A Note from Fr. Paolo Padrini:

Benedict XVI Speaks to the Net Generation through the World of Social Networks.

The new media of Facebook, the iPhone, YouTube and Wikipedia are increasingly becoming the new forum where the Catholic Church dialogues with the world. As Pope Benedict XVI noted in his message for the 43rd annual World Communications Day, the Internet is a place where young people need to develop true friendships which spring from an encounter with the Risen Christ. With this awareness and the courage to enter into the world of social networks, the project Pope2You was started with the idea of helping these networks become authentic places of friendship and true dialogue.

Pope2You ( HYPERLINK “http://www.pope2you.net/) was created in collaboration with the Pontifical Council for Social Communications as an experiment in providing a new forum and channel of communication using the latest platforms. The Pope2You website provides a new way for Pope Benedict XVI to reach out to young people around the world. The site can be viewed in five languages and allows young people to learn more about the Church and Benedict XVI through his own writings, starting with the message for the 43rd World Communications Day. While the site aims to generate the interest of young people, it is also meant for people of all ages. It features news on the Catholic Church and details on the pastoral activities of Benedict XVI incorporating content from the Vatican’s YouTube channel. At the same time, a new application for the iPhone and iPod Touch has been created by the Catholic news agency H2Onews, with plans to add other mobile platforms later.

Pope2You also provides a gateway to a parallel world in Facebook with an application where you can create and send to your friends virtual postcards with the Pope’s own words, greetings and excerpts of his writings staring with this year’s World Communications Day message. Also, with the help of the Media Office of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, a special area has been created along the lines of a WIKI with suggestions on how to put into pastoral practice the Pope’s 2009 Message.

These new applications highlight the latest example of the Church reaching out in new ways in the world of social networks – a forum where the Church can meet new people, make new friends, dialogue and offer solidarity.

http://www.pope2you.net/

America’s former Ambassador  Mary Ann Glendon to the Vatican has turned down an invitation to the Commencement at Notre Dame.    In her letter to Notre Dame, she included these words:

“A commencement, however, is supposed to be a joyous day for the graduates and their families. It is not the right place, nor is a brief acceptance speech the right vehicle, for engagement with the very serious problems raised by Notre Dame’s decision—in disregard of the settled position of the U.S. bishops—to honor a prominent and uncompromising opponent of the Church’s position on issues involving fundamental principles of justice.”

See, http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2009/04/wow-mary-ann-glendon-declines-nd-invite.html for the comment.  (Underline added here). 

The phrase, “fundamental principles of justice,” is powerful.  There are those who support abortion either vocally or by silent consent.  These include Catholics who claim to support and work for social justice.   If these Catholics deny this fundamental injustice, then they have no credibility.   None.

John Keenan, O.P.L., J.D.

Lay Promoter

Peace & Justice, Care of Creation

Western Dominican Province

United States of America

April 16, 2009

Chapter Promoters, Peace & Justice Care of Creation

Lay Provincial Representatives

Western Dominican Province

            Re:       North American Peace & Justice Promoters meeting;

                        June 16-18, 2009

Dear Friends:

            Happy Easter!

            The Lay Provincial Council meeting is set for June 19-21, 2009.  The North American Dominican Promoters for Justice and Peace (NADPJP) meeting is for June 16-18, 2009 at Adrian, Michigan.  

            Please carefully review this letter.  Its purpose is to explain steps taken most recently regarding issues for the NADPJP, suggested issues, and asking for your Chapter’s suggestions for issues, comment, and input. 

1.      What happened.

In Sr. Farnan’s and Fr. Dahm’s letter of March 20, 2009, they said:

“In April we will send out an official registration form for you and a tentative Agenda.  If you have any suggestions for the Agenda please email Chuck or I  [sic] and we will take this into consideration.  At Present we believe we need to address: Immigration, Nuclear Weapons, Middle East: Iraq and Palestine/Israel, Human Trafficking and Ecological issues.  We will try and use the framework of the Millennium Development Goals.”  (Underline mine).

