Most of you probably have heard about the Vatican’s recent document regarding driving. I caught the ABC report and the end of the NBC report last night after hearing several different radio discussions on the subject. Everything I heard was a puff piece about how cute it seems that the Vatican would weigh in on such issues. Not one outlet in the mainstream media that I heard mentioned that the document on safe driving was only one of four issues dealt with in the DOCUMENT OF THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR THE PASTORAL CARE OF MIGRANTS AND ITINERANT PEOPLE: "GUIDELINES FOR THE PASTORAL CARE OF THE ROAD". The Document also deals with prostitution, street children, and homelessness.

Among other things, the document says that prostitution is a form of slavery and expresses alarm at the apparent increase in human trafficking involving prostitution. It stresses the importance of warmth and personal care in outreach and housing programs for street children. It asserts that attention to maintaining human dignity is essential to a Christian response to the homeless.

It is small wonder that so few people take the voice of the Church seriously when the reporting is so poor and shallow. I’m going to complain to several news outlets tonight, I suggest that anyone who wants better reporting on the Church to do the same.

The other day President Bush defended his embattled Attorney General by saying he “has done nothing wrong.” It is true that he has not been indicted for wrongdoing, but that is not the same as not doing anything wrong.

It is wrong to fire someone without knowing why. Sure, most employers can fire anyone for any or no reason, but on a human level it is just wrong to fire someone without giving them a truthful reason. Employees of McDonald’s are treated better than that. It is wrong to make up a reason that sounds good and stick with it until your own documents are shown to contradict it. It is wrong to wrong to delegate important personnel matters to people you say you trust and then be unsure who is responsible for making decisions you signed off on. It is wrong to raise your right hand and promise to tell the whole truth and then be so poorly prepared that you are unable to give reasonable answers to reasonable questions.

On another matter, it was wrong for Mr. Gonzales (before he was Attorney General) to go to a hospital intensive care ward to try to change the mind of John Ashcroft about warrantless wire taps even though Ashcroft was gravely ill, on morphine, and had signed over his responsibilities to his deputy.

Keeping Mr. Gonzales is the president's call. He can have his yes-man with the poor memory and apparently absent note-taking skills, but he should not try to tell us he has done nothing wrong.

This week there has been an exhibition in Chicago’s Grant Park Known as “Eyes Wide Open.” More than 3400 pairs of combat boots are arrayed on the ground in military formation. It is a way to mourn and honor the fallen soldiers in Iraq and at the same time give a striking visual image of the human cost of war. The exhibit has been traveling around the country and growing with the death toll. It began here in Chicago in January of 2004 with 504 pairs of boots. The display is produced by the American Friends Service Committee. There is a companion exhibit called “Dreams and Nightmares,” which features photos and stories of Iraqi civilians who have been killed. More info is available at http://www.afsc.org/eyes/index.php.

As striking as the exhibit is, it should be pointed out that if it were logistically possible, a more complete exhibit would surround the combat boots with something like 700,000 pairs of sneakers, sandals, dress shoes, and work boots arranged in small circles to show the fallen civilians absent from families, markets, and offices.

As we honor the service and ultimate sacrifice of fallen soldiers, let us also mourn the loss of the many thousands of people that could not be saved by the best efforts of our troops. Eternal rest grant onto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.