The course examines the global political economy as it developed since the end of Second World War. It deals with the general themes of power and production, order and disorder, finance, the international monetary system, international trade and the transnational corporation. It also explores various facets of capitalist expansion and crisis, including North-South relationships, development and underdevelopment, the impact of financial flows, the new wars and the future of the global political economy.
Against the background of a new Labor Day weekend job report that found zero job net growth for the month of August, Republican candidates held another debate, this time under the auspices of MSNBC, not Fox. It took place in the Reagan library, in Simi Valley, California, with the 1980s Air Force One plane used by Reagan looming behind them as a powerful yet incongruent décor. Texas Governor Rick Perry, who entered the race three weeks ago and has already managed to reshape it, made it a contest between himself and Mitt Romney. Jon Huntsman is now a distant third in the polls, and the rest have been consigned to the back bench. Perry has consolidated support across a large swath of the Republican base, including Tea Partiers and the Evangelical right and already has amassed a war chest of campaign funds from contributors from Texas and across the country. Interestingly enough, Karl Rove, the self appointed kingmaker of the GOP and former GW Bush closest advisor, has come out against Perry, calling some of his views "toxic".As the first fundamental tests of the Republican primary approach, the campaign clearly entered a new stage last Wednesday during a debate that was mainly a duel between two protagonists, while the rest, acting as a Greek chorus reinforcing or challenging their responses, were given very little time by hosts Brian Williams (NBC) and John Harris (Politico). The primary field as first constituted was lackluster and therefore demanded new candidates. Perry seems to have satisfied that demand for the time being. Nevertheless, after the debate there was still some discontent among establishment Republicans, so the race is still fluid and new candidates may jump in before the first deadline in October.Governor Perry, as the front-runner in the latest polls, was not surprisingly the target of most of the others throughout the night. He has executive experience, a commanding demeanor, and a record to run on. Although not completely articulate, and lacking Romney's polished eloquence, he is tough and quick in his retorts, and his rhetoric resounded with the audience, drawing the strongest applause every time. His claim that he has created more jobs in Texas than Obama has managed to create nationally may be a winner with voters, but Texas' record on almost every other issue is unflattering and thus, main ammunition for his opponents. He was reminded, for example, that of all fifty states, Texas is last on education, to which he responded that Texas' problems stem from its long border with Mexico. That probably did not go well with the Hispanic voters watching on Univisión and Telemundo, but Perry doesn't seem to care, since he is riding the wave of anti-Latino feelings around the country. Confronted with the claim that Texas has the largest number of people without health insurance than all other 49 states , he did not give a direct answer but chose instead to mumble something about how "all Texans want is to get the federal government out of their lives". Both Michelle Bachman and Rick Santorum questioned Perry's social conservatism given his policy as governor, for example, to inoculate adolescent girls against HPV, which they portrayed as a government intrusion into the family realm and a license to practice pre-marital sex. And Ron Paul, a congressman from Texas, was a constant goad on the Governor's side, reminding the public that Perry used to be a Democrat and wholeheartedly supported Al Gore on his presidential bid in 1988. Perry defended himself well as he dismissed all the charges against him with one-liners and a disdainful smile. A shrewd politician and experience campaigner, he took the initiative at every turn and was able to steer the conversation to his own record of job creation as governor of Texas, contrasting it mockingly with Romney's as governor of Massachusetts. But Romney appeared unfazed as he joked that Perry could not take credit for everything that has gone well in the State of Texas, including its wealth of oil and gas, its zero state income tax and the (related) fact that main corporations made their headquarters there long before Perry was governor. Massachusetts is a much smaller state and has none of those advantages, he added. There were several quick exchanges like this: both candidates were well prepared to respond with facts and statistics, and the perception was that they both did well, with Perry defending himself aggressively at times and Romney maintaining his smooth and relaxed demeanor, even as he waited for the opportunity to deliver a blow to his new challenger.Host Brian Williams soon gave him that opportunity by asking Perry a question about Social Security, the government pension fund that experts say, will become insolvent in the year 2036 if it is not reformed. Perry's answer, which confirmed similar statements in his recently published book, made all the headlines the next day. He called it a "Ponzi scheme' (implying a criminal enterprise) and added that it was a "monstrous lie" to tell young people under thirty that they would get their Social Security when their time comes for them to retire: they won't. This statement has been reported by the Romney campaign as Perry's Waterloo: no candidate will win an election by making this kind of claim against the "third rail" of politics, a cherished and untouchable public trust; to do so is pure political suicide. Similar claims had prompted Karl Rove's comment about Perry's toxicity and spurred doubts about his electability. Ironically, it is the rhetoric and not the substance that separates the two candidates on this issue: as presidents, both would likely propose some privatization of Social Security, perhaps in the form of personal retirement accounts that can be managed by the workers themselves and would allow them to invest in the stock market. Another of Brian William's questions brought an unexpected burst of applause by the all- Republican audience even before Perry had had a chance to answer it. Williams asked how he could sleep at night knowing his state had applied the death penalty to 234 convicts, the highest rate in the nation, and some of whom were perhaps innocent. Perry said the crimes they had perpetrated deserved it, and that yes, he slept fine at night knowing that the appeals process was thorough and fair. Of course, people are entitled to their views on the death penalty, and quotes from the Bible have been used to justify it. But it is sad and even incongruous to see a purportedly well educated middle class audience of a purportedly Christian nation cheer the notion. Patti Davis, President Reagan's daughter, later said to an interviewer it was almost" blasphemous" to celebrate the death penalty at the Reagan library, given the fact that her father had approached the issue with a heavy heart and burden to his conscience, albeit accepting it as a necessary evil. Mitt Romney appeared poised, fluent on the economy and self confident. It may help him knowing that he has 250 billion dollars in his own personal account, and that he has outpaced all other candidates so far in fundraising. He seems to be the choice of the business elite and of urban and suburban Republicans (60% of his donors come from big cities and their surroundings). On the other hand, Perry's supporters say that through his ten years as governor of Texas, Perry has laid the groundwork to raise all the money he might need for a national election. He has a donor network that can "bundle" millions. Texas places no limits on how much donors can give to political campaigns, even as federal law limits donations to the derisory amount of $2,500 per person. Still, some critics say Perry would need to capture a broader donor base to compete in a national election. Michelle Bachman's adventure into the Republican primary may be coming to an end as her star fades and Tea Partiers and Evangelicals transfer their support to Rick Perry. Her campaign is in disarray over fundraising and strategy. Ed Rollins, a veteran GOP operative who managed Reagan's 1984 campaign, resigned as her advisor after Bachman could not be persuaded to focus on campaigning in Iowa only (where the first primary caucus will take place and where she won a straw poll a few weeks ago), instead of trying to run a national campaign. She hasn't been able to raise enough money outside Iowa and that limits her campaign's choices. Perry has taken her thunder. It doesn't help that the Congress woman keeps repeating her Manichean views on every single issue, insisting for example again during this debate, that it was wrong for the US to intervene in Libya because there was no national interest involved in the region, a position that nobody in the GOP establishment shares, especially now that Qaddafi is all but defeated.On Thursday, after two changes in schedule were forced on the White House (one due to the GOP debate on Wednesday, the other due to the opening of the NFL season shown at prime time on Thursday night), President Obama delivered his much awaited jobs creation speech. He unveiled a $ 447 billion plan, a mixture of tax cuts and new spending programs. It includes extending cuts in payroll taxes to individuals and employers, new infrastructure spending, a new mortgage refinancing program, retraining for the unemployed and tax credits to businesses that employ those who have been out of a job for over six moths. He also talked about a private-public infrastructure bank and emphasized that all this new spending would be coupled with more cuts in the deficit later. This was an attempt at a new marketing of the President's measures to stimulate the economy: he was more specific, more conciliatory and avoided using the word "stimulus" that has gotten so much bad press since most people think the initial package did not help the economy one bit.The President spoke with new confidence and conviction; he sounded re-energized and optimistic, and evoked in the public memories of "Obama the candidate". The next morning he was on the road to sell his plan to voters first in Virginia, speaking to 9,000 people gathered at the University of Richmond. Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina are the three states the President strategically chose to visit. Obama won all three in the 2008 election but they each voted Republicans to their legislatures in last year's mid-term elections. The Republican response in Congress was cautiously positive. Indeed, even as Obama's numbers in the polls continue to drop (44% approval rate of his person, with 59% disapproving of his handling of the economy, is the latest), approval of Congress is at an all time low of 13%. A change is tone has registered as Republicans realize that their do-nothing strategy has gone too far and it is time to stop playing the political game and address economic recovery in earnest. It is indeed refreshing, after the acerbic debt ceiling fights, to hear House majority leader Eric Cantor say it's time to build consensus and work together. Their brinkmanship has infuriated their constituents and put at risk all the gains made in last year's mid-term elections.It remains to be seen whether the electorate's disgust with excessive conflict and confrontation within the DC belt also extends to the presidential primary. Will voters choose the bold and aggressive governor from Texas who better reflects their anger with his provocative language (he wants to cut the "head off the snake" (meaning the federal government's interference with states policies), or the cooler, more cerebral, more conciliatory (indeed, in some ways, more Obama-like) candidate from Massachusetts that wants moderation and speaks to the middle class? In this head-to-head contest between Perry and Romney, one can assume people will ultimately choose the one they see can solve their problems, end the paralysis and get the country moving again. But the country's social fabric is torn by unemployment, anger and frustration with government and hopelessness about the future. As the more aggressive candidate, Perry may well be the one that embodies the spirit of the times.In his first national appearance, the Texan did not make any major mistakes. He has dislodged Romney from top in national polls, but not in New Hampshire, where Romney still leads by a wide margin. From now on, the calendar will drive the candidates' strategies. If Perry wins Iowa and Romney New Hampshire, it will definitely become a two person race going forward into South Carolina, where Baptists most likely will choose a Texan Evangelist over a New Englander Mormon. That might interrupt Romney's momentum. Then comes Florida, where there is a big number of Tea Partiers and an even larger number of retirees. The vote of these two groups will be decisive. Perry could lose the retirees on his Social Security attacks, which were mainly addressed to young voters who don't vote in primaries. But there is plenty of time to adjust his views and rectify his blunders so as to become more electable.Cocky, dark and handsome, a cross between Johnny Cash and John Wayne, Perry has a formidable presence that makes a good impression on voters. Blunt and direct in his speech, with a distinct Southern accent, his peculiar kind of charisma compensates for his lack of polish. He is tough and rugged, doesn't back down, and appeared solid in his philosophy of "detax, deregulate and delitigate". He is clearly the candidate that can win the Mid-West and the Deep South. The question is whether he will withstand the deeper scrutiny of a presidential race he entered late, and whether he can refine his arguments and still be reassuring. Romney still appears as the more electable candidate in a national election and the one that can more easily confront Obama. But he has two main weak points: his religion (he is a Mormon, a religion that has a bad name among other Christian denominations) and the Massachusetts health care law he signed when he was governor, that his rivals claim is a replica of what they disdainfully call "Obamacare", which all candidates, including Romney, have avowed to repeal as soon as they get to the White House. Will the race become a two-man contest from this point on? Americans should not hold their breath; there is still talk about new candidates entering the race: Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani seem to be waiting on the sidelines, ready to jump into the race at any time if prompted to do so by the polls or by the GOP establishment. The current survivors may still be challenged by others with more staying power and reality show experience.Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Geography Director, ODU Model United Nations Program Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia
2007/2008 ; La vita in Europa è diventata con ogni anno che passa più florida, più soddisfacente e pacifica grazie ad un forte impegno degli stati europei e grazie alla creazione di un'entità politica ed economica unica al mondo: L'Unione Europea. La creazione di un mercato unico, di una moneta unica, di una cittadinanza e di un'identità europea, di una strategia comune contribuiscono al raggiungimento degli obbiettivi comuni come quello di far diventare UE l'economia più competitiva al mondo ed un levato benessere dei suoi cittadini . Un contesto multiculturale, in cui la diversità e le lingue rappresentano un nostro vantaggio, mentre le nostre vite vengono guidate dai principi importanti come ad esempio l'uguaglianza tra le persone a prescindere dalla razza, etnia, genere, religione oppure orientamento sessuale. L'Europa di oggi è per tutti noi sinonimo di cooperazione, democrazia, rispetto dei diritti, modernizzazione e prosperità. L'appartenenza all'Unione Europea significa automaticamente la libera scelta di condividere valori e principi comuni, mentre l'istituzione di una cittadinanza europea ha messo la persona al centro delle azioni comunitarie. L'identità europea, anche se ancora un concetto ambiguo, si rivela assolutamente indispensabile per incrementare la legittimità ed il buon funzionamento dell'Unione Europea. Oltre la stabilità politica, economica e militare, l'UE deve ai suoi cittadini una vita dignitosa in cui la libertà, solidarietà, giustizia ed eguaglianza sono principi validi ed attivi. Nel contesto di un quadro legislativo che promuoveva la non-discriminazione e l'eguaglianza , l'adozione della Carta dei Diritti Fondamentali dell'Unione Europea ha creato per tutti i cittadini europei la garanzia di un insieme di diritti e libertà fondamentali . Viene naturale a pensare che di questi diritti usufruiscono indistintamente tutti coloro che risiedono sul territorio dell'Unione Europea. Tuttavia, circa dieci milioni di persone per di più cittadini europei, vengono ogni giorno privati di questi diritti, vittime della discriminazione, dell'indifferenza e della più estrema povertà. Il numero elevato potrebbe far pensare che si tratta della popolazione di un intero stato membro come Austria, Bulgaria, Portogallo, Belgio oppure la Svezia. In realtà si tratta della più grande minoranza europea: i rom. Oggi chiamati rom, nel passato conosciuti come zingari, un popolo con una storia triste e difficile, vittime sempre di qualche ingiustizia: esclusione, isolamento e diffidenza dopo l'arrivo in Europa dal nono al quindicesimo secolo; schiavitù per centinaia di anni nel medio evo; deportati o sterminati durante la Seconda Guerra Mondiale; vittime dell'assimilazione forzata nel periodo socialista; in preda alla disperazione, alla discriminazione e alla povertà al giorno d'oggi. Non appartengono a nessuno stato e non hanno mai rivendicato niente, nessuna pretesa territoriale o di altro genere. Contenti di vivere nelle loro comunità, senza mischiarsi con gli altri, in armonia e serenità con le popolazioni che li ospitano. Con gli ultimi allargamenti, l'Unione Europea ha aperto le frontiere a più di 100 milioni di persone tra cui circa otto milioni di etnia rom. L'attribuzione del recente concetto di una "vera minoranza europea" riflette sia il carattere transnazionale sia il suo ruolo importante nel processo d'integrazione nell'Europa dell'Est. C'è uno stretto rapporto tra il processo di allargamento, d'integrazione nell'Unione Europea e le politiche per le minoranze. Anche se lo status di paese candidato oppure membro, è condizionato dall'adozione delle politiche e norme legislative verso la minoranza rom, in pratica poco è stato fatto per un concreto miglioramento delle condizioni di vita dei rom. Il profondo incremento della povertà dei rom nel periodo post-socialista nei paesi est e centro europei, ha portato all'interno dell'Unione tutti i problemi che esso comporta. Dispersi in tutta l'Europa, i rom non hanno un paese di origine e non sono nemmeno mobilizzati dal punto di vista politico ciò che li rende assolutamente dipendenti dalle politiche statali. I rom si trovano in un circolo vizioso dovuto alla interconnessione delle varie difficoltà che si può sintetizzare come segue: povertà – discriminazione - scarsa preparazione scolastica e professionale - povertà. Sono vittime della discriminazione in tutti i settori: istruzione, lavoro, abitazioni, giustizia, salute, mentre la popolazione maggioritaria manifesta nei loro confronti un atteggiamento di esclusione ed allontanamento come conseguenza dei vari pregiudizi. Accusano frequentemente il fatto di essere stigmatizzati e le loro tradizioni, costumi e caratteristiche culturali non vengono riconosciute. La discriminazione nell'ambito dell'istruzione e dell'occupazione è la causa principale della situazione precaria delle comunità rom e del vicolo cieco da cui non riescono ad uscire. Gli elementi responsabili delle difficoltà riscontrate della minoranza rom sono intercollegate ed interdipendenti , generando cosi l'impossibilità di integrarsi senza un impegno esterno congiunto tra le varie autorità. La questione rom, soprattutto nel contesto della nuova configurazione dell'UE, è diventata un problema europeo se non uno dei problemi più gravi dell'Unione Europea a livello sociale. Già dal 1993 l'argomento è stato formalmente individuato come europeo tramite la Risoluzione 1203 del Consiglio dell'Europa che ha dichiarato la popolazione rom una "vera minoranza europea". Gli standard di vita dei rom sonno diventati un segnale d'allarme dal punto di vista umanitario ed hanno sollevato preoccupazioni per le violazioni dei diritti umani. In aggiunta all'aspetto morale ed umanitario, le difficoltà delle comunità rom generano problematiche a livello sociale ed economico. Pertanto la questione deve interessare sia gli stati nazionali, membri e candidati, sia l'Unione Europea nel suo intero in quanto la disoccupazione e la povertà a lungo termine, nel futuro metterà a repentaglio la competitività. Inoltre nei paesi dove i rom costituiscono popolazioni considerevoli ed in continua crescita, la loro emarginazione ed esclusione minaccerà la stabilità e la coesione sociale . La presente tesi propone due ipotesi riguardo all'argomento trattato: Il problema rom, nell'attuale contesto dell'Unione Europea allargata e beneficiaria dei vantaggi della libera circolazione, è diventato un problema transfrontaliero, lo spostamento dei rom da un paese ad altro alla ricerca di una vita migliore generando seri problemi sia per le stesse comunità rom sia per i paesi ospitanti. Di conseguenza, la questione oltrepassa il livello nazionale presentandosi con un'evidente dimensione europea, richiedendo un approccio diverso da parte dell'Unione Europea che dovrebbe avere un ruolo attivo con delle azioni pratiche, in sostanza un ruolo che va oltre il coordinamento e le raccomandazioni. data la complessità del problema e la profonda diversità tra i rom e le popolazioni maggioritarie ma allo stesso tempo anche tra le varie comunità rom, si rivela un'incompatibilità tra queste due società; questa incompatibilità, generata dalla diversità e dalla presenza delle problematiche specifiche , porta a vari difficoltà come la discriminazione, razzismo, scarse opportunità, povertà. Si sostiene quindi la necessità prima di tutto di un intervento di natura educativo, rivolto ugualmente agli individui rom che ai non rom. L'approccio deve essere vincolante quasi coercitivo previsto dalla legge in tale maniera da imporre la frequentazione della scuola ai bambini rom, limitando le loro tradizioni quando si tratta di violazioni della legislazione in vigore . Dall'altra parte le autorità e le istituzioni – media compresi – devono sensibilizzare la popolazione non rom fornendo un'immagine reale della situazione di questa minoranza e fornendo un tipo di educazione civica che promuove principi come l'eguaglianza, la non discriminazione e la solidarietà. La situazione della minoranza rom è un argomento complicato, complesso ed allo stesso tempo molto controverso. Per poter offrire delle soluzioni e delle raccomandazioni, si deve innanzitutto comprendere ed analizzare. In questo senso, la presente tesi ha fissato una serie di obiettivi elencati di seguito: I rom si devono conoscere. Chi sono i rom, da dove vengono, quali sono le loro tradizioni, che tipo di vita conducono, quali sono le loro condizioni di vita sono domande a cui tanti di noi non sanno rispondere. Abbiamo un'immagine in cui prevalgono gli stereotipi ed i pregiudizi. La distanza sociale imposta dalle popolazioni maggioritarie è indiscutibilmente collegata anche ad una paura di fronte a queste comunità in pratica ignote. Quindi, in queste circostanze, un quadro descrittivo dei rom e delle loro problematiche risulta assolutamente indispensabile. Si intende di presentare sia un quadro della storia dei rom, sia una descrizione delle loro tradizioni insistendo però sulle attuali condizioni di vita delle comunità rom residenti nei paesi membri. La questione rom ha superato i confini nazionali. I problemi dei singoli paesi membri sono oggi affrontati a livello comunitario in virtù di una politica comune basata sull'unità e sulla solidarietà. Sia per la gravità della situazione, sia per le sue elevate dimensioni, la questione è diventata una vicenda europea. Dunque si intendono individuare gli aspetti e le conseguenze transfrontaliere dell'argomento focalizzando una significante attenzione sulle responsabilità ai vari livelli. Gli impegni non mancano. È importante avere un quadro completo delle iniziative e degli impegni che sono stati fatti, principalmente per poter identificare che cosa delle misure prese non ha funzionato, oppure cosa ha funzionato meglio. Di conseguenza, per i motivi suindicati, ma anche per facilitare la formulazione delle raccomandazioni conclusive, si intende provvedere ad una comprensiva presentazione degli impegni dei governi nazionali, dell'Unione Europea, delle organizzazioni internazionali, organizzazioni non governative e delle stesse comunità rom. È inoltre necessaria un'analisi storica delle politiche destinate ai rom durante la storia. Sono state adottate delle leggi. Dunque si desidera fornire una panoramica sulla legislazione in vigore in modo da diffondere i diritti umani e delle minoranze, ed allo stesso tempo i doveri delle autorità. Un piccolo contributo alla raccolta dei dati. Uno degli ostacoli più gravi nella gestione della problematica rom è costituito dalla mancanza dei dati. Pertanto uno degli obiettivi principali della tesi è di fornire più informazioni possibili sulla questione in modo da poter facilitare le future ricerche nel campo. I rom sono vittime dei pregiudizi e degli stereotipi. Si elaborerà una ricerca che intende da una parte identificare i pregiudizi e gli stereotipi che la popolazione maggioritaria associa più frequentemente ai rom, e da un'altra parte identificare la presenza degli atteggiamenti discriminatori. Un altro obiettivo è di analizzare le particolarità delle comunità rom oppure delle loro problematiche nei principali paesi europei dove risiedono importanti popolazioni di quest'etnia. La minoranza rom è stata dichiarata in assoluto la più povera e vulnerabile dell'Europa. Le problematiche collegate all'etnia rom sono le più svariate e per di più interconnesse tra di loro. Sebbene tradizionalmente e storicamente una delle popolazioni più povere dell'Europa, l'ulteriore collasso della qualità della vita dei rom ha portato ad una situazione insostenibile senza precedente. Dopo la caduta dei regimi socialisti, le condizioni di vita dei rom sono peggiorate in modo allarmante ed i loro diritti sono stati sempre più spesso violati attirando l'attenzione della comunità internazionale ed europea. La povertà dei rom, paragonabile alle comunità del terzo mondo, è strettamente correlata con altre difficoltà che loro affrontano: le lacune in materia di istruzione, la disoccupazione, mancanza di abitazioni ed assistenza sanitaria. I rom hanno un limitato accesso al mercato di lavoro dovuto principalmente ad una scarsa preparazione e poi anche all'isolamento geografico ed alla discriminazione. I bassi livelli di istruzione sono da una parte anche loro dovuti ad un elevato livello di discriminazione nelle scuole e di negazione della loro cultura ed identità. Da un'altra parte, lo scarso accesso ai servizi pubblici, l'emarginazione geografica e l'impossibilità di sostenere le spese scolastiche influiscono altrettanto negativamente l'istruzione dei rom. Il circolo vizioso in cui i rom si trovano intrappolati inizia con la povertà e discriminazione, continua con la scarsa istruzione, la disoccupazione chiudendosi sempre e sfortunatamente con povertà e discriminazione. È ovvio che le comunità rom devono affrontare un complesso processo di modernizzazione attraverso un cambiamento culturale e con l'utilizzo indispensabile degli strumenti come l'istruzione e la formazione professionale. L'emancipazione delle comunità rom deve inoltre garantire ai bambini un'istruzione di qualità ed alle donne l'indipendenza economica. L'intervento, pur coordinato ai livelli istituzionali, deve assolutamente coinvolgere i rappresentanti della minoranza rom senza i quali, il dialogo tramite i rom e i gadje, risulta impossibile. L'accesso all'istruzione ed alla formazione deve tradursi in un obbligo legale in modo che le generazioni rom future ma anche quelle di oggi possano beneficiare di un'educazione, formazione pari al resto delle popolazioni. Dall'altra estremità si trova l'atteggiamento discriminatorio delle popolazioni maggioritarie che ostacola in pratica ogni tentativo di integrazione dei rom al loro interno. In questa direzione sembra sia nata una "coalizione" tra i cittadini, i media e le autorità con lo scopo di segregare e mantenere in condizioni disumane i rom cioè milioni di persone diverse. Una "coalizione" del genere rende impossibile ogni progetto di inclusione dei rom. La colpa è sempre attribuita alla scarsa volontà e coinvolgimento della popolazione rom nel processo integrativo. In pratica, dato l'alto livello della discriminazione di cui sono vittime i membri delle comunità rom, l'integrazione fallirebbe pur avendo la certezza della buona volontà. Dovrebbe istaurarsi un processo di conciliazione mediato dalle autorità pubbliche in cui i lo scopo è di assumere i valori comuni e di educare i rom ed i non rom a come convivere in maniera armoniosa. La presenza degli stereotipi e dei pregiudizi nei mezzi di comunicazione di massa aumenta ingiustamente l'intolleranza e la discriminazione perciò dovrebbe essere regolamentata tramite un efficace intervento legislativo. Inoltre, la creazione dei corsi di educazione civica nelle scuole e delle campagne mediatiche risulta assolutamente necessaria per sensibilizzare i "gadje" sui diritti umani e delle minoranze, far conoscere le vere problematiche rom e generare un'educazione che promuova la tolleranza e l'uguaglianza. La diversità – valore centrale dell'identità europea - deve essere più di un concetto espresso a livello europeo. Deve essere vista per quello che è veramente: una fonte di ricchezza di cui possiamo beneficiare tutti al di là della razza, religione, appartenenza etnica o orientamento sessuale. L'integrazione dei rom deve prevedere una vera e propria convivenza tra questi e le società maggioritarie evitando completamente formule di tipo segregatorio. Il modello di vita europeo, basato sui nostri valori comuni, per poter essere assunto deve essere prima di tutto conosciuto quindi i rom devono essere ammessi nelle scuole, nelle classi con tutti gli altri bambini, negli ospedali nelle stanze insieme ai pazienti romeni, italiani, oppure slovacchi, devono lavorare negli ambienti lavorativi di tutti noi e devono condividere gli spazi per il tempo libero come tutti gli altri cittadini europei. Finche saranno isolati, esclusi continueranno a vivere in condizioni di estrema povertà guidati dai costumi inadeguati al giorno d'oggi. La difficoltà della problematica è generata proprio della convinzione di infallibilità di ogni parte – i rom ed i non rom – e di come far comprendere l'inattendibilità dei propri atteggiamenti. In una situazione in cui tutti pensano di avere ragione e tutti pensano di essere vittime, l'educazione è l'unica strada per una convivenza serena basata sui valori e principi comuni. ; XX Ciclo
Issue 35.5 of the Review for Religious, 1976. ; REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS IS edited by faculty members of St Louis University, the editorial offices being located at 612 Humboldt Braiding, 539 North Grand Boule-vard; St. Louis, Missouri 63103. It is owned by the Missouri Province Educational Institute; St. Louis, Missouri. Published bimonthly and copyright (~) 1976 by REVlEW FOR RELIGIOUS. Composed, printed, and manufactured in U.S.A. Second class postage paid at St. Louis, Missouri. Single copies: $2.00. Subscription U.S.A. and Canada: $7.00 a year; $13.00 for two years; other countries, $8.00 a year, $15.00 for two years. Orders should indicate whether they are for new or renewal subscriptions and should be accompanied by check or money order payable to REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS in U.S.A. currency only. Pay no money to persons claiming to represent REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS. Change of address requests should include former address. Daniel F. X. Meenan, S.J. Everett A. Diederich, S.J. Joseph F. Gallen, S.J. Robert Williams, S.J. Jean Read Editor Associate Editor Questions and Answers Editor Book Editor Assistant Editor September 1976 I"olume 35 Number 5 Renewals,-new subscriptions, and changes of address should be sent to REVIEW FOR RELICtOUS; P.O. BOX 6070; Duluth, Minnesota 55802. Correspondence with the editor and the associate editor together with manuscripts and books for review should be sent to REVIEW FOrt REL~CIOt~S; 612 Humboldt Building; 539 North Grand Boule-vard; St. Louis, Missouri 63103. Questions for answering should be sent to Joseph F. Gailen, S.J.; St. Joseph's College; City Avenue at 54th Street; Philadelphia, Pennsyl-vania 19131. The Prayer of Jesus' Paul VI The Holy Father delivered the following address~ in the General Audience of June 14, 1976. The text is taken from Osservatore Roma/to, no. 26 (430), June 24, 1976. In these times, in these days so busy with human events, we are ~till mind- " ful of the spiritual cyclone that Pentecost was for the world and especially for the Church. We turn our thought again to prayer, to its legitimacy, its necessity, its procedure. We are well aware that the study of religions, the study of Christian prayer, the study of human psychology, have dwelt upon this expression of the human spirit. This almost places in a quandary one who, from such a great mass of experiences, customs and literature, wishes to draw a comprehensive and guiding idea,, sufficient for the modern secular man to classify in the summary of a mental index-card that which it is enough to know on this subject, now alien to his empirical and positive mentality. Accepting this imperious simplifying method, we conclude our reflection on prayer with two major propositions. These are: prayer, first, presupposes oft God's side an interest, a listening to the voices addressed to him by man, that is, a "Providence"; and, second, it presupposes on man's side, a hope, an expectation of being satisfied 'and helped. Thus we see that we have, it is true, constructed the essential pattern of prayer, that is, a possible con-versation betweeh man. and God, but that we still know very little, if any-thing, about the validity of this conversation. Is it an imaginary hypothesis, or does it really establish a relationship; a bilateral relationship, a bene-ficial relationship? Meaning of Prayer Well, among the greatest favors tha~t Christianity, faith, nay more Jesus 641 642 / Review lor Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 Christ in person, conferred on mankind, there is precisely this real, valid, indispensable, very opportune prayer. Christ established communication between man and God; and this communication, which prevails over all our marvelous modern technical and social communications, has as its first, normal expression, prayer. Praying means communicating with God. Christ is himself this fundamental communication with the manifestation o[ himself. We enter the sanctuary of the exploration of who Christ is, the subject, today still, of tormented and, fundamentally, inevitably negative investigations for those who break with the Chalcedon definition of the one person of the Word, living in two natures, divinerand human (cf. Denz- Schoen. 301-302; Bouyer, Le Fils eternel, 469 ft.); the "bridge," as St. Catherine said (Dial 25, ft.). Jesus himself is the most luminous example of prayer, which, documented in the Gospel, becomes for us the highway to prayer and spiritual life. People who follow him and believe are still tireless students in this school. "By what way can I reach Christ and his message?", a well-known modern Catholic thinker asks himself; and he answers: "there is one very short and simple way: I look into the soul of Jesus as he prays, and 1 believe" (C. Adam, Cristo nostro Fratello, 37, see the fine chapter: "la preghiera di Gesh,"). And likewise the powerful synthesig on the "'Message de Jdsus,'" by L. De Grandmaison, Jdsus Christ, 1I, 347, ft.). Jesus Prays But, how and when did Jesus pray? Oh, how beautiful and instructive an excursion into the Gospel pages would be, picking like wildflowers the almost incidental references to the Lord's prayer! The" evangelist Mark writes: "And rising up long before daybreak, he (Jesus) went out (probably it was Peter's house, at Capharnaum, see V. 29), and departed into a desert place, and there he prayed" (1, 35). See, for example, after the multiplica-tion of the loaves: "And when he had dismissed the crowd, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. And when it was late, he Was alone" (Mt 14, 23). The Lord's prayers, about which the Gospel informs us, would deserve such long meditation. The famous one, for example, in chapter XI of Matthew, which lets us "enter the deepest secret of his life';: "At that time Jesus spoke and said. 'I praise thee Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and prudent, and didst reveal them to little ones' " (verse 25). And what can we say of the prayer that concludes the talks of the Last Supper? "And raising his eyes to heaven, he said, 'Father, the hour has come!~-.Glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee', . " We recall it: it is the prayer for unity: "that all may be one" (Jn 17, 21-22). And then the triple groaning, heroic praye~" at Gethsemane, just before the passion: "Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me! Yet not my will but thine be done" (Lk 22, 42). The Prayer o] Jesus / 643 Union in prayer What a revelation not only of the drama of the Saviour's life, but also of the complexity and depth of human destinies, which even in their most tragic and mysterious expressions can be linked, by means of prayer, to the goodness, the mercy, the salvation deriving from God. Pray, then, like Jesus. Pray intensely. Pray today: always in the con-fident communion that prayer has established between us and the Father. Because it is to a father, it is to the Father that our humble voice is ad-dressed. So let it be, always. .O ¯ . . be silent now and try to listen within yourselves to an inner proclama-tion! The Lord is saying: "Be assured, i am with you" (see Mt 28:20). I am here. he is saying, because this is nay Body! This is the cup of my Blood!'. Yes, he is calling you, each one by. name! The mystery of the Eucharist is, above all, a personal mystery: personal, because of his divine presence-- the presence of Christ, the Word of God made man; personal, because the Eucharist is meant for each of us: for this reason Christ has become living bread, and js multiplied in the sacrament, in order 'to be accessible to every human being who receives him worthily, and who opens to him the door of faith and love. Paul VI to the Eucharistic Congress in L'Osservatore Romano, August 19, 1976, p. 3. Prayer Father Joris,, O.F.M. Father Joris (Heise) has taught scripture at St. Leonard's College in Dayton, has recently completed an as-yet-unpublished translation of the Gospel o] St. Matthew, and regularly contributes Old Testament exegesis to "Homily Helps" published by St. Anthony Messenger: he is presently on detached service in metropoliffan Washington. He usually signs his name simply Joris, in imitation of evangelical simplicity. Prayer is not a thing, not even an action. It is a quality, a dimension of living. Prayer is not the words you say. Jesus says for us togo into our cryptic place, and pray in the dark. He tells us not to say, "Lord, Lord!" He tells us not to go up front and rattle off repetitious or self-centered information. Prayerbooks--we will always have them. The Book of Psalms is the prayerbook, and it is a good one. It has in it litanies and moods and orchestras (Psalm 150); it stiggests common prayer and has some very pri-vate ones that are shared with the world. But no prayerbook is a prayer. Prayer is us, me, when I stop and my soul's face turns to God, when I really edge into desperation and need and joy. Prayer is that quality of openness that happens in response to discovery of newness, whether of pain, of belief, or sharing, or insight--into the real state of things. Prayer is that dimension when the person's bud blooms into a maturity beyond just coping, just drifting. For instance, when I talk with God (talking sort of to "myself) about how to treat some visitors who have complicated my life, really, and no particular answer is ready--that is prayer. When I find myself in a new territory where I do not have an answer at all, and I am waiting for onew that is prayer. When I discover someone else shares a shame or a wonder 644 Prayer / 645 or an interest--that discovering is itself a prayer. That edge-of-truth, like a blade that enters skin, is prayer. Established Prayer (the Pr,ayerbooks of Liturgy and Childhood) I received in the mail recen.tly a "prayerbook" that included many of my childhood prayers and songs: "The Way of the Cross," litanies, prayers to Mary, prayers to "Most Sweet Jesus." It served to remind me of the differences between Prayer and prayers, between the things, called "prayer" pointed to by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount and the kind of prayer he thought was right. ,, I think that children need "prayers." They need to hear litanies and to memorize grace at meals. They need to hear the repetitions of Mass prayers, the "Our Father," songs that will be sung over and over as "old favorites." I think that the.child who continues to live inside us throughout our lives--that child--needs to hear old and familiar "prayers" that give us a comfortable feeling, a sense of belonging here to the club of tradition. I think that this set of simple prayers, memorized, repetitious and senti-mental, needs to be accompanied by other non-verbal features: stained-glass windows, incense, vestments, an intonation of authority in the priestly voice, familiar tunes that are even mawkishly sentimental (like some Mary-hymns based on old romatic or drinking songs). But it is essential that we remember that these traditional prayers, as they are done, are done so as to cater to the child-in-us. If these are the only prayers, the only forms of prayer we_ take seriously, then we are not adults who have "turned and become a child again," but rather we are simply immature persons. We never grew up in the first place; we "fixated," to borrow a term from psychological jargon. Furthermore, a person who limits himself to forms that just come close to these, a person not creating his or her. own forms of prayer, will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, as Jesus warned. They are receiving their reward already: the comfortedness they feel, the sense of belonging, the nurturedness, the peace. These are all qualities, of the drug world, too-- qualities condemned throughout th~ Gospels. It is a false world, a self-centered, self-rewarding form of prayer. It is valid for children and valid to begin with. It is not valid to stay there. It is the validity of blossom that needs the autumn fruit. Conversation ~vith God All of us talk tO ourselves. Sometimes we really talk, in deep conversa-tion, with other people. We reach a stage of conversation that is just more than usual, it means something more than the day-to-day exchange of com-ments. Prayer is that talking--that talking when we have no answer, when our need or, question or wonder or shame or comments form into words but 646 / Review for Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 without any answer ready,set and cut. Not ~rambling;~on the contrary, the words focus some human matter that is definitely bothering us--or helping us grow. It is a moment when we gather "it" together and say it, not know-ing what the answer is or whether there is an answer. That is prayer--that "talking out" of what is inside of me. It has that quality of truth-which-is-more-than-facts, more than honesty even, because "honesty" is "saying something that is true." This "talking out" is the very creation of truth, the appearance of truth that is discovery of it. Real prayer is the birth of the words of truth--it has been carried inside of oneself, but has not yet come to light. Everybody who matures, 1 think, begins this conversation with God, this phrasing of problems (and expression of wonder and they are often the same thing. They certainly have the same quality.) ~ This kind of prayer-~-these prayers--occur during moments of pause and work, during habitual actions. (like driving, scrubbing, planning jobs, parties, schedules). They touch .significant elements of life as well as little things. (God is interested in it all, of course.) ~The solitary person as well as the very active person can discover to their surprise that they both do the very same thing on the inside--and perhaps spend as much time at it. Some people do it with deliberate advertence to God: the words are ad-dressed to "You, God." (Both the Tevye of Fiddler on the Roof and Jesus used such ~xpressions of direct address--they half, praise God for such good-ness and half-haggle with God about the possibilities of the future.) Other people are officially atheistic. The conversations of such people may, surprisingly, contain references to "God" in the form of cursing or "bad language"; and the surprise is that the very reference indicates the quality of prayer that it really is. I have. known an agnostic administrator-- a Dr. Bill Fitzgerald--whose determination 'and decisions were colored by some kind of "swearing": "By God, . . o " or "Jesus Christ! We're going to . " I studied his habit and noticed that he used these words only in connection with this quality of truth, this edging into a real commitment, this formulating of a communion of the office people so that .action would result. It was a "creation of truth"--and I found it funny that the little '~flag of prayer" was his reference to God. Still others do not connect their serious self-conversations with "re-ligion" or God. But they are prayer, they are real prayer. They are truth emerging and commitment forming. They are care rising into practice. They are small and large crises--listening then for what is the "right thing to do." They are a turning on of the radio to the "station" of God. The very turning on is the listening for God, the words that come to mind are the presence of fresh truth; the coining of the phrases the way the situation appears--is itself the belief in solution, the belief that some intrusion, from somewhere, from Someone, can measure up to the words uttered. Prayer / 647 Into the darkness the words go, and a response is expected that may be beyond words. Such a "conversation" is of God, is prayer. Beyond Conversation with God Years ago, some monk wrote a book titled something like Common Mystical 'Prayer. His point as I recall it, was tO ~.say that "mystical prayer" is far more common than we suppose. I'agree with that monk. Prayer is a quality, a facet, of the good person, it is a habit or even a limb of the good person.In the end, 1 cannot picture a good person without a "side" that is prayer--a side that faces God nor-mally, continuously. Bye that I mean that, besides successful actions~ deliberateness, care, kindness, strength and truth, there is in the good person an attention to what is, right, an internal facing forwards that is nothing else but prayer. By prayer here I mean that quality of a person which is his or her validity-and-awareness, an aliveness that is more than simply living. To be alive is a gift. It happens to every human being born and growing. But prayer is the "choice to live" and the many ramifications of that choice --all the nobility and pain and acceptance which mark the person who is doing more than "suffering through life." In other Words, prayer is as~integral to the good person as blood; as thought, as the electrical charge of all the body's cells. Prayer is the mystery gurrounding someone who is "different" when we cannot quite say why he is different. Prayer is the "reason" for our feeling that this person is mature and that ~person is not; prayer is the quality bf deliberateness that makes some mistakes "all right," but other mistakes are in fact ',guilty" ones. Prayer is the humble honesty of a person who retrieves a mistake or failure, and converts it into a more valuable event than could be thought. Prayer is the, power to make decisions on a basis deeper than the facts would indi, cate, on principles beyond the conflicting, shallower principles of popular debating. Prayer is the way we are--the whole root of, and then reflection on the meaning of the decisions that we make. Prayer is the connection we keep making .between the momentary commitments and the larger ripples--and ultimate results, those commitments which we make in our lifetime and in our world. Prayer is the belief that everything I do has meaning--and mean-ings-- touching far beyond what I can see. And so i need a constant help in doing them. God, of course, is the you for whom this attention, this search for principles, this belief in. value, is done. It is not that we pay attention to a mere "god of tradition" out there. The One we are paying attention to in this silent discourse is our God. We are paying attention to a Mystery, to a quiet source of answers, of truth, to someone who is beyond being just a 648 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 person or a "non-im-personal." T.his "wail" we address with our very self, so often without even any words at all, is God, the very meaning of a god. This is the value-giver, the ultimate, the Final One we "bounce against" at the end. Community, Shared Prayer ~ Without living these previous forms of mature, complex, and human prayer, community-shared prayer is meaningless. When 1 go into a church on Sunday, I find so often that there is so little effort to connect community prayer with these other elements of--- "elemental prayer." No effort at all, sometimes. Such liturgical prayers then are the empty voicing of words, gestures "and pomposity which Jesus condemned so strongly. They are magic and not prayer. They are sleight of mind and hand; but not prayer at all. We have Great Traditions. ' We have the Gathering of People regularly and the wonderful gift of ever-fresh Scripture. We have the hierarchical leadership of order and the application of talents, such as in music. We have all the right elements to comprise a living body of shared prayer. But there is almost a conspiracy to suppress quality, to reduce Prayer to prayers, to eliminate human communication as though that hinders Holy Communion, to supply clich6s instead of truth, to repeat anything that once proved good in the past, without realizing that such a repetition is to freeze and kill prayer that is alive. Shared prayer--contrary to all of this--is the sharing of elemental selves, the gathering of the greatness of our past and pouring it into our present as a "way of life." (Incidentally, I hate "relevancy" as simply a plastic imitation of real prayer. Prayer is relevant, but because it is prayer, not because its ideas or words or stories or music are "relevant:") Shared prayer is the spirit of wonder ("What really does it mean?") at the traditional Scripture. The repetition of the act of Jesus in giving, breaking, blessing the bread needs to be seen as a strange and puzzling thing, a curiosity that makes our minds wonder what is going on. The readings from the Bible become praye~ in the exploration of what it means--not the assurance of what that meaning is. The readings--when read with appro-priate emotional and intellectual sincerity--are themselves prayer and beget prayer. (How tragically often the Bible is read in church with an over-pious tone of voice. The finest reading I heard, 6ver, was a boy of ten who read Genesis, chapter one, as though he was just discovering the whole wonder of how creation has happened.) The community at prayer needs to receive everything as wonder and gift--the words from the past, the songs with their emotional impact, the presence of one another (and the mystery we are to one another). Hassling about ~clothing and place, about whether to stand or sit or kneel, about themes or style--these are distractions, inappropriate, even sinful--is alien Prayer / 649 to the quality which is the prayer of the gathering group of people. Every-thing there is to serve the prayer of the praying persons. The leader of such prayer, the priest, is the uncommon person whose heart and eyes, are as a sponge absorbing the people here. The leader uses the p~ast and the future to focus on these people; this is the nature of his prayer. The leader draws the sacred attention of. all together towards the mystery where all the threads meet, where all the human wants and joys hunger for fulfillment, where all the quests for meaning meet in their com-monness. The persons who enter the praying community on Sunday morning come not just for religious reasons, but for their entire lives and the meanings hunted and mysteries encountered in day-to-day events. They need religious jargon--but only insofar as it enlightens and judges the unfolding of daily ,work and play, of marriage responsibilities and growth, of jobs and adoles-cent children and political choices, andso on. The person of prayer is in the habit of scrutinizing all these things for what they mean--or might mean. In coming together, this person is searching with others to find where they, the ones who pray, are, what they have concluded, how they are cre-ating and finding true directions for living. The coming together becomes a matter of "spirit" when this quest and this finding is perceived in other persons who care and ripen like oneself. Without some "communion" between people in church (not just the leader to each individual, or the past .words to the present--but sideways, one to another), the whole gathering is only partial towards its fulfillment. The facets need to interlock, the side of true prayer in each good person to fit the sides of others. We need one another. We need the surprising side of each other, the edging into revelation that is faith that there is someone worthwhile--someone godly--there. We need to hear the admissions of guilt which this truthfulness so often is. We need to hear the shared needs, the outspoken hungers that are new discOveries. We need to feed one another with a handed-on Bread, the sharing of the single Cup. (This physical act, so rarely seen i~nd' practiced in our churches, is designed [by Jesus, no less] to represent and facilitate the.~ore significant one of hand-ing on our care, our truth towards one another, our passion, interest, in-volvement- our love.) Essential Prayer , Prayer is not a concept. It is even "inconceivable." Prayer is a "person facing." Prayer is a reflectiveness outward. Prayer is a tone of our life, a "how" we look at someth!ng. Prayer is a deliberate meaning towards choices--a meaning not in words, and certainly not a meaning that comes afterwards! Prayer is the meaning I sense for doing something, the ~ood I am when I am about to make a choice. Prayer erupts'into words (but is 650 / Review for Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 not the words afterwards repeated); it is the developing process (like a photograph) from a need into making a decision that is the "good reason why," as well as the commitmeni itself involved in the ~lecision. Prayer, in other words, is never simply something we do or say: Prayer, rather, is the quality with which we do something, the rootedness and hope-fulness involved in living, our deliberate Jiving. It is the thinking and thank-ing which is our delicate dialogue with our environment and with ourselves. Prayer is facing God as God really is (and not just' some religious, narrow view of God, a religious jargon about God). Prayer presumes an ultimate of truth for some issue I face--and God provides it. Prayer means confronting' this new edge of truth for me, this searching for it and into it, and believing it when it is found. Prayer means involving the best we can do in what we do. Prayer, then, is an "always-freshness" about our lives, a constant ripen-ing towards fruition. Prayer is .my opening to discovery, my lifting up of myself towards exposure of some divine light, my waiting for whatever comes next from God. Prayer is placing myself to wait for what God wants. I ~m black, but comely, daughters o] Jerusalem . . . Do not regard me only as one dark With sin, for there is God-like beauty here. Too easily i'm seen to miss the mark Of all my high resolves, and it is clear That dark 1 will remain. With angry scorn My loved ones gave to me a servant's place Which I have filled, with patient merit borne, A Quie.t joy upon my dusky face, Because I am beloved. Like to the tents of Kedar on the glowing summer sand 1 take from each day's gift the light from whence My shadowed beauty shines. Simply to know I am beloved of Him--this is the band Of golden hope that gives my life its glow. Cornelius Askren P.O. Box 783 Bothell, WA 98011 Centering Prayer--Prayer of Quiet M. Basil, Pennington, O.C.S.O. Father Pennington is a frequent contributor to these pages. He resides at St. Joseph's Abbey; Spencer, MA 01562. We live in one of the greatest moments in the history of the human race. We live in the Christian era when God has sent his very own Son to bring to us the fullest revelation of his love and his inner life and to share that life with us. We live" in the time of a council, when there is a special out-pouring of grace and light to enable the People of God to achieve a deeper and fuller insight into the Revelation, And certainly the Second Vatican Council was one of the more significant of the twenty Councils which the Lord has granted to his Church in the course of her twenty centuries of life. But over and beyond this, we live in the time of a Second Pentecost. The humble-Vicar of Christ, Pope John XXIII, dared to call upon the Father to send forth the Holy Spirit in that same powerful and unique way in which he did at the birth of Christianity. The Spirit is abroad new, among us as never before, enlivening us and calling us forth to ever fuller life. In a very real sense this is absolutely necessary. For the human family has made such strides forward that .it is only by a greater infusion of the Spirit that the Christian can hope to respond to the many new challenges of our times in a faith-full way. One of the more significant changes for Western civilization, where Christianity largely resides, is the evolution from a conceptual era to an experiential one. Since Gutenberg's wood-_cuts first touched paper, the printed word and the ideas it disseminated more and more dominated Western culture. But in these last decades audiovisuals have led men to seek an ever fuller experience of reality. Technology's success has awakened desires.; its failure to satisfy awakens yet deeper desires. The spirit of man has come alive in a way that now transcends cultures. And the man of the West finds that the stirring within him is the same as that which stirs within 651 652 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 his brothers and sisters in what has sometimes been considered the "primi-tive" culture of the natives of many lands and in the more ancient cultures of the East. The Christian nurtured in this climate is no longer c6ntent to ruminate on truths of dogma to develop motivating thoughts and feelings in an effort towards union with God. He wants to ex.perience God as present, loving and caring. And the Lord seems to be very willing to respond to this aspira-tion which ultimately springs from his providential care of those whom his love has created. I think this is the significance of the widespread charismatic movement. Among those who open themselves to the Spirit of God, he seems to be granting, in what is commonly referred to as the "Baptism of the Spirit," that experience of himself which the classical mystical writers have called a grace of union. ,But not all are attracted to seek the experience of God in the enthusiastic and communicative climate which surrounds most charismatic groups. Many are drawn rather to seek this experience in the quiet of their own inner sanctuary where the Word dwells in his eternal stillness. There is ample evidence of this in the multitude of Christians who are flocking to the masters from the East to learn the methods of Zen and Yogic meditation, especially the Transcendental Meditation taught by Maharishi Mehesh Yogi. Turning to the East A ~:ouple of years ago I had occasion to visit a Ramakrishna temple in Chicago. Here I found twenty-four disciples gatheredaround a relatively young swami. The man was not unusually impressive, but he lived what he taught and spoke out of a~ personal inner experience. His disciples were an impressive group, twenty-two to fifty-five years of age. They expected an-other twenty-four disciples to join them that year and were inaugurating a subsidiary ahsram in nearby Michigan. All twenty-four disciples were from Christian backgrounds. When I asked them what had drawn them to the temple, they invariably answered that they were not able to find anyone in their own Church who was willing to lead them into the deeper ways of the spirit where they could truly experience God. Then they met the swami and he was willing to do that. They still worshipped Christ, but now, un-fortunately, as only one of many incarnations of God. In their search they have somewhat lost their way because there was no Christian master (or, to be: more faithful to our own traditional terminologyi no spiritual father) ready to guide them, sharing with them from the fullness of his own lived experience. Over the years in retreat work I have talked to many, many priests and religious. I have found that in most cases, though not all, in the .seminary or the novitiate they have been taught methods, of prayer and active meditation. In many cases they have also had a course in ascetical and Centering Prayer--Prayer of Quiet / 653 mystical theology in which they have heard about the various stages of con-templative prayer. Unfortunately they have usually been left with the im-pression or have been actually taught that it is a very rare sort of.thing, usually found only in enclosed monasteries. To seek it is presumptuous. One must plug away faithfully at active meditation and perhaps some day, in the far distant future, after long years of fidelity, God might give one this precious but rare gift of contemplative prayer. In no instance have 4 yet found anyone who had been taught in the seminary or the novitiate a simple method for entering into passive meditation or contemplative prayer. This is sad. Especially in face of the fact that St. Teresa of Avila.had taught that those who were faithful to prayer' could expect in a relatively short time--six months or a year--to be led into a prayer of quiet. Dom Marmion believed that by the end of his novitiate, a religious was usually ready for contemplative prayer. One of the signs that St. John of the Cross pointed to as an indication that one is ready for contemplative prayer is that active meditation no longer works--an experience very many priests and religious do have. Faced with this experience, and ~vith no one showing them how to move on to contemplative prayer, many give up regular prayer. A faithful few plug on, sometimes for years, in making painful meditations that are any-thing but refreshing. Given this state of affairs, it is not surprising that Christians seeking help to enter into the quiet, inner experience of God find little guidance among their priests and religious. If a person desiring, to seek the experience of God. in deep meditation does go to one of the many swamis found in the West today, he or she will be quickly taught a simple method to pursue this goal. "Sit this way. Hold your hands this way. Breathe thus. Say this word in this manner. Do this twice a day for so many minutes." And if the rec'ipient does this, he usually has very good experiences. We can see this~ practice, up to a point, as a good thing. For often, whether the person kno~ws his name or not, he or she is in fact seeking God. And in carrying through this exercise, in devoting mind and heart to,this pursuit, he is actually engaging in a very pure form of prayer. The sad part of it is that his pursuit and his experience, probably of God's very real presence in him in his creative love, is not informed by faith. Sadder still is the fact that, in .not a few cases, grateful recipients, so helped by the swami's meditation-technique, begin to accept from him as well his philoso-phy of life, thus abandoning their Christian heritage. Some of the greater swapnis, such as Swami Satchidinanda and Maharishi Mehesh Yogi, certainly advise against this. But such advice can fall on ears deafened by an almost cultic veneration for a truly' selfless master. These good masters from the East are truly a challenge, whether they intend to be or not, and in more ways than one. For one thing they cer-. tainly remind us that the effective teacher, at least in the area of life-giving 654 / Review lor Religious, VoluJne 35, 1976/5 teaching, must be one who lives what he teaches. For a minister to try to teach the Christian Gospel with its strong bias for the poor' and its way of daily abnegation ("If you would be my disciple, take up your cross daily and come follow me.") and still to be busy pursuing the same pleasures and immediate goals as the wc~rldly'materialist is to condemn himself to a fruit-less ministry. We must teach more by what we are and how we live than by what we say, if we want our hearers to take us seriously. The swamis' response to seekers makes us ask ourselves, are there not in our own Christian tradition some simple methods, some meditation techniques, which we can use to enter into quiet, contemplative union with God? Before responding, I would like .to say, we Christians should not hesitate to make use of the good techniques that our wise friends from the East are offering, if. we find them,' in fact, helpful. As St: Paul said: "All things are yours, and you are Christ's and Christ is God's." Many Chris-tians, in fact, who take their prayer life seriously have been greatly helped by Yoga, Zen, TM and similar practices, especially where they have been initiated by reliable teachers and have a solidly developed Christian faith to giv~ inner form and meaning to the resulting experiences. But to return to our question: Do we have, in our Christian tradition, simple methods or techniques for entering into contemplative prayer? Yes, we certainly do. The Use of "Technique" First of all, "techniques," methods, are certainly not foreign to the prayer experience of the average Catholic. The rosary is a "technique"-- and certainly not one to be readily discounted. It has led many, many Chris-tians to deep contemplative union with God. The Stations of the Cross are another "techn!que." So are the Ignatian Exercises, which are directly ordered to contemplation. Well enough known in the West today, at least by name and reputation, is the ancient Eastern Christian technique of the "Jesus Prayer." We have, in fact, many Christian techniques. The use of a technique or method in prayer to help us come into con-tact with God present to us, in us, and to bring our whole selves into quiet-ness to enjoy that presence and be refreshed by it, is certainly not, in itself, Pelagian. Mystical theologians have not.hesitated to speak of an "acquired contemplation" (in distinction to "infused contemplation"), a state or experience which the contemplator has taken some part in bringing into being. All prayer is a response to God and begins with him. To deny this would be Pelagian. God's grace is not operative only in infused contemplation. When the little child lisps his "Now I lay me down to sleep . . ." if there is any movementi of faith and love there, any true prayer, grace is present and operative. Every prayer is a response to a movement of grace, whether we are explicitly aware of it or not, whether we conscious!y experience the Centering Prayer--Prayer of Quiet/ 655 movement, the call, the attraction, or not. God present in us, present all around us, is calling us. to respond to his presence, his love, his caring. We are missing reality if we think otherwise. When we use a technique, a method, to pray, we are doing so because God?s grace, to which we are freely responding, is efficaciously, inviting us to do this. That we have been taught the technique and have responded to the teaching is all his grace at work, inviting us, leading us, guiding us to have a deeper experience of our union with him. That iswhy it takes a certain courage---or foolhardiness--to learn such a technique. For it is, indeed, an invitation from the Lord to enter and abide within. The Prayer of the Cloud Yes, we do have in our Christian tradition simple methods~ "tech-niques," for entering into contemplative prayer, a. prayer of quiet. I would like to share one such method with you, drawn from a little book called The Cloud of Unknowing. This is indeed a.popular book in our time.1 At the time of our author's writing there was a vibrant spirituality alive and widespread in ~the Christian West. The swell had begun with the great Gregorian reform in the eleventh century and the ensuing monastic revival. This was followed by the enthusiasm of the sons of St. Francis and the other mendicant orders. All, even the poorest, the most illiterate, the vil-lainous, were invited to intimacy with the Lord. The fourteenth century was a high tide for the Christian spirit in the West. Unfortunately it would soon enough ebb. With the Reformation, the monastic centers of spiritual life would be swept away by the new currents that flowed through much of Europe. And on the rest of the continent the prosecution of Quietists and Illuminists by an overly zealous and defensive Inquisition would send contemplation to hide fearfully in the corners of a few convents and monasteries. A great movement of the Christian spirit flowed away with the undercurrent, only to surface and return under the impulsion of the mighty .winds of a Second Pentecost, These winds blow across the face of the whole earth. They certainly are not contained by the Church. But the Church, the Christian commuhity, cannot afford to be slow to respond to them: True renewal must begin with each .Christian, respond-ing to the call of the Spirit within, to the call to the center where God dwells, waiting to refresh, revitalize, renew. There is a simple method of entering into contemplative prayer which has been aptly called "centering prayer." The name is inspired by Thomas 1At p.resent the book is available in 'four different paperback editions. The one edited by William Johnston and published by D~ubleday is the best. The author is an un-known English Catholic writer of the fourteenth century. He could hardly have put his name to the work, for all that it teaches belongs to the common heritage of the Christian c~mmunity. 656 / Review Ior, Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 Merton. In his writings he stressed that the only way to come into contact with the living God is to go to'one's center and from there pass into God. This is the way the author of The Cloud of Unknowing would lead us, although his imagery is somewhat different. The simple method he teaches really belongs to the. common heritage of man. I remember on one occasion describing it to a teacher of Tran-scendental Meditation. He repli,ed, "Why, that's TMo" I could not agree with him. There are very significant differences, but perhaps it takes faith really to perceive them. I can also remember, when I was in Greece a. couple of years ago, finding a Greek translation of The Cloud. The late Orthodox Archbishop of Corinth had written the Introduction. In it he stated that this was the work of an unknown fourteenth-century, English, Orthodox writer. He was certain it belonged to his own Christian tradition. If one reads The Cloud of Unknowing on his own, as perhaps many of my readers have, he is not apt effectively to draw from the text the simple technique the author offers. This is not to be wondered at. One would have the same experience reading books on the "Jesus Prayer." As the spiritual fathers on Mount Athos pointed out to me, no spiritual father would seek to teach this method of prayer by a book~ It is meant to be handed on per-sonally, through a tradition. The writings are but to support the learner in his experience and help him place the practice in the full context of his life. This, too, I believe is the case with The Cloud o] Unknowing. Simply read-ing it will not usually teach the method. And so let me try to spell out the "technique" of The Cloud of Un-knowing quite concretely, adding some practical advice and explanation. To do this I would like to sum up the method in three rules. Posture and Relaxation But "first let me say a word about posture. Some wonderful ways of sitting have come to us from the East. They are ideal for meditation. But unless we are 10ng practiced, and in most cases, have gotten an early start, our muscles and bones do not too readily adapt° themse.lves to these pos-tures. I think for most of us Westerners the best posture for prayer is to be comfortably settled in a good chair--one that gives firm support to the back, but at the same time is not too hard or stiff. As the author of The Cloud says, "Simply sit relaxed and quiet . " Most imprrtant, the body should be relaxed. When our Lord said, "Come to me all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will refresh you," he meant the whole man, body, soul and spirit--not just the spirit. But the body is not apt to be refreshed if we begin the prayer physically tense. Settling down in our chair ahd "letting go," letting the chair fully support the body, is sacramental of what is to take place in the prayer. In centering prayer we settle in God, "let ourselves go," let him fully support us, rest us, refresh us. Centering Prayer--Prayer o] Quiet / 657 Posture and relaxation-are important. It is good, too, if we close our eyes during this prayer.: The more we can gently eliminate outside distur-bances the better. That is why it is good, if possible, to make this prayer in a quiet place, a place apart, though this is not essential. More important is it that it be a situation in which we will not be disturbed in the course of the meditation. Quiet will usually be found helpful. Psychologically, also, it is experienced as helpful if one has a sort of special place for meditation--a place apart, even though "apart" may be only a corner of a room where there is a presence sacramentalized in Bible, icon or sacred image, and the going apart simply involves swinging around in our chair from desk to shrine. The physical set-up and the bodily movement itself reinforce the sense of passing now from the frenetic activities of the day to a deeper state of prayerful rest and divine refreshment. Three Rules the But now let us get on with the "rules" for entering into centering prayer, prayer of quiet, contemplation. Rule One: At the beginizing o] the prayer we take a minute or two to quiet down and then move in ]aith to God dwelling .in our depths; attd at the end oI the' prayer we take several minutes to come out, mentally praying the "Our Father." Once we are settled down in our chair and relaxed, we enter into a short period of silence, Sixty seconds can initially seem like a long time when we are doing nothing and are used to being constantly on the go. Better to take a little more time rather than less. Then we move in faith to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, dwelling in creative love in the depths of our being. This is the whole essence of the prayer. "Center all your attention and desire on him and let this be the sole concern of your mind and heart" (The Cloud oI Unknowing, c.3). Faith moving towards its Object is hope and love--this is the whole of the theological, the Christian life. All the rest of the method is simply a means to enable us to abide quietly in this center, and to allow our whole being to share in this refreshing contact with its Source. Faith is fundamental for this prayer, as for any prayer. We will have no desire to enter into union and communion, to pray, if we do not have at least some glimmer in faith of the all-Lovable, the all,Desirable. But it is more especially a "wonderfUl work of love," a °response to him who is known, by living faith. -"It is true, some techniques like Zen call for keeping the eyes open. But these are usually effortful techniques. This method, however, is effortless; it is a letting go. "It is simply a spontaneous desire, springing from God . . ." (The Cloud, c.4). 658 / Review [or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 The Inner Presence When God. makes things, he does not just put them together and toss them out there, to let them fly along in his creation. "One is good--God.'':~ And One'is true, and beautiful, and all ':being--our God. And everything else is only insofar as it here and now actively participates in him and shares his :being. At every moment God is intimately present to each and every particle of his creation, sharing with it, in creative love, his very own being. And so, if we really see this paper, we do not just see the paper, but we see God bringing it into being and sustaining it in being. We perceive the divine presence. If this i~ true of all the other elements, how much more true is it for the greatest of God's creation: man, made to his own image and likeness. When we go to our depths we find not only the image of God, but God himself, bringing us forth in his creative love. We go to our center and pass from there into the present God. Yet there is still something even more wonderful here for the Christian. We have been baptized into Christ. We are in some very real, though mysteri-ous way, Christ, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. "I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me." As we go to the depths, we realize in faith our identity with Christ the Son. Even now, .with him and in him, we comeforth from the Father in eternal generation, and return to the Father in that perfect Love which is the Holy Spirit. What prayer! This is really beyond adequate conception. Yet our faith°tells us it is so. It is part of that whole reality that revelation has opened up to us. And it is for us to take possession of it. We have been made sharers in the divine nature by baptism. We have been given the gi]t of the Holy Spirit. We have but to enter into what is ours, what we truly are. And that is what we do in this prayer. In a movement of faith that is hope and love, we go to the center and turn ourselves bver to God in a simple being there, in a presence that is perfect and complete .adoration, response, love, an "Amen" to that movement that we are in the Son to the Father. This is what St. Paul was talking about when he said, "We do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself prays for us . " Coming Out 'of Contemplation In this prayer we go .very deep into ourselves. Some speak of a fourth state of consciousness, a state beyond waking, sleeping or dreaming states. Tests have shown that meditators do achieve a state of rest which is deeper than that attained in sleep. We do not want to come out of contemplative prayer in a jarring way. Rather we want to bring its deep peace into the whole of our life. That is why it is prescribed that we take several minutes :~See Mt 19, 17. Centering Prayer Prayer o] Quiet / 659 ~zoming out, moving from the level ot~ deep, self, forgetful contemplation to silent awareness and then a conscious interior prayer, before moving further into full activity. When the time we have determined to pray is over, we stop using the prayer word we have chosen," savor the silence, the Presence, for a bit, and then begin interiorly to pray the "Our Father." I suggest saying the "Our Father." It is a perfect prayer, taught us by the Lord himself. We gently let the successive phrases come to mind. We savor' them, enter into them. What matter if in fact it takes a good while. It is a beginning of letting our contemplative prayer flow out into the rest of our live~. A Valuable Asceticism I strongly recommend two periods of contemplative prayer in the course of a day. It introduces into our day a good rhythm: a period of deep rest and refreshment in the Lord flowing out into eight or ten hours of fruitful activity, and then anotho: period of renewal to carry us through (what is for almost everyone today) a long evening of activity. This is certainly much better than trying to base sixteen hours of activity on the morning prayer. Twenty minutes seems to be a good period to start with. Less tharl this hardly gives, one a chance to get fully into the prayer and be wholly re-freshed. Some will feel themselves drawn to extend the period to twenty-five or thirty minutes or perhaps thirty-five. On a day of retreat or when we are sick in bed, and our activity is curtailed, we can easily add more periods of .contemplative prayer. This might be better than prolonging individual periods. Those who are generally living a contemplative life'may find somewhat longer periods helpful. For most of. us, the real asceticism of this form ot~ prayer comes in scheduling into*our daily life two periods for it. Once we are going full steam, it is difficult to stop, drop everything, go apart and simply be to the Lord. And yet there is a tremendous value ,here. All of us theoretically subscribe to the theme, "Unless the Lord build the house, in vain the masons toil." But in practice most of us work as though God could not possibly get things done if we did not do them for him.The fact is there is nothing that we :are doing that God could not raise up a stone in the field to do for him. The realization of this puts us in our true place. Though, lest we do get too defeated by such a realization, let me hastento add that there is one thing that we alone can give God-- our personal love. The very God of heaven and earth wants, and needs because he wants, our personal love. And if, while we pray, someone 'has to wait at our door, for ten or fifteen minutes, he will probably learn a lot about prayer while he waits-- certainly more than if he were inside listening to us talk about prayer. 4See below, under Rule 2. 660 / Review Ior Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 Actions speak louder than words. Those around us will not fail to notice, even though we might prefer they would not, when we begin to give prayer prime time in our busy lives. Rule Two: Alter resting ]or a bit ~it~ the center in ]aith-lull love, we take up a single simple word that expresses this response attd begiu to let it repeat itsel] within. As the author of The Cloud puts it: "If you want to gather all your desire into one simple word that the mind can easily retain, choose a short word rather than a long one. A one-syllable word such as 'God'. or 'love' is best. But choose one that is meaningful to you. Then fix it in your mind so that it will remain there, come what may . Be careful in this work and never strain your mind or imagination, for truly you will not succeed in this way. Leave these faculties at peace" (c.4,7). What we are concerned with here is a simple, effortless prolongation ~'or abiding in the act of faith--love--presence. This is so simple, so effort-less, so restful, that it is a bit subtle and so needs some explanation. A spiritual act is an instantaneous act, an act without time, "The will needs only this brief fraction of a moment to move toward the object of its desires" (The Cloud, c.4). As soon as we move in love to God present in our depths, we are there. There a perfect prayer of adoration, love and presence is. And we simply want to remain there and be what we are: Christ responding to the Father in perfect Love, the Holy Spirit. To facilitate our abiding quietly there, and to bring our whole being as much as 'possible to rest in this abiding, after a brief experience of silent presence we take up a single~ simple word that expresses for us our faith-love movement. We have seen that the author of The Cloud suggests such words as "God" or "love." A word in the vocative case seems usually to be best. We begin very simply to let this word repeat itself within us. We let it take its own pace, louder or softer, faster or slower; it may even drift off into silence. "It is best'when this word is wholly interior without a definite thought or actual sound" (The Cloud o[ Unknowing, c. 4). We might think of it as though the Lord himself, present in our depths, were quietly repeating his own name, evoking his presence and very gently summoning us to an attentive response. We are quite passive. We let it happen. "Let this little word represent to you God .in all his fullness and 'nothing less than the fullness of God. Let nothing except God hold sway in your mind and heart" (The Cloud, c.4). The subtle thing here is the effortlessness. We are so .used to being effortful. We are a people out to succeed, to accomplish, to do. It is hard for us to ',let go" and let God do. Yet we have but to let go and let it be done unto us according to his revealed Word. The temptation for us is to change the quiet mental repetition of the prayer-word (which simply pro-longs a state of being-present) into an effortfui repetition of an ejaculation Centering Prayer Prayer ol Quiet / 661 and to use it energetically to knock out any thoughts or "distractions" that come along.' This brings us to our third rule. Rule Three: Whenever in the course o[ the prayer we become aware o] any-thing else, we simply gently return to the prayer word. I want to underline that word aware. Unfortunately we are not able to turn off our minds and imaginations by the flick of a switch. Thoughts and images keep coming in a steady stream. "No sooner has a man turned toward God in love when through human frailty he finds himself distracted by the remembrance of some created thing or some daily care. But no matter. No harm done: For such a person quickly returns to deep recollec-tion" (The Cloud, c.4), In this.prayer we go below the thoughts and images offered by the mind and imagination. But at times they will grab at our attention and try to draw it away from the restful Presence. This is so because thoughts or images refer to something that has a hold on us, something wefear, or desire, or are in some other way intensely involved with. When we become aware of these thoughts, if we continue to dwell on them, we leave our prayer and become involved again in tensions. But if, at the moment we become aware, we simply, gently, return to our prayer-word (thus implicitly renewing our act of presence in faith-full .love), the thought or image with its attendant tension will be released and flow out of our awareness. And we will come into a greater freedom and peace that will remain with us after our prayer is ended. Should some thought go on annoying you demanding to know what you are doing, answer with this one word alone. If your mind begins to intellectualize over the meaning and connotation of this little word, remind yourself that its value lies in its simplicity. Do this and I assure you these thoughts will vanish (The Cloud o! Unknowing, c.7). We can see how pure this prayer is. In active forms of prayer we use thoughts and images as sacramentals and means for reaching out to God. In this prayer we go beyond them, we leave them behind, as we go to .God himself abiding in our depths. It is a very pure act of faith. Perhaps in this prayer we will for the first time really act in pure faith. So often our faith is leaning on the concepts and images of faith. Here we go beyond them to the Object' himself of faith, leaving all the concepts and images behind. We can see, too, how Christian this prayer is. For we truly die to our-selves, our more superficial selves, the level of our thoughts, images and feelings in order to live to Christ, to enter into our Christ-being in the depths. We "die" to all our thoughts arid imaginings, no matter how beau-tiful they may be or how useful they might seem. We leave them all be-hind, for we want immediate contact with God himself, and not some thought, image or vision of him-~only the faith-experience of himself. "You are to concern yourself with no creature, whether material or spiri- 662 / Review 1or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 tual, nor with their situation or doings, whether good or ill. To put it briefly, during this work you must abandon them all" (The Cloud o[ Un-knowing, c.5). "By Their Fruils . . ." There is another consequence of this transcending of thought and image. This prayer cannot be judged in itself. As it goes beyond thought, beyond image, there is nothing left by which to judge it. In active medita-tion, at the end of the prayer we can make some iudgments: "I had some good thoughts, I felt some good affections, I had lots of distractions, and so forth." But all that is irrelevant to this prayer, If we have rots of thoughts--good, lots of tension is being released; if we have few thoughts --good, there was no need for them. The same for feelings, images, and more. All these are purely accidental; they do not touch the essence of the prayer, which goes on in all its purity, whether these be present or not. There i~ nothing left by which to judge the prayer in itself. If we simply follow the three rules, the prayer is always good, no matter what we think or feel. There is, however, one way in which the goodness of this pra)Ter is con-firmed for us. Our Lord has said, "You can judge a tree by its fruits." If we are faithful to this form of prayer, making it a regular part of our day, we very quickly come to discern--and often others discern it even more quickly--the maturing in our lives of the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, benignity, kindness, gentleness--all the fruits of the Spirit. I have experienced this in my own life and I have seen this again and again in the lives of others, sometimes in a most remarkable way. What happens, ¯ the way the Spirit seems to bring this about, is that in this prayer we experi-ence not only our oneness with God in Christ, but also our oneness with all the rest of the Body of Christ, and indeed with the whole of creation, in God's creative love and sharing of being. Thus we begin, connaturally as it were, to experience the presence of God in all things, the presence of Christ in each person we meet. Moreover, we sense a oneness with them. From this ~flows a true compassion--a "feeling-with." This contemplative prayer, far from removing us from others, makes us live more and more conscious of our oneness with them. Love, kindness, gentleness, patience grow. Joy and peace, too, in the pervasive presence of God's caring love in all. Not only does contemplative prayer help us to take possession of our real transcendent relationship with God in Christ, but also of our real relationship with each and every person in Christ. 'Charismatic Spirituality and. the Catechist Johannes Ho[inger, S.J. Father Hofinger is well known for his work and writing in the field of catechetics. He resides at the Center of Jesus the Lord~; 1236 N. Rampart St.; New Orleans, LA 70116. The true value of any ramification of Christian spirituality must always be judged according to its potential of leading to authentic union with God in a life lived according to God's saving plan. Some valuable side-effects or some partial aspects of this basic criterion cannot ultimately determine the worth of a given spirituality. But good side-effects, too, have their value and deserve to be properly estimated, of course always in the light of the cen-tral aim: an ever closer union with God. With this in mind it may be worthwhile to ask what charismatic spiritu-ality can contribute to a fruitful-engagement in the apostolate of catechetics. A large percentage of religious serve the Kingdom of God in one or other activity'involving religious education. A continuously growing number of them also participate in charismatic prayer meetings. Thus the question may well arise: what can authentic charismatic spirituality contribute to their cate-chetical apostolate?. How can genuine charismatic spirituality dispose them to become ever more perfectly what Christ expects of them if they are to proclaim with him the Good News of God's saving love.? No one would say that all who regularly participate in charismatic prayer meetings have therefore grasped genuine charismatic spirituality and really live it, just as no one would contend that all who live in Jesuit communities have grasped and really live genuine Jesuit spirituality. Be-cause of this, it is definitely meaningful to make explicit inquiry into the apostolic values of the spirituality of Jesuits---or of charismatics. 