a publication of the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center
June 2014 | Vol. 27 Issue 5 San Antonio, Tejas
La Voz de Esperanza June 2014 vol. 27 issue 5
Editor Gloria A. Ramírez Design Monica V. Velásquez Editorial Assistance Alice Canestaro-García Cover Art Ricardo Levins Morales www.rlmartstudio.com
Thank you to
Contributors
buena gente
Mary Ann Barclay, Tarcisio Beal, Vincent Cooper, Stephine Poston, Bill Stichnot
La Voz Mail Collective
Terri Borrego, Yolanda Cedillo, Juan Díaz, Patricia De La Garza, Jessica González, Ángela M. García, Raquel García, Gloria T. Hernández, Juan López, Kevin Maple, Ana Martínez, Arlene Martínez, Olivia Martínez, Angelita Merla, Lucy & Ray Pérez, Mary Agnes Rodríguez, Vanessa Sandoval, Guadalupe Segura, Argelia Soto, D. L. Stokes, Rose Turbeville, Inés Valdez, Angelica Vargas, Isabel Velásquez, y MujerArtes
Esperanza Director Graciela I. Sánchez
Esperanza Staff
Imelda Arismendez, Itza Carbajal, Marisol Cortez, J.J. Niño, René Saenz, Melissa Ruizesparza Rodríguez, Susana Méndez Segura, Monica V. Velásquez
Conjunto de Nepantleras
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • June 2014 Vol. 27 Issue 5•
-Esperanza Board of Directors-
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Brenda Davis, Araceli Herrera, Rachel Jennings, Amy Kastely, Kamala Platt, Ana Ramírez, Gloria A. Ramírez, Rudy Rosales, Nadine Saliba, Graciela Sánchez
y todos y todas de buen corazon who helped make the 5th Annual
Paseo por el Westside a success!
• We advocate for a wide variety of social, economic & environmental justice issues. • Opinions expressed in La Voz are not necessarily those of the Esperanza Center.
La Voz de Esperanza
is a publication of Esperanza Peace & Justice Center 922 San Pedro, San Antonio, TX 78212
210.228.0201 • fax 1.877.327.5902 www.esperanzacenter.org Inquiries/Articles can be sent to:
lavoz@esperanzacenter.org Articles due by the 8th of each month Policy Statements
* We ask that articles be visionary, progressive, instructive & thoughtful. Submissions must be literate & critical; not sexist, racist, homophobic, violent, or oppressive & may be edited for length. * All letters in response to Esperanza activities or articles in La Voz will be considered for publication. Letters with intent to slander individuals or groups will not be published. Esperanza Peace & Justice Center is funded in part by the NEA, TCA, theFund, Coyote Phoenix Fund, AKR Fdn, Peggy Meyerhoff Pearlstone Fdn, Horizons Fdn, New World Foundation, y nuestra buena gente.
ATTENTION VOZ READERS: If you have a mailing address correction please send it in to lavoz@esperanzacenter.org. If you want to be removed from the La Voz mailing list for whatever reason please let us know. La Voz is provided as a courtesy to people on the mailing list of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. The subscription rate is $35 per year ($100 for institutions). The cost of producing and mailing La Voz has substantially increased and we need your help to keep it afloat. To help, send in your subscriptions, sign up as a monthly donor, or send in a donation to the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. Thank you. -GAR VOZ VISION STATEMENT: La Voz de Esperanza speaks for many individual, progressive voices who are gente-based, multi-visioned and milagro-bound. We are diverse survivors of materialism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, classism, violence, earth-damage, speciesism and cultural and political oppression. We are recapturing the powers of alliance, activism and healthy conflict in order to achieve interdependent economic/ spiritual healing and fuerza. La Voz is a resource for peace, justice, and human rights, providing a forum for criticism, information, education, humor and other creative works. La Voz provokes bold actions in response to local and global problems, with the knowledge that the many risks we take for the earth, our body, and the dignity of all people will result in profound change for the seven generations to come.
Jotos
del Barrio
Jotos del Barrio is a literary work presented as a collection of poems, monologues, and vignettes that takes the audience into the lives of young Latino, Chicano, Tejano, Mexicano and MexicanAmerican gay men as they discover the joys and trials of their multiple identities. In each piece, characters search for voice, a sense of place, and respect as they are confronted by racism, homophobia and other complexities of twenty-first century living. As such, Jotos del Barrio seeks to empower, educate and create dialogue about issues related to Latino queer identities. Jotos del Barrio is a cross-genre work that is lyrical in nature. The various pieces combine dance/movement and music with performance and are written in English, Spanish, a combination of the two and Tex-Mex. Jotos del Barrio was first written in 1995 as a response paper to a media studies course that explored U.S. queer iconography at the author’s alma matter, Carleton College (Northfield, MN). It received its first staged reading in August of 1995 at the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center (San Antonio, TX) and then in March 2002 the show celebrated its first staged production at the JumpStart Theatre (San Antonio, TX) where it established recordsetting attendance for the theatre company. In June 2014 Jotos del Barrio commemorates its book publication with a second staged production at the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center. The issues Jotos del Barrio embraces are timeless and remain as relevant today as ever. The show speaks to audiences, communities, and a grand sector of the United States population that is searching for voice, equality, and representation. And it does so with a raw truth that makes one want to listen.
