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View P oints 22 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD
catholicnewsherald.com | September 25, 2020
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Jesuit Father John Michalowski
In 1967, St. Paul VI wrote about integral humanism. What does this term mean, and how does it apply to today’s world?
Too often people in the modern world are considered under only one aspect. The person is a consumer, or a moral being, or a sex object, or a member of a certain class, or a member of a political party, or a spouse, or a worker, or a member of a particular religion or ethnicity or race. The list could go on and on. Each category indicates a person’s function, role or use. To this the Holy Father, says, “no.” The Church teaches that each person is a child of God who is worthy – not of being used, but of having his or her dignity respected and fostered. A person is an integral whole – that is, a moral, social, religious, economic, psychological, individual human being with a transcendent destiny. Each person has both rights and duties, and these rights and duties must be respected by all within the community, the nation and the world.
Over the past 50 years, the Church has come to see that we are related not just to each other, but to all of creation. Thus there is a need for an “integral ecology” – a care for our common home and each person and being within it, both now and in the future. The goal of an integral ecology is three-fold: to protect nature, to restore dignity to the excluded, and to combat all forms of poverty – economic, social, political and spiritual.
In “Charity in Truth,” Pope Benedict XVI writes that “projects for integral human development cannot ignore coming generations, but need to be marked by solidarity and inter-generational justice, while taking into account a variety of contexts: ecological, juridical, economic, political, and cultural” (48). Too often, both our neighbor and creation are misused or ignored. “The deterioration of nature is in fact closely connected to the culture that shapes human coexistence: when ‘human ecology’ is respected within society, environmental ecology also benefits” (51). Unfortunately, selfishness on the part of individuals, corporations and nations too often neither respect nor foster the well-being of the poor, those on the margins, and the areas in which they live.
In a special report for the anniversary of “Laudato Si” for May 24, 2020-May 24, 2021, the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development writes, “The multiple ‘cracks in the planet that we inhabit’ (LS, 163) from the melting ice caps in the Arctic to the raging wildfires in the Amazon, from extreme weather patterns around the world to unprecedented levels of loss of biodiversity that sustain the very fabric of life, are too evident and detrimental to be ignored any more. Pope Francis’ prophetic words continue to ring in our ears: “What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?” (LS, 160). The poor communities around the world are already the early and disproportionate victims of the current ecological degradation and we cannot remain indifferent any longer to the increasingly desperate ‘cry of the earth and the cry of the poor’ (LS. 49).”
Pope Francis has spoken recently of the connection between the present pandemic, care for the poor and care for the earth during his weekly general audiences. On Aug. 19, he said, “The pandemic has exposed the plight of the poor and the great inequality that reigns in the world.” He said there is a need for a dual response – to find a cure for the virus and to “cure a larger virus, that of social injustice, inequality of opportunity, marginalization, and the lack of protection for the weakest.” A cure for this second virus can only come about through a conversion to the way of Jesus, who as St. Paul points out in Philippians 2, emptied Himself of divinity and privilege to become a servant. He became poor and ministered to the poor, showing them – and all of us – God’s merciful love. Jesus made this preferential option for the poor the criterion of Christian authenticity, for by it we become doers of the Word, not only hearers.
Will the crisis of the pandemic convert us to solidarity with Christ, all peoples and creation? Will we convert a world economy to one that nurtures “an economy of the integral development of the poor,” as Pope Francis said, and counters “social injustice and environmental damage”?
The Holy Father goes on to challenge us to work with Jesus to heal the world by creating an economic system based on solidarity and the universal destination of goods. “The pandemic has exposed and aggravated social problems, above all that of inequality,” he said Aug. 26. “The economy is sick. …It is the fruit of unequal economic growth – this is the illness: the fruit of unequal economic growth – that disregards fundamental human values. In today’s world, a few wealthy people possess more than all the rest of humanity.” These sins of selfishness, power and pride are at the root of social inequality and environmental degradation. “The earth ‘was here before us and it has been given to us,’ it has been given by God ‘for the whole human race’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2402). And therefore it is our duty to make sure that its fruit reaches everyone, not just a few people,” he said.
The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us how interdependent we are. Climate change reminds us how interdependent we are with others and with the earth. We are all in this together. The question is: Will we as individuals, as a local community, as a nation, and as a world made up of many nations, open ourselves up to God’s grace so that an ecological conversion might take place?
“Social problems must be addressed by community networks and not simply by the sum of individual good deeds. …The ecological conversion needed to bring about lasting change is also a community conversion” (LS, 219). This means conversion to solidarity. More than individual acts of charity, it means conversion to an attitude of “gratitude and gratuitousness, a recognition that the world is God’s loving gift, and that we are called quietly to imitate His generosity in selfsacrifice and good works. … It also entails a loving awareness that we are not disconnected from the rest of creatures, but joined in splendid universal communion” (LS, 220).
