Vatican forces Jesuit America editor to resign

From National Catholic Reporter

"Over the course of a five-year exchange between the doctrinal congregation and the Jesuits, the Vatican congregation had raised objections to various editorial choices at America under Reese's leadership, including:
An essay exploring moral arguments for the approval of condoms in the context of HIV/AIDS;
Several critical analyses of the doctrinal congregation's September 2000 document Dominus Iesus, on religious pluralism;
An editorial criticizing what America called a lack of due process in the congregation's procedures for the investigation of theologians;
An essay about homosexual priests;
A guest essay from U.S. Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin, challenging suggestions that the church should refuse Communion to Catholic politicians who do not vote as a number of bishops believe they should vote.

In every instance, however, the pieces represented just a portion of coverage of the subject in America, which always published opposing points of view."

I remember reading many of the articles mentioned and always admired America for bravely and unflinchingly addressing issues the institutional church would rather have silenced. Their analysis on both sides of controversial questions is always thoughtful and pastoral, never declining into simple dogmatism of magisterial parroting or knee-jerk liberalism. Father Reese is being unfairly targeted, but I know this fear-inspired attack will not scare America away from the educated Church questioning thinking Catholics need so much.