03 September 2018
USCCB: Labor Day Statement 2018: "Just Wages and Human Flourishing"
In
his 2018 Labor Day statement, Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida,
chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human
Development, calls for all persons to work together for just wages, which are
necessary for families to flourish. A just wage is one that "not only provides
for workers' financial well-being, but fosters their social, cultural, and
spiritual dimensions as individuals and members of society."
The complete statement is as follows:
The plight of our brothers and sisters who work hard but struggle to make ends meet calls us all to reflect in a special way this Labor Day. Today, we read in St. Luke's Gospel how Jesus, upon returning home to Nazareth, read from the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue declaring, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor."1 Sadly, in our times too many people are excluded, marginalized, and politically and economically disenfranchised.
The struggle of working people, of the poor, as Pope Francis reminds us, is not first a "social or political question. No! It is the Gospel, pure and simple."2 There has been some notable progress in our economy in recent years, but it is also apparent that it is not where it should be for many, and we can all play a productive role in making sure it is a system that upholds the dignity of all people.
Recent economic news and data report that poverty continues to decline, unemployment is down to one of the lowest levels in decades and there has been economic growth with production, stocks and profits rising to record levels. But is this the whole story? Do these developments give an entirely accurate account of the daily lives and struggles of working people, those who are still without work, or the underemployed struggling with low wages?
It is encouraging that poverty has gone down, but still almost one in three persons have a family income below 200% of the federal poverty line.3 Today, there are many families who, even if they have technically escaped poverty, nevertheless face significant difficulties in meeting basic needs. Wages for lower income workers are, by various accounts, insufficient to support a family and provide a secure future. A recent study examined whether a minimum wage earner could afford an average two-bedroom apartment in their state of residence. Shockingly, in all 50 states, the answer was no.4 A recent report from the Federal Reserve shows that four in ten adults could not cover a $400 emergency expense, or would rely on borrowing or selling something to do so.5
Although the national median income has increased over the last two years, it is still relatively stagnant when compared to top earners. Taking into account inflation and the rising cost of living, workers at the lower end of the income spectrum have seen their wages stagnate or even decrease over the last decade.6 From 2014 to 2015, the rate of income growth was more pronounced at the lower end of the spectrum, possibly due to state increases in the minimum wage and increased employment. But from 2015 to 2016, the rate of growth was highest at the top.7
Another alarming trend is the continuing disparities in median incomes between different racial and ethnic groups and between women and men. For example, in 2016, the median household income of non-Hispanic whites was $25,500 more than that of blacks, and the real median earnings of women were $10,000 lower than that of men.8 Clearly no examination of our economy, in light of justice, can exclude consideration of how discrimination based on race and sex impacts the just distribution of wages.
Every worker has a right to a just wage according to the criterion of justice, which St. John XXIII described as wages that, "give the worker and his family a standard of living in keeping with the dignity of the human person."9 St. John Paul II elaborated on the systematic implications of just wages, describing them as "the concrete means of verifying the justice of the whole socioeconomic system."10 However, when a society fails in the task of ensuring workers are paid justly, questions arise as to the underlying assumptions of that system. A society that is willing to exclude its most vulnerable members, Pope Francis suggests in Evangelii Gaudium, is one where "the socioeconomic system is unjust at its root."11 Pope Francis warns that absent a just response, these disparities can lead to deep societal divisions and even violence.
The Church's traditional teaching holds that wages must honor a person's dignity and ability to contribute to the common good of civil society and family well-being. As the Catechism states, "The development of economic activity and growth in production are meant to provide for the needs of human beings. Economic life is not meant solely to multiply goods produced and increase profit or power; it is ordered first of all to the service of persons, of the whole man, and of the entire human community."12 The economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of participating in God's creation. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected, including the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to organizing and joining unions, to private property, and to economic initiative.
