Editor ’ s Notes
Disrupt and Rebuild by Fr . Richard Bayuk , c . pp . s ., Publications Editor
“ Fear is the path to the dark side . Fear leads to anger . Anger leads to hate . Hate leads to suffering .” - Yoda , Jedi Master
There ’ s a lot of disagreement and division in our country today , and thus a lot of anger — even rage . Our country is painfully divided , as are many families . I ’ m old enough to remember the last time it felt this way ( albeit for different reasons ): 1968 — two assassinations , an increasingly unpopular war , an extremely close and divisive presidential election ; significant division in the Catholic Church with the publication of Humanae Vitae — in addition to the continuing struggle to implement the changes brought about by Vatican ii . I remember the anger well , because it was part of me also , in the realm of both politics and the Church . Opposition to the war impacted churches , and religious leaders — including Catholic bishops — who struggled with the ability to navigate during that turbulence . The president at the time , Lyndon Johnson , was known for using the biblical quote , “ Come , let us reason together .” But that was not to be , as in the end he failed to do so and so did the country . There was to be no significant reasoning together in the country , or in the Church . And so both , in my opinion , paid a huge price for anger . And it can happen again .
The current occupant of the White House has never been known to invite “ reasoning together .” After a long and often ugly campaign , he lost the popular vote but won the Electoral College . Many people experienced a lot of his rhetoric as fostering division and appealing to some of the darker impulses of human nature , such as fear or bigotry or selfishness . But now he is the president and is choosing to lead in his own way . A way that many take exception to and find hard to respond to positively , especially if they feel overwhelmed by what is about to be dismantled in this country , and what is about to be taken away from people already struggling to get by .
Since his election in 2013 , Pope Francis has captured the imagination of many people , in and outside of the Church . But there are those who see him as too liberal , too willing to soften some hard doctrinal positions , even politically too “ Marxist .” There is division in the Church on many levels , and bishops , pastors , and lay leaders struggle with how to lead in the midst of it — and how to respond to the implications of what our political leaders are saying and doing and proposing . So I would like to focus on the welcome leadership that one particular Catholic bishop has exhibited .
The U . S . Regional World Meeting of Popular Movements was held in Modesto , California on February 16 th -18 th . The conference was organized with the support of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development , the Catholic Campaign for Human Development , and the pico ( People Improving Communities through Organizing ) National Network .
2 • The New Wine Press • March 2017