663 664 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 The Pentecostal Origin of Christian Catechesis Before entering into an analysis of charismatic spirituality and its potential for the catechetical apostolate, it may be worthwhile to remember the pentecostal origin of Christian catechesis. The New Testament is very explicit in this regard. True, all gospels mention how, even before Pente-cost, Christ had commissioned his disciples to preach the Good News in his name, but John (14, 15-17) and Luke (24, 49; Ac 1, 8) insist that Christ explicitly promised them the indispensable assistance of the Holy Spirit in order to fulfill their difficult task. In Acts 2 we are given a detailed report as to how the first powerful proclamation of the Good News started with Pentecost. It may truly be said, then, that Christ formed his first messengers through the Holy Spirit. The catechesis of the primitive Church was plainly charismatic in character. To this historical fact Acts and the epistles of the apostles give irrefutable testimony. The starting point of the original evangelization is the pentecostal experience of the life and exaltation of the risen Christ, the emphatic proclamation that he is Lord. "All the people of Israel, then, are to know for sure that it is this Jesus, whom you nailed to the cross, that God has made Lord and Messiah" (Ac 2, 36). This experience of the apostles was so overwhelming that they could simply not cease to speak of what they had seen and heard (see Ac 4, 20). The extraordinary results of this apostolic preaching were not due to any particular method, but to the religious depth of their charismatic ex-perience and the power of the Holy Spirit which accompanied it. "When I came to you," St. Paul reminded the Corinthians, "I was weak and trembled all over with fear, and my teaching and message were not de-livered with skillful words of human wisdom, but with convincing proof of the power of God's Spirit. Your faith, then, does not rest on man's wisdom, but on God's power" (1 Co 2, 3-5. See also Ga 3, 1-5). Is there any indication in the Scriptures or in ecclesial tradition that God later on wanted to lose the original intimate connection of charismatic experience and the proclamation of his Good News? What does the testi-mony of history tell us about the spirituality of the most outstanding heralds of the Gospel throughout all the centuries? Surrender to Christ Even a good number of charismatics may not be sufficiently aware of what constitutes the basic charismatic experience. They may overrate some valuable, particular gift such as prophecies, healing, or the gift of speaking or singing in tongues, and not see these particular gifts clearly enough against the background of the much more' fundamental gift which consists in the total surrender to Christ under the impulse of the Holy Spirit. Surely we cannot blame the Scriptures for such misunderstandings. Although they were showered with the particular gifts we have just men- Charismatic Spirituality and the Catechist / 665 tioned, the e.mphasis of the primitive Church and of its leaders rested unequivocally upon the overwhelming experience they had of God's saving power and love as experienced in their Spirit-given encounter with Christ the Lord and Savior. This holds good not only for the very first disciples who personally have seen and heard the risen Christ, but also for the others who, on the word of the apostles, believed in Christ and accepted him as the Lord of their lives. The original preaching of the Gospel was the enthusiastic proclama-tion of God's saving power with the Christ-event at its very center. "It is the.Good News," St. Paul wrote to the Romans: "I preach, the message about Jesus Christ . . . the secret truth which was hidden for long ages in the past. Now, however, that truth has been brought out into the open" (Ro 16, 25f). It is "a message that is'offensive to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles; but for those whom God has called . . . this message is Christ who is the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Co 1, 23f). The effect which this faith-surrender to Christ should have on our lives is perhaps nowhere described as impressively as in the writings of St. Paul. In Chapter 3 of his letter to the Philippians--his favorite Christian com-munity- he described the first impact of this surrender to Christ as he experienced it in his own life. After his encounter with Christ (which was real, but definitely charismatic in character) he says, "All things that I might count as profit I now reckon as loss, for Christ's sake. Not only those things; I reckon everything ~s complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so'that--I might gain Christ, and be completely united with him . All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power.of his resurrection; to share in his sufferings and to become like him in his death, in the hope that I myself will be raised from death to life" (Ph 3, 7-11 ). St. Paul leaves no doubt that he .expects a similar Christ experience in the lives of all His friends. Significantly he concludes this passage of his epistle with the remark: All of us who are spiritually mature should have this attitude . Keep on imitating me, my brothers. We have set the right example, for you, so pay attention to those who follow it" (Ph 3, 15-17). Admittedly every surrender to Christ isn't always charismatic to this same degree. The impulse of the Holy Spirit that leads to it is not always experienced with the same awareness and depth of experience that was Paul's. But any true surrender to Christ is in fact always the result of the impulse of the Spirit. "No one can confess 'Jesus is Lord' unless he is guided by the Holy Spirit" ( 1 Co 12, 3). . What is important here is simply this. On the one hand we know that genuine Pentecostalism, as we find it at the beginning of Christianity, has the surrender to Christ as its fundamental experience. On the other hand, we all agree that authentic catechetical activity continues the preaching 666 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 of the Apostles; thus, it, too, must have Christ as its center and it, too, must communicate an existential knowledge of Christ that leads to a life of union with Christ the Lord'. What does this mean for the spiritual life of the religion-teacher him- .self? Must he not first himself live in an exemplary way what he teaches others? Could not the charismatic renewal bring him the spiritual encounter with Christ which is indispensable for his catechetical apostolate? Herald of the Good News The first "Pentecostals" were also the first catechists of the early Church. Although Christ had commissioned the Twelve with the proclama-tion of the Good News, and although they must have been aware of their apostolic obligation, there is nothing to indicate that their preaching was primarily the discharge of an incumbent task, but was rather the spontane-ous consequence of their overwhelming experience of God's saving power. Their own deep and joyful experience simply compelled them to com-municate their own spiritual riches. In the pentecostal movement of our times there is question again of a very similar experience. Whatever one may think of this movement, it is impossible to deny the fact of its tremendous evangelizing power which results from the experience of God's forgiving love. For various reasons the pentecostal experience may not always be equally sotind, but we should not overlook its unusual power of communication. Fundamentally it is the joyful experience of liberation and salvation through the undeserved love of God. Fcr a long time we did not stress enough in Catholic catechetics and homiletics the essentially joyful character of God's message which, by its very nature, is the "gospel," the "Good Tidings." The way, for example, that the message was presented for a long time in the Baltimore Catechism surely did not do justice to the "evangelic" character of God's saving mes-sage. Sorry to say, very few priests and even bishops noticed that some-thing was wrong. The kerygmatic renewal of the late 50's and early 60's opened our eyes; yet there was still much to be desired. All too many re-ligion teachers considered kerygmatics only as a new "method," and did not even grasp its basic point. What kerygmatics intended before all else was a new religious attitude on the part of the teacher himself, not simply a change of textbooks. The teacher of religion is called to proclaim. God's message as Good News. But he cannot do this properly if he has not first in his own life experienced the Christian religion as a liberating power and as the source of deep, interior peace and joy. As long as Christianity for the teacher of religion ,means primarily a matter of inescapable duty or a complex of "good and venerable traditions" which, after all, still deserve to be kept, he will never become a true "evangelizer." His message may be correct, but Charismatic Spirituality and the Catechist / 667 it will not be the "Gospel" which God intended to be given to his beloved children. It would be naive to think that only within the charismatic renewal of our times can the Christian message and Christian life be experienced as the source and guarantee of deep and lasting joy., But it is sufficient ,for our purpose here simply to show that authentic charismatic renewal can make a valid and powerful contribution in this regard. Catechetical and Religious Concentration Before Vatican II Catholic preaching and religious observance often suffered from a deplorable lack of concentration on the essentials, a fact which caused real scandal to our fellow-Christians. That devotional themes, often presented in a sentimental way, could for so long a~ time hold a preferential position .before essential themes, such as the meaning of the Holy Spirit, of true conversion and justice--and this even in the priestly catechesis in the course of the Eucharist--was a fact which clamored for correction. This is not the place to demonstrate how much the Council was aware of this shortcoming, and how it tried to remedy it (see, e,g., J. Hofinger, Our Message is Christ/Notre Dame, Fides, 1974; pp. 6-8). Preconciliar religion teachers (priests, religious, and lay-teachers alike) were usually very cohcerned about the orthodoxy of their teaching. Their c6ncern resulted from the conviction that, in the teaching of religion, the teacher is acting as a messenger of. God whose saving word must be faith-fully transmitted from generation to generation without any falsification. (In fact, we religion teachers of today could learn much from our predeces-sors and their concern to be faithful messengers of God!) But, while giving full credit to the validity of this concern, we might also mention that authentic orthodoxy in the messenger was often understood in much too narrow a way. In order to transmit a given message correctly and faithfully, it is not endugh merely to avoid particular statements which contradict the original message. A faithful messenger must also concentrate upon the central idea of the message that is given to him. He must make sure that all who listen to him grasp at least the main message and act accordingly. Secondary e~lements must be relegated to the peril0hery, or even .omitted altogether in circumstances in which the solid presentation of the more important ele-ments might demand it. Teachers of religion who speak more about the Little Flower or about Fatima than they do about the Holy Spirit are not heretics in the technical sense. But they do commit, objectively, a serious fault against one indispensable element of' their role as conscientious messengers. Historical studies of the last thirty years have proven convincingly that the. evangelization of the early Church excelled in its concentration upon the core of the Christian message. In our times, we might almost be 668 / Review lor Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 shocked by this resolute concentration, putting, as it does, its whole empha-sis on the core, while it remains surprisingly broad-minded in treating of the rest. The early catechesis forcefully proclaimed God's saving love "now," in the fullness of time, offered to everyone who accepts this love and believes in~.Christ the Lord and Savior. The center of the original message was, beyond any doubt, the Christ-event: tile exaltation of Christ crucified as the Lord of all. It is a joyful message of salvation, but it de-mands a thorough change of life. Ih the name of his Heavenly Father, the risen Christ calls his beloved brothers and sisters to a new life; he fills them with his Spirit; he unites them with himself in a communion .of life and love. The charismatic renewal has as its special purpose a ~horough renova-tion of Christian faith and Christian life in the spirit of its origins. Catholic charismatics are sufficiently aware that we cannot simply copy the primitive Church. Mere .pristine returns never work in history. But from the spirit of the early Church we can all learn. In dealing with the renewal of religious life, th~ Council rightly insisted that authentic renewal in a religious community must be characterized by the revival of the original spirit of the particular institute. This principle is equally valid for any authentic renewal in the Church as a whole. And the return to the original spirit of Pentecost and of the early Church includes, as one of its main points, a healthy concentration upon the essentials of both the Christian mes-sage- and the Christian life. Charismatic renewal in our times has under-stood this, and so has resulted in a noticeable improvement among its adherents precisely in this regard. It is only realistic to note the fact that many of our most dedicated religion teachers come from those segments of the Christian people who were deeply influenced by the earlier, more devotional approach to re-ligion. These individuals often excel in their abundance of good will. But, at the same time, in their spiritual life they lack this necessary concentra-tion which, thus, was also lacking in their catechetical activities. It is en-tirely possible that participation in one or other solid charismatic p~:ayer group could help them to develop still more what was best in their earlier experience and, at the'same time, introduce into their lives and into their teaching the concentration that is so necessary to any life of faith and of apostolate. Importance of Prayer and Religious Experience The concentration that characterized evangelization and life in the early Church was not the product of professional theological reflection, but rather the result of God's gracious outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This outpouring was received in a situation of personal encounter with God expressed, above all, in prayer. The Pentecostal experience, throughout, was distinguished by exuberant and powerful religious emotions, but 'not in Charismatic Spirituality and the Catechist / 669 the sense of a purposeless emotionalism in which emotions figured as ends in themselves. Rather the experience was the result of their vivid aware-ness of our Lord's presence among them and of their astonishment about the marvels God had accomplished in their midst (see Ac 2:11 ). The Acts and all the epistles of the canon present" in this regard a similar picture. Apostolic preaching and apostolic ministry'was not geared to the cultivation of exuberant but irrational emotions. Rather they were geared to the implantation of faith in the sense of an unconditional accept-ance. of the gospel which was then, under the guidance of the Spirit, to lead to an authentic r61igious experience with profound and vigorou.s emotions. Whenever it came to the point of an overflow of emotions, the Apostles insisted upon the necessity of discernment and balance (see, for example, 1 Co 12:3; 14:23, 33; 1 Th 5:19-22). The pentecostal movement of our century must be understood as a re-action against a one-sided rational approach to religion; one which did not do iustice to its emotional side. In this reaction, the movement may at times have expressed itself exaggeratedly in the opposite direction. Still, overall, it would be easy to show that Catholic charismatics have moved toward a sound balance of religious insight, commitment and sentiment just as they have also demonstrated an awareness of their Catholic identity, keeping themselves open to the recommendations and warnings of. the best Catholic spiritual traditions. Even in cases where groups have yet to reach this de-sired balance, we still have to acknowledge their valuable contribution to religious renewal in bringing so many people to a new appreciation and practice of genuine prayer, and through their insistence on more spontaneity in the expression of religious conviction and sentiments. The significance of this contribution for catechetics becomes immedi-ately evident as soon ~as we try to evaluate it against the backg~:ound of our present catechetical situation. An impartial assessment o1~ this present situa-tion would disclose an unprecedentedly low general interest in religion, which stems primarily from our present culture with its secularized outlook on life. In this kind of situation, we need a powerful catechetical movement, one which insists above all on a new awareness of God in life, one which helps those affected to encounter God again in a very existential way. Yet, in fact, we have to admit that the catechetics of the past ten years have more and more stressed the merely human aspects of religious education, that catechetics have quite often favored a secularized outlook on life in-stead of a genuinely religious approach to it. Misled by a wrong interpreta-tion of God's immanence in his world, teachers of religion today seem.to be inclined to content themselves more and more with the "discovery" of inner-worldly values and with a proper use of such values in life without ascending from them to God, to a personal encounter with God in genuine prayer. Thus, catechetics in the past ten years may often have neglected, the 670 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 vertical dimension in the process of religious education, but they have surely not neglected at ail to stress the great importance of spontaneity, of gen-uine human experience and emotions in all spheres of'human activity. Mod-ern man, growing up as he is in a secularized culture, may find great difficul-ties in discovering God. But whenever he does discover God and does come to personal contact with ~him, modern man definitely favors the kind: of dialogue which is characterized by great spontaneity and by 'the engage-ment of strong emotions. Especially among younger people, today's person shox~s interest only in a religious movement which gives a great deal of room for spontaneity, for emotional expression. The Spirit of Community The charismatic spirituality of the early Christians was distinguished by conspicuous spontaneity. But this spontaneity must not be misinterpreted as religious individualism! Their pentecostal experience united them inti-mately into a single, closely knit community. When Luke describes (Ac 2:42-47) the life of the first Christians, he may well have idealized somewhat the historical reality. But he certainly expressed well the ideal image which the early Church had formed of herself and which she labored to realize in the various Christian communities of those early days--of course without ever realizing this ideal. Luke, of course, is fully aware of the leaciing position of the Apostles and of their important task, and even stresses it in unambiguous fashion. However, as he portrays her, the early Church is above all a communion of life and of love. His pentecostal community is exactly the ideal of what we call now-a-days the "basic community." There is no ~need to enter here upon an historical investigation of the causes which led this initial ideal of the Christian life to lose its original ur-gency and attraction. Suffice it to say that the change definitely did not come from a change on the part of the Holy Spirit and of his basic in-spiration. Rather it stemmed from a change on the part of ~the Christians-who did not listen to the Holy Spirit in the same way as did the first Chris-tians. As a result of unfavorable influences from without, and from a faulty development within the Church, Catholic theology and its catechetics have, for a long time, overly stressed the ingtitutional aspect of the Church. It needed the assistance of the Holy Spirit in the last council to restore once more the right balance, to see the Church again as, above all, a "communion" (withou.t forgetting or minimizing the God-given aspects of its institutional character). The General Catechetical Directory, published by the Holy See in 1971 as a guideline for all catechetical work, tries to make teachers of religion aware of this shift in emphasis: "The Church is a communion: She herself acquired a fuller awareness of that truth in the Second Vatican Council" (n. 66). Charismatic Spirituality and the Catechist / 671 In order to experience once again the Church as a communion of life and love, there is need for more than a mere shift in catechetical emphasis. There is. need for the formation of relatiVely sma.ll but dynamic Christian communities which can truly come to this experience. Our typical mammoth parishes cannot achieve this experience unless they build up within their structure much smaller groups of deeply committed Christians. Since the begin~ning of this century, small groups have been forming themselves in this renew~il of pentecostal experience. For the most part non- Catholic, these bands have regularly shown strong cohesion within the par-ticular group, while at the same time manifesting little concern for the universal church, coupled with a noticeable tendency to split among them-selves into yet smaller groups with markedly~ sectarian attitudes. Many years' later, when the pentecostal movement began to lay hold of Catholic circles, many feared that something similar would happen among Catholic charismatics. In fact, however, just the opposite took place. Pre-cisely at the time when many Catholics began to waver in their loyalty to the Church, the overwhelming majority of Catholic charismatics "were giv-ing convincing proofs of their loyalty. In fact, through the charismatic move-ment,, many Catholics found a new and vital contact with the institutional Church. In fact, an impartial assessment would lead to the impression that, in the overall scene; there is more interest on the part of charismatic groups in the institutional Church than there is interest on the part of the parochial clergy to provide pastoral care for the charismatic groups within their area --and this at a time when we desperately need the development of such small groups within the Church. It is not impossible that participation in some solid charismatic group. could give to today's religion teacher a valuable experience of Christian community of precisely the kind that he would need in order to present the Church'as a communion! A Zest for Scripture One characteristic feature of pentecostal spirituality is a zest for Scrip-ture. We encounter this everywhere in pentecostal prayer-meetings and in the members' daily prayer-life. This zest for Scripture comes from the first "Pentecostals"; it is a basic element of the spirituality of the early Church. In fact, we can even say that it is a valuable heritage which the young Church received from the Synagogue. The painful break with the Synagogue did not affect Christian attitudes toward the Scripture. Rather, early Chris-tians continued in their deep appreciation and ardent use of them. In our own time, many Catholics found new access to Scripture through the charismatic renewal. True, long before the beginning of Catholic charis-matic renewal, there was in the Church a powerful biblical renewal which had a decisive impact on the discussions and decisions of Vatican II. Just a few years before the first Catholic charismatic groups started, the Council had 672 ,/ Review ]or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 already vindicated, with unusual emphasis, the role of the Scriptures in authentic Christian spirituality (see Constitution on Revelation, nn. 21-26). There is no need for us to decide here which had in fact brought more Catholics back once again to the Scriptures: the teachings of Vatican II or the later charismatic prayer-meetings, It is sufficient for our purpose simply to point out that a genuine zest for Scripture and its religious wealth is not just a fad among charismatics, but an indispensable element of the spiritual-ity which is to be expected from any true Christian, and, of course, most especially, from the teacher of religion who acts as a messenger of God. Vatican II tells us: "In the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven meets his children with great love and speaks with them; and the force and power in the word of God is so great that it remains the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her sons, the food of the soul, the pure and perennial source of spiritual life" (Constitution on Revelation, n. 21). If the Council really meant what it so emphatically stressed, what must follow for anyone who would take the Council seriously? In describing charismatic spirituality, we are fully aware that any move-ment like the pentecostal renewal is going to include groups which express and live this spirituality with enormous differences of perfection. It could easily happen that a given individual sincerely appreciates charismatic spirituality, yet is not at all satisfied with its realization in the group which meets next door. In such a situation, his remedy may well be to seek out another, more congenial group. The ideal solution for teachers of religion who work as a team~would be to form their own group from the members of the. team. That wotild, be the best answer to their special needs and to their particular aspirations. The Rope When a man reaches the' end of his rope, he comes to the beginning of God. Edward A. Gloeggler P.O. Box 486 Far Rockaway, NY 11~91 On Burying Our Isaacs Sister Mary Catherine Barron, C.S.J. Sister Mary Cath~erine has been a frequent contributor to ,our pages, her last having appeared in the March issue. Her address in the coming year will be: St. loseph's Provincial House; 91 Overlook Ax;e.; Latham, NY 12110. Th~ word of God is something alive and active: it i~uts',like any double-edged sword but more finely: it can slip through the place ~vhere the soul is divided from the spirit, or joint.s from the mar~row; it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts. No created thing can hide from him; everything is uncovered and open to the eyes of the one to whom we must give an account of ourselves (Heb 4, 12-13). It happened Sometime' ,later that God put Abraham to the test (Gn 22, 1). Abraham was a vulnerable man. He could never-quite master the art ~of resisting God. Always, he was too available. Had he been a more pragmatic human being, he would have quickly cultivated a quality of deafness where God.was concerned---rr at least a fair pretense of it. But that was his weak-ness: he was too receptive. Whenever God called, he answered. Such alacrity can be dangerous, especially wtiere Yahweh is involved. He is all-consuming. And so when, after a short span of years of relative peace and quiet, God once again cried out his name: "Abraham~ Abraham," our Old Testa-ment forefather responded as could be expected: "Here I am." He should have known better. He should have realized toe incipient danger of those words, because he had uttered them before and they had cost him quite a bit of pain. In ~fact, they had brought him to where he was then: in a strange land of strange people with a young son, the fruit of his and Sarah's old age. It had been a weary journey to this destination, filled with suffering and hope, alienation and promise, discouragement and fulfillment. But today, existence was peaceful and ,.God was benign and Abraham was happy in the new life growing up around him: Isaac, his son. So he never should have " 673 674 / Review for Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 answered with such openness, such literalness, when he said: "Here I am." Those three words capsulized a whole lifetime of givenness and surrender on Abraham's part and God knew that. He knew the implied depths of Abraham's response because long ago he had blasted his foundation, carved him out, and molded him in faith. So God was not surprised at Abraham's reply. Hehad tested him before. Purgation is a messy business. No matter how finely wrought the.instru-ment, there is always pain and a certain amount of blood-letting. Ironically, although we are quite familiar with the concept, we are never much at ease in the throes of the process. Double-edged swords are dangerous, especially the ones that slip into the hidden place "where the soul is divided from the spirit," because eventually they strike the heart. Abraham had been prodded and probed before. But he had also lived long enough to realize that there are always untouched recesses, crevices of the heart, where the finger of God has not yet been felt. One of those crevices contained Isaac. And so Yahweh commands: "Take your son, your only child Isaac, wh~m you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him as~a burnt offering, on a mountain I will point out to you" (Gn 22, 2). God couldn't have~ been more blunt nor, apparently, more unfeeling~ With near ferocity, he highlights the very nadir points involved in Abraham's sacrifice: '~'son," "only child," "Isaac," "whom you love." And then he conjures up a picture of that supple-limbed first fruit of endless expectation: blackened--a burr~t offering on a wilder-ness mountaintop. Abraham makes no response because he has already made the 'total one of "Here I am." We are. simply told that early next .morning he rises and begins the three days' journey to Moriah. Whatever the outcome, the journey itself is part of the purgation, is already a piece of the burnt offer-ing, and the fact that.it is leading to final consummation only intensifies the pain. Anguish is not a very communicable emotion. It is too deep for utter-ance. So insistent is it that all other~feelings.give way before its flood. So Abraham says little on the pilgrimage to holocaust, but in grim irony loads Isaac with the wood and himself takes the knife and the fire. In stolid faith, Abraham bears in his own hands the purgative instruments that will cut. and sear his son. But more deeply, he bears the instruments that will cut and sear himsel[.olsaac is to suffer a holocaust ,of body; Abraham suffers a holocaust of heart. iOutrage always accompanies the destruction.of an innocent---outrage on the part of the non-participants. But who can fathom the outrage Abraham feels as he binds his only son and lays him on the altar? We cannot begin to plumb the depths of his grieving heart that still believes in the~irrevocable word of Yahweh. "Abraham stretched out his hand and seized the knife to kill his son" (Gn 22, 10). On Burying Our "lsaacs / 675 Once again the cry comes: "Abraham, Abraham" and once again the familiar responseis given:. ','I am here." And then come the sal~,ific words: "Do not raise your hand against the boy; do not harm him, for now I know you fear God. You have not refused me your son, your only son" (Gn 22, 11~13). Isaac is spared. What about Abraham? The holocaust of the body does not occur; the holocaust of the heart is complete. We are accustomed to naming Abraham our "Father in Faith." Is he not also the ',Father of Freed Love!'? All the time he thought the journey was made to annihilate Isaac. Now he discovers that it was made to annihi-late Abraham. Father van Breemen in his book, Called By Name, offers the following analysis: When Abraham descends from tl~e mountai'n~ with his son, both he and Isaac have changed; something has happened on that hilltop . Like a tree which has been turned full circle in the ground, Abraham's~roots have been cut loose, and he has returned a new man (p. 19). in what does his newness consist?' Abraham comes down the mountain with a living Isaac: Yetsomething in both of them is dead. Because he wag bent over the prone Isaac on the altar, we Could not 'see the pain in Abra-ham'S eyes, the look of utter bewilderment at what he was about to do, the trembling terror at the death of love by his o~wn hand. But Isaac could see~ And in that look of love that 'was exchanged b6tw~en them--father and son--the holocaust of the heart is accomplished. In that inst"~n't, Isaac cedes over his life to his father in trust and surrender. And Abraham cedes over his heart to Yahweh in a similar fashion. Because part of Abraham's heart is Isaac, that part of Isaac in Abraham's heart dies forever on Mount Moriah. Abraham returns to Beersheba with a son, but no longer with his son. Isaac is irrevocably gone, yielded over to Yahweh. Isaac returns ~vith a father who is no longer solely his father, but more radically is father to Yahweh's people. Both lose and gain life; both surrender the other and are given the other in return--but transformed. In The Letter to the Hebrews we are told: It was by faith that Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He offered to sacrifice his only son even though the promises had been made to him and he had been told: It is through Isaac that your name will be carried on. He was confident that God had the power to raise the dead; and so, figuratively speaking, he was given back Isaac from the dead (Heb 11, 17-19). Centuries later, when speaking of losing and gaining life, Jesus would use the analogy of the wheat grain dying in the earth to produce a rich harvest. We might say that out of.the seed of love for Isaac which Abraham allows to die in the holy ground of Yahweh, com~s the rich harvest of transformed life. For Abraham, indeed, has Isaac back from the dead, but only after he has first let him go. In a sense, he leaves Mount Moriah having buried part of himself and his son there. 676 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 So what does the story mean to us? Certainly we are relieved that Isaac is not slain. We are glad that: Abraham's faith was vindicated: And we hope that we are never put to such a test. It is just such a latter mentality that is our mistake and our misfortune. For we all have our Isaacs--those, hidden crevices of the heart.where we do not even realize that "the soul is divided from the spirit." Unless we are willing to bur), them (our Isaacs) in a holo-caust of: the heart, our faith is weak and our love is unfree. And to that extent We,are poor spiritual progeny of our great desert patriarch. ' The Book of Judith tells us: We should be grateful to the Lord, our God, for putting us to the'test, as he did Our forefathers. Recall how he dealt with Abraham, and how' he tried Isaac; and all that happened to Jacob in Syrian Mesopotamia while he was tending the flocks of Laban, his mother's brother. Not for vengeance did the Lord p,ut them in the crucible to try their hearts, nor has he done so with us. It is by way of admonition that' fie chastises those who are close to him (J~t 8:25-27), Admonition for what? Admonition, so that eventually our hearts in the crucible will be so tot~ally purified'that we will, indeed, have lai~ to final rest all our Isaacs. Admonition, so that eventually our hearts in the cruc!.- ble will be so totally free that we too will be able to respond as did Abraham to Yahweh's cali :~ "Here I am." "The @ord of God is something alive and active"--in Abraham'~ day and in our own.'~Will we let it pierce us, double-edged though it might be? Some Practical Reflections on the General Congregation Pedro Arrupe, S.]. Father, Arrupe, General of the Society of Jesus, originallY, gave this talk as part of a series of cbnferences on the 32rid General Congregation which was sponsored by the Centrum lgnatianum Spiritualitatis (CIS; Borgo S. Spirito, 5; C. P. 9048; 00100 Roma, Italy),~which ~s presently preparing the conferences (in the languages in which they were delivered) in book form. I would like to speak tO you about the last section of Decree 4 of the recent 32nd General Congregation of the Society of Jesus. As you know, Decree 4 was on "Our Mission Today," and the last section of it dea!.t with "Prac-tical Dispositions." These practical dispo~sitions are applications that follow from t,h~e general decisions and guidelines developed throughout the decree. When the, Congregation states~, in this.decree, that "the mission of the Society of Jesus today is the service of faith, of which the promotion of jus~tice is an absolute requirement," it is not in the slightest way restricting the purpose, of the Society. That Society was founded, as you know, princi-pally "to serve the divine Majesty and his holy Church, under the Roman Pontiff, th~ Vicar of Christ on earth" and "to devote itself totally to.~the defense and spre~ad of the holy Catholic faith." Those words are taken from the F'ormula ol the Institute, approved by Pope Julius III (MI [ser. 3] I, 375-~76). The Soci.ety's purpose thus remains the same as ever: the ex-pression that,the 32nd General Congregation used is.simply a reformulation to meet the needs of the present-day world, which is characterized by so many and such flagrant injustices. And so, in discussing this D.ecree 4, we are simply showing how the So-ciety i~sflu~f!,~ll!ng its overall purpose:, how it is living up to its mission. The principle~s, attitu~.es and methods that the decree proposes thus acquire a 677 6711 / Review for Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 universal value much more far-reaching than the Decree itself, since every- ~thing is included in, and exemplified by, the way the Society carries out its purpose. The Originaiity of St. Ignatius The originality of St. Ignatius is to be found, not so much in the rea-sons that he "put down in writing, so as to be able to reflect on them" (Spiritual Diary, Feb. 11, 1544), as in "other illuminations" that he re-ceived from the Holy Trinity, with "feelings of intense emotion" (ibid.). 'Clearly, his originality will keep the same creativity and apostolic vigor down through .history, and the Society of today wants to continue to be--and should continue to be--what St. Ignatius made it. But there are certain moments in history when an inner force appears, stirring that originality to new external manifestations, and its dynamism acts with greater exuberance and creativity. Today is such a moment. In the aggiornamento that Vatican II called for, the Holy Spirit speaks more clearly to the Church (See Per- [ectae Caritatis, 2), and hence to the Society too, inviting us to a "thorough-going reassessment of our traditional apostolic methods, attitudes and in-stitutions, so as to adapt them to the changed conditions of our day" (De-cree 4:9). Our effort, then, after the congregation even more than during it, has to be to discern how we can provide the Society's distinctive service and carry out its mission with all its consequences. The new way of exercising this mission will require of the updated Society new or renewed attitudes, en-deavors, undertakings and institutions, which in turn presuppose new men, similarly reriewed fo~ today's generation. All these elements--"the Society of Jesus, its mission, its apostolate, its way of life"--are closely in~e'rrelated and cannot be considered or achieved separately. We cannot, therefore, discuss how the decree would have us carry out our apostolate, prescinding from our Order's special charism, or from the Jesuit'of today and his life style. In the constant advance of the pilgrim Church, which, vivified' by the Holy Spirit and under his impulse, comes ever closer to Christ (s~e LG 4), amid persecutions from the world" and consolations from God, the 32nd General Congregation is merely one episode in 'the life of this universal Church moving toward its eschatological perfection. The congregation too, as part of humanity and of the people of God, has felt itself inspired, guided and strengthened by that Spirit "who writes and impresses on hearts the law of charity and love" (Introd. to Constitutions, 1.) and keeps pressing toward "what is most conducive" (Sp. Ex. 23). A Return to Sources At this moment of history, the challenge the world offers has'brought the Society to a limit-situation, forcing it to go: back to the original soui'ces Some Practical Reflections on the General Congregation / 679 of Ignatian spirituality, to find there more effective means, to be able to face today's problems vigorously, not only in order to survive, but to come out of them purified and rejuvenated, and thus to.be more apt for giving the Church the service it desires. The return to Loyola, Manresa, Paris, La Storta and Rome was a .spontaneous movement in the Society of Jesus, and especially in the fathers of the General Congregation. We were, and we are, conscious that any renewal must always be inspired by those funda-mental :graces that St. Ignatius received for himself and the whole Society, by those mystical intuitions that begar~ with the spiritual infancy of Ignatius (.God treated him as an infant then, he tells us in his Autobiography) and continued through his full spiritual maturity, when he composed the Con-stitutions. The-me(hod that the congregation suggests for our ~practical applica-tion of what Decree 4 recommends is very simple, yet it is based on a deep theology and a logic and practical sense that give us the greatest guarantees. The Method Is the Message It has been said in another context that "the medium is the message." Here we may say that "the method is the message," because it includes such a wealth of elements that, though perhaps not altogether new, are under-stood and applied in so profound a way that their meaning and implications and correlations give them a great novelty. It is a method that uses new concepts, and when applied, sheds a new light on those concepts on which it is based. This method was not excogitated in an abstract or a priori way, but results fr6m a number of enriching ideas and concepts, of better studied, better tested situations. Thus it arose almost spontaneously, not so much as a logical deduction, but rather as the fruit of many vital° elements and their mutual Correlations, e.g., the concepts of mission, ofcommunity, of interpersonal relations, of service, of authority, bf poverty, and so' forth. It would be very easy to describe superficially thee manner of applying this decree, but that wa3~ we would not reach the real profundity of its method, nor would we catch the meaning and concrete manner of its application. It would b~ totally ineffective to proceed that way. Our deeper know!edge of certain concepts and circumstances enables us to work out a method v,e~ suited to the situations of this new world of ours. Thus, the application of this method, plus the experience, the intuitions and tile difficulties that contact with reality adds to it, enriches the ~concepts and gives them a greater r6alism. But that is not all: our new understanding of the ideas and their prac-tical apostolic applications call for renewed men~.who, incarnating this men-tality, will react in a fresh way, or at least will be able to adapt their ser-vice to the new needs of a Church and of a mankind we see rapidly becom-ing the great, universal human family. 680 / Review ]or Religious, l/olume 35, 1976/5 A Process of Reflection and Revision The final section of this decree, subtitled "Practical Dispositions," 6pen~ with a clearly Ignatian principle: "Considering the variety of situations in which Jesuits work, the°General Congregation cannot pi~ovide a single, uni-versally applicable program for producing this awareness and reducing it to 15ractice acco~rding to th~ decisions and guidelines gi,~en. Each province or group of provinces 'must undertake a program of reflection.and a review of our apostolate to discover what action is ,appropriate in each particular con-text" .(4.'71): It is the same princip!e that P.ope Paul stated for the whole Church in his Octogesima adveniens: "Faced with such varying situations, it is hard for Us~to formulate a single statement and propose a Solution with universal validity . It is for the Christian communities to analyse objec-tively their country's situation, to clarify' it in the light ofr'the unchanging words of the gospel" (4). ~ To find the appropriate mode of action, the congregation .gives us tWO basic principles that are implicitly contained in the Constitutions, the norms for the selection of ministries and those for the preparation of the instru-ment. We express these principles today by the terms "discernment" and "continuing formation." They are like two roads leading us to a personal knowledge, a conviction, and a more perfect pe~rformance of what God wants of us at each moment. Discernment , Discernment is, in all its profundity, the best way (I would say, con-sidering it in all its breadth, the only way) to be able to plan and choose among our concrete options, the proper apostolic strategy, in other words, to discover God's will for us here and now. The congregation recommends precisely this to us when it says that we need, "not so much a research program, as a process of reflection and evalua-tion, based on the.Ignatian tradition of spiritual discernment" (4:72). Psy-chological or purely t~chnical procedures are not sufficient; we need a deter-mination to .really "find God," using all the means, objective and subjective, indiVi~dual and collective, social, political, and so forth, through which he manifestos his will to us. A process of this sort requires a special divine assistance and a constant effol:t on our part to rid ourselves of every inordinate affection. For that reason, the °decree very properly underlines the word "indifference," when it tells us: "The primary stress is on prayer and the effort to attain 'indiffer-ence,' that is, an apostolic readiness for anything" (72). The seriousness of this discernment 6alls for thos~e perfect dispositions that St. Ignatius demands' inthe election, that culminating point in his Exer-cises. This .is a divine-human, personal, ecclesial act, inserted into the one plan of salvation that leads to the building up of the Kingdom of Christ in time, and comes, even now,~under eschatological judgment. St. Paul d~fines Some Practical Reflections on the General Congregation / 681 it: "Think+before you do anything; hold on,to what is good and avoid every form of evil" (1 Th 5,21~22)., .4 This~Pauline discernment is not~only a key to the New Testament; it is also a key for apostolic planning in the exercise of our :~'mission," remind-ing us of the interplay of divine grace and human freedom in Christian ilife. Thus the apostle feels integrated into salvation history, associated with the central kairos of the Incarnation and Resurrection, and:the final eschatologi-cal~ kairos. Understood in this,way, discernment explains and renews the meaning of,Ignatian solid pruden(e, "discreet charity," And thus the "mis-sion" received under0obedience can be applied concretely to the different and changeable situations of the problematic of today's world. At the same time, discernment is the great force that enables us" to grow spiritually,,in a rapid but solid way, since it obliges us to have our soul always inca disposition of total detachment from created things. As a conse-quence Of this active-passive "indifference,, discernment disposes the soul for the inspirations of the Spirit, no-matter .how they come or where ~they come-from. In particular, it disposes the soul for that basic inspiration of faith,~ hope and "discreet charity" that awakens it to desire the magis, i.e., to choose always what is better, what iS~"~.'God's will'here and now." An ac-tive indifference, always seeking the'magis, is, indeed, the Ignatian equiva-lent~ of ~"finding God in all things," or as Nadal put it in a dense and pro-found, phrase, the "contemplativus in actione" (contemplative in action). In addition to this inner disposition of Spirit, so necessary for a real dis-cernment, we also need as complete and deep a knowledge as possible of the reality that is the object of our .discernment, so that we can discover in that reality the expression of God's will f6r the world. To discover this, we need, first of all, a real "conscientization,, or critical contact with reality; and after that, an "insertion," an "evaluation," and finally an "incultura-tion." The basic elements of.,this process of discernment and conscientization, of insertion and inculturation~ are described briefly in Octogesima adveniens, which the 32nd General Congregation. quoted. They are: experience, re-flection, choices, action,, a constant reciprocal relationship. These are steps that lead, by their own inner force, to a "change in our.thought patterns and a conversion of souls and hearts so that we can make apostolic decisions" (4:73). ¯ Conscientization To know thoroughly the reality that we meet or in which we live, we need more than a superficial glance at it in a random contact, or a one-time experience of that reality. "Knowing thoroughly"means going beyond a mere spontaneous grasp, to a critical understanding. Real conscientization is a critical insertion into historical reality. This obliges man to accept the role of a subject who makes the world---or better, remakes it. It forces man to 6112 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 create his existence out of the material that life offers him. This is based, naturally, on the human capacity to work consciously on reality: hence conscientization necessarily includes the combination of our reflection on the world and our action on it. It also follows from this that real conscientization has to be a process constantly in act, so that the new reality that is evolving can in turn be grasped in a new conscientization, which again will produce a still newer reality. It is an ongoing process; conscientization is always creative. "Think-ing of the new reality as something-untouchable is simplistic and reactionary, just as much as saying that the old reality was untouchable; if men, as working beings, continue to accept a 'made' world, they will very soon be plunged into a new darkness."' And so, as conscientization increases, the manifestation of.reality also increases, and the penetration of its phenomenological sense. If we merely contemplate reality, we are no more than false intellectualists. Without the binomial action-reflection, there can be no conscientization; in other words, there can be no conscientization apart from practical action. The dialectical unity "action-reflection" will always be man's most distinctive mode of being, his only effective way of changing the world (see ibid. 30). There has to be, therefore, an insertion into reality 'and a reflection on reality. This double function enables us to know and act on re.ality, which in turn then acts on us. In other words, the external reality that we change then changes us in our very. depths, and that very change makes us become "agents for change." This interaction is a manifestation and an effect of the intimate action of the Holy Spirit, who integrates, simultaneously and har-moniously, the progress of a pilgrim mankind toward its true fatherland and each one's growth in divine life that the Spirit cbmmunicates to him. Insertion To~ know reality, to change our attitudes and achieve a true discern-ment, we must first be inserted into reality in an effective way, When I speak of insertion, I am referring to a real, critical insertion among the men of today, in order to create and shape society in an evangelical way. A genuine, insertion thus requires a change of personal attitude, the giving up, under many aspects, of our manner of being, thinking and acting, so we can understand and come closer to the new realities that we want to evangelize. It is a real problem of life and experience, which gives us a special profound and realistic knowledge which makes us solidary with men, particularly with the poor and the weak. Scripture itself and the entire theology of evangelization invite us to this insertion: "To become all things to all men" (1 Co 9, 22), to make other 1(See Paulo Freire, Conscientizaci6n [Sp. version], 2a ed., 30-36, in Coll. Educaci6n hoy, 4, Asociaci6n de publicaciones educativas, Bogot~i). ~ Some Practical Reflections on the General Congregation / 6113 people's problems ours, "to make ourselves servants of others" (Decree 2". 