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Benedict XVI: New media technologies for evangelization

Catholic Issues — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:38:00 +0000

Benedict XVI: Knowledge only grows if one loves the truth

Catholic Issues — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:36:03 +0000

Post Racial America? You Are Right!

Catholic Issues — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 02:19:55 +0000

Post Racial America? You Are Right!
After President Barack Obama’s landmark victory in the Presidential election’s last year, many pundits as well as ordinary Americans were eager to proclaim a new era in American history, “the post-racial era.” Many blacks, most especially those who were civil right activists sounded a word of caution which many people failed to listen to. It does not take the election of one man to change the whole history of people who for centuries were told they are sub-human or at best less than equal. There is no doubt that we have made a lot of progress as a nation in electing the first African American president, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. The recent event in which a Cambridge police officer arrested Henri Louise Gate, an African American professor reminds us that we have not reached a “post-racial” era yet. There is still a mutual suspicion that exists between both races. Most times, this is not conscious but there are plenty of incidents in which these cases are deliberate acts of racism.
It would be difficult to know what was going on in the minds of both the police officer and Professor Gate. It is possible that the police officer did not deliberately take into consideration race when he was dealing with professor Gate. That does not mean that race was not unconsciously a factor. I have many good friends who are White and believe that there is no atom of racism in their body and yet sometimes will do or say certain things that I feel uncomfortable with and consider to be racist. Do I fault them for it? No. We are all products of different histories. In our every day encounters, there is a conscious or unconscious “clash of histories.” Our individual histories is the prism through which we assess events that happen daily in our lives. Unfortunately for many black people, that history is shaped by many years of oppression and racial profiling. It is very easy to find a black person who has had negative experiences with the police. I still have nightmares from an incident in which two years ago a police officer pulled a gun on me, only to write me a warning ticket for my car’s left side brake light that was dead. As I shared my story that day with others, everyone told me I fit their “profile”: a tall black man, driving a black Mercedes Benz with tinted windows. It is possible that the police officer that stopped me did not “consciously” consider race but my history predisposed me to believe this action was racially motivated. The question is, could he have pulled a gun on a properly dressed tall white black man? I will never know the answer to that question.
We still have a long way to go in healing the divisions that exists between us and in “perfecting our union.” It would be stupid to delude ourselves that we are in a post-racial America. We need more education in race relations. The most some people know of Martin Luther King Jr. is that it is a public holiday. When Coretta Scott King died, a classmate in graduate school had no idea who she was. We will be in a post-racial America when we have all got it into our heads and sincerely believe those words in our declaration of independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

Why African Leaders are Afraid of the International Criminal Court

Catholic Issues — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 01:52:41 +0000

In its recently concluded summit in Serta, Libya, African leaders decided not to cooperate with the International Criminal Court on the arrest and prosecution of Al-Bashir, the President of Sudan, who has been indicted by the court for war crimes. One of the reasons given for this resolution was offered by the Prime Minister of Rwanda, Bernard Makuza. He told the Associated Press, “We’re not promoting impunity, but we’re saying that Westerners who don’t understand anything about Africa should stop trying to import their solutions.” It is unfortunate that the “leaders” have come to this resolution. There is no Western solution being offered here than bringing a man who has murdered his own people to justice. Justice is not a Western value but a universal value. The resolution is another attempt by African leaders to protect one of their own. The issue here is not that Western solutions are being exported to Africa, but the question is, “who is next?”