With that request in mind, I drafted a letter and forwarded it to the Lay Provincial Council executive committee for their consideration.  I was given permission to forward the letter to Sr. Farnan and Fr. Dahm for their consideration. 

2.       The next step.

The earlier letter is not the final submission to Sr. Farnan and Fr. Dahm.  Therefore, please follow this procedure. 

a.       Peace & Justice chapter promoters and LPC representatives should review the issues listed below with your chapter and/or council.  

b.      Forward your comments and suggestions to me by no later than May 10, 2009 to my email address at john[at]keenan.org.  If you wish to discuss via the telephone, email me and give me a good time of day to call and your phone number.  I will call you back.

c.       These will be forwarded to the LPC Executive Committee for their review; after which they will be forwarded to Sr. Farnan and Fr. Dahm.  

d.      That letter will ask that they formally consider the issues of most concern to the lay members of the Western Dominican Province.

3.   Current NADPJP issues.  The 2006 Dominican Call to Justice document includes the following issues: (1) death penalty, (2) disarmament, (3) Iraq, (4) Israel/Palestine, (5) Africa, (6) Columbia, (7) Migration/Immigration, (8) Human Trafficking, (9) United Nations, and (10) Global warming.  You can see the details at the following website:

            http://www.domlife.org/DLC/Justice/JusticePage.htm

In addition, the referenced justice Dominican Leadership Conference online page lists other related issues, including the “new cosmology,” the “School of the Americas,” and “global warming.”  Many of these political and philosophical issues do not reflect key Church or moral teachings.  Further, these issues may be supported or opposed in good faith by different men and women of good will exercising prudent judgment.

The Church encourages us individually to be involved in cultural, social, and political associations with other persons of good will.  However, when we come together as Lay Dominicans, we belong to a province and an ecclesial institute of the Lay Fraternities of St. Dominic.  We do not belong to a political party.  There is a place for political issues and movements.  The Lay Fraternities is not that place.

Indeed, we belong to the Church which is a divine institution.  As Dominicans, we should responsibly review each social and political issue very carefully so that it reflects the moral order, conscience, issues and efforts so dear and close to the Church–not the whim of ideology and political ideas that benefit from currency or fancy.  The Vatican Council II amplifies this point when it states, “Laymen should also know that it is generally the function of their well-formed Christian conscience to see that the divine law is inscribed in the life of the earthly city….”  Guadiam et Spes, No. 43 (Emphasis mine).  See, On Social Justice Issues. 

Examples.  The Israel/Palestine conflict is a perennial issue, but there are two sides to the question.  Created under international law, Israel has a place in the world and the right to defend itself from aggression and terrorist attacks.  It also has the obligation to act in accord with the moral law and international law. 

            The Palestinians’ right to an independent nation-state should also be recognized.  It seems altogether, however, that many of the Dominicans at the national and international level promote only the Palestinian perspective.  This is very political.  Both sides of this issue, if reviewed carefully, articulate well their respective positions.  Probably both are true and both are exaggerated.  Nevertheless, the rights of both parties and people need to be recognized. 

Another example is the nation of Columbia. 

The United States has interfered with that country and promoted the war against the drug trade.  The Dominican Order has focused on that issue to the exclusion of other important issues that have occurred in Columbia.  While the drug trade and the drug war have harmed many innocent people, two years ago organizations of the United Nations and international pro-abortion groups successfully pressured Columbia and its supreme court to legalize abortion and “reproductive health” rights.  Where were the Dominicans on that issue?  You will not find that discussion on the domlife.org page. See, Dominican Life USA: Columbia. 

In addition, Dominican involvement at the United Nations is very important.  As a moral force, in addition to the issues it engages, you will see little, if any, Dominican involvement in ending abortion or focusing on the rights of the child in the womb as well as outside the womb. See, Dominicans at U.N.  