29), to. be "segregatus in evangelium" ["specially chosen to preach the Good News"] (Rom 1, 1), and to become the "salt of the earth" (Mt 5, 13). For that re.ason, the 31st Congregation recommended that our residences be built and set up among workers and the most downtrodden classes, so that Ours, spending their lives with the poor Christ, may [thus] practice their various apostolates (27: 8). This insertion or "incarnation" means solidarity with those who suffer, even to being identified with their lives. Here we find the most profound meaning of the poverty of the poor Christ, whom we want to imitate and follow. That phrase of the Exercises that describes our contemplation "as if I were actually present" (Ex 114)~-takes on a vivid meaning that re-flects the gospel words: "What you did to the least of my brothers, you did to me" (M~ 25, 40). If we juxtapose St. Ignatius's tw.o key lines from the Exercises: "What shall I do for Christ?" (Ex 53) and "being poor with the poor Christ" (Ex 167), with those words of Christ: "What you did to the least of my brothers, you did to me," everything takes on a new light, whose brilliance shakes our consience. It_is the apparition of Christ among the poor, his real presence among them.: This reality of Christ in the world of today plays a decisive role in our choice of ministries and in our lives. "Have we realized that conversion to Christ implies a conversion to our neighbor, particularly our most abandoned neighbor? This requires a change of mentality that is not at all easy, a change of attitude and of life on the personal, collective and apostolic level. In a word, it transports us. to the heart of the painful tension of the election" (ibid. 199). Not every insertion has~ the value and meaning of a truly apostolic in-sertion. To see if our insertion is apostolic, we will have to look for some of its characteristic features. First of all, it should be evangelical, i.e., inspired and guided by the Gospel, by the spirit of the Gospel, which we find in the Beatitudes, in the cross and the resurrection of Christ. On the contrary, an insertion inspired by radicalism or a revolutionary spirit, one seeking class struggle or vindica-tion, one that exalts itself, regarding itself as a model far better than any other, is not the insertion a religious should seek. In practice, we often lose sight of our evangelical spirit, even though we~protest that our aim is to "evangelize." Sec6nd, this insertion should be apostolic, i.e., inspired by an apostolic motivation and idealism, not by merely sociological or humanitarian con- ~iderations, which are a completely different thing. It has to be rooted in '-'(See J. ,Alfaro, "Ejercicios y Constituciones: Unidad Vital," in Mensajero, Bilbao, 1974, 195-199). 61~4 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 35, 1976/5 faith, built on prayer, purified of all,selfishness. Such an attitude cannot be had from natural forces alone, but comes only from the force of the Spirit. Third, the insertion of the religious has to be the expression of a mission, that is, something more than the fruit of one's own ideas or some project oil-one's own. It has to be the object of a mission that follows, under obedi-ence, God's will, rather than the whims of a self-appointed group thatmakes independent decisions, ignoring or opposing those of their superiors. It must be the result of mission precisely conferred or approved by Obedience. A true insertion requires a series of qualities in the individual or the community: ,. --First of all, it calls for humility and conversion, i.e.; the desire of leading a more evangelical life and the recognition of one's own limita-tions, without considering oneself superior to anyone--and especially without~judging anyone, even if exteriorly he may seem to be leading a less evangelical life. --Second,. such an insertion calls for a clear sense o] one's identity, inas, much as the harsh experiences that can come to those who live such an insertion, and the observance of others' sufferings and injustices can strike us in so forceful and passionate a way as to take away our re-ligious and evangelical sense and lead us to adopt' positions and atti-tudes foreign to the Institute to which we belong. --Third, to be truly and solidly inserted, we need a well'integrated personality, capable of resisting the "shock" caused by the effort of adapting to a very different set of surroundings. Not a few.religious~men and women, full of generosity but without a solidly integrated personal-ity, have lost their vocations because of this "shock," and h'ave then succumbed to irreparable crises. -~Fourth, we need a solid [ormation. Some'have to learn to experience this insertion in surroundings and situations that are not sufficiently formed for that level of hardship. A full insertion into new s.urroundings calls for a very'solid and balanced formation,'which'usually takes a long time and experience. Only a serious preparation can give su~cient maturity and ability to integrate all the elements of the apostolic pro-cess: experience-reflection-choice-action. With it, the insertion can be kept within proper limits and will allow the maximum .of productivity. --Fifth, it requires serious reflection. Experience alone is not enough; it has to be tested by reflection, without which we can never have opti-mum results and avoid the mistakes due to either excess°or deficiency. Reflection on the concrete experience will expand o~r understanding of the situation, and will suggest the proper options find the changes that must be made for a more. effective apostolate. That is, it will make our action not only tend in the right direction, but have some likelihood of continuing and succeeding; too. Some Practical Reflections on the General Congregation / 685 ¯ ---Sixth,~-we need~ close collaboration with others. A genuine insertion invites and produces such collaboration. It is a stimulus and an apt means for fitting into the overall pastoral plan and activities of other groups and sectors. -z-Seventh, we need pluralism. Insertion needs and introduces a broad pluralism in the sense that modes of service have to be different urider differing circumstances. Insertion is not limited to a particular social stratum, e.g., the poor, but takes in all worlds: intellectual, univei'sity, ~ ,.professional, cultural, infracultural, etc. ~ If all these conditions are verified, the insertion will be 'much more ef-fective, organic and "differentiated: W~ will avoidduplications--and 6mis-" sions--of projects and methods for ~vhich, others~ are better qualified; each one will ,produce to the maximiam, having found his plac.e in the overall pastoral' plan of the local and universal Church. This insertion can also resolve the tension betweenthose who learn and those who teach, because, as experience shows, p~articularly in times of rapid change, life and human contact, even with the less cultured and humbler," are a "marvelous school, in which we learn from others th~it very lofty science, the "science of man," which we can never acquire without this contact with reality and every-day life. Insertion will make us feel the need to be always in the posture of a disciple, which is indispensable .for the apostle working for contemporary man in the world of today. Eyaluation TO ~be able to make an objective and effective discernment, so we can give to our labors, 6ur projects and institutions a new orientation, we need not only conscientization iihd insertion, but an~evaluation of our activitie~ too. Decree 4 suggests this to us very clearly: "Where do'we live? Where do we work? How? With whom? What, in the final analysis, really is our in-volvement with, dependence on, or commitment tO ideologies, or to those who wield power? Is it only to the converted that we know how to preach ,Jesus, Christ? These are some Of the questions w~ should ask about ourselves individually, as well as about our commumtles and restitutions (4:74). It0is very important to evaluate~ our acti~'ities and our works. We are urged to make such an evaluation by Decrees 4, 6 and ]5: "Our Mission Today," "The Formation of Jesuits," and "Ceritral Government." Our evalu-ation would consist in analyzing the quantity and quality of the results we are obtaining, in relation to our.objectives, in, order to have some'idea of their effectiveness. Evaluation presupposes that we have'logically ~¢ell-defined goals, suffi-ciently recognized as such.- : o Unfortunately, the Society has not always stopped to evaluat~ its work, or at least it has not always done so with precision, scientifically. Usually, 6116 / Review ]or Religious, l/olume 35, 1976/5, it has.gone about this effort in an improVised and haphazard fashio.n, mak-ing obvious, superficial judgments that do not enable us to reach valid con-clusions. What is more, we seem to be afraid of such evaluations at least subconsciously, considering them a threat. When they are asked to rate their efforts, some feel threatened and called into question, as though such a re-quest implied a negative judgment or a challenge to the project in which they are engaged. But an evaluation is the indispensable means for being able to upgrade. our projects. If in certain cases it should turn.out that a certain project.ought to be revised or disappear completely because it no longer accomplishes its purpose,~ or because ~it blocks projects of ~greater importance, that is the moment for Ignatian indifference. Indeed, why should ~we keep a work going that once upon,a time was co~astructive, but now has become an ob-stacle? The sufferings we naturally feel when told to give up some work are not against indifference; they are an understandable human reaction, a normal manifestation of the love we feel for a project on which we' have ~pent.ourselves, perhaps for many years. But such an evaluation has to be made. The argument from authority comes into play here, since not only GC 32, but the Holy Father, too, wants such evaluations (Acta Romana XVI, 432). Moreover, experience a.nd the intrinsic value of making periodic evaluations also. urge us,to make them, if we want to be consistent with the Ignatian magis which bids us always to offer the greatest possible service of God. The 32nd General Congregation recommends, therefore, that "there should be a definite mechanism for the review of our ministries" (4:77). This mechanism is the indispensable condition,.for having an evaluation, and hence a rational "choice of ministries and sel~ting of priorities and pro-grams" (4:75). The congregation therefore added: "Now is a good time to examine critically how these arrangements are working and, if need be, to replace them by others that are more effective and allow for a wider participation in the process of communal discern, ment" (4:77). The data proyided by an evaluation of this sort will be most helpful and even essential for knowing thoroughly the works to be examined by an apostolic discernment, and they will enable u
Issue 16.3 of the Review for Religious, 1957. ; A. M. D. G. Review for Religious MAY 15, 1957 Father Charles Nerinckx . Sister M. Matilda Current Spiritual Writing . Thomas G. O'Callaghan Apostates and Fugitives . Joseph I:. Gallen Roman Documents . R. I:. Smith Book Reviews Questions and Answers Summer Institutes Communications~ VOLUME 16 NUMBER 3 RI::VI I::W FOR RI LIGIOUS VOLUME 16 MAY, 1957 Nu~BER 3 CONTENTS FATHER CHARLES NERINCKX--Sister M. Matilda, S.L . 129 SUMMER INSTITUTES . 142 CURRENT SPIRITUAL WRITING-- Thomas G. O'CaIlaghan, S.J . 143 DELAYED VOCATIONS . 154 GUIDANCE FOR RELIGIOUS . 154 APOSTATES AND FUGITIVES~Joseph F. Gallen, S.J . 155 PRAYER OF POPE PIUS XII FOR RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS. 165 SURVEY OF ROMAN DOCUMENTS--R. F. Smith, S.J . 166 OUR CONTRIBUTORS . 175 COMMUNICATIONS . 176 BOOK REVIEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS~ Editor: Bernard A. Hausmann, S.J. West Baden College West Baden Springs, Indiana. i . 180 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS~- 13. Initiation of Principle of Adaptation . 188 14. Credo in Mass . 188 15. Bowing at Distribution of Communion . 189 16. Principles of Adaptation of Prayer . 189 17. Candidates of Inferior Intellectual Ability . 191 18. Special Ordinary Confessor of a Teaching Brother . 192 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, May, t957. Vol. 16, No. 3. Published bi-monthly by The Queen's Work, 3115 South Grand Blvd., St. Louis 18, Mo. Edited by the Jesuit Fathers of St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, with ecclesi-astical approval. Second class mail privilege authorized at St. Louis, Mo. Editorial Board: Augustine G. Ellard, S.J.; Gerald Kelly, S.J., Henry Willmering, S.J. Literary Editor: Robert F. Weiss, S.J. Copyright, 1957, by The Queen's Work. Subscription price in U.S.A. and Canada: 3 dollars a year; 50 cents a copy. Printed in U.S.A. Please send all renewals and new subscriptions to: Review for Religious, 3115 South Grand Boulevard, St. Louis 18, Missouri. The story of the founder of the Lorettines F :her.Ch rles Nerinckx Sist:er M. Mat:ilda, S.L. T HOUGH the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small." Sometimes we see results, more often we do not. In the life of Reverend Charles Nerinckx and the story of the founding of the Congregation of the Sisters of Loretto, we see much that is tangibJe; yet there is much that is still intangible. The French Revolution was God's smithy in which Nerinckx's character and missionary vocation were forged and welded; ~the American Revolution and the adjust-ment period that followed saw the birth of Mary Rhodes and the other young women whose youth must h~ive been spent amid the problems of a young country in its new-found freedom. These lives, trained in stress and turmoil, an ocean apart, were being prepared slowly but effectively to converge in a work that has carried on through the years. Charles Nerinckx was born October 2, 1761, in the province of Brabant, Belgium, the oldest of seven brothers arid seven sisters born to Sebastian Nerinckx and Petronilla Langhendries, The father was a skillful physician, a Christian of strong and practical faith too infrequently found among the medical men of Europe of that day; the mother, a woman of solid piety and sturdy common sense. With a view to enlarging his medical practice and securing greater educational advantages for his children, Dr. Nerinckx early moved to Ninove, province of East Flanders. Here it was that Charles, at the age of six, began his primary studies. Having completed his elementary education in the local schools, Charles was sent successively to Enghien, Gheel, and the Catholic Uni-versity of. Louvain. Then, having decided to study for the secu-lar priesthood, he entered the seminary at Mechlin and was there 129 SISTER M. MATILDA Review for Religious ordained in 1785.' The following year he was appointed vicar of the metropolitan parish of St. Rumoldus, Mechlin, over which Prince John Henry Cardinal de Frankenberghe presided as arch-bishop. Father Nerinckx filled this important post for eight years with such zeal as to attract the admiring notice of the Cardinal Archbishop. So, when the parish of Everberg-Meer-beke, midway between Mechlin and Brussels, became vacant at "the death of the aged incumbent, M. Nerinckx was appointed to fill it by the general sut~rage of a board ot~ examiners, who, after the searching examination, o'r concursus, recommended by the Holy Council of Trent for such cases, unanimously awarded him the palm over all other candidates." Father Nerinckx was then thirty-three years of age. The greatest problem encountered in the new assignment was the obstinate apathy of the people towards their religious duties. Beginning with the children, winning their love and obedience, he soon won their parents and elders. Within three years such a profound change had been wrought that the mighty wave of irreligion attendant on the victorious armies of the French revolutionists failed to engulf his parishioners. Leaders of the opposition were naturally enraged. They succeeded in having him proscribed because he refused to take the oath de-manded by the government, an oath at variance with his con-science. Thus forced into hiding, he attended his parish only in secret; finally even this became too dangerous. Disguised as a peasant, Father Nerinckx went to Dendermonde where his aunt, Mother Constantia, was the superior of the Hospital of St. Blase. For months he lived in the attic of the hospital, never stirring abroad in daylight but ministering by night to the sick, to the dying, even to condemned prisoners, and caring for the spir: itual welfare of the sisters who had been deprived of their chap. lain by the same enmity that had made their guest a fugitive. Thus by night he did God's work for others; by day he prayed, medita~ted, planned, studied, wrote, and slept a little. For four years he evaded informers and acted secretly as chaplain of the 130 May, 1957 FATHER CHARLES NERINCKX hospital, yet his priestly zeal urged actioni free and untrammeldd action, impossible in his native land under existing conditionS. To save souls was his consuming desire; the western world, where the harvest was great and the laborers few, called him. He would go t.here. Father Nerinckx volunteered' for the American missions. On his arrival at Baltimore in the fall of 1804, he was appointed by Bishop John Carroll to the Kentucky sedtion of his vast dio-cese of Baltimore whicli embraced the whole of the United States. No'record is left us'~of what the word "Kentucky" meant to the Belgian exile on receiving this appointment. Generous in his ignorance of what life on the American frontier meant for a missionary, "it never was regretted when knowledge, the fullest and the bitterest, was his measure." After a few.months at G~orgetown, where he diligently studied the English language, he set out for Kentu.cl~y .with a colony of Trappist monks bound for the same region. Finding theil mode of travel too slow for h~is ardent zeal he pushed ahead alone and arrived on July 18, 1805, at St. Stephen's Farm, sixty miles south of Louisville. He went immediately to work aiding Reverend Stephen Theodore Badin, then the only priest in the state of Kentucky. At first-Father Nerinckx rode the cir-cuits of the missions nearer the priests'-headquarters, St. Steph-en's Farm, now Loretto Motherhouse; liter, he attended those farther away until, as he learned the country, he took the most remote. For the first seven years he shared the humble cabin, coarse fare, and weary journeys of Father Badin at St. Stephen's; after-wards he took up his residence chiefly at the log church of St. Charles on Hardin Creek, to which church he had added a room for himself. But he was seldom at home; he lived in his scaitered missions and passed long hours in the saddle. He then had charge of six large congregations,.besides a much greater number of mission stations scattered over the whole extent of Kentucky. SISTER M. MATILDA Review for Religious To visit all his churches and stations generally required the space of at least six weeks. When the two priests were together, they often discussed the advisab!lity of a diocese with headquarters nearer than Baltimore. Father Badin had urged it before Father Nerinckx arrived; and the latter, after a very short time in Kentucky, added his urging to that of his companion. When the diocese was created in 1808 and Bardstown named as the see city, the two priests set to work to prepare, for the arrival of Bishop Flaget by building near their own a log cabin for him where the formal installation took place. As in Europe Father Nerinckx had used the children to win the people back to God, so in Kentucky he used the same tactics to preserve and to spread the Faith. He loved these little Kentucky children; their simplicity, guilelessness, innocence drew him to them. But he well "knew youthful minds required more than an occasional lesson in the truths of religion if the Faith was to be preserved. Too, he knew education would eventually come to the Kentucky frontier; and, when it came, it would be education without religion. How could he safeguard the Faith of these little ones? Within a year after his arrival he wrote to his parents that he intended to establish a sisterhood to help him in the work. His first effort was a failure, and in his humility he shouldered the blame as being too unworthy of such an undertaking and urged Father Badin to take over the foundation. Accordingly a convent was begun and speedily completed. It stood about a mile and a half from St. Stephen's. Several young women applied to be the first religious. But God's mill does not grind so fast. He had chosen other souls for this work, and until His time came and His chosen ones were fully prepared the work would not begin.- A bolt of lightning set fire to the building before it could be occupied, leaving, only two blackened chimneys--prophetic symbols to Father Nerinckx of future SUCCESS. Father Badin, crushed as-was Father Nerinckx with disap-pointment at the failure of this cherished project, turned to the 132 May, 1957 FATHER CHARLES NERINCKX more distant missions, leaying the nearer congregations to his co-laborer. For four years Father Nerinckx labored and prayed and hoped. God's time had not yet come; he must wait. Riding the circuit of the nearer missions gave him opportunity to study the whole situation; and his convictions became stronger that a sisterhood would arise, a sisterhood as American as the American pioneer women who would build it. This time the initiative came, not from the priests, but from a member of the St. Charles Cong. regation, a Miss Mary Rhodes who was visiting her brother and sister, earlier immigrants to .Kentucky. Mary Rhodes was born in Washington, Maryland, now the District of Columbia. She had received a convent edu-cation, presumably with the Pious Ladies who had established themselves at Georgetown in 1799 and adopted the Visitandine Rule in 1816. The Rhodes sisters were young ladies of culture and refinement, so it is easy to understand how concerned Mary Rhodes was to see her nieces growing up with few intellectual advantages and no mental ambitions beyond those which their hard-working father and mother could give them. What she could do to help them she did, by teaching them daily. Neigh-bors heard of the instruction that the little Rhodes children were receiving and asked for the same advantages for their daughters; Mary Rhodes's generous heart could not refuse what was in her power to give. She laid her project before Father Nerinckx, sought his approval to give religious instruction and the rudiments of elementary education to the girls who might come, and asked his blessing. Obtaining these, she set about converting a long-uninhabited log cabin into a school. The school prospered beyond the most sanguine expectations of pastor and teacher. The increased number of pupils induced Father Nerinckx to look for an assistant to help Miss Rhodes; this he found in Miss Christina Stuart, a pious young lady of the neigh-l~ orhood who eagerly accepted the invitation. Both young women lived for a time at the Rhodes's home; but, finding the house too' much frequented by worldly company, for ~vhich neither 133 S~ISTER M. MATILDA Review for Religious h:id any great inclination, they fitted up a .second log cabin ~adjoining the school and equally dilapidated and there took up their abode where they could pursue undisturbed their studies and the development of their spiritual life. For their livelihood they trusted, solely in, Divine Providence. Till now, we are told, they had not thought of the religious life; but, with the coming of Miss Nancy Havern,to share their happiness, their labors and privations, such a desire was born. The~e is no record of which soul first conceived the idea of becoming a religious; very like~ly it was Mary Rhodes, as she had been with the sisters at Georgetown; and at least 'she knew some-thing about sisters. Again Father Nerinckx was consulted. Happy as he was at finding such piety and generosity, he prudently in-structed them on the obligations of religious life and the obstacles they might meet under pioneer conditions. But they were not fearful; their trust in Providence was modeled on that of their adviser and spiritual father; and they begged him to give them some rules to live by. He wrote down a few simple rules for the three aspirants, gave them his blessing and encouragement. As soon as possible Father Nerinckx laid the whole affair before the loca! ordinary, Bishop Flaget, "who gave the undertaking his warmest approval and placed it under the care of Father Nerinckx." Father Nerinckx had said that hardships, disappointments, poverty, toi!, death would be their portion through the years; but with trust in Divine Providence and confidence in the watch-ful direction of their pastor they persevered. They increased in numbers and spread to other localities and states until at the present time, 1957, the Sisters of Loretto have 70 houses' in the United States. They staff 106 schools counti'ng grade and high schools separately. These are: 2 senior colleges, 1 junior college~ 21 senior high schools, 1 junior high school, 80 grade schools, and 1 pre-school. They teach in Alabama, Arizona., California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, New Mexico, Texas; Virginia, and Wyoming. In 1923 and 1933 they opened houses 134 May, 1957 FATHER CHARLES NERINCKX in China which flourished until the sisters were expelled by" the Communists in 1949. In founding the Institute of the Sisters of Loretto, Father Nerinckx called into service his rich knowledge of' canon law and church history, especially the history of the religious orders of the Church, to which he added a wealth of personal experience and his acquaintance and appreciation'of the rugged American spirit of independence, initiative, and adaptability. The French Revolution had not made him fearful, but it had made him cautious. Therefore, after a three-year trial period of his simple rule based on that of St. Augustine, he journeyed to Rome and submitted it to the highest ecclesiastical, authorities. He petitioned that the young Institute be placed .directly under pontifical juris-diction. This petition was granted; the Institute of the Sisters of Loretto became an exempt order.~in the third year of its existence. The spirit of the Society was determined from its inception. It is the same today. It is succinctly expressed in the words love and sacrifice. In more detail is the following summation from the first printed Holy Rule: The Sisters of Loretto are to impress most deeply upon their minds that the sacred obligation ot: the vows they pronounce are voluntarily as-sumed and must be meticulously fulfilled; silence hnd recollection must be cherished to stimulate an ever more intimate union with the Suffering Jesus and His Sorrowful Mother at the Cross; hardships and labor must be welcomed and embraced, not only as a way of livelihood, but as well. deserved penance for sin and mortification for atonement; and, finally, a great desire and a consistent effort to see religion and morals improve by a pious education of youth. The object, therefore, of the Congrega-tior~ is. twofold: the sanctification of its members, and the education of youth. While Father Nerinckx was busy with the establishment of the sisterhood, he did not neglect his othe~ duties or the organiza-tions he had started in his various parishes and stations for stim-ulating the spiritual welfare of his people. In 1806 at his church of Holy Mary on the Rolling Fork, he established a~ Confrater,nity of the Ros~ary, a children's Rosary Sodality called "Lilietum," a Confraternity of the Scapular; and, in 1809 in St.' Charles 135 SISTER M. MATILDA Review for Religious Church, he founded the first Holy Name Society in thee United States. Records of these organizations are still extant. It is interesting to note that there were 1,100 names on his Rosary roster; more than 600 on his Lilietum or children's Rosary Sodality list; 971 on his Scapular Society record; and 259 on his Holy Name Society register, every name. carefully written in his own hand. That Father Nerinckx was blessed with remarkable and dis-criminating foresight is shown by his efforts in behalf of the colored race in beginning a Negro oblate sisterhood in connec-tion with the Sisters of Loretto. Father Nerinckx was the product of the best European civilization, and he naturally found the conditions of slavery most repellent to his Christian principles. This is disclosed by his paternal solicitude for the wretched lot of the colored man in the United States. Whether by foresight, or by study of the American type of freedom and justice, he must have been convinced that the emancipation of the Negro would Come sooner or later in the young republic for he bent his efforts to .prepare for that crucial time of transition from slavery to freedom. To Christianize and educate these erstwhile slaves and to lead them to the right enjoyment of freedom, Father Nerinckx felt that the best means would be a sisterhood of their own race trained for this arduous work. Conviction for Father Nerinckx meant action, and he set to work. He arranged for the Sisters of Loretto to admit several colored girls into their school. It is on record that some of these became aspirants or postulants in May, 1824; but, after the death~of Father Nerinckx the following August, we hear no more of these young women. Whatever records of subsequent decisions in their regard that may have been kept were lost in the disastrous fire that laid the Motherhouse in ashes in 1858. Dr. J. A. Burns, C.S.C,, in his able work, The Catholic School System in the United States, says that this project of Father Nerinckx's, the Negro sisterho'od, "is in itself sufficient to stamp him'as a man whose educational ideas ran far ahead of his time." 136 May, 1957 FATHER CHARLES NERINCKX Bishop Flaget, greatly~, pleased with ,the success bf the Sisters of Loretto in their educational work for girls, Wished to provide the same opportunities for boys., He asked Father Nerinckx to establish a similar society for young'men, the object of which would be the education of orphan boys and boys of the middle class, "whose poverty so often" prevents the"Church and state from being benefitted by their talents." Father Nerin~kx's mind seems to have been running ~ilong the same lines, for he very readily acquiesced to his superior's request and set to 'work at once. With money collected from his own congreg~ltions and three thousand dollars collected by the sisters, the good missibnary purchased a farm which he named Mt.Mary. The loss of the main building and four smaller ones by fire .early in 1819 blighted the .prospects for the time being .and caused Father Nerinckx to underake a second voyage to Europe to appeal to his countrymen for funds and possible vocations. He returned in 1821 accompanied by several, fine young men, toost of whom joined the Jesuits, among them the renowned Fathers Peter J. de Smet and J. F. Van Assche. On!y three came to Kentucky aS aspirants for the brothei'hood, and one of these died very'shortly after his arrival. During Father Nerinckx's pro. tracted stay in Europe, Reverend William Byrne, who had been appointed to attend Holy Mary's and St. Charles's congregations, had opened a.boys' college on the property .Father Nerinckx had bought. He was decidedly averse, on the return of the older priest, to yielding possession, so Father Nerinckx had re-course to the 'bishop. Of this~ interview .Father Howlett writes, "Father Nerinckx expostulated with Bishop Flaget. over the changed destiny of the farm; but the bishop did not care to dis-lodge Father Byrne, who had begun with his sanction," Rather than give occasion, for scandal~ the weary traveler in humble sub. mission to authority diopped, the matter. Eventually, lacking encouragement, 'funds," and property, he gave up his cherished plans for a brotherhood. 137 SISTER M. MATILDA Review ]or Religious Father Nerinckx was always a student. In his four years of forced seclusion at the hospital in [Dendermonde he must have spent much time in close application, for his manuscripts of this period, if printed, would form eight or ten octavo volumes. They were in Latin, a language in which he excelled. Much that he wrote then and afterwards has been lost, but ~omething still remains in the convent at Dendermonde, and some manuscript volumes" on pastoral theology and kindred subjects may be found in the parish library at Meerbeke. "These show the depth of his trained mind, filled with an elaborate store of Scripture, the Fathers, the history of the Church, and sound theological prin-ciples~" 'Shortly after his death an act of vandalism destroyed all his b~,oks and writings except his little Treatise on Mission-arz'es and an exposition of the Reign of Satan, edited by a Dominican Father from notes left by the Belgian priest. These and his beautiful letters to Bishop Carroll prove he was a master of Latin compositibn. His original Rule, written in English, fbr the Sisters .of Loretto and his hand-penned catechism written in Flemish are' treasured at their motherhouse: Father Nerinckx in his nineteen years on the Kentucky missions built rio fewer than fourteen churches. Some o~ these he literally built with his own hands; in fact, he e~pended some manlaal labor on all Of them. They were mostly of logs; the last on the list was of brick and is still in a good statd o'f preserva-tion. The fourteen follow: H61y Mdry, Calvary, 1805i St. Cl'iarles, 1806; St. Clara's, 1808; St. Bernard's, Casey Creek, 1810; St.' Romoldus (now St. Romuald), Hardinsburg, Breck-enridge C6unty, 1810-1816; St. Paul's, Grayson County, "181.1; St, Augustine's,' Grayson Springs, (~rayson County, 1811; St. John.'s,'Rude's Creek, Hardin County, 1812;' St. John Baptist, Bullitt' County, 1812; St. Anthony's, Long Lick,. Breckenridgh County,i: 1812; St. Benedict's~ Spencer. ¯ Cdunty," 1'815; St. Augusfine's; Lebanon," 1817, finished b)~ Father Deparcq in i820; St. Vincent's,: New Hope, 1819; Holy Cross,.1823. This last is still used as a parish church. ., ~. May, 1957 FATHER CHARLES NERINCKX This zealous Belgian priest loved the house of God." Log churches of necessity h~d tO be plain, their furnishings in k~eep.- ing with the poverty of the faithful; but the pastqr so. ught the very best for the altar, especially for the tabernacle where the Bl~ssed Sacrament was to dwell. Everything connected with the Holy .Mysteries fired his devotion. Unless on a long journey or gravely ill never did he miss offering the Holy Sacrifice. On each of his journeys to Euro.pe, the first, in the interests of the sisterhood, the second, in that of the intended brotherhood', Father Nerinckx accumulated and brought to Kentucky church furnishings, paintings, sacred vessels, etc., estimated at over fifteen thousand dollars. Thus were the humble log churches enriched for divine services. He kept nothing for himself so that it was said at his death that his only legacy to the Lorettines was an unbounded confidence in Divine Providence and a very deep devotion to the Suffering Jesus and the Sorrowful Mary, devotions he instilled into them from the very beginning of the Institute. Having begun the study of English when he was past forty years of a, ge, Father Nerinckx never became versatile in its use. Hence, though learned and of solid judgment, he could never be credited with brilliancy of speech or writing in English. His discourses were plain, mattei'-of-fact instructions, couched in broken English with no ornamental figures, to enhance them. Were it not for his earnestness and sincerity and the spiritual impact of his words, he probably would have been considered a tiresome and disagreeable speaker. He sought not for elo-quence, but only that he might carry God's message to souls; and this he did in his humble, simple speech. Archbishop Martin John Spalding writes of this Kentucky missionary: M. Nerinckx," though kind and polite to all, wasorather austere in his manners, as well as rigid in his discipline. He WaS, however, always 'much mord rigid with himself, than with others. He never lost a mo-ment. He. knew well ~hat a priest who does his duty has little time to spare for idle conversation. Wherever good was to be done, or a 139 SISTER M. MATILDA Review for Religious soul to be saved', there he was. found, by day or by night, in rain or in sunshine, in winter or in summer. When not actually engaged in the ministry, he was always found at home, employed in prayer or in study. Reverend William J. Howlett, author of Life of Req;erend Charles Arerittckx, says: In matters of faith, religion, and moral practices he was stern, and made no compromise with sin and its dangers. Cursing, drinking, horse-racing and dancing were either sinful or productive of sin, and he op-posed them rigorously . If in his preaching he showed no mercy to sin, in the confessional he had the heart of a father for his sinful chil. dren, and in all his missions his heaviest work was in the confessional, which Bishop Spalding says, 'was usually thronged by penitents, from early dawn until midday, all of whom, without one exception, were deeply attached to him.' Nor do we hear that he was in the habit of refusing absolution to any greater extent than a prudent confessor does today.'. Duty was a great thing wi~h him, and when duty called him he brought into action those great powers of mind and soul which he so modestly disclaimed. These characteristics, while they made him diffident" ot himself, gave him a wonderful estimate of the faith and practices of the Church, and a dread of evel-ything that sezmed to him to be a departure from.her teachings or a relaxation in her time-honored discipline. He could never become a heretic, for he held too firmly to what he had been taught; he never could become a schismatic, for authority was to him the most sacred thing in the world after his faith; he never could become a sinner, for the shadow of sin was a nightmai.e ~o him. These three things, with his great desire for the honor of God and the salvation of his own and his neighbors' souls, will be seen to have beenthe guiding motiv'es of his life. In a letter to Bishop England, Bishop Flaget wrote of Father Nerinckx" thus: "His love for retirement wa~ such, tl~at" h~. n~ever ~aid a visit of mere Ceremony. Indeed, hi never vis-i~ edl except when the good of his neighbor or the duty of his ministry made it obligatory to do so . Praye~ appeared to be hi~ grea'tes't, and only solace, in the 'midst of his contifiual labors." And this tribute was from.his bishop. The subject of this sket'ch was a man of action as can be seerl "fro~ the variety of his 'undertakings. There remains one point still to be mentioned,, his interest in the civilizing and Christianizing .6f the Indians. ' When ~difficulties arose in Kentuck~y, Father Neririckx felt that pi~rhaps, they i:ould be effectively and. charitably settled by 140. May, 1957 FATHER CHARLES NERINCKX his withdrawal for atime., He was grieved to see unwarranted changes made in the rule of the Sisters of Loretto and in their schools, and he felt greater changes were still to come. If the changes came from Rome he would gladly accept--but how would Rome know the exact state of affairs? His own methods were cast aside for untried ones. Just what the deciding factor was that sent him a second time into exile, this time to Missouri, he never made known; but to Missouri he went. He performed the visitation of the Loretto house in Perry County, then trav-eled to St. Louis to meet and confer with the commissioner of Indian affairs to arrange for some Indian girls to be enrolled with the sisters at Bethlehem, the Perry County foundation.On his return journey to Bethlehem he detoured to minister to a settlement of some ten families who had not seen a priest for two years. After this last act of charity he was taken ill; he died at St. Genevieve, Missouri, on August 12, 1824. He was buried on the 14th in the sisters' cemetery at Bethlehem convent, Bishop Rosati being present and giving the final absolution. Bishop Rosati is r.eported to have said that he consideredFather Nerinckx's remains ~he most priceless treasure of his diocesel Be that as it .may, he refused Bishop Flage~'s and Father Chabrat's petitions 'for the removal of the remains~ yielding only io the diplomacy of the mother superior of Loretto. The re-enterment at Loretto Motherhouse took place in December~ 1833." : Father Nerinckx's major concrete contributions to the up-building of the Church in K.~ntucky were: the administdrin.g of the sacraments td the faithful.throughout' the" region,-th~ build[ ing of houses of worship, the organizing of districts into parishes, th'e c611ecting and. transportation of.,tho,us.ands'6f dollars~ worth of. church supplies and furnishings which he distributed to poor and needy .churches, two journeys to Europe in the interests of the Church' arid the. sist'e'rhbod which h~. h°ad fotinded in Cdn-~ junction with 'Miss Mary Rhodes and.companioris--the Congre-gation of the Sisters of Loretto, the first purely American sister-hood devoted to education founded and continuing without 1.41 SISTER M. MATILDA foreign affiliation. These, directly or indirectly, can be seen. But 0nly' the"angels of God have recorded his prayers, longings, and aspirations and measured his mental and physical sufferings, the dangers he encountered in traversing the wilderness, his penances and mortifications, his dominant virtue of humility, the frustra-tion of his desire to lead the contemplative life. Instances of some of these could be given, but the full import of them is not ours to record. His spirit lives on not alone in the religious congregation of Loretto, but in the faith of the Catholics of Kentucky, a staunch, vibrant, active Catholicity the seeds of which were planted in pioneer days by the saintly. Belgian exile, Rev-erend Charles Nerinckx. SUMMER INSTITUTES The tenth annual Theological Institute for Sisters will be con-ducted under the auspices of St. Xavier College in cooperation with the Dominican Fathers of the Province of St. Albert the Great June 24 to August 2, 1957. The double purpose of the institute is: to contribute to the spiritual development of sisters and to strengthen the preparation of religious who are teachers of religion. The basic curriculum is open to sisters without a bachelor's degree. An advanced program, for those who have completed the basic course, leads to a master's degree from the Dominican House of Studies, River Forest. For a listing of courses write to: St. Xavier College, 103rd and Central Park Avenue, Chicago 43, Illinois. In keeping with ancient Benedictine traditions and the spirit of the modern liturgical revival, St. John's Abbey, internationally known litur-gical and educational center where students may join with the monastic choir 'in chanting the divine office and may take part in solemn liturgical ceremonies, is conducting summer courses in liturgy and Gregorian chant. These courses, supl~lemented with opportunities for study of modern church music hs well as applied music in voice and organ, are designed to assist choir directors and organists in carrying out the in-structions on church music by the present Holy Father a.nd by St. Plus X. For further information write to: Dora Gunther, O.S.B., St. John!s University, Collegeville, Minnesota. (Continued on Page 175) 142 Current: Spiritual W'rit:ing Thomas ~, O'C~lhghan [Most of the readers of RE~tlE\V FOR RELIGIOUS have not the opportunity of keeping up with the numerous articles which are being written on various points of spiritual theology. It is with the intention of trying to supply for this need that we hope to publish about every six months a survey of current periodical literature. This survey will take the form mostly of quotations from, and synopses of, some of the more interesting articles which have appeared recently. For the most par~ the survey will confine itself to English language periodicals.