The Rambler Vol. 6 No. 1

The Rambler VERITAS ENSIS NOSTER

The Real Audacity of Hope McCain Finds Conservative Dream Girl Students Encounter Jesus Through Pregnancy Outreach Will Bells Ring Again for Second Sunday Mass?

The Editor and CBDS Chairman Brawl Over Abortion & Congress Is There Hope for the Wasteland in Prague?

September 1, 2008 - Vol. VI, No. I

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September 1, 2008 - Vol. VI, No. I

The Rambler

An Independent Student Journal Christendom College

Welcome

Editor’s Corner

Veritas Ensis Noster Editor-in-Chief Peter J. Smith Managing Editor Emma Boyle Associate Editor James Tillman Senior Editors Tara Jackson Matt Hadro Editor at Large Matt Hadro Layout Editor Adele C. Smith Web Editor James Tillman Faculty Advisor Dr. Patrick Keats Contributors Cyrus Artz; Emma Boyle; Sheila Jenné; Mikaela Deighan; Benjamin Hough; Peter J. Smith; Tara Jackson Guest Contributors Ben Stein, Acton Institute To contact THE RAMBLER: 134 Christendom Drive Front Royal, VA 22630 E-mail: rambler.editor@gmail.com A twelve issue year long subscription to THE RAMBLER may be obtained through a donation of thirty dollars. All contributions go to THE RAMBLER. Our Mission Statement THE RAMBLER and its staff is dedicated to training the next generation of Catholic journalists and intellectuals. We prize the liberal arts education received from Christendom College and write about the news, arts, culture, faith and reason from this gained perspective. We believe we will play an essential part in a renaissance of new leaders and communications.

Christendom College

by Peter J. Smith Editor-in-Chief Today The Rambler makes its definitive transition to a magazine format, a move we hope, dear reader, shows our commitment to provide Christendom College professional student journalism. Student newspapers, not journalism schools, are today’s training ground for tomorrow’s journalists. The Rambler does exactly that at Christendom College.

So, discover how Outreach ministries at Christendom are making a difference in the lives of local girls in needing compassion.

The Rambler’s Emma Boyle went to Prague with the Collegiate Network this summer, and uncovers a wasteland created by communist and western materialism.

Read The Campus Beat feature and see The Rambler following through on its commitment to present balanced, objective

coverage to all points of view, on college issues.

The Editors and the Chester-Belloc Debate Society are proud to present the first of many print debates in The Rambler.

We debate the Constitutional answer to abortion.

In addition to our own writers, we offer intelligent commentary and news made available from outside sources: read Ben Stein and the Acton Institute, and learn why McCain’s VP pick is the new pro-life heartthrob. Our own Cyrus Artz, however, has The Last Word on Obama and McCain.

The Rambler is a student lay apostolate preparing the next generation of Catholic journalists and intellectuals. Special thanks are due to Mr. Pilon for his kind assistance that made The Rambler possible to print this week. Most importantly, however, The Rambler would not be in such beautiful condition, were it not for the skill and resolve of our layout editor, Adele C. Smith, to finish the issue despite her car accident last week. Thank you, and may the reader enjoy.

Letters to the Editor Dear Editor, The wise men of the world have always asserted that it is a very bad idea to put one’s own words into God’s mouth. In his recent article condemning capitalism, Mr. Tillman asserted in both title and thesis that the economic system is “deeply incompatible with the natural and revealed law.” Shockingly, there are no references to Scripture, Magisterium, or natural law in his article. Granted, he makes references (often fleeting) to such things as greed, family, and the bonum universale, but he fails to concretely build upon any Church teaching or natural law premise. More proofs are in order – or perhaps God is not a distributist?

Josh T. Zeringue

Dear Editor, I want to thank The Rambler for printing the poignant poem “Childish Hearts,” by Senior Kieran DuFrain. I found the poem very beautiful and I am amazed at Mr. DuFrain’s talent.

I hope to see more of such works in print this year. Your magazine is a great chance for students to express and share opinions. Keep up the good work!

Mary C. Harrington

Editor’s Note: Mr. Tillman has once more taken up the gauntlet against capitalism. His rebuttal to Mr. Hough’s defense of the free market is published in the online edition of The Rambler.

name in your submission. Letters may

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THE RAMBLER encourages letters to the editor. Letters can be submitted by e-mail to rambler.editor@ gmail.com. Please include your full be edited for space and clarity.

September 1, 2008 - Vol. VI, No. I

by Peter J. Smith Editor-in-Chief

MOSCOW – Get ready for another round of European projection of “soft power” against Russia. The Kremlin has made clear that South Ossetia will belong to “one united Russian state” within the next few years, and Russian tanks occupying the northern territories of Georgia unopposed, basically make the outcome guaranteed.

Despite European diplomatic offensives, the reality is that Russia holds all the cards.

The major oil and natural gas pipelines flowing into Europe mean Russia controls the light switch for comfortable Europe. While Euros have fueled the Russian energy market, President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin appear willing to gamble on the unwillingness of Europeans to suffer.

While US and European diplomats have condemned Russia’s actions, only the former Soviet satellites of Poland and Ukraine have taken definite steps to arm themselves against future Russian aggression. Both Nations have asked the US to install Patriot missile batteries in their countries, which the US purportedly wants to destroy a possible Iranian nuclear attack.

Christendom College

News & Opinion

McCain Selects Strongly Pro-life Governor, Mother of Five, Sarah Palin for Running Mate “Sarah Palin is the whole package,” says Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List. “There couldn’t be a better vice presidential pick.”

by John Jalsevac LifeSiteNews.com DAYTON, OH - In an unexpected development that has social conservatives cheering, John McCain announced his choice of dark horse Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.

Governor Palin, the first woman elected as Alaska’s governor, is well-known for her strong and public stance on life and family issues. Palin, a Christian, is a long time member of Feminists for Life and a mother of five children.

The choice of the extremely popular 44year-old governor and former beauty queen for VP came as a shock to most, as attention had in recent days largely been concentrated on more prominent prospects such as Mitt Romney, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, and Sen. Joseph Lieberman.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of the Susan B. Anthony List, a political action committee helping pro-life women gain election to Congress, enthusiastically welcomed McCain’s choice. “Sarah Palin is the whole package,” she said. “There couldn’t be a better vice presidential pick.”

“Women voters are electrified, and Sarah is someone who is truly in sync with the way real American women think. She is a reformminded woman who will give all Americans, born and unborn, the authentic leadership they deserve….By choosing the boldly prolife Sarah Palin as his running mate, John McCain has taken his stand as the one true, authentic pro-life ticket.”

Palin proved her pro-life credentials in a powerful way earlier this year when she gave birth to her fifth child, born with Down syndrome, despite receiving pressure from doctors to abort. At a time when a vast majority of Down syndrome children are aborted, Palin vociferously defended her choice to bring her son Trig to term.

“Trig is beautiful and already adored by us,” said Palin on the day after her son’s birth.

“We knew through early testing he would face special challenges, and we feel privileged 3

Photo: Tricia Ward

Kremlin: South Ossetia Belongs to United Russia

TheRamblerOnline.com

Alaskan govenor Palin refused abortion for disabled son.

that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives. We have faith that every baby is created for good purpose and has potential to make this world a better place. We are truly blessed.”