All through the continent, we see similar situations as in Darfur but in a lesser degree. It is a matter of time before those situations would develop into genocide-like activities. There are dictatorships throughout the continent and innocent civilians are being murdered daily because of ethnic, religious or political affiliation. These killings are being directed by the leaders, or they are in some way complacent to the murders. We have seen the “Darfur story” before in the continent. Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Liberia are just a few countries in which genocide-like activities have taken place. Those killed are human beings, and they deserve a chance to live. Taking their lives prematurely is a deprivation of their most fundamental universal right and those who commit such crimes should face justice. This endemic circle must be broken and this is only possible when the “mighty” and the “untouchables” are subjected to the law. Makuza speaks of African solutions to the problem. In the past, such solutions did not work, and so we should not be under any illusion, they will work this time. The genocide in Darfur has been going on for years and African leaders have not been able to stop it nor have they shown any significant leadership in the issue. They have continued to give Al-Bashir’s government legitimacy. El Samany El Wasila, the Prime Minister of Sudan was quick to note to the AP after the resolution that, “It’s the confirmation of what we always said: The indictment is a political thing, not a legal thing.” According to the AP, he declined to comment on whether Al-Bashir would now visit freely the 30 African countries that are party to the IICC treaty.

Treatises are formal agreements between nations. 30 African countries signed the ICC treaty. They were not forced into signing it. The resolution from the African Union summit does not nullify formal agreements they have made with nations outside Africa. They must continue to keep those agreements. This means that if Al-Bashir should travel to any of these 30 African nations, they are obliged under the agreement to arrest him and turn him over to the ICC. Countries such as Ghana, Chad and Botswana have disagreed already with this resolution. The Ghanaian foreign minister, Mohammed Mumuni said to reporters, “Certainly that’s not the position that we take … for us in Ghana there is absolutely no equivocation at all about our acceptance and respect for the jurisdiction, the integrity and high honor of dignity of the ICC.” Ghana is taking a new democratic leadership role in Africa. We hope other emerging democracies in the continent such as Nigeria and Liberia would follow suit by making strong statements in defense of the ICC indictment of Al-Bashir and stop politicizing it.

Iranian Leaders and the Watching World

Catholic Issues — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 04:30:26 +0000

President Barack Obama in a public statement last week, reminded the leaders of Iran that the world was watching the unfolding events in their country. He wrote, “The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost, …” Prior to this statement, Congress had taken a non-binding resolution condemning the violence against the peaceful protesters in the streets. Why would oppressive leaders be concerned about the eyes of the world? History has shown that oppressors have always gotten away with their barbaric actions against their own people without any severe consequences for their actions.
I grew up in an era of military dictatorship in Nigeria. Those who disagreed with the government were either killed or imprisoned without opportunity for a fair judicial process. The economic sanctions that were placed on Nigeria by the West did not deter the dictators from continuing their inhumane treatment of citizens. Those who suffered these sanctions were the common people. Top government officials continued to travel around the world for pleasure at the expense of tax payers. Many prominent critics of the government went on self imposed exile because they were no longer safe in the country. Throughout this time of oppression, Nigerians waited in vain for the intervention of the international. The IMF/ World Bank continued to legitimize these dictators by giving them billions of dollars in loans that future generations of Nigerians would continue to pay. These monies were stolen and deposited in Swiss accounts.
It is not enough for the world to watch but the world must act whenever innocent lives are being taken by oppressive regimes. As President Obama rightly said in his statement, “The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, …” The United States must not be a lone voice that seeks to promote freedom, justice and equity in the world. The freedom of people everywhere must be the business of the United Nations. Too often, the United Nations does not enforce the rights that have been agreed upon by member nations. The organization has become a toothless bulldog. Economic Sanctions against member countries do not work but only go a long way to impoverish the common people who are themselves victims of these repressive governments.
Let me conclude by offering four modest proposals:
1. Travel restrictions should be imposed on leaders who are oppressive to their own people. This should not only be enforced by members of the G8 but all member countries of the United Nations. This should not only be limited to the President only but also his immediate family, friends and cabinet members.
2. International organizations or member countries should not extend loans or loan guarantees to both military and civilian dictators. They do not represent the will of the people and should not incur debts on behalf of the people.
3. Where there is genocide against any particular group of people, the international community must intervene, militarily when necessary. Rwanda was a shame to the international community and it is unacceptable.
4. The international community must pressure Switzerland and other countries with clandestine banking systems to make transactions more transparent. An international body of monitors should be set up to inspect international cash flows from dictatorial governments.