Photo: Julian P Ledezma
STARRING: Máximo Anguiano, Manuel Barraza, Lynn Copeland, Jaime González, Toni Sauceda & Kenneth Miles Ellington López
Week 1 & 2 | June 6-8 & 13-15 Week 3 | June 20-22 Fri at 7:30 pm & Sat-Sun 2:00 pm
TICKETS $12 PreSale $15 Door* *except special event dates, see prices below visit www.esperanzacenter.org or scan code on back page ad for online ticket sales or call 210.228.0201
Artwork: David Zamora Casas
Fri-Sat at 7:30 pm & Sun 2:00 pm
June 6th Erica Andrews Tribute June 14th Jotos y Recuerdos Reception $20 June 21st Sabado Tardeada - $7 June 22nd Sunday Brunch con Drag $25
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • June 2014 Vol. 27 Issue 5•
Three Weekends in June
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The War on Terror is Over and the Terrorists Have Won By Bill Stichnot
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irst of all, I’m a patriotic American, just like everyone else. I served in the Air Force, until I was medically retired. So I don’t write this with any glee. But let’s face it: the terrorists have won. Now I know that one man’s “terrorist” is another man’s “Freedom Fighter”. This is being played out in the Palestinian/Israeli fight. While I support the Palestinian cause, I condemn any action that intentionally targets civilian populations. To attack an Israeli military convoy in Occupied Territory is one thing. To blow up an Israeli farmer’s market is terrorism. The terrorists exists for a couple reasons, none of them sane. By definition, their actions are to terrorize the population, to make people afraid and to force them to change their life. The terrorists have succeeded here in America. Try to get your driver’s license renewed —a license you have possessed since you were 16. Now you need a Social Security card, your birth certificate and if you’re a woman who married and changed her surname, a marriage certificate. You need more ID to get your driver’s license renewed than to buy a gun. This is all done in the name of fighting terrorism. The terrorists have changed our life, they won. Freedom of movement: I can understand, in concept, the idea of passports. However, not too long ago (my kids even remember it), it was easy to get to Northern Mexico for an afternoon of shopping. You just drove to Laredo, parked your car at a shopping center near
the bridge and walked across. When you walked back, you simply showed some type of ID, usually a driver’s license, and you were back in America. Same with Canada. In Detroit, except for the signs, you could drive into Canada, and hardly know it. Now you need a State Department issued passport to do what was, until the terrorists struck, a very easy thing to do. The terrorists changed our life, they won. Remember when you could go to the airport and say your goodbyes at the gate and watch your friends and loved ones get on the plane and even watch the plane take off? And you could greet these same people at the arrival gate and not at some area roped off near the baggage collection. The terrorists changed our lives, they won. Getting on a plane is a real trip (no pun intended). Remember when you and your friends could briskly walk through the metal detector and be on your way? Now you stand in a long line, empty your pockets and take off your coat. And, because there was a guy who once had a “bomb” is his shoe, you have to take off your shoes as you pass through to prove your sandals don’t contain a bomb. It’s interesting there was a guy with a bomb in his underwear, also. It’s a wonder we don’t have to take our underwear off. Then, you and your carry-on baggage get X-rayed. Heaven forbid your shampoo be more then four ounces. You are subject to invasive “pat downs”. The disabled in wheelchairs, babies in their strollers, could all be potential terrorists and are also patted down. Then there is the dreaded “no fly list”. Here your name pops up and you are
subject to interrogation. It may not even be you, just someone with the same name as you. A great example is the singer, Cat Stevens. A more peaceful man you could never meet (remember the song “Peace Train”). He changed his name to a more Islamic sounding name. He soon shows up on the “no fly list”. The terrorists have changed our lives, they have won. It is now that I ask, “Has America lost it’s way?” Have we become a country that we once would have hated? Remember civil liberties? We held ourselves up as a model of freedom and the rule of law. That has changed. About six months ago, I was reading a computer geek magazine and came across an article about the NSA (National Security Agency) building, a huge complex in Utah. There was nothing secret about it. The article just spoke in Geek speak as to it’s capabilities. Well it’s capabilities are huge. I remember reading that just the Front Guard Shack and Reception Center was going to cost over a million dollars. Turns out it was so secret, that members of Congress did not know about it until they became aware of the (unclassified) article. I was really getting nervous, knowing what the NSA could do, when this thing came on line. Then came Edward Snowden. Just as a reminder, Edward Snowden was a computer specialist who worked for the CIA and as a contractor for the NSA, right here in Hawaii. He left town with evidence of incredible NSA actions against most everyone, including Heads of States of allies, such as the Prime Minister of Germany (they intercepted her private conversations.) The NSA reach is literally worldwide. They intercept phone calls, emails, credit cards, your cell phone’s GPS, your blogs, your Facebook, or any other, Twitter, Instagram account. The government can tap your phone, without a warrant – keep track of the books you check out at the library, not give you access to a lawyer. Everything you say or type, over “the grid” will be cataloged and stored; all without your knowledge or consent or even a court order. With your cell phone GPS, you can be tracked, and everything you type on your Facebook Page could be intercepted and used against you. You don’t even have to “Friend” the government, they’ll do it
camps at the beginning of WWII. The “beauty” of having Gitmo is that it is not on American soil, therefore, we can torture as many people as we want, for as long as we want. The country’s conscience should be outraged because of a report that stated that, in fact, not only did we torture, we did it viciously and we did not get one bit of usable information. A 6,200-page classified report produced by the Senate Intelligence Committee concludes that in 20 separate cases the staff investigated, the same information could have been obtained without resorting to brutal methods. The report, which took
When Snowden met with representatives of human rights organizations on July 12, 2013, he said: “The 4th and 5th Amendments to the Constitution of my country, Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and numerous statutes and treaties forbid such systems of massive, pervasive surveillance. While the US Constitution marks these programs as illegal, my government (America) argues that secret court rulings, which the world is not permitted to see, somehow legitimize an illegal affair. . .” The terrorists have changed our soul, they have won. We have also lost our way when it comes to torture. We used to think of torture as repugnant. No democracy tortures, especially not us. If only it was true. Take Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The prison there has been open since January 2002. It is our biggest human right’s abuse since we put Japanese Americans living on the West Coast into concentration
four years to compile, claims torture failed to produce significant intelligence and did not prevent further attacks. As of this writing (April 2014) the Classified Report is being debated between Congress and the President to decide if the full report should be released to the public. The Miami Herald, wrote on April 27, 2014 that “Few today contend that torture is anything but immoral . . .” The Herald may be right, many people may believe torture is immoral. But I give you Sara Palin, who, just yesterday (April 26) was at the National Rifle Association’s “Stand and Fight” rally at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate accused the Obama administration of instating counter terrorism policies that “coddle adversaries.” She continued, “Come on. Enemies, who would utterly annihilate America, they who’d obviously have information on plots, to carry out Bio: Bill Stitchnot, a longtime supporter of Jihad. Oh, but you can’t offend them, the Esperanza, currently lives in Hawaii.
can’t make them feel uncomfortable, not even a smidgen,” she said. “Well, if I were in charge, they would know that waterboarding is how we‘d baptize terrorists.” The terrorists have not only changed our lives, but also our morals. They have won. Finally, a short story of paranoia, last year’s Boston Marathon Bombing. First, let me say I condemn, in the strongest sense, the bombing. But, let’s look at the government’s response at all levels. John Cassidy of “The New Yorker” wrote a fascinating article about Boston’s response and how no one questioned it. Remember now, there were two bombers and, at this stage, one of them was dead. All the trains between Boston and New York had stopped. There was a “no fly” zone over parts of Boston – figure out the reason for that. The buses stopped running. Cassidy writes, “thus enabling the benighted Tsarnaev brothers to achieve something that proved beyond Emperor Hirohito and Hitler. They stopped the Greyhound.” It gets worse. Although it was known that the remaining brother was not in Boston, but in a suburb, Governor Deval Patrick ordered “nearly a million people in the Boston area to abandon their regular lives for a day and stay indoors or, as the official order put it, “shelter indoors.” Those who didn’t hear about the edict quickly discovered something was up when they ventured outside. Almost the entire city was abandoned. Offices, stores, and gas stations were all closed. President Obama went to Boston and said, “That’s why a bomb can’t beat us. That’s why we don’t hunker down. That’s why we don’t cower in fear. We carry on.” In fact, that was the last thing they did in Boston. The government had them cancel the ball game and church services and the government insisted that everyone, a city of around a million, stay in their homes. Just one guy caused this. His object was terror. Look at the results — both last year and the Marathon this year. He won. I try to end all my pieces with a kind of “call to arms”. That if we unite, we can beat this. But I don’t have any words of wisdom for this. Remember the Golden Rule: Those who have the gold, make the rules. How much gold do you have? Thus, how many rules can you make? u
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automatically. The NSA can try to break into any computer server they want. And if they can’t hack into your system, they go to a Judge who can make you give up your passwords. CEOs from Facebook, Google, and other social sites were so upset with the NSA power, they went to Washington and asked Obama to rein in the NSA’s powers. You, or your child could be doing an online paper, for school, about Osama or Al Qaeda. Those words could show up on a program that searches for those “key words” and you could become “a person of interest.”
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Fath er’s Day Tribute
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by Vincent Cooper On limpid days, I can remember the feel of his beard stubble Brushing against my forehead and cheek. With the purest of breezes flowing between us, He’d place a baseball cap on my head, Point at a horse trotting in the distance while The sun rose up over several acres of his farm.
