You Are Not Forgotten: Statement of the Coordination of Bishops' Conferences in Support of the Church in the Holy Land

Since 1998, the Coordination of Episcopal Conferences in Support of the Church of the Holy Land has met at the invitation of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land. Mandated by the Holy See, the Holy Land Coordination meets every January in the Holy Land, focusing on prayer, pilgrimage and persuasion with the aim of acting in solidarity with the Christian community as it experiences intense political and social-economic pressure. Bishop Oscar Cantú of Las Cruces, New Mexico, chairman of the USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace, represented the United States.

Full text of their statement follows.

“We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it.” (Laudato Si 229).

Bishops pray at Mt. Nebo  in Jordan, where Moses viewed the land of Israel.

As the Bishops of the Holy Land Coordination, we echo Pope Francis' plea in his recent Encyclical Letter, Laudato Si (Praise Be to You), to remember our interdependence in an integrated world.  Here in this land holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims, we have been reminded during our visit of the Church's enduring presence among the weak and vulnerable and those who are too often forgotten. We take away our experiences and the stories that we have heard, and we are determined to give a voice to the voiceless.

The ongoing violence makes it all the more urgent that we remember and assist all, especially those on the margins, who seek to live in justice and peace.

To the Christian community and young people of Gaza, you are not forgotten. The 2014 war led to the destruction of thousands of homes and the physical and social infrastructure of Gaza, as well as the deaths of both Israelis and Palestinians. One and a half years later, while there are signs of hope and the resilience of the population is remarkable, many remain homeless and traumatised by the war. The blockade continues to make their lives desperate and they effectively live in a prison. At Holy Family Parish we were told: "In this Year of Mercy, one of the acts of mercy is to visit prisoners and I thank you for visiting the largest prison in the world." The ability of so many Christians and Muslims to support each other in this situation is a visible sign of hope and, at a time when many seek to divide communities, an example to us all.

Bishop Cantú, center, greets parishioners in Beit Jala, near Bethlehem.

To the Christian community of Beit Jala, where the Israeli confiscation of land and the expansion of the separation wall in the Cremisan Valley, in violation of international law, further undermine their presence in the Holy Land, you are not forgotten. Throughout 2016 we shall raise your plight nationally and internationally.

To those Israelis and Palestinians who seek peace, you are not forgotten. The right of Israel to live in security is clear, but the continuing occupation eats away at the soul of both occupier and occupied. Political leaders across the world must put greater energy into a diplomatic solution to end nearly 50 years of occupation and resolve the ongoing conflict so the two peoples and three faiths can live together in justice and peace.

Bishop Cantú speaks with a man near the Cremisan Valley whose lands were confiscated and his ancient olive trees cut down.

To the Christian refugees we met in Jordan, you are not forgotten. We heard about the trauma and difficulties in trying to rebuild their lives. For most, returning home is no longer an option. Jordan is struggling to cope with almost a quarter of its population now made up of refugees. The efforts of the local Church and NGOs in reaching out to all refugees - both Christian and Muslim - are significant and commendable in terms of addressing the refugees' loss of human dignity, but the international community must do more to alleviate their plight and work for peace across the region.

A full church greets the bishops in Jordan.

To the priests, religious communities and lay people of the Church in Jordan, you are not forgotten. The Church in Jordan is vital and growing, but Christians are fearful of the growing extremism in the region. It is to be hoped that the coming into force on 1 January of the Comprehensive Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine, offers us a model of dialogue and cooperation between States that respects and preserves freedom of religion and freedom of conscience for all people.

With a promise of active solidarity, we make our own the prayer of Pope Francis in Laudato Si: “O God of the poor, help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes.”

Archbishop Stephen Brislin, South Africa
Bishop Peter Bürcher, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden
Bishop Oscar Cantú, United States of America
Archbishop Rodolfo Cetoloni, Italy
Bishop Christopher Chessun, Church of England
Bishop Michel Dubost, France
Bishop Lionel Gendron, Canada
Bishop Felix Gmur, Switzerland
Bishop William Kenney, England and Wales, COMECE
Bishop Declan Lang, England and Wales
Bishop John McAreavey, Ireland
Bishop William Nolan, Scotland
Bishop Thomas Maria Renz, Germany
Archbishop Joan Enric Vives, Spain

Photos courtesy of @stevecolecchi.

Today, a Social Teaching Triple Header

One of the pope's most prominent and important roles is to be a moral voice in the face of suffering and confusion in the world. That's the lesson the Church celebrates in triplicate today.

On May 15, three popes made major contributions to the development of Catholic social teaching: Pope Leo XIII with his landmark encyclical letter Rerum Novarum (1891), Pius XI with Quadragesimo Anno (1931) and John XXIII with Mater et Magistra (1961). The last two encyclicals honored the first on its 40th and 70th anniversaries, respectively.

