Will Donahue

My first week as an advocacy intern has introduced me to lobbying on Capitol Hill, watching “The Office” from a new perspective and adventuring off in the D.C. rain to a hearing at the U.S. District Courthouse; let’s not forget the brow full of sweat I brought with me on the way through security as the woman asked me if I was an attorney.

I can remember asking the woman at security “So, where do I enter the courtroom?” She gave me a confused stare and replied with something like,

“You’re here; you’re at the Courthouse.” I worried that I might enter the courtroom where the Judge enters. My nerve clouded mind knew security would never allow an accidental entrance through a wrong door; evidently, I could not access that reasoning. I ended up in the elevator headed to the sixth floor where another intern and I mistakenly got out on the third floor. Coincidentally, he was headed to the same court hearing: the American Petroleum Institute vs. the SEC. My beads of sweat rolled a bit slower when I realized someone else was in a seemingly similar situation.

It has been great getting to know the personalities of my fellow interns—we work well together. During the first week, we connected frequently in prayer; I enjoyed this time spent to reflect about the purpose of using faith as a catalyst for advocacy. It will be interesting to see how my perspective as a raised Catholic evolves as I immerse myself in a faith community and work environment.

As we begin our second week, I find myself more interested in my research associated with Extractive Industries. I am curious to see what might happen after North Korea (DPRK) backed out of its peace talks with South Korea (ROK).

Michelle Villegas

As my second week in Washington DC begins to wind down, I am filled with a deep sense of gratitude for the experiences that I’ve had so far. DC is a fast paced city with passionate and hardworking people and I am so blessed to be a part of it this summer. Before arriving, I was filled with many doubts about spending my summer here. I was worried about being in a new city where I didn’t know anyone while my friends and family were enjoying summer together back home.

But after these first two weeks I am sure that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. Some people call it fate, destiny, coincidence or maybe God’s plan. I don’t know which one is right but I do know that for the first time in a long time I feel the fire within me being lit. I feel purposeful, fulfilled and challenged. I know that the work I do this summer is only a small portion of a huge movement to reform our broken immigration system in a way that both dignifies people and secures our country.  It is inspiring to be a part of a period so important and momentous in our nation’s history. Every day, I am challenged to work hard but also to look within myself and re-evaluate my beliefs and passions. Working for the CCAO  challenges me to look at political issues and policies through a faith-based lens. To remember that above all, our political agenda should be based upon ideals of morality, compassion and dignity of people.

I have attended various interesting meetings, briefings, and hearings in these last two weeks on the topics of International labor recruitment, human trafficking and of course the immigration reform bill S744. While it is difficult to face the realities of injustice that plague our world, I feel extremely humbled and grounded in the fight for a more just and peaceful world.

Elizabeth Nye

Catholic social teaching tells us that we must help those who are most vulnerable in the world. In accordance with this principle, Pope Benedict XVI addressed hunger at the United Nations Conference saying, “Hunger is the most cruel and concrete sign of poverty.” In a world where 3.5 million children die from hunger each year, it is essential that we reconsider policies that threaten to undermine food assistance programs.

The recent passage of the Farm Bill in the Senate, although imperfect, addresses the key issue of hunger and strives to invest in environmental conservation programs. 80% of the Farm Bill is dedicated to funding the SNAP Benefits program (formerly known as Food Stamps), the main food assistance program in the U.S. Other portions of the bill are dedicated to farm policy, environmental protections, and conservation efforts. Still, $4.5 billion in cuts to SNAP made it into the Senate bill, while the upcoming House Farm Bill cuts $21 billion.

SNAP serves the most vulnerable Americans, a majority of recipients being children, elderly, and disabled people. When I consider these cuts to the Farm Bill, I think of my elderly grandmother who has relied on SNAP for years. Surely, my grandma who has dedicated her life to raising her children and serving God deserves nourishment. I also think of the farmers, some of whom have been cultivating on the same land for generations, whose crops have been overtaken by corporate demands and opt for unsustainable farming practices in order to keep up.

Until Congress reaches an agreement on the Farm Bill, I pray that they will consider the most vulnerable people in the world and realize that all have a right for their bodies to be nourished. I pray that they will realize that our earth’s resources are finite, and deserve to be protected.

Michael Gemmell

Capitol Hill is at first an intimidating place. From outside, it’s the grandeur of the historic building that makes one feel infinitesimal; inside, it’s the echoes rattling from the cold marble floor that induces a sense of isolation and loneliness. At the same time such intimidation is coupled with immense excitement.  This pivotal place espouses history, achievement, eminent figures and unrivalled power; it has molded America and shaped human history. On that first day there was a lot to take in, and then there were the meetings.

Last Thursday (June 6) we met with three congressmen on the issue of foreign assistance, calling on them to increase current funding to pre-sequester levels. Moved by our faith and the efforts of the Columban Missionary Society, we were asking Congress to help alleviate global suffering and promote the fullness of life that God intends. Bringing this message to Congress brought us into the democratic process and it felt humbling speaking on behalf of the Columban community all over the world.

