The parish of St. Dominic’s in Youngstown, OH has run through difficult times in the past couple of years.  Yet, the Dominican friars, particularly Fr. Gregory Maturi, O.P., prior and pastor of St. Dominic’s, have been working to make the area surrounding the church a safer place.

The local NBC affiliate for Youngstown recently ran a piece on Fr. Maturi’s work with “Operation Redemption” which seeks to improve the neighborhood by removing run down and vacated homes as well as create a new parish center.  This will hopefully add to the stabalization of the parish’s neighborhood, which saw two murders at St. Dominic’s in 2010.  It will also provide space for fields for middle-schoolers to play sports in leagues, another means to prevent future problems by giving them a means to stay out of gang related activity.

Please keep Fr. Maturi, the Dominican friars in Youngstown, and the parish of St. Dominic’s in your prayers as they continue to try and make their neighborhood a safer place to live and pray.

Catholic Social Teaching provides glasses to look at the world. It gives us principles by which we can judge the failings and successes of a social situation or political plan. Concern for the poor, the respect of human dignity from conception until natural death, the just distribution or resources, the duty to be peacemakers, economic freedom, religious freedom – all of these and more characterize a just society. Most of all, the social magisterium allows us to unite our public life with center of our faith, the Paschal mystery.

The first part of the Paschal mystery is the suffering of Christ. Love for our sorrowful Lord spurs us to compassion. In light of Catholic teaching, we see the crucifixion lived out in so many places. There is the tremendous poverty of the developing world; the repression of so many beaten down and imprisoned by the Roman soldiery of political repression or the Pharisaical energy of religious extremism; and the untold millions lost to the horror of legalized abortion. Catholic Social Teaching calls us to look upon such sorrow and, like the Blessed Mother gazing at her crucified Son, be moved with a compassion that only faith in God can save from despair.

St. Katherine Drexel used to travel the country by train with her wealthy family when she was a child. She was moved by the sight of the suffering of two of America’s beleaguered minorities: African Americans and Native Americans. Inheriting the equivalent in today’s money of tens of millions of dollars, she would found a religious order dedicated to helping those peoples and giving away virtually every last penny of her fortune. St. Katharine’s experience of compassion as a child bore fruit in a way that gives a powerful lesson to the wealthy countries of the world: riches are meant to be shared.

The second part of the Paschal mystery, so to speak, is the Resurrection. As we suffer with the needy in the world, we also have the promise of Christ’s victory. Too much reading of the news and pondering the failings of political leaders can lead to discouragement. But justice and peace can spring up in the most unexpected ways. Martin Luther King, Jr,. quoted Amos 5:24 so memorably: “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” True progress – what the popes like to call “integral development” – comes from God and can come in a life-giving flood. No doubt there was Divine power in the successes of the civil rights movement and we can hope for similar victories in other areas.

Indeed faithful Catholics played the leading role in one of the most astonishing victories for social justice in the twentieth century: the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe in 1989. The memorable symbol of this momentous reversal was the fall of the Berlin Wall, but the movement’s success was spurred by the Solidarity union in Poland and energized by the election to the papacy of Blessed John Paul II. Nobel Peace laureate Lech Walesa led this movement against Communist repression under the banner of Our Lady of Czestochowa, culminating in the election of Catholic intellectual Tadeusz Mazowiecki as Prime Minister. Thereafter, in a series of events which should still cause wonder, one virtually bloodless revolution after another brought down Communist tyranny in central and eastern Europe. It is hardly a stretch to call this historic turn of events an instance of the Resurrection manifested in human events.

The Paschal mystery is lived out in the lives of individuals but also in the world at large. As Christians we are called to enter the mystery of suffering in the world, just as our Savior came from heaven to be with us. The glasses given to us by Catholic Social Teaching attune us ever more to the wrongs that exist. But, in light of the our Easter faith, our interaction with society should be marked by a hope that that justice and truth can ring forth anywhere. We strive for this so that the world we live in will ever more resemble the Kingdom to come.