A DAY NIGERIANS AND IRANIANS WOULD NEVER FORGET

Catholic Issues — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:42:53 +0000

It was June 12, 1993. Millions of Nigerians went to the polls to cast their votes in an election that to this date has been judged to be the freest and fairest election that has ever taken place in Nigeria. I was only 15 at the time but I was engaged in the political process. After many years of military dictatorships with failed promises, Nigerians were ready for a change. We were all excited about the change that was coming with the election of a democratic president. In my lifetime, I had seen prosperity that I had enjoyed as a child being robbed from me by notorious military dictators. Through the years of military rule, my family had moved from upper middle class to lower middle class and there were reasonable chances that we were going to slip into poverty if the tide of corruption and inflation was not halted. While the two candidates representing the two national parties were not saints, there was reasonable hope that either of them would halt the depression and put the country back in the path of progress. We looked forward to June 12 so much that we named our cat, “June 12,” the last cat I would ever love.

All our hopes were lost and our dreams shattered when that election was annulled without any reason shortly after June 12. Given the intense pressure from both the international community and citizens, the then military dictator General Ibrahim Babangida stepped down and handed power to a transitional government which was overthrown within 100 days by General Sani Abacha, one of Babangida’s military cronies. That coup set democracy in Nigeria back another five years. On the 29th of May, 1999, Nigerians went to the polls to elect a democratic President after the mysterious death of General Abacha. Last month was the 10th anniversary of this new democratic experiment in Nigeria. While there are still fundamental problems in the Nigerian polity, the bleeding has stopped and the country is gradually heading the right direction. What is required of all Nigerians is patience.

The people of Iran on June 12, 2009 went to the polls to elect a president. The deteriorating economy together with the further isolation of Iran from the international community propelled millions of people to go to the polls and demand for change. Unfortunately, the Iranian establishment had their own anointed candidate. In the last few days, we have seen the streets of Iran filled with hundreds of thousands of protesters who are demanding that their votes be counted. Many of these people stood in lines for hours to cast their votes. In their peaceful demand for what is fair and just, they have been harassed, bruised and some even killed by the government that is suppose to look after their interests.

The problem in Iran is the problem of people everywhere in the world. We share not only a common citizenship, “citizens of the world,” but we are all created in the image and likeness of one God. While the US government needs to walk a delicate path, lest the Iranian leaders accuse them of being behind the crisis, the citizens must stand in solidarity with the peaceful marchers in the streets. If the millions of people in Iraq marching know that the rest of the world is behind them, they will continue peaceful demonstrations until their voices are heard. This is our opportunity to help the people of Iran build an effective democracy. Sending solidarity tweets would go a long way to encouraging them in their demand for true democracy.

On Obama’s Commencement Speech at Notre Dame

Catholic Issues — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:41:10 +0000

I had no interest discussing this topic in a blog post but since some of you have asked me my opinion, I feel I should share it with you. One question I received goes like this:

“Father, I am interested in your opinion on this matter. Should we not stand up and speak out against pro-abortion politicians using our universities as a platform?”