--The Editors.] general. God Within Q. What is your ideal of sanctity? A. To live by love. Q. What is the quickest way to reach it? A. To become ~ery small, to give oneself wholly and irrevocably. Q. Who is your favorite saint? A. The Beloved Disciple, who rested on the heart of his Maste~. Q. What point of the Rule do you like best? A. Silence. Q. What is the dominant trait in your character? A. Sensitivity. What is your favorite virtue? A. Purity. What fault of character do you dislike most? A. Egoism in Q. Give a definition of prayer. A. A union of her who is not with Him who is. Q. What is your favorite book? A. Tire Soul o.f Gkris/. In it I learn all the secrets of the Father who is in heaven. Q. Have you a great longing for heaven? A. I sometimes feel homesick for heaven, but, except for the vision, I possess it in the depths of my soul. Q. What is your motto? A. 'God in me and I in Him.'~ The young Carmelite who filled out this questionnaire in the first week of her postulancy died ~fifty years ago, at ~the age of twenty-six, after just fi.ve years of~ religious life. Her~ name~ was Elizabeth Catez, but she is known today more dommonly as Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity, or Elizabeth"0f Dijon. TO this young and holy Carmelite ig dedicated the .September, 1956, issue of Spiritual Life, the,gery~ fine Catholic quarterly,,published by the Discalced Carrrielite Fathers. ~This questionnaire is quoted'by Fathbr Denis of the Holy Family, O.C.D. in "A Sketch of the Life of Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity," S,~iritual Life, II (1956), 149-150. THOMAS G. 0'CALLAGHAN Review for Religious In "A Sketch of the Life of Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity," the article from which we have taken the above-quoted ques-tionnaire, Father Denis of the Holy Family, O.C.D., gives a fine introduction to the life and doctrine of Sister Elizabeth. A fuller and more theological treatment of her spiritual doctrine he leaves to two other articles, published in the same issue, by E. I. Watkin and Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D. Father Gabriel says of Sister Elizabeth that "she succeeded in con-structing a lucid synthesis of the spiritual life, corhbining . . . [an] intimate life with the Trinity and progressive assimilation to Christ" (p. 174). In fact, we might say that his entire article, "The Indwelling in Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity," is a develop-ment of that proposition. Those who center their spiritual life on the divine indwelling and who desire to live united to God-within will find in this issue of Spiritual Life some fine, spiritually nourishing matter. They will also understand why Sister Elizabeth, who "found he'aven on earth, since heaven is God, and God is in my soul," is rapidly becoming a favorite among contemplative souls. It might also be added here that Elizabeth's "Prayer of a Praise of Glory to the Trinity" (p. 165). contains exce~llent subject matter for mental, prayer. The Saints St. John, recalling his vision of the blessed, wrote: "I saw a great multitude [of the' blessed in heaven] which no man could number . . ." (Apoc, 7:9). In apparent contradiction to these ~vords there appeared in the American Ecclesiastical Review an excellent and. scholarly article, written by Father John F. Bro-derick, s.J., entitled "A Census of the Saints (993-1955).'" How many saints are there? No definitive list has ever been compiled, although biographical dictionaries exist which run to several thousand names; one for Ireland alone claims three -~ Vol. CXXXV (1956), 87-115. 144 May, 1957. SPIRITUAL WRITINGS thousand. Most of these dwelt in the ancient or medieval periods. But before being able to determine the number of saints, ¯ one would first have to clarify the meaning of the word saint, and then establish what authority has the right to recognize sainthood. For up to and even beyond the year 1000 A.D. the power to designate sainthood was not rest6cted to the Holy See, as is now the case, but was left to local ecclesiastical authorities. When this process later found papal approval, explicit or tacit, it became known as equivalent canonization. But by no means all the early saints have won Roman approval; some lack official approbation of any kind. Their title has come by way of popu-lar devotion on the part of the faithful, or is due to the careless-ness or mistakes of those who put together early martyrologies, etc. Hagiography abounds in problems of this kind. The present article, however, restricts itself to those saints solemnly canonized by the popes, the form of canonization with which we are nowadays familiar. A very carefully worked-out chart, the product of considerable research, forms the heart of the article. It enumerates in chronological order--according to the date of death--all formally canonized saints from the time of the first canonization in 993 up to the present. Also noted are: the liturgical classification of each saint, age at death, year of c~inonization, vocational status (laity, secular clergy, religious), principal occupation, and land of birth. The data therein contained are analyzed in the final section of the article and many interesting points are indicated. Canon-ized saints are discovered to ~otal two hundred and eighty-three, Male saints number two hundred and twenty-seven, female fifty-six. Martyrs total sixty-nine. At death ages ranged from eleven to over one hundred. Wide variations can be detected between the date of death and canonization, the periods varying from a few months to six centuries. Well over one half of the canoniza-tions have been delayed two centuries or more, a factor which 145 THOMAS G. O'(~ALLAGHAN Review ]or Religious must be kept in mind in discussing the failure of North America to produce native saints. The laity has produced about one sixth of the saints; the secular clergy, slightly less; religious, the rest. At least thirty-five saints have been married. Of canonized religious about one fifth were women, almost equally divided between contem-platives and active institutes. In external occupations the widest range is visible, from the lowly housekeeper or farm laborer to the emperor and empress. A surprisingly high number, about forty percent, were engaged in governing as civil or ecclesiastical superiors. Founders and foundresses of religious institutes, very prominent in recent can-onizations, total sixty-six saints. More than one half ~he saints have come from the upper class in society; the rest are about equally divided between the" middle class and the numerically vast lower class. Latin coun-tries account for two thirds of the saints, especially Italy with ninety-five and France with fifty-five. Three saints have been born in the Western Hemisphere, but seventeen have labored there. The current trend is toward more frequent canonizations. In the 632 years between the first formal canonization and 1625, when Urban VIII established the modern regulations, the aver-age was fourteen per century; since then it has risen to sixty. Father Broderick, s.J., made mention of the different social classes of the saints. Another article has appeared recently which throws some light on this subject. Those familiar with second nocturns are well acquainted with parenlibus who were either nobilibus or honestis or pauperibus. But they may not be sure of the precise meaning of these terms. Father Bull0ugh, O.P., writing primarily about Dominican saints in "'Class Dis-tin~ tion Among the Saints," an article which appeared in the August, 1956, issue of Life of the Spirit, helps to clarify the ma, tter. He suggests that these three words designate three 146 May, 19,67" SPIRITUAL WRITINGS distinct social classes and that these social classes in turn. were largely based, at least originally, on occupations. The nobiles were those who had money and property andwere employers; the honesti were merchants or artisans, mostly self~employed, who made a living at thei~r~ own particular work or trade; the pauperes were wage earners, obtaining their money by working for some-one else. (If that is so, it is going to be difficult to find any saints who were born, as the pleasantry has it, of paltperibus sed honestis parentibus.) ~. Liturgy in School Under the 'title, "Toward a Living Parish," Mongignor Martin B. Hellriegel frequently contributes to Worship a serids of' practical suggestions for increasing the li~ur'gical life pa~:ish. His excellent suggdstions, however, need not be limited to the parish ch'urch. Man~, of them could--by a little imagina-tive adaptation--prove most hi.-lpful to Catholic school teachers; even college professors. At times teachers would like to make a few interesting remarks to their classes about some liturgical feast which the Church is celebrating, or they may be looking for ideas as to how the students might celebrate in their school some of the more important feasts. Very often they will find in Monsignor Hellriegel's articles exactly what they are looking for. For example, in the October, 1956, issue of Worship he comments on some of the feasts which occur during that month. He opens the article with some reflections on the feast of the Guardian Angels, offering fine matter which could be used for a talk of three or four minutes to Catholic students. Then he makes some practical points about the way that this feast could be celebrated in the parish. One or two of these points could easily be used by teachers for school. The next feast on which he com'ments is 6ur Lady's Maternity, celebrated on the eleventh of October. This is a much more deeply signifidant "Mother,s Da~,'; than the second Sunday in May. What afine point that would make in talking 147 THOMAS G. 0'CALLAGHAN Review for Religious to children: our Lady's "Mother's Day." Is it not true that many parochial school teachers could easily pass over this feast without even a mention of it? For the feast of St. Luke, October 17, there is a very simple suggestion for a reverent display of the Holy Gospel. This cbuld be used to remind the students not only of "the holiness and dignity of the Gospel, and of the respect we owe to it, but also of our indebtedness to the holy evangelists . . . who have recorded for us the 'God spell,' the good tidings of the life and teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ" (p. 573). Today Halloween is too often identified with "trick or treat" or vandalism. Monsignor explains the original spirit be-hind the festivities held on the eve of All Saints, or Hallow's" Eve (from which is derived the word Hallo,ween). Just the explanation which he gives would be an enlightenment to so many Catholic school children. There are also detailed sugges-tions for the celebration of this feast in a parish, some of which could profitably be adapted for school use. If Catholic school teachers could find the time to glance through "Toward a Living Parish" whenever it appears,' they would surely find some helpful matter for their classroom. Prayer In Life of the Spirit Dora Aelred Sillem, O.S.B., has an interesting article on the relation between liturgical and con-templative prayer.:' Many feel that there is a certain conflict be-tween contemplative and liturgical prayer, that they even attract different temperaments and distinguish vocations. It must be admitted that some divergence does exist: there is the tendency of contemplative prayer to simplicity, while the liturgy has a certain "surface multiplicity . . . with its complexities of cere-monial and chanti its elaborate and absorbing symbolism, its richness of doctrinal content and conceptual teaching" (p. 209}. :l"The Liturgy and Contemplative Prayer," Id.[~' o, l/re Sp]ril, XI (1956), 209-217. 148 May, 1957 SPIRITUAL WRITINGS Yet, if we consider the historical relation between the liturgy and mental prayer, it will become evident that they have long existed together with mutual dependence. The primitive liturgy allowed of pauses for silent prayer, of which our [lectam'us genua and levate are a token survival to which the restored Holy Week liturgy has given back a measure of reality; and Cassian, describing the psalmody of the Egyptian monks, ~hows us how, after each psalm or section of a psalm, a pause was made for private and wordless prayer. In ancient and medieval monastic life, the hours of lectio divina, continuous in theme and sources with the liturgy, were intended to be hours of prayer as well as of study. Towards the end of the Middle Ages, partly perhaps as the more scientific and metaphysical study of theology replaced the older, more devotional and more readily prayerful lectio divina, provision was made, both among monks and friars, for set periods of mental prayer; and this obligation has passed into canon law and into the constitutions of all religious families . At all times, vocal liturgical prayer has been nourished by and overflowed into solitary and wordless.prayer (pp. 215-216). Not only has there been this historical mutual relationship, but the very natures of liturgical and contemplative prayer show their close interdependence. Thus, the author concludes his article with these words: "It is essential to consider liturgical prayer and mental prayer, not as competitors, still less as alterna-tives, but as two indispensable expressions of a single life of prayer in Christo, accepting their diversity not as a tension or a problem, but as an enrichment, convinced of their mutual dependence and of their power to deepen each other indefinitely" (p. 217). Our Lady's Titles Father Gerald Vann, O.P., has a few suggesti6ns--and he insists that they are nothing more than suggestions--about the way that some of the titles of our Blessed Mother in the "Litany of our Lady" might be more fittingly translated.4 Many titles in the Litany are "either poor translations or indeed downright mistranslation~, or at any rate show a lamentable lack of any sense of language, any feeling for the beauty of words" (p. 438). Here are some of the present tittles put side by side with "Notes on Our Lady's Litany," Worship, XXX (1956), 437-441. 149 THOMAS°G. 0'CALLAGHAN Review for Religious some of Father Vann's suggested changes: Mother most amiable --Mother so lovablei Mother inviolate--Mother ever a Maiden; Mother most pure~--Mother of .perfect love; Holy Virgin of virgins--Holiest of all virgins; Virgin most vener, able--Virgin.whom we revere; Virgin most renowned--Virgin whose praises' ,~e sing; Seat of wisdom--Fountain of wisdom; St~iritual vessel--Chalice~ of spiritual life; Singular vessel of dev'otion--Splendid chalice o.f dedication. Father Vann not ohly suggests these and other new translations, but also e~pl~ins in his. brief article the reasons why these new 'titles could be justified as prdferable. Certainly r~an.~, of the chan~es suggeste'd are more ineaningful, as well.as being more beautifully phrased, and would thereby be helpful in our "Litany devotion. The Creation and Fall Those who teach Christian doctrine, whether in the grades, higl~ s.chool, or college, have undoubtedly found many problems in t.ryin, g t.o~interpret the sci:iptural account of the cr~eation of the world ,.and man, of the .origin of woman, of the first, sin, etc. For the first three chapters of Genesis, in which these matters occur, are one of the most difficult sections of the Bible.' But Father "H. J.: Richards, although fully appreciating the difl~- cuities, believes that it is possible to say something worthwhile on ~hese first three chapters and on the essential matter which they contain', without getting hopelessly enmeshed in exegetical difficulties. He fulfills this purpose in "The Creation and the Fall," a very brief but solid and interesting article ap.pefiring in the October, 1956, number of Scripture. The ,author of Genesis, Father Richards insists, was not a scientist. He was ,"concerned with .God's plans for the world and for mankind. He does not set out to teach us natural sciences. He has quite enough to do to teach us our super. natural science, of the one supreme God to whom everything owes it's existence, of man's place in God's scheme, of man's dignity an&his failure to live up to it, and of God's love for him '1'50 May, 1957 SPIRITUAL WRITINGS even in his sin" (p. 114).~ Father Richards shows very clearly how the author of Genesis attains this purpose. Let us give here an example of the refreshing way that Father writes on this matter. After explaining the account of the Creation as it appears in Chapter i, he goes on to write: And if there is a different account of creation in.Chapter 2, with man placed first on the list instead of last, don't let us get so excited over the difference that we forget to see the same point being made, that man cannot be lumped along with ~he rest of creatures. He is unique, and the rest is made for him. And if this time the 'whole story 'is more pic-turesque, with a Divine Potter modelling man with His own hands and breathing into him His own breath, don't let us be so prosaic about it that we miss the main point: man~s unique relationship with God. And if that relationship is illustrated even further by" the garden in which God walks with Adam in the cool 6f the evening, don't let us try ko find the garden on a map. Could anyone have devised a more dramatic way of presenting the clos2 intimacy with himself that God had planned for man from the beginning? It is we who hav~rfiade up the myth of an Old Testament God of thunder and terror and fear. It is not so in Genesis {p. 112}. After the creation of the universe and of man, Father Richards goes on in the same graphic way to explain the origin of woman and the place intended for her by God, the dignity of marriage, the fall of man, and God's love for him even in his sin. This short article is well worth reading. Spiritual Theology Series In th~ September, 1956, issue of Cross and Crown there begins a "series of articles which will explain the meaning and problems of. spiritual theology, or, if you wish, of the interior supernatural life of the Christian" (p. 252). The general title for this series will be "Spirituality for All," The first article, written by Father John L. Callahan, O.P., the editor of Cross and Crown, emphasized "the necessity of growth in charity" (p. 252), for it is in this charity, this l~abit of divine love, that per-fection essentially consists. From this beginning~ the series will proceed as follows to explain I) The foundations of this growth. Divine life is communicated to man through grace, the seed of glorj~ to possess grace necessarily~ im-plies the possession of the theological virtues of faith and,hope: . THOMAS G. 0'CALLAGHAN Review for Religious 2) The cause of growth. Charity is the form, the life, the mover of all the virtues. In the words of St. Francis of Sales: 'A perfect life means perfect charity, for charity is the life of the soul.' 3) The models of growth. Christ is our perfect exemplar of charity, and His Blessed Mother a mirror of that model. 4) The instruments of growth. Divine life is communicated to man through the sacrarhents. 5) The first instrument of growth. This is the healing and cleans-ing work of the divine tool of baptism by which man is incorporated in Christ. 6) The aids to growth. Christ instituted the sacrament of penance to restore divine life lost bymortal sin. With this is coordinated the practice of mortification. 7)' The Mass, a means of growth. The Holy Sacrifice lived by as-pirants to a perfect life is a powerful instrument of spiritual progress. ~ 8) Holy Communion is the food for growth in spirituality, uniting the soul most intimately to the Source of grace and charity. 9) Signs of growth can be the advancement in both the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. 10) The steps of growth through the process of purgation to 1 I) The fruition, which is contemplation, or the actual experience of the divine indwelling (pp. 252-253). Religious in a Diocese The editorial in the December, 1956, issue of Spiritual Life says: "The total function of every Catholic diocese in the world is to gather together as many men as possible into the life of Christ, and commit them to His mission. To do this with maximal efficiency, it needs the unified, intelligent, complemen-tary, planned activity of parishes and religious orders" (p. 201). What contribution can religious institutes make to this total function of the diocese? Father James Egan, O.P., gives the answer in "A Religious Order and the Spiritual Life of a Dio-cese" (pp. 217-226). "The purpose of this article is to explore other [i.e. than schools and parishes] possible services that a religious order or its members can render to the spiritual life of a diocese" (p. 219). If.such is the purpose of this article, it should be of interest to religious. Let us see very briefly some of the contributions which Father Egan believes a religious institute could and should make for the spiritual service of a diocese. 152 May, 1957' SPIRITUAL WRITINGS The first two immedi~lte fruits which should come to a diocese from the presence of a religious foundation within it are: first, the life of prayer and mortification of the religious should draw down God's rich blessings upon all the ~nembers of the diocese, bishop, priests, and parishioners; secondly., the manifest sp.iritual joy and.peace of religious should be a con-stant lesson to all who come in contact with them that true peace and happiness can be found in this world, provided it" is not sought from the world. Some religious .institutes, like the Benedictines, can offer to the faithful, especially those who have grown to appreciate the place of the liturgy in their life, the occasion of assisting, at the liturgy in all its full splendor. Other religious aid the spir-itual life of a diocese by communicating their spiritual treasures to the faithful by means of third orders. Closely linked "to this latter is the practice of spiritual direction. Many diocesan, priests, because of other spiritual demands, simply have not the time which would be required for the spiritual direction of those parishioners who would request and/or need it. Religious foun-dations in a diocese, however, would mean for the laity a greater Opportunity for that spiritual direction which is so necessary for Christian perfection. Among the other activities frequently carried on by religi-ous in a diocese are those of the parish mission, directed primarily perhaps to the conversion of sinners, and the retreat, usually aimed more at the nourishment of a ~ieeper spiritual life. The healthy spread and growth of the retreat movement, carried on mostly by religious groups, has done much for the spiritual life of the faithful in many American dioceses. There is also the c6ntribution Which religious are making in many dioceses of making "available to the. !aity a more intimate acquaintance with theology a~d philosophy as these are linked up with the cult'ural life of the modern world" (p. 224). In this intellectua'l field '~h~re could also be mentioned the help 153 THOMAS G. O'CALLAGHAN .which~ many religious groups, ~particularly the Paulists, can offer by way of convert instruction. '~ Las.tly, it will do well to recall--although it might seem strange --that the presence in the diocese of those religious institutes who have members in the mission field means an opportunity for the faithful of a diocese to offer both men and support to the mission-ary activity of the Church. That is a blessing not merely for the religious insti~tites, but for the diocese as well. "Each religious group," concludes Father Egan, "has its own contribution to make; yet" each must not insist on i~s own good to the detriment of the common good of a diocese, which is in the care of the bishop: ~On the other hand, the bishop must respect the distinctive character of the religious groups in his diocese. With such mutual respect, the common good of all the faithful will" always be served by the united efforts of dios-cesan and religious priests" (p. "22'6). DELAYED VOCATIONS Spiritual directors who are asked about religious orders or con-gregations of sisters that have the policy of accepting older women are frequently at a loss as to where to direct these applicants for further information. If orders or congregations which have such a policy will send their title and address, the REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS may be able to publish a°list in a subsequent issue. The age limitatioi~s for admit-tance should be specified as well as whether the foliowing classes of women are accepted: widows, married women who ard legally sep-arated permanently with ecclesiastical permission, those who have been ifivalidly married in the past but who have sincerely amended their lives and would-now like to enter the dbnvent. GUIDANCE FOR RELIGIOUS It seems that some who were planning on. using, Guidance for 'Rel,glous, b~,' ~ath~r Gerald Keily, S.J'.~, insummer sessmns ai'e w'on~ . dering, whether they may gtill obtain copies. F6r~kheir information;~we should like to say ~hat the second p~iht~ng of the book is now com-. pleted, and it may be obtainefl~from The Newman Press, Westminster, 154 Apost:at:es and 'Fugi!:ives I. Definition of Apostasy and Flight 1. Definition of apostasy (c. 644, ~ !). ApOstates and fugitives leave religion voluntarily but illicitly, pe~manentiy in the case of the apostate, temporarily in that of ~the fugitive. Both' me~ and women may be apostates or fugitives. Aft ~ipostate from religion is a professed of perpetual vows who either leaves or remains outside of every house of his institute without any valid permission, and manifests externally, either explicitly or impliC-itly, the absolute intention of never returning to any house of his institute. (a) Perpetual vows are necessary, Novices~ and postulant~ can-not be apostates. They are also free to leave religion at any time. A professed of temporary vows cannot be an apostate; nor is he a fugitive if he leaves religion with the expressed inten-tion of not returning, since a fugitive is one who has the inten-tion of returning (cc. 19; 2219, § 3). Solemn vows are always perpetual; but perpetual simple vows, whether in an order or a congregation, also suffice for apostasy. (b) Illicit absence required. The illicit absence necesgary for apbs-tasy is verified by leaving the religious house without any valid permission (explicit, implicit, presumed, tacit, particular, general) or, if one h~s permission to go out, by ~remaii~ing outside the house beyond the length of any valid permission. The re!igiou~ must be illicitly outside any house of his institute, e: g., ~a religious who goes to another .house of his own institute without any permission does not verify the illicit absence demanded for apostasy. (c) Intention of never returning required. "Apostasy demands that religious obedience be cast off completely and not merely to a particular superior or superiors. The ~intention'~ therdfore must be not to return to any hous~ of his institute. The inten- 155 JOSEPH F. ~ALLEN Review for Religious tion ,must also be absolute, not conditional. For example, a religiou~ who has the intention of not returning to his institute unless he is transferred to another house has a conditional, .not an absolute, intention and is not an apostate. He is an apostate as soon as his intention becomes absolute. This intention must be externally manifested. The external manifestation may be by any means sufficient to express an intention of ihe will," e. g., orally, in writing, by gestures, or facts. The intention is manifested explicitly if th~ religious states orally or in writing that he is leaving the institute forever. It is mani-fested implicitly by any fact that implies the intention of leaving the institute forever, e. g., if he attempts or contracts marriage, assume~ a permanent employment, begins a course of ,studies, or has all his personal belongings sent to him. (d) Presumption of such an intention (c. 644, ~ 2)- If there is no certain proof that the religious has ,manifested, this inten-tion, he is p~Tesumed to have done so and to be an apostate after an illicit absence of one month, ,e. g., January. 12-February 13, provided he has not actually returned during this time nor mani-fested to his superior the intention =of returning. Ii~ in these circumstances hE claims that ~he was not an apostate,, he will have to prove his assertion by establishing the lack of at ieast one ~f the essential elements of apostasy, e. g., that he was not absent illici.tly, that he did not express the intention, of. not returning, or .th.at he was-physically or morally unable to return or correspond with his superior. 2. Definition of flight (c. 644, §-3).~ A fugitive is a .professed religigus of either perpetual or temporary vows' or a member of a' society without .public vows in which common life is a grave obligation who: 1° either leaves or actually remains outside every house, of.his institute without .any valid permission beyond three complete ~days or. e'xtemally, manifests, eXplicitl~ or im-plicitly, the intention 'of.prolong!ng his absence for .this same time; 2° ~but with tbe~ intention of returning to at least some 156 May, 1957 APOSTATES AND FUGITIVES house of his institute. An~ professed, oeven of only temporary vows, can be a fugitive. The concepts of leaving or remaining outside without any valid permission are to be understood in the same sense as explained above for an apostate. (a) Beyond three full days. An apostate intends to sever him-self completely from religious obedience, and it is therefore required that he externally manifest the intention of never re-turning to his institute. A fugitive is one who intends to with-draw himself from religious obedience for a notable period of time. This intention also must be externally manifested. There-fore, flight is verified at any moment in an illicit absence that the religious manifests explicitly or implicitly the intention of pro-tracting such an absence for a notable period. Common opinion determines this period as beyond three full days, .e.g., if begun on Monday, the notable absence i~ attained on Friday. The sole fact of an illicit absence beyond three full days is an implicit manifestation of the intention of withdrawing from religious obedience for a notable period of time. However, since many au'thors demand an actual illicit absence beyond three days for flight and say nothing of the case of an intention of notable absence, the crime of flight is not ~certainly vei'ified and the pe'nalties are not incurred unless the illicit "absence is actually prolonged beyond three cJays. When' the'intention or actual absence is for a less~r period, even if for a seriously sinful pur-pose, the case is not consi'dered one of flight but of a mere illicit or furtive departure from religion. (b) With the intention of returning. It is presumed, that the religious has this intention of returning unless he manifests externally the intention of never returning, in which case his intention is that of an apostate. It i~, thdrefore, not ndk~ssary to manifest externally khe~intention of returning, which is' con-tained in the intention of depaFting from the ifistitute' only ]~or a time. If his intention is' never to return to a partidulaF house or houses but to return to at least some hohse of his institute, his in~tehtion is still that~ of a fugitive and 'not o'f an apostate. 1.57 JOSEPH F. GALLEN, Review for Religious Apostasy is not a partial but a complete severance of religious obedience. II. Canonical Penalties for Apostasy and Flight 3. For apostasy (c. 2385). (a) Excommunication. An apostate incurs ipso facto an excommunication reserved to his own higher superior if the delinquent is a member of a clerical exempt institute or to the ordinary of the place where the absolution from the excommunication is given ff the delinquent is a mem-ber' of any other type of institute. (b) Prohibition of legitimate ecclesiastical acts (c. 2256, 2°). An apostate incurs ipso facto an exclusion from the licit exercise of legitimate ecclesiastical, acts. The more general and prac-tical prohibitions of this penalty are that the religious may not licitly exercise the administration of ecclesiastical property as a superior, treasurer, or member of a council, vote in an ecclesias-tical election, or be a sponsor in baptism or confirmation. This penalty remains after his return and after an absolution from the excommunication, but a local or religious ordinary can dis-pe. nse from it in virtue of c. 2237 in either public or occult cases. In more urgent occult cases confessors can suspend the penalty if it cannot be observed without scandal or infamy. They must impose' the obligation of having rec6urse within a month to the Sacred Penitentiary or the ordinary and of observing the man-dates of either (c. 2290, § 1). In an extraordinary case when recourse is impossible, the confessor can dispense and give the mandates himself according to the norm' of c. 2254, ~ 3 (c. 2290, § 2). (c) Privation of privileges. An apost~ite incurs ipso facto a privation of the valid use of all privileges granted by the Holy See to religious in ge.neral and to his own institute, e. g., exemp-tion, indulgence~s. It is probable that he is not deprived of suffrages, since these are not a privilege. This penalty, also remains, as ab. ove, but can be dispensed by a local or religious 158 May, 1957 APOSTATES AND FUGITIVES ordinary., The power of the confessor is the same. (d) Perpetual loss of active and passive voice. If he returns, the apostate is perpetually del~rived of active and passive voice. Therefore, he is deprived perpetually of the right of voting val-idly in any electoral chapter, whether general, provincial, or local, and of the right of receiving validly any offce that is con-ferred by election. He can receive an office that is conferred by appointment, and a religious woman retains the right of voting for the prolongation of the term of the ordinary confessor (c. 526). This .penalty also remains after the absolution from the excommunication. In occult cases it can be dispensed "by the local or religious ordinary, but in publii: cases only by the Holy' See (c. 2237, ~ 1, 3°). The power of the ~onfessor is the same as above. Religious ordinaries can have the po~er of dispens-ing from this penalty in public casek in virtue of a privilege possessed by their institute.' (e) To be otherwise punished by superiors. Canon 2385 com-mands that a returned apostate be otherwise punished by his loc~,l or higher superiors in conformity with the constitutions and in accordance with the gravity of his crime. If any such ferendae senten/iae danonical penalties are prescribed in the constitutions of a clerical exempt .in.stitute, the superior is. ordi-narily obliged to inflict them buts'according to the norms of c. 2223, ~ 3. If" canonical penalties are not so pi'escrilSed; the superiors of the same institutes cain iriflicto canonical penalties, penances, and penal remedies when scandal or special ~ra¢ity was ~erified in the transgression, according~ to the norm of c. 2222, ~ 1. Superiors in other institutes c~ln inflict only the ordinary and private penances in use in the par'ticu[ar institute. ¯ .4. For flight (c. 2386). (a) General suspension. A religious fugitive who is a .priest, deacQn, or subdeacon ind[urs by" the ve.ry ~fact of.t0e.flight a gener~! suspe~ns!on that'~is reserved i,n.:,,exa~ct!y ~Cf. Riesner, /ll~ostates attd Vugitfiw's, /rom "Religious lnstitittes,~91; Jone, :Commentariura in Codicem luris Canonici.'.III, 553; ~Cloran, Pre~ie~'s.an,t Prac-tical Cases, 296. i;59 JOSEPH F. GALLEN Review for Religious the same way as the excommunication for apostasy explained above. The suspension and other punishments of this canon certainly "extend also to thd clerical and lay members of clerical societies 'without public vows. It is probable that c. 2386 does not extend to lay societies without public' vows, since the Code Commission applies it explicitly only to clerical societies and the canon itself speaks of a religious fugitive. Therefore, in fact the canon does not extend to lay societies (cc. 19; 2219, § 1).~ (b) Privation of office. A fugitive incurs ipso facto the pri: ration of any office that he may hold in religion. Office is to be taken in a wide sense and, consequently, includes-that of pastor, parochial vicar, of any sup.erior, whether general, provincial, Or local, of any councilor or treasurer, master or assistant master of novices, of junior p3ofessed, tertians, general or prox(incial sec-retary, principal of a school, director of studies or schools.3 The fugitive is" deprived of all offices he now holds but is not rendered incapable of being elected or appointed to the same or different offices in the future. Since' it is a question of office in the wid~ sense (c. 145), this penalty can be dispensed by the local or religious ordinary,t The power of the confessor is the same as above. (c) To be otherwise punished on his return. Canon 2386 com-mands that the punishments prescribed in the constitutions for returned fugitives be inflicted; and, if the constitutions prescribe nothing on the matter, the higher superior is to inflict punish-ments according to the gravity of the offense. If any ferendae sentenliae canonical penalties are prescribed for flight in the constitutions of a clerical exempt institute, the superior designated in the constitutions is ordinarily obliged to inflict these penalties, ~ Bouscaren, Canon Law Digest, I, 330; Cappello, De Censuris, n. 539; Beste, lntroductio in Codicem, 968; Cocchi, Commentarium in Codicem luris Canonlci, VIII," n. 262; Vermeersch-Creusen, Epitome luris Cano.nici, III, n. 590; Jone, op. cir., III, 555; Schaefer, De Religlosis, n. 1565; Wernz-Vidal, lus Canonicum, VII, n. 521. z Cf. Coronata, Institutiones'luris Canonici, IV, n. 2191; Riesner, op. cir., 102. 4Cloran, op. cir., 86; 204-05. 160 May, 195"; APOSTATES AND FUGITIVES but according to the norms of c. 2223, §. 3. If canonical penal-ties are not so prescribed, the higher superior of the same insti-tutes can inflict canonical penalties, penances, and penal rem-edies when scandal or special gravity was verified in the trans-gression, according to the norm of c. 2222, ~ 1. Higher superi-ors in other institutes can inflict only the ordinary and private penances in use in the particular institute. III. The Obligations of Apostates and Fugitives (c. 645, .~ 1) 5. Apostates and fugitives are freed from none of the obliga-tions of their institute aild are consequently obliged by its vows, Rule, constitutions,~ordinances, and customs. They have a seri-ous obligation in conscience to return as soon' as is morally possible to their institute. To be worthy of sacramental absolu-tion, they must actually return, sincerely intend to return, or at least sincerely intend to submit themselves to the directions of their superiors. If the apostate or fugitive considers that he can no longer fulfill the obligations of the religious life, theforinali-ties necessary for an indult of secularization are to be initiated. If the return of the culpable religious involves grave inconveni-ence, superiors may permit him to remain outside religion until the ,indult of secularization has been obtained.~ These same obligations.are true of a professed of temporary vows who illicitly leave~ or remains outside his institute with the intention of never returning, even0though canonically he is neither an apostate nor a fugitive. IV. Obligations of Superiors with regard to Apostates and Fugitives (c. 645, ~ 2) . 6. Obligations. All the superiors of the apostate or fugitive but primarily the immediate higher superior are obliged to find him, effect his return, and receive him back if he is. sincerely repen-tant. This ,obligation in the case of an apostate or fugitive nun falls on the local ordinary of her monastery. From charity the ~Cf. Creusen, Religious Men and PVomen in the Code, n. 342; Bastien, Dir,'ctoire Canoniqu~', n. 622; Jombart, Trait/ de Droit Canonique, I, n. 909. 161 JOSEPH F. GALLEN Review for Religious ordinary of the place .where she is s.taying should give l~is assis-tance as also any other local or~linary whose efforts can be help-ful. If the monastery is subject in fact to regulars, the obliga-tion extends cumulatively also to the regular superior. Superiors may fulfill this obligation personally or through another. At times, another religious, a priest, friends, or relatives may have greater influence with the offender. Superiors, especially of religious women, will frequently be compelled to deal with the delinquent through another to avoid the danger of scandal to the laity or of infamy to the institute. The seeking of the offender is always to be done with prudence and charity, i. e., with the avoidance of scandal, infamy, or hardship to either the delin-quent or the institute. Since no time is prescribed by canon law, the obligation of seeking apostates and f, ugiti.ves binds only when and as long as there is probable hope that the offender will amend and return. 7. Repentant delinquent. The institute is obliged to take back the apostate or fugitive only if he is sincerely repentant, . The institute has the right of proving the sincerity of his repentance on his return by a period of trial. If sincere repentance is lack-ing, .the superior should .counsel the religious to ask for an indult of secularization or, if he will not do this, begin the. formalities of a dismissal, If he appears repentant but his return and pres-ence can be a cause of trouble to the institute and superiors find serious difficulty/ in receiving him back, they may present the facts of the c~.se to the Sacred Congregation of Religious and await its decision.~ - ~" 8. Delinquent unwilling to return. If the apostate or fugitive is. unwilling ~0 return, superiors should ounsel him;to ask for an i"nduit of secularization; if he will not do thi~, the~) are to ~'resort to dismissal. A religious ~of temporary vows who is.a fugi-tive or' who illicitly leaves or remains outsidd the' institute with the intention of never returning may be dismissed because of this one act. His action is a crime or equivalenyly such and is of greater import tha,n.the "serious reason demanded in c. 647. 162 May, 1957 APOSTATES AND FUGITIVES Superiors are to judge fro~ the culpability of this act, the type of religious life he had lived in the past, hope of amendment, scandal .given, harm or inconvenience to the institute in retaining him, and from other pertinent circumstances whether he should be dismissedfl V. Dismissal of a Professed of Perpetual Vows for Apostasy or Flight 9. For apostasy. The supposition is that superiors have striven to effect the return of the delinquent and he will not return. He is then to be counselled to ask for an indult of secularization. If he will not do this, superiors are to begi~n the admonitions neces-sary for dismissal. It is the common opinion that the dismissal of an apostate should not be done with precipitation and by merely fulfilling the letter of the law, i. e., by giving the first admonition at once, the second three day.s later, and then after an interval of six days forwarding the matter to the competent authority for .dismissal. One or two authors even state that three months should be allowed to elapse before the formalities of dismissal are begun. This appears to be an exaggeration of a somewhat similar norm that existed before the code. It would be prudent to allow abotit two months to elapse between the crime and the completion of the formalities requisite for dis° missal.7 An admonition lookii~g to dismissal may also be given to a repentant apostate or fugitive who has returned to his insti-tute, since his crime furnishes the basis for an admonition,s 10. For flight. The supposition i~ the same as in the preceding paragraph; and the same recommendation of a space of" about two months applies here also, particularly since flight is a lesser crime than apostasy. Frequently, therefore, the religious will be presumed to be an apostate, because an illicit absence of a month gives the presumption of apostasy. If the religious will not °Cf. Palombo, De Dimissione Reli#iosorum, n. 153, 4. 7 Cf. Larraona, Commentarittm Pro Reli#iosis, 4-1923-178. 8Cf. cc. 649-651, § 1; 656 Goyen~che, De Relioiosis, 203. 163 JOSEPH F. GALLEN petition an indult of secularization, the formalities of a dismissal are to be begun. VI. Support and Dowry of an Apostate or Fugitive 1 i. The Code of Canon Law does not oblige the institute to sup-port an apostate or fugitive. Such support may be given, espe-cially when it will aid or effect the return of the delinquent. It would often serve only to prolong the absence. The institute has no obligation to give a charitable subsidy to a religious woman except when the religious wishes to return but~ superiors do not wish to receive her back because of scandal, harm, or hardship, and the delinquent is forced to'live outside religion until she obtains an indult of secularization or the case is settled by the Holy See.~. The capital sum of the dowry is to be returned to a pro-fessed religious, woman who definitively leaves the institute, licitly or illicitly, whether her vows have been dispensed or not (c. 551, ~ 1). A fugitive from religion is only temporarily absent from her institute and therefore the dowry is not to be restored to her. Since c. 551, ~ 1, makes no distinction between a licit and illicit definitive departure, it is the more'probable opinion that the dowry should be restored to an apostate religious woman when it is certain that she will not return. It is also probable that the institute is not obliged to return the dowry until the apostate is secularized or dismissed, .since mere apostasy does not canon-ically and completely sever the apostate from her institute. The same doctrine is to be affirmed of a religious woman of tempor~ary vows who.illicitly leaves, or remains outside of the institute with the intention of not returning, even though canonically she is neither an apostate nor a fugitive. 9Cf. Riesner, 0,~. ciL, 134-35. 