's Hour. Father Murphy is the director of communications for the Sacramento diocese. Father Murphy talked about other Catholic radio programs, in Florida and Texas, which air only 20 percent or less of religious content and 80 percent or more time with contemporary religious music. Father Murphy agreed these formats in that, "religious contemporary music should be the bulk of Catholic radio to get a larger number of listeners." In a November 24th interview with the Faith, Father Murphy said, "There is room for diversity in the Church, for many different opinions." Father Murphy continued, "None of what was on the Bishop's Hour was dissent, just different opinions." Bishop Weigand was scheduled to be the guest on the Bishop's Hour on December 2nd.


CATHOLIC HEALTHCARE WEST WINS. In a rare victory for the unborn and the moral beliefs of the Catholic Church in the area of reproductive rights, the Santa Clara County board of supervisors in early November granted tax-exempt status to millions of dollars in bonds that will enable Catholic Healthcare West to purchase a hospital in Gilroy. Opponents attempted to persuade the supervisors to retain some birth control services in the former Columbia South Valley Hospital that had to close because of financial problems. South Valley became St. Louise Regional Health Center and Catholic Healthcare West required the new facility to abide by the ethical and religious directives for Catholic Healthcare services, a list of some seventy regulations issued by the American bishops in 1994. St. Louise was originally located just north of Gilroy in St. Martin and was also losing money. The supervisors' decision will enable hospital authorities to issue $24 million in tax-free bonds to finance the new facility.

Representatives of Planned Parenthood, Catholics for a Free Choice, and others claimed that St. Louise will not adequately serve the people of Gilroy, a city of 40,000 which claims the garlic capitol of the world title. While conceding that abortion and sterilization are contrary to Church teaching, they made a strong appeal for the availability of tubal ligations, which they claim, is most easily performed immediately after a woman gives birth. Four hundred of these procedures were done last year at South Valley but not one has been done since October at St. Louise.

The county hearing room was jammed with nearly 400 people including a contingent of Catholic priests, nuns, and lay persons all wearing bright orange 'Save Our Hospital' stickers. Fifty persons were permitted one-minute statements before the board. Those speaking against the tax exempt bonds took the occasion to criticize Catholic Healthcare West, the Church's stand on abortion and its imposition of its morals on a community. Speakers in favor of the bond matter pointed out that Santa Clara County would incur no financial obligation by the vote but would be issuing only a 'certificate of participation', approving the tax-exempt status of the bonds. Ten percent of the country's 4,800 hospitals are Catholic. Between 1994 and 1998 there were some 120 mergers between Catholic and non-Catholic institutions that resulted in a significant drop in family planning services nationwide. The pro-abortion San Jose Mercury News in an editorial before the hearing said, "We don't have a problem with St. Louise dropping elective abortions but terminating a pregnancy is different from preventing one. We do have a problem with Catholic Healthcare West dropping tubal ligations. Voluntary sterilization is the save and most effective means of birth control available to women."

To opponents of the hospital, the Gilroy Dispatch warned, "Back off! That's what the groups hell bent on forcing the new buyers of the former South Valley Hospital in Gilroy to offer additional 'reproductive services' ought to do.... Frankly, South County is fortunate that CHW stepped in to keep the hospital open here -- there were no other buyers." "CHW's reproductive services policy is deeply rooted in Catholic religious teachings. If the Supervisors attempt to attach strings to the certificates of participation, CHW will decline the offer. That may cost CHW $200,000 a year. Ultimately, though, it will cost this community millions in quality health care."


USF NURSING SCHOOL CATHOLIC? It was recently noticed by the Faith that the University of San Francisco has a curious listing on its web page -- an option for nursing students in their early formation. The course is Clinical Lab I and the option in the course is to gain clinical experience "in various settings such as hospice, senior centers, shelter, support groups, Planned Parenthood, and selected inpatient settings." When the Dean of Nursing, Dr. John M. Lantz, was contacted, he explained that the web page was old and that the course, or at least that option, was no longer available. That leaves two obvious questions: Why was it ever offered and why is it still on the web page of a notable Catholic university, advertising an institution whose mission, made clear from its birth in 1916, is to undermine Catholic teaching? Sister Maria of the Trinity, who was the 1999 valedictorian of the Nursing School at USF said, "To the best of my knowledge, no girls in my class ever chose to do their clinicals at Planned Parenthood."


EX CORDE IMPLEMENTATION PENDING. The Holy Father's apostolic constitution on Catholic higher education, Ex Corde Ecclesiae, has caused much debate and discussion since it was issued on August 15, 1990. The National Conference of Catholic Bishops has finally approved an implementation document for the United States. The NCCB met in Washington D.C. from November 15-18, to vote on the latest draft of the implementation of the norms set forth by the Magisterium. This document, titled "Draft -- Ex Corde Ecclesiae: An Application to the United States" was approved by a 223-31 decision; a two-thirds vote was required. The application will now be submitted to the Vatican for approval. This approval is necessary for the application to take effect. The 1996 draft, which was almost a unanimous vote, was rejected by the Vatican due to the draft's failure to address certain issues. The most important of these issues was the mandate of Canon 812, which requires an oath to Church authority. The canon states, "It is necessary that those who teach theological disciplines in any institute of higher studies have a mandate from the competent ecclesiastical authority." After its introduction in November of 1997 and many revisions by the implementation committee appointed by the NCCB, and a subcommittee of canonists, the current draft was finalized in September of this year.