Fundamental to human liberty and to the pursuit of happiness, is the right to life.   As Dominicans, we are part of the moral vanguard, seeking and identifying, as we presently do, the numerous injustices in the world, but we also have the obligation to stand at the U.N.’s gates and remind them that if they cannot stand against the killing of the most innocent among us, then all their pronouncements and declarations are for naught.  This is especially true with the new American administration’s support for abortion ‘rights.’

Another example is “global warming.”  While many people state that the issue of man-caused global warming is fully and finally settled, and that we must take every measure necessary to change it, over the last two years, several world-renowned and honored scientists have come out against the concept of global warming, e.g. see these links, Michael Crichton, U.S. Senate Environment Committee: 650 scientists dissent man-made global warming theory, Global Warming Petition Project, 31,000 scientists reject Global Warming, NASA worldbook, and NASA scientist rejects theory.   The economic harm to the poor and underprivileged has not been seriously calculated if governments impose extreme anti-global warming measures, i.e. the cap in trade law.  See, here.

Another issue of concern is the Earth Charter.   The Earth Charter may be read at this link, Earth Charter in Action; and analyzed here, Catholic Family organization; and more deeply reviewed here, The Earth Charter.  Note also, the analysis on the Earth Charter was done last summer in prior correspondence to the LPC dated July 3, 2008.  To access, click here.

Finally, most importantly, what about protecting innocent human life?  From persons in the womb to disabled and older people, is quality of life the only measure of life?  As Dominicans, we need to stand as Christ did, as a contradiction to the world when protecting human life and in protecting institutions with historical and family significance.   If we want justice, we start with peace.   Abortion makes war on humankind and the world.

5.     Proposed changes and issues at the North American Dominican Promoters of Peace and Justice meeting, and why.

a.       A key change is simply procedural. 

First, discuss a procedure or organizational structure by which the peace & justice promoters expand representation of the sisters, friars, and lay people, and include a process that encourages a wide-based, grassroots consultation with all members of the Order regarding key issues.

b.     The following items are proposed for inclusion in this year’s list of issues according to the following order of priority:

1.    A call for a pro-life position consistent with the Church’s teaching relative to innocent human life from conception to natural death.

2.   A call to member governments, NGOS, and peoples from the United Nations to end the funding and advocacy of abortion or birth control.

3.  A call to the several states to pass and define the historical legal definition of marriage to be between one man and one woman.

4. A call to refocus the Order’s efforts toward a Christian-based anthropocentric environmental position.   Conservation programs must be based on good science, reasonable, moderate, and effective action, right and good order, and realistic solutions.

5.  A call to decrease excessive governmental intrusion and regulation in the health care marketplace. 

6.  A call to ease the tax burden on the American middle class.

The first few of these proposals consider the Church’s positions on key religious and social issues, including pro-life efforts, abortion, and marriage.  These concerns deserve a priority.  The “greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion.” [Mother Teresa, February 4, 1994’].  If the Dominican peace and justice movement is about true peace, then it should tackle the pro-life issue with a compelling priority.  Society desperately needs a softened heart.  If society cannot see an unborn person as innocent and defenseless, then are we—as Christians—doing any good elsewhere? 

The last two proposed issues are provided for several reasons. 

First, it is to propose differing, yet reasonable, points-of-view. There are men and women of good will who—in good faith—believe differently.  Some issues are debatable and should be thoroughly discussed before the Order endorses peace and justice initiatives.

Second, the Order of Preachers is not the proper forum for discussing many political issues.  Frankly, the better place for many initiatives is political and social institutions.   While the Church and ecclesial institutes may provide a proper moral guide, they should not engage in and make final decisions with regard to subjects where people of good will and good judgment differ on problems seeking effective solutions. 

For instance, some people have cited universal health care as a “right.”  While most people agree with such a sentiment initially, there are realities that need to be considered.

The first reality is that government-driven health care leads to long waiting periods and limited services.   Second, people want a choice.  Third, often times, when government intrudes, it creates more problems than solutions.  Is that not why this discussion should be held in a a political forum and not in an ecclesial one?

