Death Penalty Response

A Universal Message for the Modern World

I would like to thank Jim Kruggel for his letter about the death penalty last week. Though I am not sure who he wanted to reach with his message, he has provided an opportunity to remind the campus the pro-life message includes an affirmation of the dignity of human life even when its value seems surmounted by the guilt of a criminal. Looking back to scripture, it might be helpful to recall Christ came to call "sinners to repentance" (Lk 5.32), an impossibility if sinners are executed before authority offers "an incentive and help to change his or her behavior and be rehabilitated" (Evangelium Vitae 56). Kruggel duly noted an ambiguity in John Paul II's statement, "cases are rare, if not practically non-existent" (EV 56) which would justify use of the death penalty today. Unfortunately, Kruggel uses this statement to suggest a loophole in which the Pope's teaching is reduced to "a pastoral [judgment] related to a specific situation." It should be noted the specific situation refered to is the modern world, as can be seen by the Pope's intent to address "all people of good will." Arguing the "vocation of states" would be violated by Church condemnation of capital punishment, the author concludes "Church tradition would not allow John Paul II to mandate his personal general opposition to capital punishment universally." Were the Pope's message in Evangelium Vitae only a personal general opposition, this would be a reasonable conclusion. The Pope's message, though, has the full support of the magisterium when he confirms no authority can "legitimately recommend or permit" (EV 57) the "direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being" (EV 57), and though murderers are not innocent, the broader context of Evangelium Vitae goes farther in expounding how the state must replace the "'reasons of force' with the 'forces of reason'" (EV 19) by conforming to the essential truth "not even a murderer loses his personal dignity" (EV 9). This test of the state makes much more powerful the Catechism's teaching, "If bloodless mean are sufficient…public authority must limit itself to such means" (No. 2266). Reflecting as the Pope does, Christian believers are called to go beyond the creation of a new loophole in defining sufficiency by considering the horror of Christ's execution "that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel" (Heb 12.24). Knowing that "God so loved the world that He sent His only son….that the world might be saved through him" (Jn 3.16-17), we can also recall the observation of Ambrose that God's justice was satisfied without killing Cain, "God, who preferred the correction rather than the death of a sinner" (EV 9). Hoping for the peace Paul VI connected to the Gospel of Life proclaiming, "If you want peace, defend life" (Message for World Day of Peace 1977), the dignity of the human person must be affirmed by being "merciful just as [our] Father is merciful" (Lk 6.36). The death penalty may have been justifiable and efficient in some extreme cases in the past, but further reflection on its attachment in the modern world to the structure of sin John Paul II has labeled a "culture of death" (EV 12) suggests the use of the death penalty is ultimately unsuitable for fostering peace in our modern search for a civilization of love and life.

epartyschool.com

To the students who were pictured and featured on epartyschool.com in their October 7 "Party School of the Week" segment, I say shame on you for this disgraceful distinction. Why not party school of the month or year? Challenge yourselves, get the most out of your CUA experience.

As a member of the class of 1998, I am not "humiliated and horribly embarrassed." I do not need Assistant Dean Thorp speaking on my behalf.

It would be a disgrace if students are disciplined because of the administration being tipped off by other students.

To those students who sent "a substantial number of emails" to Assistant Dean Thorp, you are the ones who should be ashamed. There are already enough rats prowling the campus, please fight the urge to become part of the population.

Justin N. Heykoop
CUA Class of '98

Field Hockey Extends Losing Streak to Seven

The field hockey team lost its seventh consecutive game on Monday, falling 3-2 in overtime to nationally ranked Eastern Mennonite (Pa.) The loss puts the Cardinals at 5-8, 2-2 in the conference, heading into the last week of regular season play.

Both CUA and EMU’s offenses came out flat, managing only six shots apiece in the first half, none of which went in the net. However, the second half started with a furious rally of scoring.

Freshman Christy Engstrom put Catholic ahead 1-0 on with her second goal of the season, assisted by freshman Jamie Punyko. Eastern Mennonite responded less than three minutes later, as Kristin Moyer scored from a mass of players crowded around the net to tie the game.

Catholic regained the lead just over two minutes later, as Punyko tallied her second assist of the game, on a breakaway goal by sophomore Rebecca Clark.