164 PRAYER FOR RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS [In the Vatican daily newspaper, Osser~,atore Romano, for February 7, 1957, there appeared the text of a prayer personally composed by the Holy Father for vocations to the religious life. The prayer has been enriched by His Holiness with the following indulgences: ten years each time it is recited and a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions, provided the prayer has been said daily for an entire month (AAS, February 27, 1957, p. 101). A translation of the prayer from the original Italian text follows:] Lot:d Jesus Christ, sublime m~del of all perfection, who not only unceasingly invite privileged souls to tend towards the loftiest of goals, but who also move them by the powerful force of Your example and the efficacious impulse of Your grace to follow You on so exalted a path, grant that many may know Your sweet inspirations and respond to them by embracing the religious state, there to enjoy Your special care and Your tender love. Grant that there may never be lacking the religious who, as the messenger of Your love, may represent You day. and night beside .the cradle of the orphan, at the bed of the suffering, and near the old and the infirm who perhaps otherwise would have no one on this earth to stretch to them a hand of pity~ Grant too that in the lowliest school as in the greatest cathedrdl there 'should always sound a voice which is an echo of Your own and which teaches the way to heaven and the duties proper to each human person; and grant that no country, however ~backward and remoLe, be deprived of the call of the Gospel inviting all peoples to enter Your kingdom. Grant that there may be multiplied and increased those flames by which the world may be further set on fire. and in which shines forth in all its splendor the spotless holiness of Your Church. Grant also that in every regiofi there may flourish gardens of elect souls who by their contemplation and their penance repair the faults of men and implore Your mercy. And grant that through the continual immolation of such hearts, through the snow-whi~e ptirity of such souls, and through the exdellence of their virtue, there may always be here on earth'a perfect and living e~ample of those children of God whom you came to reveal. Send to these battalions of your chosen ones numerous and good vocations, souls firmly determined to make themselves worthy of. such a signal grace and of the institute to which they aspire and to a~chieve this by the exact ,observance 'of their religious duties, by assiduous pr.ayer, by,constant mortification,, and by the perfect adherence of their will to Your will. Enlighten, Lord Jesus, many generous souls with the.glowing light of the Holy Spirit who is substantial and eternal love; and by the powerful" intercession of Your loving Mbther Mary enkiridle and keep burning the fire of Your charity, to the glory of the Father and of the same Spirit, who live and.reign with You, world with6ut end. Amen. 165 Survey ot: Roman Documen!:s R. I::. Smit:h, S.J. IN THE present article those documents will'be ~urveyed which appeared in /lcta ./tpostolicae Sed~is (AAS) be-tween October 1, 1956, and December 31, 1956. Accord-in~ gly, all references throughout the article are to AAS of 1956 (v. 48). Crusade for Peace It is rare indeed when over a two-week period three en-cyclicals appear in rapid succession; but this is what happened between October 28, 1956, and November 5, 1956, when events in Hungary and the Middle East p'rompted the Vicar of Christ to publish for the entire world three encyclicals. The first, pub-lished on October 28, 1956 {'AAS, pp. 741-744), consists of a plea for all true Christians to unite in a crusade of prayer for the people of Hungary and for the other peoples of Eastern Europe who are deprived of religious and civ.il liberties. The Pontiff especially p;,.~.~s that those in their early youth join this crusade of prayer for peace, for, as His Holiness says, "We put great trust especially in their supplications." The second en-cyclical was i,ssued on November 2, 1956 (AAS pp. 745-748); in it Plus XII first gives thanks to God for the appearance of what would seem to be a new era of peace through justice .in Poland and Hungary; then he turns to consider the flame of another warlike situation in the Middle East; hence he u~ges that the crusade of prayer be continued that the grave" problems confronting the world today be solved not by the way of violence but by the way of justice. The third of the encyclicals, dated November 5, 1956 (AAS, pp. 748-749), laments the new servi-tude imposed on the Hungarian people by force of foreign arms, warns ~the oppressors that the blood of the Hungarian people cries to the Lord, and urges all Christians to join together in 166 ROMAN DOCUMENTS prayer for those who have met death' in the recent painful events of Hungary. Five days later on November 10, 1956 (AAS, pp. 787- 789), the Holy Father continued his work for peace by broad-casting a message to all the nations and leaders of the world. His speech was an anguished plea for peace and freedom and concluded with the prayerful hope that the name of God may, as a synonym for peace and liberty, be a standard for all men of good will and a bond between all peoples and nations. The Vicar of Christ's plea for a crusade of prayer leads naturally to a consideration of what he had to say on the sub-ject of the apostolate of prayer when addressing the directors of the Apostleship of Prayer on S~ptember 27, 1956 (AAS, pp. 674-677). The apostolate of prayer, says the Pope, is a form of apostolic endeavor that is open to literally every ChriS-tian, no matter what his state or condition may be; nor can th6se who are engaged in an active apostolic life neglect the apostolate of prayer; for actmn must be rooted in a spirit of prayer and of virtue. All Christians, therefore, are urged to practice the apos-tolate of prayer; and it is the hope of the Supreme Pontiff that they do so by membership in the Apostleship 6f Pr~yer since this association teaches its members.to do all for the salvation of the world and to draw ever closer to the Heart of Christ. As air penetrates and joins all things, concludes Pius XII, so too the Apostleship of Prayer should be an-exercise common to all the apostolic works of the entire Church. Liturgy and Worship ~'One o'f the most important documents issued during the last months of 1956 wa~ the teXg of th.e address delivered by His ~Holiness on .September 22, 1956 (AASI pp. 71,.i-725), to the International CongreSs. of Pastora! ~Liturgy. The Holy Father .first, considers the relations that exist between the liturgy band the ~Church, relations that~ may be summed up in the following,, two ~principles: The liturgy is a living function of th~ ~hole Church; ¯167 R. F. SMITH Review for Religious the liturgy is not, however, the whole of the Church. All Catholics, therefore, must, each in his own way, participate in the liturgy; but they should also remember that the liturgy does not remove the importance of priv.ate and individual worship and that it does not lessen the Church's functions of teaching and governing. The Pontiff then turns to a consideration of the relations between the liturgy of the Mass and Christ. It must not be forgotten, teaches the Holy Father, that the central element of the Eucharistic Sacrifice is that where Christ offers Himself; this takes place at the Consecration where in the act of trans-substantiation Christ acts through the person of the priest-cele-brant. Hence, wherever the consecration of bread and wine is validly effected, the action of Christ Himself is also accomplished. There can, then, be no real concelebration of Mass unless the concelebrants not only have the necessary interior intention, but also say over the bread and wine, "This is My Body"; "This is My Blood." It also follows that it is not true to say that the offering of a hundred Masses by a hundred priests is equal to the offering of Mass by a single priest in the presence of a hundred devout priests. The Holy Father next considers the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. He first corrects an erroneous explanation of Christ's presence in the Eucharist, according to which after the Consecration Christ is present only in the sense that the appear-ances of bread and wine have a real relation with our Lord in heaven. Such an explanation, Plus XII points out, does not do justice to the Eucharist, of which it carl be simply said: It is the Lord. The Holy Father concludes this section by warning against any diminishing of esteem for the presence of Christ in the tabernacle. The altar of sacrifice and the tabernacle of the rdal presence are in no way opposed to each. other, for it is the same Lord who is immolated on the altar and who is really present in the tabernacle. 168 May, 1957 ROMAN DOCUMENTS Finally, the Holy Father considers the divinity of Christ and the liturgy and remarks that the divinity of our Lord must not be allowed to remain on the fringe of the liturgy. It is, of course, to be expected that man should go to the Father through Christ who is man's Mediator; but it must also be remembered that Christ is" not only Mediator, but also the equal of the Father and the Holy Spirit. Several documents were issued in the last quarter of 1956 which dealt with beatification and canonization processes. By a decree of May 13, 1956 (AAS, pp. 842-843), the Sacred Congregation of Rites approved the reassumption of the cause of the bessed martyrs Roch Gonzalez, Alphonsus Rodriguez, and John del Castillo, priests of the Society of Jesus. Under the same date the same Congregation (AAS, pp. 843-844) also approved the reassumption of the cause of Blessed Mary Cres-centia H6ss, virgin, professed member of the Third Order of St. Francis. On August 15, 1956 (AAS, pp. 804-806), the Congregation of Rites decreed that the beatification of Pope Innocent XI could safely proceed; and on October 7, 1956 (AAS, pp. 754-759), the decree of his beatification was accord-ingly issued. On the same day (AAS, pp. 762-778) His Holi-ness delivered a lengthy panegyric on the new Blessed. Blessed Innocent XI, the Pope pointed out, directed his entire pontificate to the accomplishment of three goals: the perfecting of the re-form begun by the Council of Trent; the protection of the rights and liberty of the Church, especially in France; and. the saving of Christian Europe from the inroads of Turkish power. These three external achievements were accompanied, said the Pope, by three internal qualities: constant union with God in prayer; love of poverty joined to a desire to help those in need; and a strong purpose to seek only ~he will of almighty God. Finally, it should be noted in relation to canonization matters that on February 19, 1956 (AAS, pp. 688-691), the Congregation of Rites approved the introduction of the cause of the Cardinal Archbishop of Seville, Marcellus Spinola Maestre (1835-1906). 169 R. F. SMITH Review for Religious The Sacred Congregation of Rites on October 31," 1956 (AAS, pp. 844-845), added to the blessings of the Church by issuing a formula for the blessing of stone quarries and another for the blessing of establishments for the working and finishing of marble. The Holy Father contributed to the Church's life of worship by the message which he .broadcast to the Second National Eucharistic Congresk of the Philippines on December 2, 1956 (AAS, pp. 834-838); he urged in the course of his broadcast that Catholics should show their faith and trust in Christ's Eucha-ristic presence not so much by words or songs, as by truly Christian deeds. Finally, a broadcast of October 28, 1956 (AAS, pp. 831-834), in which the Holy Father discussed the practice of consecration to the Sacred Heart, shoold not be neglected. Since the act of consecration is an act of love and of self-dedication, says the Vicar of Christ, this act can be performed only by one in the state of grace. Moreover, to live out the act of consecration once made means that the person must be grad-ually transformed into another Christ; and the Holy Father concludes his speech by teaching that whoever consecrates him-self to the Sacred Heart enrolls himself in an army of peace which neither rests nor halts until the kingdom of Christ is estab-lished in all hearts, in all families, and in all institutions. Addresses to Doctors. Medicine and its associated fields have been the repeated subject of speeches and addresses throughout the reign of Plus XII and the last few months of 1956 saw no exception to 'this general rule. The most important of these addresses was that given by the Holy Father on September 11, 1956 (AAS, pp. 677-686), to the seventh plenary meeting of the International Association of Catholic Physicians, held at The Hague, Holland. In this radio broadcast the Supreme Pontiff discussed the matters of medical morality and of positive law dealing with medical matters. 170 May, 1957 ROMAN DOCUMENTS The ultimate source of all medical morality and law, begins the Pope, is to be found in the individual's right to life, to in-tegrity of body, and to the means necessary~ to preserve life and integrity. All these rights, he continues, are received by the individual directly from his Creator, not from the state or any group of states. This, means, then, that the individual does not bear the same relation to the state in medical matters that a physical part bears to the physical whole in which it exists. ~ After considering the obfligations which flow from the essen-tial conditions of. human nature and which are :measurable by objective norms and which to a considerable extent are contained in .the Ten Commandments as understood and explained by reason and the Chur~ch, the Pontiff then takes up the matter of positive medical law understood as a set of norms which have been established in a body politic to control the training and activity of physicians and which are civilly enforceable. Such positive law in medical matters, the Pope says, is necessary, since the prin-ciples of medical morality lacl~ sufficient precision to adequately cover all the concrete, medical situations that are of importance to society. Medical morality and positive medical law are in a certain sense autonomous in their respective spheres, but in the final analysis positive medical law must be subordinate to medical morality. Positive medical law, then, must never be in contra-diction, to the moral order which is expressed in medical morality. Positive law, for example, cannot permit mercy-killing nor direct abortion. A month earlier than the previous talk on August 19, 1956 (AAS, pp. 666-670), the Pontiff addressed a group of cancer specialists~ urging them to observe wheat for lack of a better name may be called medical humanism. This is an attit.ude of mind which, when treating a patient, does not limit itself to a consideration of the patient's sickness only, but considers the entire man including his economic, social, psychological, and moral conditions. .He concludes his address to these cancer specialists ~by expressing the wish that their zeal to fight the 171 R. F. SMITH Review for Religious physical evil of cancer may be matched by a zeal to combat the even greater evil which is called sin. The Holy Father also ad-dressed another group of cancer researchers on October 6, 1956 (AAS, pp. 793-797). After detailing the recent research into a cure for cancer, the Pope concludes by encouraging them in their labors, for, as he says, they are fighting one of the con-sequences that the sin of man has introduced into the world. Economic and Social Problems A number of documents issued by Plus XII in the last three months of 1956 dealt with subjects that can be termed roughly economic and social matters. On September 9, 1956 (AAS, pp. 670-673), the Holy Father addressed the First Congress of the International Association of Economists, pointing out to its members that economics, like any other science, must start with the observation of facts considered in their entirety. It was failure to see all of economic reality, says the Pontiff, that led to the contradiction betw.een the economic theory of the physi0cra.ts and the frightful social misery that actually existed in reality. Similarly too, the h/!~arxist view failed to see all of economic reality, for it eliminated all spiritual values and thereby put men into a bondage as oppressive as any slavery. The true economist, then, must embrace in his economic theory the many facets of man that affect economic reality, especially man's gift of free and personal decision. The Holy Father concludes his address by recalling to his audience the Christian ideal of poverty as a means of personal freedom and social service; although, he remarks, this ideal is not directly within the purview of economics, still economists can find in that ideal a o general orientation that will bring them valuable insights. On October 8, 1956 (AAS, pp. 798-801), the Holy Father addressed a group of owners of small businesses from the coun-tries of Germany, Belgium, .Italy, and the Netherlands. In his allocution to them the Vicar of Christ stres'sed'the necessity of small business for the stability of a country and gave his audience salutary, reminders of the relations that should exist in such busi- 172 May, 1957 ROMAN DOCUMENTS nesses between owners and employees. On the Feast of Christ the King, October 28, 1956 (AAS, pp. 819-824), His Holiness spoke to a group of Italian workers on the subject of the reign of Christ in the world of labor. The reign of Christ, says the Pope, must begin in the minds of men; and, therefore, a deep knowledge of the truths of the Catholic faith must be spread among men. But the reign of Christ must also penetrate to the hearts of men that they might all become living stones of that edifice which is Christ. Moreover, the kingdom of Christ must extend even to the factories where men work that these too may be governed by His justice, which alone can bring a solution to modern social problems. And finally, the kingdom of Christ is a kingdom of love, and therefore of peace, for love of its very nature is a uniting force. In the Basilica of St. Peter on November 18, 1956 (AAS, pp. 826-831), seven thousand Italian workers from Turin were received by the Holy Father who addressed them on various social and economic matters. He recalls to their minds that, though economics must deal with such matters as the laws of production and consumption, it must also be aware of those moral laws which must be considered if any economic situation is to be handled successfully. He warns them that the enemy of the human race is today represented among men by Communism and concludes by urging the workers not to fear scientific and technical progress, for there is no reasonable basis for assuming that such progress will eliminate the need for human workers. On October I0, 1956 (AAS, pp. 779-786), the Holy Father broadcast a message to the shrine of the house of Loretto where a group 6f Italian women had gone on pilgrimage. The Pontiff first recalls to his hearers the dignity of woman accord-ing to Catholic principles; she, like man, is a child of God, redeemed by Christ, and given a supernatural destiny; further-more, woman shares with w/an a common temporal destiny, so that no human activity is of itself forbidden to woman. Man 173 R, F. 'SMITH Review for Religious and woman, then, are equal as far as personal and fundamental values .are concerned, though their functions are different. The fundamenial function of woman is motherhood; for it is by this that woman ordinarily attains both her temporal and her eternal destiny; this, of course, in no way prevents the perfection of womanhood being achieved in other ways, especially by the voluntary acceptance of a higher vocation. Finally, the Holy Father acknowledges that woman should be a force in the modern world and one :of the aims of woman's activity should be to strive to see' that the nation's institutions, laws, and customs respect the special needs of women. Miscellaneous Topics An important document issued by the Hoiy Father in the concluding months of 1956 is the text of a speech given by him on September 14, 1956 (AAS, pp. 699-711), to a group of Italian priests interested in the adaptation of pastoral activity to the needs of contemporary life. The main body of the text is concerned with the need for preaching today modeled on the preaching 6f Christ and that of the Church. At the conclusion of the talk the Supreme Pontiff then formulates a general prin-ciple tl~at should control all those working to adapt themselves to modern situations: there can be no valid adaptation to modern conditions unless that adaptation be shaped by and oriented towards the teaching power of the Church. Individual theologi-ans must remember that the teaching o~ce of the Roman Pontiff and of fhe bishops is of divine right, while their own right to teach is delegated to them. by the Church. The Vicar of Christ notes in conclusion certain areas where modern adaptation has not been shaped by the teaching power of the Church. Among such areas are to be included the tendencies of. the "new theol-ogy" as explained in 1950 in the encyclical Humani Generis; situation ethics; the pretended superiority of Christian marriage and the conjugal act over virginity;, and. the independence of art from all norms other than artistic ones. On September 20, 1956 iAAS, pp. 790-793), the Holy 174 May, 1957 ROMAN DOCUMENTS Father addressed the Seventh Congress oi: the International Astronautical Society. After recalling the history of human effort during the last fifty years to achieve interplanetary travel and to invent artificial earth satellites, the Vicar of .Christ con-tinues by saying that interplanetary travel is a licit aim and pur-pose, for all creation has been given to man. On the other hand, he points out that the boldest explorations of space will but lead, to greater divisions among men, unless humanity be-comes more deeply impressed with the solidarity of that t!amily of God which is the human race. The last document to be noted is a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Seminaries and Universities~ dated June 21, 1956 (AAS, p. 846), by which Niagara University is canonically and perpetually erected. This concludes the documents which have appeared in AAS during 1956; the next article will summarize the documents of AAS for the first months of 1957. SUMMER INSTITUTES (Continued from Page 142) In its second annual series of Institutes for Religious Won~en Gonzaga University aims at "equipping nuns of all congregations with the insights that reflect God's point of view." This year's schedule is as follows: June 17-28, The Sacramental Life and the Mass; July 1-12, Understanding Human Nature--Part II; Personal Holiness II. Write to: Rev. Leo J. Robinson, s.J.~ Gonzaga University, Spokane 2, Wash-ington. From July 1 to August 9 The Catholic University of America will conduct a Marian Institute which has been established to provide sys-tematic training in the theoloy about the Blessed Virgin. Address cor-respondence to: Director of the Summer Session, The Catholic Uni-versity of America, Washington 17, D. C, OUR CONTRIBUTORS SISTER M. MATILDA is archivist at Loretto Motherhouse, Lo-retto, Nerinx P. O., KentuCky. THOMAS G. O'CALLAGHAN is professor of ascetical and mystica[ theology at Weston College, Weston, Massachusetts. JOSEPH F. GALLEN is professor of canon law at Woodstock College, Woodstock, Maryland. R. F. SMITH is a mem-ber of the faculty of St.Mary's Cbllege, St. Marys, Kansas. !75 Communications [EDITORS' NOTE: Those who send communications will help us greatly if they type the communications double- or triple-spaced and allow generous margins. Occasionally we receive material for a particular issue or time of year~ Since our deadline for sending copy to the printer is two months before the publication date, such material should reach us three months before it is to appear. Communications, like articles and questions, should be addressed to our editorial office, not to the business office. The complete address is: The Editors, REW~W :FOR REL~O~0US, St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas. The address of the business office (where subscriptions, requests for back numbers, changes of address, etc., are to be sent) is given on the inside back cover.] Introductory Note As an editor, I should like to suggest that the communication on the religious habit may stimulate profitable discussion if our readers will ignore the suggestion that the sisters who answered Father Teufel's questionnaire (cf. our January number, p. 3) are disgruntled religious. Concentration on this point can lead only to bitterness. As a teacher, I should like to add that I once conducted a discussion (without a questionnaire) involving the same points brought out by FathEr Teufel. Sisters representing a large number of institutions took part in this discussion. Their conclusions were similar to those expressed in Father Teufel's article. I can vouch for the fact that these sisters were excellent religious, devoted to their institutes. I am sure that the same could itnd should be said about the sisters who replied to Father Teufel's questionnaire. As a priest, let me say that we men are not eager to tell women how to dress. Moreover, many of us think that the problem of garb is not limited to sisters' habits. Priests and religious men who live in hot climates (which--by the way--are not limited to mission co'n-tries) often discuss the possibility of having some substitute for the black suits and cassocks. The underlying reason of these discussions is not lack of mortification; it is rather the very important matter of cleanliness, as well as efficiency. Gerald Kelly, S.J. The Religious Habit Reverend Fathers: The article on the religious habit published in the January issue of the REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS has attracted considerable attention 176 COMMUNICATIONS among the religious of my. community. I am wondering about the reaction of others. Those with whom I have spoken are within the average age group mentioned in the article--at least twenty-five years in religion. Their reaction (like my own) has been one of shock at the revelation of what looks like a deep resentmefit in the minds of certain religious against the inconveniences and occasional" embar-rassment or discomfort caused by the religious habitl May I offer a few comments? 1. The attitude of a religious toward her habit. From the day she receives it, the religious in any well-trained community is imbued with the idea of the sacredness of the "holy" habit. She. regards it as a privilege to wear a garment blessed by Holy Church. On the day of her "clothing" she is reminded that she has put off (at least in will and intention) the "old" self and has puton Christi Each morning thereafter as she puts on her habit she recites a prayer recall-ing the day when she was vested with the nuptial robe indicative of her union with Christ. 2. The care given to the habit is that given to somethi~ng sacred, as, for example, the vestments in the sacristy. It is put on and removed over the head (never stepped out of). It must be lifted on going down stairs or in crossing a muddy or dusty passage. It must be kept free of spots and never allowed to become ragged. 3. Some of the remarks on the time expended on the,care, of the habit seem to indicate that the religious who made these remarks have no idea of the time and care that a woman in the world must consume in keeping well groomed. 4. These religious.applied for the habit they wear. They accepted it along with the rules and customs and the spirit of their particular commu.nity. If today they are disgruntled at its form, might not this be an indication of a falling off in fervor and esteem for the institute whose uniform they once gladly adopted? In regard to the attractibn of vocations, young girls are drawn to particular institutes by their spirit or their work. They accept the habit without criticism and love it for what it represents. 5. It is true that many communities have been loyally putting up with certain inconveniences which custom imposed in the matter of clothing. The sisters of past generations accepted all this in.a spirit of penance. The present-day abhorrence of inconvenience is--alas! 177 COMMUNICATIONS Review for Religious --carried into the convent by many a postulant; but surely her attitude changes as she grasps the meaning of mortification and in the pursuit of "personal holiness" becomes more eager for penance. 6. The Holy See, in its kindly interest in the spiritual progress of dqdicate.d souls, has made aa effort to relieve the religious of incon-veniences arising from the manner of dress designed in far distant days. If each community attends to the rectification of thos~ features of the habit which come under these benign instructions, then indi-vidual religious will have no ground for interior rebellion, much less for outspoken criticism. Suggestions may always be made; surely-- but, should we add, objectively. The personal savor of many of the criticisms published indicated an absorption in self and a seeking of ease that seemed at variance with the striving after perfection which religious life implies. The remarks on the rosary were particularly offe_nsive. 7. It seems a pity that the attitude of seventy-two religious in one small corner of the earth should be taken as indicative of the reaction of thousands of sisters all over the world. Seculars picking up this article will be justly shocked; for they generallyo have the greatest esteem for the religious habit, no matter how antiquated or outlandish it may appear at first sight. 8. There is an old saying--"Cucullus non facit monachum.'" The habit certainly does not make the sister, but it does indicate that the person ~lothed in it is set apart from the world; that the restrictions it imposes are accepted as part of the price of her dedication; and that the uniform of her pai:ticular unit.in the army of the King is worn with an ""esprit de corps'" that cancels all inconveniences and be-stows .on the wearer a certain distinction. I shall be interested in learning the reaction of other religious ¯ communities to Father Teufel's article. Perhaps it was intended to b~ provocative. If the day of persecution should ever ~me (which G~d forbid!) when these same disgruntled nuns would be stripped of the holy habit (weighing ten pounds!) and forced to don a secular dress as light as 14 ounces, what a chorus of lamentation would rise to heaven! Surely in their zeal for reform these good sisters were led by a tempting quegtionnaire beyond the limits of discretion. In their heart 6f hearts they feel, I a.m sure, that they are privileged to wear any religious habit. Surely after twenty-eight years they have 178 May, 1957 COMMUNICATIONS at least in some degree died to the world in order to put on Christ, A Sister Vocal Prayers in English Reverend Fathers: May I make use of the communications department of the REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS tO invite the opinions of other religious concerning a problem that has arisen in our community in regard to the conversion of many of our Latin prayers into English. I do not refer to the Divine Office or to the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin, but to 'the vocal prayers said in common morning and evening, those before and after meditation, the particular examen, and recently, the grace at meals in English. When we recited these prayers in Latin we used a uniform pitch, recto tono, and the even free rhythm of syllabic chant. Now we are thinking of carrying this method over into the English versions of these prayers so as to keep perfect unison in pitch with a similar rhythm. This poses the problem of modifying the emphasis and weight of the English accent, and submerges the natural inflections of the voice ordinarily used in reading English prose. It seems to us it would be in keeping with the spirit of liturgical prayer to lift our voices above the mundane methods of ordinary speech to a higher form of vocal player similar to the Latin recto tono or liturgi-cal recitative even when it is cast in the vernacular. We should like to know what other communities are doing about this problem. Do they chant English vocal prayers recto tono? Do they strive for the even rhythm of syllabic chant? Are there any printed works on this subject? Since many communities are converting many of their community prayers into English, it seems to me the opinions and practices of other communities will be of interest, not only to our sisters~ but to many other readers of the REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS. Mother M. Cecilia, O.SIU. Ursuline Convent Paola, Kansas 179 t oo1 Reviews [Material for this department should be sent ~to Book Review Editor, REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, West Baden College, West Baden Springs, Indiana.] THE SPLENDOUR OF THE CHURCH. By Henri de Lubac, S.J. Translated by Michael Mason. Pp. 289. Sheed and Ward, New York 3. 1956. $3.50 The original title of the book, Meditation sur l'Eglise, more humbly indicates the source of these reflections which magnificently reveal the splendor of the Church. We are grateful to the author for allowing us to look deeply into his soul on fire '~with an ever-growing affection" for the Church. The subject matter was supplied by informal talks and conferences given largely at days of recollection to priests with whom the author shares the treasures he has so sincerely pr!zed himself. This is consequently not a systematic treatise on the Church or the Mystical Body. Any one desiring an orderly dogmatic treatment had better not begin with this book. A gen-erous acquaintance with the scientific background of the theology of the Church is supposed, but on this new light and unsuspected bril-liancy- is cast by these conferences. What cannot but amaze the attentive reader is the erudition which has gone into the making of this brilliant book.' Tradition is literally pillaged to support the propositions presented, not so much for proof as for a luminous display of the light that has been shed through the ages on the dogma of the Church. The coverage of the literature on the subject, manifest in. numberless footnotes, is formidable, both in regard to the founts of tradition, as well as the pe¥iodical literature in many tongues. It was a pleasant surprise to find Social Order amongst the sources cited. The march of thought in the book may be here briefly outlined though it is not easy to summarize the wealth of material offered. The Church is first of all a mystery, our own myster~ par'excellence. In its dimensions the Church reaches back not merely to the apostles but tO th~ prophets, and Adam himself is to be reckoned with these; and forward to the end of."time. The one Church, however, has two aspects, active and passive, the power that assembles and the assembly thus constituted. The Church is at once our mother and ourselves; pastor and flock, Church teaching and Church taught, but always within unity. It is inspiring to note what further leads such familiar distinctions suggest to the prolific mind of the author. 180 BOOK REVIEWS A fourth chapter examines the. relation between the Church and the Eucharist, "the Heart of the Church." "If the Church is the fullness of Christ, Christ in His Eucharist is truly the heart of the Church" (p. 113). A further chapter faces the conflict that has been introdt~ced by the presence of the Church in the world, creating a rivalry between the two and constant "reciprocal embarrassment," which is really nothing more than the duality set up by the Gospel and postulated by man's dual nature as animal and spirit. The bril-liant subsequent chapter exhibits the Church as "the sacrament of Christ": "she is the great sacrament which contains and vitalizes all the others" (p. 147). There follows a warm exposition of the Church a~ our mother, "E~'Hesic~ ~1ater," which would make profitable read-ing for such as suspect a childish sentimentalism in the words "Mother Church." The author is candid enough to review the difficulties that present themselves to the man who finds his love and loyalty for the Church embarrassed by practical problems that invite criticism. Father De Lubac's solutions build up to a finer and more stable loyalty. The final chapter, "The Church and Our Lady," has appealed to this reviewer as the finest of all, being ~that of greatest length (,50 pages), and covering the treatise of Mariology from an unusual angle. The author begins by cleverly se. lecting,a Barthian denunciation of our position. "It is in Marian doctrine," declares Barth, "and the Marian cult that the heresy of the Roman Catholic Church is apparent --that heresy which enables us to understand all the: rest" (p. 239), Candidly accepting the challenge our author admits as a~.fundamental Catholic thesis that Mary and the Church must be understood togegher, and proceeds to illustrate the thesis by a. detailed review of the Church's liturgy through the centuries, above, all the liturgical, application, of theoCanticle of Canticles to both.Mary and the Church. In this conclu.ding tribute both our Lady and the Church are once again mutu.al!y illumined by a dazzling ~splendor. In its.exterior form and presentation the volume lives up to the high standards ofthe publishers. A'considerable number of errors have crept into the Latin of.the footnotes; .these sh~oulcl be cayefully chec.k~ed before a new. printing.--~AI.O~.s~u~ C. I~E.Xlp~.:R, S.~. . A PATH ~HROUGH GENESIS. By Bruce Vawter, C.M. Pp. 308. Sheed and Ward, New York 3. 1956. $4.00. Nbt many dec~ades ago, it' was ~xibmatic in bibiic~il ~ircles that 181 BOOK REVIEWS Review for Religious "Catholic works are not read." Fortunately, the recent Catholic rev~ival in the field of biblical scholarship has effectively challenged this intellectual boycott. If the axiom is still true nowadays, it is true in the sense that Catholics themselves are not yet acquainted with their own scholars' efforts to enrich their spiritual heritage. Usually, one dan plead lack of time and i~sufficient background for studying the Bible, especially the Old Testament. But Father Vawter has helped put the lie to that excuse. A Path Through Genesis is a concise, informative, and even inspiring introduction to private reading of the Old Testament in general, and of Genesisin particular. Its value as a general intro-duction consists chiefly in its interesting and pedagogically sound treatment of the book which is most likely to present problems to the average reader--the first he meets: Genesis. Wisely, the author has decided to write a guide for the reading of Genesis, rather than a book about Genesis. Selected portions of the ~text are printed in t:ull to save the reader the wearisome task of using two books at ,once. The commentary linking these substantially large passages is most readable, and Father Vawter uses to advantage his gift for delight-fully apt comparisons to help bridge the gap between Hebrew thought patterns and our own. Popular in style, the book is almost com-pletely free of the cumbersome apparatus of scholarship--footnotes, though it is by no means innocent of the results of serious research. In fact, it is rather surprising that the results of careful, painstaking study can be expressed with such disarming simplicity; but such is the reader's happy discovery. The author has thoughtfully included a number of maps, pictures, and diagrams which enable the book to "teach itself." This is not to say that' its reading is effortless, which "would be, after all, a doubtful compliment. With careful but not taxing attention, the book will open the eyes of the reader to the real meaning of Genesis. And it will either remove his groundless fears that "the difficulties of God's book will weaken our faith in Him," or bring the reader out of the "pious daze" that usually afflicts him when he reads the Bible without facing what it says, Father Va~cter's A Path Through Genesis is recommended not just to seminarians and teachers of college religion, but to any seri-ous- minded person who wants to appreciate God's word, especially in the New Testament. For it is hard to see how one can understand the New Testament, especially ~he letters of St. Paul, without being 182 May, 1957 .Book ANNOUNCEMENTS rather well-acquainted with the only sacred writings Paul knew and constantly used. In Father Vawter's ~vords: "I think tliere is no better way to discourage Bible reading than by the oft-repeated advice to 'read the New Testament first, then the Old.' This is one of those witless axioms supposedly based on experience, but in reality pure untested theory." Perhaps the book would be ot~ special interest to teachers of grade-school religion. Even if the matter contained in the book is not directly brought out in class, it should help form the teacher's mental background and help her avoid unnecessarily dogmatic statements about the creation of the world and the "historical facts" in the Bible. It is this reviewer's teaching experience that many well-intentioned but uninformed statements heard by students in the grades have found their reaction in a sophomoric rationalism that appears openly only several years later. In other cases, such remarks have not aided faith, which is, after all, a light, but rather have fos-tered that "pious daze" which befogs the knowledge of God and His striking providence. Any grade-school teacher knows what embar-rassingly straightforward questions can be asked by' those precocious little ones who could well be the Church's most valuable. ~apostles in future years. A wise teacher will need to face such ~i~:t~roblem-filled child not just with an answer, and a sound one at thai, but with her own informed assurance. Father Vawter's book serves this twofold need admirably.--CH~,RgEs H. GIBLI~, S.J. 8OOK AN NOUNCF:/~I=NT~; THE BRUCE PUBLISHING COMPANY, Milwaukee 1, Wisconsin. The Shroud of Turin. By Werner Bulst, S.J. Translated by Stephen McKenna, C.SS.R., and James J. Galvin, C.SS.R, This is the most complete book in English on this controversial question. Though written by one man, it really represents th.e combined work of experts in many fields who allowed the author to use the results 6f "~heir in-vestigations and checked his final copy to make sure that ~th.ey were ~orrectly presented. The photographs are excellent and wogih the ~pric~ of the book. In addition to the information you acquire~in read- 'ing the book, you will find that you. have gained~.,a ,better and more vivid appreciation of what the Passion meant to Christ.° Hence, ~though it is a strictly scientific book, it may well ~erve as spiritual 183 ]~OOK ANNOUNCEMENTS Review fo~" Religious reading. It will make Christ much more real for you. Pp. 167. $4.75. Reflections on the Passion. By Charles Hug9 Doyle. These are short essays, one for each day of Lent except Holy Saturday. They are what you .would expect to hear from a pastor before the p~lrish Mass each day of Lent. Pp. 93. $1.85. Our Saviour's Last Night and Day. By Rev. A. Biskupek, S.V.D. In these brief pages the author gives us a moving account of the Passion of our Lord. He harmonizes the history of the Passibn as given by the four evangelists. Pp. 80. Paper $1.00. The Rubricator. By Earl Dionne. The rubricator is a rotating di~k which indicates "the proper position of any officer of a solemn high Mass at any.part of the Mass. There are four such rubricators: one for the solemn high Mass, one for the solemn requiem high Mass, one for the pontifical solemn high Mass at the faldstool, and one for the pontifical solemn high Mass at the throne. Each sells for $1.00, the set for $3.50. THE DEVIN-ADAIR Company, 23 East 26th Street, New York, 10. A Brief Introduction to the Divine Office. By Joseph J. Ayd, s.J. Revised by James I. O'Connor, S.J. Seminarians and all who are trying to learn the Divifie Office will find this book very hel'pful. Pp 7. $0.3~. FIDES PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION, 744 East 79th Street, Chi-cago 19, Illinois The Journal of aSouthi~rn Pastor. By J. B. Gremillion. Many a problem of pastoral theology is presented, and dis~cussed ifi these pages which you will not find in the standard texts on pastoral theology, for .they w~re not problems when the texts wei'e written. Pp. 305. $3.95. M. H. GILL AND SON, LTD., 50 Upper O'Connell Street, Dublin, Ireland. The Incurable Optimist and Other Spiritual Essays. By Robert Nash, S.J. Father Nasb has a talent for putting the truths of faith, particularly as they concern the trivialities and cafes of every day livi'ng, in an interesting and ,striking way. 'The essays first appeared in The Sunday Press, Dul~lifi. You may judge his popularity by the 184 May, 1957 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS fact that this is the third collection of his essays to be published. Pp. 112. 6s. B. HERDER BOOK COMPANY, 15 S. Broadway, St. Louis 2, Missouri. Handbook of Ceremonies. By John Baptist Mueller, s.J. Revised and re-edited by Adam C. Ellis, S.J. This seventeenth edition of a very popular handbook has been completely revised and, to a great extent, re-written to bring it into conformity with the ne# rubrics for both Mass and office. Even the new ceremonies for Holy Week are included. The musical supplement is now printed in the Gregorian notation. You will like everything about this book with the possible dxception of its price. Pp. 482. $6.50. THE LITURGICAL PRESS, St. John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota. Meditating the Gospels. By Emeric Lawrence, O.S.B. The two leading ideas of this new meditation book are: prayer is a convers
"Wenn über das Grundsätzliche keine Einigkeit besteht, ist es sinnlos, miteinander Pläne zu schmieden." – Konfuzius (551-479 v.Chr.).Der grundsätzliche universelle Geltungsanspruch der Menschenrechte besagt, dass die Menschenrechte jedem Menschen auf der Welt zustehen. Die Allgemeine Erklärung der Menschenrechte aus dem Jahr 1948 drückt das folgendermaßen aus: "Jeder hat Anspruch auf alle in dieser Erklärung verkündeten Rechte und Freiheiten, ohne irgendeinen Unterschied, etwa nach Rasse, Hautfarbe, Geschlecht, Sprache, Religion, politischer oder sonstiger Anschauung, nationaler oder sozialer Herkunft, Vermögen, Geburt oder sonstigem Stand […]" (UN-Vollversammlung 1948, Artikel 2). Jedoch ist dieser universelle Geltungsanspruch der Menschenrechte in der Realität häufig noch ein Ideal. Mit der Deklaration von Bangkok, die einige südostasiatische Staaten Anfang der 1990er Jahre unterzeichneten, wurde er sogar explizit in Frage gestellt. Was ist die Sichtweise dieser südostasiatischen Staaten auf die Universalität der Menschenrechte und wie begründen sie diese? Wie könnten Perspektiven für einen interkulturellen Menschenrechtsdialog aussehen? In diesem Beitrag werden die Menschenrechte durch eine Definition und einen Abschnitt zur Geschichte kurz vorgestellt. Anschließend wird die Debatte um Universalität und (Kultur-)Relativismus erläutert, welche überleitet zur "asiatischen Perspektive" auf die Menschenrechte und zu den "asiatischen Werten". Abschließend werden die Kritik und Perspektiven für einen interkulturellen Dialog aufgegriffen.Menschenrechte – eine Definition
Zerstörung, Elend, menschliches Leid und der Völkermord an den europäischen Juden führten in "dramatischer Weise die Notwendigkeit eines wirksamen Schutzes grundlegender Menschenrechte durch verbindliche internationale Normen und kollektive Mechanismen" vor Augen (Gareis/Varwick 2014, S. 179).