The Church and the Individual Christian in Public Life

One characteristic of Pope Benedict’s magisterium is that some of his most attention-getting points, and occasional controversies, come from statements of lesser authority – discourses, homilies, interviews – than the great teaching documents by which popes usually make an imprint in the world. This is in part because he has a way of speaking in full fledged theological treatises even off the cuff, and in part because of his appealing candor. An interview on his recent airplane trip to Mexico provided the opportunity for two trenchant observations on Catholic social teaching.

As reported by the Vatican Information Service, a Mexican journalist asked whether the Church does enough concerning the great social inequalities in Latin America. The Holy Father responded,

“The Church must of course ask if she does enough for social justice on that great continent. It is a question of conscience which we must always pose ourselves. … What must the Church do? What can she not do? What must she not do? The Church is not a political power, she is not a party but a moral entity, a moral power.” [Emphasis added.]

Here is a simply stated expression of the role of the Church in the social realm. She is a “moral power,” not a political one. The Church does not get involved in the nitty-gritty of civic life but offers moral principles to guide the participation of the laity. This view of the Church avoids the two extremes of theocracy, on the one hand, and of a merely aesthetic Church afraid to engage in the world, on the other. So often nowadays, when the Church is accused of interfering in politics, it is actually the opposite that is happening. The state is interfering in the realm of morality, taking upon itself the task of defining right and wrong – whether it’s about abortion, contraception mandates, or concocting new criteria for a just war.

Pope Benedict then went on to describe the basic duty of the Church to guide the laity in their public life:

In Latin America, as elsewhere, no small number of Catholics show a kind of schizophrenia between individual and public morals. … We must educate people to overcome this schizophrenia, educate them not only in … individual morality, but also in public morality. [Emphasis added.]    

“Schizophrenia” is a striking term to describe the problem of Catholics whose personal devotion is not matched by their public attachment to Church social teaching. It is caused by ignorance of the doctrine and the relative ease of jumping in with one political camp or another based on a portion of the Christian message. Rather we are called to accept the fullness of the teaching at the expense of being a bit of a political outsider. The “public morality” the Pope mentions is precisely the way a Christian brings the Gospel fully into the social realm. Reminiscent of the term “political holiness” – albeit used by liberation theologians – public morality on the part of Catholics is what is so crucially called for in the world today. It is the light of Christ shed on public discourse.

Pope Benedict, simply as a theologian, has digested the fullness of Catholic Social Teaching over the course of his life. His simple summations are worth remembering. The world needs the moral force that the Church represents. As Christ’s enemies sought to destroy him, so certain powers today will seek to silence the Church. But if pastors teach Catholic social thought and the laity witness to a true public morality, the Gospel in all its fullness will never fail to be proclaimed and lived.

Fr. Thomas Petri, O.P., of the Theology Department at Providence College traveled to the mountain villages of Duverger and Dandann in Haiti to do missionary work earlier this month. He was accompanied by Prof. Paul Gondreau, also of the Theology Department at Providence College. Their group of missionaries spent their days visiting with Haitian orphans and with the villagers. The villagers there rarely see a priest, and so were grateful to receive the Sacraments form Fr. Petri, particularly the Sacrament of the Eucharist.  There are already plans to return to this mission next January.  Below is a video presentation of some of the pictures from their recent mission to Haiti.

Preaching Catholic Social Teaching in an Election Year

“Something to Offend Everyone”

Speaking about social issues during a presidential election year can be difficult, even counter-productive. Many in the pew have already aligned with a side and can view statements from the pulpit to be a subtle endorsement of a candidate. If it is not their candidate, they will close their ears or become angry. But Catholic Social Teaching is truly non-partisan. It has elements that seem liberal and elements that seem conservative, but it is not encompassed by either side. One strategy in preaching about social issues might be to take a poke at the failings of both sides–even if one’s main point is more one way than the other. It gives the clear impression that one is not partisan and it shakes people out of their merely political categories to open them up to the fullness of Catholic truth. Here is my own attempt – the “Pastor’s Column” in the St. Denis parish bulletin shortly after the HHS contraception mandate came out. For what it’s worth!

Dear Parishioners,

Last week before the homily I strenuously condemned a new regulation from the Obama administration that mandates coverage of abortion, sterilization and abortifacients by employers, including many Catholic institutions. I also read a passage from a letter by Bishop Libasci protesting the rule. Some may wonder if the Bishop and I violated the separation of church and state in so directly addressing an act of the government. We did not, and let me explain why.

