awarded an honorary degree by the Catholic University ofnSacred Heart in Milan because, in the opinion of a HolynOffice cardinal, Maritain was not sufficiently orthodox.nThe so-called heresies of Americanism and Modernismnat the turn of the century are classic examples of hownunanticipated crises can arise when an inordinate fear ofncrisis takes over in an institution. Analogously, one can seenhow the crisis-fearing arguments in defense of slavery bynintelligent and well-meaning Southerners like George Fitzhughnand Reuben Davis helped to set up a bloody andnnation-shaking crisis they never anticipated. On the othernhand, when modifications of or radical departures fromnprinciple, doctrine, or dogma are motivated more by thenfear of an unmanageable situation than by a prudent andnhonest perception of needed change, the consequences maynbe crises more unmanageable than those one began with.nWe can see this clearly enough now in the political,neducational, moral, and religious effects of counterculturalnliberation in the 60’s and early 70’s. That was a time when,nin secular or religious terms, the center did not hold. AsnSteinfels puts it, “The viable center will be more viable ifntested by a greater resistance.” But nothing weakens thenresistance so effectively as the fear of crisis.nNo doubt about it, we live in a time of crisis, but we havenno reason to believe that human beings ever lived otherwise,nor even could without ceasing to be human. To be situatednin time is to be crisis-prone, which is no doubt why so muchnmoney is spent on such time-transcenders and crisisresolversnas drugs and alcohol. It may be only pride in ournvictimization combined with a loss of nerve that makes itnsometimes seem that we are specially afHicted, that inscrutablenand malign forces have elected us not to be elected tonthe crisisless condition that everything in us yearns for:nUnder these circumstances citizens no less than believersnare likely to barken back nostalgically to the Age of thenFathers — only to find, as Thomas Paine put it in what hencalled The American Crisis, that the Fathers too were livingnin a time that tried men’s souls.nAnd so it may seem to one who stands, as I did onenbeautiful spring morning, on an ancient stone wall in OldnCorinth where, I was told, St. Paul once stood as henpreached to the Corinthian faithful. There one can see thenseven remaining pillars of the Temple of Apollo and thentowering Acrocorinth dedicated to Aphrodite, where thenthousand sacred prostitutes had their temple. There amongnthe wealthy and luxury-loving Corinthians that fabulousnvoyager and escape artist stayed a year and a half on his firstnvisit. In the two great letters he wrote back after he resumednhis always precarious missionary journeys, he made clear thencrisis-structured nature of his efforts to establish a viablencenter: in prisons often; suffering cold, hunger, and sleeplessnnights; menaced by robbers; thrice shipwrecked; stoned andnlashed; frustrated by dissension and backsliding among thenbrethren. In Antioch he resisted the authority of Barnabasnand even had to administer a public rebuke to St. Peter.nThrough him large claims were made and large problemsnresulted, and one of the problems, as the souls of men andnwomen were tried, was the recurring expectation amongnthe faithful that they would quickly be freed from allnproblems — especially from that crisis-engendering problemnof being forced, so often, to seek a viable center while seeingnthrough a mirror in an obscure manner.nIt was in this crisis-prone but always hopeful tradition,nand most appropriately on the Feast of the Conversion of St.nPaul, that Pope John XXIII early in 1959 announced thencoming “Ecumenical Council” to the Sacred College ofnCardinals. He was speaking in this tradition too when henwrote later in “Ad Petri Cathedram,” his first encyclicalnletter: “In essentials, unity; in doubt, freedom; in all things,ncharity.” It is hard to imagine a better formula for crisisnmanagement, whether in Church or State.nAs goes M American l^mtty,nso goes our nation.nThe strengtti and resilience of the AmericannFamily is quite simply the single greatest assetnour nation possesses.nLong battered, neglected, maligned, andndivided, the American Family’s regeneration as anpowerful center for values, achievement, andnftilfillment is an unmistakable signal: a goodnidea whose time has come. Again.nThat’s why a new publication is chroniclingnevents, floodlighting the issues, debunking thenbureaucrats and social experimenters, andntalking common sense.nThis monthly publication is called The Familynin America.nShocking. Provocative. Eye-opening. Combative.nThoughtful. And, when necessary,noutrageous.nThe Family in America is all this and morenas, each month, its editors grapple with fundamentalnissues affecting your family’s fiiture.nEach month, The Family in America will:n• joust with the bureaucrats and martinets who muddlenpubUc policy affecting the American Family;n• expose govertimental tinkering and doublespeak onnfamily issues;n• probe the underlying statistics and trends running innfavor of your family – and against it;n• reveal the works and exceptional research of today’snbest and brightest scholars, writers, educators.nIf you think it’s important to be informednabout the forces that may affect the health andnwell-being of your family now and in the yearsnahead, the choice is a simple one.nTake pen in hand, and subscribe now.nRequest your subscription-today.nFor fast ordering callntoll free (800) 892-0753 ILn(800) 435-0715 Outside ILnThe Family in AmericanABSOLUTELY “YES!” Count me in!n• Yes! Please enter my subscription to ThenFamily in America at $14.97 for 12 monthlynissues. I save $6.03 off the basic rate of $21.n• Payment enclosed n Bill me laternAddressnnncity State zipnCanadian and foreign orders add $6 per year,npayable in U.S. funds onlynPlease allow 4-6 weeks for your first copy tonarrive. Mail coupon to: RO. Box 416, Mt. Morris, ILn61054 TF387nMARCH 1988 / 19n