So, if Kagan is confirmed, who will feel unrepresented among the sitting justices on the U.S. Supreme Court?
Let’s see how long it takes for the undercurrent to surface among the opposition. Somebody’s nose is going to get bent. And the coded language will be interesting to watch.
Tags:justice, politics, Social Justice
Posted in politics, Religion, Social Justice | Leave a Comment »
Today IS a better day. Open windows, a cleaned off patio. The first semblance of feeling normal since April 25. My partner is still not feeling well, however.
The situation in Greece is not good. Their debt structure and inability to create enough of a revenue/spending gap makes their recovery look like a very long-term exercise. Default, I assume, remains a real possibility with their having little capacity to repay lenders over the long haul. Even keeping up with interest charges will be tough.
I can’t blame the Greek populace for being upset. Much of what is happening to them on an individual basis resembles what happens here: The party is over, the shiny limousines have pulled away from the curb with their tipsy and self-satisfied cargo, and the check has been handed to those busing the dishes and sweeping the floor. Whether Greece’s socio-economic policy has been healthy and realistic over the years is beside the point. The little guys shouldn’t have to foot the bill. Isn’t that right Wall Street?
The British elections are today. The Diane Rehm Show this morning had an excellent panel to discuss some of the dynamics. One thing of note was the main distinction between their conservatives and our Republican party. They don’t have a religious right so the conservatives are able to be more responsive to the signs of the times and diverse constituencies … I guess, rather than being stuck in the Old Testament. The panel also noted that the disaffected conservatives in Britain have a leader whereas the Tea Party movement has no leader, (nor sees any need for a message rooted in reality, I say).
It will be fun to see what happens.
Tags:personal, politics, Social Justice, Tea Party
Posted in Homelife, politics, Social Justice | Leave a Comment »
Being under the weather for more than a week following our trip to Italy has had a tendency to tarnish a wonderful experience. Upper-respiratory infection aggravated by allergies, energized by the exhausting 27-hour day coming home, and the effects of jet-lag on any attempts to rest, have come together to create a unique way for really feeling crappy.
Early this afternoon, we wondered where the plume was coming from as it stretched across our backyard. It turns out that a sudden breeze had lifted oak pollen off of our roof as well as the neighbor’s. I’m staying in!
Sunday at noon, here in St. Louis, “Eyes on the Prize” is being shown in three two-hour segments – one segment each Sunday. I can’t recall how many times I’ve watched many of the six segments, but the whole thing remains gut-wrenching. Watching the series is well worth being kept aware.
I’m hopeful for a program on the middle passage where anywhere from 16 to 60 million Africans died during their transport on slave ships. Their was apparently indifference in the record keeping to have an accurate number.
Tags:Eyes on the Prize, justice, PBS, politics, racism, Social Justice
Posted in Health, Homelife, politics, racism, Social Justice, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
In this morning’s New York Times is an article by Nicholas Kristof which is one of the more thoughtful reflections on the Catholic Church today I have ever read. He speaks so well about the true church, the people, and the relentless efforts by many day after day to fulfill our baptismal obligations, to care for the poor and others in need, to love one another.
Yes, it is easy to become distracted by the betrayal we have been (and continue to be?) subjected to by the clerical hierarchy of the church. But the people I minister to, men in maximum security prisons, aren’t concerned with what goes on in diocesan offices or in the Vatican. If the pope and all the bishops were to drop dead, their lives wouldn’t change; their hunger and need for encouragement, support, and spiritual sustenance wouldn’t be diminished.
When I am standing at a cell door, the temporal presence of the Roman Catholic Church exists in only two people: me and the man on the other side of the door. Building the kingdom, proclaiming the good news, is a “now” phenomenon taking place at the micro level in millions of instances every second of the day all over the world. What the pope or bishops think or declare about anything isn’t really part of the picture. It seems that the work of the church goes on in spite of them rather than because of them.
That’s an unfair statement. The deposit of faith has been developed, clarified, and passed down throughout the centuries by the same type of people who seem so out of touch today. But what they do and what they teach are two separate things. Once the sheep learned to read, things began to unravel.
