Today, I invite you to consider with me the following questions:

Transcription

1 Prmting Gspel Justice in the Here and Nw Tni Harris OP Internatinal Dminican C-Prmter fr Justice and Peace 5 Nvember 07 English-Speaking Sisters in Rme Nearly twenty-five years ag, when I had just begun my ministry as Prmter f Justice and Peace fr my cngregatin, I met with a grup f ur Sisters in Alabama, in the suthern USA. I asked each Sister there t please describe what she was ding t prmte justice and peace. As we went arund the circle f Sisters, the turn came t an elderly Sister wh had spent her entire religius life teaching yung children. At that time, she was spending a few hurs each week taking care f the library in a small Cathlic schl where ur Sisters taught. Withut hesitatin, this Sister explained t all f us that she prmted justice by making sure that there were bks in the library abut peple f different races and cultures. She said that she made sure that the children had pprtunities t read abut bys and girls frm a variety f cuntries in the wrld. I have always remembered this experience because it was a wnderful example f a Sister s understanding that wrk fr justice was nt necessarily abut taking n a special prject in additin t ne s primary ministry. She knew that wrk fr justice was nt the activity f a select few Sisters in the cngregatin. She realized that everyne, in every ministry, had the pprtunity -- and respnsibility -- t help make the wrld mre just and peaceful, t help create anther pssible wrld. Tday, I invite yu t cnsider with me the fllwing questins: What des justice mean fr us? What is the legacy that infrms ur wrk fr (prmtin f) justice? What are sme significant issues in the here and nw? What are special issues fr elected and appinted leaders f religius cngregatins? In the spirit f MDG #8, what might we d t prmte glbal develpment and glbal slidarity? S, cnsidering the first questin, What d we mean by justice? [AT THIS TIME, I INVITE YOU TO REFLECT SILENTLY FOR A MOMENT ABOUT WHAT THE WORD JUSTICE MEANS FOR YOU. --- PAUSE --- NOW, PLEASE TURN TO A PERSON NEAR YOU AND TAKE A MOMENT FOR EACH OF YOU TO SHARE THE MEANINGS THAT CAME TO MIND. CALL-OUT EXAMPLES.] 1

2 Our English wrd justice is frm the O.French, justice, and frm the Latin, justitia -- "righteusness, equity," and justus -- "upright, just." Of the many senses f the O.French wrd -- "uprightness, equity, vindicatin f right, curt f justice, judge -- the earliest adpted in English was "the exercise f authrity in vindicatin f right by assigning reward r punishment." In his centuries-ld view, ur brther, Thmas Aquinas, OP, tells us that restring justice pertains t establishing equality in ur relatinships with thers. Establishing this equality requires that ne d the gd due ne s neighbr, cmmunity and Gd. Preserving established justice requires that ne avid ding evil by inflicting n injury n ne s neighbr r cmmunity. It is helpful t distinguish three dimensins f basic justice. The first, cmmutative justice, calls fr fundamental fairness in all agreements and exchanges between individuals r grups. Justice cannt be fr ne side alne, but must be fr bth. (Eleanr Rsevelt) The secnd, distributive justice, requires that the benefits and the burdens f sciety be shared fairly. Such scial cnditins are the respnsibility f gvernments, crprate pwers, and citizens wh legitimate the pwers f distributin. The gd we secure fr urselves is precarius and uncertain until it is secured fr all f us and incrprated int ur cmmn life. (Jane Addams) The third dimensin, scial justice, implies that all persns have an unmet debt t the cmmn gd. Until the great mass f the peple shall be filled with the sense f respnsibility fr each ther s welfare, scial justice can never be attained. (Helen Adams Keller) The language f right relatinship is a cntemprary re-articulatin f the cmmitment t d the gd due Gd, neighbr, ne s self, and all f creatin, in ther wrds, the cmmitment t restre justice. We have a rich legacy that infrms ur effrts t create right relatinship. Grunded in the Scriptures, in ur Jude-Christian traditin and in the teachings f the leaders f the early church, the scial dctrine f ur Church has becme mre frmalized in the last century as Cathlic Scial Teaching. Remembering the Hebrew Scriptures, listen t Isaiah annunce in the Hly One s name: "Is nt this the kind f fasting I have chsen: t lse the chains f injustice and untie the crds f the yke, t set the ppressed free and break every yke? Is it nt t share yur fd with the hungry and t prvide the pr wanderer with shelter 2

