Appeal of Ordained Women

We appeal to all organizations of women through-out the world; the [hierarchy of the] Church wants to punish us because of the courage we have shown in being ordained as priests. We ask you to resist a Church dominated by men, and we appeal for your solidarity with the oppressed women within this Church. Mr. Ratzinger has threatened to excommu-nicate us; in response, we ask the following questions:
 1) Is it really us, women, who are spreading scan-dal?  We who are created by God with a feminine nature and a feminine body? Does not the scandal come more so from the sexual and moral teachings of a Church that excludes women? 2) Is it really us, women, who are the cause of this scandal? Or, is it in fact a Church that smothers, through rules that show hate for the body? 3) Is not the conduct of the Church, a scandal? For centuries, it has not accepted the human person, in all of the different aspects of our being. 4) Is it not a fundamental scandal of the Church that it doesn’t consider laws where discri-mination against women because of their gender are prohibited? Where the Church has not agreed, in spite of repeated appeals over a long period of time, to consider women as persons of equal value who have the same rights as men? 5) Really, is it us, women, who spread scandal, as the Church has imposed the law of celibacy since the 12^th century, forcing priests and women to hide their love, and the children born of such unions to either be hidden or aborted? The Church treats priests and women as delinquents. It removes them from their ministry and their profession if they confess their love and recognize their children.  6) Is it really us, women, who are a scandal, in face of the practices of a hierarchy in which priests, solitary and unable to satisfy their sexual desires, abuse children? These children were brought to the Church by their mot-hers, who today can observe how their children have been and are abused by priests who couldn’t uphold their celibacy. 7) Isn’t it a scandal, that when women and priests rebel against the dictates of the hierarchy and begin to think for themselves, their positions are taken from them and they are forced to leave the employment of the Church?

8) Isn’t it an enormous scandal that the hierarchy of the Church degrades other Christian Churches, our sisters and brothers, as if they were sects, with no value? As if they are not persons who are also searching for God ? 9) Isn’t it worse than a scandal when a whole continent suffers from AIDS because of the prohibition against the use of preventatives by the hierarchy? Due to adherence to sexual mores that aren’t adapted to our time? 10) Isn’t it normal that millions of people feel it is a scandal when the hierarchy of the Church refuses to permit contra-ception, in the face of entire continents that can’t feed large families, so that these children die of famine?

 Are WE really the cause of scandal, we women who aspire peacefully and consciously to equality and to internal reforms within the Church? Don’t you think it is time, Mr. Ratzinger, that you reform the ecclesiastical laws of the Church you dominate, so that these laws no longer hurt lives, but rather help people? If a real scandal exists, it is the sexual morals of the hierarchy of the Church. As for us, we are peaceful women who cause no scandal. We ask only that you recognize the human being as both man and woman; don’t stone the women.
(Received by email via IMWAC)
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The Board of Directors of C.T.A. of San Diego for the fiscal year ending 11/30/02 is:
President: Janet Mansfield, (858) 277-0259, ejmans@pacbell.com

Vice-President: Al Rauckhorst, (619) 284-6451, lualrauc@lvcm.com 

Treasurer: Mike Magee, (760) 471-4305, Mmagee@utm.net
Secretary: Rich Nirschl, (858) 273-0213, richnmo@aol.com

Directors-at-large: Evi Quinn, (760) 434-3710, eviq@cs.com ;

            Al O’Brien, (619) 222-5676, obrien1@mail.sdsu.edu ;

            and Ed Mansfield, (858) 277-0259, ejmans@pacbell.com .          

(Visit our website:  www.dignitypacific.org/ctasandiego/)

Peter Kopkowski, editor, (858) 278-8800, ajpmk@san.rr.com

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Voices of Eve

This program of monthly gathering, for worship and cele-bration of women of faith in scripture and throughout history, resumes at Christ Lutheran Church, 4761 Cass Ave. in P.B. Worship begins at 5:30 P.M. with a simple supper after. The woman featured September 29 is “Sojourner Truth”; for October 27 it is “Women of the Reformation”; for November 24 it is “Blandina”; and for December 29 it is “The Times of Our Lives”. Call Pastor Deborah Butler at (858) 483-2300 for more info.

“Making” New Terrorists

By Peter M. Kopkowski

            Let us consider for a moment the matter of the Palestinian terrorists, who, in reality, are not very different from those in Northern Ireland, or in northern Spain, or in most Latin American nations.  Suppose that you were a deranged official of the current Israeli government; suppose that you wanted  to develop more terrorists. What would you do? Well, the easiest way is really very simple; you just act unjustly toward innocent groups of people.  That way, you can breed whole families of terrorists, instead of doing it one at a time.  Is this insanity? Before you jump to the conclusion that this is a fan-tasy, consider what in fact the current Israeli gover-nment is doing; when a suicide bomber is identified, the Israeli military goes to the home or homes of his or her relatives and destroys them, and all that is in them, without any notice. Please note: (1) the rela-tives are not “accused” of anything, or “convicted”; they are “guilty” of being relatives of a “terrorist”. (2) There is no semblance of “due process”; there is no hearing, no trial, nothing - the military just des-troys the homes with impunity! Can there be any better way to treat a large number of people unjustly and thus assure the “breeding” of more terrorists, both quickly and efficiently?             For the Israeli govern-ment to believe that it is going to somehow “destroy” the Palestinians through this unjust exercise of military power is insanity.  However, it is also “insanity” for Americans to believe that the Palestinians don’t know or care that the weapons used by the Israeli military are provided by us, or to believe that they will not retaliate accordingly.