Pope Francis calls us to open ourselves to that conversion which “inspires the faith of the community united in diversity and solidarity. Diversity and solidarity united in harmony, that is the way,” he said Sept. 2. “Diversity in solidarity also possesses antibodies that heal social structures and processes that have degenerated into systems of injustice, systems of oppression. …Either we go ahead along the road of solidarity, or things will worsen.”
The choice is ours. Will we respond to grace in the midst of the dual crises of climate change and the pandemic? Or will we revert back to a world of selfishness – forgetting the poor, our children and the earth itself ?
JESUIT FATHER JOHN MICHALOWSKI is parochial vicar of St. Peter Church in Charlotte. This is the second of a two-part commentary about Catholic teaching on care for creation. Go online to www.vativan.va to find Pope Francis’ Message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Sept. 1, 2020; Laudato Si’; the texts of his Wednesday general audiences; and his video message for September 2020: “Respect for the Planet’s Resources.” During this Season of Creation (Sept. 1-Oct. 4), also check out the information provided on St. Peter Church’s website at www.stpeterscatholic.org (click on Get Involved, then Justice and Outreach, then Care for Creation).
Bishop Robert Barron
You’re meant to be an eagle, not a chicken
When I was doing full-time parish ministry, one of my favorite activities was performing baptisms. Now that I’m a bishop, I have fewer occasion to baptize, and I do miss it. But an exception took place recently when I was delighted to welcome into the Church Hazel Rose Cummins, the daughter of Doug Cummins and his wife Erica. Doug is our associate producer for Word on Fire in Santa Barbara.
I would like to share with all of you what I preached to the group gathered outside (it’s COVID time) San Roque Church in Santa Barbara. I asked them if they had heard the story of Father Matthew Hood, a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit, who discovered, after watching a video of his own baptism, that he had been invalidly baptized. The deacon who had performed the ceremony did not use the proper words, and as a result, Father Hood had not in fact been received into the Church. As a consequence, he had not validly received First Communion, confirmation or priestly ordination, since all of those sacraments depend upon the legitimacy of baptism. Once this was discovered, the Archbishop of Detroit administered all of the sacraments to Father Hood and the young man was able to minister as a priest.
You may think, “Well, that’s a strange story with a happy ending,” but it tells us, in fact, something extremely important regarding the Church’s understanding of baptism. We believe that through the words and gestures of the sacrament, something happens. Baptism is not simply a celebration of a new life, or even an act of praying for and offering a child to God. It is the visible sign of the invisible grace of incorporation into the Mystical Body of Jesus. It changes an objective state of affairs, whether we acknowledge it or not.
I then used the parable of the eagle’s egg that tumbled out of the nest only to fall amid a flock of chickens. When the eaglet was hatched, the only world he came to know was that of chickens, and he spent his first years pecking on the ground and never spreading his great wings. One day, a majestic eagle flew overhead and spotted his young confrere on the ground, acting like a chicken. “What’s the matter with you?” he asked. “Don’t you know who you are?” He then taught the eaglet how to deploy his wings and soar.
So it goes in the spiritual order. Every baptized person is, objectively speaking, a child of God and destined to be a great saint. The problem is, most of those who have received this new identity promptly forget it and take on the beliefs and practices of the world. Following the prompts of popular culture and secularist ideologues, we give ourselves over to the acquisition of wealth or power or material success or fame. These things aren’t bad in themselves, but considering them our highest value and running after them with all of our powers amounts to pecking on the ground like chickens. What we need, I told the congregation gathered for Hazel’s baptism, is a strong community of people to remind this little girl who she is. They didn’t make her a child of God; Christ did that through the mediation of baptism. But they can teach her not to settle for being some pathetic substitute of who she is meant to be. Everything they teach her, everything they encourage her to do, should be directed to the great end of becoming a saint.
I have sometimes wondered what this country would be like if everyone who is baptized lived up to his or her identity as a child of God. What if everyone who is meant to soar would, finally, stop poking around on the ground? It would be a true American revolution.
Kathryn Evans
Escape into what is worthy
We live in a culture today that is over-saturated with all forms of media. Technology has provided an abundance of physical devices, such as smart phones, tablets and computers, not to mention the variety of video game systems and televisions. These devices give us near-constant access to social media, news outlets, games, movies and online videos. Reading devices and apps can give you an endless supply of books to read, from the latest bestsellers to the classics of great literature. On my current e-reader, I can carry a library of hundreds of books with me wherever I go, and I can download a new book at any given moment without waiting.
