Table of Contents

• Center responds to Gramick, Nugent silencing
• U.S. sweatshops abound, employers fear unions
• Seattle: turning point for WTO agenda
• African continent faces AIDS crisis at the Millennium
• 8th Day Celebrates Living the Vision for 25 Years!
• New resolution offers no hope of lifting sanctions
• Valuing life above capital, national interests
• Taming the prophets in four simple steps
• Dovetails
• Join with Fasters (Iraq and SOA Watch)
• Mission Statement and Membership

Center responds to Gramick, Nugent silencing

The Center has long supported Jeanine Gramick, SSND and Bob Nugent, SDS for their work with the homosexual community. As were many of our constituents we were saddened by the twelve year investigation that resulted in the harsh judgment of their ministry with gay and lesbian Catholics and their families. It was decided at the joint Board and Staff meeting last fall to address our public response to the Religious Life and Ministry Commission on two important aspects of church life: subsidiary and pastoral concern. In November, an 8th Day Center board committee wrote the following statement was addressed to members of the Religious Life and Ministry Commission, comprised of representatives of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, to administrators of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and of the Conference of Major Superiors of Women Religious.

Issue of the good

How do we know that? From complaints that the Vatican Congregations and Commission received from certain parties in the U.S. Who are they? It seems that this comprises only a small group of bishops and private individuals, as indicated by Sr. Jeannine's statement following her reception of the notification.

Were we to look at this from another perspective, where the good in question is that of the homosexual community and their families to whom Sr. Gramick and Fr. Nugent were ministering, we may see another facet of this situation. If we could do this, would it not be an instance of mission-in-reverse, where we allow the "other" (the homosexual community in question) to be the missionary the missionary toward us? Our mission theology has struggled with allowing this in other areas, for example, in dealing with the problem of polygamy and induction into the church.

Listening Carefully

Every Christian is called to be chaste according to his/her condition in life. The insistence on the fullness of the moral teaching of the church about chastity should spring from a pastoral emphasis, more than a doctrinal one. The fullness of the moral teaching should honor the limitations, confines and restrictions that circumscribe a person's condition in life. The language question in describing the moral nature of homosexual orientation and acts (i.e., objectively disordered and intrinsically evil*) is insensitive to the homosexual community. Focusing on a sense of mission that is open to their condition in life might help us succeed in finding more viable language to use. This is what Sr. Gramick and Fr. Nugent have attempted If persons more in sympathy with the situation of those whom Sr. Gramick and Fr. Nugent address had more prominence in the procedures leading to the notification, the approach to the "harmful confusion problem", with its concern "lest evil accrue to innocent parties", would have found different expression. This would have had the advantage of correcting the imbalance in the composition of those adjudicating the problem.

Pastoral approach

In this context of a pastoral approach and sense of mission, the issue of assent and dissent may not have emerged so forcefully. To the extent we place the emphasis on the good of persons over doctrine, assent and dissent loom less large. Why should not the assent in question be to an effective way of securing the salvation of the homosexual person i.e., as an overriding pastoral concern for his or her good? This focus also bears on the status of Catholic doctrine regarding homosexual acts and homosexual orientation: questions as to whether they both enjoy the status of definitive teaching by the universal and ordinary magisterium of the church assume a lower silhouette in the context we are suggesting here, one of mission to these persons.

Bridge builders

We register, then, disagreement with the approach and the judgment leveled against the ministry of these two religious. We recognize the many years that church leadership has taken in trying to reach a felicitous reconciliation with them about their writings and activities. This is praiseworthy. However, we feel that the substance of this effort has taken place in the wrong venue, the doctrinal one. These procedures did not start this way, but they have concluded within the jurisdiction of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Reconsideration Urged

Board of Directors and Staff of the 8th Day Center for Justice.
 

8th Day Center for Justice Board Kevin Carroll, OP Nieves de la Rosa, CSA Durstyne Farnan, OP Lynn Fangman, PBVM Joan Fisher, PHJC Deborah Fumagali, SSSF Jenny Howard, SP Marcelline Koch, OP Raymond Kozuch, SCJ Sebastian MacDonald, CP Armand Mathew, OMI Regina McKillip, OP Thomas Moran, CMF Barbara Nelson, IBVM Peggy Nolan, BVM Carlotta Oberzut, RSM Robert F. Pawell, OFM Marilyn Ring, OSB Marlene Schemmel, CSJ Patricia Schlosser, OSF Janet Thill, OLVM Mark Weber, SVD Jim Zelinski, OFM Cap