For the record, I have a strong distaste for religious rhetoric that implies too much confidence in political parties. For instance, there are certain “Catholic” voter guides that put an exclusive emphasis on issues like abortion and traditional marriage, as if there are no other aspects to Catholic Social Teaching. They all but direct the reader to vote Republican. On the other side, there are factions within the Church who put such an emphasis on social justice, as to ignore life issues. They give the impression that they the Church is “the Democratic party at prayer.” The Gospel is bigger than any political camp. It challenges everyone. We should never let a party or politician be our messiah or magisterium.

So can the Church say anything about politics? Ponder this question and you will know the answer: does God have anything to do with politics? Of course He does. And so the Church must announce the Good News of Salvation not only as it pertains to individuals, but as it pertains to society. What the Church proposes in political matters are basic principles that should be the foundation of any democracy: the right to life, concern for the needy, the essential importance of the traditional family, justice and peace, etc. Catholic Social Teaching is not about politicking but rather offering moral truths that form the basis of Christian political participation. It is one thing to say you must vote for this or that candidate – that is interference; it is another to say that the state must protect unborn life – that is necessary for civilization.

Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko

Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko preached religious freedom and democracy in Communist Poland in the early 1980′s. The government believed he violated the separation of Church and state and they killed him. Around the same time, the Servant of God Archbishop Oscar Romero declaimed the abuses and violence of a right-wing military regime, unfortunately backed by the United States. Of course that government thought he was meddling and he was killed while celebrating Mass. We can’t leave it to government to determine what we can speak about. If we do that, we are letting the Beast (cf. Revelation 13) roam freely. Injustice must be denounced. Truth is to be proclaimed from the mountaintops.

During this election year you will never hear a partisan message from the Church nor from the pulpit of St. Denis. But you will hear things that will make members of both sides uncomfortable. We can choose to listen to the voice of Christ, as spoken by His pastors, or we can choose to give ourselves totally to a political ideology – and you might not like where that takes you! Catholic Social Teaching is sometimes called the best kept secret in the Church. Consider joining our monthly meetings as we ponder this timeless wisdom. The next one is March 5th.

In Christ,

Fr. Francis, OP

Is there a social justice angle to the Nativity story? This question may at first seem designed to quench any Christmas spirit. One would rather not think about politics when contemplating the heartwarming tableau of the Holy Family at Bethlehem. But Catholic social teaching is an expression of the magisterium of the Church, and thus rooted in the Gospel. So, of course, such a central mystery as the Incarnation speaks to the issue of social justice.

To start, the Incarnation teaches us about the dignity of women. Second class citizens in the ancient world, women have always borne a greater share of poverty and victimization than men. Yet the greatest event in history involved a young woman’s yes to God. Our salvation depended on the feminine virtue of Mary – not the male-imitating careerist model of modern radical feminism; but a moral strength precisely exhibited in motherhood, in a loving marriage, and in fidelity to Divine Truth. Modeled on the Blessed Mother, authentic femininity must be exalted for its potential to bear salvation to the world.

The story of Christmas is so familiar and beautiful that we can forget the heart-wrenching trials that Mary and Joseph went though in bringing Jesus into the world. They experienced homelessness and poverty, the indignity of being an afterthought in a great empire, and the hardship of being without friends or family at a vulnerable moment. Our awareness heightened by the story of Bethlehem, we as a society are called to a special concern for “those who are poor or in any way afflicted”. (Gaudium et Spes, para. 1) We now know for sure that no human being is insignificant, no matter how unfortunate his or her circumstances.

Then there are the three Wiseman, who came from the East to honor the newborn King. Their entry into the picture marks, in a way, the beginning of the story of the Church Universal, with its role of healing the divisions among the peoples of the earth. Christmas teaches us that men can lay down their arms, dispense with prejudices and petty hatreds, and discover their commonality as human beings, children of the same Father. Today everyone recognizes the message of peace that Christmas entails. The Christ child reminds us of the futility of violence.

