Showing posts with label neighbor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label neighbor. Show all posts

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Syrian Migrants Traveled With the Pope

A dozen folks, three families, rode back to the Vatican with Pope Francis.

I think that's a good thing, since their homes in Syria aren't there any more. They survived, obviously, and had made it as far as Lesbos,1 an island in the Aegean Sea.

"A Gesture of Welcome"



(From AFP, via BBC News, used w/o permission.)
("The migrants are travelling on the same plane as the Pope back to the Vatican"
(BBC News))
"Migrant crisis: Pope returns from Greece with 12 migrants"
BBC News (April 16, 2016)

"Pope Francis has taken 12 Syrian migrants back with him to the Vatican after visiting a camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.

"The three families, including six children, are all Muslim and had their homes bombed during the Syrian war.

"The Vatican said in a statement2 that Pope Francis wanted to 'make a gesture of welcome' to the refugees.

"Thousands of migrants are now stuck on Lesbos after last month's EU-Turkey deal to try to ease the flow....

"...Under the EU-Turkey agreement, migrants arriving illegally on the Greek islands from Turkey after 20 March will be deported unless they successfully claim for asylum.

"In return, for every Syrian returned to Turkey, the EU will take another Syrian directly from Turkey...."

(From Community of Sant'Egidio, used w/o permission.)
("Coming back from Greek Island of Lesbos, the pope gives a lesson of concrete commitment for refugees"
(Community of Sant'Egidio))
"Three families of Syrian refugees hosted by Pope Francis in Vatican. Sant'Egidio provides first welcome"
Community of Sant'Egidio (April 16, 2016)

"...They are 12 people- 6 of them are children - who will be hosted in Vatican. They come from bombed cities, had lost everything and are in a very precarious condition.

" 'Everything was arranged according to the rules. They have their documents. The Holy See, the Greek government and the Italian government have checked everything. They have been welcomed by the Vatican and with the collaboration of the Saint Egidio Community they will be searching for work' the Pope said."
I'm glad that those folks got out of Syria alive, with documentation that passed inspection by three separate governments.

It would be nice if everyone escaped Syria with their lives, an up-to-date passport, rail pass, international driving permit, and enough Euros and U.S. dollars to set themselves up comfortably someplace else. That said —

I don't regard migrants "arriving illegally" with horror: not when they are folks who very likely are doing well to have escaped a war zone with their lives — never mind full documentation.

I've never been in that situation myself, for which I'm duly grateful.

If — and this is a strictly hypothetical situation — my family's home was a smoking ruin, along with most of the rest of Sauk Centre, Minnesota, we might head north: toward the Canadian border.

If we made it that far, we might have passed an intact Federal Building: or not.

If we had, the place might have had the forms we'd need to apply for passports - - - you get the idea, I hope.

In that strictly hypothetical situation, I might not be surprised if Canadian authorities thought we could be terrorists.3

But I would hope that they'd let us cross the border and help us stay alive long enough to establish that we weren't trying to kill anyone.

I don't "look like" a terrorist, apart from my beard: not by most American standards. But I do "look American:" Anglo-American, anyway, although I'm not; and that's another topic.4

I've seen Pope Francis called a "pro-immigrant" Pope — and 'worse.' As a descendant of immigrants, I don't see that it as a bad thing: which is just as well, and I'll get back to that.

As for the three families being Muslim — I'm an adult convert to Catholicism, with the enthusiasm for my faith that implies. Among other things, I must take truth seriously: and respect those who seek truth, including folks who don't agree with me:
" 'All men are bound to seek the truth, especially in what concerns God and his Church, and to embrace it and hold on to it as they come to know it.'26 This duty derives from 'the very dignity of the human person.'27 It does not contradict a 'sincere respect' for different religions which frequently 'reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men,'28 nor the requirement of charity, which urges Christians 'to treat with love, prudence and patience those who are in error or ignorance with regard to the faith.'29"
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2104)
I also must take what our Lord said about love and strangers seriously.

"A Concrete Gesture"



(From U.S. Department of State, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
(Part of the Za'atri camp in Jordan for Syrian refugee. (July 18, 2013))
"...Faced with the tragedy of tens of thousands of refugees who flee death from war and hunger, and who have begun a journey moved by hope for survival, the Gospel calls us to be 'neighbours' of the smallest and the abandoned, and to give them concrete hope. It's not enough to say, 'Take heart. Be patient'.... Christian hope has a fighting spirit, with the tenacity of one who goes toward a sure goal.

"Therefore, as the Jubilee of Mercy approaches, I make an appeal to parishes, religious communities, monasteries and shrines throughout Europe, that they express the Gospel in a concrete way and host a refugee family. A concrete gesture in preparation for the Holy Year of Mercy. May every parish, every religious community, every monastery, every shrine of Europe welcome one family, beginning with my Diocese of Rome.

"I address my brother bishops of Europe, true pastors, that in their dioceses they endorse my appeal, remembering that Mercy is the second name of Love: 'What you have done for the least of my brothers, that you have done for me' (cf. Mt 25:46).

"In the coming days, the two parishes of the Vatican will also welcome two families of refugees...."
(Angelus, Pope Francis (September 6, 2015))
I don't know if today's three families include the ones promised last September. If they are, a seven-month wait could seem like a long time: or a short one, depending on how many diplomatic hurdles had to be cleared.

