Editor ’ s Notes
Pope Francis sent a message to the gathering of about 700 community organizers and social justice advocates in which he called on all people to become Samaritans and resist the “ grave danger ” in this moment to disown our neighbors amid a culture of indifference . “ Do not classify others in order to see who is a neighbor and who is not . You can become neighbor to whomever you meet in need , and you will do so if you have compassion in your heart .”
Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles , one of the speakers , called for comprehensive immigration reform and condemned the deportation policies of the last two presidents , but in particular , President Trump . “ I do not like the harsh tone , the sense of indifference and cruelty that seems to be coming out of this new administration in Washington . They are playing with our emotions , with people ’ s emotions , toying with their lives and futures , and that ’ s not right .… A person is still a person even though he is without papers .”
It was San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy most of all who energized the crowd in his remarks , calling on the gathering to become disrupters and rebuilders amid current American politics . Some examples :
“ President Trump was the candidate of disruption . He was the disrupter , he said . Well now , we must all become disrupters . We must disrupt those who would seek to send troops into our streets to deport the undocumented , to rip mothers and fathers from their families . We must disrupt those who portray refugees as enemies , rather than our brothers and sisters in terrible need . We must disrupt those who train us to see Muslim men and women and children as sources of fear rather than as children of God . We must disrupt those who seek to rob our medical care , especially from the poor . We must disrupt those who would take even food stamps and nutrition assistance from the mouths of children .”
“ We must make the issues of jobs , housing , immigration , economic disparities , and the environment foundations for common efforts , rather than of division . We must seek prophetic words and prophetic actions which produce unity and cohesion , and we must do so in a spirit of hope , which is realistic .”
“ This is an especially important anchor for us in an age in which truth itself is under attack . We ’ ve come to a time when alternate facts compete with real facts , and whole industries have arisen to shape public opinion in destructively isolated and dishonest patterns .”
“ The tradition of Catholic social teaching is unequivocally on the side of strong governmental and societal protections for the powerless , the worker , the homeless , the hungry , those without decent medical care , the unemployed . This stance of the church ’ s teaching flows from teaching of the Book of Genesis , that creation is the gift of God to all of humanity . Thus in the most fundamental way , there is a universal destination for all of the material goods that exist in this world . Wealth is a common heritage , not a ... right of lineage or of acquisition .”
“ For Catholic social teaching , the surest pathway to economic justice is the provision of meaningful and sustainable work for all men and women capable of work . … Work is thus a profoundly sacred reality . It protects human dignity even as it spiritually enriches that dignity . If we truly are in our work co-creators with God , don ’ t we think that deserves at least $ 15 an hour ?”
“ We have to rebuild this nation so that we place at its heart the service to the dignity of the human person , and asserts what that flag behind us asserts and is our heritage : Every man and woman and child is equal in this nation and called to be equal .”
“ So let us see and judge and act . Let us disrupt and rebuild . And let us do God ’ s work .”
Needless to say , there are those who are now castigating this bishop for his words . Not asking to reason together , just criticizing — in often angry ways . This is the air we breathe right now in this country and this Church . We each get to choose how we will lead and how we will respond to leadership , good and not so good . Channel the anger ; disrupt and rebuild . W
March 2017 • The New Wine Press • 3