Catholic University Responds

I write to respond to the erroneous claims made in a letter to the editor, titled “Co-ed Catholics,” which appeared in the March 11–17 Register.

There are no coed dorms at The Catholic University of America (CUA). Our residence halls are divided by floors where the male and female residents are not mixed, but separated according to gender. In fact, as we are in the process of allocating rooms to students in our newly constructed residence facilities, some parents have requested that student floors be “mixed” so that their daughters or sons can benefit from living in newer facilities. CUA has uniformly denied that request.

CUA has and enforces very clear regulations regarding appropriate conduct and behavior, and very appropriate sanctions when such regulations are violated by students who “indulge in disruptive activities.”

The current student-faculty ratio for undergraduates is 10-to-1, one of the lowest that I have seen at any comparable university in the United States. [Only] six out of 1,000-plus undergraduate courses available at CUA have enrollments of 75 students, and these are world civilization, survey-type courses. Our average undergraduate class size is 18 students.

Our undergraduate curricula are taught by full- and part-time faculty. Some general content courses in English, foreign languages and religious studies benefit from qualified and supervised graduate teaching assistants who teach as part of their doctoral training programs, a standard practice in graduate-research institutions.

There are no “questionable clubs” at CUA. All officially recognized and funded student organizations must be approved by the appropriate administrative officials and function in accordance with the university's Catholic identity and purposes, as well as its established policies and procedures, and are supervised by faculty, staff or administrators.

I appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight.

FATHER DAVID M. O'CONNELL, C.M.

Washington, D.C.

The writer is president of The Catholic University of America.

Risk and Grace

The letter to the editor by Mr. Werner (“St. Dale of Daytona?” March 18–24) was well-intentioned and interesting. I do believe, however, that it missed the mark.

Mr. Werner's theme seemed to be that, since Mr. Earnhardt worked in a risky profession that was not directly in service to God, Mr. Earnhardt's salvation is in question. I must point out that salvation is not based on the risks or income associated with any profession. It is based on the fact that we have all fallen “short of the glory of God” and that Jesus’ love for us overcame that when he sacrificed himself on the cross so that we may be saved.

Beyond that, our duty is to remain in a state of grace. Does holding a profession that is not in direct service to God and contains a significant amount of risk negate one's state of grace? I do not believe so. Military personnel engage in behavior that is risky to themselves and certainly to the “enemy.” Yet when the Roman soldier asked what he should do, St. John the Baptist told him to do his job and do it well.

We are told in Scripture that we are to do our job as if serving God the Father in place of our employer. Electricians, steelworkers and factory workers all face substantial risk in their professions. I believe the grace of God works in many of their lives as they serve him by honorably performing their duties and supporting their families.

We do not know the state of Dale Earnhardt's soul at the time of his death. Neither does Mr. Werner. What I do know is that we can use this time to reflect on how fleeting this lifetime is for us and how important it is to remain in a state of grace, bringing the “Good News” to all around us.

ELIZABETH MADIGAN

Melrose, New York

Disarm Disrespect for Life

“Praying to an Embryo” (March 25–31) — what a magnificent editorial! What magnificent lessons the Annunciation and the Visitation teach us about the faith of Mary and how we should respect the lives of the pre-born from conception! The rejection of these lessons is evident in the violence of our society, especially the shootings at schools.

Since shootings at schools are now a regular occurrence, many have offered opinions as to the cause. They cite contemporary films and music, teasing and bullying, the increased availability of and easy access to guns, and a host of other reasons.

These reasons may contribute to school violence, but it is difficult to see them as the sole causes, because society's entertainment has always contained violence, there has always been teasing and bullying, and the general population has in the past had easier access to guns.

What is new in the current generation is a tremendous devaluation of human life — in contrast to the respect shown for Jesus when he was conceived — as seen in abortion and the infanticide called partial-birth abortion.

When we cite as examples of legal and acceptable behavior to youngsters the killing of the unborn with such brutality as seen in photos of reassembled babies whose bodies have literally been torn apart limb by limb, and when we give as an example of acceptable behavior the stabbing of a baby in the neck to extract its brains as it is being born, it is remarkable that the violence level in our society is not much higher.

The solution is to follow the model of Mary and Elizabeth — their faith and how they respected the person of Jesus when he was a tiny embryo.

WILLIAM LUKSIC

Rockville, Maryland

Penitent's Prerogative, Priest's Discretion?

I think that the point among canonists is still debated as to whether a penitent can release a priest from the seal of confession. No doubt the seal should be firmly protected. The quotes provided by Mr. Mazza (“Confessional Conundrum,” Letters, April 1–7) are excellent. However, the fine commentary from Father William Woestman's book Sacraments: Initiation, Penance, Anointing of the Sick gives a different point of view:

“The penitent may give the confessor permission to speak about what was said in confession. … The permission can be for speaking only to the penitent, or to another person, or to everyone. Even if such permission is given, the confessor must use great discretion lest anyone think that he is breaking the seal and this cause harm.”

I invite further clarification on this if it is possible.

FATHER GREG J. MARKEY

Bridgeport, Connecticut