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At worst, religion eschews evolution; at best, religion is ambiguous toward evolution. In either case, neither position is tenable if in fact evolution is the dynamic of life and the universe.

Though not every aspect of evolution is known or can be known, the fact of evolution cannot be denied without doing violence to our personal self-reality. Vatican II formally accepts the reality of evolution and calls for ongoing “analysis and synthesis” so as to come to a more valid understanding of interpersonal relationships and their theological implications. [The Second Vatican Council, Const. IV, “Gaudium et spes”, Intro,, #5]

By NCR STAFF

Tim Unsworth, a longtime columnist for NCR known for his wit and keen observation of how ordinary Catholics lived their faith in the pews and the streets, died April 30 after a long illness. He was 78.

In 1982, soon after Joseph Bernardin was named archbishop of Chicago, Unsworth wrote a letter to Bernardin, advising him to eat his lunches in a deli and ride a bus or walk to work. “An archbishop on a Chicago Transit Authority bus would convert half the bus population,” Unsworth wrote.

As we listen to the scripture lessons this morning, I think it will help us to get the full benefit of what God is speaking to us through God's holy word, if we remember the context within which we are reflecting on these scriptures. We get the context from the first lesson this morning, from the Acts of the Apostles. Jesus said to his disciples, "You are going to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, even to the ends of the earth," so it was beginning to happen.

The late Alan Watts popularized Zen Buddhism for Western audiences in the The Way of Zen and other books. He presented the idea of “sitting quietly, doing nothing.” Muddy water will eventually become clear when people stop stirring it. Individuals with difficulties would do well in sitting quietly not thinking about their difficulties and clearing their mind of all thoughts.

About 10 years ago, I felt this first hand. My boss got after me big time over a trivial item. What is more was that I felt that I was right even after his ranting and raving. This bothered me into the afternoon of the next day when I was taking vacation time in Kerrville, Texas. Even a vanilla milk shake at Pompell’s, the historic building with an old-fashioned soda fountain, did not help. A little while after finishing the milk shake, I drove to the roadside park that is about 16 miles north on highway 27. The park overlooks a plateau, the Guadalupe River and hills, making the park one of the most scenic in the state of Texas.

I first listened to the Bill Moyer interview of Pastor Jeremiah Wright and then the National Press Club speeches. And actually since the Moyer's interview, I've been thinking about the liberation theology that has gotten American and other bishops and theologians in to trouble. ANd even Wright himself says that the liberation theology of the sixties is not like the black liberation theology.

But when you see a disproportionate response to what one individual says like we have with Reverend Wright, you wonder what code words are bothering people here. So for the historically ignorant (myself) can anyone tell me commonalities and differences in black liberation theology and the liberation theology of the sixties?