In November of last year, LifeSiteNews reported that Palin had lambasted a decision by the Alaskan Supreme Court that permitted under age girls to obtain abortions without parental consent. Palin called the decision “outrageous” and instructed Attorney General Talis Colberg to file a petition for a rehearing.

Palin is opposed to same-sex “marriage,” though she has said in the past that she has homosexual friends and shares their concerns about discrimination. However, she also said she would support a ballot question that would deny benefits to homosexuals. “I believe that honoring the family structure is that important,” she said in 2006.

Reprinted with permission from LifeSiteNews.com.

September 1, 2008 - Vol. VI, No. I

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Christendom College

News & Opinion

Obama, McCain, and Health Care Justice

by Kevin Schmiesing Guest Columnist, Acton Institute

Barack Obama is conservative. John McCain is radical.

It’s true, at least with respect to one issue: health care.

The dysfunctional state of health care delivery combined with rapidly escalating costs have framed the issue to be one of the most visible in the 2008 election season.

Which party has the edge? Democrats have historically enjoyed large advantages in polls declaring that people “trust” them more than Republicans by wide margins. But there are unusual dynamics at play this time around.

A 2007 poll found a majority of respondents in favor of a single-payer government health system, while 77% simultaneously supported “reducing government regulation of insurance.” This seemingly contradictory finding points to the fact that disgust with the current system overrides affinity for any particular reform agenda. As the Cato Institute’s Michael Tanner puts it, “Voters are saying that almost anything is better than the status quo.”

In this climate, the conventional Democratic edge may not hold up. The field is wide open for whoever touts the more attractive reform package.

For all the talk of universal health care, Barack Obama’s proposals actually move us only slowly and not very far in that direction. He would enact government mandates requiring employers to insure their workers and parents to insure their children, while introducing extensive new regulations of the insurance sector, such as requiring health plans to cover all applicants. Even with these changes, however, Obama’s plan essentially preserves the employer-based system that has proved so troublesome.

By comparison, McCain’s reforms look radical. He calls for moving away from the employer-based system by shifting insurance tax credits from employers to individuals, giving people more control-and thereby more responsibility for-their own health care. Additionally, he proposes deregulating the insurance market, so that interstate competition increases.

Both schemes must deal with the question of financing, but there is another important question to pose. Most Americans

are concerned that health care provision be characterized not only by economic efficiency but also by justice and equity. When vulnerable populations don’t have access to adequate health care, our obligations to the common good stand unfulfilled. Which plan aligns better with the demands of justice?

It is difficult to predict what the results of either approach would be. As incentives change, behavior changes, making calculations hazardous. Both McCain and Obama recognize that a problem as enormous as health care delivery is not easily soluble by a single reform program. But if we’re at a crossroads considering whether to move toward more government involvement or more market freedom, the latter direction is likely to lead toward a more efficient and equitable system.

History proves that large government programs covering high numbers of beneficiaries with diverse needs do not fare well.

At the personal level, bureaucratic rules replace individual care and attention. At the economic level, price control would almost certainly be part of the package. Price ceilings, as long lines for gasoline in the 1970s should have convinced us, lead to shortages of supply. The generation of fewer doctors and nurses is not a prescription for improved health care.

The drawback of the market is its potential for unequal outcomes. It is important to remember, however, that inequality is not synonymous with injustice. Justice does

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not require that all people receive precisely equivalent levels of medical treatment; instead, it dictates that basic physical needs, including health care, are met. Perfect equality, moreover, is simply unrealistic. Even in those nations held up as models of universal access-Canada, for example-the wealthy and well-connected manage to secure better or faster medical treatment.

The more critical concern is that the people who are most vulnerable-children, the unemployed, the uninsured, the chronically ill-may fall through the cracks of a health care market built on a foundation of personal responsibility. This is where other institutions play indispensable roles.

Many of America’s hospitals bear testimony to their religious roots: Mercy, Methodist, Good Samaritan. Provision of care for the ill has ever been intrinsic to the practice of Christianity, reflected in the traditional work of mercy, “visit the sick.”

Neither presidential candidate’s reform plan highlights the extensive work performed by charitable organizations, but neither the market nor the government is going to care adequately for those on the margins. Whichever reforms (if any) are eventually implemented, the imperative to visit the sick will remain as a call to each of us to lend support in our families, churches, and communities.

Kevin Schmiesing is editor of the Acton Institute’s Christian Social Thought Series.

September 1, 2008 - Vol. VI, No. I

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Christendom College

News & Opinion

Darwinism: The Imperialism of Biology?

by Ben Stein Guest Columnist

Let’s make this short and sweet. It would be taken for granted by any serious historian that any ideology or worldview would partake of the culture in which it grew up and would also be largely influenced by the personality of the writer of the theory.

No less a genius than the evil Karl Marx noted that even after capitalism succumbed to Communism, society would still be imbued with the class artifacts and cultural values of the system that preceded it. Much smarter analysts than I have noted that the whole system of Marxism, especially its sharp attacks on capitalists as a class, was motivated by Karl Marx’s envy of the much wealthier industrialist/capitalist members of the Marx family.

In other words, major theories do not arise out of thin air. They come from the era in which they arose and are influenced greatly by the personality and background of the writer. (In law, this theory is known as “legal realism”. Judges make up their minds on the basis of their prejudices and then rationalize their decisions by pretending to be bound by prior case law. One might call what happens with ideologies “political realism.” Persons make up their ideologies based on their times and their life situations.)

Darwinism, the notion that the history of organisms was the story of the survival of the fittest and most hardy, and that organisms evolve because they are stronger and more dominant than others, is a perfect

example of the age from which it came: the age of Imperialism. When Darwin wrote, it was received wisdom that the white, northern European man was destined to rule the

tive, but simply a fact of nature. In dominating Africa and Asia, Britain was simply acting in accordance with the dictates of life itself. He was the ultimate pitchman for “Darwinism, perhaps mixed with Imperialism, gave Imperialism.

Now, we know that us Social Darwinism, a form of racism so vicious Imperialism had a short that it countenanced the Holocaust...in the name of life span. Imperialism was a system that took no acspeeding along the evolutionary process.” count of the realities of world. This could have been rationalized the human condition. Human beings do not as greed–i.e., Europeans simply taking the like to have their countries owned by people resources of nations and tribes less well far away in ermine robes. They like to be in organized than they were. It could have been charge of themselves. worked out as a form of amusement of the Imperialism had a short but hideous hisupper classes and a place for them to realize tory–of repression and murder. their martial fantasies. (Was it Shaw who But its day is done. called Imperialism “…outdoor relief for the Darwinism is still very much alive, utterly upper classes?”) dominating biology. Despite the fact that no But it fell to a true Imperialist, from a one has ever been able to prove the creation wealthy British family on both sides, married of a single distinct species by Darwinist to a wealthy British woman, writing at the means, Darwinism dominates the academy height of Imperialism in the UK, when a and the media. Darwinism also has not one huge hunk of Africa and Asia was “owned” meaningful word to say on the origins of (literally, owned, by Great Britain) to create organic life, a striking lacuna in a theory supa scientific theory that rationalized Imperial- posedly explaining life. ism. By explaining that Imperialism worked Alas, Darwinism has had a far bloodier from the level of the most modest organic life span than Imperialism. Darwinism, perlife up to man, and that in every organic haps mixed with Imperialism, gave us Social situation, the strong dominated the weak Darwinism, a form of racism so vicious and eventually wiped them out, that it countenanced the Holocaust against Darwin offered the most compelling the Jews and mass murder of many other argument yet for Imperialism. It was neither groups in the name of speeding along the good nor bad, neither Liberal nor Conserva- evolutionary process.