3 when yu see the naked, t clthe him, and nt t turn away frm yur wn flesh and bld? In the Gspel f Matthew, Jesus himself prclaims, I tell yu the truth, whatever yu did fr ne f the least f these, yu did fr me. Justice in the biblical sense is achieved when each persn has what she r he needs t survive, t develp and thrive, and t give back t the cmmunity. (Repeat) It recgnizes the right f each persn t share in the gds f creatin t that extent. Equality f pprtunity is nt adequate t define true biblical justice. (JfA) Strng wrds cncerning justice were used by the leaders f the early church. T qute Saint Ambrse: "Yu are nt making a gift f yur pssessins t the pr persn. Yu are handing ver t him what is his. Fr what has been given in cmmn fr the use f all, yu have arrgated t yurself. The wrld is given t all, and nt nly t the rich." Beginning in the early 20th Century, we knw that the teaching f the Church related t matters f justice became mre frmally articulated thrugh papal encyclicals and ther teaching-dcuments. A particularly significant dcument was prmulgated by all the bishps f the wrld when they gathered in synd in The wrds f Justice in the Wrld present a strng challenge t all f us wh see urselves as participating in the prclamatin f the Gspel: Actin n behalf f justice and participatin in the transfrmatin f the wrld fully appear t us as a cnstitutive dimensin f the preaching f the Gspel, r, in ther wrds, f the Church s missin fr the redemptin f the human race and its liberatin frm every ppressive situatin. (JW-6) Our Church als ffers particular challenges t vwed religius members f religius institutes in a variety f dcuments addressed t us. Cnsider the wrds frm the 1996 message, Vita Cnsecrata: Religius cmmunities either cnstitute an evangelical leaven within sciety, annunce the Gd News in the midst f the wrld, the here and nw prclamatin f the heavenly Jerusalem, r else they succumb by decline quickly r slwly, simply because they have cnfrmed t the wrld. (VC, 1b) And anther challenge was presented by ur Church at the beginning f the new millennium in Starting Afresh in Christ (2002): The first task which must be nce again assumed with enthusiasm is the prclamatin f Christ t all. This task falls especially t cnsecrated men and wmen wh bring the message t the grwing number f thse 3

4 wh ignre it. This missin is still in its beginning stages and we must cmmit urselves with all ur resurces t bring it abut. (SAC, 2002) Therefre, since prclaiming the Gspel is integral t ur religius vcatin, and since ur participatin in the transfrmatin f the wrld is a cnstitutive dimensin f that Gspel prclamatin, then wrking fr justice is an essential respnsibility f every vwed religius. We need t understand every ministry that we undertake as an pprtunity t wrk fr a mre just and a mre peaceful wrld. Additinally, at the recent May 2007 UISG gathering here in Rme, 850 leaders f the 800,000 wmen religius arund the wrld adpted a declaratin that described the cries they hear tday, including the fllwing: The lnging f wman t rediscver her dignity and her true place in sciety and in the Church The graning f ur wunded earth fr recgnitin f its sacredness as the hme f all The thirst fr a deeper cmmunin between believers f all religins The distress f millins f immigrants and displaced persns, f children and wmen victims f human trafficking seeking a mre human life Thse religius leaders cmmitted themselves t actins including the fllwing: Netwrk and use the pwer f ur cllective vice t denunce unjust laws and structures which exclude peple n such bases as gender, religin, culture. Prmte all frms f dialgue, and in particular inter-religius dialgue, recgnizing ur cmmn respnsibility fr humanity. Grw in an eclgical awareness and express this in cncrete and cnsistent chices. All f ur fundresses and funders established ur rders and cngregatins in effrts t prclaim the Gd News by respnding t the human needs f their times. I expect that all f ur Rules and Cnstitutins include language abut respnding t the signs f the times and needs f the wrld. Therefre, each f us als has a cngregatin legacy that grunds ur wrk fr justice. [AT THIS TIME, I INVITE YOU TO REFLECT SILENTLY FOR A MOMENT ABOUT THE EFFORTS THAT YOUR OWN FOUNDER/FOUNDRESS MADE TO CREATE A BETTER WORLD. IDENTIFY JUST ONE EXAMPLE. ARE YOU ALSO ABLE TO CALL TO MIND ANY WORDS FROM YOUR RULE OR CONSTITUTION THAT INSPIRE WORK FOR JUSTICE? ---- PAUSE ---- NOW, PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO SHARE AT YOUR TABLE THE EXAMPLES THAT CAME TO MIND.] 4