 

Help Needed

By Peter M. Kopkowski

Jeri Becker, now California prisoner # W15539, was involved when her male companion killed a drug dealer in 1980; she received a sentence of “life” with the expectation of parole in 17 years or when it was determined that she no longer presented a risk to society. She has served 22 years, and has demonstrated that she is rehabilitated. She writes for Yoga Magazine and for Catholic Women’s Network;  she has worked as a peer counselor, has taught 12-step programs and literacy to inmates; she has mini-stered to HIV and mentally disabled inmates and led a project that raised $6,000 from inmates for the families of the victims of 9/11. In many loving ways, Jeri has demonstrated authentic spiritual growth; she has earned 153 college units and earned a certificate in vocational graphics. To help with her transition to life outside the prison, she has 3 job offers, has guaranteed housing, and 65 donors have pledged $ 14,000 to help support her in her first year of freedom.  Her sentencing judge wrote that she is the most rehabilitated person with whom he has ever worked, and has urged that she be released on parole.  Sooo, what’s the problem?  In the Cali-fornia penal system, even after a parole board de-cides that a person serving a “life” term should be paroled, the decision has to be approved by the governor.  It so happens that governor Gray Davis acts as if it is necessary for him to appear “tough on crime”, regardless of the injustice that may thus be imposed on a particular prisoner.  So far, he has rejected 108 out of the 110 cases brought before him. The two that were approved had strong public support, including the backing of some political leaders. (In two cases of rejection that were taken to an appeals board, the governor’s vetoes were found to be illegal, and the California Supreme Court will review the constitutionality of the governor’s abso-lute power over parole nominees.)  In the meantime, Jeri needs our help. You can help by writing, in the month of September, a personal letter to the gover-rnor. His address is, “State Capitol Bldg., Sacrame- to CA 95814”. The following is a possible letter for your use, but putting it on your own stationery and adding your personal touch is very important. Form letters are not as effective as individual letters from constituents.

 

Dear Governor Davis:   I want you to know that I am praying for you to understand the out-standing rehabilitation of Jeri Becker, and to judge her case fairly. She is an example of how a person can be rehabilitated from drug addiction. Through a process of spiritual growth, she has earned the right to legal freedom.  Jeri has a tremendous support system, 3 job offers, $14,000 of pledged aid for her first year and guaranteed housing. It is time that she stopped being a burden on the taxpayers and started to pay taxes on her own. I ask you to please approve her parole, and may the God of justice guide you.

 

(Too many people today, when asked to write letters like this, act as though they are somehow no longer able to write; injustice continues when good people do nothing. Thousands of letters will get the governor’s attention.)

Open Letter

To the Ordination Office for Austria, Germany and the United States of America

In the name of the French Coordination for the European Women’s Lobby (C.L.E.F.), representing more than 70 organizations, federations and net-works of women in France, we are contacting you to express our total solidarity with the women who were ordained as Catholics priests. These women are believing, devout Catholics; it is because of their strong faith that they want to serve the Church with all of their capacity, as they do with all their hearts. They suffer to see the lack of male candi-dates for the priesthood and to see believers left without clergy. It seems tragic to us that today, when there is a real need in so many of our societies for the kind of hope and faith that the Church can provide, that this need should remain unsatisfied because there are not enough men willing to be ordained. Further, unhappy experience has shown us that ordained men are often not strong enough to withstand some terrible temptations. It is our firm belief that women are stronger than men in this regard, and that they will not create the tragic scandals in the Church that many male priests have created, such as the shameful sexual exploitation of boys, girls, and nuns. We believe that women must be allowed to show how well they can serve the Church; this can do nothing but be of benefit to all.
Very respectfully yours, Bernice Dubois, Secrétaire Générale, C.L.E.F.

 

Letter From Evi

There has been much talk lately about action and dia-logue, and there has been much confusion in my heart about it. I am writing this letter because doing so has helped me find some peace. Indeed we are in almost revolutionary times in our church today, and at times one is so overwhelmed that one is tempted to just sit back and wait and see. Yes, that is the easy way out, but Jesus never told us that it would be easy when we say “yes” to Him. I feel that especially now, as we come to significant crossroads on our church renewal journey, we all need each other’s commitment to solidarity more than ever. CTA-SD needs to have its’ presence and existence noticed so that our mainstream Catholic sisters and bro-thers can find solace, peace, joy and hope in these very challenging and trying times. Most of us are already en-gaged in various ministries, and it is difficult to spare the time for even more actions. Participation in some of the programs that our chapter has offered has been very minimal, to say the least.  Since the eruption of the  pedophilia scandal, some specific actions have been suggested by various reform groups. All of our members have special gifts and certain expertise that could be shared for the common good. We ask, please let us hear from you about how this could be done best. Would you be willing to meet for some brainstorming sessions in homes, according to convenient geographic areas?  Do you have other suggestions?  Please e-mail or call any of the CTA-SD board members listed in this newsletter. We seek publicity and growth, and we need all of you and your friends. Joy and hope. (Evi Quinn is founder and past president of CTA-San Diego)

 

Report From Wes Boyd of MoveOn

The Bush Administration is planning a war on Iraq; it could come in October or even sooner. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held hearings about whether a military campaign to oust Saddam Hussein is necessary, but they were a whitewash -- none of the people asked to testify argued against a war. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld continues work on a war plan that will require up to a quarter million troops. The Administration contends that a war on Iraq is needed because Saddam Hussein possesses or is intent on acquiring weapons of mass destruction. Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter says that the war is a product of domestic politics; along with other UN officials, he maintains that Iraq’s major weapons have been successfully eradicated. In res-ponse to questions about the basis for an Iraq cam-paign from our NATO allies,  Rumsfeld replied “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.” These are hardly solid grounds on which to wage a war that will likely: (1) Cost thousands of American soldiers’ lives; (2) Kill many Iraqi civilians, through direct combat and through the eradication of infra-structure; (3) Further destabilize the Middle East; (4) Alienate America’s closest allies, almost all of whom oppose an attack; (5) Commit the military to a three-to-five year stay while Iraq rebuilds; and (6) Cost in the tens of billions in taxpayer dollars.