Now, a few scientists are questioning Darwinism on many fronts. I wonder how long Darwinism’s life span will be. Marxism, another theory which, in true Victorian style, sought to explain everything, is dead everywhere but on university campuses and in the minds of psychotic dictators.

Maybe Darwinism will be different. Maybe it will last. But it’s difficult to believe it will.

Theories that presume to explain everything without much evidence rarely do. Theories that outlive their era of conception and cannot be verified rarely last unless they are faith based. And Darwinism has been such a painful, bloody chapter in the history of ideologies, maybe we would be better off without it as a dominant force.

Maybe we would have a new theory: We are just pitiful humans. Life is unimaginably complex. We are still trying to figure it out.

We need every bit of input we can get. Let’s be humble about what we know and what we don’t know, and maybe in time, some answers will come.

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September 1, 2008 - Vol. VI, No. I

TheRamblerOnline.com

News & Opinion Finding Jesus Christ One Pregnancy at a Time

Christendom College

Students Jump Start Teaching Careers with Christendom Program

by Sheila Jenné Alumna Contributor

Through Outreach Ministry

by Mikaela Deighan Rambler Contributor FRONT ROYAL, VA - The sound of the doorbell drew everyone’s attention to the four young teenagers who shuffled into the main entrance. One of them, a brown-eyed girl, slowly stepped away from the rest of the group and quietly asked if she could have a pregnancy test. Jodie, one of the many volunteers from St. John the Baptist parish in Front Royal, guided her into a back room with a warm smile. Margaret, a volunteer with the Christendom College Outreach program, asked the rest of the group to stay in the waiting room, knowing that it is easier for a girl to talk, when it is one on one with the counselor. As I closed the office door I could hear the remaining three giggle. Jodie spoke with the girl in the back room, and it was fifteen minutes before the two emerged.

The girl’s appearance had softened and Jodie encouraged her to return to the Pregnancy Center next week. After the quartet walked out the door, Jodie let out a sigh. “It tested negative. She was only thirteen.”

Volunteer work at the pregnancy center ranges from counseling and giving pregnancy tests to answering phone calls and daily instruction for the volunteers. Many mothers, who are either expectant or have already had a child, will come in for maternity clothes, baby formula, or other items they need. Everything is donated by people either from St. John’s parish or the broader community. The veteran volunteers who organize the Front Royal Pregnancy Center are the ladies and mothers of St. John’s parish. Through the Outreach Program at Christendom, however, many students have volunteered their time, effort, and prayers.

For these Christendom students, working at the pregnancy center is a wonderful fulfillment of the Catholic Faith through loving acts. They completely open their hearts to the women that come in seeking help.

One Outreach volunteer commented, “One reason I didn’t want to help at the pregnancy center was because you really put yourself out on a limb. But once I started helping, I saw what it was really about. It was living your Faith by giving your Faith.”

What struck me most about volunteering at the Pregnancy Center is how much Christians are called to love a complete stranger.

When these women come in, they are often nervous, shy, unsure, and needing an affirmation for attempting to straighten out their difficult situation. One hears about their unbalanced habits and lives and a common reaction is to try and correct them. One learns, however, that in delicate cases such as these, where a complete stranger is opening themselves to you, one shows more love by biting one’s tongue. In helping these women, often single mothers, Christians are called to help them with temporal things as well as spiritual.

And while it is tempting to reprimand and tell them what they should be doing with their lives, often it can be a greater and a more difficult act of love to accept them with all of their faults. Then I ask myself: is this not what God does always for us? He loves us, no matter how far we stray from the path. He gently calls us to the path that leads to Him. So also, we must follow Christ’s example and love these women unconditionally as we should strive to love all of mankind.

We help lead them to Christ through our prayers and through our example of charity and generosity.

Hopefully more students will take advantage of the opportunities that Christendom’s Outreach Program offers for performing acts of mercy and charity. To learn the faith is the first step; to practice and live the faith is every Christian’s calling.

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Many Christendom students know that there is a student teaching course at the college, but few feel confident that they understand what it is about. With a growing market for well-educated Catholic teachers, an increasing number of Christendom students have been looking forward to a teaching career. Dr. Kelly’s Apprentice Teaching Practicum course has been giving them the training and experience they need for the teaching world.

Most public and many diocesan schools require a teaching certificate, which takes one to two years to earn and includes student teaching as well as other courses. But most independent schools, as well as some diocesan schools, allow a Christendom graduate to start teaching right away. Certification often comes later.

Still, a beginning teacher needs at least some experience to be confident in the classroom. Students get this through Christendom’s student teaching course.

The mechanics of the course are simple: each student is assigned a school and a master teacher. For the first few weeks, he sits in and observes classes, taking notes of useful teaching techniques. Once he gains a little more confidence, he starts teaching lessons assigned by his master teacher. Dr. Kelly also observes him in the classroom twice a semester. The student’s grade is determined by these observations, by the log of his notes, and by other teaching activities.

Last semester, Christendom students taught at E. Wilson Morrison, the public elementary school in Front Royal, Wakefield Country Day School, a Christian school about a half an hour away, and two Catholic high schools: Seton and Holy Family. They scheduled their six required hours a week around their classes, the school’s schedule, and the schedules of the other student teachers, who often carpool together.

Usually the teaching practicum has only a few students, but last year, close to twenty joined the program. Most hoped to be teachers after graduation, but some also took the course to see if teaching was right for them.

Matthew Rose, a member of the class, now a teacher himself, spoke enthusiastically about his experiPlease turn to page 7

September 1, 2008 - Vol. VI, No. I

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Christendom College

News & Opinion Continued from page 6

“I didn’t realize it would be as much of a challenge as it is. But what an endeavor!” said Rose. “To see the delight on a student’s face when they know you are teaching them that day, to know that they know the answer to your question, to hear them when they say hello to you in the hall. It is awesome.”

Olivia Ruhl, another student teacher, was also full of praise for the program: “I have been really impressed with the individual attention that Dr. Kelly has religiously given us, though we’ve got such a big class! It’s kind of brought home the fact by watching her that teaching isn’t about cramming heads full of information, but about the entire experience, the relationships of respect and authority one must cultivate, in addition to the knowledge one must be able to confidently convey.

“I always thought teaching was much easier till I tried it myself! I think it’s a huge testament to the Christendom education itself,” continued Ruhl. “The fact that none of the student teachers have dwelled on bad

experiences that they’ve had, but we’re all eager to share how much we’ve enjoyed it, which is a huge witness to the fact that we feel like we’ve been ‘properly equipped.’”

Being on the other side of the teacher’s desk also gave new insights about the students’ own professors. Mr. Rose commented, “We use our teachers so much, and don’t realize the work that goes into it.”