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Now the tattoo of Satan, on his right hand, is No longer recognizable and seems — more sinister Since it first ripped a chord in me 29 years ago. Grandpa, staring out of the passenger seat window, Hands interlocked, Remembers when this was all piles of dirt. His reckless ones were still alive shooting up. Further back, Before the kids dropped out— Before Jody beat the spirit out of him, while the other kids watched— Before Evangeline faded into the scene of a sultry evening, The prelude was a thing of beauty. Our memories imbued with laughter, police sirens and shattering beer bottles The strands of silver hair hung out of his ears Reminiscent of the ivy spread over Moor Field. Studying the pores on his swollen reddened nose, A black Stetson hat rests nicely On his cotton-tipped head. 1985 had an aroma of Lucky Tiger massaged into my hair. The scent of a molcajete full of chile radiated from the kitchen. Occasionally, he would put A spoonful of freshly made chile verde on my barbacoa tacos And his closet was stocked with guayaberas and slacks From Penner’s local store of veterano lore, In shades of light blue to funeral black, and Perfectly aligned wing-tipped Stacy Adam’s dress shoes He would spend summer days on the porch drinking six-pack After six-pack of Schaefer At night he was off to the cantinas To flirt with desperate women. Their boyfriends would come And paint our family name on the street In his blood The ranch of my youth was lost and the family house was sold. No more patriarchal power in his words, A punch to my chest signaling me to put my guard up. Tearful giggles while I change his diaper. I see my path in life on every wrinkle of his face. His face shaped like a beehive Dented from traviesos who threw stones at it,
And he saw his dreams on mine. Relieved that I was here and still alive Now we’re just a moment away from death. He knows it I can’t help but admire the august silence. Our time together required no dialogue Our final meeting was at a South Side hospice For the almost dead. A gagging urine stench in the hallway paved the way to him. I sit beside watching him take his last breath. All of us numb from the untimely deaths of his sons The reckless that remain want this suffering to end. I had hoped for a vicious scream or a blue beam of light To explode out of his mouth one more time. Minutes later and half whimpers uttered A familial conversation about the postmortem meal. Who’s in charge? Who has money? Who’s going to clean? Who’s too busy to go? The nurse closes his eyes covers his face Blessing the worst of Catholics in the room, his mouth still wide open. We part, half hugging, exhausted... There’s a local game on tonight They can catch if we hurry out Sitting in the car I look over and see El Jefe’s ghost grinning. His hands and face Pressed against a dirty window I smile back at him And drive away. —November, 2013 Bio: Vincent Cooper is a poet living on the westside of San Antonio who has been published in Ban This! the Bsp Anthology of Xican@ Literature and in Big Bridge Magazine.
OF PROPHETS, SAINTS, AND HIERARCHS
PROFETAS, SANTOS Y JERARCAS
Editors note: The canonization of John XXIII and John
Editors note:
The
recent statement by Pope Francis that the Church will look into the beatification of Oscar A. Romero, the martyred Archbishop of El Salvador, may signal a healthy development in the Vatican’s canonization policy. My understanding of sainthood is that a saint is also a prophet like Jesus and not a pillar of the religious Establishment. As Søren Kierkegaard once said, “it is as impossible for a Christian to remain silent as for a cannon to be fired in silence.” However, the last few new saints whom the Vatican has presented to the faithful, including Pius IX and John Paul II, follow a familiar pattern that needs to be challenged. The people of El Salvador have venerated their martyred Archbishop Oscar A. Romero as a saint for a long time now, but the Vatican ignored him because he was a true prophetic voice and a practitioner of liberation theology. The Roman Curia’s process of canonization was set in place after the Council of Trent (1545-1563) took away from the people of God at large cont’d on p. 8
La canonización de Juan XXIII y Juan Pablo II presentan ejemplos contrastantes de santidad: Juan XXIII, el profeta y Juan Pablo II, el jerarca tradicional. ¿Por qué tanta prisa para canonizar Juan Pablo II? Su imposición de silencio a muchos teólogos, su humillación pública de la Hermana Theresa Kane y el Padre Fernando Cardenal de Nicaragua y su inquisición contra las religiosas americanas no parecen ser acciones de un santo. Sin embargo, los profetas se han multiplicado siguiendo el ejemplo de Juan XXIII. Por el poder del Espíritu, ellos y ellas contribuirán al desarrollo de una Iglesia más afinada con el ejemplo de Jesús.
Todos
esperamos que la reciente declaración del Papa Francisco de que el encaminará la beatificación de Oscar Arnulfo Romero, el mártir Arzobispo de San Salvador, sea una señal de que el Vaticano va a cambiar la política de canonización. Mi idea de santidad es de que un santo debe también ser un profeta y non un pilar del Establecimiento religioso. Como decía Søren Kierkegaard: “es tan difícil para un cristiano quedarse en silencio como para un cañón ser disparado en silencio.” Sin embargo, los últimos candidatos propuestos por el Vaticano para canonización, incluso Pio IX y Juan Pablo II, siguen un modelo tradicional que necesita ser desafiado. El pueblo de El Salvador ha estado venerando a su mártir Arzobispo Romero como un santo por largo tiempo, pero el Vaticano lo ha ignorado porque él fue un verdadero profeta y un practicante de la teología de liberación que murió defendiendo a su gente. El proceso de canonización seguido por la Curia, que fue institucionalizado continua en p.9
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Paul II recently presents contrasting examples of sainthood: John XXIII, the prophet and John Paul II the traditional hierarch. Why the hurry to canonize John Paul II? Do his actions seem like those of a saint: his silencing of theologians, his public humiliation of Sr. Theresa Kane and of Nicaragua’s Father Fernando Cardenal and his treatment of U.S. women religious? Prophets like John XXIII, however, have multiplied in the Church since he set the example. By the power of the Spirit, they will help shape a Church more attuned to the example of Jesus.
by/por Tarcisio Beal, Ph. D., S. T. L.
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Of Prophets, from page .7 . . .
Some of those who chose to leave Rome were killed by highwaymen. A merciless Inquisitor, Pius V attended every Thursday meeting of the Tribunal and sometimes overrode “not guilty” verdicts. He loved the pageantry of the “actos da fé.” In one of them, on June 23, 1566, 14 heretics were sentenced to the gallows, 7 were scourged and sent as slaves to man the papal galleys. Two of
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From the mid-1960s to the late 1990s, Latin America witnessed the appearance of hundreds of holy men and women and martyrs of the faith, true saints who have been ignored and forgotten.