Either way, I am happy for the twelve folks who made it out of Syria to a reasonably secure location. That leaves more than four million who are still waiting.5

Those are just the ones we know about. A great many more apparently haven't made it into official lists; or are still alive, homeless, and somewhere in Syria.

I don't know any of them, though, and I have a roof over my head: so why should I care?

"The Whole Law and the Prophets"


About two millennia back, someone asked our Lord what the greatest commandment was:
"Jesus replied, 'The first is this: "Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength."

"The second is this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." There is no other commandment greater than these.' "
(Mark 12:29-31)
We see another angle on the same thing in Matthew 22:34-40. Here's how that ends:
"The second is like it: 23 You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

"24 The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." "
(Matthew 22:39-40)
This wasn't a new idea:
"1 'Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!

"Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. "
(Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
'Love my neighbor' is clear enough: but who is my neighbor?

Basically, everyone.

I've talked about Luke 10:29-37, the good Samaritan, and getting a grip, before. (October 26, 2014)

Since I take what our Lord said seriously, I try to love God, love my neighbor, see everyone as my neighbor, and treat others as I want them to treat me. (Matthew 5:43-44, 7:12, 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31 10:25-27, 29-37; Catechism, 1789)

It's simple, but not easy. (October 12, 2014)

Strangers and Math



(From sporki, via Wikipedia, used w/o permission.)
(Some of the 2,000,0006 folks at World Youth Day 2000, Vatican City and Rome.)

Helping folks who are in trouble is a very high priority. Matthew 25:34-46 makes that quite clear. (May 3, 2015)

Folks escaping Syria arguably fall under the "strangers" category in Matthew 25:35.

I'd like to think that leaders who have been turning Syrian refugees away do so because there are so many. Refusing shelter to all because they're afraid that a few might be terrorists — is understandable, but regrettable.

Moving, housing, and feeding even a fraction of a million strangers won't be easy. Neither will helping them settle in as at least semi-permanent members of society.

I think that helps explain why Pope Francis didn't try solving the problem by inviting all Syrian refugees to Vatican City; or even just the 660,000 who arrived in Lesbos last year — with another 3,000 coming each day.7

Vatican City covers about 110 acres, 0.44 square kilometers, a tad over an eighth of a square mile.

About 690 folks live there, so the population density is around 1,800/square kilometer, 4,800/square mile. That's between Hong Kong and Bahrain in terms of population density: quite manageable, these days.

Add 660,000, and you'd have 660,690 folks there: at roughly 1,501,000/square kilometer, or 579,000/square mile, if I did the math right.

That's a bit over 35 times as snug as Manila, Earth's the most densely-packed city, so far, at 42,800/square kilometer.

That's a lot of folks in one place: particularly if they're going to live there. I think it's worth noting that some of World Youth Day 2000's 2,000,000 attendees spilled over into Rome.

Doing What I Can


Part of our job is building a better world. (Catechism, 1928-1942, 2419-2442)

I could be overwhelmed by guilt, knowing that I haven't cured cancer, achieved a lasting peace in the Middle East, and helped millions of folks find new homes.

I could also believe that I can "...leap tall buildings in a single bound..." — but that would be crazy.

Humility, Catholic style, is having a balanced view of my abilities: or lack of them, and that's yet another topic. (August 10, 2014)

Happily, I'm expected to do what I can: not what I can't.
"As far as possible citizens should take an active part in public life. The manner of this participation may vary from one country or culture to another...."
(Catechism, 1915) [emphasis mine]
But I must do what I can as an individual, and a member of my culture, to make things better. (Catechism, 1928-1942)

I don't think I have the political clout or wealth to 'make a difference.' As I said Friday before last, my household has been making our own laundry detergent and growing produce out back to make ends meet. (April 9, 2016)

I can, however, do what I'm doing now: say that the "dignity of the human person" is vital. (Catechism, 1700, 1929)

Each of us is made in the image of God, but we're not identical. We're supposed to have different abilities and needs. We're also supposed to look out for each other. (Catechism, 1929, 1934-1938)

Acting like loving my neighbor, and recognizing the dignity of everyone, matters?

That's not easy. But like I've said before, it's important:
1 Folks have been living on Lesbos for ten millennia, give or take, maybe more. Mytilene, their capital city, goes back three millennia: probably. Hittites called the island Lazpa during the late Bronze Age.

These days it's chiefly famous for being where Sappho came from. Nearly all of that poet's works got lost in the shuffle when Rome was a superpower.

About her personal life, I'll go along with this:
"The only contemporary source for Sappho's life is her own poetry, and scholars are skeptical of reading it biographically. Later biographical accounts are also unreliable."
(Sappho, Life, Wikipedia)
We may, eventually, piece together more of what happened before and immediately after the Late Bronze Age collapse. I've mentioned that, and why I don't rant about folks who aren't exactly like me, before. (October 16, 2015; July 12, 2015; April 5, 2015)

2 A "working translation" from the Director of the Holy See Press Office's statement:
"...Traduzione in lingua inglese

"Statement of the Director of the Holy See Press Office

"The Pope has desired to make a gesture of welcome regarding refugees, accompanying on his plane to Rome three families of refugees from Syria, 12 people in all, including six children. These are all people who were already in camps in Lesbos before the agreement between the European Union and Turkey.

"The Pope's initiative was brought to fruition through negotiations carried out by the Secretariat of State with the competent Greek and Italian authorities.

"All the members of the three families are Muslims. Two families come from Damascus, and one from Deir Azzor (in the area occupied by Daesh). Their homes had been bombed.

