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[Woodstock Report, June 1998, No. 54]
This issue of the Woodstock Report features a forum we held in May on "Catholic Charities and American Welfare: A Look at the Future." The occasion of this forum was the recent publication of a major work by two good friends of Woodstock, Georgetown University professors Dorothy M. Brown and Elizabeth McKeown. Their book, published in 1997 by Harvard University Press, is entitled The Poor Belong to Us: Catholic Charities and American Welfare.
Moderating this discussion on welfare, the role of Catholic charities, and the responsibility of Catholics for the poor and for family values was Woodstock fellow Father Raymond B. Kemp; panelists were Mary Jo Bane, professor of public policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Sharon Daly, vice president for social policy of Catholic Charities USA, and Father J. Bryan Hehir, professor of the practice in religion and society at Harvard Divinity School.
Listening to our panelists that night, I couldn't help thinking how valuable their reflections would be for any planning group--local government, neighborhood association, parish council--discussing ways to assist the poor and promote family values.
To set the theological tone and context, for instance, take Bryan Hehir's description of the Catholic social principle of "solidarity":
Solidarity . . . is the conviction that we are born into a fabric of social relationships, that our humanity ties us to others, that the Gospel consecrates those ties, and that the prophets tell us that those ties are the test by which our very holiness will be judged.
On a practical note, take Mary Jo Bane's suggestion that parishes should start conversation right now on what ought to go into the next national welfare reform legislation. Or Sharon Daly's suggestion that dioceses follow Austin's lead and start "twinning" middle-class people and poor people.
Also in this issue we bid a fond farewell to longtime Woodstock fellow Thomas J. Reese, S.J. Tom has been appointed editor in chief of America magazine, the New York-based weekly journal of opinion published by the Jesuits of the United States. While this will be a great loss for us at Woodstock, it is truly a wonderful and challenging opportunity for Tom.
On the last page you will find a brief update of our seminar on ethics in managed health care and news on the latest publication from our series on Forgiveness in Conflict Resolution. This second volume in the series treats The Northern Ireland Experience--as it is subtitled.
Finally, on page 11 you will find the letter you may have already received in our annual mail appeal--along with a tear-off sheet. As we come to the end of our fiscal year (June 30, 1998), we are only 6% short of our goal for individual gifts. We hope you will help us meet our mark.
Be sure of our grateful prayers for a refreshing summer.
James L. Connor, S.J.