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the right to venerate as saints those Christians whom they saw as the true imitators of Jesus. No surprise, then, that the majority of those proclaimed as saints ever since have been mostly males, members of religious orders, or paragons of the Vatican’s interpretation of what constitutes an example of orthodoxy and of the kind of holiness to be venerated or imitated by the faithful. Now, it is well known that many of the secrets of the Vatican Archives were first exposed to the world by the Austrian Ambassador Ludwig von Pastor in early 20th century. He brought to light the ugly behavior of dozens of popes, especially those of the Renaissance, their unabashed nepotism, their flaunting of clerical celibacy, their Caesarean lifestyle, their constant involvement in the shady politics of the time. Anyone who reads the story of the Council of Trent and its popes must wonder how a man like Pius V could be declared a saint by the Church. Yet Clement XI did so in 1712. Quick to form a negative opinion of everyone, very generous with his nephews, Pius V set up a ghetto for prostitutes who refused to leave Rome. These women were given the option of entering a convent or marry.
the many o t h e r victims of Pius V’s zealotry were Pietro Carnesechi, Apostolic Proto-Notary and former private secretary of Clement VII and Antonio Paleario, the humanist Professor of Arts at the University of Siena. Pius V also confined the Roman Jews to an overcrowded ghetto located in the flooding low areas of the Tiber, with one guarded entrance and one exit only. Jews were prohibited from holding market on Wednesdays (the usual market day of the week at the time), but allowed to do it on Saturdays, which the Pope knew was their sacred Sabbath day. He also expelled all Jews from the Papal States on February 26, 1569. Those who chose to resist were made servants of the Church. A tireless hunter of Lutherans and Calvinists, Pius V wanted the Duke of Alba, on his way to the Netherlands to crush the Calvinist rebellion, to stop at Geneva and destroy
ENGLISH
the center of Calvinism. Spain’s Philip II, however, ordered Alba straight to the Netherlands where his soldiers behaved like beasts ordering the execution of many including Counts Egmont and Hoorn, and alienating everyone, including Catholic bishops and the Jesuits. Pleased with Alba’s momentary victory, the Pope rewarded the Duke with the “Blessed Hat and Gold Sword,” adding the “Gold Rose” to his wife. Then Pius V turned his attention to the Huguenots, warning French King Charles IX (letter of October 20, 1569) of misguided compassion for the wicked, “for nothing is more cruel than compassion for the wicked and for those who have deserved death.” He also sent papal troops to help Charles IX’s brother in his battle against the Huguenots at Montcontour. Pius was also very unhappy with Emperor Maximilian’s compromise with the Lutherans of Lower Austria, who were allowed to practice their beliefs in accordance with the 1530 Augsburg Confession. He was also critical of Scotland’s Queen Mary Stuart’s leniency toward dissenters. What boggles the mind is that such a pope is presented to the faithful as an example of what a Christian should be. Philip Hughes (The Church Crisis: A Short History of the General Councils, 325-1870) goes to the point of calling Pius V “a living saint ruling the Church.” When in Rome in 1965 to do research for my doctoral dissertation, I was able to access the papers of Pius IX’s pontificate in the Vatican Archives thanks to the help of the Franciscan Professor of the Antonianum who was the “Devil’s Advocate” in the process of canonization of Pius IX. He assured me, then, that Pius IX would never be declared a saint because there were too many skeletons in the closets of his pontificate. He was wrong, of course, for John Paul II removed the main obstacle to Pius IX’s beatification, namely, the Devil’s Advocate. No surprise, then, that John Paul II canonized more saints than the total of all his predecessors. Pius IX does not at all fit the model of a saint. Both his theology of the “Syllabus of Errors,” which has been cont’d on p.10
ESPANOL
Profetas, desde p.7. . .
de inundación del Río Tibre, con solamente una entrada con guardas y una salida. A los judíos se les prohibió mercadear en los miércoles (el día del mercado mayor en aquel tiempo), pero se les permitió que mercadearan el sábado, su día sagrado. Después Pio V también expulsó a los judíos de los Estados Pontificios el Febrero 2 6 ,
Desde la mitad de la década de 1960 hasta los 1990s, Amé Arica Latina atestiguó el aparecimiento de centenas de mártires de la fe, verdaderos santos que han sido ignorados e olvidados por el Vaticano. 1569. Los que se rehusaron fueron hechos esclavos de la Iglesia. Un cazador constante de luteranos y calvinistas, Pio V quiso que el Duque de Alba, en su camino hacia los Países Bajos (Holanda), que aplastara la rebelión calvinista y se detuviera en Ginebra para destruir el centro del calvinismo. Eso no se llevó acabo porque Felipe II ordenó al Duque que siguiera directamente hacia Holanda donde los soldados de su ejercito se comportaron como bestias ejecutando a muchos, incluso a los Condes Horn y Egmont. Satisfecho con la victoria del Duque de Alba contra los herejes, Pio V lo recompensó con el “Sombrero y la Espada de Oro” y a la mujer del Duque con la “Rosa de Oro.” En seguida Pio V cambió su atención a los hugonotes o calvinistas franceses, advirtiendo al Rey Calos IX (carta de Octubre 20, 1569) contra una compasión inmerecida para con los malvados, “pues
nada es más cruel que compasión para los que deben ser muertos.” El también envió tropas papales para ayudar al hermano de Carlos IX en su batalla contra los hugonotes en Montcontour. Pio V también quedó muy descontento con el Imperador Maximiliano por su tolerancia con los luteranos de Baja Austria, a quienes permitieron practicar su fe de acuerdo con la Confesión de Augsburgo de 1530; ni le gustó la poca severidad de la Reina de Escocia María Stuart para con los disidentes religiosos. Es realmente increíble que un papa como Pio V sea presentado a los católicos como un ejemplo a ser seguido. Philip Hughes, (The Church Crisis: A Short History of the General Councils, 325-1870) hasta llega a decir que Pio V fue “un santo en el gobierno de la Iglesia.” Cuando estuve en Roma en 1966 para hacer pesquisa para mi doctorado, solamente me fue dado acceso a los documentos del pontificado de Pio IX en los Archivos del Vaticano por intermedio de un profesor franciscano del Antoniano que era el “Abogado del Diablo” en el proceso de canonización de Pio IX. Él me aseguró que este Papa jamás continua en p.11
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por el Concilio de Trento (1545-1563), sacó de las manos del pueblo de Dios el derecho de venerar a aquellos cristianos que él veía como imitadores de Jesucristo. No es sorprendente entonces que la mayoría de los que fueran proclamados como santos han sido hombres, miembros de órdenes religiosas o modelos de lo que el Vaticano ve como ejemplos de la ortodoxia y del tipo de santidad a ser venerada e imitada por los fieles. Es bien reconocido que muchos de los secretos de los Archivos del Vaticano fueran por la primera vez expuestos al mundo por el Embajador austriaco Ludwig von Pastor en el principio del siglo XX. Él hizo conocido el feo comportamiento de docenas de papas, especialmente de los papas del Renacimiento, su vergonzoso nepotismo, su poco respecto por el celibato clerical, su estilo de vida en imitación de los Césares, su envolvimiento constante en la política sucia de su tiempo. Una lectura de la historia del Concilio de Trento y de sus papas nos lleva a preguntar como un hombre como Pio V pudiera ser declarado santo. Pero eso es lo que hizo Clemente XI en 1712. Rápido en adoptar una actitud negativa de cualquiera persona, muy generoso con sus sobrinos, Pio V estableció un gueto para las prostitutas de Roma que se rehusaron a salir de la ciudad, especialmente después que algunas de ellas fueran asesinadas por bandidos. Si elegían permanecer en Roma, tenían que vivir en un convento de monjas o casarse. Un inquisidor sin piedad, Pio V frecuentaba el Tribunal de la Inquisición cada Jueves y a veces revertía decisiones de “no culpable.” A él le gustaba el espectáculo de los “Autos de Fé.” En un de esos, en Junio 23, 1565, 14 herejes fueran sentenciados a ser ahorcados y 7 fueron azotados y condenados como esclavos en las galeras del papa. Dos de las muchas víctimas del celo excesivo de Pio V fueron Pietro Carnesechi, ProtoNotario Apostólico y antiguo Secretario de Clemente VII, y Antonio Paleario, el humanista Profesor de Artes de la Universidad de Siena. Pio V también limito a los judíos de Roma a vivir en un gueto sobrellenado, localizado en el área
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Of Prophets, from p.8 . . .
