Social Awareness

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COMMENTARY

Ignorance of Justice & Poor Faith Formation

"Never let your hymns drown out the cries of the poor"

-an early Church Father

Editor's note: The following is a copy of a letter which your social awareness director sent to a priest who recently asked her, out of frustration, how to convince his clerical colleagues that they too, must "hunger and thirst for justice" a part of their everyday faith, rather than leave social actions and talk to their order's justice bureau. Because this "we've got church staffers/a parish D&P group/etc. doing justice" statement is a frequent lament among justice-minded Catholics, we are reprinting our reply to him, deleting all references to his identity.

Dear Padre, First, my apologies for my slow response to your request on ways that you can convince your confreres of the need to "do justice" along with other Christian acts such as prayer and attending mass. But I confess that the frustration with which you made that request remained in my mind often.

Yours is a common complaint that I hear from the justice-seeking faithful -- practising Catholics who are good at receiving the sacraments, prayer, etc., turn into smiling manikins when they are challenged to confront the "structures of sin" that oppress major chunks of humanity and creation. Or they evade the issue by countering with one of the following rationalizations: a) society/economics is too complex and the Church/themselves cannot deal with such matters; b) they are already "transforming society" by giving their surplus money to charity (which is often confused with social justice); c) "Our parish has a justice committee to handle it"; d) they accuse enthusiasts as "fanatics" who think that the Church should be only doing justice and nothing else (even though these "fanatics" are often involved with parish CWL, liturgy committees, the choir, and so forth).

Much of why the above occurs is precisely what Bishop John Sherlock said during his recent talk on the Ontario Bishops' document, Choosing a Government at the Hamilton Convention Centre -- that those who do not heed our social teachings have "incomplete faith formation". (Our pope and various bishops' conferences have previously written that Catholic education is incomplete unless the teachings are ingrained within people.) While the reasons for it vary, the situation explains why our social doctrine -- which are basic guidelines for good living -- are called, "The Church's Best-Kept Secret".

Happily, education rounds out faith formation, which must be a life long process for every Catholic. There are adequate resources on the social teachings and justice issues such as books, videos, handouts, retreats, workshops, and the Internet. (See the "Chancery Resources" and "Bulletin Board" inside this issue for examples.)

Our best "educational tool" is our Holy Father: dubbed as a "social justice pope" by some secular social commentators -- his encyclicals and talks on justice issues challenge us to "do something" for bringing God's Kingdom to earth. His recent exhortation to our hemisphere's bishops, Ecclesia in America, ranks Catholics' appropriation of and acting upon the social doctrine, as core acts for evangelization if the Church is to flourish beyond the 21st century. Indeed, after reading it (or at least the Archdiocese of Kingston's summary of its justice aspects inside this issue) it's difficult to genuinely "celebrate Christ's 2000th birthday" without first "doing justice".

And education can work: the Canadian Ecumenical Jubilee Initiative for debt cancellation, described briefly in the "kudos" section of this issue, gained widespread interest by Christians of all stripes, many of whom apparently said, "We never knew the true impact of the trillions of dollars of Third World debt to our nations until now!" Indeed, one reason for my delay in answering my query to you is because of the increasing number of queries, requests for talks, on social issues that are coming to my office.

But there's also a resistance to "doing justice" that defies education. This is especially so in matters which personally challenges one's complicity in the "perverse structures" and "social sin" which the catechism of the catholic church succinctly describes. In preparation for the Jubilee, the Pope asks us in Tertio Millennio Advenniente" to "place ourselves humbly before the lord and examine themselves on the responsibility which they too, have for the evils of the day" (#36, the same paragraph in which he asks how many Christians really know and practise the Church's social doctrine). Like Christ's failure to convince the rich, young man to sell all that he has and to "come follow me", this resistance is a tough one to crack.

Perhaps that's why it's easy for Catholics to speak of personal sins such as road rage, but not to "examine themselves on the responsibility which they too, have for the evils of our day". The "System" benefits the middle class -- which constitutes the majority of the Canadian church --- even though the Pope, Dr. David Suzuki and others repeatedly warn that unless we change our lifestyles, much of the world's population will remain impoverished while the earth's ability to regenerate its air and soil will die. (Indeed, in his present CBC Radio series,"From Ape to Super Species", Suzuki argues that the latter is already happening, with perhaps no more than 200 years for us to reverse our damage.)

It is easier to tackle something that does not personally benefit us -- we never got any of the Third World interest payments. But for something from which we benefit may become such a sacred cow that Holy Lady Poverty herself can't touch it.