8th Day Center for Justice Staff Robert Bossie, SCJ Dolores Brooks, OP Kathleen Desautels, SP Mary Kay Flanigan, OSF John Gonzalez Christy Lytle, CSA Mary Ellen McDonagh, BVM Dorothy Pagosa, SSJ-TOSF Mary Martin Colbert, SSND   8th Day Centerings is published quarterly for sponsoring subscribers as a tool for education and action in the search for peace and justice in the world. Editorial Board: Dolores Brooks, OP; Kathleen Desautels, SP; Mary Kay Flanigan, OSF; Mary Ellen McDonagh, BVM. cover art: Matthew Miles, SCJ

NOTE:* "Given the failure of the repeated attempts of the church's legitimate authorities to resolve the problems presented by the writings and pastoral activities of the two authors, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is obliged to declare for the good of the Catholic faithful that the positions advanced by Sister Jeannine Gramick and Father Robert Nugent regarding the intrinsic evil of homosexual acts and the objective disorder of the homosexual inclination are doctrinally unacceptable because they do not faithfully convey the clear and constant teaching of the Catholic church in this area." Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Notification Regarding Sister Gramick and Father Nugent,' (ORIGINS, 29.9, 136).

U.S. sweatshops abound, employers fear unions

WHAT IS A SWEATSHOP?

According to UNITE, the garment workers' union, a sweatshop has long hours, unlivable wages and no benefits no paid holidays, no vacations, no insurance, no pension. Workers in sweatshops are subject to arbitrary discipline and poor working conditions including oppressive heat in the summer and freezing cold in the winter. Usually they are lawless operations, evading not only wage and hour laws, but also paying no taxes and operating in the underground economy hidden from public view. Some workplaces, be they modern factories, fields, nursing homes, or sparkling hotels, may not appear offensive at first glance. Yet the paltry wages, lack of health care coverage, and health and safety hazards, conspire to create sweatshops which degrade workers. The extent to which work is "sweated" in these shops can be gaged by the living and health conditions of the workers.
 

Disparity in wages

Drive for excessive profits can also create sweatshop conditions. Some businesses have sought to increase profits by driving down wages or increasing hours in ways that have led to sweatshop conditions. Three recent United States Department of Labor (DOL) investigations demonstrate the potential dangers. In a Nursing Home Compliance Survey, 30 percent of nursing and other personal care facilities did not meet the Fair Labor Standards Act provisions. Eighty-three percent violated overtime regulations, almost 20 percent violated child labor provisions and 13 percent did not meet minimum wage requirements. In a survey of poultry plants, over 60 percent were violating various wage and hour laws. DOL officials report that over 60 percent of Chicagoland restaurants were also in violation of wage and hour laws. Clearly, one driving force for nursing homes, restaurants and poultry plants is the desire to maximize profits.

Traditionally, workers sought to gain a voice in addressing their workplace issues by forming a union. However, U.S. workers face the same kinds of opposition to unionization that were exposed by demonstrations at the WTO talks in Seattle. Consider these statistics from a Cornell University study by Kate Bronfrenbrenner:

• One in four employers fire workers who are active in union campaigns - in all it is estimated that at least 10,000 workers are fired each year for exercising the freedom to join a union.

• Ninety-one percent of employers, when faced with employees who want to join together in a union, force employees to attend closed-door meetings to hear anti-union propaganda; 80 percent require immediate supervisors to attend training sessions on how to attack unions; and 79 percent have supervisors deliver anti-union messages to workers they oversee.

• Eighty percent hire outside consultants to run anti-union campaigns, often based on mass psychology and distorting the law.

• Half of employers threaten to shut down if employees join together in a union.

People of faith and justice want to know that comfort, in the form of the goods and services that are used every day, does not come at the expense of a degraded workforce, either here or abroad. Workers should be compensated in a way that will enable them to live decently and workplaces should be safe and humane.

Here are three things one can do to assure worker rights:

1. Look for the union label. Although many consumers make it a point to "Buy American", many products made in the United States are produced under conditions that are oppressive to workers. In addition, many countries besides the United States are home to unionized factories where workers are treated well. Supporting AFL-CIO approved boycotts also helps workers.

2. Join or form a religion-labor committee. There are currently interfaith committees for worker justice in 48 communities throughout the country. The National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice can help one get started.

3. Organize worker justice workshops and distribute information in your church bulletin aimed at helping low-wage workers understand their rights.