Sure. No politicians should use our universities as a platform for pro-abortion. The issue is that abortion should not be singled out. Catholic pro-life teaching extends beyond abortion. Our Catholic universities should not be used as a platform to promote torture, capital punishment, unjust wars or to deny global warming which has consequences for the wellbeing of the next generation.
It is an honor to have the President of the country give a commencement speech at a catholic university. The purpose of his commencement speech is not to tell the audience that it is okay to have an abortion. He is not there to promote pro-abortion policies. Barack Obama has repeatedly said that he is in favor of limiting the number of abortions in the country. As a church, we may disagree with him on abortion and stem cell research but there are many other policies that we do agree with him. Example: environment, poverty alleviation, torture, universal healthcare etc. These policies promote human life and dignity.
Other Republican politicians who have spoken in the past in Catholic Universities across the country do not necessarily agree with the teaching of the Catholic Church either. I did not see any negative reaction. Two notable examples: George Bush spoke at St. Vincent College in 2007. You want to know how pro-life he is and how he agrees with Catholic teaching? As governor of Texas he approved the killing of over 150 people on death row. How prolife can that be? Remember the Iraq war? Pope John Paul II told him that was an unjust war, yet, he ignored the pope and went on ahead to fight a war in which over 4000 American servicemen excluding contractors and coalition forces have died and over 600,000 Iraqis have died. While still a graduate student at The Catholic University of America, Washington DC in 2005, Dick Cheney came on campus and gave a presentation on Social Security. I did not see any protest from any group. Dick Cheney is someone who approves of Enhanced Interrogation Methods, aka, torture. Dick Cheney also does not approve of a constitutional ban on gay marriage. How Catholic are these teachings? I leave you to decide.
The church must stop being political and focus on its central mission which is to change the hearts and minds of its members.

LAY CATHOLICS ARE NOT AS DUMB AS SHEEP

Catholic Issues — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:32:51 +0000

Usually, bishops and priests are described as the shepherds of God’s flock. This is an imagery I do not feel really comfortable with. I have friends justifying the appropriateness of using this analogy because it is scriptural. The argument goes like this:

The Bible describes Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd
The Priest is another Christ
Therefore, the priest is a good shepherd.

The word “good” does not change my views on the use of this imagery. I know the good shepherd is expected to know his sheep and to care for his sheep. My problem actually is with the “sheep.” I must confess that I am also a little uncomfortable with Jesus Christ being described as the “lamb.” I know much of this is my cultural background. As a young boy, sometimes I helped out caring for my uncle’s sheep in the fields. I know how dumb and foolish they were. I may argue that my Jesus Christ is too smart and intelligent for this imagery to be used in describing him. However, I trust the wisdom of the bible writers and the inspiration they received. Jesus was a man of culture and this description was acceptable in his own culture. He is the sacrificial lamb that takes away the sins of the world.
What has this got to do with the lay people? I am afraid that sometimes when priests look at themselves as the shepherds, they think of their parishioners as being dumb and foolish. The lay people in the pews are smarter than the church sometimes give them credit for. Someone told me recently that the bishop of her diocese instructed priests not to allow the parishioners to use the official Catechism of the church for study because they were not going to understand it. Dictionary.com defines a catechism as “an elementary book containing a summary of the principles of the Christian religion, esp. as maintained by a particular church, in the form of questions and answers.” Isn’t the catechism a book every Catholic should own, read and know? If the church is afraid the lay people would not understand it because they have no formal classes in theology, they should have just written “Catholic Catechism for Theologians.” As a summary of the teachings and principles of the faith, it is an easy book to read and understand. I read the new catechism right after high school and used it then to write my first book which was written between the end of my high school and my first year in college.
Another area the church is failing is in the RCIA process. All across the country, I have encountered people who have complained about the RCIA process in their parishes. Many of the teachings are approached as if these people are 5th graders trying to know about the Catholic faith. Usually, when adults enter into the process, they want to be invited into a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith. They do not want 5th grade answers to questions. They want to know about the history and development of the doctrine and how that doctrine is relevant today. Many professionals who have gone through the process find themselves digging for answers to their questions or giving up the faith.
Today in our pews, we have people who are better read than many priests. The church today is not one in which only the clergy have degrees or advanced degrees. It is a church of doctors, teachers, nurses, engineers, etc. Priests would be surprise to find out how many of their parishioners have subscriptions to theological journals and magazines. They should not assume they are smarter than their parishioners. Preparations for RCIA presentations, homilies, and bible studies are absolutely necessary.
You know what I think? Please allow the people to study their bibles, catechisms, Vatican II documents, etc. It does not take the brain of a rocket scientist to understand these texts.

Obama Notre Dame Speech 3

Catholic Issues — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:16:03 +0000

Obama Notre Dame Speech 2

Catholic Issues — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:14:10 +0000