EMU dominated the rest of the half, keeping the ball in the CUA zone and constantly attacking Catholic senior goalie Katie Iannacone. Eastern Mennonite finally tied the game on an unassisted goal by Derstine.

The end of the second half saw continued offensive sloppiness and an increase in tension among the teams. Play became more physical, reaching its peak when an Eastern Mennonite player was unintentionally hit in the head with the ball.

With fifteen seconds left and the two offenses sluggish, it appeared the game was destined to go to overtime. However, Catholic was called for a violation that resulted in a penalty shot for Eastern Mennonite. CUA coach Gia Fenoglio became frustrated after the referees failed to tell her what the penalty was called for.

Iannacone blocked the penalty shot, and the teams headed into the fifteen-minute overtime period knotted at two. However, just over five minutes into the extra session, Catholic was called for another penalty shot, this time for an infraction in their defensive circle, and EMU’s Jonalyn Delingner hit the ball above the glove of the diving Iannacone, winning the game 3-2 for Eastern Mennonite.

The loss was the first at home for the Cardinals, who had started the season 5-1. The first six of their seven consecutive losses all came on the road.

“I think we’ve been playing better now than we did even at the beginning of the year. Right now, our last two games we’ve forced ranked teams into overtime. Johns Hopkins we manhandled for a little while before they beat us, and we almost won here today,” said Fenoglio.

The Cardinals remaining games are at Notre Dame (Md.) tomorrow at 4:30 p.m., at Washington and Lee (Va.) Sunday at 1 p.m., and the home finale against conference rival York on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Catholic is one loss away from matching the second worst in the school’s thirty year history. The team record is 10 losses, set by the winless 1972 squad.

Swim Team Defeats Div. I VMI 120-78

The men’s swim team defeated Div. I Virginia Military Institute 120-78. The Cardinals dominated the meet from start to finish, winning every event. VMI, often referred to as the West Point of the South, is the only Div. I school that the swim team competes against.

“It was a very good win for the men. It always feels good when we beat a school like VMI. We have a very competitive history with the school, dating back to even before our conference was established,” said head coach Tom Calomeris.

Senior Paul Ojeda won the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 50.40. Ojeda has been the Capital Athletic Conference champion in this event for the last two years. .

Senior Wes Kingsley won the grueling 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:13.71, and finished in third place in the 200-yard backstroke.

Sophomore Jim Horstmann captured the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:23.08, and the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.27.

“I really feel as if we’re swimming very well for this stage in our raining,” said Calomeris

Tomorrow the Cardinals compete against CAC rival St. Mary’s College. This meet will be held at the DuFour center at 1 p.m.

Men’s Soccer Loses to Wesley:

After Wednesday’s 4-2 non-conference loss to Wesley College at the DuFour Center, the men’s soccer team is likely to erase this disappointing game from their memory immediately if not sooner.

After seeing a vast improvement in their play the last few weeks, Catholic seemed to regress and was not only outscored, but also out-played and out-hustled by what appeared to be a mediocre Wesley squad.

“We’ve been on a roll,” said senior captain Mike Corrigan, “but today we came out flat and overconfident.”

Finding themselves down 3-0 at halftime, the Cards just couldn’t seem to find the second half boost that has served them well lately; their only two goals came from penalty kicks late in the second half.

Corrigan was the first to score for the Cardinals after a Wesley penalty in the 21st gave him the opportunity for a penalty kick, which he put away cleanly to the right of the keeper.

After sophomore Dan Finn was fouled hard a few minutes later, senior Keith Cappo scored on the resulting penalty kick and brought CUA within a goal.

The score would not remain 3-2 for long, as the Wolverines speed-reliant offense struck again, this time on a short-side header that snuck just between the goalpost and goalkeeper Todd Magin, “They had a very straightforward kick-and-run offense,” said Cappo, “But their speed left room for us to make mistakes.”

The Cardinals notched a 3-2 win over Washington and Lee on Saturday as freshman phenom Cameron Bassiri buried three goals to notch his first career hat trick.

The Cardinals next play tomorrow, as they face off with Goucher in their final home match of the season. The game begins at 3 p.m. at the DuFour Center.