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partly corrected by the Church, and his behavior toward the Jews disqualified him from been set as an example to the people of God. This without mentioning his excommunication of the vast majority of his subjects (91%) of the Papal States who sided with Il Risorgimento, the movement for the unification of Italy. King Vittorio Emanuele II, a devout Catholic, died without the sacraments because he was excommunicated. The Pope’s letter lifting his excommunication arrived after he had already died. Then there is Pius X, who set up a police state in the Church to fight Modernism, anathematizing freedom of conscience and speech and ordering Christians to spy on one another. From the mid-1960s to the late 1990s, Latin America witnessed the appearance of hundreds of holy men and women and martyrs of the faith, true saints who have been ignored and forgotten. The Vatican is always eager to add more “saints” to its list, but fears the prophets. What about the hundreds, if not thousands of Latin American victims of military, antiCommunist dictatorships, who have not been yet declared martyrs of the Church? Bishop Enrique Angelleli was murdered in Argentina because of his prophetic courage in denouncing a regime which killed more than 30,000 of its citizens; Father Henrique Pereira Neto, an aid of Archbishop Hélder Câmara, was gunned down by para-military operatives in Recife, Brazil; Father João Bosco Burnier, the trusted assistant of Bishop Pedro Casaldáliga, the great defender of the indigenous people of Mato Grosso, Brazil, was murdered while standing right next to the Bishop; Sister Dorothy Stang was killed for siding with the landless farmers of the State of Pará; on November 16, 1989, the Jesuits Amando López Quintana, Ignacio Ellacuría, Juan Ramón Moreno Pardo, Joaquín López y López, Ignacio Martín-Baró, and Segundo Montes Mozo, plus their housekeepers Elba Julia Ramos and daughter Celina Maricet Ramos, were murdered in the Jesuit residence by soldiers connected with the military dictatorship; and we all know the story of the martyrdom of the American missionaries Maura Clark, Ita Ford, Dorothy Kazel, and Jean Marie Donovan in El Salvador. Especially tragic and moving was what happened in Guatemala, as narrated by
Penny Lernoux, the correspondent of the National Catholic Reporter for more than three decades in Latin America: One day in 1982, the Guatemalan army moved into Santa Cruz El Quiché and took control of the village. Its inhabitants were called into the central square and told that their catechists were “subversives.” The army would spare the villagers – said the captain
Pope John XXIII, as we all know, was a true saint. I cannot say the same for John Paul II. - if they themselves killed the catechists that very night. Otherwise Santa Cruz and the neighboring villages would be wiped off the map. The soldiers withdrew and the villagers debated their options. They knew that the army would carry out its threat, for it had already murdered fifteen priests and a nun involved in literacy and leadership training of the indigenous people. Still the people of Santa Cruz voted unanimously against killing their catechists: Lucas, Justo, Angel, Domingo, and Juan. But, then, the catechists themselves came forward and insisted that the villagers must put them to death: “It is better for the five of us to die than for thousands to die.” At 4:00 o’ clock in the morning, with heavy hearts and tears in their eyes, they
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all marched to the cemetery, led by the catechists Lucas, Justo, Angel, Domingo, and Juan. The villagers dug the graves and formed a circle around the kneeling men while relatives of the five drew their machetes. Many could not watch the scene and some fainted as the blades cut off the heads of the catechists. The villagers buried the bodies and returned home in silence. The next day the army captain in command of the area was informed that the order had been carried out. Thousands were spared, but the Guatemalan army had stained its name forever. In my book, Lucas, Justo, Angel, Domingo, and Juan are authentic martyrs of the faith and should be acknowledged as such by a Church that, under Pope Francis, seems to be ready to embark upon fulfilling the great promises of Vatican II. A Church which is an effective witness to the Gospels is a Church of prophets and martyrs, not of hierarchs who seek to hide themselves behind ecclesiastical inerrancy and a concept of power which has nothing to do with the example of Jesus. I also believe that Dom Hélder Câmara should be added to the process of canonization that Pope Francis wants for Archbishop Oscar Romero. Dom Hélder was the great prophet of the Brazilian Church from the 1960s to the 1990s and, as expected, was persecuted by the military dictators of Brazil, with the consent of the Vatican, which decorated one of the military Presidents of Brazil with the Vatican’s “Golden Rose.” Pope John XXIII, as we all know, was a true saint. I cannot say the same for John Paul II. His behavior while visiting Nicaragua, pointing an ugly finger at Father Fernando Cardenal on the airport’s tarmac, does not strike me as the action of a saint, but rather of a man too quick to pass judgment. Let us hope that Pope Francis carries out the needed reforms of the Church, which will not amount to much unless women are given full equality, including the right to the priesthood, and that the many saints of the contemporary Church be recognized as authentic examples to be followed. In my book, Lucas, Justo, Angel, Domingo, and Juan are true saints who followed Jesus’ example by freely giving their lives to save their own people. u Bio: Tarcísio Beal, is Professor Emeritus of the Univ. of the Incarnate Word in S.an Antonio.
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Profetas, desde p.9. . .
las misioneras americanas Maura Clark, Ita Ford, Dorothy Kazel y Jean Marie Donovan en El Salvador. Especialmente trágico fue lo que pasó en Guatemala y que viene narrado por Penny Lernoux (Cry of the People), la correspondiente del National Catholic Reporter por más de treinta años” Un cierto día de 1982, el ejército guatemalteco vino a Santa Cruz El Quiché y ganó control de la aldea. Sus habitantes fueron llamados a la plaza central y les dijeron que sus catequistas eran “subversivos.” El ejército salvara las vidas de los aldeanos – dijo el capitán – “si ustedes mismos mataran a los catequistas esta misma noche; de otra forma Santa Cruz y las aldeas vecinas serán destruidas.”
personas fueron salvadas, pero el honor del ejército guatemalteco fue manchado para siempre. En mi libro, Lucas, Justo, Ángel, Domingo y Juan son auténticos mártires de nuestra fe y la Iglesia debería reconocerlos como santos. Esperamos que esto venga a suceder bajo el Papa Francisco, que parece listo para empezar a cumplir las grandes promesas del Vaticano II. Una Iglesia que es un testigo efectivo del Evangelio es una Iglesia de profetas y mártires, no una iglesia que busca esconderse por detrás de infalibilidad clerical y de un concepto de poder que nada tiene a ver con el ejemplo de Jesús. También creo que Don Hélder Câmara debía ser acrecentado al proceso de canonización de Oscar Romero. Don
El Papa Juan XXIII, todos lo sabemos, fue un verdadero santo. No puedo decir lo mismo de Juan Pablo II. Los soldados se retiraron y los aldeanos debatieron sus opciones. Ellos sabían que el ejército cumpliría su amenaza, pues ya había asesinado 15 sacerdotes y una monja que trabajaban en educación y entrenamiento en liderazgo de los indígenas. No obstante, los aldeanos votaron unánimemente contra la idea de matar a sus catequistas: Lucas, Justo, Angel, Domingo, and Juan. Pero los propios catequistas insistieron que los aldeanos debían darles la muerte: “Es preferible que los cinco de nosotros muriéramos que miles de ustedes vengan a morir.” A las 4 horas de la mañana, con sus corazones entristecidos y con lágrimas en sus ojos, todos marcharon al cementerio liderados por Lucas, Justo, Ángel, Domingo y Juan. Los aldeanos cavaron las tumbas y formaron un semicírculo alrededor de los catequistas que se pusieron de rodillas en cuanto que sus parientes sacaron de sus machetes. Muchos de los aldeanos cerraron sus ojos y otros se desmayaron mientras que las láminas cortaban las cabezas de los catequistas. Los aldeanos enterraron los cuerpos y retornaron a sus casas en silencio. El día siguiente el capitán comandante del área fue informado que sus órdenes habían sido cumplidas. Miles de
Hélder fue el gran profeta de la Iglesia de Brasil durante las décadas de 1960 hasta 2000, y como era esperado, fue perseguido por los dictadores militares de Brasil, con el consentimiento del Vaticano, que decoró uno de los Presidentes militares con la “Rosa de Oro.” El Papa Juan XXIII, todos lo sabemos, fue un verdadero santo. No puedo decir lo mismo de Juan Pablo II. Su comportamiento durante su visita a Nicaragua, cuando apuntó el dedo sobre la cara del padre Fernando Cardenal en la pista del aeropuerto, no me parece la acción de un santo, pero de un hombre siempre listo a juzgar a las personas. Esperamos que el Papa Francisco haga las necesarias reformas de la Curia, las cuales no serán efectivas al menos que a las mujeres se les dé igualdad integral, incluso el derecho al sacerdocio, y que muchos de los santos de nuestro tiempo sean reconocidos como auténticos modelos de vida. Lucas, Justo, Ángel, Domingo y Juan son verdaderos santos e imitadores de Jesucristo porque dieron sus vidas para salvar la vida de su pueblo. u Bio: Tarcísio Beal es Profesor Emérito de la Universidad del Verbo Encarnado en San Antonio.