The National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice educates, organizes and mobilizes the religious community on issues and campaigns that will improve wages, benefits and working conditions for workers. 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue, Chicago, IL 60660 773.728.8400 / 773.728.8409fax www.NICWJ.org.

Seattle: turning point for WTO agenda

The primary goal of the WTO's meeting was to begin a new round of global economic talks, referred to as the "millennium round." However, the international solidarity displayed in the streets of Seattle thwarted that goal of business-as-usual for mutinational corporations, in other words, mounting profits at the expense of human rights and the environment. Participants in the "millennium round" were unable to develop an agenda and those from developing countries who subsequently rejected a new round of talks seemed emboldened partly by the protesters in the streets.

Developing countries have long complained that they have been sidelined in trade talks by the WTO's secretive "green room" process, in which the decisions are made by wealthy nations outside of formal negotiations.

The crushing debt of these countries is directly linked to the special interests of multinational corporations. The Jubilee 2000 campaign has heightened an awareness of this situation.  The overall disparity between the rich and poor has reached a level that surpasses anything in history.  An economic system that perceives human beings and the environment as commodities and barriers to trade is not biblical and does not allow for sustainable life on planet earth.

Njoki Njoroge Njehu, director of 50 Years is Enough, was one of the Jubilee 2000 leaders in Seattle. She wrote, "Monday, November 29^th, the eve of the labor rally and police crackdown … the streets belonged to Jubilee 2000. A huge crowd, estimated at 30 thousand…surrounded the Exhibition Hall where the WTO delegates were invited. They formed a human chain to call for debt cancellation for impoverished nations."

The unprecedented unity of numerous groups that occurred in the streets of Seattle was and is a critical part of the anti-WTO movement. It demonstrated that when corporate interests dominate governments around the world, people can act to pursue human interests above profits. Long standing tensions and deep-rooted policy differences between the grassroots groups did not interfere with the coalition's ability to work together. Interaction often went beyond mingling to a respectful mutual education. A global civil society took shape.
 

Due to this massive outpouring of opposition in Seattle, Americans are now more aware that the WTO acts as as a government in and of itself with the power to supersede the decisions of any national government, even those elected by the people. The WTO promotes corporate freedom over the democratic process.

`They formed a human chain to call for debt cancellation for impoverished nations.'

Effectively the reemergence of civil society, non-governmental and non-church based organizations, is giving renewed hope for a world of right relationships

African continent faces AIDS crisis at the Millennium

Thus, I was thrilled last November, when invited to return to Kenya to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first foundation of the School Sisters of Notre Dame.  How exciting to join other pioneers of our first mission and to remember beginning experiences! How exciting to greet the new millennium on the African continent! I could hardly wait to see friendly faces and familiar places I loved so much ! And see them I did ! My heart was full of deep joy !

But there was sadness, too. I began to realize that something had changed. During early years in Kisii in western Kenya life was simple, but secure. The family was the center of life and work and every family had some land on which to do subsistence farming. No one went hungry and orphans were not visible as the extended family always cared for them. To my surprise, on my return last December, I found many "street children" in Kisii Town. There were so many, that the food left from the 25th anniversary celebration was shared with fifty hungry children who gathered around the parish house of the Catholic mission. What was happening ? Where were the extended families? The answer was simple but stark: AIDS was decimating the population of the area around Lake Victoria, especially in the towns of Homa Bay and Kisii. I discovered I had lost friends such as Appolonia and Rosemary to the disease and I suspected the sons they left behind were also infected.

Kenya, like so many other sub-Saharan African countries, ravaged by civil wars, drought and poverty, is losing a generation to AIDS. Hundreds are dying daily, leaving children who may also be infected. There is no medical care available for most of these victims. Because there is no effective educational program and no funding, people are living in fear and despair. Why not? Because what goes on in most parts of Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa, seems to be of little interest to the rest of the world. The United Nations has all the statistics but very little monetary aid. Most of the affected countries are so weighed down by the burden of debt, there is no money for the medical and social care needed by the victims of AIDS .

Looking more closely at the situation it becomes evident that not only is the extended family disappearing, so is the work force - teachers, skilled workers, field workers. And the age of life-expentancy is dropping. The economic implications are staggering! When I returned I was surprised to see a series of articles in the Chicago Tribune about the spread of life-threatening disease in Africa. Then I saw the cover story in Newsweek (Jan. 17, 2000) on the 10 million orphans in Africa. Finally someone was paying attention to what was going on! Will help finally come? Will governments pledge funds to fight the disease? to give the Africans some cause for hope in the new millennium?

