A quick note at the end of the month

A post that originally appeared here on my blog last Saturday was published on Il Sussidiario as Foreign Policy after the G-20: A New Naiveté? The world in which we live is getting ever more complex. I think this requires us to be more, not less, coherent and consistent. Therefore, we must have clearly defined objectives. One objective has to be not allowing Iran to develop a nuclear arsenal.

If further proof were needed for the thesis I set forth in my Il Sussidiario piece, Iran provided it this week by conducting missile tests. This is the response we get from unilaterally standing down, or, as Mark Helprin put it, blinking.

I also draw your attention to Msgr. Albacete's current Il Sussidiario column The Death of Journalism. His article concludes with this sobering observation: "When concern for the truth disappears, this is what happens: politics become entertainment and entertainment becomes politics. Actually, the situation is even worse. The problem today is not just a lack of concern for the truth; it is a loss of interest in truth. When that happens, sooner or later, a cruel violence takes its place, against celebrities or non-celebrities alike. This is another result of the split between faith and knowledge and its inevitable consequence: the destruction of reason." What connects my article to Albacete's is that while we lose interest in the truth we cease to engage the world with the requisite seriousness, like being convinced by a foreign policy that refuses to see what is happening and to take account of it; it is a policy "indicative of an ideological idealism at odds with reality." On this somber note, we come to the end of September 2009.

I was reminded elsewhere today of Goya's axiom "The Sleep of Reason Prodcues Monsters"

Yom Kippur

Today is Yom Kippur, which began at sundown last evening and continues until sundown this evening. It is the Day of Atonement, the highest and holiest day on the Jewish calendar. Leviticus 16 is where we find the ancient observance of Yom Kippur. More significant to Christians is how Christ's sacrifice ties into this divinely-established observance. To fulfill something is not to supersede it. So, let's turn to Hebrews chapters 8-11, looking especially at chapter 9, verses 11-15:

"But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation, he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer's ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God. For this reason he is mediator of a new covenant: since a death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant, those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance."

UPDATE: If you are looking to verify that Israel is truly chosen by God, look at the history of the people of Israel, known to us today as the Jews, and consider the mere fact that they still exist as a people! The article I mentioned in Saturday's post appeared today on Il Sussidiario- Obama, Abbas, and Netanyahu: what about Gaza? I usually fast on Yom Kippur, but not this year because, as a Christian, I do not fast on Sunday. I have been praying for peace all day, invoking Mary, a daughter of Israel, who, in her Magnificat proclaims: "He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever."

Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad.

Childbirth, the stage and God's presence/absence

The trouble with being blessed with so many intelligent, creative, and fully engaged friends is that it is very difficult to keep up with all their endeavors. I try, but I am slow.

Dr. Susan Windley-Daoust, professor of theology at St. Mary's University of Minnesota, the very institution that may yet grant a master's degree to me, and with whom I had the privilege of studying theology at said school, has a wonderful article in the current issue of America magazine, entitled A Fiery Gift about natural child-birth. Hers is no abstract treatment of the subject because she is shortly expecting her fourth child. She is also featured on on the 5 October podcast on America's website. I urge you to listen to the podcast and read her article.

It put me again in mind of this passage, written by St. Paul in his Letter to the Romans: "For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies" (8:22-23).

While I am bringing up articles from America by and about great women, Fr. Robert Lauder, whose previous article, Accept the Absurd: Beckett and Kierkegaard, Godot and Christ, was the occasion of a post earlier this month- Our on-going cultural embrace of non-being - strikes cultural gold again, this time by interviewing Liv Ullmann. He begins by asking her a question related to the subject of his previous article: "Why is it that many of the great plays and films of the last century have dealt with the silence or absence of God?: To which Ullmann, who is an artist of extraordinary achievement, a brilliant director, writer, and actress, answers: "A lot of playwrights, and other people, try to connect with God because they feel this silence of God in their lives. They look at the bottomless black hole they feel inside themselves and, since there is such silence, they feel lonely with other people, and they question the strange world they live in—with violence and all those things—and they don’t see that God exists. I believe that people who feel so deeply the silence of God are very, very close to finding God."

Year B 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Num. 11:25-29; Ps 19,8.10.12-14; Jas 5:1-6; Mk 9:38-43.45.47-48

Immediately after an infant is baptized, looking forward to her/his confirmation, s/he is anointed with sacred chrism and further united with Christ. The anointing is done accompanied by the words, "he now anoints you with the chrism of salvation, so that, united with his people, you may remain a member of Christ, who is Priest, Prophet, and King." Our readings for this Sunday draw our attention the fact that to follow Christ is to be prophetic. Indeed, it is not too much to say that in and through the sacraments we fulfill Moses’ stated desire "that all the people of the LORD were prophets… that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all" (Num. 11:29)!