This past year has been difficult for so many, and the proliferation of media has added its own dimension to our experience. I’ve talked with many friends and family members who have had to take breaks from their social media accounts because they were feeling overwhelmed from the sheer volume of news and people’s personal opinions about the crisis in the world. As a result, a common theme of discussion lately has been the books or television shows that people are binging on to distract themselves from current events – and there certainly is enough variety from which to choose. I’ve heard it frequently opined about the number of new shows and movies out there to watch on various streaming services, yet there simply isn’t enough time for them all. It has never before been so easy to escape from reality and get lost in other worlds and thoughts.
With access to so much information, news and entertainment, how do we regulate what we take in? And is there anything wrong with escaping into these various forms of media?
In his classic essay “On Fairy Stories,” J.R.R. Tolkien comes to the defense of the idea of “escapism.” He says, “Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?” In Tolkien’s argument, there is nothing wrong with dwelling on things beyond your immediate circumstances. There is even something admirable about forgetting your current hardship and thinking about more pleasant and interesting things. This concept takes on even more significance when coupled with a quotation from St. Therese of Lisieux: “The world is thy ship and not thy home.” As a prisoner should not be scorned for thinking of his own home and the outside world, none of us should be scorned if we think of our heavenly home that awaits us. Stories, whether found in books or movies, can focus our minds on heavenly things: love, hope, valor and all the other virtues. One need only look at books such as Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” or C.S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia” to see how “escapist” literature can actually bring us closer to God.
This does not mean we should simply ignore true pain and suffering in the world, though. Divine Scripture itself is filled with the sorrows of this world, and for good reason we are particularly called to meditate on the Passion of Our Lord, even as we are also called to meditate on the joy of the Nativity and the glory of the Resurrection. We must all strive to strike a balance between focusing on the hope and beauty of heaven while also acknowledging and seeking reparation for the sins committed here on earth.
One of the scripture passages I try to let guide me more than any other is Philippians 4:8, in which St. Paul says, “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” This message took on a new meaning for me recently when I realized that even in the darkest times in history, there are still things worthy of praise.
— St. Therese of Lisieux
Reading about Communism and Socialist Russia might seem like a rather depressing way to “escape” thinking about the present crisis, but that’s exactly what I have been doing this past summer. However, I haven’t found such things to be especially disheartening, because I have also found many things that are commendable and praiseworthy in these accounts. One need only read about the actions of St. Maximillian Kolbe, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, or countless others to see that even in the hardest of times and situations, the virtues and truth of heaven can still be found. In our current era there are also stories of hope, heroism and compassion. Even as new scandals or moral failures might come to light, such news should be a sign that there are still people out there who are fighting against such things. Our repulsion should be a sign that our own moral grounding remains firm.
Well-told stories can be a way of fixing our minds on higher things, our heavenly home and the ideals that will bring us there, and reliable modern news sources can keep us grounded in our current reality and the work to be done here. We need both, but we must not let ourselves become overwhelmed or consumed by either.
As we navigate the different media available to us, whether the news, movies or books, we should let the words of St. Paul guide us. Is what we are consuming helping us to think on what is honorable, just, pure, lovely or commendable? Is it excellent or worthy of praise? If we must escape, let it be an escape into virtue. But let us also not forget that there is still work to be done all around us.
KATHRYN EVANS is an author living on the outskirts of Charlotte, where she keeps chickens, experiments with cooking, and reads too many books. Find her work at www.evanswriting.com, including her book, “An Adult-ish Toolkit: 30 Things I Have Learned in 30 Years.”
Letters to the editor
Wearing a face covering is sign of love
I am sharing in response to the increasingly frequent communications I have received from various Catholic sources pronouncing that wearing a face covering during the COVID-19 pandemic is promoting a “spirit of fear.” For me, this is untrue. While at Mass and elsewhere in public, I wear my face covering in a spirit of love. I love my dad, who is a daily communicant and is also immuno-suppressed. If it is possible that a small sacrifice on my part allows him to continue receiving the sacraments, I love him enough to do so.
Pray for us and pray for our Catholic community: that we learn to be united in love rather than divided in the details.
THERESA HUTCHINSON lives in Davidson.
Examine ‘prominent’ Catholics closely
In the Catholic News Service article “Prayers at Democratic convention seek compassion for people, planet in peril” published in the Aug. 28 edition of the Catholic News Herald, Sister Simone Campbell and Father James Martin were referred to as “prominent” Catholics. They are very well known, but many of their comments are far from Catholic teaching. Speaking about abortion, Sister Simone has said, “I would have to study it more intensely than I have. It is above my pay grade.” Both Sister Simone and Father Martin support Joe Biden for president. Biden, a Catholic, has supported abortion as “essential health care.” It is very important for all Catholics to examine closely the issues at hand.
MARIE LECLAIR is a member of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte.
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