UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter
by NCR Editorial Staff | Dec. 22, 2012
Editorial
O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light,
sun of justice:
come and shine on those who dwell in
darkness
and in the shadow of death.
There are few prayers more evocative than the O Antiphons of Advent. Blending poetry and theology, they teach us lessons about the human condition and our relationship with the divine that a hundred pages of prose cannot. They confront us with the fear we, in our human brokenness, have felt when we look into the shadows of doubt, the darkness of our own frailties and mortality. We do not abandon ourselves to despair because we also have known the splendor of the Radiant Dawn. We have known — however fleetingly — the sun of justice. Because of this we have hope.
And we need hope.
This issue of NCR is heavy with stories of shadow and darkness. The stories tell of people, sincere believers in the eternal light and sun of justice, who are being silenced: Jesuit Fr. Bill Brennan in Milwaukee (see story), Roy Bourgeois (see story and see story), a Wisconsin pastor removed from his parish on questionable charges of breaking the seal of confession (see story), Fr. Helmut Schüller in Austria (see story), Redemptorist Fr. Tony Flannery in Ireland (see story). Scholars at the University of San Diego (see story). A deacon stopped from talking to other deacons (see story). The silencing of academics — through direct edict or by intimidation — is most worrying and must be looked at seriously. The level of fear among the academic community, especially the theologians, is the highest we have ever seen. We fear that we are losing our best Catholic thinkers. This would be a shameful waste that ultimately will harm us all.
But these are only examples of high-profile cases and individuals. In the shadows of darkness, there are many more stories. The silenced live among us.
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