The gospel message began to be seen more clearly as getting lost in all the pomp, rituals, as well continued bogus claims about the origins of some of our sacraments. Elaborate schemes to maintain any and all vestiges of power while suppressing prophetic voices questioning the mythology, are becoming more and more visible and, naturally, more repulsive.
Going through the Vatican museum a couple of weeks ago, I noticed my pace quickening as the reality of that whole farce sank in further and further. How did such a self-serving charade ever get started? Certainly not from the gospels, the teachings and practices of Jesus.
We humans seem to be unimaginative when it comes to conferring importance on things or people we hold dear. Sacred objects need to be gold. Monuments to saints – even those dedicated to living with and for the poor – are soaring, domed, cavernous structures filled with marble masterpieces, vast frescoes and mosaics, and paintings by the masters. All priceless stuff.
Leadership of our faith tradition are given a hierarchical structure, titles, positions of power, fine places to live. Then, of course, they develop their own laws, norms of behavior, rules of obedience and secrecy, and declarations of infallibility to keep those under their spiritual care out of the sanctuaries and where they belong.
Read the Kristof article if you can find the time.
Tags:Catholic Church, Catholic Church Hierarchy, New York Times, prison ministry, Social Justice, Vatican
Posted in Ministry, Religion, Social Justice, Spirituality, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
If members of a faith tradition are being excluded (see article in NCRonline and those following) because of a particular teaching within that tradition, one has to wonder: Upon what authority is the teaching based? I’m trying to think of an instance where the one whom the Christian tradition claims to follow excluded anyone. Maybe that’s expecting too much of church leaders.
Tags:Catholic Church, conservatives, National Catholic Reporter, November elections, politics, racism, Social Justice, Tea Party
Posted in politics, racism, Social Justice | Leave a Comment »
Over this past weekend we watched “Longford” starring Jim Broadbent as Frank Pakenham, the 7th Earl of Longford. Lord Longford spent several decades trying to secure the release of Myra Hindley, one of the two notorious serial killers convicted of the Moors Murders in the mid 60s.
I haven’t seen Broadbent in any movie where he wasn’t superb. This portrayal was particularly riveting. The movie’s content, based on true events, was completely unknown to us.
On the surface, Lord Longford appears to have been obsessed, driven, and easily taken for a fool in his quest for the parole of Ms Hindley. Upon further reflection, however, it would seem he was merely acting on his moral convictions as we are all called to do.
His unconditional willingness to engage, embrace, and forgive those on the fringe of society, even those who have done great evil, and to find some goodness in everyone, was a strong expression of his Christian faith. The fact that this appears to be foolish behavior is, perhaps, a commentary on our secular culture’s frequent indifference toward and avoidance of those who are down-trodden, society’s throwaways.
He goes back to the cause for Hindley’s release again and again following instances of personal abuse, derision, and deception. Hopes rise, are dashed, and rise again. I don’t know what he was feeling in those moments, but I have a pretty good idea.
When I began my prison ministry, I was told my role was to be a non-judgmental, non-critical, loving presence. That presents a never-ending challenge. I’m not always that successful in any given moment, some of the men I see are quite distasteful and unlikeable, but I do keep going back to the same people. And I have found over the weeks, months, and years, that any distaste and dislike can – with persistence and repetition – gradually transform into the beginnings of affection, affection in brotherhood and solidarity with a child of God.
It is liking them in their unlikableness, finding a fragment of goodness among the distastefulness. Of course, it’s also realizing/remembering that my finding someone to be unlikable doesn’t mean they aren’t likable. My perceptions are usually what need the work rather than anything to be done by an offender or by anyone else. Trying to recast someone as I would like them to be is always a hopeless adventure no matter how great the temptation.
I do recommend the movie, especially for those involved in prison ministry.
Tags:forgiveness, justice, Longford, Moors Murders, Myra Hindley, prison chaplain, prison ministry, Social Justice
Posted in Criminal Justice, Ministry, Social Justice | 1 Comment »
Whatever may be our vocation we are called to be witnesses and ministers of the Divine Mercy.
Thomas Merton
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
In a dim light...