The Senate may be the last place in which serious questions can be raised about this upcoming conf-lict. Please call your Senators at the numbers below. Make sure that the person that you talk to knows that you’re a constituent. State your deep concern over war plans for Iraq and ask questions. Here are some sample questions, but your own words are

always best: (a) What is the concrete evidence that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction? (b) How long will American troops be in Iraq? What’s the objective? What’s the plan to get out? (c) Do the State Department and the Secretary of State support this war? What about the top military brass? Why don’t our allies support this war? (d) If we attack, will Iraq find new allies in the region? (e) How many Americans will die in such a war? Iraqis? (f) How much money will such a war cost? (g) Why is America attacking now, without explicit provoca-tion? (h) Since President Bush is seen by people in other countries as pursuing a strange vendetta, is he pulling our country into a family grudge match? Call your Senators:

Senator Barbara Boxer: DC Phone: 202-224-3553; Local Phone: 415-403-0100                                      Senator Dianne Feinstein: DC phone, 202-224-3841; local phone: 619-231-9712.

[You can also write to your Senators about this matter, c/o U.S. Senate, Washington DC 20510]

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Please consider remembering Call To Action in your will. Our official name is “Call To Action of San Diego County, Inc”. We are incorporated as a tax-deductible not-for-profit organization under Sec. 501 c  3 . Please let us know if you have decided to make this generous step so we might thank you. (Should you decide to give all or a portion of your gift to the National office of CTA, which is a separate legal organization, their address is 2135 West Roscoe, Suite 1N, Chicago IL 60618).

           

Stay Independent; Know Your History

(Who Said This?)

To subdue that passion for war, which education, when added to human depravity, have made universal, a familiarity with the instruments of death, as well as all military shows, should be carefully avoided. For that reason, militia laws everywhere should be repealed, and military dress and titles should be laid aside. In order to more deeply affect the minds of the citizens of the U.S. with the blessings of peace, let them be contrasted with the evils of war; let the following description be placed on the sign that is over the door of the “War Office”. (1) An office for butchering humans; (2) An office for making widows and orphans; (3) An office for making broken bones; (4) An office for making wooden legs and other prostheses; (5) An office for creating public debt; (6) An office for creating speculators and bankrupts; (7) An office for creating famine; (8) An office for creating pesti-lent diseases; and (9) An office for creating poverty, and the destruction of liberty and of national happiness. In the lobby of this office let there be representations of all the common military instruments of death, of human bones and unburied bodies, of hospitals crowded with sick & wounded soldiers, of villages on fire, of mothers in besieged towns eating the flesh of their children, of ships sinking in the ocean, of rivers running red with blood, and extensive plains without a tree or a fence, or indeed anything but the ruins of deserted farms. Above this group of woeful figures, let the following word be posted, in characters as red as blood, “National Glory”.

(See author’s identity on page 12)

 

The Death Penalty as “Plague”

By Phillis Engelbert

In his book, “The Plague”, Albert Camus expresses his solidarity with the downtrodden and his opposition to all forms of killing, including state-sanctioned killing.  One of the book’s characters says, “Have you ever seen a man shot by a firing squad? No, those things are never spo-ken of. For most people, their peace of mind is more important than a human life. We must allow decent folks to sleep easy at night, mustn’t we? Really, it would be shockingly bad taste to linger on such details; that’s common knowledge. Personally, I’ve never been able to sleep well since then. Eventually I came to understand that I also had “plague” through all those long years in which, paradoxically enough, I believed with my whole soul that I was fighting it.  I learned that I had an indirect hand in the deaths of thousands of people; I even brought about their deaths by approving of acts and principles that could only end in their deaths. When I spoke of these matters, they told me not to be so squeamish; I was told to remember what ‘great issues’ were at stake. I replied that the most eminent of the judges also have excellent arguments to justify what they do, and once I admitted the truth of the arguments of necessity put forward by the less eminent, I couldn’t reject those of the eminent.  They retorted that the game of the judges was to leave to them the monopoly of the death penalty. My reply to this was that if you gave in once, there was no reason for not continuing to give in. It seems to me that history has borne me out; today there’s a sort of competition to see who will kill the most. They’re all mad over murder, and they couldn’t stop the killing even if they wanted to do so.”  (From “Honor in Times of Pestilence and Terror” in PeaceWork, July/August 2002)

 

Non-Violence

By Colman McCarthy

On earth, which Alfred North Whitehead called a third-rate planet revolving around a second-rate sun, we have conflict. By definition, conflict means only this: we need to change our way of dealing with one another, because the old way isn’t working. Anyone who says, “I like to avoid conflict” should be given a one-way ticket to one of the other planets. Whether it’s across the living room or across on ocean, conflicts exist and must be faced either through violent force or through non-violent “force”. No third way exists. What I am sure of is that students who come into my classes are already educated, even “over-educated” in the ethic of violence. And who are the educators? The nations’ long-tenured faculty consists of political leaders who fund wars and send the young to fight them; judges and juries who send people to death row; film-makers who script gunplay movies and car-toons; toy manufacturers marketing “action games” [and clergy who approve “just wars”].  (From “I’d Rather Teach Peace”, Orbis Books, 2002)

 

A Scam on Women

By Sr. Joan Chittister

For centuries the church has taught the creation story through the eyes of a male hierarchy; in that version God made Adam in his own image and likeness, and then took a rib to create Eve. God gave humans dignity & equality as well as dominion over the animals & the earth. However, to teach over the centuries that God’s creation of woman was for the purpose of providing man a supporter & a helpmate is the biggest ecclesiastical scam on women.  God didn’t create Adam to have dominion over Eve, but to have shared equality, dignity and responsibility. (From remarks made June 29, 2002 at the Ecumenical Gathering of Women; submitted by Bertha Popeney).