5 As we lk arund ur wrld and when we reflect seriusly n this expansive legacy that infrms ur wrk fr justice, we cannt help but be challenged t wrk t bring ur reality int clser cnfrmity with Gspel demands. That challenge means wrking tward the eliminatin f everything in ur sciety that des nt respect and sustain the basic dignity, fundamental rights, and decent quality f life fr all persns. An event that gave me increased insight regarding these unjust realities in ur wrld was the pprtunity and privilege t participate in the seventh Wrld Scial Frum in Nairbi, Kenya, in January (I attended with my C-Prmter, Prakash Lhale OP, and my predecessr, Marie Therese Perdriault OP.) The theme f the five-day Wrld Scial Frum was Anther Wrld is Pssible. (The first WSF was in Brazil in 2001 and was rganized as a cunter-event t the annual Wrld Ecnmic Frum in Davs, Switzerland, f "1st Wrld" ecnmic ministers and business leaders.) This 2007 WSF estimated abut 80,000 participants. The printed prgram lked like a tablid-frmat newspaper frm a majr city several hundred wrkshp sessins described n nearly tw-hundred pages! The athletic stadium where the WSF was held was ringed with tw rws f bths where hundreds f rganizatins/ngo s distributed resurce infrmatin. There were hundreds f grups frm arund the wrld wrking t end hunger, pverty, and every ther ppressive cnditin. The WSF didn t make an effrt t develp any culminating statements r prnuncements. Recgnizing the diversity f all the participants gathered, the WSF rganizing cmmittee didn t expect cnsensus. As Jim Hug, SJ, frm the Center f Cncern stated, the mst imprtant thing that happened was the building f slidarity and hpe amng peple wh need t knw that they are nt alne in their serius and at times desperate life struggles. It was the affirmatin f the justice and imprtance f thse struggles. It was the linking f peple s struggles arund the wrld. It was esteem building. It was legitimizing. As the children chanted, leading ur march: We are smebdy and we dn t have t stand fr this. Anther kind f wrld, a wrld f justice fr everyne, is pssible if we struggle tgether fr it. If nthing else ccurred here, that wuld be enugh t make the WSF inestimably valuable. Amng the mst significant learnings fr me frm the WSF were these: Climate Justice is a cncern in Africa. Glbal envirnmental degradatin is dramatically affecting the peple f Africa. Amng justice issues, the envirnment may have been seen in the past by sme as a luxury issue fr thse wh were nt facing issues like starvatin r gencide. Hwever, Africans are naming the direct cnnectin between climate change and devastating circumstances fr peple f the African cntinent. The trafficking f persns -- mstly wmen and children (the UN estimates 700,000 2,000,000 annually) -- is a reality that tuches every cntinent and mst cuntries. This new slavery is exacerbated by the negative aspects f glbalizatin. 5

6 The dminant ecnmic mdel is nt wrking, especially fr the wrld s prest peple. One presenter reminded us, The crpratin/industrialist is feared nw mre than slave traders r crude clnists. The gap between the rich and the pr cntinues t grw. The Millennium Develpment Gals are key pririties fr the cuntries f the wrld. They address the critical issues f inequity facing ur wrld. It was als very clear t me that the USA and its plitical and ecnmic allies are viewed as negative frces by mst grups struggling against scial injustice in the wrld tday. In clear cntrast t the sincere belief f many American citizens f gd will, increasing numbers f peple in the wrld d NOT experience the USA as a cuntry cmmitted t making the wrld a better place. Encuragingly, hwever, grups all arund the wrld are demnstrating by their struggles fr justice that anther wrld IS pssible. Reginal frums are prpsed fr The next WORLD frum is prpsed fr I believe it is imprtant t stay attentive t the planning fr these imprtant events and t make an effrt t be active participants in future such frums. These fur realities climate change, mvement f peples (vluntary and invluntary), ecnmic inequalities, MDG s are significant fr all f us. In additin, I believe that elected and appinted leaders f cngregatins have pprtunities t prmte justice in sme particular ways. Sme suggestins are these: Cntinue t strengthen cngregatin structures fr justice educatin and prmtin. Cngregatins with members frm bth Suth and Nrth (East and West) have a wnderful pprtunity t widen members understanding f wrld realities. In thse places where ministries by persns diminish, extend justice ministries thrugh creative use f cngregatin financial resurces/prperties. Respnding t the lnging f wman t rediscver her true place in sciety and in the Church, cntinue t use the pwer f yur cllective vice t denunce thse structures which exclude wmen. Begin r expand scially respnsible investment f cngregatin financial assets. Begin r expand sharehlder actin (crprate respnsibility) related t crpratins activities. Cntinue t strengthen fair and just emplyment practices fr thse wh wrk in cngregatin institutins. Cnsider whether develping/strengthening a relatinship with yur cuntry s Embassy t the Hly See here in Rme might prvide useful pprtunities fr influence (pverty, trafficking, immigratin, freign plicy, etc.). The mre than 6.6 billin peple f ur wrld are affected by ur respnses t these issues. The United Natins presently has 192 member states. In abut 35 f these cuntries mre than 80% f the ppulatin lives n less 6