All persons can help build an economy that recognizes the dignity of every life. Business owners and managers have a duty to seek profits to ensure the stability and long-term success of their businesses. However, they also "have an obligation to consider the good of persons and not only the increase of profits."13 A part of this obligation is to pay a just wage, which provides a dignified livelihood for workers and their families to meet their basic needs. A just wage not only provides for workers' financial well-being, but fosters their social, cultural and spiritual dimensions as individuals and members of society. This is the essence of what the Church refers to when speaking of integral human development.
The traditional teaching of the Church also recalls that the mere fact that workers and employers have agreed to a certain wage "is not sufficient to justify morally the amount to be received in wages."14 Questions of justice and wages need to be examined in the context of the well-being and flourishing of the individual, the family and society. The cost of severe wage inequality, besides injury to the dignity of the person, is ultimately society's peace and harmony.
How are we as Christians, who are members of society, called to respond to the question of wages and justice? First, we are called to live justly in our own lives whether as business owners or workers. Secondly, we are called to stand in solidarity with our poor and vulnerable brothers and sisters. Lastly, we should all work to reform and build a more just society, one which promotes human life and dignity and the common good of all. We also need to recognize the gifts and responsibilities that God has entrusted to each of us. In his recent Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exultate, Pope Francis asks us to reflect on the following: "Do you work for a living? Be holy by laboring with integrity and skill in the service of your brothers and sisters. . . . Are you in a position of authority? Be holy by working for the common good and renouncing personal gain."15
For reform to be possible, Pope Francis calls us to see our "life as a mission," and to "ask the Spirit what Jesus expects from you at every moment of your life and in every decision you must make, so as to discern its place in the mission you have received."16 This will require personal conversion and corresponding action in civil society. Practically speaking, in the setting of wages, there must be due consideration for what justly ensures security for employees to establish and maintain all significant aspects of family life, and care for family members into the future. Likewise, those engaged in public policy and finance should consider the structural causes of low wages, especially in the way that corporations distribute profits, and respond by working to address unjust disparities. The rights of workers to organize should be respected, as should the rights of unions and worker centers to advocate for just wages, health benefits that respect life and dignity, and time for rest, and to guard against wage theft. Labor too, must pursue its mission with integrity, as Pope Francis recently said, "Renewing labour in an ethical sense means in fact renewing the whole of society, banishing fraud and lies which poison the market, civil coexistence and the lives of people, especially the weakest."17
As Christians, we believe that conflict or enmity between the rich and the poor is not necessary or inevitable. These divisions are in fact sinful. But we live in the hope that our society can become ever more just when there is conversion of heart and mind so that people recognize the inherent dignity of all and work together for the common good. This Labor Day, let us all commit ourselves to personal conversion of heart and mind and stand in solidarity with workers by advocating for just wages, and in so doing, "bring glad tidings to the poor."
1 Lk. 4:18.
2 "Pope Francis dedicates Mass to 'noble Chinese people,'" Vatican News (May 24, 2018) https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2018-05/pope-francis-mass-chinese-people-sheshan.html. . . .
3 U.S. Dep't of Comm'r, U.S. Census Bureau, Income and Poverty in the United States: 2016, 17 (Sept. 2017).
4 Tracy Jan, "A minimum wage worker can't afford a 2-bedroom apartment anywhere in the U.S.," The Washington Post (June 13, 2018).
5 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2017, 21 (May 2018).
6 See, e.g.,U.S. Dep't of Comm'r, U.S. Census Bureau, Income and Poverty in the United States: 2016, 31 (Table-A2) (Sept. 2017); Patricia Cohen, "Paychecks Lag as Profits Soar, and Prices Erode Wage Gains," The New York Times (July 13, 2018).
7 See id.
8 U.S. Dep't of Comm'r, U.S. Census Bureau, Income and Poverty in the United States: 2016, at 5 (Figure 1); 10 (Figure 2).
9 Pope John XXII, Pacem in Terris, no. 20.
10 Pope John Paul II, Laborem Exercens, no. 19 (emphasis in original).
11 Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, no. 59.
12 Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2426.
