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Contents © 1998
by Jim Holman.
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NEWS
JUNE 1998

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RETIRED SAN FRANCISCO ARCHBISHOP JOHN QUINN is soon to publish a book on the papacy, reports the April 10th National Catholic Reporter. Provisionally titled "The Exercise of the Papacy," the book will go "way beyond" Quinn's controversial June 1996 Oxford address, said Michael Leach, a spokesman for Crossroads publishing house. Quinn's "definitive statements and conclusions, grounded in scholarship, will really fuel the debate over the role of the papacy."

In his Oxford address, Quinn criticized the Roman Curia for "wanton disregard" of the local Church and "blind, rigid application" of Church law, and said that the Vatican should indulge the liberal Catholics' wish to reopen discussion of such issues as the ordination of women, birth control, and married priests. The movement to question these teachings, he said, "cannot be overlooked or dismissed as if it were the quirk of malcontents or the scheme of those who want to undermine the papacy."

Quinn urged the Vatican to democratize the Church, bemoaning its tendency to make bishops' appointments "against an overwhelming objection of people and priests in a given diocese." "Bishops are not mere legates of the Pope," he complained.


PRO-ABORTION CALIFORNIA STATE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE MING CHIN spoke at the University of San Francisco on April 21. The talk, "My Story: From the Potato Fields of Oregon to the California Supreme Court," was sponsored by the USF Pre-Law Students, the USF Legal Studies Program, the USF Politics Department, and the USF Creating Community Committee. "You have done us a great honor" through your association with this Jesuit University, said the event's emcee. Noting Ming Chin's many awards, the emcee added, "I could be up here for an hour if I was to name them all."

"It is always nice to come home," said Chin, a graduate of USF. The Jesuits have been a "big part of my life," he said, describing his "wonderful years" studying, among others, the "great Jesuit philosopher Teilhard de Chardin." Chin thanked USF President Fr. John Schlegel for his "courage and candor" in speaking on his behalf at his confirmation hearing, and said that he hopes his Jesuit education has made it possible for him to "benefit" the "community"--"I hope I have done that."

Chin said that he would like "clarity and courage" in his judicial decisions to be his "legacy to the California State Supreme Court." "Constant improvement," "to leave things better than we found them"--this is what his "Jesuit fathers and professors" taught him "so well." "We have to make [society] better today" than it was "yesterday."

Moments later, the Faith asked Chin to justify his public support for abortion. Chin balked: "I have nothing more to say in public about that subject." "Personal opinion" cannot influence his judicial decisions, he said, describing abortion as a "matter of conscience" and a legal issue decided by the "U.S. Supreme Court."

"You continue to do us great honor," the emcee said in conclusion.


FIRST RESORT, A CRISIS PREGNANCY SERVICE and teen abstinence educator based in the East Bay, is seeking to establish an office in San Francisco's financial district. "A shimmering bay. A vibrant economy. And one of the world's highest abortion rates," reads its promotional literature. "It's not exactly a statistic the Chamber of Commerce includes in its brochures. But the fact is that San Francisco produces more abortions a year than live births. Despite the stereotypes, the majority of these abortions don't come from poor, teenage girls but from working and educated women. And the number is staggering. Over 40,000 abortions a year in Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties."

The group, which says that "over 50% of the women we counsel elect to carry their babies to term," is asking for "prayer" and "volunteer and financial support." To contact First Resort, write or call: 1933 Davis Street, Suite 215, San Leandro, Ca 94577; (510)569-1200.


IN 1991, FRANCES AMBROSE FLED ST. MARTIN OF TOURS IN SAN JOSE after watching a "protestant minister, carrying a bowl of fire" dance at a Pentecost mass. Eight years later, Ambrose decided to return to St. Martin of Tours--only to discover that the liturgical dancing continues. In fact, she says, "the liturgical dancers have multipied." On April 24, she saw "four to five barefoot" females dancing before the gospel reading. "I just walked out," says Ambrose. "If I had friends who were interested in Catholicsim, I wouldn't bring them there. I would be too embarrassed to show them that parish as being representative of Catholicism."

Ambrose found no consolation when she called the San Jose chancery to complain about the dancing. "It sounds like you need some education about liturgical dancing," a chancery official told her. St. Martin's of Tour rebuffed her complaint in a similar vein, saying: "We need to bring our bodies to mass;" "You are being negative"; "We want women to be active in the Church." The motto of St. Martin of Tours is "people ministering to people."


