worth noting . . .

CRIME, PUNISHMENT AND U.S. BISHOPS . . . At their November 2000 meeting our bishops approved a document on crime and criminal justice. In this issue Mr. Russell L. Ford, who is himself a convict and a catechist, offers us a short analysis of the document and his own reflections on its strengths and weaknesses, The text deals with the rights of victims, of our communities, of the prisoners and concludes with a call for a reform of the criminal justice system. Mr. Ford finds some things to praise in the document, but he also finds it defective in some areas. Some of it, he thinks, is too theoretical and is not based on real experience of our correction system.

SEMINARIANS IN DEBT . . . Seminarians have to pay tuition in order to attend a seminary and study for the priesthood. Since most of them do not have enough money to pay for their tuition, like many college students they borrow the money from a bank. By the time ordination comes around some of them have huge debts, even as much as $80,000. In this issue author Michael Vere analyzes the situation for us and finds the system defective. Some dioceses pay off the debt for the man once he is ordained, but if he leaves the seminary he is stuck with a huge debt. Is that fair, especially since seminarians cannot work and study at the same time?

GOD AND SEX . . . As Catholics we know that God created us male and female. Since man and woman are complementary to each other both physically and psychologically, it follows that God is the author of human sexuality. The sexual power is ordered to the generation of new human life and involves the gift of self of man to woman and woman to man. In this issue Brother Michael Callea, M.I.C., offers us his reflections on human sexuality. He points out that God had a purpose in creating human sexuality. This means that there are objective norms that govern the use of sex, namely, that its use must be restricted to marriage and the building of families.

CHRIST IS THE BRIDEGROOM . . . Beginning with the prophet Hosea the Old Testament spoke about the relationship between the Lord (Yahweh) and Israel as one of marriage. In this imagery, God is the Bridegroom and Israel is his Bride. The same imagery is continued in the New Testament. Another image is added to this and it is that of the “Lamb” of God. Jesus is called that because he sacrificed himself for us and for our salvation. In this issue Mr. David C. Hajduk presents to us for our consideration the biblical use of the terms “Bridegroom,” “Bride,” and “Lamb.” These images are intensely rich theologically and contain some of the essential truths of the faith. — K.B.