The current draft follows the same outline as the Holy Father's document. Both documents are divided into two main sections; the first one discusses principles and the second laying out norms. The principles discussed in the current draft include the notion of the Catholic identity of the university and the role that the institution plays in society and the Church. The norms, issued in the second section, are the implementation of the principles of the first section. While following necessarily from the principles laid out in the first section, the norms were still the cause of the debating that has halted the implementation of Ex corde Ecclesiae. Many administrators in the universities feel that these norms will restrict the academic freedom of the institution. The norms cover a wide range of practical applications, which include the establishment of a Catholic university down to the structure of the university community. Of key importance the norms require that a majority of the board of trustees should be Catholics committed to the Church, that the university president should be a Catholic and that the professors of theological disciplines are required to have a mandatum, as discussed above. The draft states that, "The mandatum recognizes the professor's commitment and responsibility to teach authentic Catholic doctrine and to refrain from putting forth as Catholic teaching anything contrary to the Church's magisterium." The Latin term was intentionally retained to avoid the negative connotation that "mandate" implies. A footnote to the draft further defines 'mandatum.' "The prescription of canon 812 is grounded in the right and responsibility of bishops to safeguard the faithful teaching of Catholic doctrine to the people of God and to assure the authentic presentation of the Church's magisterium."

Also included in the draft was a provision for the implementation to begin one year after the Holy See grants approval to the application. This was intended to allow the presidents and administration time to understand the norms and their responsibility in executing these norms. The draft concludes with a statement that the NCCB in collaboration with representatives of Catholic universities will review and evaluate the implementation of Ex Corde Ecclesiae, during the five years following the effective date of the application and a ten year review by the NCCB for the United States.

Dr. James Wiser, provost and academic vice president of USF, in early December stated, "We are now at a wait-and-see period. There are many that have reservations about the particulars. I think that the processes needs to be more defined." When asked his opinion on the mandatum specifically and how USF will implement it, Wiser stated, "Well, the mandatum is one of those things that needs to be worked out. This process still needs to be defined." John Schlegal, USF's president, was not available for questioning. Father Schlegal has announced that he will step down as president of USF, to accept the position of president at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. When asked how this transition will affect USF, Dr. Wiser stated, "Father Schlegal's absence will not affect the university's mission. We will be looking for another Jesuit to replace him, but the individual is independent of the school's mission as a Jesuit university."


SAN FRANCISCO DA ON THE BALLOT AGAIN FOR RE-ELECTION. In an election atmosphere drained of oxygen by the Brown v. Ammiano race, San Franciscans will still decide whether to retain Terence "Kayo" Hallinan as district attorney. Hallinan is of Irish descent and has been in the public's eye for more than 35 years. While in Berkeley in 1964, Hallinan appeared on radio station KWUN in nearby Concord and in a lengthy interview declared himself an atheist and promoted a youth group he was leading, the W.E.B Dubois Club, later revealed as successor to the Young Communist League. The transcript is in the August 8th, 1964 Berkeley newsletter, Tocsin. Kayo's father, attorney Vincent Hallinan, once sued the Archdiocese of San Francisco, claiming it was defrauding parishioners by asking them to donate money to the Church with promises of eternal life. Hallinan demanded the Church prove the existence of Heaven, giving longitude and latitude. The judge dismissed the case, saying his jurisdiction was temporal. Kayo is one of six brothers, all of whom were given bellicose monikers by their parents: Butch, Kayo, Dynamite, Tuffy, Flash and Dangerous. Dynamite Hallinan left his senior post in the Communist Party U.S.A. about a decade ago where he was educational director for the CPUSA. He came back to San Francisco to manage the family's real estate business. Conn "Ringo" Hallinan is an instructor in journalism at the University of California. He has worked simultaneously as an editor of the People's World, the Communist Party newspaper. Terence "Kayo" Hallinan has also been named as a member of the Communist Party by a man who attended a Communist cadre training school at Camp Webatuck, New York. Gerald Wayne Kirk told a congressional committee in 1970 that this was a closed party conference for leaders, and that he met two Hallinan brothers, Terence and Kayo. It seems Kirk forgot the name of one -- but Kayo impressed him enough that he named him twice.


BOLLARD UPDATE In a December 1st ruling that could have broad implications for the Catholic Church in America, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the first amendment's guarantee of religious freedom does not protect churches from sexual harassment suits by its clergy. Thus the appellate court ruled that former seminarian John Bollard's claim against the Jesuits can proceed. Bollard dropped out of a seminary in Berkeley, saying he was sent pornographic cards, and subjected to unwanted advances by a dozen priests over the course of 5 1/2 years. Bollard's case against the California Province of the Jesuits seeks a public apology and $1 million. The 9th Circuit's opinion is the first appellate effort to define the scope of religious group's exceptions to federal sexual harassment law. Bollard left the Jesuits in 1996 and now teaches at a college in Southern California. His lawsuit was dismissed last year by U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, who said the application of civil rights laws would amount to an "interference of federal government in church autonomy.''

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