To Whom Does This Church Belong?

Staff writer Tim Drake’s timely and informative reporting on the excommunication of the parish board of St. Stanislaus Kostka parish in St. Louis brings questions to mind, along with historical parallels regarding the establishment of the Polish National Catholic Church (“Property Dispute Leads to Excommunication,” Jan. 8-14).

Were there any other issues in the 1891 agreement between Archbishop Peter Kenrick who deeded the property of St. Stanislaus Kostka parish to it parish board? Were issues of authority and obedience to the archdiocese clear? If not, then why didn’t Archbishop Peter Kenrick or Archbishop Justin Rogali, Archbishop Raymond Burke’s predecessor, excommunicate the parish board? What took so long? 1891, my goodness!

The article recalls the 1898 schismatic action of Father Franciszek Hodur of Scranton, Pa., which resulted in his excommunication and ultimately in the establishment of the Polish National Catholic Church. That dispute was more extensive than just a property-and-funding quarrel. It involved the parishioners’ need for Polish-speaking priests and diocesan support of other uniquely Polish parish needs.

While other immigrant groups enjoyed the Vatican’s influence in America as a result of their former homeland’s influence, the Poles were not so fortunate. Because there was no Poland at the time, the Poles in America had no fatherland to speak out for them.

My last question: How did an excommunicated priest become a bishop? Father Francziszek Hodur was ordained a bishop in the Netherlands in 1907 by the Old Catholic Bishops of the Union of Utrecht. Was this a schismatic branch of the church? Under this authority, and together with his faithful, he nurtured the growth of his church until his death in 1953.

Tadeusz Szalinski

Elmhurst, Ill.

A Mozart Moment

Regarding “‘Beloved of God,’ Mozart Turns 250” by Joanna Bogle (Jan. 22-28):

I have two comments. First, your readers should be aware that Mozart is reputed to have said, “I would give up all of my music to have written one line of the ‘Salve Regina.’” This quotation should be on the mind of every good liturgist.

Second, I am concerned about a comment from Mr. Jeremy de Satge in the article. Mr. de Satge says, “most of [Mozart’s] Mass settings are not really suitable for parish liturgical performance.” I do not know anything of Mr. de Satge’s work or reputation. However, from my experience, this is the standard comment of those who are satisfied with the banal in the Catholic Mass.

An example of a counter argument, for those looking for good liturgy, is to make a pilgrimage to St. Agnes Catholic Church in St. Paul, Minn. Immigrants from the old Austro-Hungarian Empire built the church in the Baroque style. The pastor emeritus, Msgr. Richard Schuller, has sustained a classical music repertoire where the Solemn Mass on Sunday included the orchestral Masses of Mozart, Gounod and others. Some other churches across the country, such as the National Shrine in Washington, offer more of a classical repertoire, though admittedly they do not present full Mass works like Mozart’s.

As for Gregorian Chant, which also brings out the beauty of the liturgy: It can come back — provided the parishes really want it and are not so immersed in the culture that they are more concerned with entertainment and less with Eucharistic sacrifice.

J. William Miller

Hyattsville, Maryland

Sidewalk Story

The anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision reminds me of an experience I had as a sidewalk counselor outside the abortion mill (“Pro-Lifers Coast to Coast Mark Sad Anniversary,” Jan. 29-Feb. 4).

A young woman and her boyfriend refused literature, at first. After they went into the abortuary and saw how crowded it was, they came out and talked to me. She said she had become pregnant because her IUD birth-control device had moved out of place. The doctor said there was a 50-50 chance the baby would survive and he could be handicapped.

I asked them to go to a pay phone with me to call a Birthright counselor, which we did. Before we parted, we agreed to stay in touch. The baby was due in December. I hoped it would be a Christmas baby. When my friend missed her October call to me, I knew something was wrong.

When I called her, she said the baby was stillborn at seven months. I was shocked and in disbelief. I was sure she would be angry at me after all she had been through and then lost the baby. She told me the nurses let her hold the baby and then she said something that surprised me. She said, “I’m still glad I didn’t have the abortion. Now I don’t have to live with all that guilt.”

I knew then that, if my friend could go through all that she endured and still be thankful over not having an abortion, there is no reason for any woman to resort to abortion. With the help of God and the many pro-life agencies, no woman has to abort her child.

Colleen Reilly

Lebanon, Pennsylvania

‘Defeat for Humanity’

When I read the letter to the editor headlined “War Powers” (Jan. 8-14), the first thing I called to mind was the recent statement of Pope Benedict questioning the validity of the “just war,” given the power of destruction in modern weapons of warfare.

When we read the universal Catechism, a universal (Catholic) mentality is called for. Therefore, when it speaks of the common good, that will apply to the people of all nations and not only those of the United States. It is the Catholic understanding that people of all nations are our sisters and brothers.

Pope Benedict further states that “Nowhere in the Catechism of the Catholic Church is the validity of a preemptive war mentioned.”

A few years ago we had a religious sister from Iraq staying on our property over the Fourth of July weekend on a retreat in one of our hermitages. During the fireworks, she was experiencing post-traumatic stress and fell into my arms, weeping. We talked for some time and she shared with me that she had worked in a camp for the homeless in her country for a year. Citizens of Iraq were there who had been made blind and who had their arms and legs blown off as a result of our bombing. When they asked Sister why America was doing this to them, she said she could not give them an answer.

Some of those who defend war would refer to the human beings as “collateral damage.” It is necessary to make them sub-human. It is the only way to justify an immoral act.

Those who are in authority will have to render an account before Jesus. Let us pray for an end to all wars and that our troops will return home. I close with a quote from John Paul the Great: “War is always a defeat for humanity.”

Sister Mary O’Connor, t.o.r.

Toronto, Ohio

Who’s Afraid of Brokeback Nation?

Regarding “Why Give Offensive Moves Any Ink At All? (Letters, Jan. 22-28):

The movie Brokeback Mountain was one of the most tender, beautiful love stories I have ever seen. It was very real and true to life. Was it because it was not porno, that it was not full of nudity and cursing, that the homophobes are afraid of it?

How can I continue to belong to a Church that teaches hate? I am only hanging on by a thread. The Church treatment of same-sex relationships and gays is nothing more than a continuation of the Inquisition. The Church actually condemns gay people for existing. The Church never, ever teaches love, compassion or sympathy for anyone it condemns.

Name Withheld

Paramus, New Jersey

Editor’s Note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition” (No. 2358).

Counting Clues

Following Jennifer Roche’s fascinating commentary on “Shakespeare’s Shadow Catholicism” (Feb. 5-12):

I wonder if any scholars out there could explain this mysterious Shakespearean riddle. In the year the King James Bible was published, William Shakespeare was 46 years old. If you go to Psalm 46 in the King James Bible and count 46 words from the beginning, the word is “shake.” If you count 46 words from the end, the word is “spear.”

Psalm 46 is all about the tumult of the nations and how God is a rock in the midst of terrible changes. Was Shakespeare a secret translator of the King James Bible? Did he plant his own name in the midst of a Psalm that points shiftless, warring nations to “the rock” of Peter?

Dwight Longenecker

Greenville, South Carolina

Whither Umbert?

I notice that “Umbert the Unborn” is missing from your Jan. 15-21 issue. Does this signal a softening of your position on abortion?

Gene Wolfe

Barrington, Illinois

Editor’s reply: Hardly! We still stand foursquare against abortion and Umbert remains one of our most trusted allies. That’s why his brief nap ended with the very next issue.