Yesterday (June 13), we participated in another ‘Hill visit’ and this time the setting felt more comfortable. I was more focused on our meeting and the details of our planned discussion, remembering that there was important work to be done and that was why we were there. Routine and habit were already supplanting novelty and intimidation. The marble wasn’t an issue this time. Our discussion too was positive; we had a genuine and engaging conversation about prioritizing foreign assistance despite not exactly seeing eye-to-eye.

It is these experiences that I find to be truly invaluable. They are learning opportunities that are attached with the common good, promoting justice and solidarity for all of God’s people.  I hope to have many more of them whilst at the Columban Center. And I suspect I will.

In the instant I saw him, a wave of sadness and longing came over me.  His inability to look up and around seemed more tragic on that day because he could not see the beauty that was all around him.  The sky sparkled blue with a breeze that caused the leaves to dance. The sun stretched out its rays and wrapped the Earth in an embrace.   I found myself wanting to search his eyes, to see what story they would tell of life, love, sacrifice, acceptance, and patience.  How strange, to feel so connected to this stranger.

I was reminded of the story of the woman in Luke’s gospel was crippled by a spirit leaving her bent over for eighteen years (LK 13:10-17).  Jesus healed her by placing his hands on her saying, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.”  Upon being healed she gave praise to God for being released from what had kept her bound for so many years.  Jesus was criticized by the religious leaders for this act of love and compassion because in his action he broke the Sabbath law of rest. But how could Jesus rest in the face of such pain?

This challenge to rule and social structures was a fundamental dimension of Jesus’ ministry.  Whether it was healing the sick on the Sabbath or breaking bread with outcasts or welcoming the stranger, Jesus witnessed that the one rule above all others was to love one another.  Jesus came to set free not just the crippled woman, or the woman at the well, or the tax collector, but all who were bound.  Some were bound by illness, exclusion, and injustice.  Others were rendered slaves to greed, power, and law.  To all of them, Jesus promised a New Way.

At the Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach, we see how national and international economic, migration, military, and environmental policies keep Creation, people, and communities bent over at the waist.  But just as my heart longed to look into the eyes of the man on the street, Columban mission at its heart longs for a world in which the wounded are healed, the sapphire sky is revealed, and the stranger is welcomed.

Tracy Oberle

As I walked up to the Dirksen Senate office I felt a sense of excitement. Today was the day the Senate Budget Committee discussed the budget for fiscal year 2014. It has been a hot topic due to the major cuts happening within governmental programs. I wandered into an empty hearing room and found a seat in the second row.  I waited with my newspaper for the room to fill with people in business attire and realized how important this hearing was. Five minutes before the hearing began the room was packed. Silence filled the air when Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey entered. They found their seats and the hearing began. The chair and co-chair of the committee made their opening statements and moved onto the statements of Hagel and Dempsey. After opening statements were made the floor was open to questions to the witnesses by committee members. The tension in the room increased dramatically.

I realized in that moment that these people were talking about a complicated issue. Should the military continue their current spending levels in an effort to stay the most dominate military power or should the money be allocated in other areas, such as foreign aid? Then other even more complex issues were brought up in an effort to get answers from the high ranking officials in the room. The attack on the embassy in Benghazi was mentioned as well as the issue of sexual assault within the military. This discussion took up half of the hearing time and I wondered what it had to do with the budget. Did it even relate to the budget at all? My heart started pumping faster and faster as their voices got louder. I was frustrated that they were not addressing the budget issue but rather recent controversial events. This was not going to help Congress pass a comprehensive defense budget. Then, realizing the time for the hearing had expired, the chair abruptly ended the event with a swift swing of the gavel. Blinded by the flashing lights that surrounded Hagel and Dempsey on their way out, I couldn’t help but think, “We have some work to do.”

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a free trade agreement proposal negotiated between the US and  12 countries including Chile, Peru, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Mexico that will represent 40% of world trade.  The TPP aims to liberalize trade between the economies of the Asia-Pacific region in a variety of sectors. Due to a recent change in U.S. law, this particular agreement will for the first time, allow the U.S. to export freely natural gas.

A growing percentage of our natural gas comes from hydraulic fracturing (often referred as fracking).  Fracking is a process by which liquified natural gas is extracted from the earth. Here is how fracking works: companies drill and inject shale rocks with fluids at high pressure to release the natural gas inside. The fluids are mainly water and untested chemicals whose names are not disclosed to the public or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Recently, the industry of fracking has taken hold in the parts of the United States such as Pennsylvania and New York, and becoming more common in other states.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership would increase the number of markets for liquefied natural gas exports, expanding incentives for fracking, especially due to Japan’s participation since they depend heavily on LNG for energy.  Other stipulations of TPP called Investor- State Provisions would allow foreign corporations to come into the US and set up hydraulic fracturing industries of their own. Communities, state and tribal governments, and the federal government would then have little ability to refuse the development of domestic fracking. If they reject a bid from a foreign company, they will likely be sued in special tribunal set up in the World Bank to handle Investor-State Disputes- not in our own local, state or federal courts.