"The Vatican will take responsibility for bringing in and maintaining the three families. The initial hospitality will be taken care of by the Community of Sant'Egidio.

"[00623-EN.01] [Original text: Italian - working translation]..."
(Dichiarazione del Direttore della Sala Stampa della Santa Sede, 16.04.2016 [Statement by the Director of the Press Office of the Holy See][internal link mine] (April 16, 2016))
3 Most Americans do not, I am sure, think of ourselves as "terrorists." However, I can imagine circumstances where folks elsewhere might assume that Americans are mass-murderers just waiting to snap:
4 Wikipedia says that "...Anglo-American is a rare term occasionally used to refer to an English American and/or an English Canadian...."

I'm descended from European immigrants, so I "look American" by some standards. On the other hand, one of my ancestors was not at all pleased when another of my ancestors married the daughter of a 'decent' family:
5 The UNHCR says they know of 4,837,208 "Registered Syrian Refugees." (April 11, 2016)

The bad news is that millions of folks from Syria have no homes, and are trying to survive by leaving the war zones. The good news is that quite a few other folks are trying to help.

More, not an exhaustive list:
6 World Youth Day attendance:
  • Buenos Aires (1987)
    1 million
  • Santiago de Compostela (1989)
    Over 500,000
  • Czestochowa (1991)
    1.6 million
  • Denver (1993)
    600,000
  • Manila (1995)
    Approximately 4 million
  • Paris (1997)
    1.2 million
  • Rome (2000 Jubilee)
    2 million
  • Toronto (2002)
    800,000
  • Cologne (2005)
    1.1 million
  • Sydney (2008)
    400,000
    (Source: National Catholic Register (August 5, 2011))
7 About two thirds of a million folks, 660,000, arrived in Lesbos last year, officially. It's hard to get solid numbers about the Syrian mess: small wonder, considering how many folks are trying to get out. It's what politicos sometimes call a 'fluid' situation.
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Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Attacks in Paris: People Matter




(From BBC News, used w/o permission.)
("The names of victims have started to emerge. Top left to right: Nohemi Gonzalez, Marie Mosser, Djamila Houd. Middle left to right: Juan Alberto Gonzalez, Guillaume Decherf, Nick Alexander. Bottom left to right: Mathieu Hoche, Thomas Ayed, Valentin Ribet"
(BBC News))
"Paris attacks: Who were the victims?"
(November 16, 2015)
"Information about the 129 Paris terror victims has been emerging over the last two days, with France saying more than 103 bodies have now been identified.

"More than 20 foreigners from a number of countries were killed.

"Desperate for any news, relatives and friends of the missing have turned to Twitter to search for their loved ones...."
Another article tells about efforts to find folks who are still missing: either dead, or hospitalized and not able to say who they are. I'll get back to that.

This article gives Djamila Houd's age, and where she was from, but no other details. Marie and Manu's employer had given their personal names, but not their surnames.

A few names from that BBC News article —

"Dado," the nickname of a man killed at the Bataclan. Hugo Sarrade, Cedric Mauduit, Mathieu Hoche, Quentin Boulanger, Guillaume B Decherf, Marie Lausch, Mathias Dymarski, and Lola Salines, had been at the Bataclan, too.

No pressure, and this is just a suggestion: but praying for everyone involved couldn't hurt.

Missing



(From Getty Images, via BBC News, used w/o permission.)
("More than 250 people are seriously wounded and not all have been identified"
(BBC News))
"Paris attacks: Search goes on for missing"
BBC News (November 16, 2015)
"Among the many arresting images from Paris since the Friday attacks was that of the distraught father pleading with French Prime Minister Manuel Valls for news of his missing daughter, Nathalie Jardin.

" 'I don't know where my daughter is,' said Patrick Jardin. 'I don't know if she's still alive or in which hospital she might be.' His daughter had been working at the Bataclan concert hall as a lighting director.

"Confirmation of her death emerged on Monday but the search goes on for several others missing since Islamists opened fire on the Bataclan and several other sites in Paris on Friday night....

"...Hospitals in Paris said in a statement on Monday that of the 80 people admitted in a critical condition, 29 remained in intensive care. Another 49 are still being treated but are no longer in a critical condition.

"One nurse posted a message on Sunday saying that some patients who were not in a critical condition had not been identified and were labelled as 'X'...."

(From Twitter, via BBC News, used w/o permission.)
("People took to Twitter to appeal for the search for Lola Ouzounian to continue" (top left)
"Venezuelans have also been tweeting appeals for Sven Alejander Silva" (Top right)
"For days, appeals have been put out to no avail in search of 17-year-old Remi Suquate" (Bottom left)
"One of the missing was named as Jean-Michel Ovide, the father of a friend" (Bottom center)
"Friends took to Facebook and Twitter to appeal for information about Franck Pitiot" (Bottom right)
(BBC News))

Most folks killed in Paris last Friday were French. Many were young. The BBC News article gave ages for 18 victims: nine in their 20s, five in their 30s, three in their 40s, and a man in his 60s. Many were among the 89 killed at the Bataclan concert hall.

Many folks killed at the Garissa University College in Garissa last April were young, too. It may be easier to feel bad when someone with most of life still ahead dies, and that's another topic.

I think it's wrong to kill folks because they're at a restaurant or rock concert. As I keep saying, murder is wrong. (September 27, 2015; September 6, 2015; April 12, 2015)

Life and Love


Murder is wrong because human beings are people: all human beings. Genesis 1:27 says1 we're made "in the divine image."