Many people believe that human freedom is paramount to ending poverty worldwide, that the marketplace is best suited to provide the goods and services needed by people in the world.  Economic freedom enables men and women to protect and provide for themselves and their families.  Government is a partner in this effort, not the universal solution for social, economic, and other problems.  That is another example of why this discussion should deal with key issues involving our Faith. 

Conservation and the environment are legitimate issues and need focus.  On the other hand, where radical environmentalism acts with religious fervor, it places humankind below creation in the order of the cosmos.   In my home state, Idaho, this extreme position has closed forests to timber harvesting.   A dozen small Idaho towns have lost timber mills and tens of thousands of sustainable jobs that provide for workers and families.  Without conservation efforts to cull the forest and its undergrowth, the forest becomes fodder for intense and hot summer fires covering thousands of acres.

Third, there are solutions to social problems that need little, if any, government funding or action. 

As an example, the American middle class is the most charitable class of people the world has ever known.  

Following Christ’s admonition to provide charity for the poor and underprivileged, the American people give generously domestically and to foreign peoples when disaster and emergencies strike.   Rather than relying on taxpayer monies, in record amounts the American people readily give their personal time, energy, and intelligence, as well as money, to those in need.  If the American middle class is deprived of its wealth through excessive taxation, then many social justice and peace efforts around the world will be deprived of key capital. .

Finally, thank you for taking the time to read and study this letter.  Once I receive your Chapter’s contribution, I will present it to the LPC Executive Committee and forward them to the committee organizing the NADPJP set for June 16-18, 2009. 

Happy Easter.   

                                                                        Sincerely in St. Dominic,

                                                                        John Keenan, O.P.L., J.D.

The seal of a Catholic university named for Holy St. Francis.

http://www.lifenews.com/state3701.html

UPDATE: THE UNIVERSITY CHANGED ITS POLICY AND REMOVED ABORTION AS AN STUDENT INSURANCE BENEFIT;  see here:

Catholic University of San Francisco Drops Abortion Coverage From Health Plan: http://www.lifenews.com/state3704.html 

Justice & Peace eLetter

Western Dominican Province

Peace & Justice

Vol. I, No. 2, November, 2008

TO SEE ATTACHMENT, SEE POST BELOW THIS POST. 

Dear Lay Dominicans & Friends:

The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church is named well, as it seeks to set out a complete text about the issues of social justice and peace in the modern world.   One method of tackling such a large subject is to take “small bites” with one subject, chapter, or page at a time. 

In this edition of Justice & Peace eLetter, the first attempt at writing about topics addressed in the Compendium, the article below addresses the subject of the Trinity, our relationship with God and with each other.   God willing, the Compendium will be examined in this forum, Justice & Peace eLetter, one subject at a time over the next three years.

  The second article in this eLetter, along with one attachment, is a brief review of a Saturday October, 23, 2008 justice and peace promoters meeting held in California.   My attendance was not possible.  Regardless, I asked the promoters to include the issue as one of their “call to action” issues.  That request was rejected as explained below.  Please review and write if you have any comments or questions.  John[at sign]Keenan.org. 

                         In peace & faith,

                         John Keenan, JD, OPL

—- 

 On the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church :

The Love Shared among The Trinity, is the Charity that Christians should Share,

in the Social Action and Goal of Perfecting Society.

Whatever you wish men should do to you, do so to them.  Matthew 7:12.    After our love and duty to God, the social doctrine of the Catholic Church begins here, the GOLDEN RULE.    The Golden Rule applies from the dark cavernous caves beneath the earth to the heights of lofty buildings and magnificent mountains and everything in between.  It can be carried about like a well-remembered proverb that has penetrated the heart and soul, when considering the dignity and hope that each human person brings to you and the realization that each human encounter is no coincidence. 

The purpose here is to commence a series of thought-provoking articles and dialog about the Church’s social doctrine among members of the lay chapters of the Order of Preachers that may impact their lives, families, and communities.   It is also an effort to develop and form consciences in a distinctly Catholic worldview about peace and justice, based on the Holy Scriptures, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church,[1] among other core sources.