Like the rich young man, we're addicted to stuff. This is not unusual -- nearly all religions began as some reaction to unequal distribution of wealth (systemic poverty) and power. What is new is the unprecedented disparity of wealth that characterizes both Canada (whose middle class shrank to 44% from over 60% in less than 15 years) and the world.

The Suzuki series mentioned above states that Canadians are drowning in so much stuff that we would need five planets if the rest of the world lived like us. And our global structures and the media reinforce this high living, even though it disregards rising world poverty levels, a raped creation and a deteriorating quality of life which Suzuki says results in smog, pesticide-laden food, purchased bottled water, and barely knowing who one's neighbours are.

As with an addiction, one cannot "read these signs of the times" and change unless one hits bottom and undergoes a different way of thinking (conversion). Happily, much of the Canadian and international justice movement is also increasingly demonstrating different ways of doing justice that even the most stubborn justice resister can't ignore. They focusing on our personal consumerism (greed?) As much as on the standard macro-issues such as Third World debt. This includes hands-on, community-building alternatives (eg. supporting local farmers and businesses, community gardens, buying organic, fair-trade coffee). Grassroots groups such as Development & Peace, 10 Days, Citizens for Public Justice and of course, our diocesan Justice & Peace Commission are increasingly leaning towards promoting such models -- the new way which the Pope called for in Centisimus annus (1981). Our own diocese is in the process of developing "simply just living circles" if only to challenge each other in the way we "do justice", and to inspire ourselves with the social doctrine.

This returns to the need for more education -- a gentle, joyful one which radiates our pope's vision in Ecclesia in America. While the process remains slow, only touches a few folks at a time, and relies upon personal conversion (and my own is still in process), we can only trust that the Holy Spirit remains active. After all, if we view the social doctrine as a cornerstone of our faith, we know what Christ said about cornerstones!

Yours truly, Diane P. Baltaz, Director

What our Pope Says

"Love for others, and in the first place love for the poor, in whom the Church sees Christ himself, is made concrete in the PROMOTION OF JUSTICE. Justice will never fully be attained unless people see in the poor person, who is asking for help in order to survive, not an annoyance or a burden, but an opportunity for showing kindness and a chance for greater enrichment....For this to happen, it is not enough to draw upon the surplus goods which in fact our world abundantly produces; it requires above all a change in lifestyles, of models of production and consumption, and of the established structures of power which today govern societies. Nor is it a matter of eliminating instruments of social organization which have proved useful, but rather of orientating them according to an adequate notion of the common good in relation to the whole human family..."

-Centesimus Annus, # 58 (1991)

"Peace is possible, peace is a duty. Peace is a prime responsibility of everyone! May the dawn of the third millennium see the coming of a new era in which respect for every man and woman and fraternal solidarity among peoples will, with god's help, overcome the culture of hatred, of violence, of death."

-Easter Sunday Message to the World

and from the catechism of the catholic church....

"A theory that makes profit the exclusive norm and ultimate end of economic activity is morally unacceptable. The disordered desire for money cannot but produce perverse effects. It is one of the causes of many conflicts which disturb the social order." (#2424)

Various causes of a religious, political, economic and financial nature today give "the social question a worldwide dimension". There must be solidarity among nations which are already politically interdependent. It is even more essential when it is a question of dismantling the "perverse mechanisms" that impede the development of the less advanced countries. In place of abusive if not usurious financial systems, iniquitous commercial relations among nations, and the arms race, there must be substituted a common effort to mobilize resources toward objectives of moral, cultural and economic development, "redefining the priorities and hierarchies of values". (#2438)

from the Quebec bishops' may 1, 1999 message: "I Just Can't Make Ends Meet Anymore!" Do we ever ask ourselves who in our society pays the ingest interest rates on loans? The answer is the poorest persons: they don't have easy access to credit from banks and credit unions. It is they who are forced to rely on pawnbrokers and soon fall prey to usurious interest rates. (A photocopy of this eight-page statement is on file in our office)

What others are saying,

"Business without religion is only commercialism. Religion is good for weekdays as well as Sundays."

-- Peter Maurin, co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement

"One fifth of America has been charged with criminal offences and Canada incarcerates more people than any other industrialized nation in the world." -Dr. Jerome Millar, Co-founder of the National Centre on Institutions and Alternatives, Washington, DC, extracted from the Spring, 1999 newsletter Bridge: From Prison to Community (Hamilton)

"For years I laboured with the idea of reforming the existing institutions of the society, a little change here, a little change there, now I feel quite differently. I think you have got to have a reconstruction of the entire society, a revolution of values." -- Martin Luther King Jr.