13 CCC, no. 2432.
14 CCC, no. 2434.
15 Pope Francis, Gaudete et Exultate, no. 14.
16 Gaudete et Exultate, no. 23.
17 Pope Francis, Address to Participants at the National Convention of the Italian Masters of Labour Federation (June 15, 2018) http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2018/june/documents/papa-francesco_20180615_federazione-maestri-dellavoro.html. . . .
The complete statement is as follows:
The plight of our brothers and sisters who work hard but struggle to make ends meet calls us all to reflect in a special way this Labor Day. Today, we read in St. Luke's Gospel how Jesus, upon returning home to Nazareth, read from the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue declaring, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor."1 Sadly, in our times too many people are excluded, marginalized, and politically and economically disenfranchised.
The struggle of working people, of the poor, as Pope Francis reminds us, is not first a "social or political question. No! It is the Gospel, pure and simple."2 There has been some notable progress in our economy in recent years, but it is also apparent that it is not where it should be for many, and we can all play a productive role in making sure it is a system that upholds the dignity of all people.
Recent economic news and data report that poverty continues to decline, unemployment is down to one of the lowest levels in decades and there has been economic growth with production, stocks and profits rising to record levels. But is this the whole story? Do these developments give an entirely accurate account of the daily lives and struggles of working people, those who are still without work, or the underemployed struggling with low wages?
It is encouraging that poverty has gone down, but still almost one in three persons have a family income below 200% of the federal poverty line.3 Today, there are many families who, even if they have technically escaped poverty, nevertheless face significant difficulties in meeting basic needs. Wages for lower income workers are, by various accounts, insufficient to support a family and provide a secure future. A recent study examined whether a minimum wage earner could afford an average two-bedroom apartment in their state of residence. Shockingly, in all 50 states, the answer was no.4 A recent report from the Federal Reserve shows that four in ten adults could not cover a $400 emergency expense, or would rely on borrowing or selling something to do so.5
Although the national median income has increased over the last two years, it is still relatively stagnant when compared to top earners. Taking into account inflation and the rising cost of living, workers at the lower end of the income spectrum have seen their wages stagnate or even decrease over the last decade.6 From 2014 to 2015, the rate of income growth was more pronounced at the lower end of the spectrum, possibly due to state increases in the minimum wage and increased employment. But from 2015 to 2016, the rate of growth was highest at the top.7
Another alarming trend is the continuing disparities in median incomes between different racial and ethnic groups and between women and men. For example, in 2016, the median household income of non-Hispanic whites was $25,500 more than that of blacks, and the real median earnings of women were $10,000 lower than that of men.8 Clearly no examination of our economy, in light of justice, can exclude consideration of how discrimination based on race and sex impacts the just distribution of wages.
Every worker has a right to a just wage according to the criterion of justice, which St. John XXIII described as wages that, "give the worker and his family a standard of living in keeping with the dignity of the human person."9 St. John Paul II elaborated on the systematic implications of just wages, describing them as "the concrete means of verifying the justice of the whole socioeconomic system."10 However, when a society fails in the task of ensuring workers are paid justly, questions arise as to the underlying assumptions of that system. A society that is willing to exclude its most vulnerable members, Pope Francis suggests in Evangelii Gaudium, is one where "the socioeconomic system is unjust at its root."11 Pope Francis warns that absent a just response, these disparities can lead to deep societal divisions and even violence.
The Church's traditional teaching holds that wages must honor a person's dignity and ability to contribute to the common good of civil society and family well-being. As the Catechism states, "The development of economic activity and growth in production are meant to provide for the needs of human beings. Economic life is not meant solely to multiply goods produced and increase profit or power; it is ordered first of all to the service of persons, of the whole man, and of the entire human community."12 The economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of participating in God's creation. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected, including the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to organizing and joining unions, to private property, and to economic initiative.
All persons can help build an economy that recognizes the dignity of every life. Business owners and managers have a duty to seek profits to ensure the stability and long-term success of their businesses. However, they also "have an obligation to consider the good of persons and not only the increase of profits."13 A part of this obligation is to pay a just wage, which provides a dignified livelihood for workers and their families to meet their basic needs. A just wage not only provides for workers' financial well-being, but fosters their social, cultural and spiritual dimensions as individuals and members of society. This is the essence of what the Church refers to when speaking of integral human development.