8th Day Celebrates Living the Vision for 25 Years!

• Adrian Dominicans through their Portfolio Advisory Board has worked for social change by using the power of its investments, seeking consistency between its mission and its monies.

• Capuchin Province of St. Joseph has led challenges to the tobacco companies and presently coordinates Campaign Exxon, challenging its position on global warming.

• Claretians, East, USA have taken a leading role in breathing new life and hope into South Chicago.

• Congregation of the Passion has sponsored Stauros (Greek word for cross) to address suffering in people's lives, especially those with disabilities.

• Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes has effected systemic change through participation in a pilot program, Welfare Works, in Wisconsin, the location of its Motherhouse.

• The Carmelites, Chicago Human Development Fund offers grants to justice-oriented groups.

• Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent dePaul, Evansville, through their Health System is committed to increasing health insurance for families and allowing terminal patients to die with dignity.

• Divine Word Missionaries through Angels Studio promotes interracial understanding through several communications media.

• Dominican Fathers/Brothers Central Province recently opened a foundation in Honduras to train local Delegates of the Word and is involved in several justice areas including corporate investments.

• Dominican Sisters of Springfield have expanded their emphasis on corporate social responsibility focusing on alternative investments and by far-reaching grants for community development and women's initiatives.

• Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary recently opened Mary Ward Center to help address the literacy needs of the people of South Chicago.

• Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration began their Global Awareness Through Education program ten years ago to promote global solidarity and social justice through education and experience in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Eastern Europe.

• Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate through it Peace Office in Washington, D.C. among other efforts promotes in a North/South dialogue with colleague in Latin America.

• Orders of Friars, Minor, Sacred Heart Province among other efforts supports a volunteer program, placing volunteers throughout the U.S. in justice work.

• Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters began a Resource Sharing program 25 years ago to utilize resources, both human and financial on behalf of the poor. Some 297 grants have been approved since its inception.

• Priests of the Sacred Heart staff Sacred Heart Center in south Dakota. Located on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation it provides shelter for abused women, long term group care for adolescents as well as legal advocacy and efforts to strengthen tribal relations regarding domestic violence, sexual assault and rape.

• Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ sponsor a ministry for for women and children in Gary, Ind. Sisters at Sojourner Truth House, after listening to needs, offer programs that will empower women and children to live more fully, believe in themselves and contribute to the city.

• Rochester Minnesota Franciscans focus on systemic change by working to ban land mines. For the past five years they have had a presence at demonstrations and civil resistant actions at Alliant Techsystems which produces, stockpiles and tests land mines. They have held dinners, informational sharings and discussions on the issue.

• School Sisters of Notre Dame - Chicago Province as members of an international congregation are part of SHALOM, the international network for Justice Peace and the Integrity of Creation. SHALOM's goal is to take actions leading to reconciliation, solidarity with the oppressed, human dignity, ecological movements which safeguard the earth.

• School Sisters of St. Francis initiated Volunteers In Service In Our Neighborhood (VISION) in 1993 by inviting neighbors to the motherhouse. Needs of the culturally diverse neighborhood were discussed and resulted in targeting a 134 square block area on Milwaukee's south side.

• Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation has committed to become an anti-racist institution. working with Crossroads, an interfaith ministry for racial justice. The congregation will examine decision making and power structures and make necessary changes to bring about anti-racist structures.

• Sisters of Humility of Mary cited their Charism Statement and directional goals of the past four years.  Their systemic change efforts have flowed from these statements.

• Sisters of Mercy, Chicago Regional Community focus on violence in the home and workplace as a contemporary need. Activities have included legislative advocacy, educational resources, public awareness campaigns, training programs and financial support.

• Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary chose the Restorative Justice ministry in St. Paul, MN in which a team of three sisters address crime and violence in three areas: Transitional Conferencing (assisting persons who are incarcerated and their families with transition from prison to family life); Circle Process (working with juveniles in crisis and their families ); and Peace Education (developing conflict resolution programs in elementary schools).

• Sisters of Providence (St. Mary-of-the-Woods, IN) established the Providence Self-Sufficiency Ministries in 1994 to provide life-changing services to nearly 8,000 individuals and families in Indiana and Illinois. Among other endeavors it created an alternative model for affordable housing in West Terre Haute, IN.