"One of the most embarrassing statistics for me is that in the past 40 years, the average size of Canadian families has dropped by 50%, but the size of our houses in that time has doubled -- to keep all of the junk that we've accumulated.... Nobody is questioning our quality of life...consumption.... If the rest of the world lived as we Canadians do, we would need five planets hold everyone." -David Suzuki, "Cross Country Check Up", CBC Radio, May 16, 1999 "Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead

"If you can `get' children by the age of two and target them incessantly between the ages of three and eight, they will become lifelong consumers of your product." -paraphrased from a speech by Kevin O'Leary, president of the Learning Company Inc., in a Spring, 1999 Adbusters photo of a baby clad in a McDonalds' bib and french fry cap.

"Simple living is not our goal. Simple living is merely a means by which we can free ourselves and our resources for service to others in a world gone awry." -Jim Stentzel in "Non-conform Freely", Living More With Less by Doris Janzen Longacre

"Finding a nice church with warm handshakes and well planned programs is not enough. Friendships developed in many churches will provide tennis partners and dinner invitations, but not the level of support needed for living the standards (on simple living) here discussed. Even small groups within churches easily falter. Most of these are fine at carrying in meals after you have surgery but are less ready to caution you against buying too big a car. Money and how we get and spend it remains the single great privacy from which few dare lift the cover. It's an area in which our individualism sprouts most persistently." -Doris Janzen Longacre in Living More With Less

FROM ONE OF THE SEVERAL CHURCH STATEMENTS ON THE KOSOVO WAR

"The problem is not that Canada and the international community get drawn into regional conflicts, the problem is the failure to get involved more intensely in regional conflicts, in SUDAN, in turkey, and so on.... The issue is not whether to get involved, but how -- and bombing, whether of BELGRADE, or IRAQ, or a sudanese pharmaceutical plant, is not the answer.... Canadians need to affirm the human security ethic or imperative that requires the international community to come to the aid and protection of those who are imperilled, wherever they are and whatever their nationality.... ....the great danger of forced intervention is that it will become part of the conflict -- a military belligerent fighting on one side or the other... nato... has been using force (in Yugoslavia, IRAQ, SUDAN, afghanistan, all in the past year), not to protect and defend the vulnerable, but to punish particular rulers.... In kosovo, nato is now enacting the same dynamic, first brandishing the stick, and then, when the threat failed to work, concluding that there was no option but to use the stick to avoid it becoming a hollow gesture...after having described milosvic as a cunning, wicked tyrant, nato launches a military action against him, the success of which depends entirely upon this cunning, wicked tyrant deciding to do the decent thing, to think first about the welfare of the people under his care, and to reverse his wicked ways. Military action that ignores the obligation to protect the vulnerable in favour of punishing their rulers, invariably ends up weakening the vulnerable and strengthening their corrupt leaders." -Grant Birks, chairperson of Project Ploughshares, Waterloo some resources to look for on the INTERNET OK, so some critics ask how can you live a simpler, less monied-centred life if you're hooked on to the INTERNET -- which implies that you own a pricey computer? Not so. It's the access to, or sharing of tools of technology that matters. Today, for instance, most public libraries have INTERNET terminals.

Here are some web sources you might like to look at for a more simply just life.

Canadian Organic Growers (COG)
- the national group of organic gardeners, farmers and eaters who envision a healthier environment and society than our globalized food system currently permits. The national site is www.gks.com/cog/ . It'll also lead you to the websites of the two chapters within our diocese, Wentworth-Burlington (www.hwcn.org/link/cogwb ) and Perth-Waterloo-Wellington. Be sure to join one of these chapters and meet its members in person once you click into these sites!

Alternatives
- of all of the simplicity movements and anti-consumerism websites, this US based one has the most Christian references. This includes booklets on how to bring Jesus Christ back to Easter and Christmas. www.simpleliving.org/main/afslp002.