The traditional teaching of the Church also recalls that the mere fact that workers and employers have agreed to a certain wage "is not sufficient to justify morally the amount to be received in wages."14 Questions of justice and wages need to be examined in the context of the well-being and flourishing of the individual, the family and society. The cost of severe wage inequality, besides injury to the dignity of the person, is ultimately society's peace and harmony.
How are we as Christians, who are members of society, called to respond to the question of wages and justice? First, we are called to live justly in our own lives whether as business owners or workers. Secondly, we are called to stand in solidarity with our poor and vulnerable brothers and sisters. Lastly, we should all work to reform and build a more just society, one which promotes human life and dignity and the common good of all. We also need to recognize the gifts and responsibilities that God has entrusted to each of us. In his recent Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exultate, Pope Francis asks us to reflect on the following: "Do you work for a living? Be holy by laboring with integrity and skill in the service of your brothers and sisters. . . . Are you in a position of authority? Be holy by working for the common good and renouncing personal gain."15
For reform to be possible, Pope Francis calls us to see our "life as a mission," and to "ask the Spirit what Jesus expects from you at every moment of your life and in every decision you must make, so as to discern its place in the mission you have received."16 This will require personal conversion and corresponding action in civil society. Practically speaking, in the setting of wages, there must be due consideration for what justly ensures security for employees to establish and maintain all significant aspects of family life, and care for family members into the future. Likewise, those engaged in public policy and finance should consider the structural causes of low wages, especially in the way that corporations distribute profits, and respond by working to address unjust disparities. The rights of workers to organize should be respected, as should the rights of unions and worker centers to advocate for just wages, health benefits that respect life and dignity, and time for rest, and to guard against wage theft. Labor too, must pursue its mission with integrity, as Pope Francis recently said, "Renewing labour in an ethical sense means in fact renewing the whole of society, banishing fraud and lies which poison the market, civil coexistence and the lives of people, especially the weakest."17
As Christians, we believe that conflict or enmity between the rich and the poor is not necessary or inevitable. These divisions are in fact sinful. But we live in the hope that our society can become ever more just when there is conversion of heart and mind so that people recognize the inherent dignity of all and work together for the common good. This Labor Day, let us all commit ourselves to personal conversion of heart and mind and stand in solidarity with workers by advocating for just wages, and in so doing, "bring glad tidings to the poor."
__________________
1 Lk. 4:18.
2 "Pope Francis dedicates Mass to 'noble Chinese people,'" Vatican News (May 24, 2018) https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2018-05/pope-francis-mass-chinese-people-sheshan.html. . . .
3 U.S. Dep't of Comm'r, U.S. Census Bureau, Income and Poverty in the United States: 2016, 17 (Sept. 2017).
4 Tracy Jan, "A minimum wage worker can't afford a 2-bedroom apartment anywhere in the U.S.," The Washington Post (June 13, 2018).
5 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2017, 21 (May 2018).
6 See, e.g.,U.S. Dep't of Comm'r, U.S. Census Bureau, Income and Poverty in the United States: 2016, 31 (Table-A2) (Sept. 2017); Patricia Cohen, "Paychecks Lag as Profits Soar, and Prices Erode Wage Gains," The New York Times (July 13, 2018).
7 See id.
8 U.S. Dep't of Comm'r, U.S. Census Bureau, Income and Poverty in the United States: 2016, at 5 (Figure 1); 10 (Figure 2).
9 Pope John XXII, Pacem in Terris, no. 20.
10 Pope John Paul II, Laborem Exercens, no. 19 (emphasis in original).
11 Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, no. 59.
12 Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2426.