Miss Ruhl agreed.

“I think that one of the most interesting aspects of student teaching has been that it gives an appreciation of the college professors we’ve had, as well as my parents, who homeschooled me. It’s kind of been amazing to realize how much work goes into educating others, how one really has to master the material. It’s also been humbling, to have to admit and realize that you don’t really know everything, but I suppose that one of the elements that a teacher can draw on is the fact that they know where to look, not that they know everything.”

Student teachers in Christendom’s program have gone on to be teachers as well as

college professors, such as Mr. Fred Fraser. A few have been able to find substitute teaching jobs through the program, and are able to be paid as well as receive college credit for their teaching work. The course has also provided contacts in the teaching world to the students. Many of the student teachers have already applied to the schools where they have been teaching, and have also learned of other job opportunities from the teachers with whom they work.

Throughout the student teaching course, students gain confidence with transmitting their knowledge to others, especially to young people, who can be more of a challenge. The job of passing on knowledge to the next generation is a difficult one, but Christendom’s student teachers are equal to the task.

Sheila Jenné is an alumna of the class of 2008, and a cofounding member of The Rambler. A veteran Rambler journalist and copy-editor, Miss Jenné prepared this article before graduation to showcase the Teaching Practicum for students. She now begins teaching at Seton High School this year with fellow graduate Olivia Ruhl.

Chester-Belloc Debate Society: The Culture of Controversy Debates sharpen minds to argue important issues and ideas at Christendom

by Peter J. Smith Editor-in-Chief

The Chester-Belloc Debate Society has returned to Christendom with a bang as the first resolution up for debate over the equality of women in the workplace has the campus buzzing with controversy already.

The Chester-Belloc Debate Society (CBDS) says its mission is to “promote the intellectual life at Christendom College, perfect ourselves in the academic discipline, and provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas.” This mission is a consequence of the joint efforts between theology professor and moderator Eric Jenislawski, and members of the graduated class of 2008.

Students discover that the CDBS has a threefold goal: first, “to explore the arguments for and against a given controversial statement, in order to augment the knowledge of the issue for all participants and spectators of the debate; second, “to create a forum for the free practice of rhetoric through off-the-cuff parliamentary style debate”; third, “to increase the commotion and fermentation of these issues on campus.”

Spokesman Anthony Klosterman in a press release said the positive effect of CDBS presents itself in articles found in The Rambler, questions brought up in class, and most noticeably in private conversations among students.

“The debates have always stimulated the best of discussions and brought light to issues that I have not taken the time to ponder,” states Senior Andrew Cole.

Previous debate topics have involved discussions on monarchy: whether it is the best form of government, and on torture: whether it is ever morally permissible. All students, faculty and staff are openly invited to these Sunday evening events, and are welcome to join in the debate. An open bar (for those of legal age) and appetizers are provided by CBDS free of charge.

This Fall 2008 semester, the CBDS Troika (or three leading members of the debate society) are Chairman Benjamin Hough, Secretary Amanda Dennehy and Prefect of Secret Rights Joseph Vicinanzo.

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“I intend to pick up right where we left off in May,” states Hough, who was voted by the CBDS Duma (the CBDS membership body) to succeed and carry on the tremendous groundbreaking work of graduated Chairman, US Marine Lieutenant Joseph Mazzara.

“The Troika and I have invested a great deal of time in planning for the upcoming semester, and I predict that we will continue the success of this past year,” added Hough.

This semester looks promising for the CBDS as the first resolution up for debate: “A woman does not have a vocation equal to that of a man in the workplace” has the campus buzzing already. The debate took place Saturday, August 30 at 7PM. After much disputation late into the evening, the resolution was adopted by 27 in favor, 12 against, and 4 abstentions.

So put on your Sunday best for the classy CBDS debates, and enjoy the food, drink, and company that will be found every few weeks in Regina Coeli Hall.

September 1, 2008 - Vol. VI, No. I

Faith & Reason

The Rambler & The Chester-Bel

“Given the US Constitution, a Catholic oug

PRO: Benjamin Hough Chairman, CBDS The Constitution of the United States of America is the framework by which our federal system of government operates. Under this framework, Congress may only pass laws which fall within the scope of authority granted to it. Anything falling outside the scope of Congress’ authority is reserved for the several states. The enumerated powers of Congress can be found in Article 1, § 8 of the Constitution. These powers include the declaration of war, raising armies, regulating commerce with foreign nations and other matters where such decisions will have a significant impact on all of the several states. Not included among these enumerated powers is the authority to legislate on “life” issues. Congress is not granted the authority to categorically ban abortion or prohibit homosexuals from marrying. Such laws would be unconstitutional and invalid on their face.

It is imperative that any action taken by our government is in line with our constitutional framework. The State can only provide for the common good if the rule of law is maintained. My pro-life brethren seem to overlook this fact when they encourage Congress to enact anti-abortion legislation. As Catholics we must remember that the highest duty of the State is to provide for the common good; but, the manner in which this is done is through the rule of law. If abortion is to be outlawed once more, it must be done at the state level.

When confronted with the unconstitutionality of their preferred legislation, many pro-lifers respond that God’s law is higher than man’s law.

While it is true that the Divine Law is higher than the Civil Law, this does not mean that Congress is morally obligated to ignore the Constitution. Congress is not the only legislative body in this country. There exist no less than fifty other legislative bodies which are equipped to deal with those matters not delegated to Congress. Coincidentally, by having the states ban abortion, the pro-life movement is acting more in line with Catholic Teachings regarding Subsidiarity. Subsidiarity is the practice of having governmental decisions take place at the lowest level possible. In addition to resulting in government that is more attuned to the people’s values and needs, Subsidiarity also helps contain the ramifications of bad governmental decisions. For example, if Congress had the authority to criminalize abortion, then the states would not. Therefore, if Congress refused to criminalize abortion, every child in the country would be at risk. However, because “life” issues are subject to state authority, the failure of Massachusetts to criminalize abortion does not remove that option from Virginia.

Unfortunately, this debate seems almost moot. Roe v. Wade has effectively removed the possibility of anti-abortion legislation to be passed.

Thankfully, all is not lost. If this erroneous decision were overturned or bypassed, then the status quo prior to 1973 will be restored. At that point, my pro-life brethren and I will have the ability to have our laws passed. However, for the reasons given above, I must insist that these laws be made at the state level. As Catholics we must respect the rule of law. Therefore, given the U.S. Constitution, a Catholic should oppose a Congressional nationwide ban on abortion.

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Christendom College

lloc Debate Society Proudly Presents:

ght not support a congressional ban on abortion.”

CON: Peter J. Smith Editor-in-Chief, The Rambler

With nearly 50 million Americans sacrificed in abortion, at a rate of 4,000 per day, Catholics and fellow pro-life advocates ought to begin to understand that they have wasted a great deal of energy on the Supreme Court and demand a Constitutional solution. This national tragedy has continued to erode the very foundation of America, while the US Congress shirks its duty under the Constitution to secure the rights of all citizens in the Union. Catholics ought to support, even demand, a congressional ban on abortion as a legitimate constitutional alternative to the current rule by judicial fiat.