It commences with the Ten Commandments, or Decalogue as otherwise known, that forms a bond and fidelity to the One True God.  The Ten Commandments teaches “us the true humanity of man.  They bring to light the essential duties, and therefore, indirectly, the fundamental rights inherent in the nature of the human person.”[2]   The Ten Commandments “describe universal human rights.”[3]  It deals with the reality that the members of humankind not only have a relationship with the Lord, our God, but with each other.   As Our Lord said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Matthew 22:37-39.  See, also, Deuteronomy 6:5[4]

The expression of this love for God and other persons was initially expressed in the Old Testament, where it states “you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him, and lend him sufficient for his need,”[5]  Deuteronomy 15:7-8.  See, also, Leviticus 19:33-34.  As the Compendium articulates well, the regular jubilee year (every 50 years) was established for the “social and economic life of the people of Israel.”  Compendium p. 12.   Fields lied fallow, debts were cancelled, and there was a general release of persons and goods.  Compendium, p. 12.  The purpose of these laws was not only the founding cornerstone of Israel but its social and economic life as well, and it dealt with economic poverty and social injustices of the Nation of Israel.  Compendium, p. 13.   The early Prophets of God articulated and preached a type of justice and solidarity, qualities “which reside in the Lord’s heart” which we should nourish in ourselves, “[t]hen God’s will articulated in the Decalogue given on Sinai, will be able to take root creatively in man’s innermost being.”  Compendium, p. 13.

As so well stated, “[t]he process of internalization gives rise to greater depth and realism in social action, making possible the progressive universalization of attitudes of justice and solidarity, which the people of the Covenant are called to have towards all men and women of every people and nation.”   Compendium, p. 13 (emphasis original).   It is an irrational error to view this statement from a political worldview, because the concept quoted above is voicing a religious perspective that is ageless and Godly. 

This is social action grounded in the love of God, i.e. charity, which can be and should be fulfilled in this world.  It is not political in action, seeking to satisfy the shifting sands of power, worldly desire, and personal fulfillment, but true love of God in action for the care of one’s person, his or her family, neighbor, and for all of humankind, and thereafter to steward and conserve all of creation.

Jesus Christ is the par exemple of and the fulfillment of the Father’s plan of love.  Compendium, p. 14.    That which opens the heart of all persons and gives inspiration from the Holy Spirit, is that love which “inspires Jesus’ ministry among men is the love that [Christ] has experienced in his intimate union with the Father.”  Compendium, p. 14 (emphasis original). 

This love between the Divine Persons of the Trinity should be shared by us all, in that “there is a certain parallel between the union existing among the divine Persons and the union of the children of God in truth and love.”  Compendium, p. 16. 

In the present order of the world, there are those who facially seek social change through various means but for wrong reasons.  Often motivated politically, or for gain whether monetary or prestige, or for the sheer activity involved, these people seek political ends by religious means, thus injecting their own will (as opposed to God’s) and worldly dogma of political correctness.   Our Lord rejected these politically-motivated purposes, for after He fed the five thousand, “Jesus, knowing that [the crowd] intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.”  John 6:15.  Consider also the motivations of Judas Iscariot.

Therefore, Christians should be motivated to social action by the Love of God and of neighbor, not for political, social, or other worldly motivations.  This certainly requires a careful examination of conscience after much prayer. 

The next time your receive this newsletter, God willing it will address more on God’s plan of love for humanity as expressed in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.   [John Keenan, JD, OPL, Promoter of Peace and Justice, Lay Dominicans, Western Dominican Province].

 ——

On the Dominican Call to Action [SEE ATTACHMENT IN POST BELOW:

The “Justice Elephant” in the promoter ‘kitchen’: incorporating the issue of “abortion” as part of the Dominican Call to Action.

