From the Editor's Desk..........

A small bit of recent and largely overlooked news this summer was the forced resignation of Tom Reese as editor of the Jesuit magazine America--apparently because, as any good journalist should, he presented both sides of certain issues. The fact that he carefully defined the Vatican's position on these same issues was apparently not satisfactory; the mere acknowledgment that opposing ideas might exist was, it would seem, enough to end his tenure.

There is something sad and a little bit wistful about the belief that--in our 21st century world--news can be so controlled that the opposite opinion could never be allowed to surface. After all, we live in a technological society where instant messages flash to the other side of the globe, personal websites are commonplace and blogs multiply by the day and sometimes, it seems, by the hour.

The very innocence of such a belief defuses it for us and blinds us to how dangerous it truly is.

As long as some believe that freedom of speech and the press can be controlled (and as long as human nature is as it is) they will try to control it, and to use whatever means they can find--legislation, excommunication, derision, vilification--to impose their views to the exclusion of all others.

They will not, I think, succeed--the American mind is much too feistily independent--but such tactics, no matter which side they come from, can poison debate at a time when we most need creative, just and well-thought solutions.

Already we see it happening, both in the church and in the wider world.

In such a milieu, it becomes essential that Ruach, as the printed and on-line voice of the Episcopal Women's Caucus, pause now and again to state exactly where we stand.

The EWC has always asserted its steadfast commitment to justice and equality. We also believe, however, that a reasoned and civil debate cannot take place unless the issues on both sides are clearly defined. To that end, we try to present typical--and unedited--statements from those who do not agree with our positions.

We are also committed to that most primary of journalistic ethics: keeping as clear a line as possible between objective, factual reporting and editorial or personal commentary.

"What is truth," said Pilate as he washed his hands. In one of the great paradoxes of Christianity, truth is what makes us free, and truth is found only in freedom.