We are rational and therefore like God, made in the image and likeness of God. We have free will. We can decide to act, or not act. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1730-1825)

All humans are people, with equal dignity: no matter where we are, who we are, or how we act. (Catechism, 360, 1700-1706, 1932-1933, 1935)

Deliberately killing an innocent person, is wrong because human life is sacred. Everyone's life is precious. (Catechism, 2258, 2268-2283)

By "everyone," I mean everyone: including the folks who murdered innocent people in Paris.

My faith says that I mus love God, love my neighbors, see everyone as my neighbor, and treat others as I'd like to be treated. (Matthew 5:43-44, 7:12, 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31 10:25-27, 29-37; Catechism, 1789)

At the moment, I don't feel all warm and fuzzy about ISIS leaders and many American governors — I'll get back to that — but I must love them.

That does not mean that I think France should stop acting against ISIS.

Governments are obliged to protect their citizens, citizens have a responsibility to cooperate with their country in its defense — and governments must let citizens who are pacifists serve their country in other ways. (Catechism, 2310-2317)

My faith doesn't require me to let someone kill me. My life is important, too. Interestingly, the rules for individual defense and national defense are very similar: and nowhere near 'I thought he was going to kill me, so I killed him first.' (2263-2267, 2307-2317)
"Love toward oneself remains a fundamental principle of morality. Therefore it is legitimate to insist on respect for one's own right to life. Someone who defends his life is not guilty of murder even if he is forced to deal his aggressor a lethal blow:
If a man in self-defense uses more than necessary violence, it will be unlawful: whereas if he repels force with moderation, his defense will be lawful. . . . Nor is it necessary for salvation that a man omit the act of moderate self-defense to avoid killing the other man, since one is bound to take more care of one's own life than of another's.66"
(Catechism, 2264)
The basics are simple: I must love God, my neighbor, and myself. Applying those simple principles gets complicated: or difficult, at any rate:

It Could Be Worse



(Screen capture from BBC News video, used w/o permission.)
("Many US states say they will no longer welcome Syrian refugees"
(BBC News))
"Paris attacks: US states halt taking Syrian refugees"
BBC News (November 16, 2015 (November 17 in UK))

"More than a dozen US states say Syrian refugees are no longer welcome due to security fears after the Paris attacks.

"Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan said he was suspending the acceptance of new arrivals until after a review.

"Alabama, Texas and several other states issued similar statements but a State Department spokesman said the legality of this action was still unclear...."
Since a poll showed that 52% of Americans felt 'less safe' with Syrian refugees coming into the United States, I can see why state governors might want to keep those particular foreigners out. There's a major election coming up next year.

Only 17 state leaders had jumped on this bandwagon when the BBC News article came out:
  • Alabama
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Louisiana
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Mississippi
  • New Hampshire
  • North Carolina
  • Ohio
  • Texas
  • Wisconsin
    (source: BBC News)
A few hour later, more than half the states were saying 'no' to Syrians seeking refuge here:
  • States whose governors oppose Syrian refugees moving in
    • Alabama
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Idaho
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Louisiana
    • Maine
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Mississippi
    • Nebraska
    • New Hampshire
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • North Carolina
    • Ohio
    • Oklahoma
    • South Carolina
    • Tennessee
    • Texas
    • Wisconsin
  • States whose governors say they will accept refugees
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Hawaii
    • Pennsylvania
    • Vermont
    • Washington
      (Source: CNN)
I draw a measure of relief that governors of my two 'home' states, North Dakota and Minnesota, have had the common decency to keep quiet about this. I am not among the 52% who would feel 'safer,' knowing that my political leaders were refusing sanctuary to folks — based on national origin.

Here's a map of the situation, as of last night:


(From CNN, used w/o permission.)

It could be worse.

The President could be signing an order to round up American citizens with Syrian ancestry.

Something like that happened before.

On February 19, 1942, during World War II, Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066.

Folks whose crime was having 'un-American' ancestors were rounded up and herded into internment camps. Many had their property confiscated. About two thirds of the Japanese were American citizens, many others had lived here for decades. German-Americans and Italian-Americans were blacklisted, too.

The good news is that the roughly 120,000 men, women, and children whose ancestors were Japanese were not killed. Eventually, after wartime hysteria cooled down, they were released.

Decades later, in 1988, Public Law 100-383 even acknowledged that the Roosevelt administration might have made a mistake.

Still later, the Department of Justice got around to looking for the folks whose property was legally stolen — "Justice Department Announces Potential Eligibility of Japanese Americans Who Lived in Phoenix Area for Redress Payments."

The Department of Justice announcement was dated August 3, 1994 — 52 years after the roundup was okayed.

Exodus 20:15 and Deuteronomy 5:19 say the same thing: "you shall not steal." Respect for legitimate authority is part of my faith: but that does not mean that someone who has political or economic power can ignore rules that apply to 'ordinary' people. Stealing is stealing: even if the President rewrote part of the Decalogue. (Catechism, 1897-1917, 2401, 2408-2409)

And that's yet another topic.

'A Stranger, and You Slammed the Door in my Face'


There's a somewhat-corny poem associated with a statue in New York Harbor:
"...A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles....

"...'Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!'..."
("The New Colossus," Emma Lazarus, via Wikipedia)2
That's a nice sentiment, and as a Euro-American I'm in no position to argue against letting foreigners into 'my' country.