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sería declarado santo porque sus “armarios estaban llenos de esqueletos.” No sabía el fraide que Juan Pablo II removería el mayor obstáculo de la canonización de Pio IX, o sea, el Abogado del Diablo. No hay sorpresa, entonces, que Juan Pablo II haya canonizado más santos durante su pontificado que todos otros papas juntos. Pio IX no debía ser presentado como santo. Su teología en el “Sílabo de Errores,” que fue rectificado en gran parte por la Iglesia, y su comportamiento en relación a los judíos lo descalifican como ejemplo a los fieles. Esto sin mencionar su excomunión de la gran mayoría de sus súbditos en los Estados Pontificios (91%) que votaron par ser parte de una Italia unificada en 1870. El propio Rey Vittorio Emanuele II murió en gran angustia sin los sacramentos cuando fue excomunicado. La carta de Pio IX removiendo la excomunión llegó después de su muerte. Otro papa que no me parece santo es Pio X. Su lucha contra el modernismo declaró anatema la libertad de consciencia y palabra y ordenó a los católicos que espiaran unos a otros. Desde la mitad de la década de 1960 hasta los 1990s, América Latina atestiguó el aparecimiento de centenas de mártires de la fe, verdaderos santos que han sido ignorados y olvidados por el Vaticano. Este está siempre listo para adicionar “santos” al calendario, pero tiene miedo de profetas. Será interesante observar de ahora en adelante cuantos de centenas o miles de mártires de las dictaduras militares anticomunistas van a entrar en consideración como mártires de la fe. El Obispo Enrique Angelleli fue asesinado en Argentina por razón de su coraje en denunciar un régimen que mató más de 30,000 de sus ciudadanos; el padre Henrique Pereira Neto, ayudante del Arzobispo Hélder Câmara, fue muerto por operativos para-militares en OlindaRecife, Brasil; el padre João Bosco Burnier, asistente del Obispo Pedro Casaldáliga, el gran defensor de los indigenas de Mato Grosso, fue matado a tiros cuando se encontraba al lado del Obispo; la hermana Dorotea Stang fue muerta porque defendía los derechos humanos de los indígenas; el noviembre 16, 1989, los jesuitas Amando López Quintana, Ignacio Ellacuría, Juan Ramón Moreno Pardo, Ignacio MartínBaró y Segundo Montes Mozo, más su ama de llaves Elba Julia Ramos y su hija Celina Maricet Ramos fueron asesinadas por soldados de la dictadura militar de El Salvador; también sabemos del martirio de
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Stories of an American Indian Graduate Center (AIGC) Alumni through Time An AIGC Alumnus Answers,
by Stephine Poston
Why Did I Return?
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“In March 2008, during a major operation, my heart stopped. I had a NDE [near death experience]. I met the Creator and was told, ‘You’re not finished. You still have work to do.’”
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An AIGC alumnus, Dr. A. C. Ross (Sichangu and Santee Sioux) asked himself the question, “Why did I return?” When separated, the words in this question stand alone as simple, versatile and common. Yet, when combined, they form something profound. Why am I here? It is an awakening question; one that begets an individual to ponder his or her own meaning or purpose. The response to “Why am I here?” might change for some, as life experiences drive new motivations and wisdom awakens dormant passions. It is an introspective question demanding an equally thoughtful answer. For Dr. A. C. Ross, the answer to that question began long before his first breath. His mother was a scholarly trailblazer. After high school, she attended Haskell Institute and in 1930 obtained her two-year teaching degree. She advanced to a bachelor’s/ master’s program, completing her graduate degree from Northern Arizona University. Her doctorate was received from Oglala Lakota College. “She taught for 28 years on Rosebud and Pine Ridge reservations. She was instrumental in getting the Oglala Lakota College started,” Ross proudly recalls. “When she retired from the school system, she became the first woman tribal chair person in modern times. She had four sons and inspired all of us.” And inspire she did. Each of his three brothers hold advanced degrees. Dr. A. C. Ross has a doctorate in Education Administration, from Western Colorado University, a Master of Arts in Education, from Arizona State University, and a Bachelor of Science in Education, from Black Hills State University. “Her influence has permeated down and spread,” he explains. Dr. A. C. Ross spent the majority of his career serving a range of capacities in the education industry and watched as his mother’s influence continued to spread through three generations. “My siblings and I have 12 children in education. We have five teachers, a counselor and one principal. One wrote a grant and started her own program – The Coalition for Healthy and Resilient Youth – to prevent high school dropouts. Another is head of Indian Education at Oglala Sioux Tribe. One of my granddaughters just stared teaching school. Three granddaughters are currently seniors in college majoring in education,” Dr. Ross declares. “We are a family of educators.” His words are spoken with fortitude and insight. There is depth and appreciation behind his and his family’s accomplishments. As Dr. Ross explains, his path was not so straight and narrow; he had his share of struggles along the way. “Six weeks ago, I received my 35-year sobriety medal,” he states matter-of-factly. “I’ve been sober for 35 years. I had to battle that, plus going to
Dorothy Brave Eagle Ross receives the 2013 Denver Native Elder of the Year award from Cheryl Crazy Bull. In the center is her husband, Dr. A.C. Ross.
school, plus working. I used to think I was just having fun for the weekend. But then, one night became all weekend, then it was every weekend and on and on. It was my wife, Dorothy Brave Eagle, who helped me gain sobriety through Lakota spirituality.” His wife, who is a member of the Oglala tribe, also had a distinguish career. She was recently selected as 2013 Denver Native elder of the year, by the American Indian College Fund, for her contributions to the Denver community. Dorothy has been a counselor, program administrator, the Denver Indian Center Director, Denver Region Eight Contract Specialist, a BIA Administrator Officer in Denver and an Agency Eight Superintendent. In 1992, Dorothy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and took medical retirement from the federal government. Dr. Ross states he admires his wife’s perseverance in battling the disease for 21 years. The women in his life, his mother, his wife, daughters and, now, granddaughters, have provided him with his unique outlook on life. Dr. Ross relates that, according to the Mayan calendar, which is five times more accurate than the calendar we use today, mankind has entered a new age in which the feminine energy will be prominent. Native people are a step ahead, he says, because they come from matrilineal families/societies. Through his sobriety, Dr. Ross became an author, an international lecturer, a historian, a CEO and an educational leader. His life has taken the course of a U.S. Army paratrooper, an Education Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a college professor, a principal and a teacher, among other roles. He has written six books. His first book entitled, Mitakuye Oyasin: We Are All Related, won a top book award at Europe’s largest book fair in 1992.