Millennium Eco-Communities (MEC) on the Green Lane
- an Environment Canada web site that appeared in an ad in area newspapers this past winter. "Designed as a way to connect people who care about the environment, the MEC website contains information on best practices, tools, tips, networking opportunities and more. So turn your concerns to actions," says the ad. Your social awareness director has not had a chance to check out this site, but it sounds OK: www.ec.gc.ca/eco

Sweatshop Report
- launched by an American group called Co-op America, the site rates leading companies that sell jeans, athletic shoes, coffee, tea, rugs -- five industries with notorious sweatshop conditions. It also lists shopping tips, grassroots campaigns and material drawn from their special report on sweatshops. www.sweatshops.org

An Organic website for children
- an Australian friend checked this one out, says it is child friendly with the theme, "organic is best". www.kids.organic.org

Prince Charles' Warnings on Genetically Modified Food (GMF)
- Already known as one of the world's top advocates of organic food systems, our successor to the Queen has a website on genetically altered foods; ie, foods whose genetic structure has been modified b the addition of genes from other species in order to achieve a given trait -- biotechnology. International studies are already confirming dangerous trends to human health and to other life forms (including monarch butterflies who consumer pollen from GMF plants). Thus, our future titular head to the Anglican Church says, " We should not be meddling with the building blocks of life in this way." www.princeofwales.gov.uk/forum Adbusters, the Media Foundation: the Vancouver-based "culture-jammers" who provide one of the best thought-out analyses of our consumer society. These are the folks who organize the international "Buy Nothing Day" and the annual "TV Turnoff Week" each April. Their anti-consumer ad spoofs are worth researching for talks with youth, etc. -- some of which are on file in the Social Awareness Office. It lists related sites on media, consumer manipulation, such as Noam Chomsky. www.adbusters.org Also, to subscribe to Adbusters magazine, call toll free 1-800-663-1243.

Our ever popular kudos column

This time, kudos goes to...

The St.Mark's, Kitchener social justice committee for hosting a city-wide workshop on the Ontario Bishops' document, Choosing a Government.

Also to Bishop John Sherlock, Bishop of London and chairperson of the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops' (OCCB) Social Affairs Commission for speaking about the document, to 350 people at the Hamilton Convention Centre on March 24.

Joy Warner of Canadian Martyrs Parish, Hamilton. As a leader in the Voice of Women for Peace, Joy was one of the 10,000 people from across the globe who attended the conference for peace at the Hague, Belgium recently. That was the site for a similar conference 100 years ago. Because the 20th century is the cruelest, most bellicose century in human history (the 1990s being no exception), the delegates, including religious leaders such as Bishop Desmond Tutu mapped out a grassroots blueprint for the next century, one that can be achieved by civil society. Joy led a workshop and participated on a panel discussion at this event.

to two diocesan justice directors in Ontario: Sr. Frances Ryan, Diocese of London, who retires in June, for her years of promoting justice both within her diocese and on the OCCB Social Affairs Commission, of which she is a member; and to Terry O'Connor of North Bay, a retired executive of C.U.P.E. who is coming on stream in the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie. God be with you both!

to the following church leaders/groups for critiquing the NATO bombings of Yugoslavia as a "humanitarian" means of stopping the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo's Albanians and for calling for more peaceful, international solutions: Pope John Paul II, the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC; Msgr. Peter Schonenbach was the R.C. signatory), The Most Rev. Michael G. Peers, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, The World Council of Churches (with input from the Serbian Orthodox Church), the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Canadian Conference of Bishops, the Justice & Peace Commission of the Arch-diocese of Kingston (for a letter of support to Senator Doug Roche who publicly criticized the NATO war effort with other prominent Canadians) and Project Ploughshares. This includes a meeting which officials from the CCC held with Prime Minister Jean Cretien; ironically, this meeting was scheduled prior to the March 24 commencement of bombings to discuss another military issue -- the international movement for nuclear disarmament by 2,000 AD, which the CCC endorsed in 1998. Note: copies of these statements can be obtained from the Project Ploughshares website at www.ploughshares.ca

to the participants in the Simply Just Lenten Reflections which our office sponsored throughout the diocese.

Also to those Waterloo folks who attended six Lenten video nights on the same theme which Joanne Thorpe of St. Agnes Parish. While the participants at the different sessions were at different levels of spiritual development -- from having serious problems with the structural injustices within our economic (consumer) to feeling oppressed by the pressure to "shop ‘till you drop", the discussions that occurred reveal that .....

the Dominican Republic Faith Experience who continues to grow beyond their humble Hamilton Mountain origins. Some of the youth who are living with the poor in the "DR" this summer come from as far as Ottawa. Also, separate school teachers can get a career credit for the Experience.. For info, contact Josie at (905) 383-5484.

the Canadian Ecumenical Jubilee Initiative for collecting 600,000 signatures of Canadians calling for the cancellation of Third World Debt to the so-called First World, which now amounts in the trillions. About 400,000 of these signatures were had by the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development & Peace, with approximately 24,000 coming from our diocese! Also, at a recent meeting between Ontario's diocesan social justice directors, some people reported that parishes that normally showed little interest in justice issues requested to sign the petition.