More the point, I'm a Catholic, so I must think that "alleviating the miseries of refugees" is important. (Catechism, 1911)
"The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin. Public authorities should see to it that the natural right is respected that places a guest under the protection of those who receive him.
"Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants' duties toward their country of adoption. Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens."
(Catechism, 2241)
The last I checked, the United States is still one of "the more prosperous nations." With a population of around 322,000,000, I think we can handle the economic burden of reviewing entry requests for around 10,000 refugees from Syria.

I also think careful background checks make sense. A few of those Syrians might be terrorists. So might folks coming from France, Belgium, or any other nation.

But — governors appealing to nativism or fear notwithstanding — I am pretty sure that most of those Syrians are fleeing terrorists: and hope that the United States and countries in Europe give them a chance to live.

I'll admit to a bias. Many of my ancestors were "of low type," and regarded as a threat to America. (September 25, 2015; September 18, 2015; June 21, 2015)

A few words about strangers and getting a grip, and I'm done for today.
"5 Had not the men of my tent exclaimed, 'Who has not been fed with his meat!'

"Because no stranger lodged in the street, but I opened my door to wayfarers -...."
(Job 31:31-32)

"The LORD protects the stranger, sustains the orphan and the widow, but thwarts the way of the wicked."
(Psalms 146:9)

"Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,

"naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.' "
(Matthew 25:34-36)
Background:
More of my take on living in a big world:
1 I must take the Bible, Sacred Scripture, seriously. (Catechism, 101-133)

But I must not pick a few verses I like and warp them around my personal preferences.
2 As a descendant of the "wretched refuse," I think this is a good idea:

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Friday, September 11, 2015

9/11, 14 Years Later

19 folks killed nearly 3,000 other people on September 11, 2001.

They were waging Osama bin Laden's religious war against the United States. 14 years later, Osama bin Laden is dead, and a great many more folks have died in various 'holy wars.'

The victims have been Christians, Muslims, and folks who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Some say that religion causes wars.

Others blame the Muslims, America, or — a perennial favorite — the Jews.

Me? I think people cause wars. It's not that humans are basically bad: a failed species, or God's big blunder. I've talked about original sin and getting a grip before. (February 1, 2015)

A third of a million people fled their homelands this year, heading for Europe. The survivors may or may not find shelter there.1

Protecting and Helping Neighbors


As a Catholic, I'm expected to love God, love my neighbors, see everyone as my neighbor, and treat others as I'd like to be treated. (Matthew 5:43-44, 7:12, 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31 10:25-27, 29-37; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1789)

That's why I can't let myself hate terrorists, or anyone else. But "love" isn't "approval," as I've said before. (September 6, 2015; March 15, 2015)

Sometimes loving neighbors means protecting some neighbors from other neighbors. (August 24, 2014)

Humanity may eventually cobble together an international authority "with the necessary competence and power" to end war and settle disputes with justice and mercy. (Catechism, 2308; "Gaudium et Spes," 79)

Meanwhile, we must deal with the world as it is: and help our neighbors.

More of the same:
1 Hundreds of thousands of Syrians, Afghans, Eritreans, Nigerians and Kosovans, and others, are trying to enter Europe. Thousands have died, mostly by drowning in the Mediterranean:
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Sunday, June 21, 2015

Charleston Church Shooting: Emotions and Reason

A young man joined a Wednesday evening Bible study group at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, earlier this week.

After participating for about an hour, he killed nine of the folks there and left.

I'm angry, and sad, that nine lives were unjustifiably ended in that church: and am profoundly impressed at the reasoned calm shown by some of the victims' relatives.

In my considered opinion, what the young man did was wrong. I'll get back to why I think that's true: and what I'm doing about my anger and sorrow.

"Our Country?" Difference, Acceptance, and Murder



(From Facebook, via BBC News, used w/o permission.)
("Dylann Roof, 21, is suspected of killing nine people at a Charleston church "
(BBC News))
"...NBC News has published an interview with Sylvia Johnson, Pastor Clementa Pinckney's cousin, who said she had spoken to one of the survivors.

"She was told that the gunman 'reloaded five different times' and that the gunman told the victims: 'I have to do it... You rape our women and you're taking over our country, and you have to go.'..."
(BBC News))
There's quite a bit going on here, so please bear with me.

News coverage refers to Mr. Roof as a suspect, and appropriately adds "alleged" and "allegedly" to descriptions of his involvement in Wednesday's mass murder. This is appropriate, since he has not been tried or convicted.

For this post, however, I am making the assumption that he committed the murders. Perhaps further investigation may show that someone who looks like him, with a similar background, killed the folks. I think that is unlikely, but it is possible.

Moving on.

Mr. Roof's complaint is all-too-familiar. It is similar to worries about immigrants that are, I think, older than the United States.

I'm not concerned that 'they' will take over 'my' country — whether the 'they' are descended from slaves brought from Africa, or recent arrivals from other continents.

That's partly because I'm a Norwegian-Irish-Scots-American; who realizes that the ancestors of nearly all Americans lived elsewhere a few centuries, or years, ago.

The situation with the Americans whose church was attacked is different from mine, of course. I 'look Anglo,' despite my ancestry: so we had an easier time blending into the old WASPish America.