Today is painful but it is not the end. . . .
are all called to be a part of the messy, painful, challenging work of sanctification, that work that makes our church and our collective selves more representative of the radical world of Table where all feast, and of Baptism, where all are claimed by the waters. This is our work as Christian people. Today is painful but it is not the end. I still dare to hope. As we continue to journey together on our church’s path to its true self by condemning its injustices, grieving the harm it causes, and following the guidance of the Spirit wherever she leads, we are living out the witness of our faith. This is our Christian task. This is our hope. Our faithful witnesses are not dependent on institutions, outcomes, or definable goals. They are solely dependent on our living out the tasks to which God calls us, whatever forms they may take. May we mourn because we know it doesn’t have to be this way. May we shake our fists in anger at all the ways our church continues to harm the lives of its own people. May we keep knocking, persistently and daringly, on the doors of the church we love until they open in the name of the ones who have had doors slammed in their faces, in the name of the ones who have felt no choice but to leave, and most importantly, in the name of the Divine voice who claims us all. u
In his current role as a Lakota elder and lecturer, Dr. Ross takes his message to smaller groups around the country. His most recent passion is astronomy. “I have just finished a lecture, available on a DVD entitled, American Indian Star Connections. I feel the future is in the stars,” he says. “There are so many opportunities in astronomy – astrobiology, astrology, astrophysics. These are our future. An older man now, with long grey hair swept back behind his shoulders, Dr. Ross
is focused on the future. Through his voice – wavering with both time and experience – he explains that the future of all children is what is most important. Not surprisingly, Dr. Ross makes education the center of his advice for young people today. “Education is the answer. Don’t give up,” he says. “You’ve got to have some sort of education, no matter what it is in.” Why am I here? For Dr. Ross, that question might best be answered by his children, grandchildren, great-
grandchildren and the many hundreds of past students he has influenced through his passion for education. Case in point: “One of my great-grandsons, who is 12 years old, said to me, ‘Grandpa, when I grow up, I want to be a teacher.’” u
Editor’s note: The following is an update to Standing Up for Justice in the United Methodist Church published in the February 2014 La Voz about Mary Ann Barclay’s pursuit of ordination as a deacon.
by Mary Ann Barclay
t’s been a long journey
Article previously published (May 13, 2014 ) by the RMN Blog, www.rmnblog. org/2014/05/ barclay.html
Note: This article was first published in “The American Indian Graduate” magazine, Spring 2014 Edition. Used with permission and all rights apply. To view issues of “The American Indian Graduate” magazine, link the aigcs.org website at: www.aigcs.org/aigc-publications
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starting with my 17-year-old self wondering if I might be called to ministry, to all of the steps that have led me to this point: the Bishop’s rulings, the Judicial Council reviews, the preparation. Just two weeks ago I allowed myself to really imagine the possibility that I would be commissioned as Deacon in June. The mere thought of it was challenging to grasp. The closeness of it, the possibility, only a short month away. It felt surreal. All the reasons I “can’t” be ordained despite God’s call weigh so heavily on my heart and mind that even imagining the reality of my denomination affirming my ministry can be too painful or seem too absurd to even allow myself in a daydream. Marginalized people set up these sorts of psychological self-protections because we know all too well that dreaming can hurt. When we dare to hope in the church and its people, to trust them with our bruised hearts and tired bodies, we put ourselves at risk yet again of disappointment, of betrayal, of harm. Today I hoped in my Board of Ordained Ministry, and in my church, by
trusting in them enough to share the call God has placed on my life. Their vote not to recommend me for ministry today makes me sad, hurt, and angry. I am sad because my journey is stalled and because my denomination is not its true self today. I am hurt by the prejudice we have deemed polity. And I am angry because I know the sadness and hurt I carry is a familiar feeling for so many other LGBTQ folks in The UMC who dare to keep dreaming. I join other rejected candidates, the ones who feel no choice but to leave, the clergy forced to live in the closet, the members who struggle with their place in their own denomination, and the queer clergy who have faced trials or have been defrocked solely because of who they are. I am angry that we continue to grow in number. Today the board voted not to move me forward in my ordination process because they felt I failed to articulate my understanding of the “Lordship of Christ for the world,” the particular role of ordination, and a failure to communicate my “internal call.” Their decision means that I will continue my journey for ordination, but, per normal procedure, will have to go back to my district committee, one that has had complaints filed against them for passing me the first time. My sexual orientation never came up in the interview. I can’t help but wonder how their perception of my sexuality influenced their thinking. My first priority as a Christian is not ordination at all cost. Rather, it is living out my faith. With or without the Board’s approval, my task remains the same. Even when our denomination becomes fully inclusive of its LGBTQ members, it will not be the Kindom. There is more conversation, more conflict, more discrimination, and we are all called to the center of that. We
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* community meetings *
Amnesty International #127 info. Call Arthur Dawes @ 210.213.5919. Bexar Co. Green Party: Call 210. 471.1791 or info@bexargreens.org Celebration Circle meets Sundays, 11am@SA Garden Ctr., 3310 N. New Braunfels @ Funston Pl. Meditation: Weds @7:30pm, Quaker Mtg House, 7052 Vandiver. 210-533-6767. DIGNITY S.A. gathers @ 5:15 pm, mass @ 5:30 pm, Sunday @ Beacon Hill Presbyterian Church, 1101 W. Woodlawn. Call 210.340.2230 Adult Wellness Support Group sponsored by PRIDE Center meets 4th Mondays, 7-9 pm @ Lions Field, 2809 Broadway. Call 210.213.5919. Energía Mía meets as-needed for the time being. Call 512.838.3351. Fuerza Unida, 710 New Laredo Hwy. See www.lafuerzaunida.org or call 210.927.2294 Habitat for Humanity meets 1st Tues. for volunteer orientation, 6pm, HFHSA Office @ 311 Probandt.
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The NOW SA Area Chapter meets 3rd Weds. @ 6:30pm at Esperanza. | 210.802.9068, Email: nowsaareachapter@gmail.com, FB/ satx.now
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Be Part of a
492-5400.