Predicting the future is not the essence of being prophetic. Prophets are commentators on and frequently critics of the present. Of course, what we do or choose not to do in the present has implications for the future. These implications are not divine rewards and punishments. Rather, they are the natural consequences of our acting, or our refusal to act justly. Jesus, who is the prophet par excellence, calls this discerning the signs of the times. A good summary of prophets and prophecy is that, at least from an objective stand-point, prophets quite frequently just point out what should already be obvious to God’s people.

The prophetic message, which calls Christians to fidelity to the new and everlasting covenant, established with us by God through Jesus Christ, is not really that different from the prophets of old. The message of those, like Dorothy Day, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and even St. Gianna Molla, who gave her life so her infant daughter might live, bear a remarkable resemblance to the so-called pre-literary prophets, such as Amos and Hosea, both of whom were outsiders, that is, non-institutional figures. The fidelity to which we are called through our baptism, confirmation, and participation in this Eucharist is rooted in our fidelity to the two great commandments: loving God with all our hearts, might, minds, and strength, and loving our neighbors as ourselves.

A prophet is not honored her own country because the prophet tells the truth, bringing what most would prefer to leave in the dark into the light. While prophets can be members of the hierarchy, like Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel, they usually are not. Even when they are members, once they receive the prophetic calling, their speaking the truth casts them as outsiders. I have in mind here two great Latin American archbishops, Hélder Câmara and Óscar Romero, who still has not been officially raised to the altar, despite his martyrdom.

Above all, being prophetic requires courage. One way that being prophetic requires courage among Christians in the United States today is not being concerned about whether others view us as politically incoherent, either those on the right or the left, who view matters from a strictly secular point-of-view. In other words, whether we come down on what is seen as the liberal or conservative side of any given issue depends on what the Gospel demands, on what following Christ requires, the only criteria against which we measure of judgments on important matters. Bishop Niederauer summed this up well when he said: "Asking me if I am a liberal or a conservative is a little like trying to sell me a car and asking me if I want a brake pedal or a gas pedal."

For example, in our current national situation, we see extending healthcare coverage to everybody as being a moral imperative because access to needed medical care is a human right. Human rights, in turn, arise from the inherent dignity of being human, which for Christians stems from the fact that we are all created in God’s image. When it comes to how best to do this, it is a matter of prudential judgment, which is the proper sphere of politics.

We must be careful, especially with rights language, which we often use very carelessly. In other words, we must be discerning. There are false prophets, many who call us to adhere to false values that are at odds with both God and nature and that do not lead to human flourishing. Such summonses ignore the transcendent meaning and purpose of human existence. Hence, recognizing the dignity of every human being does not entail supporting an ambiguous and meaningless freedom-as-an-end-in-itself agenda. People who falsely claim the prophetic mantle seek to usher in, not the kingdom of God, but a nihilistic utopia, a genuine place of nowhere. In such a place the individual, the dreaded self, with all our distorted wants and desires, not only remains unchecked, but catered to, indulged, an idol sacrilegiously placed on the altar of what is meant to be the temple of God’s Spirit. This utopia is a place where freedom of choice, regardless of what the choice is, is the highest value, where the necessary link between truth and freedom is severed. Here there can be no communio. Hence, it resembles hell, outer darkness, the pit of the self that yearns for but never turns to what will satisfy it, God alone. This is what Jesus speaks directly about at end of today’s Gospel reading.

What is described in James’ letter is nothing other what we call the common good. "In keeping with the social nature of man," we read in the Catechism, "the good of each individual is necessarily related to the common good" (par. 1905). Being concerned about the common good means, at times, subordinating what is beneficial for me to what is good for all. So, concern for the common good first requires respect for each person as such. It is this that leads the church in her teaching across the entire range of social issues, like immigration. Returning to the issue of healthcare, if access to necessary medical care is a human right, then the only qualifier is being human. When it comes to getting needed care, immigrants qualify, despite their legal status. It is also important in the current health care debate to reject any proposal that expands access to and provides federal funding for abortion. Such a reform must also include the protection of current conscience clauses for Catholic and other religiously-based healthcare providers, thus insuring that respect for human dignity, whether at the beginning or end of life, to include all the issues in between, is wholly maintained.