Life and Reality


Over the centuries, our government has shown an increased tolerance of non-English, non-Protestant Americans.1 I like the direction we've been going: but not everybody does. (September 11, 2014; February 9, 2014; April 28, 2013)

I've used my Irish roots — or would that be tubers? — as an example of this occasionally-grudging tolerance. Obviously, we weren't the only imagined 'threats' to America, and that's another topic. (September 11, 2014)

Eventually, most Americans realized that many if not most Irishmen were not violent drunkards with criminal tendencies. We've even had an Irish president.

I am reasonably sure that Mr. Roof sincerely feels that folks with African ancestry are to blame for his problems, or at least a serious threat to him.

Even if that were true — and I am certain that it is not — his imagined grievance did not justify his decision to kill those folks.

Murder, deliberately killing an innocent person, is wrong. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2268-2269)

That's because human life is sacred. Created in the image of God, the divine image is in each of us. What we do with our life, and the lives of those around us, is up to us: for good or ill. (Genesis 1:27; Catechism, 1701-1709, 2258)

The prohibition against murder does not extend to legitimate self-defense. (Catechism, 2263-2267)

But Mr. Roof had not been physically threatened by his victims, his life was not in danger, and he certainly had options other than killing them. What he did was wrong.

Looking Out For Each Other



(From Nomader, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
("A prayer vigil at Morris Brown African Methodist Episcopal Church"
(Wikipedia))

I've read speculation that Mr. Roof's goal was to start a 'race war.' That would be a very bad idea: and uncomfortably similar to genocide, which is strictly against the rules. (Catechism, 2313)

If that is his goal, I do not think he will succeed.

Certainly not if folks at a prayer vigil at Morris Brown African Methodist Episcopal Church are any indication. That's a photo of part of the crowd, taken June 18, 2015.

Today's America is not New York City in 1863 (some Irishmen were occasionally violent) or Los Angeles in 1965.

Most of us very strongly disapprove of killing folks in a place of worship — no matter who their ancestors are.

That may help explain why Mr. Roof was found so promptly.

His description, and images from a security camera, were broadcast. The next morning someone working in Shelby, North Carolina, spotted him. That's about 245 miles/395 kilometers from Charleston. She told her boss; who contacted local law enforcement. (BBC News, Wikipedia)

That sort of solidarity is how we're supposed to act. (Catechism, 1939)

Forgiveness and Alternatives



(From BBC News, used w/o permission.)
(" 'Everyone's plea for your soul is proof that they lived in love and their legacies will live in love. So hate won't win', a relative of one victim told the suspect"
(BBC News))
"Charleston relatives 'forgive' shooting suspect in court"
BBC News (June 19, 2015)

"Relatives of some of the nine churchgoers shot dead in South Carolina have addressed the suspected gunman in court and said they forgive him.

"Dylann Roof, 21, appeared in court in Charleston to face nine murder charges.

"He showed no emotion as relatives of the victims addressed him directly. 'I forgive you' said one victim's daughter, fighting back tears.

"Police are treating the killings at the African-American church on Wednesday night as a hate crime...."
My native culture assigns high value to the social position of some victims — a state senator, three ministers, a church sexton, and four Bible study members — lesser value to others:
  • Dead
    • Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd
    • Susie Jackson
    • Ethel Lee Lance
    • Depayne Middleton
    • Clementa C. Pinckney
    • Myra Thompson
    • Tywanza Sanders
    • Daniel Simmons
    • Sharonda Singleton
  • Accused killer
    • Dylann Storm Roof
I draw some comfort from knowing that kinfolk of the victims did not forget their faith: and have the strength to forgive someone who has so deeply wounded their family.

Forgiving someone is not the same as pretending that an injustice never happened. That would be crazy. Respect for the "transcendent dignity" of humanity demands that we work for justice. The trick is hating the sin — not the sinner. (Catechism, 1929-1933, 2820)

I've heard withholding forgiveness described as drinking poison — and expecting the other person to die. That may be why our Lord emphasized forgiveness so much:
"11 And he said to them, 'Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day

"and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

"You are witnesses of these things.

"And (behold) I am sending the promise of my Father 12 upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." "
(Luke 24:46-49)
I talked about the Shavout we celebrate each Pentecost last month. (May 24, 2015)

Emotions and Reason


As I've said before, what our faith requires is simple: love God, love my neighbors, see everyone as my neighbor, and treat others as I'd like to be treated. (Matthew 5:43-44, 7:12, 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31 10:25-27, 29-37; Catechism, 1789)

"Simple" isn't "easy," though. We call the folks with the heroic virtue it takes to live as if those principles matter "Saints," and that's yet another topic. (April 19, 2015)

The sort of love that's required can't be safely abstract. I must act as if what I believe matters. My concern for justice, for example, can't stop with my family or folks who look like me. Our Lord's story about the Samaritan makes that clear.

Judging from headlines and enraged online rants I've seen, many folks realize that killing those folks in Charleston was very wrong. That's true, and anger is a natural reaction. But we're supposed to think.

Controlling our actions isn't easy. I think controlling what happens inside, in our heart, is harder: but that's also required. (Matthew 5:22-22, 15:18-19)

I've been over this before — Emotions happen. What matters is how I deal with them: how I use my will and reason. Feeling emotions is part of being human. So is using my brain, thinking before I act or speak. (Catechism, 1951, 1730, 1763-1767)

Emotions can indicate that something requires attention. After that, my job is using reason to decide what I should or should not do. (Catechism, 1763, 1765, 1767)

That's the way it's supposed to work, anyway. I have free will; so acting on my impulses, letting emotion rule my life, is an option — and a very bad idea.