 

Editorial

By Peter M. Kopkowski

In times past, I said that I had no prejudices except against people who were prejudiced. Eventually, it became clear to me that my statement was non-sense; if you don’t accept all people, then you are prejudiced - that’s a matter of definition!  I had this experience in mind as I pondered a cover-page article on Attorney General John Ashcroft in Parade magazine. After reading it and thinking about it, I concluded that my problem is that I find it difficult to believe that extremely fundamental people are being intellectually honest. It seems to me that the vast majority of well-educated & intel-ligent people have learned (and are willing to ack-nowledge) that there are always at least 2 sides to a question. Persons who are fundamental extremists do not acknowledge this, and I include here funda-mentalists of ALL religions. Here are some of Ashcroft’s actions in the department of “don’t bother me with the facts; my mind is already made up”: (1) As attorney general of Missouri, he was the highest-ranking law enforcement official; however, he openly opposed the court-ordered school dese-gregation plans. (i.e., I am right; the court is wrong.) (2) The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that burning the flag is “free speech” and that prayer in public schools violates the separation of church & state. Ashcroft recommends amending the Constitu-tution. (i.e., I am right; the Constitution is wrong.) (3) Ashcroft said (in the article) “Headlines that say that I’m listening in and eavesdropping on lawyer-client conferences are misleading; we only do that when it is necessary to do so to stop violent activi-ty”. As incredible as it may seem, Ashcroft would have us believe that he & his staff know in advance when a conversation between a lawyer and client will involve “violent activity”, and it is only those conferences on which they will eavesdrop!  (4) Ashcroft supported secret military tribunals for those accused of terrorism; he has detained (and continues to detain, without significant public out-cry) hundreds of people on alleged immigration violations, and refuses even to release their names or the location is which they are held! The only reasonable explanation for such secrecy would appear to be that the administration plans to do something that the general public would not approve. After 225 years of observing Constitu- tional rights in our country, I know of no valid reason for them to be changed to satisfy a person who in effect says, “I’m right; all the people who have interpreted the Constitution for 225 years are wrong.” (5) The headline of the cover-page article quoted Ashcroft as saying, “We’re not destroying rights; we’re protecting rights”. What kind of double-talk is that?  (It sounds like the old saw that went around in college about “Let’s have sex in order to save virginity.”) In closing, here are a few really scary items about Ashcroft: (a) He told an audience at Bob Jones University, “We have no king but Jesus”, a statement hardly expected from a person sworn to uphold all the “religious-neutral” aspects of the Constitution; (b) When he was finally confirmed for his office by the Senate, there were 42 votes against him - the largest number of nega-tive votes for an Attorney General in U.S. history; (c) Prominent Republicans are said to mention Ashcroft as a possible Vice-president if Dick Cheney’s health declines. (Now that is scary!)

(From an article by Edward Klein, 5/19/02)

 

The Curse of the Infidel?

By Karen Armstrong

After the death of Mohammed, the Muslims estab-lished a vast empire, stretching from the Pyrenees to the Himalayas. In this empire, Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians enjoyed religious freedom. This ref-lected the teaching of the Koran, which is a plura-listic scripture, affirming other traditions. Muslims are commanded by God to respect the “people of the book”, and reminded that they share the same religious beliefs and the same God. Mohammed had not intended to found a new religion; he was simply bringing the old religion of the Jews and Christians to the Arabs, who never had a prophet before then. The Koran constantly explains that Mohammed did not come to cancel out the revelations brought by Abraham, Moses or Jesus; in fact, Muslim scholars today argue that, had Mohammed known about the Buddhists, Hindus, native Americans, or Australian aborigines, the Koran would have endorsed their sages and shamans as well, because all rightly-guided religion comes from the same God. (From Armstrong’s book, “The Battle for God; a History of Fundamentalism”, as quoted in The [London] Guardian, 6/20/02, and in PeaceWork, July/August 2002)

 

Women Waging Peace

Timeline, a bimonthly publication of the Foundation for Global Community, featured in its July/August 2002 issue “Women Waging Peace”. More information is available at their website, www.womenwagingpeace.net .

 

A Reasonable Question

By James Zatlukal

Why did we have to wait 2000 years for a pope to openly oppose the death penalty? Did the other popes not believe in the sanctity of life? Or, was that sanctity reserved only for the unborn? (From a letter to N.C.R., 7/19/02) [Editor’s note: Well, the “unborn” have no voice; they do not object to excessive clerical hierarchical control & abuse; they do not call for justice & equality; they do not call for reform & accountability.]

 

“We Are Church” Hurts Renewal (?)

A Spanish bishops’ conference asserted that ‘We Are Church’ actually “inhibits the authentic renewal postulated by Vatican II. In spite of the name it has adopted, it has not received any approval or canoni-cal recognition.” The movement espouses “affirma-tions and statements that clearly depart from the teachings of the Church, and that are to the detri-ment of ecclesial communion”. (From a report edited by Gill Donovan in N.C.R., 7/19/02) [Editor’s note: Apparently the Spanish bishops can’t handle anything that is not under their control.]

 

The Value of Motherhood

Welfare rolls have dropped by more than half nationally since the welfare reform legislation of 1996, but poverty for single mothers is only down 0.7 percent, according to Ann Withorn, author of “For Crying Out Loud: Women’s Poverty in the U.S.” Our society values “mothering” only when the family has a father who brings in a pay-check; our society devalues “mothering” as rapidly as a dot.com stock when the mother is single and poor, according to columnist Ellen Goodman. (From “Comment - Welfare Bullies”, an editorial in The Progressive, July 2002).

 

Satire on TV: God vs. The Evildoers

Live coverage of Attorney General John Ashcroft’s daily prayer meetings. Ashcroft demonstrates how God has told him that He is on our side and is against the bad guys. Watch closely for occasional but always riveting talking in tongues. Ralph Reed and Pat Robertson provide expert commentary and translations. (From “The New Fall TV Lineup” by Brian Boldt in The Progressive, July 2002).

