US Catholic Bishops Wrong on "Fortnight for Freedom"

I have a deep and abiding respect for the rich tradition and faith of my Roman Catholic sisters and brothers. I also hold a degree from a Jesuit institution. But the current project of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the so-called “Fortnight for Freedom”, is just plain hypocrisy. 

The genesis of this project is the Health and Human Services Administration’s policy, ensuring free contraception for women from their health insurance providers. The Roman Catholic Church’s position on contraception is not new. But in the United States, a few religious authorities do not have any right to assume authority over citizens who do not share their confessional faith. Thus, the White House and HHS are actually defending religious freedom by protecting those workers who do not agree with Catholic doctrine, even if they're employed by a Catholic institution. 

I understand the opposition to contraception. However, an employee of a Catholic hospital or school should not have fewer rights than others simply because of their employer. A Jewish nurse or Protestant English teacher should be able to access birth control for free, as the same employee might at another workplace. And the Church has no right to prevent her from doing so, nor do they have a right to expect the State to enforce their objection.

In conversations about this topic, the problem tends to come from the money. Folks don’t want to have to pay for something they don’t support. I understand this. But first, it’s neither taxpayer money, nor institutional money being used, it’s the insurance company paying for it. Second, if money spent against one's wishes is problematic, where is the bishops' outrage in Catholics having to pay taxes that pay for wars? Taxes that pay to execute prisoners? Taxes that escalate violence and inhibit peace and justice? 

My hope and prayer is that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops can open their eyes to the many injustices around us - hunger, poverty, mass-incarceration, continuing inequality for people of color, for women, for immigrants, and for many other minorities. Jesus was a lot more concerned about these issues than he was about birth control.

Trayvon Martin: We've Got Work To Do

Over the past several days, I have been deeply touched by the death of 17 year old Trayvon Martin outside Orlando, Florida. I wasn’t there. I don’t know exactly what happened. I do know that the shooter, George Zimmerman, was told by the 911 operator not to follow Trayvon, but Zimmerman followed him anyway, and Trayvon ended up dead.  

President Obama reminded the nation last week that if he had a son, he would look like Trayvon. This touches me deeply, both as a father, and as an American. I know there may be differences of opinion about politics, but no American can deny the magnitude of that statement. For a very long time in this country, the stereotypes of young people of color, particularly African American boys, have been overwhelmingly negative. Now, with the presence of an African American President, a snap judgment about a teenager in a hoodie being up to no good, could be a judgment against our First Family. 

Again, I wasn’t there. And I’m not in Zimmerman’s head. I don’t know how he concluded what he concluded about Trayvon Martin. Was it because Martin was black? I suspect so, but I don’t know for sure. Was it because he was a teenager wearing a hoodie? I don’t know. I do know that Martin isn’t the first one to be baselessly suspected of ill intent, and Zimmerman isn’t the first to get angry over nothing, angry to the point of violence. 

We have a lot in our society to unpack - assumptions about teenagers, assumptions about people wearing a hoodie, and assumptions about race. I strongly believe that we Christians are called to think twice about our assumptions based on surface details. We are called to see beyond our own anxieties and prejudices, to see the human being, the one created in God’s image, that lies on the other side of our own snap judgments. We all feel anxiety from time to time, but if we fail to acknowledge the person of the other, about whom we are anxious, and if we fail to be critical about our anxiety and whether or not it is justified, we may well end up taking the life, or at least denying the humanity of one of God’s beautiful children. 

Playing Catch

I played a game once with a young men’s group when I was in Northern Ireland. There were about a dozen of us, and as we stood in a circle, we tossed a small rubber ball around, across the circle, making sure that each of us had a turn.  Once we established the order in which the ball made it to every person, we repeated the pattern, increasing our speed, until we were comfortable with it. We always received the ball from the same person, and we always threw it to the same person. This helped us establish some non-verbal communication between each other, such as eye contact or reading each other’s movements, which helped us get better at both catching the ball, and making sure it was safe to throw. 

The game increased in intensity, as more and more balls were added to the mix, including differently shaped balls. Then, in an apparently sadistic act, the leader collected the balls, and got out a dozen raw eggs. One at a time, the eggs were thrown, very slowly at first, in the same pattern. They criss-crossed our circle, landing in our carefully cupped hands, being gently tossed as if willed through the air in as cautious an arc as possible. Over a few minutes, our confidence increased, and so did the speed of the game. As we got better and more comfortable with it, we added more eggs. Yes, we did lose one or two, but for the most part, we did pretty well.

