Be nice

Commonweal, April 9, 2004 by Robert Hazel

I wonder if Commonweal has recently decided to abandon its commitment

to the Common Ground Initiative. In your February 27 editorial ("Mel Is as He Was"), common courtesy seems to have been forgotten.

Whatever one thinks about Mel Gibson's ideas, it is far too personal to characterize any other Catholic by the particular style of Mass he chooses to go to. What's more, to classify Michael Novak as a "neoconservative guru" does not advance knowledge. I have never seen Garry Wills classified in Commonweal as a "neoliberal."

Your evaluation of William Donohue and the Catholic League is also unfair. Yes, Donohue gets many things wrong. Still, "tireless" in the defense of a cause is usually taken to be a positive quality. Are "demagogic campaigns" the sole possession of the Catholic League?

I can understand how many of these terms could be found in articles in the magazine, but I am surprised and ashamed to read them in your editorial.

(REV.) ROBERT HAZEL

New Hope, Minn.