On October 23, 2008, the peace and justice promoters for the Western Dominican Province, including religious congregations, friars, and the lay folk, met in California to discuss the current North American Dominican Call to Action.  [See link, http://domlife.org/DLC/Justice/JusticePage.htm].  Gloria Escalona, OPL attended as the secretary but did not represent the lay people of the Dominican Western Province.    I could not attend.  Regardless, in an effort to represent the lay people of the Order of Preachers in the Western United States, with the consent of the executive committee of the LPC, I submitted a proposal to the peace and justice promoter meeting, to include the issue of abortion as part of the “Call to Action.”

Prior to that meeting, the following text of the request regarding the issue of abortion, was forwarded to all members of the meeting, but addressed to Sr. Stella Goodpasture, OP:

Dear Sr. Goodpasture:

I have attached a copy of a recent newsletter called Idaho Domincana.   I would kindly ask that the promoters at the upcoming meeting would consider the issue of abortion as a vital part of the agenda for promoters.  The attached document includes an article explaining our chapter’s position on this issue.   This is such an important and fundamental issue facing our society today.   The newsletter also explains the pope’s position on preserving and protecting the Native Americans when the European first came to our great land here: to respect their freedom, their right to property, and not to enslave them.  He also admonished them to respect these native people because they were fully able to receive the Gospel.  I pray that the third Person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit, be with you this coming meeting and that He may guide you in all good things. 

You have my best wishes and prayers. 

Thanks kindly,

John Keenan, JD, OPL, Peace & Justice Promoter, Lay Members, Western Dominican Province.

A copy of the article addressing the issue of abortion and position taken by the Blessed Margaret Chapter in Boise is set forth here:

The 2008 Election:

The Unborn, First in Public Policy

The Scriptures say, that when we obey Christ and transform our minds to conform to His, that “there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.”  Colossians 3:11.  Over history, by development of ideas, and by transformation of minds and hearts by the grace of Him, mankind and the law have also accepted this elevated thinking. 

Before God, as is the goal of modern human law, there is no distinction between groups of people.  In principle, it is “justice for all.”   This is well established in the founding principles and laws of the United States, where it was written:

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. –That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,  (Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776).  

This elemental legal cornerstone of the United States of America proves we are a Godly nation at our founding, and are based upon two principles: (1) that no man is above the law, and (2) that there are fundamental laws grounded in the natural law, or that law which is derived by nature.  For instance, any human legislative body cannot repeal the law against murder, assault, battery, robbery, stealing, and lying, among others.  These laws are written into our very beings, and if the state were to allow such infringements, the state’s laws are void because they violate the natural law that is written on our minds and upon our hearts. (Hebrews 10:16)  St. Thomas Aquinas says such governmental enactments are not law, but are a type of violence.  Without just men and women serving in governmental posts and without just laws, tyranny will soon follow.  

Public policy and public laws must be rooted in and guided by the natural law and the concept that no man or woman is above the law.   God has called many people to advocate for good public policy.  These are advocates, jurists, and activists who work in the political arena for the common good, seeking to perfect society through the cooperation of public and private officials and entities.  There is many a laudable goal, when these activists advocate for the homeless, the disenfranchised, the naked, the voiceless, and the poor, among others. 

The foremost principle in our modern social culture is that all such advocates and activists should first advocate justice for unborn persons.  The unborn share in the characteristics of all other disenfranchised groups.  In other words, the unborn persons are naked, voiceless, innocent, unseen, disenfranchised, blind, choice-less, and marginalized.    Based upon present U.S. law as stated by the Nation’s highest Court, the unborn have no rights or guarantees to pursue happiness, to own property, to make love, to have children, or to simply live and breathe.    The unborn children who are aborted will never see the sunset, or be guided by the Scriptures, or see, or feel, or touch those about them.    Innocent of personal sin, the unborn child has made no choices, has not failed or succeeded, or responded to God’s grace or sinned. 

Advocacy for good public policy is not grounded in a proverbial woven cloth, but a priority rooted in justice first for the most innocent and voiceless in our society.   Effective advocacy starts with the rights of the innocent unborn, which fruitfully legitimizes and encourages advocacy for the homeless, the disenfranchised, the disabled, the marginalized, the poor, the sick, and the suffering. 