13 CCC, no. 2432.
14 CCC, no. 2434.
15 Pope Francis, Gaudete et Exultate, no. 14.
16 Gaudete et Exultate, no. 23.
17 Pope Francis, Address to Participants at the National Convention of the Italian Masters of Labour Federation (June 15, 2018) http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2018/june/documents/papa-francesco_20180615_federazione-maestri-dellavoro.html. . . .
Reflection Starter from Alex Spanos
"The best way to learn is by doing. The only way to build a strong work ethic is getting your hands dirty." - Alex Spanos
02 September 2018
David Haas: "You Are Mine"
As we continue our Sunday celebration, I offer this version of David Haas presenting "You Are Mine":
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today the Church celebrates the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. The assigned readings are Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8; James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27; and Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23.
The Responsorial Psalm is Psalm 15 (Psalm 15:2-5).
For one version of the Responsorial Psalm set to music, please visit:
YouTube: Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 15
The Gospel reading is as follows:
When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. - For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. - So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?"
He responded, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.' You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."
He summoned the crowd again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.
"From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile."
Reflections on these readings:
Oblates of St. Francis de Sales: Salesian Sunday Reflections: Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 2, 2018)
Oblates of St. Francis de Sales: Sundays Salesian: Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 2, 2018)
Community in Mission: The Love of the Law and the Law of Love - A Homily for the 22nd Sunday of the Year (1 SEP8)
The Deacon's Bench: 'What is the Catholic Church? Just look around': Homily for September 2, 2018, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time(2 SEP 18)
The Sacred Page: Jesus Makes the Law More Demanding: 22nd Sunday of OT (31 AUG 8)
The Sacred Page: Jesus and "Human Tradition" (The Mass Readings Explained) (27 AUG 18)
St. Paul Center: Pure Religion: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Word on Fire: Law and Laws (Cycle B * Ordinary Time * Week 22)
Spirituality of the Readings: The Heart of the Matter (Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time B)
In Exile: Don't Worship Your Emotions (Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time B)
Let the Scriptures Speak: Clean Hands, Dirty Hands (Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time B)
The Word Encountered: Difficult Passages (Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time B)
Historical Cultural Context: Conflict (Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time B)
Thoughts from the Early Church: Commentary by Irenaeus (Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time B)
For one version of the Responsorial Psalm set to music, please visit:
YouTube: Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 15
The Gospel reading is as follows:
When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. - For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. - So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?"
He responded, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.' You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."
He summoned the crowd again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.
"From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile."
Reflections on these readings:
Oblates of St. Francis de Sales: Salesian Sunday Reflections: Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 2, 2018)
Oblates of St. Francis de Sales: Sundays Salesian: Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 2, 2018)
Community in Mission: The Love of the Law and the Law of Love - A Homily for the 22nd Sunday of the Year (1 SEP8)
The Deacon's Bench: 'What is the Catholic Church? Just look around': Homily for September 2, 2018, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time(2 SEP 18)
The Sacred Page: Jesus Makes the Law More Demanding: 22nd Sunday of OT (31 AUG 8)
The Sacred Page: Jesus and "Human Tradition" (The Mass Readings Explained) (27 AUG 18)
St. Paul Center: Pure Religion: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Word on Fire: Law and Laws (Cycle B * Ordinary Time * Week 22)
Spirituality of the Readings: The Heart of the Matter (Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time B)
In Exile: Don't Worship Your Emotions (Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time B)
Let the Scriptures Speak: Clean Hands, Dirty Hands (Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time B)
The Word Encountered: Difficult Passages (Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time B)
Historical Cultural Context: Conflict (Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time B)
Thoughts from the Early Church: Commentary by Irenaeus (Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time B)
Msgr. Pope of the Low Probability of Our Existence
"I was
alerted to a fascinating article by Ali Binazir, who sets forth
mathematically the probably that each of us exists. It turns out that
when taking into account the astonishing number of possibilities of
parents meeting, grandparents meeting before them, and so on going back
generations, and then adding the vast number of sperm and ova in
possible combinations over decades of the marital act in all those
generations, the odds of me existing just as I do are about 1 in 102,685,000. That's a number so huge it hurts to think about it.
