Catholicism at Columbia.

Maurice Timothy Reidy's April 7 article ("Catholicism on Campus") requires some clarification regarding the evolution of campus ministry at Columbia University. I was an undergraduate at Columbia between 1989 and 1993, and for a year I served as president of the Newman Club. Msgr. Christopher Maloney was chaplain at the time, and I was surprised that he was not mentioned in Reidy's article. He succeeded Fr. Paul Dinter, and served for fifteen years.

Reidy mentions that Dinter helped establish the Merton Lecture Series, but Maloney was instrumental in continuing the program. He was the one, for example, who invited Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, Raymond Brown, and Margaret O'Brien Steinfels, as well as Michael Novak, George Weigel, and Richard John Neuhaus. Reidy writes that the Archdiocese of New York replaced Dinter because they wanted a "more conservative ministry at the city's most prestigious university." Yet Maloney embraced the diversity of the church and sought to help students engage the culture. This was clear in his homilies, which regularly made reference to everything from Columbia's core curriculum to popular movies. What was the result of the shift from Dinter to Maloney? During my years at Columbia, the chapel was packed every Sunday, and the community was engaged in substantive discussions about what it means to be a Catholic on a diverse, secular campus. When I arrived as a freshman, I heard from upper classmen that Maloney's broader approach to ministry was a relief to many students, and that Mass attendance had risen dramatically since he had taken over. They told me that Dinter's ministry had its appeal, but only for a select group of students.

FRANK BALLABIO

New York, N. Y.