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COMMENTARY
September 5 , 2017 | The Valley Catholic
Catholic Church is Journeying Back to its Nonviolent Roots
By Tony Magliano
Internationally syndicated social justice and peace columnist
The Catholic Church preaches , teaches and practices total nonviolence .
This statement is not true regarding the Catholic Church today . But it was an accurate and true description of the Catholic Church during its first 300 years .
The first generations of Christians – even during times of severe persecution – took most seriously Jesus ’ commands , “ But to you who hear I say , love your enemies , do good to those who hate you , bless those who curse you , pray for those who mistreat you . … Do to others as you would have them do to you .”
Christian literature from the first three centuries affirms that the earliest followers of Jesus Christ completely rejected all forms of violence and bloodshed – no abortion , no euthanasia , no capital punishment , no war .
But this drastically changed when Emperor Theodosius I issued the Edict of Thessalonica in 380 A . D ., making Catholic Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire . This marriage of church and state swung open the doors for Christian participation in the military of the Roman Empire . And sadly , Christians have been fighting for empires ever since .
But modern era popes have been leading the Catholic Church step-by-step back to its nonviolent beginnings ; back to its peace-centered Gospel roots .
From Saint Pope John XXIII to Pope Francis , popes have strongly condemned violence , war and all forms of bloodshed .
The Holy See ’ s former nuncio ( ambassador ) to the United Nations , Archbishop Celestino Migliore , said the Vatican attitude for centuries was , “ War is inevitable , so let ’ s put some strict conditions to limit its effects [ the just-war theory ]. In these last decades we have adopted a different perspective and we say peace is possible , so let ’ s work tirelessly for peaceful solutions .”
“ But to you who hear I say , love your enemies , do good to those who hate you , bless those who curse you , pray for those who mistreat you … Do to others as you would have them do to you .”
The Conference of Major Superiors of Men ( CMSM ) – in leadership support of 17,000 religious priests and brothers in the U . S . – on Aug . 3 , at their national assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution titled , “ Gospel Nonviolence : The Way of the Church .”
This resolution is another major step towards recovering the Catholic Church ’ s nonviolent foundation . It is a cooperative response to Pope Francis ’
2017 World Day of Peace Message which affirmed that “ true followers of Jesus embrace his teaching about nonviolence ” and “ make active nonviolence our way of life .”
In their resolution , the CMSM resolve to pray and educate for conversion to Gospel nonviolence in the Catholic Church and beyond – including in their formation programs , schools and preaching .
And to those who falsely claim that practicing nonviolence allows those using violence to freely harm and kill with no resistance , the Conference of Major Superiors of Men offers effective nonviolent alternatives to war and all other forms of violence .
They have committed themselves to advancing practices of “ restorative justice ” which focuses on the harm done and how to heal that harm ; “ unarmed civilian protection ” which provides direct nonviolent accompanying protection ; “ nonviolent resistance ” which opposes injustice and violence through noncooperation as Reverend Martin Luther King , Jr . and the civil rights movement did ; and “ nonviolent civilian-based defense ” which mounts nonviolent defense as was done in the Philippines during the repressive Marcos regime .
Very Reverend Brian Terry , president of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men , sums up well the nonviolent challenge of Jesus facing the Catholic Church , “ We need always to remember the words of Pope Francis which remind us that if we are not giving witness to the Gospel of Christ we are giving testimony to something else .”
Tony Magliano is available to speak at diocesan or parish gatherings . Tony can be reached at tmag @ zoominternet . net .
Mary Quilici Aumack
Executive Director Catholic Community Foundation of Santa Clara County
The great solar eclipse of 2017 was highly anticipated by millions . The big question : Should we go to a place where we could experience “ totality ?” One of my friends said she ’ s pretty sick of that word . She of course did not venture to the magical band where the moon totally covered the sun for a brief but spectacular time .
Doug and I wanted to make a road trip out of it and experience totality . Well , truthfully , Doug wanted to go and I was rather ambivalent . Then , we saw an interview with an astronomer . He said , “ on a scale of 1-10 of incredible natural phenomena , a partial eclipse is 3-4 , and a total eclipse is a MILLION .” That was it ; we put ourselves on the path of totality . We got our special glasses and made reservations to camp on a ranch in eastern Oregon . I must admit that as the time got closer my anticipation mounted , and I was rather joyfully looking forward to the experience .
We camped with another couple that had done all the research and found this beautiful , traffic-free
Totality
oasis for us . We arrived the day before the eclipse and set up camp ; surrounded by the beauty of a vast valley , punctuated by small campsites overshadowed by very large telescopes .
Camped next to us was a young astronomer who invited us to view sunspots through his telescope – pretty cool !
The morning of the eclipse we packed our gear , and set out our chairs to ready ourselves for the big event – TOTALITY . We remembered to have jackets nearby because we had been told that it would get cool .
As the time approached ( totality for us was roughly 10:25 a . m .), the sky began to change , very subtly darkening . Flocks of birds flew quickly by . We were of course facing east toward the rising sun . Periodically , we looked west . The view to the west was spectacular . It appeared like a huge gathering storm , dark and swirly (“ swirly ,” of course , is a deep scientific technical term ).
At the moment of totality , we removed our glasses and stared directly at this incredible phenomenon . By now you ’ ve most probably seen pictures . I didn ’ t try to take a photograph , just sat back to experience it . It was like nothing I ’ ve ever seen . There was a quiet , and a cooling , and a collective intake of breath from hundreds of campers spread across this vast ranch .
In all of this for me , was God . The Heavens are telling the Glory of God , And the firmament proclaims his handiwork . Psalm 19:1 Through fog , haze or drizzle , or coming through clouds , you can sometimes “ see ” the rays of the sun . When our daughter Kacey was little , we called that “ God talking .” Kacey is 33 now , and I sometimes call her when we ’ re on a road trip to let her know that God is talking , through the clouds .
God speaks to us through the roar of thunder , the quiet night sky . God speaks to us through the love of family and the support of our neighbors . And yes , God speaks to us through the ineffable experience of a total eclipse .
A familiar response for me is gratitude . So , I say “ thank you for totality ,” and for the gift of the experience . May I always marvel at the vast greatness of nature and have deep gratitude for the source .
If you ’ d like to talk about the eclipse , or about providing FOREVER VALUE for your parish , give us a call at ( 408 ) 995-5219 .