Contrary to what states-rights advocates may claim, a congressional ban on abortion will not imperil the rule of law in the United States. Thirty-five years of abortion-ondemand from Roe v. Wade, and Doe v. Bolton, have done more damage to the rule of law in the United States, than Congress would do by making a constitutional and therefore legitimate answer to this fundamental crime against natural law, justice, and the civic order. As it happens, abortionists are nearly impossible to prosecute for crimes against existing state laws, esp. in cases of child rape and sexual abuse, and state political machines have adjusted to protect them, not the victims. Just ask Kansas prosecutor Phill Kline, who filed the nation’s only criminal case against Planned Parenthood before being driven out of office twice, first as Kansas Attorney General in 2006, and then District Attorney of Johnson County this summer, because he dared to file 107 criminal charges against the abortion giant. Kline paid a price for defending the rule of law.

The Constitution empowers Congress to remedy the evil of a corrupt state government denying the weakest members of society the God-given rights enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. The famous “We the People” preamble states the Constitution has a primary purpose to “establish justice, insure domestic tranquility ... promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity” within the Union. Underline that last part especially – “our Posterity” means the nation’s children: born and unborn.

The United States has a duty under Article IV, sec. 4 of the Constitution to “guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.” So how can states provide republican government, but sanction by law crimes against the natural order against the weakest members of society, its own children? Call it tyranny, not a republic.

The stated remedy is the “Application of the Legislature ... against domestic Violence.”

Does the Constitution give Congress the power to outlaw abortion by a congressional ban? Catholics should realize now the answer is a definitive “yes.” Any further doubt should be erased by Article I, sec. 8 which gives Congress the power to make laws “necessary and proper” to execute “all other powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States.” Making sure the nation’s posterity survive the womb seems to rank higher than the enumerated power to regulate interstate commerce.

Congress can stop the inuring of our national character to this great crime against children by taking three strong steps enshrined in the Constitution. First, Congress must remove the appellate jurisdiction of abortion law from the Supreme Court under Art. III, sec. 2. Secondly, Congress must ban abortion by a federal law throughout the Union, to put a moratorium on child-killing and cripple the billion-dollar abortion industry. Third, begin the process of a US constitutional amendment enshrining the right to life from the moment of conception, while the Catholic Church and pro-life advocates conduct massive education campaigns on the sacredness of human life.

Benjamin Franklin once said of the Constitution, “a republic, if you can keep it.”

Can we? If so, Catholics must support a congressional nationwide ban on abortion.

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Faith & Reason

Can the Wasteland Become a Spring?

Religion in the Czech Republic and Hope for the Future

by Emma Boyle Managing Editor What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man, You cannot say, or guess, for you know only A heap of broken images. . . ................................

There is the empty chapel, only the wind’s home.

It has no windows, and the door swings, Dry bones can harm no one.

T.S. Eliot, The Wasteland, I. 19-22, V. 389-391 In 1939, Adolf Hitler was supposedly so enamored of Prague’s architectural beauty that he refused to bomb the Czech capital. As a result, Czechoslovakia became embroiled in the short-lived “Peace in our time.”

Today, perhaps due in part to Hitler’s aesthetic taste, the stunning “City of a Thousand Spires” maintains the breathtaking skyline view for which it is famous. At the street level, however, some experiences are far from pretty. I was so frequently denied entrance to Prague’s Catholic churches that I looked like the underdog character in a comedy. A montage could have been filmed of the once- or twice-daily events when I would approach different churches all over the city, only to be met by a locked door. It even happened a few times that a guard wordlessly shut the door in my face as I approached him.

Volumes are spoken by those simple gestures—they tell of a sentiment writ large throughout Europe. Churches no longer serve a primarily devotional purpose, and there is little religious belief in cities and countries where for centuries belief in Christianity was as natural as life itself. Today, churches in the Czech Republic are seen as

The skyline of Prague

an unwelcome reminder of an oppressive force, one that was out of touch with reality.

Some of Prague’s most significant historical landmarks are the preserved medieval churches or the magnificent Charles Bridge where statues of Catholic saints that have stood guard for nearly six hundred years still stand guard. They speak of the unmistakable heritage of the Czech Republic, but today are like museum relics. Beautiful examples of architecture which once celebrated the triumph of the Catholic Church now serve as fortresses trying to contain all that is related to God and faith.

Today, the Czech Republic counts itself one of the most atheistic countries in the world. It may rank as high as number two behind Estonia. Recent polls indicate that from 65% to 85% of Czech citizens eschew belief in God or affiliation with any organized religion. It is shocking to attach that superlative statistic to a European country.

After all, the Christian tradition is what fundamentally unites Western culture. Nearly all Western ideas of morals, government, and society may be traced back to the Scriptures and the teachings of Christ. Recent historical events challenge that claim in dramatic ways.

Religious belief in the Czech Republic has fluctuated throughout the country’s history, but since the collapse of the Iron Curtain religion has been relegated to the same place of dishonor held throughout Europe: it is little more than a luxury exercised in private with virtually no bearing on public life. Antireligious dogma was institutionalized for the first time in history by the Soviet Union, and thus has a direct bearing on the Czech 10

Republic as a former member of the Soviet Bloc. An understanding of the current sentiment is most easily accessed through an examination of twentieth century events, but a more complete consideration admits of a broader range.

The Lesson History Teaches

Catholic historian Christopher Dawson has had enormous influence on the study of the cultural and religious history of Europe, resurrecting and promoting the idea that the two concepts are inextricably linked. He noted, “The civilization that denies God denies its own foundation. For the glory of man is a dim reflection of the glory of God, and when the latter is denied the former fades [sic]” (The Historic Reality of Christian Culture, 1960). He goes on to point out that the twentieth century turn away from God and toward materialism and secularism is by no means new or surprising; the “slow revolt” spanned several centuries. It has been a long, slow, arduous path, but each step along the way explains why the Czech Republic is the way that it is today.

For nearly two thousand years, the pace of European affairs was directed by specific governing principles including the JudeoChristian worldview, encompassing the Bible, and the philosophy of the Classical tradition.

From these notions flowed an important concept: belief in an objective system of morality by which all men were governed.

The so-called Age of Enlightenment denied the common, supernatural end for man toward which objective morality tended. The seventeenth and eighteenth

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Faith & Reason centuries instead claimed that man’s pursuit a head and shifted dramatically in 1915 and of his individual happiness, in whatever way again in 1939. Men no longer looked to state he saw fit, reigned supreme. The Enlight- or church as institutions with the answers. ened man as the “measure of all things” was The progressive view of man and the beeminently capable of bringing such happiness lief that his mind had limitless potential was to fruition. Revere for man morphed into also upended. Both postwar periods were reverence for collective man, the state. The marked by bitterness and disillusionment, as needs of the state came to be prized above those charged with rebuilding Europe tried all else, planting seeds for radical nationalism to come to terms with the battered shell with which bloomed in the unhealthy soil. which they were left. They no longer trusted The soil of the Czech Republic was al- their foundation. ready too used to transplants. The Czechs Totalitarianism stepped into this void, had experienced several upheavals in their filling the emptiness with Marxist propaganrequired religious allegiance, as new waves da. The failure of the totalitarian regimes of conquering empires arbitrarily shifted of Germany and the Soviet Union, however, borders and brought with them the requisite caused damage to more agendas than simdemands for obedience to God and king. ply their own. George Orwell speaks of the Thus, it is perhaps not surprising that the void left in man’s psyche beginning in the Catholic Faith was never so deeply rooted twentieth century, noting that part of human in the Czech Republic as in other European nature which used to be filled by religious becountries. lief was left bare.