Die Idee, dass jedem Menschen, "unabhängig seines Geschlechts, Alters, seiner Religion oder seiner ethnischen, nationalen, regionalen oder sozialen Herkunft, angeborene und unveräußerliche Rechte zu eigen sind, die sich aus seinem Menschsein ableiten", verfestigte sich und führte am 10. Dezember 1948 zur Allgemeinen Erklärung der Menschenrechte (Gareis/Varwick 2014, S. 179).
Erstmals wurde in einem internationalen Dokument festgehalten, dass jedem Menschen wegen "grundlegender Aspekte der menschlichen Person" grundlegende Rechte zugesprochen werden. Diese Rechte sind unveräußerlich und vorstaatlich, was bedeutet, dass der Staat sie nicht vergeben kann, denn jeder Mensch hat sie aufgrund der "biologischen Zugehörigkeit zur menschlichen Gattung" inne (Human Rights 2018). Dem Staat obliegt es, diese Rechte zu schützen.
Menschenrechte besitzen demnach vier Merkmale: Sie sind universell (alle Menschen sind Träger dieser Rechte), egalitär (eine ungleiche Verteilung dieser Rechte ist ausgeschlossen), individuell (der Träger der Menschenrechte ist ein individueller Mensch, keine Gruppe) und kategorial (wer der menschlichen Gattung angehört, besitzt sie automatisch) (vgl. Lohmann 2010, S. 36).
Die Erklärung der Menschenrechte aus dem Jahr 1948 ist keine rechtlich bindende Resolution. Doch auch wenn sie rechtlich nicht bindend ist, hat sie "moralische Wichtigkeit bekommen" (Human Rights 2012). Sie wird dem Gewohnheitsrecht zugeordnet, was bedeutet, dass sie sowohl allgemein anerkannt als auch angewendet und deswegen als verbindlich angesehen wird (vgl.: Human Rights 2012). Sie ist das "weltweit am meisten verbreitete und am meisten übersetzte internationale Dokument" (Gareis/Varwick 2014, S. 179) und dient als Grundlage für zahlreiche Abkommen (vgl. Maier 1997, S. 39).
Juristisch können die Menschenrechte wie folgt definiert werden: "Internationale Menschenrechte sind die durch das internationale Recht garantierten Rechtsansprüche von Personen gegen den Staat oder staatsähnliche Gebilde, die dem Schutz grundlegender Aspekte der menschlichen Person und ihrer Würde in Friedenszeiten und im Krieg dienen" (Human Rights 2012).
Seit 1948 haben sich die Menschenrechte weiterentwickelt, und es hat sich etabliert, von den Menschenrechten in drei Generationen zu sprechen. Zur ersten Generation gehören "die klassischen bürgerlichen und politischen Freiheits- und Beteiligungsrechte" wie das Recht auf Leben, Freiheit und Sicherheit oder das Verbot von Folter (Krennerich 2009). Die zweite Generation der Menschenrechte umfasst wirtschaftliche, soziale und kulturelle Menschenrechte, so beispielsweise das Recht auf Bildung, Teilhabe, aber auch auf Freizeit und Erholung. Die dritte Generation der Menschenrechte "bezeichnen allgemeine, noch kaum in Vertragswerken konkretisierte Rechte wie etwa das Recht auf Entwicklung, Frieden oder saubere Umwelt" (Krennerich 2009). Alle drei Generationen "sollten gleichberechtigt nebeneinander bestehen" (Barthel, zitiert nach Hamm 1999, S. 23).
Der Gedanke der angeborenen Rechte, die ein Mensch qua Menschsein besitzt, ist jedoch älter als die Erklärung der Menschenrechte aus dem Jahr 1948 und die Vereinten Nationen selbst.
Eine kurze Geschichte der Menschenrechte
Der Ursprung der Menschenrechte geht auf das antike Griechenland zurück. Der "revolutionäre Gedanke der Stoiker, der beschreibt, dass alle Menschen gleich sind", wurde durch die im 18. Jahrhundert entstandene Naturrechtslehre weiter gefestigt (vgl.: Müller 2017, 03:06-03:20). Die "überlieferten konkreten Freiheiten der Ständegesellschaft wurden dort in eine allgemeine Freiheit des Menschen umgedacht" (Maier 1997, S. 11). Wegweisend war, dass diese Rechte nun allen Menschen zugesprochen wurden und diese Rechte Ansprüche an den Staat stellten (vgl. Maier, 1997 S. 11f). Denn "[er sollte] nicht tun dürfen, was ihm beliebt, [und] in substantielle Bezirke individueller Freiheit nicht […] eingreifen dürfen" (Maier 1997, S. 12). Als vorstaatliche Rechte kann der Staat diese nur akzeptieren, nicht aber verleihen.
Die Idee der unveräußerlichen Menschenrechte kulminierte schließlich in der Unabhängigkeitserklärung der 13 britischen Kolonien 1776 in Nordamerika (zentrales Dokument: Virginia Bill of Rights) und fand schließlich 1789 in der Französischen Revolution (zentrales Dokument: Déclaration des Droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen) in Europa ihren Durchbruch. Diese Dokumente legten den Grundstein für die modernen Menschenrechte, die nun als Grundrechte in zahlreichen Verfassungen verankert sind. Schließlich, im Jahr 1966, wurden die ersten völkerrechtlich bindenden Menschenrechtsabkommen durch die Vereinten Nationen verabschiedet (vgl.: Wagner 2016).
Besonders eindrücklich zeigt die Geschichte der Menschenrechte, dass ihre Idee auf "konkrete Unrechtserfahrungen der Menschen des Okzidents zurückgehen" (Tetzlaff 1998, S. 60). Darauf, nämlich dass die Menschenrechte 'im Westen' ihren Ursprung haben und individualistisch geprägt seien, bezieht sich im Wesentlichen die Kritik an ihnen. Diese Kritik zieht auch in Zweifel, ob die Menschenrechte universell sind. (Kultur-)Relativismus vs. Universalismus
Verfechter des Universalismus verstehen die Menschenrechte als unveräußerliche, angeborene Rechte eines jeden Menschen. "Niemand kann, mit Bezug auf welche Eigenschaft auch immer, von der Trägerschaft ausgeschlossen werden" (Lohmann 2010, S. 37). Ausgeschlossen ist hierbei auch die "ungleiche Verteilung" der Rechte (vgl. Lohmann 2010, S. 37). So muss der Staat seinen Pflichten nachkommen und für die Einhaltung, Wahrung und Durchsetzung der Menschenrechte sorgen.
Jedoch werden die Menschenrechte, wie sie 1948 verabschiedet wurden, in ihrem universellen Gültigkeitsanspruch von vielen Ländern und Kulturen auf der Welt nicht akzeptiert. Der (Kultur-) Relativismus in seiner extremen Form sieht die Menschenrechte als nicht vollständig übertragbar und "nur relativ zu einem bestimmten Kultursystem 'begründbar'" (Lohmann 2009). Manche Staaten gehen sogar so weit und verstehen die Menschenrechte als ein westliches Produkt, das "dem Osten" aufoktroyiert wurde. Auch seien die Menschenrechte nicht, wie der universalistische Anspruch behauptet, unabhängig von Zeit, Raum und kulturellem Hintergrund gültig. Sie seien aus der europäisch-nordamerikanischen Aufklärung entstanden, abendländisch geprägt und somit nicht in dieser Form in anderen Kulturkreisen anwendbar. Zudem sei ihre "weltweite Propagierung Ausdruck einer Mentalität der Einmischung, welche die Tradition des Kolonialismus mit anderen Mitteln fortsetze" (Hilpert 2019, S. 230). Tatsächlich sei "das Menschenrechtsverständnis in erster Linie abhängig von dem Menschenbild in einer spezifischen Kultur […], wonach es keinen Standard gibt, der unabhängig von bestimmten sozialen Lebensformen wäre" (Pohl 2002, S. 7).
Von (Kultur-)Relativisten konkret kritisiert werden häufig die "individuelle Selbstbestimmung, die körperliche Unversehrtheit, das Vorrangverhältnis zwischen Individuum zur Gemeinschaft, die Gleichheit von Männern und Frauen, die religiöse Toleranz und die Einschätzung demokratischer Mitbestimmung" (Lohmann 2010, S. 41).
Zum anderen wird bemängelt, dass bei der Verabschiedung der Allgemeinen Erklärung der Menschenrechte im Jahr 1948 die westlichen Länder dominierten, während die meisten Länder des Globalen Südens noch unter kolonialer Herrschaft standen. Viele Staaten werfen dem Westen sogar "moralischen Chauvinismus" (Pollis/Schwab 2006, S. 68), "Ideologismus" und eine "quasi-religiöse" Auslegung der Menschenrechte vor (Pohl 2002, S. 7).
Genau an diese Dichotomie, Universalismus und (Kultur-)Relativismus, knüpfte die 1993 vorgelegte Deklaration von Bangkok an, welche von vielen (süd-)ostasiatischen Ländern unterzeichnet wurde. Bevor die Wiener Menschenrechtskonferenz im Jahr 1993 begann, zweifelten diese Länder die Universalität der Menschenrechte an und legten eine "asiatische Perspektive" auf die Menschenrechte und sogenannte "asiatische Werte" vor.
Die asiatische Perspektive auf die (Universalität der) Menschenrechte und 'asiatische Werte'
Die ,asiatische Sicht' auf die Menschenrechte und die 'asiatischen Werte' werden im Grunde kulturrelativistisch begründet. Im folgenden Abschnitt werden die 'asiatischen Werte' zeitgeschichtlich eingeordnet und näher erläutert.
Die zeitgeschichtliche Einordnung der 'asiatischen Werte'
Die Kontroverse, dass sich die Menschenrechte in (Südost-)Asien anders entwickelt hätten, spitzte sich Anfang der 1990er Jahre zu und erlangte mit der Verabschiedung der Deklaration von Bangkok weltumspannende Beachtung. Die Gründe für den Ausbruch dieser Debatte sind vielfältig. Zum einen genoss 'der Westen', vor allem die Europäische Union und die Vereinigten Staaten, zu dieser Zeit beispielloses politisches und ökonomisches Selbstbewusstsein. Der Ost-West-Konflikt war beendet, die Demokratie und der Kapitalismus schienen 'die' Erfolgsmodelle zu sein, die "das Ende der Geschichte" einläuteten (Fukuyama 1992). Die Globalisierung schritt unaufhaltsam voran, während der Kommunismus in vielen osteuropäischen Ländern in sich zusammenbrach. Zudem gewann die Idee des politischen und wirtschaftlichen Liberalismus mehr und mehr an Bedeutung.
In dieser Zeit gingen die Vereinigten Staaten und viele Mitgliedsstaaten der EU auf die Forderung vieler Menschenrechtsorganisationen ein, die Menschenrechte und die Demokratie in anderen Ländern zu verbreiten. Die Regierung unter Präsident Bill Clinton ging sogar so weit und erklärte sowohl die Verbreitung der Menschenrechte als auch der Demokratie zu einer der drei Säulen der US-amerikanischen Außenpolitik (vgl.: Barr 2000, S. 313). Allerdings missbilligte insbesondere China den menschenrechtlichen Druck vieler westlicher Staaten, der durch das Massaker von Tiananmen im Jahr 1989 und Chinas Tibet-Politik stetig zunahm.
Hinzu kam, dass viele ostasiatische Staaten, allen voran China, Malaysia, Japan, Hongkong, Taiwan, Singapur und Südkorea, als 'ostasiatische Wirtschaftswunder' bezeichnet wurden (vgl.: Ernst 2009). Diese wirtschaftliche Prosperität ließ ein "neues Selbstbewusstsein und eine neue politische Elite entstehen, die vom 'Westen' das Recht auf einen eigenen entwicklungspolitischen Weg einforderte und die Vormachtstellung der alten Industriestaaten Europas und Nordamerikas herausforderte" (Ernst 2009). Darüber hinaus sahen sie in der Rolle des starken Staates eine wichtige "Erklärungsvariable" für den wirtschaftlichen Erfolg (Heinz 1995, S. 11).
Die Bestimmtheit, mit der die Europäische Union und die Vereinigten Staaten um die Durchsetzung der Menschenrechte in Asien rangen, wurde von (ost-)asiatischen Ländern als Versuch verstanden, ,Asien' ,dem Westen' unterwürfig zu halten. Zudem wurde die Kritik als "Einmischung, irrelevant und kulturfremd abgewehrt" (Heinz 1995, S. 12).Schließlich, im Vorfeld der Wiener Menschenrechtskonferenz im Jahr 1993, "bestritten [unter anderem] die Regierungen Indonesiens, Singapurs und Chinas die Universalität der Menschenrechte" (Heinz 1995, S. 16). Stattdessen müssten die jeweiligen wirtschaftlichen, sozialen und politischen Bedingungen betrachtet werden, weil sie nur anhand derer verwirklicht werden könnten (vgl.: Heinz 1995, S. 15f). Deshalb wurden sogenannte 'asiatische Werte' vorgestellt. Was sind 'asiatische Werte'?
'Asiatische Werte' beschreiben eine (kultur-)relative Sicht auf die Menschenrechte, die in den frühen 1990er Jahren von asiatischen Politiker*innen und Wissenschaftler*innen vorgestellt und von 34 Staaten verabschiedet wurden. Sie umfassen im Groben die Bereiche Politik, Wirtschaft und Kultur (vgl.: Tai 2005, S. 34). Federführend bei der Debatte waren Lee Kuan Yew, der damalige Premierminister von Singapur, und Mahathir bin Mohamad, der damalige Premierminister von Malaysia. Sie, die 'asiatischen Werte', sollen eine Anpassung zum aus asiatischer Sicht "westlichen Modell der Menschenrechte" darstellen (Henders 2017). Die regionale Bezeichnung 'Asien/asiatisch' bezieht sich in diesem Zusammenhang eher auf (Süd-) Ostasien beziehungsweise pazifisch-Asien als auf den Nahen oder Mittleren Osten. Das bedeutet auch, dass sich die 'asiatischen Werte' hauptsächlich auf die "konfuzianische Kultur" stützen und weniger vom Islam oder dem Hinduismus geprägt sind (Ernst 2009).
Allerdings lehnen die ostasiatischen Länder die Menschenrechte nicht grundsätzlich ab. Schließlich haben einige dieser Länder, darunter China, die Allgemeine Erklärung der Menschenrechte 1948 verabschiedet und bekräftigten 1993 in Wien nochmals ihren Einsatz für Prinzipien, die in der Erklärung enthalten sind (vgl.: Tay 1996, S. 751). Sie plädierten mit der Deklaration von Bangkok stattdessen für nationale und regionale Unterschiede in der Schwerpunktsetzung und auch in der praktischen Umsetzung der Menschenrechte (vgl.: Tay 1996 S. 751f).
Befürworter der 'asiatischen Werte' bestanden zudem darauf, dass sie nicht nur durch den wirtschaftlichen Erfolg, den die ostasiatischen Staaten in den Jahrzehnten vor der Wiener Menschenrechtskonvention 1993 erlebt hatten, legitimiert würden, sondern auch maßgeblich für diesen Erfolg verantwortlich seien. Darüber hinaus müsse die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung bei ökonomisch aufstrebenden Ländern über allem stehen; bürgerliche und politische Rechte sollten den ökonomischen und sozialen Rechten deswegen untergeordnet sein (vgl.: Henders 2017).
Bisher wurde keine offizielle "umfassende, verbindliche Liste" vorgestellt (Heinz 1995, S. 25), aber häufig genannte 'asiatische Werte', die bei der Wiener Menschenrechtskonvention 1993 vorgelegt wurden, waren: "Disziplin, harte Arbeit, eine starke Führungskraft" (Tai 2005, S. 34ff), "Sparsamkeit, akademischer Erfolg, die Balance zwischen individuellen und gemeinschaftlichen Bedürfnissen, Respekt vor Autorität" (Henders 2017) und ein starker, stabiler Staat (Barr 2000, S. 310). Darüber hinaus wird "nationales Teamwork", die Erhaltung einer "moralisch sauberen Umwelt" (das Magazin 'Playboy' wird in Singapur beispielsweise nicht verkauft) und keine absolute Pressefreiheit für zentral erachtet (Heinz 1995, S. 26).
Die asiatische Perspektive auf die Universalität der Menschenrechte
Im Diskurs um die ,asiatische Perspektive' haben sich mehrere häufig genannte Argumente herausgebildet. Einige davon sollen näher beschrieben werden, nämlich die Behauptungen, dass Rechte kulturspezifisch seien, die Gemeinschaft in Asien über dem Individuum stehe, dass Rechte ausschließlich den jeweiligen Staaten oblägen und dass soziale und ökonomische Rechte über zivilen und politischen Rechten ständen.
Rechte sind kulturspezifisch
Die Idee der Menschenrechte entstand bereits in der Antike auf dem europäischen Kontinent und entwickelte sich schließlich unter bestimmten sozialen, ökonomischen, kulturellen und politischen Bedingungen ebendort und in Nordamerika (vgl.: Li 1996, S. 19). Die Umstände, die die Umsetzung der Menschenrechte voranbrachten, könnten aber nicht auf diese Art auf Südostasien übertragen werden. So beschreibt China in seinem 1991 veröffentlichten Weißbuch, dass sich aufgrund des eigenen historischen Hintergrunds, des Sozialsystems und der jeweiligen ökonomischen Entwicklung die Länder in ihrem Verständnis und ihrer Auslegung der Menschenrechte unterscheiden würden (vgl.: Weißbuch 1991, Vorwort). Das ist eine Haltung, welche auch 1993 auf der Menschenrechtskonferenz in Wien nochmals bekräftigt wurde (vgl.: Li 1996, S.19).
Die Gemeinschaft steht über dem Individuum
Die südostasiatischen Länder insistierten, dass die Bedeutung der Gemeinschaft in asiatischen Ländern nicht mit dem Primat des Individuums vereinbar sei, worauf die Vorstellung der Menschenrechte beruht (Li 1996, S. 19). Zudem stünden Pflichten über Rechten (vgl.: Nghia 2009, S. 21). Dies seien auch die entscheidenden Faktoren, die 'Asien' fundamental vom 'Westen' unterschieden. Die Menschenrechte seien von Natur aus individualistisch geprägt, was nach (süd-)ostasiatischer Auffassung eine Bedrohung für den (süd-)ostasiatischen sozial-gemeinschaftlichen Gesellschaftsmechanismus darstellen könnte. Als Begründung für diese Behauptung führten die (süd-)ostasiatischen Staaten den Zusammenbruch vieler Familien, die Drogenabhängigkeit und die hohe Zahl an Obdachlosen im 'Westen' an (vgl.: Li 1996, S. 20).
Soziale und ökonomische Rechte stehen über zivilen und politischen Rechten
Zentral bei der ,asiatischen Auslegung' der Menschenrechte waren die Priorisierung der Gemeinschaft gegenüber der Individuen und die Suche nach dem Konsens im Gegensatz zum Konflikt. Dominanz und Autorität würden nicht limitiert oder gar als suspekt betrachtet, sondern gälten im Gegenteil als vertrauens- und förderungswürdig (vgl.: Tay 1996, S. 753ff). Die asiatische Auslegung, so wurde argumentiert, lege den Fokus auf ökonomische und soziale Rechte, die durch ein starkes wirtschaftliches Wachstum und Wohlstand legitimiert würden, worauf Asiat*innen Wert legten und was ihnen wichtig sei. So proklamiert das Weißbuch der chinesischen Regierung aus dem Jahr 1991, dass "sich sattessen und warm kleiden die fundamentalen Bedürfnisse der chinesischen Bevölkerung seien, die lange unter Hunger und Kälte leiden mussten" (Weißbuch 1991, Kapitel I). Wohlstand könne nur effizient erreicht werden, wenn die Regierenden autorisiert seien, die politischen Rechte ihrer Bürger*innen zu limitieren, um wirtschaftlichen Wohlstand zu garantieren (Li 1996, S. 20). Die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung müsse deswegen bei ökonomisch aufstrebenden Ländern über allem stehen; zivile und politische Rechte sollten den ökonomischen und sozialen Rechten untergeordnet sein (vgl.: Henders, 2017). Implizit schwingt bei dieser Behauptung mit, dass erst alle basalen Bedürfnisse und eine stabile politische Ordnung sichergestellt werden müssten, um politische und bürgerliche Rechte zu implementieren (vgl.: Li 1996, S. 20f). Befürworter der Idee der asiatischen Perspektive erachten es somit für wichtig, den Staat als Oberhoheit zu sehen (vgl.: Henders 2017).
Rechte sind die Angelegenheit der jeweiligen Staaten
Das Recht eines Staates zur Selbstbestimmung schließe den Zuständigkeitsbereich der Menschenrechte mit ein. So seien Menschenrechte innenpolitische Angelegenheiten, in die sich andere Staaten oder Organisationen nicht einzumischen hätten (vgl.: Li 1996, S. 20). "Die Bestrebung des Westens, auch bei Entwicklungsländern einen universellen Geltungsanspruch der Menschenrechte durchzusetzen, sei versteckter kultureller Imperialismus und ein Versuch, die Entwicklung [wirtschaftlich aufstrebender Länder] zu behindern" (Li 1996, S. 20).
Kritik an der asiatischen Perspektive Generell wurde bemängelt, dass nicht einfach über 'asiatische' Werte geredet werden könne, weil es die einzelnen asiatischen Länder simplifiziere, stereotypisiere und sie um ihre Vielfalt bringe (vgl.: Henders 2017). Des Weiteren seien die genannten Werte nicht alleinig in Asien zu finden, sondern hätten auch in anderen Teilen der Welt Gültigkeit (vgl.: Tai 2005, S. 35). Tatsächlich, so wurde argumentiert, gebe es keine ,asiatischen Werte', denn der Begriff sei mit "seiner Allgemeinheit und Undifferenziertheit ein Konstrukt, das ganz bestimmten Zielen dienen soll" (Schreiner 1996, S. 57). Außerdem seien nur mächtige Politiker*innen leitender Teil der Debatte gewesen; die Argumente seien weder in die Gesellschaft getragen noch philosophisch (fort-)geführt worden. Die einzelnen 'asiatischen' Argumente gegen die Universalität der Menschenrechte wurden jedoch auch einzeln kritisiert. Einige Kritiker*innen stellten die Ansicht der Kulturspezifizität in Frage. Das Argument impliziere, dass soziale Normen, die in anderen Ländern und Kulturkreisen ihren Ursprung hatten, in der asiatischen Kultur keine Anwendung finden sollten oder könnten. Kapitalistische Märkte und die Konsumkultur, welche ebenfalls außerhalb der asiatischen Länder entstanden sind, konnten jedoch sehr wohl von asiatischen Kulturen aufgenommen werden (vgl.: Li 1996, S. 20). Die schwerfällige Akzeptanz und Umsetzung der Universalität der Menschenrechte könne somit nicht ausschließlich auf ihre kulturelle Herkunft zurückgeführt werden.
Die zweite Behauptung, dass Asiat*innen die Gemeinschaft über das Individuum stellten, würde als kulturelles Argument missbraucht werden, um aufzuzeigen, dass unveräußerliche Rechte eines Einzelnen sich nicht mit der Idee von asiatischen Gesellschaften verstünden. Kritiker*innen der ,asiatischen Perspektive' sahen hier die Gefahr der generellen Verdammung der Rechte des Einzelnen. Dabei würden individuelle Freiheiten den asiatischen Gemeinschaftswerten nicht generell oppositionell gegenüberstehen. Vielmehr seien grundlegende Rechte, wie eine Versammlungs- und Meinungsfreiheit sowie Toleranz, wichtig für eine Gemeinschaft (vgl.: Li 1996, S. 21).
Beim dritten Argument, welches die südostasiatischen Länder vorlegten, kritisierten viele Verfechter*innen der Universalität der Menschenrechte, dass die nationale ökonomische Entwicklung nicht gleichzusetzen sei mit der ökonomischen Absicherung (sozio-)ökonomisch benachteiligter Gruppen einer Gesellschaft. Nationales ökonomisches Wachstum garantiere schließlich nicht automatisch Rechte für ökonomisch benachteiligte Mitglieder einer Gesellschaft. Stattdessen würden sich politisch-zivile und sozial-ökonomische Rechte bedingen und nur effektiv wirken, wenn alle vier Ebenen garantiert werden könnten (vgl.: Li 1996, S. 22).
Abschließend wurde kritisiert, dass die vorgebrachten Argumente, insbesondere die Forderung der Nichteinmischung in innerstaatliche Angelegenheiten, als Vorwand für einen illiberalen und autoritären Regierungsstil verwendet werden würden. Zudem sollten diese Argumente die Schwäche des wirtschaftlichen Entwicklungsmodells der asiatischen Länder verschleiern (vgl.: Henders 2017). Das sind beides Kritikpunkte, die während der asiatischen Wirtschaftskrise 1997/1998 weitgehend bestätigt wurden und zur Verabschiedung der asiatischen Erklärung der Menschenrechte im Jahr 1998 führten.
Was ist mit 'asiatischen Werten' passiert?
Der Dialog über die in der Deklaration von Bangkok vorgestellten 'asiatischen Werte' begleitete staatliche und nicht-staatliche Akteure sowie Wissenschaftler*innen bis in die 1990er Jahre hinein. Als im Jahr 1997 eine Wirtschafts- und Finanzkrise Asien ereilte, wurde es jedoch nicht nur still um die 'asiatischen Werte', sie wurden nun sogar "als Ursache der Krise gedeutet" (Ernst 2009). Insbesondere die staatliche Intervention und die starken Familienwerte wurden als Verursacher genannt (vgl.: Ernst 2009). Um den wirtschaftlichen Anschluss an den industriellen 'Westen' nicht zu verlieren, waren Menschenrechtsorganisationen in Südostasien bemüht, den Menschenrechtsschutz bottom-up durchzusetzen. Die Asiatische Menschenrechtscharta, die die 'asiatischen Werte' ablehnt, wurde 1998 von Menschenrechtsorganisationen in Kwangju, Südkorea, verabschiedet. Sie ist auch ein Versuch, asiatische Regierungen bei Menschenrechtsverstößen zukünftig in die Verantwortung nehmen zu können.
Seit dem Ausbruch der asiatischen Wirtschaftskrise ist die Debatte um 'asiatische Werte' nahezu versiegt. Gleichwohl werden interkulturelle Dialoge über die Menschenrechte weiter geführt. Zwischen Kulturrelativismus und Universalismus – Perspektiven für einen Dialog
Eine globale Durchsetzung der Menschenrechte bleibt nach wie vor ein Ideal, ebenso wie deren uneingeschränkte Einhaltung. Die ostasiatischen Länder sind nur ein Beispiel von vielen, denn Kritik an der Universalität der Menschenrechte kommt auch aus anderen Ländern und von anderen Religionen. Dabei hat die Forderung nach weltweiter Umsetzung der Menschenrechte nicht an Dringlichkeit verloren. Wie kann aber ein Dialog über die Menschenrechte oder gar ein Konsens vorangebracht werden?
Bei dieser Problematik ist es wichtig zu bedenken, dass die Menschenrechte kein starres System sind, sondern auch nach ihrer Verabschiedung im Jahr 1948 weiterentwickelt wurden. Zudem hat die Idee der Menschenrechte zwar primär in der Zeit der europäisch-amerikanischen Aufklärung ihre Wurzeln, konnte ihre volle Durchsetzungskraft jedoch erst in der Moderne entfalten (vgl.: Bielefeldt 1999, S. 59f). Insbesondere im Hinblick auf das Argument der Nichtumsetzbarkeit der Menschenrechte in kulturell anders geprägten Regionen "wäre es verfehlt, den Begriff der 'Aufklärung' auf eine bestimmte Epoche der europäischen Geschichte zu verkürzen" (Bielefeldt 1999, S. 60). Schließlich muss es auch für andere Kulturen möglich sein, "humane Anliegen der eigenen Tradition in moderner Gestalt in den Menschenrechten wiederzuerkennen" (Bielefeldt 1999, S. 61).
Aufgrund dessen sprechen sich viele Wissenschaftler*innen für eine Adaption der Menschenrechte aus. Die US-amerikanische Politikwissenschaftlerin Alison Dundes Renteln, beispielsweise, "möchte am Begriff universaler Menschenrechte durchaus festhalten, ihn zugleich aber auf interkultureller Basis inhaltlich neu bestimmen […], indem sie nach einem weltweit gemeinsamen Nenner in den Wertorientierungen unterschiedlicher Kulturen sucht" (Bielefeldt 1999, S. 45f). Der kanadische Philosoph Charles Taylor spricht sich für einen "ungezwungenen Konsens" aus, der anderen kulturellen Normen Verständnis entgegenbringt (Taylor 1999, S. 124). Der Dialog über die Menschenrechte zwischen Asien und 'dem Westen' solle sich global ausweiten und eine Auseinandersetzung über eine Übereinstimmung an Normen, die menschliches Verhalten und politisches Handeln leiten sollten, starten. Dieser Grundkonsens auf der Basis der Menschenrechte soll bindend sein, darf sich aber in seiner Begründung unterscheiden (vgl.: Carnegie Council 1996). Der deutsche Philosoph Georg Lohmann vertritt wiederum die Position, dass der "Universalismus" nicht zwingend eine "Einheitskultur darstellt oder in einer solchen resultiert" (Lohmann 2009). Für ihn sind Universalismus und Relativismus auch keine Gegensätze; er sieht im Partikularismus das Gegenteil zum Universalismus. Deshalb ist er der Ansicht, dass ein "verwirklichter und rechtlich wie politisch konkretisierter universeller Menschenrechtsschutz die Möglichkeiten einer kulturellen Vielfalt der Menschen erweitern wird" (Lohmann 2009). Kulturelle Vielfalt ist hier aber nicht mit Willkür gleichzusetzen. Unterscheiden muss man zwischen "Besonderheiten, die mit dem Universalismus der Menschenrechte kompatibel sind und solchen, die ihm widersprechen" (Lohmann 2009). "Strikter" soll der Universalismus bei negativen Pflichten agieren, so zum Beispiel beim Verbot von Folter (Lohmann 2009). Bei positiven Pflichten, wie beispielsweise bei Leistungsrechten, kann der Universalismus lockerer angewendet werden und mehrere, kulturell unterschiedliche Auslegungen zulassen (vgl.: Lohmann 2009). Ein interkultureller Dialog und die Suche nach einem Konsens bedeuten jedoch nicht, dass "die Menschenrechte [völlig neu überdacht und] bereits bestehende international vereinbarte Standards und Konventionen […] abgetan werden sollen. Das wäre gefährlich" (Utrecht 1995, S. 11). Für eine strikte Durchsetzung ideal, so konkludiert Lohmann, "wäre ein gut etabliertes Rechtssystem, in dem die Menschenrechte individuell eingeklagt und mit Hilfe staatlicher Gewalten auch durchgesetzt werden können" (Lohmann 2013, S. 19). Fazit
Viele (süd-)ostasiatische Länder brachten im Jahr 1993 mit der Deklaration von Bangkok kulturrelativistische Argumente hervor, mit denen sie ihre Sichtweise auf die Universalität der Menschenrechte aufzeigten und rechtfertigten. Eine zentrale Begründung war hier, dass das "individualistische Rechtsverständnis" der Menschenrechte nicht mit dem asiatischen Gemeinschaftsverständnis vereinbar sei (Tetzlaff 2002, S. 5). Ebenso waren die Kulturspezifität von Rechten und das Primat des wirtschaftlichen Wohlstands Teil der Begründung. Auseinandersetzungen darüber fanden bis weit in die 1990er Jahre hinein viel Gehör und Gegenrede. Erst mit der asiatischen Wirtschafts- und Finanzkrise 1997/1998 wurde es still um die 'asiatischen Werte'. Was von der Debatte allerdings bleibt, ist die Diskussion über den Universalismus und den (Kultur-) Relativismus, für die der Menschenrechtsrat (MRR) der Vereinten Nationen in Genf eine Plattform bietet.
Bei allen Vorschlägen und Denkanstößen, die eine kulturelle Sensibilität und Variabilität ermöglichen sollen, ist der interkulturelle Dialog zentral. Fraglich bleibt jedoch, wie gut sich eine Diskussion über Normen auf der Basis der Menschenrechte und deren anschließende Durchsetzung in autoritär geführten Staaten durchsetzen lässt (vgl.: Carnegie Council 1996). Denn schließlich sagte schon Konfuzius (551 v. Chr. bis 479 v. Chr.), dass es sinnlos sei, miteinander Pläne zu schmieden, wenn über das Grundsätzliche keine Einigkeit bestehe.
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Gareis, Sven Bernhard/Varwick, Johannes: Die Vereinten Nationen. Aufgaben, Instrumente und Reformen. 5. Aufl. Opladen: Verlag Barbara Budrich 2014.Hamm, Brigitte: Empirische Analysen über politische Menschenrechte – Perspektiven für den internationalen Schutz der Menschenrechte. In: INEF Report, Heft 36 (1999). Duisburg: Gerhard-Mercator-Universität 1999. Verfügbar unter: http://edoc.vifapol.de/opus/volltexte/2013/4570/pdf/report36.pdf (zuletzt aufgerufen am 04.09.2020). Heidelmeyer, Wolfgang (Hrsg.): Die Menschenrechte. 3. erneuerte und erweiterte Aufl. Paderborn: Schöningh 1982.Heinz, Wolfgang S.: Gibt es ein asiatisches Entwicklungsmodell? Zur Diskussion über 'asiatische Werte'. In: Berichte / BIOst, Ausgabe 55 (1995). Köln: Bundesinstitut für ostwissenschaftliche und internationale Studien 1995. Verfügbar unter: https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-42151 (zuletzt aufgerufen am 06.09.2020). Henders, Susan J.: Asian Values. Erschienen am 25. September 2017 in der Encyclopaedia Britannica. Abrufbar unter: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Asian-values (zuletzt aufgerufen am 31.08.2020). Hilpert, Konrad: Ethik der Menschenrechte. Zwischen Rhetorik und Verwirklichung. Paderborn: Schöningh 2019.
Hoffmann, Johannes (Hrsg.): Universale Menschenrechte im Widerspruch der Kulturen. Das eine Menschenrecht für alle und die vielen Lebensformen. Frankfurt am Main: Verlag für interkulturelle Kommunikation 1994.Human Rights (o. A.): Definitionen. Erschienen am 11.12.2012. Abrufbar unter: https://www.humanrights.ch/de/ipf/grundlagen/einsteiger-innen/was-sind-menschenrechte/ (zuletzt aufgerufen am 31.08.2020).Human Rights (o. A.): Was heißt "Universalität der Menschenrechte"? Erschienen am 10. Oktober 2018. Abrufbar unter: https://www.humanrights.ch/de/ipf/archiv/themen/universalitaet/heisst-universalitaet-menschenrechte (zuletzt aufgerufen am 31.08.2020).Krennerich, Michael: Zehn Fragen zu Menschenrechten. Erschienen am 12. Oktober 2009 in der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. Abrufbar unter: https://www.bpb.de/internationales/weltweit/menschenrechte/38627/zehn-fragen (zuletzt aufgerufen am 31.08.2020). Li, Xiaorong: Asian Values and the Universality of Human Rights. In: Report from the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, Band 16, Ausgabe 2 (Frühling 1996). Maryland. S. 18-28. Lohmann, Georg: Kulturelle Besonderung und Universalisierung der Menschenrechte. In: Gerhard Ernst, Stephan Sellmaier (Hrsg.): Universelle Menschenrechte und partikulare Moral. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer 2010. S. 33-48.
Lohmann, Georg: Kulturelle Menschenrechte und der Kampf gegen Ungerechtigkeit. In: Johannes Ebert/Ronald Grätz (Hrsg.): Menschenrechte und Kultur. Göttingen: Steidl 2014. S. 19-28.Lohmann, Georg: Universelle Menschenrechte und kulturelle Besonderheiten. Erschienen am 12.10.2009 in der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. Abrufbar unter: https://www.bpb.de/internationales/weltweit/menschenrechte/38709/universelle-menschenrechte (zuletzt aufgerufen am 09.09.2020).Lohmann, Georg: Werden die Menschenrechte überschätzt? In: zfmr, Ausgabe 2 (2013). S. 9-24. Lohmann, Georg: Zur Verständigung über die Universalität der Menschenrechte. Eine Einführung. In: Günter Nooke, Georg Lohmann, Gerhard Wahlers (Hrsg.), Gelten Menschenrechte universal? Begründungen und Infragestellungen. Freiburg, Basel, Wien: Herder 2008. S. 47-60.