Under the present law in the United States, the pure power of choice trumps the rights of persons (unborn) granted under the natural law—in other words, God-given rights—and life becomes cheap in all its forms; whether unborn, old, sick, homeless, hungry, blind, poor, voiceless, powerless, or disabled.   When men and women of good will seek legal justice and public policy based upon fundamental rights and not for political purposes, it will result in clarity and priority of purpose for all other advocacy. 

Therefore, as a matter of justice, as a matter of true concern and Godly charity, it is essential that Christian advocates and activists, whether for political, religious, or social purposes, and Christian public officials, concern themselves by prioritizing their effort for life; firstly the unborn, and secondly other persons.  To bring justice to all the disadvantaged, we must first bring it to the most humble and poor first.  In modern America, that is the unborn.

The ‘petition’ asking that the promoters, among other issues, to include the issue of abortion among the “Call to Action” issue and agenda, was considered by the promoters,  In the minutes to the meeting regarding the ‘petition’ the email to Sr. Goodpasture, OP was acknowledged where it states:

“We have all received John Keenan’s email.  We all recognize abortion as contrary to support for all life, and we all support the life of the unborn.  Following discussion, we agreed with Fr. John Morris, that abortion is not the central issue of social justice (although it is an important issue).   In the past the overemphasis by some groups on the issue of abortion to the exclusion of other life issues, has been discussed.  The group assembled decided we would recommend that abortion not be included in the new North American Dominican Call to Action.”

A copy of the minutes of the Western Dominican Promoters of Justice, Peace, and Care of Creation is attached to this document for your review and reference [PLEASE SEE POST BELOW ENTITLED "MINUTES'].   The minutes noted of my desire to present the issue next year at the promoters meeting in Adrian, Michigan.

Of course, it is without hesitation that one should take exception to the idea that “abortion is not the central issue of social justice.”   Whether that statement is correctly attributable to Fr. Morris, charitably such a statement reflects a profound negligence of the understanding and purpose of the social doctrine of the Catholic Church.  It cannot stand, “for the absolute inviolability of innocent human life is a moral truth clearly taught by Sacred Scripture… .”  Evangelium Vitae, No. 57 (1995).

Factually, the killing of innocent children whether born or unborn, the old and infirm, are the most fundamental monstrosities of modern life.  Among the issues that the promoters seek, many seek a political ends by religious means, failing the most fundamental of social justice rigors: charity first, second … and last.

We must acknowledge that laws and decrees that permit the commission of abortions are not the only issues of peace and justice, but the shedding of innocent blood is an abhorrence to God.  Psalm 106: 35-40.  Further, with the federal elections behinds us, the president-elect has made a clear record that he will sign the Freedom of Choice Act—proposed legislation that would eliminate any and all state and federal restrictions on abortion (parental choice, informed consent) and mandate public funds be expended in the killing of innocent unborn life.

With hope and prayers, let’s continue to work for true charity, and peace and justice in our society as lay members of the Order of Preachers.  If you wish to discuss this matter, do not hesitate to contact me via my email address at john[at sign]Keenan.org.  I pray all goes well with you. 

In peace & faith,

John Keenan, JD, OPL

Promoter, Peace & Justice

Lay Members

Western Dominican Province.

—-

Please pray for the -

The Western Dominican Justice Promoters Annual Fall Meeting set for Thursday, October 23, 24 and 25, 2008, at the MSJ Motherhouse, Fremont, California.

The lay members of the Order of Preachers in the Western Dominican Province have new officers effective today, Wednesday, August 20, 2008, including Tony Galati, OPL as president of the Lay Provincial Council [I give a 'virtual' bow to, and continually pray for, Karen Woods, OPL, outgoing president of the LPC, for her years of hard work and attention to the Idaho Dominican Laity].  I was appointed by the executive committee of the LPC as the new promoter of peace and justice.

