Author: SDG

As an American living abroad, Vatican correspondent John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter reports on the European reaction to Hurricane Katrina and the U.S. response.

"Americans who lived overseas at the time of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York remember vividly the massive wave of sympathy for the United States that followed those events. The most common headline in European papers the next morning, including Corriere della Sera, the flagship paper in Italy, was, ‘We are all Americans now.’

"International reaction to Hurricane Katrina, at least from this vantage point, somehow feels different.

"In the early hours after the storm there was similar concern, especially since Katrina triggered memories of the recent Asian tsunami. As events unfolded, however, many observers were quickly dumbfounded by how ill-prepared American authorities seemed to be; this is not how the richest and most powerful country in the world is supposed to function.

"Then, as images of chaos played out on television screens, the inescapable fact that many of the hardest-hit victims are poor, minorities, and the elderly began to reinforce some of the worst stereotypes many overseas observers already harbor of America.

"Critics have long charged that the United States is a cut-throat culture with little sense of community, one in which the poor and minorities are largely left to fend for themselves. Here, it seemed, was dramatic proof of the point, as large pockets of already vulnerable people appeared to be literally abandoned."

GET THE STORY.

I’ve been wondering why there was an apparent dichotomy between the European sympathy following 9/11 and the European tsking following Hurricane Katrina. Seeing the European perspective articulated in this report did make it easier to understand the European viewpoint. Especially interesting was Allen’s note that sub-sea-level urban centers in Europe, such as in Holland, are regularly protected against catastrophic flooding. I can’t help but wonder why New Orleans was left all but defenseless.

SOURCE.

After more than a week of tragedy and heartbreak in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, sentiments like this make me want to stand up and cheer.  NOLA (acronym, "New Orleans, Louisiana") may never be the same, but she will survive (even if only in the hearts of those who loved her); and, God willing, may she rise again.

If you haven’t yet done so, please consider donating something to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina soldier on.  Here is one option for your donations.   

The Senate confirmation hearings for John Roberts’ Supreme Court nominations are expected to return to the issue of religion:

"The degree to which Roberts’s religious beliefs may inform his judicial philosophy could be a significant line of questioning, especially given that Roberts is replacing Sandra Day O’Connor [Editor’s note: Since Chief Justice Rehnquist’s death, Roberts will now be replacing Rehnquist and not O’Connor. –MLA], a key vote on many contentious social issues. Conservatives distrusted O’Connor for the same reason that liberals are sorry to see her go: She supported abortion rights and took moderate stances on other social causes, including voting to strike down Texas’s sodomy law, a 2003 case that was a turning point for gay rights.

"The signals with Roberts are mixed. Liberal women’s groups believe that based on his legal record, he may attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade. Conservative groups also have found material not to like in the Roberts dossier, such as the Supreme Court case he helped to prepare challenging a Colorado constitutional amendment excluding gays from anti-discrimination laws."

One commentator, Georgetown university professor of government W. Clyde Wilcox had this to say:

"’They want to get a read on the guy, and it’s hard to find anything to grab onto — so maybe [his Catholicism] would be an attractive line of questioning,’ said W. Clyde Wilcox, a Georgetown University government professor.

"’You can understand a person better if you know the reason they’ve taken a position is from their faith,’ Wilcox said. But, he added: ‘Knowing someone is a Catholic doesn’t really tell you where they are on abortion at all.’"

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That a Georgetown University professor could blithely note that a person’s known adherence to Catholicism "doesn’t really tell you where [he is] on abortion at all" is a scary assessment of the state of cafeteria Catholicism in our country today.

Chief Justice William Rehnquist’s funeral was to be held Wednesday, September 7, at the Cathedral of St. Matthew in Washington, D.C. Although Rehnquist was a Lutheran, his family asked the Archdiocese of Washington for permission to use the cathedral because of its size and favorable location, a request that was granted by Theodore Cardinal McCarrick.

"[T]he Rehnquist family asked Cardinal Theodore McCarrick for use of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle due to its size and central location, said Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the Washington Archdiocese.

"McCarrick will be present to welcome the Protestant worshippers, said the Rev. Jan Lookingbill of Emmanual Lutheran Church in Bethesda, Md., where Rehnquist long held membership."

GET THE STORY.

As the article notes the Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism allows for the local ordinary — in this case, Cardinal McCarrick — to permit the use of a Catholic church for a non-Catholic religious service:

"137. Catholic churches are consecrated or blessed buildings which have an important theological and liturgical significance for the Catholic community. They are therefore generally reserved for Catholic worship. However, if priests, ministers or communities not in full communion with the Catholic Church do not have a place or the liturgical objects necessary for celebrating worthily their religious ceremonies, the diocesan bishop may allow them the use of a church or a Catholic building and also lend them what may be necessary for their services. Under similar circumstances, permission may be given to them for interment or for the celebration of services at Catholic cemeteries."

The issue is currently being discussed over at Amy Welborn’s site if you’re interested in further commentary. Given the request of Rehnquist’s family, Cardinal McCarrick’s approval of the request according to the norms set down by the Directory, and the reports of Rehnquist’s own faithful attendance at the cathedral’s annual Red Mass for the legal profession, I have no problem with it. May Chief Justice Rehnquist rest in peace.

Not even one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States could dampen the enthusiasm of some revelers determined to cavort in the streets of the ravaged city of New Orleans:

"You know a city has legs when three or four dozen of them are parading down Bourbon Street
— some clad in tutus and grass skirts — six days after the most damaging hurricane in American history.

[…]

"The [‘Southern Decadence’ parade] event always manages to be held the Sunday before Labor Day. This time, of course, the circumstances were different.

"Water covered the upper northwest quadrant of the Quarter, roughly from Conti to Canal streets, between Bourbon and North Rampart.

"There was no power or water, and only hints of the kinds of food made legendary at venues such as Brennan’s or Galatoire’s. Both of those restaurants seemed relatively unscathed, as did many of the structures on the riverside end of the district, its highest elevation.

"But the Quarter was far from its famously lively and carefree self. National Guard and police were everywhere to keep the peace and stop looting. Helicopters buzzed overhead as the evacuation of the city proceeded."

GET THE STORY.

Thousands may be dead, perhaps over a million are refugees, and all these people can think about is partying in the storm-drenched streets? In the epitome of tastelessness, the article mentions that one woman was spotted wearing a T-shirt inscribed with the words "I survived Hurricane Katrina and all I got was this lousy T-shirt."

Well, at least this person survived. In case she hadn’t noticed, she was far luckier than many others and, instead of honoring the dead, was all but dancing on their graves.