Volleyball Disapoints with Third Place at Widener Tournament

Catholic volleyball suffered a disappointing third place finish at the Widener Tournament this past weekend. The Cards, now 28-5, will face Goucher College tomorrow, finishing their conference season.

Catholic’s first match in the Widener Tournament was against Bryn Mawr College, which Catholic came out on top with a win of 30-20, 30-17, 30-11. Anji Wall and Mary McGlynn contributed 15 kills while Emily Mott added 20 assists. Melissa Acuff and Casey Tierney worked to add their 29 digs.

Catholic then suffered a disappointing loss against Franklin and Marshall College 28-30, 30-27, 27-30, 30-17, 10-15. Amanda Cook and Wall added 27 kills and Bridget Guetle aided with her 48 assists.

In the final match Catholic battled Baptist Bible and came out on top 30-17, 30-16, 20-23. Elizabeth Schreiner and Wall put in 20 kills and Guetle added her 23 assists. Tierney and Katie Acuff also helped with their 39 digs.

“There was one moment that we did not focus well and then we lost it,” said head coach Nagy Abdelrazek. “In the beginning of the season we won against Widener University by a landslide. This just shows us that there is no guarantee to winning. We must work for it and we can’t say that ‘we beat them already and this will be easy.’ We learned our lesson and we hope we don’t make the same mistakes,” Abdelrazek.

Abdelrazek and the rest of the team are very hopeful that they will come back this weekend against Goucher College and continue to dominate the conference in the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament later in the season. This is the first time in the school’s history that the volleyball team was named regular season CAC champions before the end of the season.

The team’s main focus is to secure home court for the CAC championship, and a win against Goucher should do this for the Cards. “The girls are working very hard to keep their eyes on the main goal. Most of our players are quality athletes. We will have no problem putting at least four players on the All-Conference team. For the seniors it is going to be hard to see them go, we all want the season to last forever, but if it must end, we want to go to the NCAA finals,” said Abdelrazek. If the Cards go to the NCAA tournament, they hope to go farther than they did last season in the tournament.

“York College’s fans were absolutely great this past weekend. We hope that CUA fans will come out and support us during the CAC tournament. We promise to put on quite a show,” said Abdelrazek.

Catholic will be competing against Goucher College tomorrow in Baltimore, Md. The Cards next home game is the CAC tournament, which will be held Nov. 5-9 in the DuFour Center.

Game of the Week

Swimming
Goucher Gophers at CUA Cardinals
Saturday, October 26, 2002, 1 p.m.
DuFour Aquatic Arena

The CUA men’s and women’s swim team will be in action tomorrow against Capital Athletic Conference rival Goucher College at the DuFour Aquatic Arena beginning at 1 p.m.
The men’s team comes into the match undefeated with a record of 2-0 (1-0). The team has yet to be challenged this year and is expecting to have one of the best swim seasons in school history.
The women’s team also comes into the meet undefeated, 1-0 (1-0) and comes into the season with high hopes. A win against Goucher will be crucial to capturing the CAC crown.
With no warm front in the weekend forecast, why not enjoy CUA’s only indoor fall sport. It will be the closest thing to a beach in D.C. and most likely it will be your only opportunity to see young men and young ladies running around in bathing suits this Saturday.

Basketball Ranked Third in Nation

The men’s basketball team, which will return four of five starters to the hardwood this winter, opened practice Oct. 15 with a round of preseason honors. The 2001 Div. III National Champions are ranked third in the country by the DIII News publication and eighth by Street and Smith’s.

“I actually thought we had a shot at being ranked preseason number one,” said head coach Mike Lonergan, who is entering his eleventh season at the helm of the Cardinals. “I’m very pleased to be ranked in the top ten, however.”

The Cardinals have been ranked consistently over the past several years. “I like it that way; it gets our program attention,” said Lonergan. “But we have to remember to work hard, because everyone gets pumped for the top-ranked teams.”

Catholic will return its entire starting lineup except for diminutive point guard Bobby Henning, the 2001-2002 Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Co-Rookie of the Year, who transferred to The College of New Jersey for personal reasons.