THE FAITH HAS RECEIVED A PRE-PUBLICATION GLIMPSE at pages from Cardinal Ratzinger's memoirs. The pages contain sharp criticism of the post-Vatican II liturgy.

Ratzinger recalls that after the publication of the new Missal of Paul VI "I was dismayed by the prohibition of the old Missal, since nothing of the sort had ever happened in the entire history of the Liturgy." Previously, the Church had "re-worked" missals, "but without ever setting one missal against another," thus protecting a "continual process of growth and purification...that never destroyed continuity."

The new liturgy, alas, did not reform the old missal, but substanially discarded it, causing a "breach into the history of the liturgy whose consequences could only be tragic."

"For then the impression had to emerge that Litugy is something 'made,' not something given in advance but something lying within our own power of decision. From this it also follows that we are not to recognize the scholars and the central authority alone as decision-makers, but that in the end each and every 'community' must provide itself with its own liturgy. When liturgy is self-made, however, then it can no longer give us what its proper gift should be: the encounter with the Mystery that is not our own product but rather our Origin and the Source of our life."

Ratzinger again calls for a reform of the post-Vatican II liturgical reform: "A renewal of liturgical awareness, a liturgical reconciliation that again recognizes the unity of history of the Liturgy and that understands Vatican II not as a breach but as a stage of development: these things are urgently needed for the life of the Church. I am convinced that the crisis in the Church that we are experiencing today largely derives from the disintegration of the Liturgy, which at times has even come to be conceived of etsi Deus non daretur: in such a way that it is a matter of indifference whether or not God exists and whether or not He speaks to us and hears us.

"But when the community of faith, the world-wide unity of the Church and her history, the mystery of the living Christ, no longer become apparent in the Liturgy, where else then is the Church to become apparent in her spiritual essence?

"Then the community is celebrating only itself, an activity that is utterly fruitless. And, because the ecclesial community cannot have its origin from itself but emerges as a unity only from the Lord, through faith, such circumstances will inexorably result in a disintegration into sectarian parties of all kinds-partisan opposition within a Church tearing herself apart.

"This is why we need a new Liturgical Movement, which will call to life the real heritage of the Second Vatican Council."


ON APRIL 14, THE CALIFORNIA SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE killed a state constitutional amendment requiring parental permission for a minor to obtain an abortion. On a 3-4 roll call, the amendment was rejected at the behest of Senate President Pro Tem and Judiciary Committee Chair, John Burton. Raised a Catholic, Senator Burton represents San Francisco.

Meanwhile, on the Assembly side, Assembly Republican Leader Bill Leonard (R-Rancho Cucamonga), has introduced an Assembly constitutional amendment to restore parental notification. "It is staggering to me that children are not allowed to visit a dentist or to receive aspirin from a school nurse without first obtaining permission from a parent," Leonard said. "Yet the California Supreme Court somehow finds that a child can undergo such a profound and intrusive surgical procedure without first obtaining that same permission. The court's decision dramatically intrudes upon the relationship between the parent and the child. My goal is to restore and protect this relationship. The State should not come between parents and their children."


A BILL BY ASSEMBLYMAN BOB MARGETT (R-Arcadia) to ban partial birth abortions in California failed to pass the Assembly Health Committee on April 21, but produced heated testimony. Assemblyman Tom Woods (R-Shasta), a Republican who sits on the Health Committee, expressed disbelief that the bill was assigned to the Assembly Health Committee, "Since this is a Health Committee, what is the difference between a baby there (in the womb) and on the other side of the birth canal?"

Dr. Vincent Fortanasce, clinical professor of neurology at the University of Southern California and member of the board of bio-ethics for Los Angeles County, answered, "You've hit on a very important principle and that is, in every type of animal-that life cycle in all of them begins with conception and ends with death. It is only with humans that the courts have decided that life for humans begins at viability. This completely abrogates everything we are taught in medical school. Yet the courts and legislature have decided that they somehow can rewrite the medical books."