Jan Hus, a “Both postwar periods were marked by Orwell mentions 13th century the loss of that bitterness and disillusionment, as those “ s o m e t h i n g Czech scholar and religious charged with rebuilding Europe tried to to believe in,” revolutionar y, come to terms with the battered shell with which is part of staged a lesserwhich they were left. They no longer trust- human nature, known upheaval as being one of the Catholic ed their foundation.” of the greatest Faith more than tragedies of the a century before Martin Luther. Hus was ex- twentieth century. Stalin and the nihilistic communicated and burned at the stake for regimes spawned from his dictatorship were promulgating many heresies, including denial overt worshippers of materialism, avowed of the Biblical foundations of the Catholic enemies of tradition, and completely dediChurch. His teachings bear little influence cated to realizing the transient desires of the today upon the Czech religious climate, but present. The cost proved to be heavy. What he is still revered as a national hero symbol- religious belief was left in 1945 was stamped izing freedom from transcendent authority. out or forced underground. The freedom Today, a statue still stands in Jan Hus’ honor implicit in the doctrine of Christianity bein Prague’s historical district even though came illegal.

Catholicism was once more imposed on the Czechs in the sixteenth century with the The Czech Republic Today rise of the Hapsburg Empire. A short-lived Such was the state of affairs until 1989.

Republic of Czechoslovakia could not with- When the former Soviet Union collapsed two stand the tide of totalitarianism sweeping in decades ago, Eastern Europe finally stepped from East and West. out of the shadow of Communism, squinted Despite the upheaval between various up at the sun of freedom, and accustomed Christian traditions, it can at least be said that their eyes to the bright light. Czech citizens the Czech Republic remained in touch with who witnessed or participated in the transithe historical Christian tradition which had tion from Communism to democracy recall been the unifying factor in Europe for many the outburst of religious fervor, but note that centuries. it was not inspired by love for God, but by Suddenly, the prevalent view of man as rebellious feelings against the regime so resupreme was undercut by the destruction and cently toppled. High attendance in churches carnage of two global wars. The principle was short-lived and motivated by the same of objectivity governing moral law came to factors which inspired Jan Hus to rebel. The 11

seeds of belief did not take root in the current generation because politics cannot double as religion.

Many Czechs point not to an open aversion to God, or a flat refusal to believe in His Existence, but rather point to overall feelings of apathy and “suspicion” as the culprits in the current moral climate. This tragic phenomenon is not specifically Catholic. Today, many in the West have ceased to believe in an external moral order. Or, if such an order is believed to exist, it is not given the name “God” and identified with the Christian tradition. The Catholic Church in particular is still seen as a tool of oppression. One Czech native who now lives in the United States pointed to a passage from psychiatrist Libor Growsky as a commonly held Czech sentiment: “I’m a nonbeliever. It’s connected to our history. Religion limited the freedom of the people. I don’t see a difference between the Communists and the Catholics. They each want people to comply with their ideals.”

Today, the Czechs’ lack of religious fervor may be reduced to a few factors. There is a misunderstanding of the doctrine of freedom inherent to Christianity and also an inability to reconcile this with the Church’s mismanagement in the past. Others remain unable to reconcile the horrors of Communism with the Christian ideas of love and forgiveness. One specific religious tradition was never allowed to flourish for long, and the Czech Republic continues to pay the price. A medieval masterpiece of a church is kept locked up except for obscurely scheduled Masses while others only admit paying guests. Czechs today are aware of the need to spread democracy, encourage liberal government, and work tirelessly toward these goals. Their work in many needy areas of the world is admirable and the Czech Republic is an important ally for the United States. Uniting the tradition of the past with the hope for the future would generate even greater effects.

Emma Boyle participated in the 2008 Geostrategic Journalism Course, hosted annually through the Collegiate Network and the Prague Securities Studies Institute.

This two-week program is held in Washington D.C. and Prague. The program’s mission is to educate student editors in the areas of national security, foreign correspondence and global politics.

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Athletics

Going for the Gold: China’s Socialist Agenda at the Olympics

by Matt Hadro Editor-at-Large

Much like the 1936 Olympics held in the heart of Hitler’s Germany, the Beijing games will be remembered for an outstanding individual performance and yet riveting political and social controversy. No need to expound upon Michael Phelps’ superhuman status: he won eight gold medals, an all-time Olympic achievement.

Beyond men’s swimming, the Olympics witnessed further American triumphs. A severely depleted men’s gymnastics team gave the heavily favored Chinese and Japanese all they could handle before settling for bronze. 16 year-old gold-medalist Shawn Johnson captured the attention of millions of fans with her unwavering leadership and performance in women’s gymnastics. The U.S. men’s basketball team finally converted to the international style of play and took the gold, streaking to blowout victories in each game save the last one.

However, what transpired at the games went far deeper than sports. Sports is meant to be almost separate from the drudgery of work and politics. The first Olympics held in Greece were held amidst mutual peace between the ever-warring city states. That’s how important it was then. And that’s how important it is today, as almost one-third of the world’s population tuned in to the televised Opening Ceremonies. But China was looking to not only compete, but to emerge socially and politically as among the world’s elite.

These Beijing games never should have happened. Was China at peace and willing to cooperate with the Western world? Well not surprisingly they were not, and that’s the real Olympic story.

“Communists are not bound by our morality,” Ronald Reagan once explained.

“They say that any crime, including lying, is moral if it advances the cause of socialism.” With the Olympics, the chance came for China to whitewash its miserable human rights record. They wasted no time in trying to tell the world of a prosperous, clean, utopian land, not to mention athletic superiority.

Amidst the questions of possible computer-generated fireworks footage during the Opening Ceremony, the controversies

commenced. For two weeks while the games reigned, heavy traffic was curtailed and factories shut down to cleanse the air for the international journalists to see. One source stated that factory production would steeply increase after the games and the traffic would continue as usual, in what is actually a smog-ridden metropolis that is in no way “green.”

Certain parts of Beijing were also held off-limits to visitors. “Protest” sites designated by authorities were also denied access to certain foreigners, who applied to protest the games, some of whom were actually detained by the authorities.

One recognized athlete, former Olympic U.S. speedskater Joey Cheek, was denied his application for a visa by China, and could not attend the games. Cheek is the cofounder of Team Darfur, a group of Olympians who seek to educate the public on the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. Cheek was planning to protest China’s fiscal support of the genocide, funding Sudan’s leaders in exchange for oil.

Something was fishy in the actual games too. The Chinese women’s gymnastics team supposedly fielded three members under the mandatory minimum age of 16. Smaller gymnasts can provide an advantage, using their compact size for better balance in the exercises. Uneven Bars gold medalist He Kexin of China sat at the head of the whirlwind controversy. Her Chinese passport details her age as 16; however, as the world watched her perform, many wondered otherwise. A hacker reportedly entered the Chinese web search engine and found He’s

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age to actually be 14 years.