So: how am I handing the anger and sorrow I feel, knowing that nine lives ended because a young man apparently let his anger run loose?

My emotional response helped me pay attention to what was happening in South Carolina. The next step was thinking about how I should respond.

I can't help the folks involved, not directly. But prayer is always an option.2

I can also try to remember that emotions are part of being human, but that we're expected to use our brains — and think about what is true and good, and what is not. (Catechism, 1954-1960)

That will help keep me calm enough to appreciate my family, and this continuing gift we call life.

More about love and reason:
1 My country started out as several English colonies, inheriting that nation's cultural and political baggage. I've discussed tolerance, Henry VIII, authority, assumptions, and slow progress, before. (April 26, 2015; December 16, 2013; September 2, 2012; June 22, 2012)

Charleston, South Carolina, has a history of tolerance — which has been improving with time. Catholics, for example, are now allowed to openly worship there.
"...Why did Jews become such a significant group in seventeenth-century South Carolina? What brought them to a colonial port? The Rosengartens point to the 'Fundamental Constitutions of 1669,' a document drafted by Enlightenment philosopher John Locke (then the private secretary to Anthony Ashley Cooper, one of the colony’s 'Lords Proprietors,') that granted the right of people of any religion—except Catholics—to form a church. This was not necessarily a friendly act of pluralism, Dale notes: 'They put that in because the thought was that if you let these people into society, they would see the light and convert.' Though never enacted, the document expressed the intent of the authorities to allow 'fringe' groups like the Jews and the French Huguenots, both successful mercantile groups in diasporas at the time, to settle in the fledgling Charles Town. 'It was a business decision,' she believes. 'They were looking for settlers who would be strong economic contributors.'..."
("A 'portion of the People'," Nell Porter Brown, Harvard Magazine (January-February 2003))
"...The itinerary also includes less well-known churches which represent the spiritual diversity that the city was built upon, such as the Emanuel AME Church, the oldest African Methodist Episcopal church in the South, First Scots Presbyterian, established in 1731 by 12 Scottish families, and St. Mary's, the first Roman Catholic Church in the Carolinas and Georgia...."

"...While the earliest settlers primarily came from England, colonial Charleston was also home to a mixture of ethnic and religious groups. French, Scottish, Irish and Germans migrated to the developing seacoast town, representing numerous Protestant denominations, as well as Catholicism and Judaism. Sephardic Jews (of Spanish and Portugese ancestry) migrated to the city in such numbers that Charleston became one of the largest Jewish communities in North America....

"...Although South Carolina's religious freedom (for all non-Catholics) attracted many Dissenters, the Church of England was the established church after 1706...."
("Charleston's Historic Religious and Community Buildings," National Park Service, Department of the Interior)
2 No pressure, but prayer couldn't hurt — and remembering the big picture.
"Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them."
(Eternal Rest/Requiem Æternam)
"For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's."
(Romans 14:8)
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Sunday, May 10, 2015

Kathmandu, Barpak, Pokhara: Neighbors in Need

UPDATE (April 12, 2015 2:54 p.m. UTC/GMT)

Another, new, earthquake in Nepal: this time near Mount Everest/Sagarmāthā/Chomolungma.
"Nepal earthquake: Dozens die in new tremor near Everest

"At least 37 people have been killed and more than 1,000 injured, officials say. At least 17 have also died in India.

"The latest earthquake hit near the town of Namche Bazaar and sent thousands of panicked residents on to the streets on the capital, Kathmandu.

"It had a magnitude of 7.3, compared with the 7.8 of the 25 April quake.

"The latest tremor was also felt in northern India and Bangladesh. It was centred about 76km (47 miles) east of Kathmandu, in a rural area close to the Chinese border...."
(BBC News)
The rest of this post is from Sunday, April 11, 2015.


The odds are that you hadn't heard of Barpak, between Kathmandu and Pokhara, before the April 25, 2015. The earthquake that day left fewer than 10 of 1,200 homes in Barpak standing.

Survivors in Nepal are getting help from many outfits, including Catholic Relief Services. I'll get back to that.


(From Reuters, via BBC News, used w/o permission.)
("Residents of Bhaktapur carry their belongs through the rubble of destroyed houses"
(BBC News))

Last week's 'Sunday' post ended with this:
"6 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?

"If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day,

"and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,' but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?"
(James 2:15-16)
Knowing what's right is one thing. Believing it's important is another: so is acting like it matters.
"So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

"Indeed someone might say, 'You have faith and I have works.' Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.

"You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble."
(James 2:17-19)
The letter gets a bit intense after that.

Matthew 25:34-46 makes it clear that caring for folks in need is important. It's a matter of respect: for people and for "the transcendent dignity of man." (Catechism, 1929-1933)

That reminds me of neighbors and the chap who asked "who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29)

The 'Good Samaritan' story in Luke 10:30-37 doesn't, I think, have quite the punch it did two millennia back.

These days, it'd be like telling a story in a redneck bar — where a coal miner, poor farmer, and truck driver wouldn't help the accident victim: but an east Asian immigrant did. I've said that before. (October 26, 2014)

Nepal: A Quick Introduction



(From Hilmi Hacaloğlu, Voice of America; via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
("Nepal Army and Turkish disaster relief aid workers working together"
(Wikipedia))

Folks have been living in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley for upwards of 11,000 years.