7 than $2 dllars/day, including Zambia, Haiti and Bangladesh. Mre than 70 cuntries recently have been identified as actual r ptential cnflict situatins, including Iraq, Pakistan, Thailand, East Timr, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. We knw that many f the 800,000 Sisters in ur wrld live and minister in the brken places f ur wrld. [AT THIS TIME, I INVITE YOU TO REFLECT SILENTLY FOR A MOMENT ABOUT THE COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD IN WHICH YOUR SISTERS SERVE. IN HOW MANY COUNTRIES IS YOUR CONGREGATION PRESENT? RECALL EFFORTS THAT YOUR SISTERS HAVE MADE AND ARE MAKING TO CREATE A BETTER WORLD. IDENTIFY JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF YOUR CONGREGATION S EFFORTS PAUSE ---- NOW, PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION AT YOUR TABLE. CALL-OUT EXAMPLES.] In the mnths prir t the beginning f the secnd and current war against Iraq, Dminicans in the USA struggled fr ways t stand in slidarity with ur Dminican Family in Iraq. (There are tw cngregatins f Sisters, a vicariate f Friars, and hundreds f Laity.) The elected leaders f US Dminicans identified and implemented a simple campaign: buttn/badges and car bumper-stickers were prduced and distributed bearing the slgan/phrase, I have Family in Iraq. Wearing this buttn was an pprtunity fr Dminicans t begin a cnversatin with ther citizens abut the war in Iraq. Thrugh this campaign, many US Dminicans became aware f an internatinal relatinship abut which they were previusly unaware. Mre and mre, I think, Dminican Sisters understand that we have family -- nt nly in Iraq -- but in 101 f the wrld s cuntries. Recently, I visited the NGO (nn-gvernmental ffice) f the Mercy Sisters at the UN in New Yrk. Sister Deirdre Mullan rsm, the Delegate f the Mercy Sisters, has prduced a magazine-frmat publicatin entitled, Where in the Wrld Is My Sister? Each page describes briefly the scial, plitical, and ecnmic realities f every cuntry where Mercy Sisters live and minister. This publicatin als undubtedly has expanded the internatinal awareness f the Mercy Sisters. English-speaking Sisters living in Rme are nt simply living in Italy. Ministry here prvides a vantage pint frm which t view the whle wrld. We have a wnderful pprtunity t strengthen ur sense f Sisterlyness with ne anther n a glbal scale. Let us cntinue t deepen ur cnvictin that, where any ne f ur Sisters serves, we all stand in slidarity with her. Thrugh her, we are in slidarity with the peple amng whm she serves. Let us all hld in ur hearts and minds the 800,000 Sisters wh wrk every day t make anther wrld pssible. Sisters, I urge all f us t cntinue t prmte amng the members f ur cngregatins the understanding that actin fr justice and participatin in the transfrmatin f the wrld are integral elements f ur religius vcatin. Wrking fr justice is nt an ptin nr is it simply a dimensin f 7

8 ur lives. Rather, it is a dynamic perspective that infrms bth ur being and ur ding. This perspective shapes ur prayer, ur life in cmmn, ur living f the vws, and ur ministry. Please cntinue t encurage each Sister t realize that every ministry is an pprtunity t create a mre cmpassinate wrld. And as we cnclude, let us pray the prayer f ur sister, Catherine f Siena: IN THIS LIGHT OF YOURS I KNOW MY OWN NEED AND THE NEED OF YOUR CHURCH AND OF THE WHOLE WORLD. AND BECAUSE I KNOW IN YOUR LIGHT I ASK THIS OF YOU: THAT YOU CALL US TO HEAL, TO TEACH, TO BE AND TO DO JUSTICE, TO OFFER OURSELVES COMPLETELY TO THE TASK OF YOUR REIGN. DO NOT ACCEPT OUR COMPLACENCY: GRANT US A HOLY DISCONTENT. CHALLENGE US TO YOUR JUSTICE. WE ASK THIS IN YOUR NAME, JESUS, RISEN CHRIST. (Catherine f Siena) [ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PRESENTATION? OBSERVATIONS, COMMENTS?] 8