"To say that we are contingent beings is a vast understatement. To say that someone or something is contingent is to say that the existence of same is not inevitable but rather can only come about based on a number of previous things being true in a chain of being or causality. I would not exist if my parents had not existed and then met. Further, they would not have existed if their parents had not existed and met, and so on. Thus, my existence depends on a vast number of 'meetings' going just right; if they hadn't I would never have been born."
In a recent commentary, Monsignor Charles Pope (pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Parish, Washington, DC) reflected on the very low probability that any of us could exist and on God's overseeing each detail, knowing each of us long before we were born..
To access Msgr. Pope's complete post, please visit:
Community in Mission: The Probability of You Existing at All Is Unbelievably Low (28 AUG 18)
"To say that we are contingent beings is a vast understatement. To say that someone or something is contingent is to say that the existence of same is not inevitable but rather can only come about based on a number of previous things being true in a chain of being or causality. I would not exist if my parents had not existed and then met. Further, they would not have existed if their parents had not existed and met, and so on. Thus, my existence depends on a vast number of 'meetings' going just right; if they hadn't I would never have been born."
In a recent commentary, Monsignor Charles Pope (pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Parish, Washington, DC) reflected on the very low probability that any of us could exist and on God's overseeing each detail, knowing each of us long before we were born..
To access Msgr. Pope's complete post, please visit:
Community in Mission: The Probability of You Existing at All Is Unbelievably Low (28 AUG 18)
Reflection Starter from Pope Francis
"We Christians do not have a product to sell, we communicate Life." - Pope Francis
01 September 2018
"Ride of the Valkyries"
As this blessed week draws to a close, I offer this presentation of Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries", as played by the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Daniel Barenboim:
Steven Millies on the Resiliency of the Church
"The story should seem familiar.
"The church was protecting members of the clergy who had committed crimes, shielding priests from the justice of the state. We all have seen the movie, and we all know how it goes.
"But the movie is not Spotlight. The movie is Becket.
"The movie is remembered as fondly today as St. Thomas Becket is remembered as a martyr. Becket had been a carouser. He reformed and set his loyalty to his friend, the king, beneath his loyalty to the church. But Becket was wrong.
"Becket was protecting the institutional church, claiming a privilege under English law that established how priests (and, lower orders) could be judged for criminal offenses only by the church. King Henry had wanted - for selfish reasons - to break power of the church to resist his civil authority. Becket came out the martyr and the saint. But from where we are today, it is not so easy to side with the 'meddlesome priest' as Richard Burton made it seem."
In a recent commentary, writer Steven P. Millies, associate professor of public theology and director of The Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, reflected on the similarities between previous Church scandals and those of the present day, with special emphasis on the need, in our effort to repair our church and civic organizations, to recall why they are important.
To access Mr. Millies complete essay, please visit:
US Catholic: The church may be more resilient than we think (30 AUG 18)
"The church was protecting members of the clergy who had committed crimes, shielding priests from the justice of the state. We all have seen the movie, and we all know how it goes.
"But the movie is not Spotlight. The movie is Becket.
"The movie is remembered as fondly today as St. Thomas Becket is remembered as a martyr. Becket had been a carouser. He reformed and set his loyalty to his friend, the king, beneath his loyalty to the church. But Becket was wrong.
"Becket was protecting the institutional church, claiming a privilege under English law that established how priests (and, lower orders) could be judged for criminal offenses only by the church. King Henry had wanted - for selfish reasons - to break power of the church to resist his civil authority. Becket came out the martyr and the saint. But from where we are today, it is not so easy to side with the 'meddlesome priest' as Richard Burton made it seem."
In a recent commentary, writer Steven P. Millies, associate professor of public theology and director of The Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, reflected on the similarities between previous Church scandals and those of the present day, with special emphasis on the need, in our effort to repair our church and civic organizations, to recall why they are important.
To access Mr. Millies complete essay, please visit:
US Catholic: The church may be more resilient than we think (30 AUG 18)
Reflection Starter from Ansel Adams
"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." - Ansel Adams
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