 

Stuck in the Middle (East) With You

By Liz Spikol

It strikes me these days as ridiculous that while Israel’s “law of return” would allow me, a Jewish woman, to go to Israel and live there, as a citizen, no questions asked, at the same time people who are born there (Palestinians) do not have the rights that I would have if I moved there. What’s wrong with this picture? (From an article in Fellowship magazine, July/August 2002)

 

Not In Our Name Project

(Status Report)

To everyone who has supported, endorsed and written to us, this is to let you know that exciting plans are in the
works for Fall. We hope you will be part of developing them and making them happen. In the months since the NION Project began, the U.S. government has continued full speed with military actions and interventions, with Iraq in the immediate gun-sight; targeting Muslim, Arab
and South Asian immigrants; and shredding civil liberties in this country, including moves to set up a civilian spy network. At the same time, more people are questioning and beginning to raise their voices in protest. But the movement of resistance is not nearly commensurate yet with the scope of the attacks. To further strengthen, ex-pand and build resistance to what the U.S. government is doing in our name, the NION Project is calling for actions of protest and resistance to mark the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the Afghan bombing. On Sunday, Oct. 6, the day before the anniversary of the
bombing, mass actions are being planned for major cities, with tens of thousands of people taking the Pledge of Resistance. They will declare their opposition to the government’s actions and pledge to resist - and stop - this war on the world, the detentions and roundups of immigrants and the escalating police-state restrictions in
this country. The events will send a message to the people of the world that George Bush does not speak or
act for all the American people. On Monday, Oct. 7, the Pledge of Resistance will be further spread through actions at government buildings and other locations, on campuses, in the streets. See www.notinourname.net for more details. (Received by email from NION).

 

A Letter from Ellen

I just heard an interesting and important tidbit from ano-ther CTA member. Her teenager worked for a politico as a summer intern; the job was to take messages. How-ever, messages are only relayed to the politico if the caller gives name, address, and phone number. The point is that the interns don't ask for that information. So, if you call the politician and don't volunteer that info, the message may just be a waste of your time. It likely will not be passed on and counted as a real message. So, sign your emails and include your address and phone
number. Include that info also when you snail mail. Your opinion is important. The fact that you will take the effort to write is awesome. Make it count. Peace and joy!
(Ellen Turner is President of CTA of Northern California).

 

Bush vs. Women

By Nicholas D. Kristoff

The central moral struggle of the 19th century concerned slavery, and that of the 20th pitted democracy against Nazism, Communism and other despotic “isms”. Our own pre-eminent moral challenge in this century will be to ease the brutality that kills and maims girls & women across much of Africa and Asia. Alas, President Bush is putting the U.S. on the wrong side of the battle lines. Outrageously, Bush cut off all $34 million in funds for the U.N. Population Fund, in all 142 countries in which it operates, because of concerns about its role in China.
What does this mean? An emergency obstetric care program was to begin this year in Burundi, where only
one-quarter of births are even attended by a trained midwife (almost none by a doctor) and where one-eighth of the women die in childbirth. Because of Bush's move, that program in Burundi has now been canceled -- along with plans for midwife training in Algeria, a center to
fight AIDS in Haiti and a maternal mortality reduction program in India. Conservatives are right to object to China's brutal one-child policy, but only the U.S. could come up with a solution to Chinese problems that kills
teenage girls in Burundi. Aside from cutting off funding for the U.N., the Bush administration is busy devastating third-world women in other ways. It is trying to block a landmark international treaty on the rights of women. The treaty, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, or CEDAW, would make no difference in the U.S., but would be one more tool to help women in countries where discrimina-tion means death. The Bush administration is also undercutting international efforts to bolster support for rural health care for poor women. Bush tied up negotia-tions for the Earth Summit in Johannesburg by insisting that documents be purged of phrases like "reproductive health services" that they think connote abortion. Bush has also walloped international family planning efforts by banning the use of U.S. aid to overseas organizations that provide any information about abortions. And, while Bush basked in his promise of  $500 million for the glo- bal AIDS fund, his administration is making such one-rous demands of the fund that none of the money can be used anytime soon. In one crucial field, the battle against sexual trafficking, it is conservative Christians who have taken the lead in fighting on behalf of third-world women. Has Bush shown any mettle on this issue? No. A reproa-chful letter to him from a broad range of conservative leaders pointed out that the administration record "is one of passive acceptance of the world trafficking status quo." In the Bush administration, the assumption is that the fundamental issue is abortions or sex. It is not. The central issue is that 500,000 women die each year in pregnancy or childbirth; that 100 million women and girls worldwide are "missing" because they are denied ade-quate food or medical care, or because they are aborted or killed at birth because they are female; that 60 per-cent of the children kept out of school are girls; that 130 million girls have undergone genital mutilation; that bet-ween one and two million girls and women are trafficked into prostitution annually. Instead of joining the fight on behalf of those in need, the Bush administration is allying the U.S. with the likes of Iran, Sudan and Syria to frustrate international efforts to save the lives of some of the most helpless people on earth. Under Bush, the U.S. has become the core of an Axis of Medieval. (From The New York Times, 8/16/02). [Editor’s note: To add “insult to injury”, America magazine reported in its’ August 12-19 issue that Bishop Gregory Wilton, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, praised Bush for his “wise action” in withholding the $34-million from the U.N.!!! Meanwhile, the executive branch of the European Union had announced that it would give about $31 million to offset the amount withheld by the U.S., according to a news item in N.C.R., 8/16/02. The news item also noted that the Vatican then asked the European Union to NOT release this grant until there can be an “investigation”!!! See also the following article]

 

The Least America Can Do For Women

By Ellen Goodman

Twenty-three years ago the U.S. helped the world community to write an international women’s bill of rights. Since then, 170 nations have ratified the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). And who has not ratified CEDAW? Countries like Iran, Somalia, Sudan and the U.S.!  By not joining the international community, the U.S. damages its authority to call others to account. As human rights advocate Steve Rickard says, “We powerfully assist the Taliban types of the world who want to argue that the treaty isn’t universal because the U.S. is not a party to it.” (From an article in The Boston Globe, as published in The San Diego Union Tribune, 7/11/02).

 

Did You Know?

That NETWORK, the National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, was formed over 30 years ago by 47 nuns?  That the Board and the staff continue to be almost exclusively women? That it now has over 11,000 members, inclu-ding hundreds of religious communities and parishes? For more info, go to their website www.networklobby.org

 

World Food Day

The purpose of World Food Day (October 16) is to increase awareness, understanding and informed year-round action to alleviate hunger. Educational material focusing on the theme, “Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger” are available for school use at www.feedingminds.org .  For more info on World Food Day, go to www.worldfooddayusa.org .