Then came the point shaving. Though the Chinese suffered at times egregious errors in the women’s gymnastics all-around exercises, they still encountered the unexpected mercy of the international judges, drawing sharply critical comments from the normally unbiased NBC commentators. The competition was simply rank with controversy.

Meanwhile, the hostility toward foreign visitors only continued during the games as a group of Christian missionaries lost 300 Bibles to legal confiscation. Religious worship in China is permitted only in stateregulated churches, temples, and mosques.

Those who try to worship otherwise risk harassment and even imprisonment in the labor camps.

This brings to attention the laogai, the large and certainly populous labor camp system of China, sitting on a total of over 1,000 camps as of 2005. According to H.R. 294, in 2005 there were over 3 million prisoners in the laogai, with “criminals” being forced to labor under appalling conditions with the country’s goal being Communist re-education of prisoners. Such laborers include political dissidents, priests, other religious, and freedom fighters. China conducts 8-10,000 state executions per year, putting itself easily on the world leader board. And just a stone’s throw away from the Olympic Stadium sat one of the labor “re-education” camps.

They don’t give gold medals for suppression of human rights, do they?

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Arts & Culture

Rich Hispanidad Legacy Comes Near Christendom

by Tara Jackson Senior Editor

The invocation of the great name of El Cid, the hero of the Spanish Reconquista, Rodrigo Díaz del Vivar, should awaken a memory that hits close to home: that Catholics everywhere, and in particular, at Christendom College, are heirs of the great Spanish Catholic tradition.

In fact, Dr. Warren Carroll, Christendom’s founder and a distinguished historian, conceived of the idea of Christendom College at El Escorial in Spain, at a summer institute for the spiritual and intellectual formation of Triumph magazine writers. They called it the Christian Commonwealth Institute (CCI), a lay initiative program that, like Christendom, was a training ground for living, authentic, Catholic intellectual life. Spain was Christendom’s cradle.

Verily, all of the founding fathers of the college were and are “Sons of Thunder,” or inheritors of the Spanish tradition. Ever wondered why Dr. O’Donnell wears a red beret to the March for Life? Read The Best of Triumph to find out how the current President is giving a tip o’ the hat to the Spanish roots of Christendom.

How do we receive the low-hanging fruit of centuries of Spanish Catholicism? How do we tap into the wealth from which Christendom’s mission of intellectual excellence at the service of the Church emerged? The treasures of the Spanish culture are hidden in

the art of old Spain. Go to North Carolina this fall, where at Duke University, you will find a historic exhibit of the paintings of two Spanish masters, El Greco and Velásquez.

A collection of these artists is one state away. The exhibit has just moved from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, which hosted it from April to July and in which it drew 140,000 visitors. How many among those thousands can appreciate the paintings as much as you can, who stand inside the tradition, who know what Hispanidad means?

The exhibit, called “El Greco to Velazqu’ez: Art in the Reign of Philip III,” is the fruit of twenty years of dissertation research by its curator, Sarah Schroth of the Nasher Museum of Art. It opened August 21st and will close November 9th. For more details and to see the paintings exhibited, go to the website http://nasher.duke.edu/elgreco.

True legend has it that when El Cid heard the threatening battle drums of the Moors in the distance, he promised the Blessed Virgin that he would seize the drums and present them as a votive offering to her at her feet.

This is Hispanidad; this is Christendom, as Fritz Wihlemsen would define it: “a call to Transcendence, a surrender of self and world to their God.” Not so long ago in Mexico, the last words of many brave men were “¡Viva Cristo Rey!” In a very real way, “¡Viva!” is the battle cry in

Spaniards have prayed before the art of El Greco and Velásquez for centuries; now Christendom students have a chance too.

the hearts of Christendom students who, after the example of El Cid, study to go forth and make of the modern world a votive offering. So, a piece of advice from an art lover and fellow Christendomite: learn more about your Spanish heritage as Catholics and Christendom students. And, if you can, go to North Carolina. Become inheritors of the cultural goldmine that awaits you.

Soul Food for the Starving College Student

by Tara Jackson Senior Editor

Kennedy Center Millenium Stage presents Bruce Molsky’s “Waltz With Me,” September 24th. “Virginia’s master of fiddle, guitar, banjo, and song joins forces with this string quartet made up of international musicians, combining Appalachian, Delta blues, and Celtic music traditions.” Part of Masters of Tradition series.

The Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra will perform classical works, September 26th. Free admission. Visit www.kennedy-center.org.

Virginia Wine Festival, September 27-28.

Non-tasting admission: $15, free seminars,

concerts, and exhibits. Must be 21 or older.

Visit www.virginiawinefestival.com.

United States Marine Band, celebrating their 210th year, presents the Marine Chamber Ensemble performing in John Philip Sousa Band Hall-- Marine Barracks Annex, 7th Street and Virginia Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C.. Enjoy a concert hall experience that is completely free. Sundays of October, 2:00 PM. “El Greco to Velázquez,” a collection of art created during the reign of Phillip III, will be shown at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University through November 9th. Ad13

mission is $5 for students. Call 919.660.1701 for details.

Opera lover? STANDING ROOM TICKETS for performances of the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center will be sold for $25 by phone 202.467.4600 or 800.444.1324 when a performance sells out, but only if it is sold out. Performances this season will include Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata,” George Bizet’s “Carmen,” and Richard Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen.”

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The Campus Beat

Second Sunday Mass Not Likely to Ring a Bell on Campus

by Peter J. Smith Editor-in-Chief

CHRISTENDOM COLLEGE – After listening to several changes to the liturgical life of Christendom, returning students last week had one question the Chaplaincy could not answer: “Would the chaplains consider bringing back the second Sunday morning Mass?”

“I’m open to it,” Fr. Gee told the assembly of returning students, adding that Christendom now has enough chaplains to make that possible.

However while students may have thought that decisions over liturgical celebrations belonged to the chaplaincy, Fr. Gee made apparent that the chaplains’ hands were effectively tied on this aspect of the Sunday liturgy.

Emphasizing that he was in no way political, Fr. Gee suggested that if the students took up a petition, it might help convince the Administration to permit a second Sunday Mass.

If there were a second morning liturgy, it would be celebrated at a time to be determined by the chaplain.

Over two years ago, Christendom College had two Masses on Sunday, a 7:30 AM Mass in the vernacular, followed by the usual High Latin Mass (Missal of Paul VI) at 10 AM. Midway in the Spring 2006 semester, Dr. O’Donnell made the executive decision to return to what he called the older tradition of the College of having one communal cel-

ebration of the Dies Domini based on principles he derived from an encyclical of John Paul II of the same name.

According to Dr. O’Donnell, the Pope said that in order to take back the culture, Christians must reclaim Sunday as a sacred day of rest.

“We need to step back and reclaim the day,” Dr. O’Donnell told The Rambler.

“There is one day where as a community we can come together.”

Dr. O’Donnell said John Paul II’s idea of Sunday being in the forefront to reclaim the culture is itself a very counter-cultural position, especially in an age of convenience, Sunday shopping, and consumerism. Dr. O’Donnell said having one liturgy on Sunday emphasizes more to the students that Sunday is really given to God, and not just another part of the weekend.

