Inside
NCR
One of the most powerful pieces of
literature to come out of the civil rights era was the Rev. Martin Luther King
Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Written in 1963 as an
explanation of nonviolent direct actions such as sit-ins and marches, the
letter was a response to a Good Friday statement by eight white ministers,
titled “An Appeal for Law and Order and Common Sense.”
The white ministers, generally considered moderates and in favor
of change, were fearful that a scheduled march on Birmingham, one of the most
segregated Southern cities, would cause a disruption to the peaceful routines
of the city.
At issue in the two statements is the nature of social change: How
does it happen? How are social injustices and immoral structures
transformed?
The ministers took a gradualist approach that begged the black
population in Birmingham to look to existing institutions and structures such
as law enforcement and the courts to bring about peaceful, gradual change.
From Birmingham jail, King responded, in part: “I must
confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the
white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the
Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the
White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate,
who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a
negative peace, which is the absence of tension, to a positive peace, which is
the presence of justice; who constantly says: ‘I agree with you in the
goal you seek, but cannot agree with your methods of direct action’ ; who
paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s
freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the
Negro to wait for a ‘more convenient season.’ ”
I thought of this discussion of gradualism vs. activism over the
King holiday weekend. It was easy to apply to the thousands headed for the
streets to protest war, and to the questions raised by the Supreme Court case
involving the University of Michigan’s affirmative action policy. But I
thought it also applied to the hundreds of Catholics who turned up at
cathedrals and churches in recent months to demand changes in church structure
and governance, and to the Boston priests who publicly advocated the removal of
Cardinal Bernard Law as archbishop of Boston in the wake of the scandals
there.
In the case of the church, King’s fundamental point applies
-- those in power are not easily going to encourage deep change to the status
quo. It is the fundamental dilemma faced by anyone advocating social change,
and that goes for Catholics in the church.
Undoubtedly that tension is felt keenly by members of Voice of the
Faithful as they go through contortions to simultaneously advocate for change
while trying to convince bishops that the changes will not be bothersome to
members of the hierarchy. Sr. Joan Chittister (see story on Page 16) wonders if
they have not set themselves a near impossible task. For their basic point --
the need for greater lay involvement in the church’s governance, no matter
what language is used to convey that idea -- is a profoundly revolutionary
concept.
We’ve already received some
calls asking about our plans for a Lenten series of meditations this year.
I’m honored to announce they’ve been written by Cardinal Paulo
Evaristo Arns, the retired archbishop of São Paulo, Brazil, and a
champion of the poor and of human rights during that country’s 21 years of
terror under military dictatorship.
His reflections will begin appearing in the issue dated Feb. 28, a
week before the beginning of Lent. Each installment will appear a week early to
allow use of the series by small groups and individuals.
Arns, in the series, wrestles with the questions of justice
arising from the issues of the day in a powerful, personal approach that
emanates from a life of deep faith lived in service to those on the
margins.
Here’s a sneak preview:
“When first asked by the editors at the National Catholic
Reporter to write a Lenten series I asked myself, ‘What does an
81-year-old Brazilian cardinal, retired archbishop of São Paulo, have to
say to a Christian community he has only visited occasionally?’
“Then my heart answered my head! I could feel how much I
wanted to speak out in favor of peace, of the poor, and against violence and a
certain type of globalization. I wanted to make an appeal for a new ecumenical
dialogue. But, above all, I wanted to be a voice in favor of hope. Without hope
we have no chance of avoiding war and violence. Without hope we become
fatalists and close our minds and our hearts to the possibility of change or of
alternatives.”
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of
Washington was in Rome recently for an event sponsored by the Pontifical
Council for Interreligious Dialogue (see story on Page 12). NCR’s
John Allen Jr. sent along a note that while the event was concerned mostly with
matters of war and peace, during a news conference Jan.18, McCarrick, in answer
to a question, also addressed the resignation of Boston’s Cardinal Bernard
Law.
“He was certainly a lightning rod and his resignation helps
to speed up the healing,” McCarrick said.
Reporters then asked where Law will go, and McCarrick’s reply
was swift.
“The answer to that,” he said, “is beyond my pay
grade.”
-- Tom Roberts
My e-mail address is troberts@natcath.org
National Catholic Reporter, January 31,
2003
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