 

A Message For Us

You have been saying that this is the “eleventh hour”; now you must tell everyone that this is the hour and there are things to be considered. Where are you living? What are you doing? Are you in right relationships? Do you have water for your garden (i.e. what it is that you are growing in life). It is time to speak your truth, to create community, to be good to one another, and to not look outside yourself for a leader. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves, for the moment we do that, our spiritual growth comes to a halt. The time of the lone wolf is over; gather yourselves together. Banish “struggle” from your attitude and from your words. All that we do now must be done in a sacred way, and in celebration. WE are the ones that we have been waiting for.

(Diana Winston quoting a Hopi elder in “You Too Can Become a Bodhisattva” in Fellowship magazine, July/August 2002).

 

A Troubling Message

By Peter M. Kopkowski

The disregard for the law by the Bush administra- tion is going from bad to worse; consider this:

Under the Vienna Convention of Consular Rela-tions, detained foreign nationals must be told of their right to contact their consulates. However, a man was recently executed in Texas in spite of the personal protest of Mexican President Vicente Fox that the rule had not been followed. (Texas officials said that they were not aware of his Mexican citi-zenship, is spite of the facts that his name was Javier Suarez Medina and that he carried a legal residency card). Meanwhile, the administration has not only refused to sign the treaty establishing the International Court, but has (1) asked for “pledges” from some nations that no American will ever, under any circumstances, be held for trial by the court; and (2) placed pressure on other nations by threatening to cut off military aid to them if they sign the treaty. The “message” of the administration is loud & clear: “Americans are above the law”.

 

Answer to Quiz

The article on page 8 is from “A Plan of a Peace Office for the United States”, written by Benjamin Rush, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. It is reprinted from “Voices in Dissent”, edited by Arthur Ekirch, Jr. [The Citadel Press].

 

Perspective

By Dan Sparapani

Think of it! For at least the past 40 years, the pope and the bishops asked us to believe that it was the married priests who were the bad guys, warranting immediate removal, without compensation, denials of laicization or punitive prescripts with prohibi-tions from ecclesial ministry, a virtual banishment without even a tinge of reconciliation or a whisper of appreciation for the good that they did during their active years of dedicated service. Contrast this with the treatment given to pedophiles when abuses were noted! (From a letter in N.C.R., 6/7/02).

 

Moral Argument?

There is no morality in comtemplating the death of another human being, no matter who is doing the contemplating. There is no justice when an assassi-nation of a person is carried out before that person has a fair chance to defend themselves against an accusation. There is no morality when the dead, strapped to the front of military vehicles, are para-ded in front of women & children. There is no morality when the wounded are not allowed atten-tion in the street, and the dead are prevented from burial. There is no morality nor any interest in peace when the Head of State calls for terrorizing the civi-lian population in order to make them accept what-ever the oppressor demands regardless of justice. It is shameful when a religious people, claiming to be civilized and humanitarian, behave in this immoral manner. (From “Letter From Ramallah: Reflections on War & Peace” by Colin & Kathy South in PeaceWork, April 2002).

 

Some Interesting Comments & Source

The plan for addressing clergy sexual abuse that was approved by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was crafted too quickly out of a media-driven desire to make it appear as if some very effective and strong action was being taken. Some shortcuts were taken, such as failing to address the lack of moral teaching, failing to include sanctions on bishops who protected abusers, giving too little direction about who will be on diocesan review boards, and creating a risk of “double jeopardy” for those who face removal for offenses of long ago that were already addressed. (Spoken by Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz, in an appearance on Eternal Word Television Network, as noted in America, July 29-August 5, 2002)

 

Book Review

“Restorative Justice: Healing the Foundations of Our Everyday Lives” is a thorough, informative overview of a leading alternative to the conven-tional way of dealing with victims and with those convicted. The method is rooted in the belief that punishment and other forms of reactive violence are not capable of fostering the kind of growth that restores personal well-being. Restorative justice embodies a forgiving, understanding and healing process for everyone involved - the victim, the convicted and the community. (Written by Sullivan & Tifft; available from Willow Tree Press, Box 249, Monsey NY 10952; reviewed by Rana Quadri in Fellowship magazine, July/August 2002)

 

CTA Leadership Meeting

By Claire Noonan

The clergy sex abuse scandal has stirred up the U.S. Church like no other event since we began forming regional chapters. Not only are the bishops on the defen-sive, but the laity are being mobilized in unprecedented numbers. I sense the energy out there to act. I want to share some important information about CTA's plans and ask you who are ready to expend some energy to
join us. Sept. 14-15 the leadership of the CTA chapters will hold their semi-annual meeting in Chicago. We see this crisis as presenting us with a rare organizing envi-ronment, and we are inviting CTA members who are interested in organizing for reform in their local areas to take part in the weekend of strategizing, planning and
training. The focus will be organizing opportunities for a lay voice in church governance, and discussion of the broader church reform issues that have silenced many voices. We will relate our present activities & resources to the current crisis/opportunity - looking at the relevance of our Women in Church Leadership dialogue project, of the Future of Priestly Ministry dialogue project, & efforts for lay participation in decision making. Instead of form-ing new chapters, we want to organize diocesan commi-ttees to work on lay voice, and to use the media effect-
tively to communicate the message. This is an important meeting at an exciting time; it will be held at Dominican Conference Center in River Forest, IL, a few miles south of O'Hare airport. They provide only single rooms (it is a converted monastery) at $45/night. Meals are another
$16.50/per day. There is some money in the CTA budget to assist with travel expenses. We start at 10 a.m. on Saturday, work until dinner, then recommence Sunday at 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. We will have prayer or liturgy Satur-day after dinner. Contact me at (773) 404-0004 x-285 for more information, or if you are interested in coming. Blessings on all you do to bring the reign of God to life.