In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus in a very prophetic mode. He is not scared of those who cast out demons in his name, but who remain unknown to the disciples. In characteristic fashion, he states the matter positively: "whoever is not against us is for us" (Mark 9:40). In contemporary Catholic social teaching, these are the women and men of good will, who, while maybe not sharing our faith or being a part of our communal life, are nonetheless concerned about the common good, a concern that is rooted their deep understanding of the human person. Finally, we see Jesus as prophet engaging in hyperbole in order to show us what is at stake, to point to us to our destiny in order that we may live in the awareness of the very purpose of our existence, allowing us to live in a serious, purposeful, and joyous manner, enabling us to sing our Psalm response wholeheartedly: "The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart." He also warns those who are false prophets as well as those who follow them and urge others to do so; they will reap what they sow, which is not divine punishment so much as fully realizing the individual autonomy that they see as the very point and purpose of life.

We turn from domestic to foreign policy in big way

A lot happened this week in the foreign policy arena with the opening of the U.N. General Assembly in New York and the beginning of the G-20 meetings in Pittsburgh, the latter replete with demonstrations by the nihilistic forces of political and economic incoherence, wearing hoodies and covering their faces with bandanas. Regarding the opening of the General Assembly, I point you to an amusing and insightful piece by Msgr. Albacete: New York: Where nothing unimportant ever happens. The events really began the previous week with the Obama Administration's surprise announcement that the U.S. land-based missile defense we were preparing to deploy in central Europe will not be deployed. Nobody was more surprised than our NATO allies, especially Poland and the Czech Republic, many of whom will remain vulnerable to both Russian and Iranian aggression.

It seems that Pres. Obama extracted no concessions whatsoever from the resurgent Russians nor from Iran. The shadow of this unilateral decision hung over President Obama's tripartite meeting last Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. I was invited to write an article on this meeting, its likely outcome and significance. The result was a fairly lengthy and provocative piece about the state and future of Israeli/Palestinian relations. If it is not published, I will publish it here. I take what I consider to be a realistic stance with regard to this perplexing and complicated issue, which is usually dealt with in slogans and generalities here in the U.S. that take two forms: why can't they just get along? and the equally ignorant they have been fighting for thousands of years. As to the first question, there are many important issues for both the Palestinians and the Israelis that need to be resolved before they can live side-by-side in peace, not the least of which are terrorist groups, like Hamas, which governs Gaza, and who, like Iran, see the destruction of Israel as the only solution to the problem; the second is just a lie. Two events, both of which happened in the 20th century, drive the current Middle East situation. First, the break-up of the Ottoman Empire after WWI and subsequent colonization of the Middle East by European powers. Second, the creation of the State of Israel by the United Nations in 1948, coupled with the post-WWII independence of Middle Eastern nations and the rise of, largely secular, pan- Arabism, which, like Islamic fundamentalism, was hostile to and aggressive toward Israel, resulting in two wars and the territorial expansion of Israel, including unifying Jerusalem under Israeli rule and the acquisition of the Golan Heights in the country's north. Of course, the West Bank, seized from Jordan, as was Jerusalem, and the Sinai Peninsula, taken from Egypt, were later returned, with the West Bank becoming a largely Palestinian area, along with Gaza, and Sinai being ceded back to Egypt as part of the much heralded Camp David Peace Accords.

Mark Helprin, who in addition to being one of our greatest living writers, the author of, among other works, A Soldier of the Great War, which, along with Milan Kundera's Immortality, Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, and DFW's novels Infinite Jest and The Broom of the System, is among my favorite works of contemporary literature, is also a wise political observer, especially when it comes to matters of foreign policy and national defense. Helprin wrote an editorial in The Wall Street Journal this past Wednesday, Obama and the Politics of Concession: Iran and Russia put Obama to the test last week, and he blinked twice. This brief article sums up well what we are dealing with and why we should all be as concerned as are our stunned European allies about the Administration's unilateral decision to stop the deployment of the European-based missile defense system.

We all want to live in a world of peace and security. Sadly, peace and security have never been achieved through concession and appeasement with forces of aggression. Our very feisty former U.N. ambassador, John Bolton, who looks and often refreshingly speaks like Yosemite Sam, said of Pres. Obama's speech to the General Assembly that it was "a post-American speech by our first post-American president. It was a speech high on the personality of Barack Obama and high on multilateralism, but very short in advocating American interests." Are John Bolton and I the only ones who are troubled by how enamored our president seems to be of his own story? Don't get me wrong, Barack Obama has an amazing and uniquely American personal story, one that, in many ways, should make us all proud and hopeful, but I guarantee that Putin and Ahmadinejad are not impressed.