to the Social Affairs Commission of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops for existing for 50 years -- whose track record is generally cleaner than other organizations which celebrated recent jubilees, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank! Our bishops will officially celebrate the commission's jubilee during their October plenary.

the Spring, 1999 issue of Adbusters for praising Pope John Paul II as being "among the most rigorous critics of the `radical doubt' that pervades our moment in history." Stating that he "first issued strong warning about free market excess in 1991" (Centismus Annus), this Vancouver-based magazine quotes "papal koans" from his New Year's Day message and his October, 1998 encyclical, Fides et Ratio, such as "The fool thinks he knows many things, but really he is incapable of fixing his gaze on the things that truly matter." They also list the Vatican website www.vatican.va for further teachings. (Of course, CONTACT readers already admire the Pope for that!)

BULLETIN BOARD

Tues. June 15: JUBILEE JUSTICE: co-sponsored by the first local ecumenical Jubilee coalition that we know of, this one by several Kitchener-Waterloo churches. A celebration of prayer, story telling, a symbolic action and the serving of "just desserts" by a women's' refugee group. It's a local preliminary to the June 18 G-8 Summit in Cologne, Germany. Guest speaker is Dr. David Pfrimmer of the Lutheran Institute for Social Policy, Kitchener City Hall, 7-9 p.m. For information contact Julie Dwyer-Young (519) 741-9702.

July 9-11: Folk School on Air & Water Quality -- a 1990s revival of the rural folk schools which gives folks kitchen table-style learning about daily issues. Co- sponsored by several Guelph groups, including the Rural Learning Association and OPIRG, and will be held in the cottage-like atmosphere on the grounds of Ignatius College. Proposed subjects range from tap water, household cleaning agents to lawns. $130 covers the two nights, five meals, etc. For information contact Liz Cockburn (519) 763-4885.

Autumn, 1999 - the date and place are not yet settled, but the social awareness office will host a "Simply Just Living" reflections day as preparation for the Jubilee. Keep an eye on the next CONTACT and your church bulletin for details..

Nov,5-6: The 1999 Challenge For Change Conference, the ecumenical justice institute that is co-sponsored by our office. This year's theme is on the environment and the economy, with the key speaker being from Union Theological Seminary in the US. Confirmed workshops include "Creation & "Christianity" by Dave Seljak, and "Simple Living & Justice" by Fiona Heath, both of Waterloo. Downtown Kitchener. More information to come soon. Nov. 19-21 Spirituality & Development, the first part of a two-year theme offered by the Central Mission Conference. An annual institute for the spiritual formation of Catholics. The 1999 resource persons are Greg deGroot- Maggetti of Citizens for Public Justice and Fr. Michel Cote of Ottawa, at Scarboro Foreign Missions, Kingston Road, Toronto, For details contact George Kelly, Guelph, (519) 824-1885 or Cathy Van Loon (416) 261-7135.

Nov.26: Buy Nothing Day, the annual, anti-overconsumption festival and reflection day that is now celebrated in 15 countries. Organized by the Media Foundation, the day stresses that the "First World" runs an "economic doomsday machine" in which 20% of the world's population consumes 80% of the world's resources and puts 80% of the world's toxins into the global ecosystems. For details, see the Ad busters website listed elsewhere in this issue.

Resources in the Chancery Office

Library Books

How Much Is Enough? By Alan Durning. Part of the Worldwatch Institute "Environmental Alert" series which looks at how the consumer society is consuming the earth. Durning calls consumption "the neglected god in the trinity of issues that the world must address if we are to get on the path of development that does not lead to ruin." (The other two are population growth and technological change.) NOTE: Durning is one of the experts in Fred Penner's The Simple Way video series that is in the library.

Following Christ in a Consumer Society (STILL) -- John F. Kavanaugh. An updated version of Kavanaugh's 1980s classic that is subtitled, "The Spirituality of Cultural Resistance". It views the religion of consumerism in the light of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Gulf War and and the pope's strong critiques of the new capitalism.

From Charity to Justice: wiritten by Development & Peace and publishesd by the Paulines this past March, this book explains the difference between charity and justice, and why charity on its own, is not enough. It uses parables and extensive quotes from the Bible and from papal documents.

One page summaries of Catholic Social Teachings & the Two Feet of Social Action: these are the ones that your social awareness director hands out in workshops and hopes to run in future issues of CONTACT. There are also various ‘consumer lifestyle reflection" pages that tie into the social teachings. Available on request.