Senior Matt Hilleary, the 2001-2002 CAC Player of the Year, along with seniors Kevin Wise, Craig Avallone and junior Will Morley return to lead a squad that welcomes a crop of heralded freshmen. Lonergan expects good things from the entire class, but hopes that forward Shane Sowden and guard Matt Tanner will make major contributions this season.

The Cardinals open the 2002-2003 regular season Nov. 23 at 4 p.m., hosting William Paterson at the DuFour Center in a rematch of the 2001 national title game. CUA will scrimmage McGill University of Montreal Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. at the DuFour Center.

Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Both Finish in fifth at Mason-Dixon Championships

Men’s Cross Country

The men’s cross-country team raced last weekend at the Mason-Dixon Championships. The Cardinals finished fifth out of six teams in Williamsburg, Va. Salisbury captured first place, followed by Christopher Newport and Gallaudet in third.

The winner of the Mason-Dixon Championships was Christopher Newport’s Matt Sinclair, who ran a 26:09.83

Mike Audette was the leader for the Cardinals, finishing in 13th place with a time of 27:32.77. Audette, the junior and All-Conference runner began the season late because of an earlier knee injury.

Sophomore captain Kevin Slattery was second for the Cardinals and finished in 32nd place overall with a time of 28:31.41. Slattery has continually placed in the top three runners for the Cardinals in their competitions.

Freshman Tim Daly rounded out the top three runners for CUA, finishing in 36th place with a time of 28:35.

The Cardinals travel to Gettysburg, Pa. tomorrow for the Gettysburg Invitational. This will be the last invitational for the men before the Capital Athletic Conference Championships, which will be held at York College on Nov. 9.

Women’s Cross Country

The women’s cross-country team finished fifth out of seven teams last weekend at the Mason-Dixon Championships in Williamsburg, Va. Mary Washington won the invitational and was followed by Christopher Newport and Salisbury in third.

Rachel Yates had the top finish for the Lady Cardinals, garnishing a third with a time of 23:35.26. Yates, a freshman from Wilton, Maine, has been the top finisher for the team throughout the season.

Sophomore Katie Hazlett was second for the Cardinals and finished 24th overall with a time of 25:36.75. Freshmen Colleen Hughes, Elizabeth Bates, and Erin Crawford completed the top five runners for the Cardinals, respectively.

The Lady Cardinals will compete again in two weeks at the Capital Athletic Conference Championships to be held in York College, Pa. on Nov. 9.

Cardinal Profiles:

She may not say a whole lot, but her performance on the soccer field speaks volumes. In fact, freshman standout Laura Kaye has probably left more than a few opponents speechless in her short tenure at Catholic University.

Having notched 31 points (14 goals, 3 assists) this season so far –including a natural hat trick in the Oct. 22 Gallaudet match– Laura has certainly made herself comfortable in her new college setting.

Hailing from Annandale, Va. Laura’s interest in Catholic University was first peaked in her junior year at Bishop Ireton High School by her religion and morality teacher – CUA head soccer coach Scott Racek. “One day he said, ‘Hey, come play for me,’” said Kaye, “So I did.”

It was that simple, as many things seem to be for the easy-going freshman.

Two things that also came easy to Kaye was the success and camaraderie that she found with her new team. “We’re a closeknit group, and they don’t exclude freshmen, which is cool.” Currently sporting a 12-3 (4-2 CAC) record and enjoying more victories than any CUA soccer team, CUA has improved upon last years 6-10 (3-4 CAC) record.

With a promising young roster featuring the one-two punch of Kaye and sophomore forward Jenny Aspinwall, the future of women’s soccer at CUA looks bright. “I just realized a few weeks ago that Jenny was a sophomore. That’s going to be pretty cool,” said Kaye. In the first 15 games of the season, the Kaye-Aspinwall combination has scored 29 times and appear to be on pace to be two of the most prolific goal scorers in CUA history.

Kaye, however, does not ignore the fact that soccer is fundamentally a team sport and realizes that much of her early success is reliant upon the play of her teammates. “Having a good team really helps open up opportunities,” says Kaye. But when it comes down to it the ultimate cause is, of course, simple. “I guess,” says Laura, “I just like to score.”

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