I’ve repeated this game with a number of groups since then. I’ve learned some things, such as the fact that raw eggs don’t get along well with wedding rings. I’ve also come to see this game as a really great illustration of how life comes to us. (Except for the part that we always receive from the same person, and give to the same person. That’s not always the case.) But insofar as I have zero control over what comes at me, or how it comes at me, or the speed at which it comes to me, this game perfectly illustrates that this is essentially how we experience life. The ball (or egg) might be thrown high and slow, or fast and straight. All I can do is prepare as best I can, keep my eyes on the ball (egg), cup my hands, and hope to catch it. 

On the other hand, I have complete control over what I pass on to others. If I received the ball fast, I can pass it on slowly. Or if I received the ball from someone with a wicked slider, I can pass along a gentle underhand. If I receive someone’s anger, or frustration, or suffering, I can choose not to pass that along to someone else. The interactions that I have with people are just like this game, in that I can separate my individual response from what is being thrown toward me.

The grace is in God’s ability to help us with the courage, patience, and peace that we need to pass the ball to others with kindness, regardless of how we ourselves received it.

Marshmallows, Bagels and Brownies

I just read an article about a man who loved the marshmallows in Lucky Charms so much, that he bought 1,000 pounds of just the marshmallows, a semi-truck load, so that he wouldn’t have to fish for them in a conventional box of the breakfast cereal.

In the same article, two women collaborated to invent a tool that would scoop out the inside of a bagel. One of them had worked at a bagel shop in high school, and had burned her fingers several times, scooping out the innards of toasted bagels for folks who wanted to save a few calories.

Then there’s the guy who invented the brownie pan that ensures every brownie has some crusty edge on it. He’s already been approached by fans who want him to design other such items, like a pizza pan shaped like a doughnut to maximize crust.

Seriously? 

No offense to these people, who I’m sure are kind-hearted, generous, and are beloved children of God, but my goodness. At what point did they receive a promise that everything around them would be perfect? Who made that promise to them? 

In life, where most of the rest of the world lives, the sweet crunchy marshmallows are a treat, not the norm. If you want a bagel, you eat a bagel. If you want just the skin, try a bag of chips. And in every brownie pan, a little gooeyness must lie. 

Thank God that Jesus didn’t begin his ministry on earth, look around and see how messed up we all were, then said, “Pops, this ain’t going to work. Let’s just pack it in and try another planet.” No, we were created as imperfect. We were made from the dirty and flawed dust of the earth, and God loved us anyway. God then came to us in Jesus, and told us about love, forgiveness, humility, and grace. Christ showed us that in spite of our lack of sweetness, our bagely fullness, or our gooey centers - we are redeemable and we are worthy of God’s love. 

So if you’re tempted to buy sandwiches with the offensive crust already removed, think about your own crustiness for a moment. Then say a little prayer of gratitude to God who loves you anyway.

GOP Greed Breaking Fifth Commandment

Exodus 20:12, the fifth of the Ten Commandments, reads, "Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you." (NRSV) Scholars tell us the honoring of one's father and mother is not actually about young children cleaning their rooms when their parents tell them to, the point is rather for adult children to take care of their aging parents. And if this happens, their "days may be long", because someone following this commandment is taking care of them.


So how would cutting Social Security and Medicare, two programs that directly help aging parents and differently-abled people unable to physically support themselves, fit with the fifth commandment?


It appears that Speaker Boehner and other House GOP leaders would rather cut aid to sick people and the elderly than dare to ask corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share. This is sinful. The GOP has lectured the country on moral values for a while now, but this stance shows their true colors - they have sold their moral integrity to the highest contributor. The would rather create public policy that rewards selfishness and greed, than balance the country's books and show some financial responsibility.


The GOP claims to want fiscal responsibility, but when they have an opportunity to make an impact on the deficit by ending the Bush tax cuts, they are too cowardly to do it. 


They claim to want fiscal responsibility, but when handed a surplus by the Clinton administration, the Republican White House and Congress turned it into a substantial deficit. 


I'm not so naive as to expect politicians to always tell the truth, especially when the truth contradicts their chosen narrative. But I do expect people who claim to be public servants to at least once in a while actually serve the public, and not throw our grandparents under the bus to save their contributors a few dollars. 


If we honor our fathers and mothers, we too will live long in this land we've been given. If not, well, here comes oligarchy.