Maier, Hans: Wie universell sind Menschenrechte? Freiburg im Breisgau: Verlag Herder 1997.Müller, Ragnar: Pharos e.V. Stuttgart/Sarajevo: Pharos e.V. Menschenrechte Dr. Ragnar Müller. Veröffentlicht am 09.12.2017 auf YouTube. Abrufbar unter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbaLtEMcCXo&t=191s (zuletzt abgerufen am 04.09.2020). Nghia, Hoang: The "Asian Values" Perspective of Human Rights: A Challenge to Universal Human Rights. Hanoi: Vietnamese Institute for Human Rights 2009. Verfügbar unter: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1405436 (zuletzt aufgerufen am 06.09.2020).Pohl, Karl-Heinz: Zwischen Universalismus und Kulturrelativismus. Menschenrechte und interkultureller Dialog mit China. In: Occasional Papers, Arbeitsgemeinschaft Menschenrechte Trier, Ausgabe 5 (Februar 2002). Verfügbar unter: https://www.humanrights.ch/cms/upload/pdf/070108_pohl_universalitaet.pdf (zuletzt aufgerufen am 06.09.2020). Pollis, Adamantia und Schwab, Peter: Human Rights: A Western Construct with Limited Applicability. In: Christine M. Koggel: Moral and Political Theory. Moral Issues in Global Perspective I. 2. Aufl. Peterborough: Broadview Press 2006. S. 60-72.Schreiner, Klaus H.: Asiatische Werte kontra Menschenrechtsimperialismus? (Rück-)Blick auf eine Debatte. In: Südostasien Informationen, Band 11, Ausgabe 4 (1995). S. 56-57. Tai, Pak Chong: Das Verhältnis der asiatischen Werte zur Idee der Menschenrechte. In: Reinhard C. Meier-Walser/Anton Rauscher (Hrsg.): Die Universalität der Menschenrechte. München: Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung e.V. 2005. S. 27-39.Tay, Simon S.C.: Human Rights, Culture, and the Singaporean Example. In: McGill Law Journal, Band 41 (1996). S. 743-780. Taylor, Charles: Conditions of an Unforced Consensus on Human Rights. In: Bauer, Joanne/Bell, Daniel (Hrsg.): The East Asian Challenge for Human Rights, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1999. S. 124-144.Tetzlaff, Rainer: Modernisierung und Menschenrechte aus politikwissenschaftlicher Sicht. Zur Begründung einer relativen Universalität der Menschenrechte. In: Jahrbuch für christliche Sozialwissenschaften, Band 39 (1998). S. 54-82.Tetzlaff, Rainer: Über den Nutzen kultureller Eigentümlichkeiten: Das produktive Spannungsverhältnis zwischen universellen Menschenrechten und asiatischen Werten. In: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Vereinte Nationen (Hrsg.), Ausgabe 85 (2002). S. 5-12.UN-Vollversammlung: Allgemeine Erklärung der Menschenrechte. Die Vereinten Nationen, 217 (III) A, Paris: 1948. Artikel 2. Verfügbar unter: https://www.un.org/depts/german/menschenrechte/aemr.pdf (zuletzt aufgerufen am 16.09.2020).Utrecht, Artien: Asiatische Werte wieder in der Menschenrechtsdebatte. Beobachtungen und Anmerkungen zu einer internationalen Menschenrechtskonferenz in Kuala Lumpur. In: Südostasien Informationen, Band 11, Ausgabe 1 (1995). S. 10-11. Van Ness, Peter (Hrsg.): Debating Human Rights. Critical Essays from the United States and Asia. London: Routledge 1999. Wagner, Beate: 50 Jahre UN-Menschenrechtspakte. Erschienen am 04.03.2016 in der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. Abrufbar unter: https://www.bpb.de/apuz/222193/50-jahre-un-menschenrechtspakte?p=all (zuletzt aufgerufen am 16.09.2020).Weißbuch: Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Lithuana. Human Rights in China. White Paper of the Government. Erschienen 1991. Abrufbar unter: http://lt.chineseembassy.org/eng/zt/zfbps/t125236.htm (zuletzt aufgerufen am 03.09.2020). Zitat:
Zitate.eu: Zitate von Konfuzius. 2020. Abrufbar unter: https://www.zitate.eu/autor/konfuzius-zitate/9928 (zuletzt abgerufen am 10.09.2020).
Editors' Introduction -- Preface - Professor Jeffrey Ross, University of Baltimore -- Chapter one: Unlocking Prisons: Toward a Carceral Taxonomy - Associate Professor James Oleson, University of Auckland -- Section One: Prison and prisoner representations -- Chapter two: The 1980s behind Bars: the Punitive System in Prison (1987) and Lock Up (1989) - Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns, Juan Juvé and Mariana Zárate, Universidad de Buenos Aires -- Chapter three: Freeing every Last man of Shawshank: a Reading of Frank Darabont's The Shawshank Redemption - Debaditya Mukhopadhyay, Manikchak College -- Chapter four: Incarceration as a Dated Badge of Honour: The Sopranos and the Screen Gangster in a Time of Flux - Robert Hensley-King, Ghent University -- Chapter five: 'So Neglect Becomes Our Ally': Strategy and Tactics in the Chateau D'If in Kevin Reynolds' The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) - Dr Kwasu D Tembo, University of Edinburgh -- Chapter six: Prisons on Screen in 1970s Britain - Dr Marcus K Harmes, Meredith A Harmes, Dr Barbara Harmes, University of Southern Queensland -- Chapter seven: Porridge Reheated: Rewriting the Prison Sitcom - Eleanor March, University of Surrey -- Chapter eight: In the Name of the Father: (Re)Framing the Guildford Four - Dr Fran Pheasant-Kelly, University of Wolverhampton, UK -- Chapter nine: 'You're in trouble mate': Prison and Screen Practice - Dr Lewis Fitz-Gerald, University of New England -- Chapter ten: How Does the Design of the Prison in Paddington 2 (2017) Convey Character, Story and Visual Concept? - Jane Barnwell, University of Westminster -- Section Two: Prisoner reactions to representation -- Chapter eleven: Reading Bronson from Deep on the Inside: An Exploration of Prisoners Watching Prison Films - Dr Victoria Knight, De Montfort University, UK and Dr Jamie Bennett, University of Oxford, UK -- Chapter twelve: Voices from the Inside: Prison Podcasts - Dr Dawn K. Cecil, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg -- Chapter thirteen: A Place to Stand: the Importance of Inmate Narratives in Media - Nathan Young, Arizona State University -- Chapter fourteen: Mediated Representations of Prisoner Experience and Public Empathy - Dr Katrina Clifford, Deakin University and Professor Rob White, University of Tasmania -- Section Three: Out of the depths: media creations from inside prison -- Chapter fifteen: Prison on Screen in Italy: From 'Shame Therapy' Propaganda to Citizenship Programs - Dr Nicoletta Policek, University of Cumbria, UK -- Chapter sixteen: Make Do and Mend: Images and Realities of Prisoners' Positive Creativity - Charlotte Bilby, Reader in Criminology, Northumbria University -- Chapter seventeen: 'O Prison Darkness … Lions in the Cage'; The 'Peculiar' Prison Narratives of Guantánamo Bay - Dr Josephine Metcalf, University of Hull -- Chapter eighteen: Ghost Ships in the Sea: Guantánamo Bay Detainee Art and a Torturous Exhibition - Emilee Grunow, University of Minnesota--Twin Cities -- Section Four: Learning from prison: ethics, education, and audiences -- Chapter nineteen: The Lord of the Flies in Palo Alto - Professor James Oleson, Auckland University -- Chapter twenty: Story as 'Freedom,' Story as 'Prison': Narrative Invention and Human Rights Interventions in Camp 14: Total Control Zone - Professor David Scott Diffrient, Colorado State University -- Chapter twenty-one: An Evaluation of the Effect of Prison Break on Youth Perception of Prison - Dr Okechukwu Chukwuma, Islamic University in Uganda, Kampala Campus and Julius Omokhunu, Edo State, Nigeria -- Section Five: Sensational prisons: incarceration and punishment as reality TV -- Chapter twenty-two: Tacumbú in the News: Non-Sensational Reporting of a Perpetually Unfolding Real-Life Prison Drama - Timothy Revett, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary -- Chapter twenty-three: Bad Teens, Smug Hacks & Good TV: The success and legacy of Scared Straight! - Catherine Harrington, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL -- Chapter twenty-four: The Same, but Different: Discourses of Familiarity and Fear in 60 Days In - Dr Faye Davies, Birmingham City University, UK -- Chapter twenty-five: Reality TV: Instilling Fear to Avoid Prison - Dr Erin DiCesare, Johnson C. Smith University -- Chapter twenty-six: The Queen without a Kingdom: Vulnerability, Martyrization, Monolingualism and Injury Towards a Quechua Speaking Woman Imprisoned in Argentina - Dr Sergio Rodríguez-Blanco, Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City -- Chapter twenty-seven: Women Behind Bars: Dissecting Social Constructs Mediated by News and Reality TV - Jennifer Thomas, Howard University -- Chapter twenty-eight: Monstrous Celebrity and Train-Wreck Femininity: The Tabloid-isation of Prisons and Prisoners - Dr Susan Hopkins, University of Southern Queensland -- Section Six: Genre and prisons: Black Mirror and beyond -- Chapter twenty-nine: Speculative Punishment, Incarceration, and Control in Black Mirror - Dr David Pierson, University of Southern Maine -- Chapter thirty: Carceral Imaginaries in Science Fiction: Toward a Palimpsestic Understanding of Penality - Kaitlyn Quinn, Department of Sociology, University of Toronto, Erika Canossini, Department of Sociology, University of Toronto Vanessa Evans, Department of English, York University -- Chapter thirty-one: 'It's more like an eternal waking nightmare from which there is no escape': Media and Technologies as (Digital) Prison in Black Mirror - Julie Escurignan, University of Roehampton and Dr François Allard-Huver, University of Lorraine -- Chapter thirty-two: Dark Fantasies: The Prisoner and the Future of Imprisonment - Dr Marcus Harmes, Meredith Harmes, Dr Barbara Harmes, University of Southern Queensland -- Chapter thirty-three: Minority Report, Abjection and Surveillance: Futuristic Control in the Scientific Imaginary - Dr Fran Pheasant-Kelly, University of Wolverhampton, UK -- Chapter thirty-four: Moral Ambivalence and the Executioner's Hood – Averting the Retributive Gaze in Dystopian Fiction - Dr Francine Rochford, La Trobe University, Australia -- Section Seven: Creative and commercial transformations: dark tourism in dark places -- Chapter thirty-five: Dark Tours: Prison Museums and Hotels - Associate Professor James Oleson, Auckland University -- Chapter thirty-six: 'Pack of thieves?': The visual representation of prisoners in dark tourist sites - Dr Jenny Wise and Dr Lesley McLean, University of New England, Australia -- Chapter thirty-seven: The Legend of Madman's Hill: Incarceration, Madness and Dark Tourism on the Goldfields - Dr David Waldron, Federation University Australia -- Chapter thirty-eight: Three Related Danish Narratives: the Film 'R', the Penal Museum at Horsens and the Replacement Prison of East Jutland - Dr Jack Dyce -- Chapter thirty-nine: 'Ulucanlar from Prison to Museum: Struggle on Memory and the Future in Turkey' - Dr Mine Gencel Bek, University of Siegen -- Section Eight: Orange is the New Black: race and gender in a television phenomenon -- Chapter forty: Introduction to Imprisonment by the 'Nice White Lady': Piper Chapman as the Ideal Racialised and Classed Neoliberal Subject - Kate Meakin, University of Sussex -- Chapter forty-one: Can Prison be a Feminist Space?: Interrogating Television Representations of Women's Prisons - Jessica Ford, University of New South Wales, Australia -- Chapter forty-two: Advocating Prisoners' Human Rights: A Textual Analysis of Orange is the New Black - Dr Alina Thiemann, Institute of Sociology, the Romanian Academy -- Chapter forty-three: Is Yellow the New Orange? Vis a Vis: The Transnational Phenomenon of Female Prison Dramas and the Rise of Spanish Television - Julia Echeverría, University of Zaragoza, Spain -- Section Nine: Varieties of incarceration: from Wentworth to Bitch Planet -- Chapter forty-four: Wentworth and the Politics and Aesthetics of Representing Female Embodiment in Prison - Cornelia Wächter, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany -- Chapter forty-five: From the Stony Ground Up: the Unique Affordances of the Gaol as 'Hub' for Transgressive Female Representations in Women-in-Prison Dramas - Stayci Taylor (RMIT University, Melbourne), Craig Batty (University of Technology, Sydney), Tessa Dwyer (Monash University, Melbourne), Radha O'Meara (University of Melbourne) -- Chapter forty-six: 'Are You Woman Enough to Survive?': Bitch Planet's Collaborative Critique of the Neo-Liberal Prison-Industrial Complex - Dr Martin Zeller-Jacques, Queen Margaret University -- Chapter forty-seven: The Pleasure Politics of Prison Erotica - Dr Nicoletta Policek, University of Cumbria, UK -- Chapter forty-eight: Let's Have Redemption! Women, Religion and Sexploitation on Screen - Dr Marcus Harmes, Meredith Harmes, Dr Barbara Harmes, University of Southern Queensland -- Section Ten: Exploitation and racialization in prison: film, memoirs and music -- Chapter forty-nine: Screening Fear and Anxiety: African American Incarceration and the Dawning of the Prison-Industrial Complex - Assistant Professor Keith Corson, University of Central Arkansas -- Chapter fifty: 'If These Walls Could Talk': The Prison Motif in the Work of Kendrick Lamar - Chelsea Roden, Universität Heidelberg, Germany -- Chapter fifty-one: How Race and Criminality Interface Through Memoir, Drawing & Film: an Investigation of Austin Reed, Frank Jones Jamaa Fanaka - Ravi Shankar, University of Sydney, Australia.
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1. Approaches to U.S. immigration history. Immigration portrayed as an experience of uprootedness / Oscar Handlin ; Immigration portrayed as an experience of transplantation / John Bodnar ; The invention of ethnicity in the United States / Kathleen Neils Conzen ... [et al.] ; Immigrant women: nowhere at home? / Donna Gabaccia ; Race, nation, and culture in recent immigration studies / George J. Sanchez ; More "trans-," less "national" / Matthew Frye Jacobson -- 2. Settlers, servants, and slaves in early America. European claims to America, circa 1650 ; Alonso Ortiz, a tanner in Mexico City, misses his wife in Spain, 1574 ; Don Antonio de Otermin, governor of New Mexico, on the Pueblo revolt, 1680 ; Marie of the Incarnation finds clarity in Canada, 1652 ; Elizabeth Sprigs, a servant, writes to her father in London, 1756 ; William Byrd II, a land speculator, promotes immigration to Virginia, 1736 ; Thomas Philip, a slave trader, describes the middle passage, 1693 ; Job recalls being taken to slavery in America, 1731 ; Religion and contested spaces in colonial North America / Tracy Neal Leavelle ; Adaptation and survival in the New World / Alison Games -- 3. Citizenship and migration before the Civil War. Citizenship in the Articles of Confederation, 1781 ; Citizenship and migration in the United States Constitution, 1787 ; Naturalization Act of 1790 ; An Act Concerning Aliens, 1798 ; New York's Poor Law, 1788 ; Moore v. People upholds fugitive slavery acts, 1852 ; The open borders myth / Gerald L. Neuman ; Citizenship in nineteenth-century America / William J. Novak -- 4. European migration and national expansion in the early nineteenth century. Ana Maria Schano advises her family in Germany on emigration, 1850-1883 ; Irish describe effects of the potato famine, 1846-1847 ; Irish immigration and work depicted in song, 1850s ; Emigrant runners work NY harbor, 1855 ; Samuel F.B. Morse enumerates the dangers of the Roman Catholic immigrant, 1835 ; Portrayals of immigrants in political cartoons, 1850s ; The global Irish / Kevin Kenny ; German Catholic immigrants who make their own America / Kathleen Neils Conzen -- 5. The Southwest borderlands. Stephen Austin calls for Texas independence, 1836 ; John O'Sullivan declares "boundless future" is America's "manifest destiny" ; U.S. territorial expansion to 1850 ; Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo sets rights of Mexicans in ceded territory, 1848 ; Congress reports Indian incursions in the border area, 1850 ; The ballad of Gregario Cortez, 1901 ; Negotiating captivity in the New Mexico borderlands / James F. Brooks ; Anglos establish control in Texas / David Montejano -- 6. National citizenship and federal regulation of immigration. U.S. Constitution, Amendment 14, Sec. 1 ; Naturalization Act of 1870, Sec. 7 ; Supreme Court recognizes Congress's plenary power over immigration, 1889 ; U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark rules birthright citizenship applies to all born in United States, 1898 ; Immigration Act of 1917 lists excludable classes ; Chinese poetry from Angel Island, 1910s ; Immigration station at Ellis Island, New York, c. 1904 ; Immigration station at Angel Island, San Francisco, c. 1915 ; The great wall against China / Aristide R. Zolberg ; Divided citizenships / Linda Bosniak -- 7. Immigration during the era of industrialization and urbanization. Mary Antin describes life in Polozk and Boston, 1890 ; Jacob Riis describes the impoverished tenements of New York City, 1890 ; George Washington Plunkitt justifies the urban political machine, 1905 ; Chinatown, U.S.A., 1874-1919 ; John Martin, an American worker, does not understand the foreigners in the 1919 steel strike ; Jane Addams on the settlement as a factor in the labor movement, 1895 ; Work and community in the jungle / James R. Barrett ; Chinatown: a contested urban space / Mary Ting Yi Lui -- 8. Colonialism and migration. Senator Albert J. Beveridge supports an American empire, 1898 ; Joseph Henry Crooker says America should not have colonies, 1900 ; Downes v. Bidwell rules Puerto Rico belongs to but not part of United States, 1901 ; Louis Delaplaine, a consular official, says Puerto Ricans are ungrateful, 1921 ; A citizen recommends Puerto Rican labor for Panama Canal, 1904 ; Filipino asparagus workers petition for standard of American wages, 1928 ; A Chinese labor contract in Hawaii, 1870 ; The noncitizen national and the law of American empire / Christina Duffy Burnett ; Japanese and Haoles in Hawaii / Evelyn Nakano Glenn -- 9. Immigrant incorporation, edentity, and nativism in the early twentieth century. The Asiatic Exclusion League argues that Asians cannot be assimilated, 1911 ; Fu Chi Hao reprimands Americans for anti-Chinese attitudes, 1907 ; Madison Grant on the "passing of a great race," 1915 ; Randolph Bourne promotes cultural pluralism, 1916 ; Becoming American and becoming white / James R. Barrett and David Roediger ; The evolution of racial nativism / John Higham -- 10. The turn to restriction. Immigration Act of 1924 establishes immigration quotas ; Thind v. United States rules Asians cannot become citizens, 1923 ; Mary Kidder Rad writes that patrolling the border is a "man sized job" ; Congressman John Box objects toMexican immigrants, 1928 ; League of United Latin-American Citizens form civil rights organization, 1929 ; The invention of national origins / Mae M. Ngai ; The shifting politics of Mexican nationalism and ethnicity -- 11. Patterns of inclusiion and exclusion, 1920s to 1940s. Dominic Del Turco remembers union organizing, 1934 ; Dept. of Labor reports on consumer spending patterns of Mexican families, 1934 ; Recalling the Mexican repatriation in the 1930s ; Callifornia Attorney General Earl Warren questions Japanese Americans' loyalty, 1941 ; Poet Mitsuye Yamada ponders the question of loyalty, 1942 ; Mine Okubo illustrates her family's internment, 1942 ; Sailors and Mexican youth clash in Los Angeles, 1943 ; Louis Adamic: war is opportunity for pluralism and unity, 1940 ; President Franklin Roossevelt urges repeal of Chinese Exclusion Laws, 1943 ; Chicago workers encounter mass culture / Lizabeth Cohen ; The history of "milotary necessity" in the Japanese American internment / Alice Yang Murray -- 12. Immigration reform and ethnic politics in the era of civil rights and the Cold War. Sociologist Will Herberg describes the "triple melting pot" ; Anthropologist Oscar Lewis theorizes the culture of poverty, 1966 ; :iri Tholmas thinks about racism, 1969 ; Cesar Chavez declares "Viva la cause!" 1965 ; Historian Oscar Handlin criticizes national-origin quotas, 1952 ; President Lyndon Johnson signs Immigration Act of 1965 ; The liberal brief for immigration reform / Mae M. Ngai ; Representing the Puerto Rican problem / Lorrin Thomas -- 13. Immigrants in the post-industrial age. President Reagan signs Immigration Reform and Control Act, 1986 ; Ruben Martinez describes the fight against Proposition 187, 1995 ; Asian immigrants transplant religious institutions, 1994 ; Proof of the melting pot is in the eating, 1991 ; Perla Rabor Rigor compares life as a nurse in the Philippines and America, 1987 ; Santiago Maldonado details the lives of undocumented immigrants in Texas, 1994 ; George Gmelch compares life in New York and Barbados, 1971-1976 ; A Chicano conference advocates the creation of Aztlan, 1969 ; Janitors strike for justice, 1990 ; Transnational ties / Nancy Foner ; Ethnic advocacy for immigration reform / Carolyn Wong -- 14. Refugees and asylees. Refugee Act of 1980 ; Congressman Jerry Patterson details needs of refugees in California, 1981 ; A Cuban flees to the United States, 1979 ; Xang Mao Xiong recalls his family's flight from Laos, 1975 ; United States interdicts Haitian refugees at sea, 1991 ; Refugee youth play soccer in Georgia, 2007 ; A sociologist assesses DNA testing for African refugees, 2010 ; Refugees enter America through the side door / Aristide R. Zolberg ; "They are proud people": refugees from Cuba / Carl J. Bon Tempo -- 15. Immigration challenges in the twenty-first century. An overview of race and Hispanic origin makeup of the U.S. population, 2000 ; A statistical portrait of unauthorized immigrants, 2009 ; Remittance and housing woes for immigrants during economic recession, 2008 ; Mohammed Bilal-Mirza, a Pakistani-American taxi driver, recounts September 11, 2001, and its aftermath ; American-Arab Anti-discrimination Committee condemns terrorism, 2001 ; Feisal Abul Rauf, an imam, proposes a multi-faith center in New York, 2010 ; Immigrants march for immigration reform, 2006 ; Minutemen call for border security first, only, and now, 2006 ; Joseph Carens makes the case for amnesty, 2009 ; Arizona passes state law against illegal immigration, 2010 ; The work culture of Latina domestic workers / Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo ; The citizen and the terrorist / Leti Volpp.
No, not a rock band, but my past few days of hanging out with super-smart folks and the folks who fund them and me. The Humboldt Foundation held a meeting for awardees, which involved lots of Franconian food (oh my), several amazing lectures, and meeting these folks. It is held in Bamberg where the spirit of Humboldt apparently lives. Let me explain.Despite Humboldt being a dead rich guy, the foundation is not what he created with his will, but by the German government to foster engagement with foreign scientists after World War II. It funds, among other things, foreign scholars to spend time in Germany working with German scholars. This foundation is why I am spending three months in Berlin this year and three months next year. The range of scholarship that is funded is pretty breathtaking, as our meeting includes philosophers and classisists (classics scholars, whatever they are called) and physicists and engineers and material scientists and folks in between. I have been to such a multidisciplinary event although it did remind me of a conference in 1990ish where Dave and I served as rapporteurs but that was mostly physicists and nuclear engineers and the like. The program here involved opening presentations about Bamberg and Humboldt, lectures on optical networks, philosophical rationality, climate change, and the human genome and mutation (now the X-men are on my mind). We also had small group organized by discipline-ish. My group of 20 covered the humanities and social sciences. And we had some excellent meals that exemplified the food of this region (heavy, really heavy). I was my first real European rail trip since my college days (except for some trips between Amsterdam and the Hague), and, yowza, are the rails smooth here. Great tank country. Anyhow, I got here a bit early on the first day so I walked around the town. Bamberg is, well, really old and mostly undamaged. It was founded around 1070 as the home to Holy Roman emperor types, and it was not bombed in World War II, which makes for a really amazing old city. It is famous for a specific kind of beer: smokey!The first evening started with a bit of history about Humboldt. He was one of two sons of a rich family, and he really, really wanted to explore and engage in some serious botany and other scientific investigations. Which he did once his mother died. He documented heaps of nature in Latin America and in Europe. His scientific interests were all over the place, so naming this foundation after him makes a great deal of sense. Alex said once: "Knowledge and insight are the joy and entitlement of humankind." Indeed.The first section of the first morning was by Polina Bayvel of University College London on optical networks. She did an excellent job of talking to folks who were a range of sharp hard physicists and curious social scientists--she made the optics of fiber and of the cloud and the internet most clear. The history of philosophy and religion prof lost me. In the afternoon, our roundtable was partly aimed at introductions so that maybe folks might find some people to work with down the road. The person at the table closest to me was... a former colleague. Vincent Pouloit, who was hired at McG in my sixth year or so there, is also here. That was a fun surprise as neither of us knew we are Humboldting this year until we read the program for the event. The group talked a bit about a variety of issues affecting contemporary social science including AI in the classroom.And then there was the award ceremony. It was really touching to have every awardee introduced and given a certificate. I will be most proud to frame it and put it on my office wall. I felt very outclassed here as some of the folks here are making tremendous contributions to science, but I am, of course, quite proud to be among them. Vincent!!!The meals, other than the heaviness of the food, have been the best part. The first night our table happened to be me and a sociologist and three super enthusiastic physicists who so much loved talking about their stuff and using their hands like fighter pilots to explain their concepts. Last night, as it was before the ceremony, there were some friends/guests of the Humbodlt Foundation at the dinner. So, I sat next to a very inquisitive chemist who asked me about NATO and other stuff, and explained his work--zapping things with lasers including ... coffee! The first presentation of the second day was by Tiffany Shaw (a Canadian!) who talked about Predicting Climate Change. It was a fascinating talk about some of the dynamics of climate change and where the uncertainty is. Nope, no uncertainty about it being caused by humans and that it is getting worse. One of the things I had not known is that the temperature change was essentially additive--that the temperatures are rising in a relatively linear fashion but the effect on precipitation is non-linear. That means it is getting to get much, much wetter. Oh my. I asked a question about 2023 since she had it on her final slide but didn't talk about how last year was beyond the predictions or at least at the outer end of the range of predictions. She suggested this year might actually not be quite as hot as there were some specific dynamics last year that were temporary that pushed things hotter than the general trends. She finished by saying how this was an exciting time to be doing this kind of work, which reminded me of how I left about doing the International Relations of Ethnic Conflict in the 1990s--exciting but scary and depressing. The next presentation was about the genome and mutation. The first big surprise is that most/all mutation is bad--making it more likely for someone to die. And, well, that ran against all the years of X-Men and Homo Superior. Magneto had the wrong idea about mutation? It turns out that what we think about evolution is wrong--it is not really progressive and more by chance! That mutations tend to be selected out in a large population (like yeast?!) but may remain in smaller populations like elephants these days or homonids way back when. This nearly neutral model of evolution has really shook things up even as it has not made it out of the genome scholars and into the popular understanding. I didn't stick around for the q&a as I had to get to a pharmacy before it closed. And then I explored more of Bamberg, going into various museums and super old buildings.My quest for life-changing strudel continues, alas, without success. It was fine. We have one last dinner, and then tomorrow, I take the train back to Berlin to prepare for my next adventure: skiing in the Alps! Hopefully, the wifi will be better in Zurs, but, of course, I will need it less as I will be out and about on many slopes and chair lifts!Once again, I am thinking--better to be lucky than good. This winter has been amazing--my time in Berlin and Vienna has been fantastic. I can now add my Bamberg adventure. Just a terrific time, learning a lot, and enjoying the Humboldt Spirit™.
Thanks to Ron Schmidt for this image In John Maynard Keynes essay "Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren" one can find the following formulation of the cultural transformation of post-capitalism:"I see us free, therefore, to return to some of the most sure and certain principles of religion and traditional virtue-that avarice is a vice, that the exaction of usury is a misdemeanour, and the love of money is detestable, that those walk most truly in the paths of virtue and sane wisdom who take least thought for the morrow. We shall once more value ends above means and prefer the good to the useful. We shall honour those who can teach us how to pluck the hour and the day virtuously and well, the delightful people who are capable of taking direct enjoyment in things, the lilies of the field who toil not, neither do they spin. For a least another hundred years we must pretend to ourselves and to every one that fair is foul and foul is fair, for foul is useful and fair is not. Avarice and usury and precaution must be our gods for a little longer still. For only they can lead us out of the tunnel of economic necessity into daylight."Keynes formulation of course draws from a long history of the virtues of vices stretching back to Mandeville and Smith, in which it is vice not virtue, selfishness not selflessness, that drives social change and progress. Where of course he differs from both is in seeing this as an unfortunate state of affairs, a necessary evil, and a temporary one. Keynes prediction has proven to not come true, not for the grandchildren of his era at least, and we are no closer to his cultural revolution than we are in the fifteen hour work week he envisioned.I would like to even go a step further and suggest that not only has Keynes prediction not come true, that the foul gods of avarice and usury not only continue to reign, but also that they have deposed any other rival ideals. In order to understand how this is true, it is necessary to extract a descriptive dimension to Keynes' pronouncement. We can argue that much of the twentieth century, at least in capitalist countries, there was something of a split between two cultures, one that could claim the name culture in the pursuit of art, literature, and philosophy, and the other dedicated to profit. The divide between these two can be seen in multiple places. In the university for one in which the real divide is not between science and the arts, but between the majors that have an immediate practical and profitable application and those that will always elicit the question, "what are you going to do with that?" This includes the sciences especially in their more research oriented and fundamental dimension, biology, physics, astronomy, zoology, etc., The divide can also be seen in popular culture, especially in film, which oriented around a calendar divided between blockbusters and prestige films, between films that make money and films that win awards. This divide between doing good for oneself, in the financial sense, and being good, divided knowledge and culture, imposing, as Marx put it, two separate yardsticks, two measurements. To go back to the college example, the person who pursued the ideals of "truth and beauty," to put it in the classic sense, would always have to answer the question of how they were going to make a living, and the person who pursued making a living might, upon reflection, have a nagging sense that they are missing out on something more. If this example does not hold up then think about the world of movies, split between the person who enjoys blockbusters and the person who enjoys not only prestige films, does anyone really like blatant Oscar bait, but what we used to call "art films," the category encompassing foreign and independent movies. This is also a split between two different yardsticks, two different measurements, one is assessed in terms of profit and the other in terms of some artistic merit. (If one wanted to put this in more sophisticated terms, those of Deleuze and Guattari, we could say that it is a matter of axioms and codes, but I will leave that aside for now)Contradictions have a way of resolving themselves and one of these two standards had to give (a very un-Deleuzian point, I know). What we have seen, contra Keynes, is not the return of the lilies of the field but the mowing down of everything in terms of profit. The rise of the Marvel movie is not just the dominance of a new genre, that of superhero films, but of a new standard in which box office is the only tool of evaluation. I remember reading somewhere that Disney was at one point unique among film studios in that it did not have a prestige division, a Sony Searchlight or whatever. Why bother releasing prestige films in December to possibly get an award that no one cares about when you could make more money releasing a new Spider-Man or Star Wars movie? I also think that the current conflict over the university is one of the revenge of the business majors against the rest. It is an attempt to impose one standard on the university, that which makes a profit, removing anything that would be concerned with anything else. It is hard to finish this line of thought without mentioning Trump, who stands out among Presidents in his absolute disinterest in anything resembling art or truth. Part of Trump's appeal to his voters is in his constantly saying again and again, who cares about art? who cares about literature? just stupid, and un-American nerds, as the following clip makes clear. (Oh, and for the record, I doubt he has seen Gone With the Wind, but he knows enough to know that it has the right nostalgia, and the right racial politics to appeal to his audience)Trump does very well among a particular class of capitalists, what some call lumpen capitalists, the small business owners, franchise owners, and, more significantly, entire fringe industries that border on scams. With respect to the latter, I just finished reading this book, Get Rich or Lie Trying, and the chapter on Trump University was truly shocking. I knew it was an multilevel marketing company, but I did not expect it to be such a transparent scheme. Ultimately, this might bring us to an economic explanation of this particular cultural revolution, what has made the business class more brazen and more transparent. I think we have to see this as a particular kind of class composition, not, as in the classic version aimed at the working class, at understanding its technical and political composition, but at the ruling class, or at least a segment of it. (Our current cultural battles over DEI and the like are really conflicts within the ruling class, between those companies that need to expand their customer and employee base, and thus their interest in diversity and those that see all such things as challenges to their regional control and fiefdoms.) A full analysis of the intersection of economy and culture in this transformation is more than I have space for, it seems enough now to say that we are in the grips of a different cultural revolution than the one Keynes predicted, and our lives, and those of our grandchildren, are possibly all the worse for it.
The more Palestinians believe that Washington is condoning the unprecedented devastation of Gaza and the killing and injuring of tens of thousands of Palestinians, the higher the probability that Hamas's resistance against Israel could expand into a global jihad and raise the terrorism threat against the United States. Will the absence of a settlement of the conflict through a two-state solution or some other fair and equitable modality usher in a new generation of Arab and Islamic global jihadists? Have U.S. policymakers considered the long-term implications of such a frightening development? Isn't it tragic that, after spending over 20 years fighting al-Qaida and ISIS, the United States may be inadvertently contributing to the making of new cadres of violent jihadists, many of whom were not even born before 9/11?The frequent video broadcasts by Abu Ubayda, Hamas's military spokesman, chronicling Al-Qassam Brigades' purported successes against Israeli forces in Gaza are beginning to resemble announcements by former al-Qaida and ISIS military spokesmen, including in some cases, Qur'anic citations of suras and 'ayas (Chapters and verses), mostly revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in Medina (versus Mecca). In previous Gaza wars (2008-2021), Hamas viewed Israel as its primary adversary, the so-called "near enemy."In the current war, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other Palestinian militants, much like Wahhabi Salafi radicals in the 1990s and early 2000s, have begun to consider the United States as their other enemy, the so-called "far enemy." Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan articulated this view in the latest press conference on December 26.To many of these radicals, the United States, in partnering with Israel's military campaign against the Palestinians, has become a legitimate target for violent jihad. As this view solidifies within Hamas and the Palestinian resistance at large, not to mention across the Arab and Islamic worlds, terrorist threats against the United States — in the region and in the homeland — are likely to increase. Because of Washington's persistent refusal to support United Nations resolutions calling for a permanent ceasefire, Washington has lost what little credibility it had left as an "honest broker" in the Palestine conflict.According to a recent public opinion poll, majorities of Palestinians in Gaza — and more significantly in the West Bank — view the U.S. less favorably than any other time in recent years. As they become more radicalized and frustrated, Hamas and other Palestinian militants will increasingly adopt the view that America is their enemy, and they are therefore duty-bound to wage violent jihad against American facilities and personnel.Al-Qaida has long viewed the United States as an "infidel" far enemy, and if the Gaza war continues in its present configuration, Hamas will follow suit and will join the global jihad. Thus, Hamas's heretofore religious nationalist struggle in Palestine could evolve into a global Islamic jihadist ideology that could resonate among disenfranchised, angry, and unemployed Muslim youth across the Muslim world, including in some Western countries in which sizable Muslim communities live.Palestinians believe that Israel created the first Palestinian displacement, or Nakba, in 1948. In the current Gaza war, Hamas believes that Israel and its partner, the United States, are creating the second Palestinian Nakba in 2023-2024.Hamas's likely ideological transformation As I wrote recently, Hamas's war against Israel over the years has been primarily expressed in the form of resistance — military and political — against the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and control of Gaza. Since the horrific October 7 assault on the Israeli communities in southern Israel and the massive Israeli military response, backed by Washington's military, economic and political support, the United States has emerged in Hamas' rhetoric as the second enemy. In their mind, violent jihad against this new enemy is now permissible and legitimate. Adopting such a position would signal that some Hamas military leaders could move away from the Muslim Brotherhood's mainstream Islamic ideology focusing on local Muslim communities toward the radical rhetoric of Sayyid Qutb, the most extreme thinker of the Muslim Brotherhood, and from there to Wahhabi Salafi jihadism. Qutb, who was executed by Egypt in the mid-1960s, preached in his book Signposts (ma'alim fi al-Tariq) that the enemies of Islam are Muslim leaders who exhibit un-Islamic behavior and their supporters among foreign infidel leaders, such as Israel and the United States and their allies. He called the Muslim leaders the "near enemy" and the foreign leaders the "far enemy." He urged Muslims to wage a necessary jihad against both groups of leaders and their countries. Qutb and subsequent radical Palestinian leaders moved closer ideologically to radical Wahhabi clerics and ulama in Saudi Arabia. They jointly began to articulate a common ideological front of global jihad against all infidels and unbelievers domestically and internationally, which set the stage for 9/11. It's noteworthy to remember that Osama bin Laden frequently invoked Palestine in his speeches and messages railing against the United States. Under the influence of Qutb's writing, leading Hamas jihadists like Shaikh Ahmed Yassin moved away from the Egyptian Al-Azhar Islam, reflected in the three mainstream schools of jurisprudence in Sunni Islam — the Shafi'i, the Maliki, and the Hanafi schools — toward the Saudi Wahhabi interpretation, which primarily adheres to the Hanbali school of jurisprudence, the fourth and most radical school in Sunni Islam. Under the Hanbali version of Islam, as articulated by the Saudi religious scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab in the 18th century, jihad is considered a sixth tenet of Islam — the other five being the traditional "pillars" of the religion: the Shahada (profession of one's faith), Salat (prayers), Zakat (alms giving), Sawm (fasting), and the Hajj (Pilgrimage). Of the 114 Suras in the entire Qur'an, 26 Suras, which feature a significant focus on jihad and fighting, were revealed to Prophet Muhammad in Medina while he was in the process of establishing his Islamic state and battling the mushrikun (polytheists, pagans, idolaters, and disbelievers). Radical jihadis, including followers of al-Qaeda and ISIS, often cite 'ayas from the Medinan Suras in their defense of waging violent jihad against the perceived enemies of Islam. Examples of these Suras are Surat al-Ma'ida, Surat al-Baqara, Surat al-Nisa', and Surat Muhammad.For Hamas and Palestinians in general, the Biden administration has been an integral partner in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war of retribution in Gaza and its lack of logic, proportionality, and humanity. The White House has argued that Arab regimes for the most part loathe Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood's Islamic ideology and are therefore privately tolerant of Israel's continued destruction of Gaza. This muddled logic, however, primarily focuses on Arab autocratic regimes, not their publics. The devastation of Gaza and the uprooting of nearly two million people will strengthen, not weaken, Arab publics' support for Hamas or a successor group. Hamas is not just a group of militant jihadists comprising 30,000 plus fighters but an idea nurtured by the miserable Palestinian realities on the ground.The way forwardTo break the possibility of more terrorism, it's time for President Biden to realize that the unprecedented and inhumane destruction of Gaza will not destroy Hamas or return the hostages safely. He should end his complicity in Israel's war and work with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to remove Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas from their leadership positions and work with Israelis and Palestinians to elect new leaders.If the Biden administration puts forward a clear path for the two peoples to live together, whether in a two-state paradigm or some other legitimate political arrangement, Hamas' terrorism threat against the United States would fizzle. The Palestinian people, like other peoples in the region, are more interested in living, putting food on the table, and educating their children. Once Israelis and Palestinians agree to move from the destruction of Gaza to a negotiated political and economic reconstruction, only then will the slow process of bringing the bloody history of Hamas' Yahya Sinwar and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu — the region's newest warmongers — come to an end.