There are other social justice lessons in the Christmas story as well: the Holy Family suffer the lot of refugees and the cruelty of a tyrant; they themselves demonstrate the importance of the institution of the family as the basic unit of society; and the baby Jesus gives the Divine stamp to the message of the dignity of every human from conception onward, even of those born into terribly trying situations. The Christ child transforms our personal lives and illuminates our individual faith lives indeed; but He was born into the world, not just our hearts. This Christmas may He be born again into our world, and may the light of His peace and justice shine in all the dark places.

Listen to Tracey McClure of Vatican Radio report about a landmark anniversary: the 500th anniversary of a Dominican preaching a homily that condemned social injustice and upheld the human right of all indigenous people to live freely, and with dignity. The year was 1511. The place, the island nation of Hispaniola, now modern-day Haiti. When it was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492, Hispaniola was inhabited by Taino Amerindians. But the Spanish conquistadores who took over the island had virtually annihilated them within 25 years. The first Dominicans arrived in 1510 to care for the Spanish settlers but soon became aware of the atrocious injustices being committed against the native population. So the small Dominican community together prepared the Advent homily and chose their most powerful orator, Friar Antonio Montesinos to read it out to the mostly Spanish congregation. And it was to be a homily like no other:

 “Tell me, by what right or justice do you keep these Indians in such cruel and horrible servitude? By what authority have you declared such detestable wars on this people who were living, cal mly and peacefully on their lands, where you have allowed an infinite number of them to be consumed in their sickness, resulting in death and destruction never hear of before? Through the excessive work you demand of them, they fall ill and die, or rather, you kill them with your desire to extract and acquire gold every day. And what do you care of the person who instructs them in the Faith and that they know their God and Creator, are baptized attend Mass, keep holy days and Sundays?

 Are these not men? Have they not rational souls? Are you not bound to love them as you love yourselves? This, do you not understand? This, do you not feel? Are you in such a profound sleep that you are lethargic? Be certain that in such a state as you are, you cannot be saved…”

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Fides News Agency (Fides) reports on a government study, published November 9, 2011 by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), that shows Pakistani school children are taught intolerance of minorities. The findings were backed by Fr. James Channan, O.P., (photo above with Pope Benedict XVI) the Dominican director of a center in Lahore, who says a reform of Pakistan’s education system is urgent.

“The teaching of religious intolerance in schools is at the root of the rise of violent religious extremism in Pakistan, the weak religious freedom and national instability” is what the Dominican Fr. James Channan, O.P., says in an interview with Fides.

Fr. Channan, has been engaged in education and interreligious dialogue for decades, and called “completely correct” the findings contained in the Report published today by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom titled “Connecting the dots: education and religious discrimination in Pakistan”. The Dominican recalls that “the Islamisation of textbooks in Pakistan began with the dictator Zia-ul-Haq and successive governments, including the current Pakistan People’s Party, have never had the strength to reform the education system, because of the pressures and constraints imposed by Islamic extremist groups and religious parties”. “The government is weak: it does not have the capacity and does not intend to challenge them. We were expecting reforms, but this did not happen, because in recent years the country has gradually Talibanized, with a loss for minorities and for democracy itself”.

“In the textbooks used in public schools – explains Fr. Channan – intolerance is openly promoted, it is said that Islam is a superior religion and speaks negatively of other faiths. We are very concerned about this approach: these ideas, propagated from primary schools to universities in the so-called ‘Islamic Studies’ but also social sciences disorient and manipulate the minds of young people”.

Fr. Robert Christian, O.P., a Dominican priest of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus (Western Province), was recently interviewed by the Catholic News Agency.  He was asked about the new document on global finance issued by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.  Fr. Christian is the Vice Dean of Theology at the Dominican Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome (the “Angelicum”).

Expert downplays Vatican council’s idea for financial body

By David Kerr

After the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace made headlines this week by issuing a document advocating the creation of a global financial body, one expert in Vatican documents downplayed its authority and said that it is only meant to spur reflection.

“I’d say if it calls itself ‘a note,’” Father Robert Christian, O.P., told CNA Oct. 26, “it is simply a meant to prompt the consciences of people as they ponder issues that seem to be of importance to the Universal Church.”

“So you’d say this is not something that is meant to bind consciences but is meant to stimulate consciences to reflection.”