 

Theology, Water & Security

By Robert Howarth

Thomas Berry said, “It’s all a question of story. We are in trouble just now because we do not have a good story. We are in between stories. The old story, the account of how the world came to be and how we fit into it, is no longer effective.”  He also points out how Christian theology has emphasized the redemptive aspect of its teachings and that we identify the divine as transcendent to the natural world. This emphasis makes a direct “God and me “ relationship possible, but tends to negate the natural world as the meeting place of the divine and the human. To this extent our religious traditions pro-vide some, if often indirect, support for our current plight, i.e., taking the natural world for granted as a merely external object for our use and exploitation. Some interpretations of stewardship derived from the creation story in Genesis also support this. The omnipresence of air as a free natural resource is perhaps the one we most take for granted; next is water. Water as a sacramental has long been a part of most spiritual/religious traditions. Its cleansing properties pertain to both spiritual and physical matters and uses. However, control of water sources and aquifers is now a target for entrepreneurs. Efforts are being made to define access to water in terms of a “need” not a “right”. Wide acceptance of the “need” definition would allow ownership of water sources by individuals and corporations, thereby enabling the laws of the marketplace, (supply & demand) to apply. If these efforts succeed, imagine the plight of those of little means, especially those in third-world nations. Worldwatch Institute reports, “Today, 500 million people live in countries that are water-stressed or water-scarce; by 2025 that figure is expected to be between 2.4 and 3.4 billion people (near the equivalent of roughly half of today’s world population).”  Perhaps it’s time to re-assess and re-focus on water, a subject of national and world security that’s been taken for granted for so long. (Mr. Berry’s remarks are from “The Dream of the Earth”).

 

Commentary

There is only one God, who is the God of all - the God of the entire human family. Since we humans are all one family, all wars are “civil” wars, and God does not support any of them. Calling a war “just” does not change any of this; it is merely an excuse for military aggression. (Excerpted from remarks by Bishop Joseph Sprague and Sr. Kathleen Pruitt in Network, July/August 2002).

 

34 Fellowship of Reconciliation Peace-

Makers from 10 Countries Are Suddenly

Blocked, Detained & Deported by 2 Countries

This outrageous discrimination against those see-king peace was obviously carried out by some “fringe” nations, right?  Wrong! The two countries were the United States and Israel! The U.S. blocked 15 delegates (from 7 nations) from attending a joint meeting that is held every 4 years by F.O.R., coin-ciding with its National Conference. The 7 nations? Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Philippines, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Colombia. Israel blocked the entire peacemaking delegation, which was making its 28^th visit to the Middle East.  The delegation was told, upon arrival in Tel Aviv, that they were “a threat to the security of the state of Israel.” (From F.O.R. Witness, Summer 2002). [Editor’s note: I read very widely, and I didn’t see mention of either of these outrageous events in the docile U.S. press.]

 

Economic Goals

By Beth Sawin

The reigning assumption in the U.S. today is that an economy that takes into account only “price” can still somehow deliver other goals. We assume that, if children are in poverty, we have a “child-poverty crisis”; if ecosystems are struggling, we must have an “environmental crisis”. However, these are not “distinct” problems; they are symptoms of a single deep crisis, the crisis of an economy operating with insufficient information plus a fundamental inability to pursue any goal beyond price. Whatever we are trying to do to solve our social problems, we find ourselves pushing against the full force of an econo-mic system that is designed to seek ways to make a profit somewhere, no matter what the consequences for people and nature. Whether one calls it evil or not isn’t relevant; it is a powerful, informationally-bereft system, single-mindedly following its only decision rule. Instead of exhausting ourselves push-ing against such a system, perhaps it is time to re- design it. People call me naïve for suggesting such things; people say that is it impossible to conscious-ly design a more intelligent system. We won’t know until we try, and so far not even the skimpiest re-sources have been applied to this subject. (From “A truly sophisticated economy would pursue more than one goal” in Timeline, July/August 2002)

 

Trust and Obey

By Ken Sehested

A massive fault line runs through the Christian community today; on one side are those who urge the church toward faithful habits of prayer, worship, bible-study, evangelism - positions usually labeled “conservative”. On the other side the urging is for ministry, care of the needy in the world, the pursuit of justice & peace - positions usually labeled “libe-ral”. How can Christians resolve what keeps us in opposing camps, so that we can more fully answer the call to serve both God & neighbor? In a sense, the solution is obvious: it is both “trust” AND “obey”. However, our actions do not reflect this simple solution; instead, we dig in our heels, deter-mined to not give an inch. The result is that we fail to honor both God & neighbor. Micah’s words, “Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God” are not a series of three distinct actions; it is the same single action, expressed in three different ways. (From The Other Side, March & April 2002) [Editor’s comments: Since God is Love, and since everyone is called to imitate God by loving, it is clear to me that one must “love God” in order to “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly”. Further, it matters not whether one wants to “trust” God or “obey” God; either and both require that we first love God. However, beyond the idea that I do love God, there is a question as a Christian that I face: do I “admire” Jesus or do I want to “follow” Jesus? Protesting that we “believe” in Jesus is a long way from “following” Jesus. If we can clearly commit to “following” Jesus, than our “loving” would seem to resolve any supposed friction between conservative & liberal. The call to love God and to follow Jesus requires that each of us be transformed spiritually by way of preparation, that we work for justice (both individually and in community) and that we trust that the results are in God’s hands, not ours. Trust AND Obey; there is no other way.]