So what did Leo XIII say that was so worth commemorating?

New Things

"It must not be supposed that the Church so concentrates her energies on caring for souls as to overlook things which pertain to mortal and earthly life," Pope Leo wrote in Rerum Novarum. In the wake of the Industrial Revolution, the world faced issues it hadn't faced before. Even the name of the encyclical translates "new things."

As some called for outright socialism while others insisted on an unrestrained laissez faire economy, Leo XIII applied the moral voice of the papacy and the timeless teachings of the Church to this upheaval. In doing so, he launched the modern era of Catholic social teaching, the hallmarks of which include:

• The right of workers, which include fair wages, time off for religious and family life, safe working conditions and the ability to organize.
• The duties of workers to perform their duties and refrain from vandalism and violence.
• The rights and duties of property ownership.
• The preferential option for the poor.
• The common good.

Forty Years and What a Mess

When Pope Pius XI sat down to reflect on the 40th anniversary of Rerum Novarum, he did so against a backdrop of the worldwide economic turmoil of the Great Depression. And it shows: "Unbridled ambition for power has succeeded greed for gain; all economic life has become tragically hard, inexorable, and cruel."

In Quadragesimo Anno (literally "Forty Years"), Pius XI reaffirmed the earlier teaching on just wages, unions and the role of government (paragraph 71). He critiqued both unbridled capitalism and communism (paragraph 46). He also introduced the principle of subsidiarity (paragraph 79), which states that decisions affecting the common good of a society be made at the lowest possible but highest necessary level of authority. This means delegating to the grassroots level in some situations and action by national and international bodies in others.

Enter John

When John XXIII honored the 70th anniversary of Rerum Novarum, he didn't face the disaster of the Great Depression, but a spirit of optimism and a world feeling more confidently equipped to tackle challenges like global hunger and the development of nations.

As a result, in Mater et Magistra (literally "Mother and Teacher"), Pope John took the global view: "The solidarity which binds all people together as members of a common family makes it impossible for wealthy nations to look with indifference upon the hunger, misery and poverty of other nations whose citizens are unable to enjoy even elementary human rights. The nations of the world are becoming more and more dependent on one another and it will not be possible to preserve a lasting peace so long as glaring economic and social imbalances persist."

Down to Present Day

The development of the Church's social doctrine continued with John's Pacem in Terris (1963), issued 50 years ago in April. Subsequent popes have also carried it on in encyclicals including Paul VI's Populorum Progressio (1967) and John Paul II's Laborem Exercens and Centesimus Annus (for the 90th and 100th anniversaries of Rerum Novarum,  in 1981 and 1991, respectively). More recently, Benedict XVI's Caritas in Veritate (2009) responded to the financial crisis of 2008.

Pope Francis has already entered the narrative too, albeit in a considerably shorter length than an encyclical, a tweet on May 2 that read, "My thoughts turn to all who are unemployed, often as a result of a self-centered mindset bent on profit at any cost." However, with a name choice guided by a concern for the poor, peace and the environment, it would seem only a matter of time before he says more.

UPDATE: May 16

Well, that didn't take long.

Just this morning, Pope Francis addressed the world financial and economic crisis, telling an audience of diplomats that the source of these problems "is in our relationship with money and our acceptance of its power over ourselves and our society."


(CNS photos)

Catholics Care. Catholics Vote: Keeping Love in the Debate

Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, the bishops' call to political responsibility, is a high-profile document. One reason is that it deals with issues that have major ramifications for the lives and well being of people everywhere. Another is that it provides a guide for the intersection of the values of faith and the world of politics, certainly a tall and delicate order. But another reason it draws so much attention is probably the fact that it covers an area--politics--that everyone likes to fight about.

People like having their arguments validated. And what greater validation is there than to be able to say that the bishops--and by extension, God--agree with this political view or that? This gives rise to regarding Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship not as a guiding tool for understanding Church teaching and forming one's conscience by it but like a Catholic Rubik's Cube with a secret code to crack, a code that provides the definitive Catholic ideological view. And from such a vantage point, of course, a person is then free to attack every other ideological view and the people holding them.

And therein lies a problem. Catholics have a duty to be advocates for issues affecting the common good, both at the ballot box and year round. But they also have a duty to carry out this advocacy in a way that's worthy of their faith. This means not giving into the cultural mentality that it's okay to engage in the scorched earth, zero sum game that American politics have become. In Catholic teaching, ends do not justify means.

In a video on civility in public discourse (part of a series of videos promoting Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship), Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington lists "falsehoods, lies, distortions, half-truths" among the sort of things Catholics should not be saying/spreading. He instead challenges Catholics to "speak the truth with love."

In the worlds of cable news, the blogosphere and comment boxes, both parts of this can be a challenge. Even when one manages to find the truth, there's the added challenge of not using it as a license to be a jerk.

