Catholic World Report 2010
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Web Exclusive Did the Vatican side with two auxiliary bishops against the archbishop of Dublin?By Michael Kelly  The decision by Pope Benedict not to accept the resignations of two Irish bishops who stepped down after a controversial report into child abuse mishandling surprised many when it was announced during the second week of August.
In a letter to his priests, leaked to the media August 11, Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin revealed that neither Bishops Eamonn Walsh nor Raymond Field, both Dublin auxiliary bishops, would now be stepping aside. Both men had tendered their resignation to Pope Benedict XVI on Christmas Eve 2009 after coming under severe pressure—not least from Archbishop Martin—to resign. It has been heavily speculated that the Holy See was unwilling to accept the resignations given the circumstances. Neither man, for example, was criticized in the Murphy Report, which detailed mishandling of allegations of child sexual abuse in the sprawling Dublin archdiocese. Both Bishops Walsh and Field initially resisted calls for their resignation when the report was published in late November 2009. On the other hand, Bishop Donal Murray of Limerick—whose failure to investigate an allegation of abuse was described as “inexcusable”—had his resignation quickly accepted by the Holy See. Archbishop Martin’s words and actions have offered the faithful confusing signals regarding whether or not Bishops Walsh and Field ought to resign.
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Art
This summer marks the 400th anniversary of the artist’s death, with an ambitious exhibition of his major works in Rome.By Thomas S. Hibbs  In the 1986 film Caravaggio, the director Derek Jarman takes the turbulent life of a gifted artist as an occasion to reinvent him as a lascivious, romantic-existentialist anti-hero. An irascible man, whose public fortune waxed and waned, who spent much of his life on the run from legal and political authorities, and who died young and tragically just as luck seemed to smile upon him, Caravaggio is ready material for romantic and existentialist recreation.
But this is to miss what is most important about his art—a body of work that constitutes some of the finest religious art ever produced in the West. In fact, Caravaggio’s art demonstrates the falsity of the romantic assumption, exacerbated in post-modernism, of a necessary opposition between stylistic novelty and tradition, between the private aims of the artist and public use of art. Caravaggio blends a distinctive and readily identifiable personal style of painting with subject matters of universal and lasting import. His religious art is decidedly Catholic and counter-reformational in its sacramental realism. This summer marks the 400th anniversary of the death of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (September 1571-July 1610). That the anniversary should prompt a series of new scholarly studies is predictable. What is not so expected is the spread of his popularity among non-academics. An ambitious exhibition of his major works in Rome at the Scuderie del Quirinale has been, for months now, the hottest ticket in the Eternal City. Elsewhere in Rome, where his works adorn the walls of many churches, tour groups crowd around his paintings, the way visitors to the Louvre jostle for a glimpse of Leonardo’s “Mona Lisa.”
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Special Report Adventures in hiring and not hiring at Marquette and Seton HallBy Anne Hendershott  Although we are very far from the “best of times” for Catholic higher education, things seemed to be moving away from the worst, at least for a few weeks this spring. Marquette University’s decision to withdraw an administrative appointment to an openly lesbian faculty member whose publications have denigrated Catholic teachings on marriage, sexuality, and the family gave faithful Catholics a glimmer of hope that those running Catholic colleges are beginning to notice the problems there. And in a search for a new president this year at Seton Hall University, it was encouraging to learn that a finalist for the position was a faithful priest, Msgr. Stuart Swetland, who has been directly involved in revitalizing Catholic identity in higher education.
Unfortunately, the outcome of this presidential search has ended badly. Though Seton Hall officials deny it, strong resistance from some on the faculty to hiring an orthodox Catholic to lead the school had an impact on the outcome. Still, that an orthodox candidate even made it that far is noteworthy in today’s climate. Marquette University’s decision to withdraw an offer to Jodi O’Brien, a self-described “sexuality scholar,” to become dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the Jesuit-led institution continues to divide the faculty. Ms. O’Brien reached a settlement with the university, but her supporters maintain that she is the victim of homophobia. Those on the faculty who have openly criticized her hiring say that it is not her sexual orientation that disqualifies her, but rather the fact that her publications disparage Catholic moral teachings on marriage, sexuality, and the family.
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Editorial The firing of Dr. Kenneth HowellBy George Neumayr | August/September 2010 Note: The following editorial was written in early July. On July 29th, the University of Illinois released a letter reinstating Dr. Howell, "a day after the deadline when his lawyers said they would sue the university for violating his academic freedom if administrators failed to reinstate him," according to chicagobreakingnews.com.
Tariq Ramadan, a Muslim professor with ties to terrorist activity whose visa was revoked in 2004, returned to American campuses this spring after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lifted his travel ban. Liberal intellectuals cheered Clinton’s decision, calling it an important victory for “academic freedom” and “tolerance.” Boston College’s Alan Wolfe, director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, declared that “every academic should welcome his presence here.” Such is the grimly buffoonish character of American academia that radical Muslims today enjoy greater freedom on campuses than do orthodox Catholics. A controversy in July, now almost routine in American public life under aggressive secularism, illustrated this once again: Kenneth Howell, a Catholic who taught religion courses at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was fired from his position for simply defending on the basis of reason the Church’s teaching that homosexual behavior is contrary to the natural moral law.
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Special Report An exclusive interview with Hong Kong’s Cardinal Joseph ZenBy Anthony E. Clark, Ph.D. 
Hong Kong remains Asia’s most modern city, bursting with people and rising materialism. Nestled within the island’s network of winding roads, steep escalators, and soaring skyscrapers is a small building that houses a community of modest Salesians who serve the poor and educate the young after the example of St. John Bosco. It is difficult to imagine when first arriving at this unassuming community that it is the home of China’s most prominent and outspoken Catholic prelate, Cardinal Joseph Zen, S.D.B. After being granted a private interview, Father Paul Mariani, S.J. and I awaited His Eminence downstairs in his residence at the Salesian House of Studies. Cardinal Zen joined us, adjusted the air conditioning, and informed us that he was feeling “a bit unwell” that day. Despite his illness, he was generous with his time, and lived up to his reputation of honesty and candor regarding the situation of the Church in China. Zen served as bishop of Hong Kong from 2002 to 2009, and was made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006. When asked in a previous interview whether he intended to rest in his retirement, he answered: “I am retiring, but I’m not going to stop working for the Chinese Church.” It is clear that Cardinal Zen is a deeply pious laborer in the vineyard of the Lord, and that his heart is unflinchingly committed to improving the status of China’s long-suffering Catholic community. He is perhaps the most informed man alive today regarding what transpires among the Christians who live within the Great Wall.
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