Progressive Movement
People’s Power Coalition meets last Thursdays. Call 210.878.6751 PFLAG, meets 1st Thurs. @ 7pm, University Presbyterian Church 300 Bushnell Ave. Call 210.655.2383. Parents of Murdered Children, meets 2nd Mondays @ Balcones Heights Community Ctr, 107 Glenarm See www.pomcsanantonio.org. The Rape Crisis Center 7500 US Hwy 90W. Hotline: 210.349. 7273/210.521.7273 Email: sgabriel@ rapecrisis.com The Religious Society of Friends meets Sundays@10am @ The Friends Meeting House, 7052 N. Vandiver. 210.945.8456. S.A. Gender Association meets 1st & 3rd Thursdays, 6-9pm @ 611 E. Myrtle, Metropolitan Cmty Church. The SA AIDS Fdn 818 E. Grayson St. offers free Syphilis & HIV testing, 210.225.4715|www.txsaaf.org. SGI-USA LGBT Buddhist group meets 2nd Sat. at 10am @ 7142 San Pedro Ave., Ste 117. Call 210.653.7755.
in San Antonio
¡Todos Somos Esperanza! Start your 2014 monthly donations now! Esperanza works to bring awareness and action on issues relevant to our communities. With our vision for social, environmental, economic and gender justice, Esperanza centers the voices and experiences of the poor & working class, women, queer people and people of color. We hold pláticas and workshops; organize political actions; present exhibits and performances and document and preserve our cultural histories. We consistently challenge City Council and the corporate powers of the city on issues of development, low-wage jobs, gentrification, clean energy and more. It takes all of us to keep the Esperanza going. What would it take for YOU to become a monthly donor? Call or come by the Esperanza to learn how. ¡Esperanza vive! ¡La lucha sigue!
Proyecto Hospitalidad Liturgy meets Thurs. 7pm, 325 Courtland.
Shambhala Buddhist Meditation classes: Tu. 7-8pm & Sun. 9:30am12:30pm, 257 E. Hildebrand Ave. Call 210.222.9303.
SA Women Will March meets yearround. Call 210.262.0654 or see www.sawomenwillmarch.org
S.N.A.P. (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests). Contact Barbara at 210.725.8329.
Metropolitan Community Church services & Sunday school @10:30am, 611 East Myrtle. Call 210.472.3597
Voice for Animals: 210.737.3138 or www.voiceforanimals.org for info
We raised approx $10,000 to help sustain and expand our programming & organizing.
SA’s LGBTQA Youth Group meets Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at University Presbyterian Church, 300 Bushnell Ave. See fiesta-youth.org
Call 210.228.0201 or email esperanza@esperanzacenter.org for more info
Overeaters Anonymous meets MWF in Spanish & daily in English. See www.oasanantonio.org or (210)
THANK YOU TO ALL THE BUENA GENTE WHO DONATED DURING the recent Big Give S.A. & Give Out Days of Giving.
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Notas Y Más June 2014
The UTSA Mexican American Studies Department offers a Grad School Workshop on Saturday, June 7th from 10 am to 1 pm at the Downtown Campus Buena Vista Building 3.302 from 10 am to 1 pm. The workshop will cover • tips on applying for graduate school • real life experiences from grad students and • writing a statement of purpose letter. San Antonio has been a site of black and brown musical fusions throughout it’s history. Learn more about this on June 18th when the Mexican American Studies Department will offer a Minisymposium on Cultural Afromestizaje focusing on the Black and Brown Sounds in San Antonio. at the Downtown Campus at the Buena Vista Building 1.338 from 6-9 pm. The NOW SA Area Chapter meets on Wednesday, June 18th at 6:30 pm at the
Brief news items on upcoming community events. Send items for Notas y Más to: lavoz@esperanzacenter.org or mail to: 922 San Pedro, San Antonio, TX 78212. The deadline is the 8th of each month.
Esperanza Center. Join in the fun and work and meet new members! Call Diana at 512.983.4473. Email: nowsaareachapter@ gmail.com for more. And, check us out on facebook, too.
The XVII World Congress of Criminology of The International Society for Criminology will be held in Monterry, Nuevo Leon, Mexico at the Cintermex Congress Center Aug. 10-14 focusing on Gangs, Trafficking & Insecurity: Empowering the The Julián Samora Research Institute at Community. www.criminology2014.com Michigan State University is celebrating its 25th anniversay with a conference, La- Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education tinos in 2050: Restoring the Public Good, & Society has just published its latest Call in East Lansing on Oct. 30th to Nov. 1st. A for Submissions, for our Fall 2014 issue! call for papers has been issued with a July It can be read at: decolonization.org/index. 1st deadline. Call 517.432.1317 or go to php/des/announcement/view/433 jsri.msu.edu/vents/25years.Papers may be NationMInside needs help! Are you or a submitted to jsamorai@msu.edu loved one formerly incarcerated? What can The MALCS 2014 Summer Institute, you tell us about your experience that imMapping Geographies of Self: Woman as pacts your employment opportunities? We First Environment, will be held at North- want to support efforts addressing barriers ern New Mexico College at the El Rito to re-entry. Help build a movement. Call Campus from July 30-August 2nd. See (877) 410-4863 and record your story 24/7. See: www.nationinside.org http://malcsnm2014.com/ for details.
2nd Annual
Gitana
Revolucion Celebrating the Spanish Gypsy’s Historia y Arte
featuring
Silvia Salamanca & Zombie Bazaar
Info: 210.459.6660 | giomarabaza@ yahoo.com
Workshops @ Southwest Workers Union Platica & Performance @ Esperanza Tickets @ eventbrite.com
Preservation Texas honored Lerma’s Nite Club at its recent 2014 Preservation Summit in May listing it among the 2014 Texas’ Most Endangered Place List. On October 21, 2010, the S.A. City Council unanimously approved city landmark designation for the building and it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on March 21, 2011. Unfortunately, the awards and accolades that have been showered on this iconic Chicano musical venue do not include funds for restoration. The restoration of our National Register Landmark located at 1612 N Zarzamora in the heart of the Westside depends on buena gente like you who can write or call your city council representatives to allocate funds for its restoration. Gracias! SAVE & RESTORE LERMA’S! www.savelermas.org Call Susana @ 210.228.0201 for more info.
Portraits of Extraction in Eagle Ford and Beyond on exhibit through August 2014 @ Esperanza Gallery Hours: M-F 10am-7pm | 210.228.0201
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • June 2014 Vol. 27 Issue 5•
July 25-26
15
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • June 2014 Vol. 27 Issue 5•
SAVE THE DATE Esperanza Peace & Justice Center presents
Sunday, August 31st @ Majestic Theatre Contact Nettie Hinton @ 210.409.1682
Tickets on Sale in June | 210.228.0201 www.esperanzacenter.org
La Voz de Esperanza
Join us for our monthly concert series
922 San Pedro San Antonio TX 78212 210.228.0201 • www.esperanzacenter.org
Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID San Antonio, TX Permit #332
Haven’t opened La Voz in a while? Prefer to read it online? Wrong address? TO CANCEL A SUBSCRIPTION EMAIL lavoz@esperanzacenter.org CALL: 210.228.0201
Entre Boleros y Tangos
Saturday, June 21st 8pm Next Concert: July 19th
@ Esperanza $5 más o menos
Three Weekends!
Esperanza Peace & Justice Center presents
June 6-22
Jotos
2014
del Barrio
a play by Jesús Alonzo writer of Miss America: A Mexicanito Fairy’s Tale
directed by Maria A. Ibarra y Omar A. Leos June 6-8 & 13-15 | Fri-Sat at 7:30pm & Sun 2:00 pm June 20-22 | Fri at 7:30pm & Sat-Sun 2:00 pm @ Esperanza, 922 San Pedro, 210.228.0201 Special Event Dates
TICKETS $12 PreSale $15 Door* *except special events, see below to purchase: visit our website or scan code
June 6th Erica Andrews Tribute June 14th Jotos y Recuerdos Reception $20 June 21st Sabado Tardeada - $7 June 22nd Sunday Brunch con Drag $25
More Info inside p.3
/jotosdelbarrio