Pope John XXIII famously reiterated a guiding principle that has been attributed to St. Augustine and others: "In essentials, unity; in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, charity." While the first two items fuel endless debate as to what's essential and what's doubtful, "in all things, charity" trumps the rest. The Christian can never stop loving, even when engaging in intense debate over life-and-death issues. The person who does so risks becoming, in the words of St. Paul, a banging gong or clashing cymbal, something that gets attention by being loud and obnoxious, but ultimately lacks meaning or the ability to connect to people.

When Pope John Paul II canonized Edith Stein in 1998, he recalled that she went so far as to insist, "Do not accept anything as truth if it lacks love. And do not accept anything as love which lacks truth."

As Catholics engage the world of politics in 2012, they should view the truths of the Church from the perspective of love: Catholics care about immigration reform because they love immigrants. Catholics care about threats to human life because they love the unborn, the sick and the elderly. Catholics care about marriage because they love the family. Catholics care about religious freedom and domestic poverty because they love the poor and vulnerable and want to serve them freely. Finally, Catholics care about world peace because they love every person on the planet as part of one big, interconnected family.

The sheer importance of the Church's belief in the dignity of each person is what compels Catholics to take their faith into the public square. It follows then that this belief, essentially "Love thy neighbor," should also be translated into how Catholics treat the people they encounter in the public square, even fellow Catholics, no matter how heated the discussion or sharp the disagreement.

It's a challenge to live up to the standard first mentioned in the Gospels: that the rest of the world would recognize the followers of Jesus by their love.

Catholics Care. Catholics Vote: Untangling the International Knot

Sometimes it's just best to go to an expert.

Whether it's a burst water pipe, an unresponsive computer, or the challenges of international peace and stability, some problems just require special expertise. For instance, that third example, as the U.S. bishops describe it, involves "war, terror and violence, which raise serious moral questions on the use of force and its human and moral costs in a dangerous world, particularly the absence of justice, security and peace in the Holy Land and throughout the Middle East."

The bishops list these concerns as one of six issue areas in Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship that Catholics should be concerned about as they prepare for political engagement. The problem with this particular area is that it's so messy and tangled with politics, history, culture and the ever-changing realities on the 6 o'clock news that, for many Catholics, the issue is first to understand the issues before they can care about them. Fortunately for the Church, it has experts who can help all Catholics engage.

Stephen Colecchi, director of International Justice and Peace for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has traveled extensively, written articles and parish resources and was recognized by Pope John Paul II for his work. Colecchi recognizes that the international concerns of the bishops are broad, but their practical focus is to take a very Catholic approach of helping "the least of these," and advocating for life-serving, poverty-focused international assistance.

"Pope Benedict said in his 2009 World Day of Peace Message that to fight poverty is to build peace," says Colecchi. "Effective international assistance not only saves and supports the lives of millions of vulnerable people around the world, it also expresses our values as a nation and is a requirement of being a global leader."

Colecchi notes that such international assistance benefits Americans too.

"It improves global security and stability and contributes to our own security," he says. "Contrary to popular misconceptions, poverty-focused international assistance accounts for less than 1 percent of the federal budget, and careless cuts will cost lives and not make a significant impact on the important goal of reducing deficits. In many poor countries, the Catholic Church and faith-based organizations partner with the U.S. government to deliver assistance. The Church is trusted by local people and has an extensive presence in many developing countries."

Colecchi also sees war as closely related to issues of poverty and international aid.

"War and violence take innocent lives and increase poverty," he explains. "In a sense, war is human development in reverse. It destroys lives and livelihoods and often drives people from their homes and into deeper poverty. For example, millions of persons are displaced by conflicts in Sudan, Iraq and Colombia. As Catholics, we are called to be peacemakers. We can and should urge our government to work for peace and to assist displaced persons and refugees."

In terms of the Middle East specifically, Colecchi says the Catholic Church, under the Vatican's leadership, has worked for decades toward peace in the Holy Land and that the bishops have urged strong U.S. leadership for a two-state solution with a secure and recognized Israel living in peace alongside a viable and independent Palestinian state. This, of course, comes with some requirements.

"Peaceful societies are built on respect for human rights and religious freedom," says Colecchi, "but in many countries religious minorities are discriminated against and even persecuted."

As Catholics try to incorporate all of these issues into their political engagement, Colecchi says there are a few key questions that can shed some light. "For example, does a candidate see poverty-focused international assistance as an investment in saving lives and making our world and nation safer? Does the candidate value working for peace and only using force as a last resort in keeping with just war teaching?  Will he or she promote religious freedom in U.S. foreign policy? Does the candidate value partnerships with faith-based organizations, and will he or she support conscience clauses and other provisions that allow such partnerships?" In short, "Will the candidate support policies and programs that protect human life and dignity?"

With these guidelines, all Catholics can be empowered to take action on international issues, at election time and all year round.