• Sisters of St. Benedict, Ferdinand, IN are monastic women whose work toward systemic change is focused in individual approaches to ministries including offering retreats, assisting Hispanics, working with homeless women and with the people of Guatemala and Peru.

• Sisters of St. Benedict, Nauvoo, IL support Project Irene through community education an by contacting Illinois legislators, direct transitional housing, and by writing prisoners among other efforts. In addition, they tithe for social justice.

• Sisters of St. Jospeh of LaGrange sponsor Alliuam, an Eco-Spirituality center committed to searching for authentic ways to live in communion with God and all creation.

• Sisters of St. St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis named Sophia's Portico which offers a haven to explore growth in feminine spirituality. Inclusive of creeds, cultures, genders and races, it seeks to nurture spiritual growth in an atmosphere of peace, freedom, dignity and justice.

New resolution offers no hope of lifting sanctions

Upon closer examination, it is clear that this inspection regime will not lead to the suspension of sanctions because it continues to be official US policy to maintain sanctions until Saddam Hussein is replaced by someone more amenable to US interests. Apparently, Iraq's Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Niza Hamdoon was correct when he called the resolution a "process that aims at confusing public opinion," or what some call a public relations ploy to ease growing pressure to end sanctions.

Significantly, even after a year of wrangling and debate within the Security council to reach agreement on establishing criteria for confirming Iraq's disarmament and ending sanctions, France, Russian and China - three of the five permanent council members - were among those who abstained from voting for the current resolution. This highlights the sharp divisions within the council and exposes the pretense that continuing sanctions is the "will of the international community."

In this light, we should reflect on the failure of the former inspection regime, known as UNSCOM (UN Special Commission).  UNSCOM ended in December 1998 when chief weapons inspector Richard Butler pulled all inspectors out of Iraq because, he said, the Iraqi government prevented the inspectors from visiting three sites.  The pullout seemed especially suspicious at that time because, unknown to the US public, the inspectors had been allowed to visit hundreds of sites in the previous months.  Also, Butler knew that the pullout would provide justification for the US and Britain to begin bombing.

Upon his return to the US, Butler reported directly to US officials, despite his responsibility being first and foremost to the Security Council. The US and Britain soon began bombing, both civilian and military targets, which continues every few days even now. A short time later, it was admitted that the inspection teams did contain US spies, as Iraq long contended, which was a clear violation of the UN mandate.

In the present context, even if the US could be persuaded to forgo the ouster of Hussein before lifting sanctions, the likelihood of significant relief for the Iraqi people would not occur for more than a year.  The reason is that the new inspection regime - now known as UNMOVIC (UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission), would not begin for about a year due to the difficulty of choosing members of the inspection teams not intent on further US spying efforts. Meanwhile, Iraqi children will continue to die at a rate of 5,000 a month.

Once inspections do begin, the criteria for assessing Iraq's cooperation are so ambiguous that it will be relatively easy for the US or Britain to use their veto power to prevent the suspension of sanctions indefinitely. Meanwhile, it should be noted that Scott Ritter and other inspectors have stated that Iraq is essentially disarmed of all chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

It is no wonder that the Iraqi government has refused to cooperate with resolution 1284.  Yet in so doing, Iraq gives the US an excuse to intensify bombing.

Thus, these "genocidal" sanction, as they were rightly called by former UN humanitarian coordinator Denis Halliday, will continue. According to the May/June 1999 issue of Foreign Affairs, excluding the Nazi Holocaust, "Sanctions [on Iraq] have contributed to more deaths than all weapons of mass destruction throughout history."

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Valuing life above capital, national interests

8th day Center in its vision statement envisions a world of right relationships in which all creation is seen as sacred and interconnected.  Thus, the Center commends Governor George Ryan of Illinois for his courageous step in halting state executions in Illinois.  Others are urged to contact the governors of their respective states to take a similar move.

The death penalty victimizes each of us over and over by its intrinsic devaluation of human life and its denial and rejection of reconciliation and redemption.  From a perspective that values all creation, staff member John Gonzalez reflects on the birth of his daughter.

