"Pope Francis Links"
Dear E,
Thanks for your email.
What
is "coming to a head" is humankind's need to include the "structural
sins" of economics and politics as part of the proper purview of
religion.
Although it is not commonly discussed, our
Catholic viewpoint has already undergone one categorical shift, away
from the theology of Augustine to the theology of Aquinas.
Perhaps third time's the charm?
Yes, individual responsibility is crucial for conscionable behavior.
But
there is good reason to include the "collective structures of political
and economic process" as indispensable components of religion.
Here is an illuminating approach...
individuals are individually responsible.
However, individuals are also collectively responsible for what we do as members of The Body Politic.
As
integral parts of "larger bodies" our moral participation in "The Body
Politic" is analogous to our participation in "The Mystical Body of
Christ" wherein our collective behaviors contribute - or fail to
contribute - to the ongoing Incarnation.
It is also helpful to recall that traditional Catholic teaching Focuses "sins of commission" as well as "sins of omission."
How many Catholics have ever confessed to the latter?
Yet sins of omission remain an essential part of traditional church teaching.
If
you and I were black, I am confident we would have an entirely
different view of the sinfulness embedded in collective political
behavior.
It is an inconvenient truth that "the righteousness of slavery" was preached from Christian pulpits all across the South.
We
white people benefit from social, economic and political advantages
built into "the American way of life" by 200 formative-and-normative
years of white legislative process.
How could it be otherwise?
These
diligently constructed racial advantages -- weirdly denied by many
Americans -- also bring with them the inestimable advantage of sitting
atop The Totem Pole, from which lofty vantage it is seductively easy to
look down on everyone below us, "preaching" the moral responsibility of
lifting themselves by their bootstraps.
I am
reminded of George Carlin's observation: "Have you ever noticed that
anyone driving faster than us is a maniac demon, whereas anyone driving
slower than us is a stick-in-the-mud slowpoke?
The
urge to normalize our own behavior -- and to view the behavior of "the
other guy" as abnormal - is a fundamental error in judgment to which we
all incline.
Consider...
I know a revered professor of public health at UNC Chapel Hill -- John Hatch -- all of whose grandparents were slaves.
In one ancestral family, every child was sold at auction on a single fateful day.
One daughter, knowing it would be highly unlikely she would ever see her family again, committed suicide during the night.
This horrific story is part of "living memory" and a part of living memory that you and I cannot even imagine.
To
pretend that centuries of devastating exploitation and humiliation --
validated by most Christian denominations (and St. Paul himself!) -- do
not have lasting impact on the descendants of many slave families is to
exempt ourselves from entire domains of "collective political and
religious responsibility" that would crush us if we tried to shoulder
the burden.
Pax tecum
Alan
PS
Perhaps another time I can describe my father's work with a group of
lay Catholics to topple the ubiquitous banking practice of "red-lining,"
one of many ways (including the felony of marrying a white person) that
American blacks were systematically oppressed well into the second half
of the 20th century.
***
On Mon, Jul 6, 2015 at 12:05 PM, EK wrote:
You will not be surprised that I think the Pope should stick to matters of
religion. And I¹m sure Fred would agree that ag producers know all too
well that they must take care of the soil in order to continue raising
crops. But that is only one tiny part of the bigger issue.
:)
We are blessed to live in interesting times. (Just heard the ³news² of the
new slimmer Oreos. ARGH. Why is that news???)
We are lost Š :)/ek
***
On 7/6/15, 10:39 AM, <alanarchibaldo@gmail.com>
wrote:
The Cattle Network --- "Meat Of The Matter: Praise For The Pope"
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/community/contributors/meat-matter-praise-pope-0?ss=community,contributors
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