Woods continued, "Mr. Margett, your bill was referred here by Rules (Committee), but this is not a health question, we have medical experts and even people who are in favor of abortion will tell you the same thing-- that medically, there is no difference between the viability of a baby whether it's six to seven inches inside the birth canal than it is on the other side of the birth canal. So, basically, personhood is a legal question. Why is this bill here and not Judiciary? The latter part of the twentieth century has yielded us this kind of madness. I am ashamed to be a part of this process asking stupid questions like this before an otherwise honorable committee. But as anyone can see, when twenty three chromosomes of a man and twenty three chromosomes of a female come into contact inside of a womb, something happens that has never happened in the universe-an individual is created different from any other individual that has ever been created-different fingerprints, different chromosomes.... and we allow that person, that unique individual, to be murdered all the way up to seven inches on the inside of a birth canal. That is why I am voting for your bill, sir."


STATE SENATOR RICHARD MOUNTJOY (R-Arcadia) has proposed new marriage legislation that would make it more difficult for couples to divorce.The proposal is modeled after a Louisiana law, passed last year, which commits couples to a pre-divorce waiting period of at least a year. If one party objects to divorce, the other can only end the marriage by proving "fault" on the part of the other spouse.

Senator John Burton voted against the bill. "People can do this voluntarily," Burton said. "We don't need the government setting up some deal where people have to stay married whether they want to or not." Catholic Senator Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) also dismissed Mountjoy's solution. "Legislation for a voluntary program?" she asked. "I'm a practicing Catholic. We already have that in our church. If you don't like what the church proposes you go somewhere else. I don't see having legislation if people are not committed up front."


FACED WITH THE NECESSITY OF OVERCOMING A DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY in the Assembly, Attorney General Dan Lungren is urging the Legislature to let the voters decide on this November's ballot whether abortions for women under the age of 18 should require parental consent. He also said that there is a strong connection between youth violence and the lack of parental consent. "When we see people questioning how children can kill children, how can we think that sending a message to children that they can do as they please-even to the extent of not notifying their parent of such a serious act-will do anything but break down those basic values that are the underpinnings of our heritage and our civilization?" Attorney General Lungren, a Catholic, is expected to easily secure the Republican nomination for governor in June.


THE "EL NIÑO" WEATHER PHENOMENOM HAS TAKEN A HEAVY TOLL on the poorest neighborhoods in Tijuana. The recent series of rainstorms brought by El Niño has claimed several lives, and devastated many buildings and homes in those areas. Among its victims are several members of San Jose Parish, which is located in an impoverished, outlying area of Tijuana. A priest from the parish explained the current situation to the Faith in an April 18 telephone conversation, saying, "I could show you things down here that would make you cry." Several of the parish's members suffered major damage to, or the total loss, of their homes. Those who have lost their homes have constructed makeshift shelters from wooden pallets of the type used in warehouses and factories for moving or storing large loads of material. According to the priest, their homes were modest to begin with, and most have families.

Mexico's Social Security system provides basic medical care and subsidized housing for its people. However, according to the priest, the system is inadequate. Long waits are required for medical care, and the system is often unable to provide the care needed. The housing program offers dwellings in crime-ridden complexes that are nonetheless so much in demand that they can only be obtained through a special lottery. Residents pay for it by means of payroll deductions. For these reasons, explained the priest, the parish would prefer to provide more direct assistance to its members who suffered losses from the floods. Donations for this cause may be sent to San Jose Parish, P.O. Box 434210, San Ysidro, CA 92143-4210.


ON MAY 2, THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO held a symposium on the Catholic Intellectual Tradition and the Arts and Sciences in honor of Desmond Fitzgerald, who is retiring this year after 50 years of teaching philosophy at the school.

Several speakers acknowledged that USF must recover the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. Fr. Cornelius Buckley, a professor of history, noted with dismay a colleague's recent remark that USF's progress depends upon "courses in gay culture"-- a statement smacking of the modernist assumption that "man is the last of the animals." William Basset, a professor at the USF law school, admitted that "it is almost impossible to have a conversation about religon and philsophy," that most "students don't care about religion" as it relates to law, and that few faculty members "have a background in Catholic faith." Asked if the USF law school catalogue of courses difffered from UC Berkeley's, he said that a student would have a greater opportunity to study Catholic legal thinkers at Berkeley than USF.

Dr. Michael Torre, a USF professor of philosophy, proposed, as a response to the malaise of the Catholic university, "affirmative action" for intellectuals faithful to the Catholic intellectual tradition and a requirement that departments explain how they "relate to the Catholic traditon." "There is something comic" about a Catholic university that is "ashamed of being Catholic." "A Catholic university is first and foremost a work of faith...It is its reason for being."

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