Titanic Post

SOJOURNERS – It’s sadly rare for a church leader, or for the leaders of most of our dominant institutions, to demonstrate a spirituality that attracts millions of people around the world – particularly so many young people. But the scene of millions lining up to simply pass by the body of John Paul II in Rome this week is remarkable indeed. The enormous attraction to this pope goes far beyond agreement with all the positions of the Catholic Church or even all of the decisions of his papacy. Indeed the “ecumenical” and even “interfaith” attraction to John Paul II reflects his own practice of reaching out to more people in more faith traditions than any other pope ever has.

One of the great attractions of Pope John Paul II’s spirituality was his consistency. At the core of Catholic social teaching is the idea of a “consistent ethic of life,” an ethic that seeks to protect and defend human life and dignity wherever and whenever they are threatened, and which challenges the selective moralities of both the political left and right. (more…)

When you give food to the poor, they call you a saint. When you ask why the poor have no food, they call you a communist.

~ Archbishop Helder Camara, Brazil

Like many of you, I was intimidated as a child by the way our local preacher looked down at me from the pulpit and went on and on about the sins of mankind. At the time I had good reason to feel singled out by Reverend Davis. My memories are of the many ways I was going to hell and what was going to happen to me once I got there.

My parents had to drag me, kicking and screaming to Church. I remember resenting having to go to church, but I actually enjoyed Sunday School and the Bible stories I heard there. I especially liked the ones about Jesus and how he stood up for the little guy and against the powerful. Later, reading the gospels, I rediscovered this same Jesus who became a guide for my philosophical and spiritual development that, in turn, made me into the bleeding heart that I am.

Jesus lived and died in the name of justice and in the spirit of peace. He was an activist who has influenced peacemakers from Gandhi to Dorethy Day, Martin Luther King to Nelson Mandela. He provoked the priesthood and the Roman occupiers, spoke out against all religion and all government, considered economic injustice a sin and welcomed all people–no matter what their race, religion, sex, or sexual preference; without judgment or expectation. Jesus was a radical in his time and now, but this is not what you hear from the pulpit today. The refusal of most churches to deal with his words on poverty and social injustice, their eagerness to cheerlead for those in power, and their focus on bedrooms and abortion is proof that they their sole interest is power.