Siddhārtha Gautama was born there, most likely two dozen or so centuries back. He's the sage whose teachings started Buddhism. Details of Gautama's life are known from an oral tradition first written down in 29 BC, and that's another topic.

Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered; or unified, depending on one's viewpoint; the Khatmandu Valley around 1769. His dynasty ended in 2008, when a probable murder-suicide survivor was evicted. The folks in Nepal today call it a republic, and that's yet another topic.

Folks in Nepal could be worse off. They had no schools, hospitals, roads, telecommunications, electric power, or industry in 1951: but today the average literacy rate is around 65.9%.

On the other hand, Nepal is #145 on the Human Development Index's 187 countries.

The good news is that there's an international effort under way to help survivors of the April 25, 2015, earthquake.

Thousands Dead, Hard Times Ahead



(AFP, Getty, EPA, via BBC News; used w/o permission.)
("Dharahara tower, Kathmandu: 27 October 1998 and 26 April 2015"
(BBC News))

The earthquake killed more than 8,000 of Nepal's 30,000,000 people: maybe over 10,000. Happily, quite a few folks in rural Nepal were at work outside when it hit.

Their troubles won't be going away any time soon. For one thing, there's a chance they won't get enough crops planted before monsoon season. ("In Nepal, senior UN official warns 'clock is ticking' for earthquake relief efforts," UN News Centre (May 4, 2015))

No pressure, but you might consider donating to CRS. They're helping folks in Nepal, and 92 other countries, including the ones I picked for this list:
CRS will help anyone who is in need:
"...As a part of the Universal Church, we work with local Catholic institutions around the world. As a Catholic agency that provides assistance to people in need in 93 countries without regard to race, religion or nationality, we also participate in humanitarian initiatives undertaken by a range of groups, including governments, other faith communities and secular institutions...."
(About Catholic Relief Services, crs.org)
"Universal?" "Catholic" is English for catholicus; a Latin word we get from katholikos, καθολικός, which is Greek for "universal." (September 7, 2014)

The phrase "social justice" doesn't appear (prudently, I think) on Catholic Relief Services' Guiding Principles page: but they do talk about the "option for the poor" and "solidarity." My guess is that a sufficiently-brittle conservative could assume that they're leftists.

On the other hand, they say that we're "created in the image of God, all human life is sacred and possesses a dignity that comes directly from our creation" — so a knee-jerk liberal might assume that they're they're right-wing religious fanatics.

Catholic Relief Services is an American member of Caritas Internationalis: a Catholic organization that's working to build a "civilization of love." I don't see a problem with their goals: ending poverty, promoting justice, and restoring dignity.

But, as I've said before, I'm not conservative or liberal: I'm Catholic. (November 3, 2008)

Dharahara Tower, Faith, and Politics


The Dharahara tower looked like an Islamic minaret topped by a statue of Shiva, a Hindu deity.

It was a military watchtower, and served as a tourist attraction until last month. 180 folks were in or near it when it collapsed: all dead. I've talked about divine retribution, the tower of Siloam, and getting a grip, before. (March 15, 2011)

Nepali religious beliefs are mostly Hindu:
  • 80.7% Hindu
  • 10.3% Buddhist
  • 4.6% Muslim
  • 3.7% Folk
  • 1% Christian
  • 1% Other
    (Pew Research, via Wikipedia)
Interestingly, the "secular state" currently running Nepal put one of their folks in charge of the (Hindu) Pashupatinath Temple in 2009.

After legal wrangles and remarkably little bloodshed, they let a qualified Bhatta priest have the job.

I gather that Hindus and Buddhists in Nepal don't see themselves as following two different religions: thanks to the country's history and culture. The national bosses are — yet again another topic.

Neighbors in Nepal



(From Google, BBC News, used w/o permission.)

Parishes in our area are doing a second collection for CRS Nepal on the third weekend of this month.

There aren't many places farther from my home in Minnesota than Nepal, so why should I care what happens there?

The reason is simple. They're neighbors.

I'm expected to love God, love my neighbors, treat others as I'd like to be treated: and see everyone as my neighbor. (Matthew 5:43-44, 7:12, 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31 10:25-27, 29-37; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1789)

That's fine, but in my language "love" means quite a few things. Someone can say "I love my brother; I love my wife; I love my friends, and I love my kids."

Unless something's seriously wrong, that's four different sorts of affection: what the ancient Greeks called agápe, éros, philia, and storge.

Making things more complicated, "I love food" expresses yet another emotional attachment: and if I keep writing about love, language, and linguini, this post won't be done in time.

If I love God the way I should, charity will follow.
"CHARITY: The theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God (1822)."
(Catechism, Glossary)
Charity is one of the three theological virtues: along with faith and hope. Loving myself makes sense because God loves me. Loving neighbors makes sense, too — for the same reason. (Catechism, 1813, 1822-1828)

And that's still more topics.

More about love and neighbors:
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Marian Apparition: Champion, Wisconsin

Background:Posts in this blog: In the news:

What's That Doing in a Nice Catholic Blog?

From time to time, a service that I use will display links to - odd - services and retailers.

I block a few of the more obvious dubious advertisers.

For example: psychic anything, numerology, mediums, and related practices are on the no-no list for Catholics. It has to do with the Church's stand on divination. I try to block those ads.

Sometime regrettable advertisements get through, anyway.

Bottom line? What that service displays reflects the local culture's norms, - not Catholic teaching.