What we need to be concerned about is the seeming naiveté and domestic political calulation with which our foreign policy is being conducted. Even the illustration by Chad Crowe that accompanies Helprin's piece is misleading. In reality, Ahmadinejad is not hiding his country's nuclear ambitions and offering a handshake. The missiles should be in front of him and, instead of offering a handshake, he should be defiantly flipping the bird.

As to the calling out of Iran for their secret nuclear facility at the end-of-week, how much do you think the regime in Teheran fears sanctions, angry letters, and verbal denunciations by world leaders at international gatherings? Our appeasement of the Iranian regime caused us to be caught flat-footed when popular protests arose after June's elections. We were compromised by our friendly overtures to a regime that is at odds with what we stand for and unpopular with its own people, especially the young, who constitute an ever-increasing majority of the Iranian population, thus rendering us unable to claim the moral high ground and assist the forces of democratic change. Even the president's public statements about the protests were lukewarm, indicating his commitment to dealing with the dictatorial and globally ambitious ayatollahs and their man, Ahmadinejad. This is not an intelligence failure, it is a political failure, a strategic failure, indicative of an ideological idealism at odds with reality. All of this before we get to the recent back-peddling and indecision about our course in Afghanistan, another issue in which Iran is very interested to see what the U.S. will do. Backing-down in Afghanistan would serve Iranian interests well, not to mention those of the freshly reconstituted Taliban and Pakistani-based Al Quaida. Let's not forget the consequences that the collapase of an already politically unstable and nuclear-armed Pakistan would have on regional and global security! I shudder to think of the effects that another administration blinded by ideology and with no long-term, strategic vision will have on our world.

I end with a question: Why does everybody seem so surprised that Gaddafi is still an ego-manical wind bag?

"Don't believe in anything you can't break"

With a deep diaconal bow to my friend Rebecca, Garbage's Stupid Girl is our Friday traditio

A clarification on faith, values, and politics

My short post on faith and politics last night prompted a number of very thoughtful responses. One in particular deserves to see the light of day and not remain buried in the combox:

"What is faith? Is not possible to reduce faith to anything, otherwise wouldn't be faith. Would be piety with elements of Christianity. Exactly because I know Christ I am not afraid and I am interested in every particular of my life, even in political life. Christ was a great politician and the 'change' he brought to the world makes the lately “change” fade away. To be attached to values without looking forward to what happens, without risk of verifying the values in my own life, values remain values and eventually end in the trash can. Values are meant to give a first hypothesis of work, than I need a personal convincement about my life and the life of the others. To be subjected to values and cultural views is a sign of fear and not of knowledge of God. The only problem of all of this is the fact that is a fact! So, it wouldn’t be possible if it didn’t happen already in history and so to have the possibility to learn and to follow. Not only the fact of Christ, but the fact of the life of Fr. Luigi Giussani and the life of the Movement of Communion and Liberation.

"During the 60’s and 70’s Fr. Giussani never withdrew himself and his friends from the political square, because he was certain of the presence of Christ. Christ lunches me in comparison with everything, because he is the present fulfillment of everything. Thus I can enter in anything certain that He will fulfill what he promised and I can even spend my life in political matters for the good of my people and my nation and the people of the world and of the world. Fr. Giussani was never afraid of political people even very far from his own visions, because he was convinced that Christ could correspond so much to the heart of every man that he was not afraid to meet anybody. Examples are the friendships with Giovanni Testori, Walter Tobagi, Adriano Sofri, etc… Other point: what is the Church? The assembly of the baptized. If we don’t rediscover what baptism is, if we don’t accept to start over personally in the adventure of knowledge, if we take faith for granted, there is no way that we could come out of tunnel. And even your suggestions will remain a flatus vocis."

I appreciate very much this clarification regarding values. It was sorely lacking from my original post. Like my Anonymous commenter-friend, I believe there are values, but these arise from Christ and my adherence to Him. They become valuable insofar as I take the risk of living, as Giussani said, "this way".

Neither is my observation a call to retreat from the public square nor to abandon politics. We must engage reality in all its aspects, politics certainly being an aspect of reality. I am more interested in how and how not to do this. We do this in the knowledge, as Carrón so pain-stakingly tried to show us in this year's Exercises, "that Christ is the present fulfillment of everything". I see my blogging as just this kind of risk-taking, engaging an aspect of reality, one that is emerging and important. I hope my engagement is positive by being challenging. A person of faith, precisely because s/he starts from a positive hypothesis, is not defensive and must not be engaged in fighting a rear guard action. Not only is the battle not lost, the outcome is not even in question because in Christ we are victorious, which is why we can say that "the victory that has overcome the world [is] our faith" (1 John 5:4).

So, again, I appreciate for the clarification and even the correction.