At first glance both the Trans-Pacific Partnership and fracking may seem like viable economic opportunities that could potentially pull the United States out of its economic slump. However, both propose policies and practices that undermine Creation and the common good. Together they make way for communities to be disrupted by the influx of corporations not from the area. This violates the Catholic Social Teaching principle of subsidiarity within local economies. Rent prices increase, property rights are forcefully bought out from local landowners, racial tensions and communal conflict occur, there is greater risk for the violation of women’s rights; all exacerbating social insecurity.

There are also environmental impacts to consider. Fracking contaminates ground water, decreases air quality with a variety of chemicals and gases, and the mishandling of waste can cause further pollution.

How then, I ask, does advancement of the fracking industry by the Trans-Pacific Partnership promote the common good? Nowhere do I see a sense of stewardship of God’s creation and God’s people. Conditions wrought by economic inequality only stand to be exaggerated. Christ lived as a great healer when he walked the Earth and continues to do so through the Gospel. As people of faith, we too are called to be healers in our world. We are to bind up the wounds of injustice and nurse creation back to health(Romans 8:21). The Trans-Pacific Partnership or any future free trade agreement operating within the same rules, and fracking are potential viruses that stand to threaten existence and the dignity of life. Do we step back and watch the carnage or do we become healers in our right through refusal of policies that bruise God’s creation?

That news item has given me much pause for thought. I have been thinking how some expressions of our Catholic faith, especially those with a strong emphasis on guilt and fear, on secrecy and silence, have generated serious levels of worry and made it hard for many to truly enjoy life. It is also true that religion has been a factor in many conflicts. Religion is one of the major fault lines along which society divides, and these fault lines which also include race, ethnicity, social status, gender and age are and have been points of conflict. The edges where differences meet are generally turbulent and volatile places.

Mission has always been about these kinds of edges. In the past it was common to think of these as geographical. Mission was something that happened overseas in cultures other than one’s own where the Gospel was not known or the church was still establishing itself. These days the boundaries of mission are closer to home. They are as close as the back fence or the church pew or even one’s own heart. The universality of mission has something to do with the fact that wherever people live they find themselves on one or more of these edges.

A great deal of attention has rightly been given to the edge where different religious traditions meet each other, and we have come to understand dialogue as a key element in mission. I don’t know that we have given enough attention to the edge where faith meets non-faith. This is one of the anxious edges of mission. From my experience of working with young people I am concerned that the present generation of young Catholics face a determined attack on faith from outside at a time when there are deep and serious questions within their tradition that make them especially vulnerable and defenseless against such attacks.

Many Catholics feel pushed to the edge of faith by things that have happened within their tradition, things that seem a long way from the vision of Jesus. We have witnessed a substantial exodus of people from church affiliation. A number of these have abandoned belief in God but many more suggest they have not crossed the boundary into non-faith. They continue their spiritual journey just in a new direction. Of the ones who remain within the Church many are trying to re-imagine faith in the light of the Gospel and of what is happening in and to our world while others try to re-establish the old certainties. All this means we are not well placed to relate to a world where many now believe that faith in God is infantile and incongruous with reality and should be abandoned. They are surprised that the religious urge has not already disappeared as its demise was confidently predicted centuries ago when Enlightenment thinking took hold in the West. Yet the religious urge remains, there is a growing interest in spirituality, and the majority of the poor people of the world still belong to a religious tradition.

Originally seen in Columban Mission Magazine June/July 2013

Fr. Noel Connolly

One of my favorite sayings about Jesus is that “He spoke with authority.” When people heard Him speak they recognized that what He said was profoundly true, that He knew. He understood what their lives were about. He did not speak in platitudes. For Jesus, love was demanding. It was not a word used lightly for it required sacrifice. It was something He worked at: facing the truth, siding with the poor, struggling against evil, denouncing sin, following His call, making difficult decisions, and maintaining hope through these decisions. Eventually He was killed for His attempts to love. One wonders why He would have been killed if He was just a preacher of a sentimental type of love and understanding; who would have objected to that?

The Dominican priest Herbert McCabe claimed that the greatest enemy of Christianity was not self-interest but sentimentality. Many of us are not convincing because we speak in platitudes, especially about love. We suffer from the illusion that we must be right if we act out of love and that loving is easy and natural, requiring no training and discipline.

The more basic virtue than love is truth, and our struggle is to do the truth in love. McCabe pointed out, “Every moral problem of the slightest interest is a problem about who is to get hurt; an injunction to love everyone concerned does not help decide that question.” For adults the question is often not “to hurt or not to hurt” but whom to hurt with justice. Politicians who have to decide who benefits from limited resources, doctors whom to treat and when to stop, parents who must decide between work and family, all know the complexity of real moral decisions.

We wish that life was easier, that love was simpler and that it would bring us peace and wholeness but occasionally it does the reverse. It fragments us and divides our hearts. It demands hard decisions and real discipline. But that is the nature of being an adult. The refusal to acknowledge this reality is to blur the pain and the glory of real love. It is to opt for platitudes and not to speak with an authority that convinces.

Originally seen in Columban Mission Magazine June/July 2013