 I was hired by the Congregation of the Passion in June of this past year to be their staff person here at the center. This being my seventh month here with this organization I am still limited to my contributions, yet on the 8th of December, 1999 (the feast of the Immaculate Conception) Karen (my wife) and I were able to contribute an experience that was both significant and original to the center. Estelle Elizabeth Gonzalez was born to us on that day. Estelle's birth brought, amongst other things, a new perspective for my wife, myself and the center itself.
 This is of course the perspective of a newborn human life, a life from which one can see  the very basic meaning of being human. It is not life that has been molded by the various different experiences from which she will develop her own sense of individuality and place in this world (with the exception of the experience of familiarizing herself with her own body). At this point she is innocent insofar as she is untouched by the aspects of both good and evil that this world will have to offer. She is at that point where all of us have begun. Her perspective then is that of humanity stripped of all its baggage. Yet she is also aware and from this point on, she is growing.
 She is frail, as an individual she cannot survive. Her survival comes with the assurance that she is part of a community, thus from the moment of birth she is a social creature. Yet she does not simply burden the community she was born into, she to has something to offer us. She offers us the gift of hope through life. She (as well as her contemporaries) are the future instruments through which our world will function. How she will play that role depends upon us. Will we teach her to value money above all other things. Perhaps she will learn to push the interest of her country above all other things. Maybe, just maybe, she will learn to value the salvific purpose Christ had in mind for all humanity. Maybe she will learn to value life above capital or national interest. Maybe she will learn to cherish the love of God and interpret that love for all humanity. Either way she is our hope, the task ahead of us is to reassess what that hope is.
 

Taming prophets in four simple steps

In these statements, Dorothy and Dom Helder acknowledge the efforts of the dominant culture to squelch the prophetic call to live the values of the kin-dom of God, wherever it finds roots in the community. Regrettably, we ourselves participate in this four step process of taming the prophets and, in so doing, diminish our own prophetic call.
 

Step I - Dismissing Prophets

Somehow, the belief is that prophets must be perfect, more than human, unlike ourselves. Perhaps the greatest gift of prophets is to acknowledge that they are simply tools of the Spirit of God and must stay true to their concern for the community despite their own weaknesses.
 

Step II - Defaming Prophets

The treatment of those who "crossed the line" in a funeral procession onto the US military base housing the School of the Americas offers a current example. The protesters were prosecuted under criminal law and incarcerated. Any attempt by the protesters to raise the moral issues in trial were quickly squelched by the protectors of the system, the judges and prosecutors. Regrettably, because many of us have made our peace with the status quo, from which we benefit enormously, we tend to agree with this interpretation: "Well, the protesters have a point but they have gone too far by breaking the law."
 

Step Three - Killing Prophets

Since this effort has proved ineffectual, the powers now are "forced" to call upon the sacred right of the community, for whom they are acting, to use violence to protect itself. Again, the Scriptures are instructive: "Can you not see that it is better for you to have one man die than to have the whole nation destroyed." (Jn 11:50) "We have our law ... and according to that law he must die...." (Jn 19:7)

Some, such as Rene Gerard and Gil Bailie, have identified this act of sacred violence with the scape goat ritual of the Jewish testament. Thus, the powers kill the bearer of good news, often with the cooperation of the community.
 

Step IV - Domesticating Prophets

At this moment, the community is the most vulnerable because it recognizes the significance of the prophets and wishes to uphold them in a special way. But the risk is that we relegate the prophets to household gods with little if any power to move the community. They are unique, holy, beyond anything to which we can aspire. And so, unwittingly, we participate in killing not only the prophets but also their message. At least that is the goal of those who promote the dominant culture.

In the long struggle to create the beloved community living in harmony with creation, we have come to know that life is stronger than death. For the spirit of a faithful life continues to find root in new generations. Consider the following:
 

Join with Fasters

"Fasting is an institution as old as humans.  It is my conviction that a fast undertaken out of genuine love cannot have any negative result.  It will only bring good in its wake."

-- Mahatma Ghandi

• Voices in the Wilderness held a month long fast beginning January 15 the date of the ninth anniversary of the onslaught on the Gulf War.  Faster, in attempt to call attention to the devastation of the economic sanctions against Iraq stood across from the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C.  The project culminated in a vigil of prayerful witness outside the United Nations in New York, February 12-14.

• SOA Watch is calling for Fast 2000 across the country beginning April 6 and ending April 19.  A rally will be held in Washington, D.C. for the beginning and closing.  The 13-day fast commemorates 13 countries, one per day, which have suffered from SOA violence.  For an organizing packet, send $3 to SOA Watch, PO Box 4566, Washington, D.C. -- Phone 202-234-3440-- Web site: www.soaw.org.  Prior to the fast, lobbying days and a rally will be held April 2-3 in Washington, D.C.