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August 27, 2013
COMMENTARY
T he Valley Catholic
The love shown by the Sisters melted even the most hardened hearts.
Making a Difference
even the most hardened hearts. In the context of anti-Catholic sentiments of the time, Gallo reported that some of the soldiers said “and these are the people that we insult” who are being so kind and loving to us. In a recent general papal audience, Pope Francis remarked that the grace of Christ gives people “a heart that loves, a heart that suffers, a heart that rejoices with others, a heart full of tenderness for those who bear the wounds of life and feel like they are on the periphery of society.” At the Second Vatican Council (19621965) the Catholic bishops of the world, reflecting on the horror, perversity and indiscriminate destruction of modern war wrote, “All these considerations compel us to undertake an evaluation of war with an entirely new attitude.”
By Tony Magliano
Nuns unleash Battle of Gettysburg’s most powerful weapon
Sadly, nations of the world, and even millions of Catholics, have yet to undertake an entirely new attitude toward war. What are we waiting for? Modern warfare is more destructive and deadly than ever before – even compared to the devastation of the Battle of Gettysburg. When Israel invaded Lebanon in 2006 to attack its enemy Hezbollah, then Pope Benedict XVI said that the only way to respond to violence is with love. “The humble way to let God win” is through nonviolence and love, “not with the stronger empire.” Like the nuns at Gettysburg, may we finally learn to unleash the most powerful weapon of all — unconditional love! • Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated social justice and peace columnist.
Just over 150 years ago — July 1-3, St. Joseph — as they were then known 1863 — the bloodiest battle of the — headed to Gettysburg to nurse the American Civil War was fought at wounded. As they arrived, they enGettysburg, Pa. It is estimated that in countered the horror of war. that three-day period, the Confederate Sister Marie Louise Caulfield wrote Army of Northern Virginia and the opthat she saw “thousands of guns and posing Union Army of the Potomac sufswords lying around. … further on fered over 43,000 combined casualties. we saw many soldiers on horseback as About 10 miles south silent almost as the dead of Gettysburg resides who lay there … The the Emmitsburg (Maryrain had filled the roads …the Sisters cared land) Province of the with water, and here for the medical Daughters of Charity, it was red with blood. where their foundress Our carriage wheels and spiritual needs Elizabeth Ann Seton, rolling through blood! of both Catholic America’s first nativeOur horses could hardborn canonized saint, is ly be made to proceed and non-Catholic buried. on account of the horConfederate and Living just two hours rid objects lying about away, I have had several them.” Union soldiers. opportunities to pray On the battlefield, at the tomb of Mother and later in area hospiSeton, as she is affectionately known. tals, the Sisters cared for the medical The provincial grounds, nestled amidst and spiritual needs of both Catholic Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains, are and non-Catholic Confederate and both beautiful and peaceful. Union soldiers. According to Denise But 150 years ago, these grounds Gallo, provincial archivist for the were anything but peaceful. They Daughters of Chari ty, the care by the shook from the heavy bombardment Sisters was so good, that many of of cannon fire just north at the Battle the soldiers actually cried when they of Gettysburg. learned that they were going to be Not content to safely sit out the transferred to other hospitals. battle, about 16 Sisters of Charity of The love shown by the Sisters melted
California SB 131 still pending, controversial
SB 131, a controversial child sex abuse bill pending in the California legislature, which already passed the state Senate, was rejected Aug. 14 in the state Assembly Appropriations Committee when it received six votes, three short of passage. Assemblymember Nora Campos (DSan Jose) joined five other legislators in refusing to vote for the bill. According to Ned Dolejsi, Executive Director of the California Catholic Conference (CCC), the committee vote isn’t necessarily final and the Appropriations Committee may reconsider it. (Another vote was pending as this edition of The Valley Catholic went to press.) The bill, authored by state Sen. Jim Beall (D-Campbell) would, according to the CCC, open another one-year window for persons alleging past abuse to sue nonprofit and private service organizations. The CCC notes that the bill, if enacted, would expose the Church and other nonprofits to unlimited liability while offering no further protections to children or increasing criminal penalties for abusers. The CCC especially notes that SB 131 does not provide for prosecution of alleged abusers in a criminal court or extend the criminal statute of limitations, but covers only civil suits against what appears to be a select few organizations. A key issue for the CCC in not supporting SB 131 in its current form concerns the fact that it does not extend added protection to the 90 percent of children who attend public school. In fact, the CCC notes that existing law protects public schools, city recreation leagues and other local government entities from being sued for any abuse that took place before 2009. “SB 131 would allow the single largest constituency, government run public schools, to be shielded from its intent.” California bishops, including San Jose Bishop Patrick J. McGrath, are urging the legislature to re-think SB 131 – extending or modifying the statute of limitations in a way that would truly seek to stop abuse, punish the abuser, protect children and aid victims. Dolejsi added that a growing coalition of civil rights groups, private schools, private universities and athletic organizations such as USA Swim and USA Gymnastics, along with the CCC, will continue to oppose the bill. For more information or to help, go to www.cacatholic.org. The website urges California citizens to ask their Assemblymembers to vote “no” on SB 131 because it actually “discriminates against victims of child sexual abuse” and “targets churches, private schools and universities, and community groups.”
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