 

Justice for Church Employees

By Rita C. Schwartz

Everyone has read how the U.S. bishops recently met in Dallas to prepare a nationwide protocol to deal with sex abuse allegations. Yet, for many years, and as recently as April 30, 2002, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has stated that it does not have the structure, authority or resources to pursue the request of the National Association of Catholic School Teachers that a common social jus-tice policy be developed to guide the church in dealing with employees. While the bishops’ econo-mic pastoral letter states clearly that church workers have the right to organize and to bargain collecti-vely, diocese after diocese has been increasingly anti-union privately, while publicly espousing the need for just wages and just treatment for workers. Justice for the employees of the church may not be as high profile a matter as the sex scandal, but it is indeed a scandal, and it calls for a national policy. (Schwartz in president of the NACST; from a letter to N.C.R., 7/5/02)

 

Moving Beyond ‘Our Little Rule’

By Ronald Rolheiser, OMI

All of us are essentially good, prayerful, generous, honest, decent, dutiful, moral and sincere, but the operative word here is “essentially”. We are these things “essentially”, but not “radically”. We say that we are these things “as we are able”, but deep down we know that we are capable of more; in fact, God is inviting us to more, but we are stuck at a certain level of mediocrity. Simply put, our lives still have too many compensations, addictions, and accomo-dations to comfort. Further, there is the fear of mov-ing beyond what might “disrupt” our lives. If we are honest with God & ourselves, we sense a deeper call; we know that we are being asked to let go of the things, both good & bad, to which we are still clinging for comfort & stability. We reach a point in our spiritual life where God invites us to make a more radical “leap of faith” beyond this comfort & stability; this is precisely an invitation from God. Precisely because we are proficient at being good, decent, etc., we are invited, like the rich young man, to give up our most cherished comforts & securities, and to plunge into the unknown in a radical new way. Will we? (From The Southern Cross, 7/8/02).

 

“Business as Usual” for SOA Graduates

On April 11, 2002, Hugo Chavez, the elected pre-sident of Venezuela, was arrested by the armed forces; he was replaced by Pedro Carmona, a busi-nessman, who immediately dissolved the national assembly and suspended the constitution. School of America (SOA) graduates E.V.Velasco (army com-mander in chief) and General R. Poveda were key players in the coup, following the same pattern that produced other Latin American dictators. After the coup, many Latin American governments condem-ned the interruption of constitutional order and re-fused to recognize the new government. However, the Bush administration quickly embraced Carmona and was content to see Chavez, the duly elected pre-sident, sent into exile. In a surprising development, more that 100,000 people demonstrated against the new government, and it collapsed in less than 48 hours. Officials of the Organization of American States and other diplomatic sources assert that the U.S. was not only aware that the coup was about to take place but actually sanctioned it. Chavez had refused to allow U.S. “drug-surveillance” flights over Venezuela, and opposes “Plan Colombia”; U.S. criticism of him intensified in the month before the coup, on the grounds that he was “undercutting American foreign policy”. (From SOA Watch Up-date, Summer 2002) [Editor’s note: Molly Ivins, in the June 2002 issue of The Progressive, noted that after the reinstatement of Chavez, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice advised him to “respect constitutional processes”; those were the same ones that people supported by the U.S. had tried to over-turn!  Ivins also referred to an article in The New York Times in which as administration official, asked if the U.S. now recognizes Chavez as Vene-zuela’s legitimate president replied, “He was demo-cratically elected, but legitimacy is conferred not just by a majority of the voters”. Ivins continues: How true; sometimes a majority of the voters are cancelled by a 5-to-4 vote of the Supreme Court.]

Peace Communities

By Jutta Meier-Wiedenbach

The 38-year old civil war in Colombia that pits guerilla forces against the Colombian army and paramilitary groups produces thousands of civilian casualties each year. However, though seldom acknowledged, voices of peace are being heard. In recent years, thousands of peasant farmers have committed their lives to a brave experiment in non-violence: some 50 rural villages have declared themselves Peace Communities. They do not sup-port any of the armed groups involved in the con-flict, yet they affirm their right to live in peace and dignity. This courageous stand has been the cause of numerous attacks against them, particularly from the right-wing paramilitary groups operating ille-gally in Colombia. (According to various human rights groups, the paramilitary forces are often acti-vely supported by the army.) San Jose de Apartado, in a remote region near the Panama border, recently celebrated its 5^th anniversary as a Peace Communi-ty. Over 90 members have been killed during this time, and for the past few weeks it has been under an almost complete economic blockade imposed by paramilitaries, who have killed 4 public transport drivers taking supplies to the community. Reporting these murders at paramilitary checkpoints to the authorities has been totally fruit-less, but the people continue to hold fast to their ideals. (From Fellow-ship magazine, July/August 2002). [Editor’s note: In May, the Bush administration extended more military aid to Colombia following a “certification”  to Congress that the military had met certain human rights requirements. Several human rights groups objected, saying that there had not been even minimal steps to meet the conditions.  For more information on Colombia, contact Tony Vento of Pax Christi at tvpcusa1@prodigy.net ]

 

The Duty of Confrontation

By Thomas Keating

The duty of confrontation is a hard one; if you see people doing something seriously wrong, there is an obligation, given certain norms of prudence, to bring this to their attention, so that they do not move into more self-destructive behavior. Just how far this applies to us depends on our vocation. There is a prophetic role, in which one is sent by God to call leaders or other people to order. There have been some classic examples in history of people who, under the inspiration of the Spirit, confronted highly-placed people with their faults. All of us, however, have to face the duty to correct someone once in a while. For example, dealing with teen-agers is a constant concern for parents. However, confrontation never works if it comes from anger; it is important to choose a suitable time & place, and to consider what the other person’s situation is, so that you have the maximum opportunity to speak to their heart. If correction comes from the enjoyment of confrontation, it is not going anywhere. Some people, on the other hand, cannot bring themselves to confront anyone because of their own shyness or timidity. However, if the problem is confronted promptly, and out of love, they may do a great ser-vice to someone they love or whom they have a responsibility to correct. God indicates that if you have tried to correct someone and have not suc-ceeded, you have fulfilled your duty, and no more is expected of you than to go on praying. You still love the person, but the duty of trying to correct them has gone as far as it can. Note that love alone can change people; this is the great confrontation that no one can resist. It offers others space in which to change, no matter what they do. By show-ing love no matter what happens, we provide people a milieu in which they can experience the possibi-lity of changing. This is to imitate God’s compass-sion toward us. God is constantly t