“It’s not that John Paul says there should be one Mass, but he puts such an emphasis on this day.”

A number of students have agreed. Mark Solitario told The Rambler that he finds the one Sunday liturgy the best way to joyfully celebrate the Dies Domini together as a community.

Other students, however, do not agree that the decision to return to one Sunday liturgy was the best pastoral move the college could have made.

Denton Coyne, a student working the kitchen on Sunday, said that while kitchen workers make sure that the whole student body can eat as a community for Sunday brunch, he and his fellow students have to make extra sacrifices.

“A few people have to prepare for Sunday brunch,” said Mr. Coyne, who works a 9AM – 12PM shift. The current one Sunday Mass policy, however, he said makes his day of rest, “nearly impossible.”

If Mr. Coyne cannot get ready early enough to go to St. John’s 7:30 AM Mass, that means he has to make the trek out to Winchester to the 5:30 liturgy at Sacred Heart.

“If you want to promote the community, you need to meet the needs of the community,” insisted Kieran DuFrain, a one of the first kitchen workers affected by Dr. O’Donnell’s decision, who finds himself in 14

the same boat.

“It makes it a pain rather than a pleasure,” said Mr. DuFrain. If like Mr. Coyne, he cannot drive to attend the 7:30AM Mass in Front Royal, then he has to wait until 5:30PM Mass in Winchester for his day to begin. With gasoline at $3.47 per gallon that means a real sacrifice in terms of both time and wages for the day.

“I know some of the guys who have to work in the kitchen and have to leave Mass early or go into town and that’s preposterous. It’s the Mass.”

However Dr. O’Donnell said that another major reason behind the one Sunday celebration was that the 7:30 AM Mass was poorly attended. Many students attending that early morning Mass came in looking bedraggled and half-awake, and mumbled the responses.

This gave the impression that they were not really celebrating the Dies Domini, but instead were getting an obligation out of the way.

Nevertheless, the policy changes did have the effect of more students starting to look outside Christendom for the liturgy. Last year sizeable groups of students went into town at St. John’s. Some reasons were the convenience of beginning Sunday earlier, avoiding the overcrowding at the Christendom 10AM Mass, or preference for the vernacular and a liturgy shorter than an hour and a half. Other students go to St. John’s for the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite.

The numbers added up enough to stir the worry of the former head chaplain, Fr. Heisler, who stated his primary concern was reaching his flock, the students of Christendom. Visits to Masses in the surrounding area last year by The Rambler indicated positively that students were not skipping Mass, but going elsewhere.

At the moment, it appears unlikely that any bells will ring again for an early Sunday morning Christendom Mass. Dr. O’Donnell told The Rambler that he would be interested in seeing a survey gauging student interest in a second Sunday liturgy.

The Rambler will conduct a survey of students favoring one liturgy or two for Sunday next week.

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The Last Word

Obama or McCain: A Stark Choice

by Cyrus Artz Rambler Contributor

Sixteen years ago, Congress considered a bill that would have effectively ended the abortion debate. Pro-abortion members of the U.S. Senate who wanted to preempt any overturn of Roe v. Wade, introduced the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) in 1992 to codify abortion-on-demand into federal law.

That bill would have eliminated all parental notification laws, waiting periods and informed consent laws, conscience-clause laws that prevent pro-life doctors and nurses from performing abortions, and require federal tax-payer funding of abortion at home and overseas. The pro-abortion movement sees FOCA as its ultimate legislative goal.

On July 17, 2007, US Sen. Barack Obama stood before the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and announced: “the first thing I’d do as president would be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act.” On the 35th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, Obama released a statement highlighting his consistent “100% pro-choice rating with Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America.”

Before his arrival in Washington in 2004, Obama proudly supported abortion “rights” in Illinois; his opposition to the Illinois Born Alive Infant Protection Act (BAIPA) has become one of the most controversial issues of this fall’s election. Jill Stanek, a former nurse at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois testified before a U.S. House Committee that she witnessed doctors would perform mid- and late-term abortions by delivering the baby and then leaving the infant alone to die on a table without any medical support or care.

To end that barbaric practice, a bill was introduced in the Illinois State Senate that would have banned these “live-birth abortions.” State Sen. Barack Obama was the only Illinois legislator who spoke against BAIPA on the senate floor in 2001, and voted against it at every opportunity. In 2002, the U.S. Senate considered a similar bill, and after adding language that left the bill neutral over the personhood of the unborn, the Senate passed it 98-0. When State Sen. Obama chaired the Illinois Health and Human Services Committee in 2003, he and five other Democrats voted again to kill BAIPA. He has long claimed that he did so not out of proabortion zealotry, but because the state bill

lacked the same language of federal bill.

However National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) discovered documents, now available on its website (www.nrlc.org), proving the Illinois bill was in fact identical to the federal bill. Now the Obama campaign has stepped back from their position of four years and maintains that Obama voted against the bill, because it threatened Illinois abortion law, a premise that is incorrect. The fact remains that children were killed by a method of abortion that can only be called infanticide, and Barack Obama voted against protecting these fully born and alive infants three times.

Obama’s opponent this fall comes into the race with a much different history. Sen. John McCain, a war hero and long-time member of the U.S. Senate, has an excellent pro-life voting record. He has cast 31 pro-life votes since just 1997, and has a 100% voting record on abortion, according to NRLC. He has stated his commitment to the unborn saying, “the rights of the unborn is one of my most important values,” and pledged to be an “unswerving friend to the right to life movement.” He has voted against FOCA in each of its appearances on Capitol Hill, and has supported bans on federal taxpayer funding of abortion both domestic and abroad.

Some pro-lifers edge away from McCain over his past support of embryonic stem cell research. However, last year’s breakthrough creation of stem-cells using adult skin cells with properties identical to embryonic stem cells, has made that debate academic for McCain. He has given full support to adult and umbilical cord stem cell research, and believes that any promise held by embryonic stemcells is now possible using ethically obtained adult skin cells.

Many pro-lifers who have qualms about McCain do not know his full history. In 2000, 15

in South Carolina, many voters were surprised to hear that John McCain had a nonCaucasian child and spurious rumors floated about her origin. Her story is actually quite incredible. In 1993, Cindy McCain was on a fact-finding trip in Asia. While she was on a tour, Mother Theresa, now Blessed Theresa of Calcutta, handed her a baby and told her that if she did not take this child now, the baby would die. Cindy McCain took the girl, and another in similar straits, with her on the plane back to America. The second girl was adopted by a McCain staffer who had been unable to have a child with his wife. That adopted daughter of John McCain is now a flourishing American teenager, who owes her life to the McCains’ respect for life and Christian willingness to love their neighbor.

American voters face a stark choice this fall. On one side, a man embracing radical positions on abortion-on-demand. On the other, a man who has quietly, but steadfastly supported the rights of the unborn and positive alternatives for women who find themselves in tragic situations. One says he will only appoint justices who will vote to uphold Roe, the other will appoint justices who instead uphold the constitution and value the rights of the unborn. The importance of this fall’s election cannot be overstated. Not only for America’s presence in the world or the economic policies that will drive America’s growth or decline, but for the unborn babies whose lives will either be saved or lost by the actions of the United States President over the next four years.

Barack Obama or John McCain, a stark choice.