My prayer is to serve that purpose nobly with an eye for excellence in effort and charity, but clarity and with truth.   I will not always meet that goal but I ask you assist me in that direction.

I invite you to explore this blog.    I have tried to articulate my concern and many other people’s concerns.   At the same time, it is a personal education for me and I hope for you.    The purpose here is to aid all concerned to seek the Truth in key issues, to allow prudence and discernment be exercised where possible, to point out higher moral situations, and to facilitate the right judgment and good order in developing and working on peace, justice, and stewardship issues–with all of this in charity.

With this end in mind, a key aid in that endeavor is the following link to the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church, a key document in the study of social justice issues, issues hierarchy, the moral and practical implications, and other matters.  Look here:

Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church.

Over the next few weeks, it is my hope to explore the study of Cosmology, the study of the movement of the heavenly bodies in the universe.  Why Cosmology?  First, many in the Order of Preachers are calling for an integration of a “new” Cosmology into the theology of the Church, ranking creation and the environment on par with humankind.     We are called to be good stewards of creation, but ranking the material world with humankind negates the reality of the metaphysical, the nature of humankind as body and soul, and the doctrine of original sin.    Second, frankly, it is an effort to try and understand the meaning and purpose in this new effort to amend the Church’s teachings.     Finally, this call for a “new” Cosmology is where the spiritual battle is raging.  There is a deep divide among Catholic people over these matters.  It has found a home in the Dominican Order.

The real concern of social justice efforts should be focused on true human concerns, including the poor, the suffering, the enslavement of people, the ravages of war, and most notably, the killing of kids in the womb and of the disabled, the infirm, and the dying. 

If you wish to make comments, please click on the comments button and go for it.  If you wish to contribute a post, send it to me at my chapter’s email address: chapter["at sign"]dominicanidaho.org.   You are welcome to do so and I will post all reasonable comments.   In our spiritual father, St. Dominic,  Peace & faith, John

THE CALL TO PEACE AND JUSTICE COMES FROM A LOVE FOR TRUTH.

            By John Keenan, JD, OPL

            The Lay Provincial Council gathered last July 20 to 22 at St. Albert’s Priory in Oakland California.  The 2008 annual congress of lay Dominicans from the Western Dominican Province elected and appointed a number of new officials.  

Among these officials is the new lay provincial promoter for peace and justice, John Keenan, JD, OPL, of Boise, Idaho, USA, the author of this column, whose appointment commences August 20^th.  This position is quite humbling yet demanding.  John has a passion for justice issues in the world and he believes that the God-given individual freedom and responsibility, the community and trust of humankind, the dignity of each human, and the law above every other law are the keys to the success of a modern nation and society that truly cares for its poor and disenfranchised first.

            The new justice and peace lay promoter for the West is Catholic, enthused about the faith, his family, and his siblings in the Dominican Family.  John was perpetually professed under the auspices of the Immaculate Conception Chapter in Washington, D.C. on June 14^th, twenty years ago.  He also has a special love for the Order’s motto “Veritas” and “contemplata aliis tradere” [respectively “truth” and “handing on to others the fruit of contemplation”]. 

Truth is needed today.  It is needed in society.  It is needed at home, at work, and at recreation.  From the town halls and courtrooms, to Congress, and to the U.N.  It is needed everywhere.  Even as sinners, it is our nature to respect the Truth.  It helps our “yes” be “yes,” and our “no” be “no.”  When exhibited with the virtue of charity, truth is pure and simple and needs no modification or adornment. 

Truth is closely connected to good ideas.  There are many ideas in our world.   Some ideas are good.  Some are not good.  Ideas can change the world.  The greatest truth combined with ideas ever manifested to the world is that God’s redemptive Love is for us, that His grace saves, and that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 

            Christ Incarnate came to repair the damage done by the Original Sin committed by Adam and Eve that transmitted to all of their progeny the fallen state.  Catechism of the Catholic Church, para. 404.  The effect to all humankind includes death and deprivation of sanctifying grace as well as a weakened will and a darkened intelligence. 

            Its effect upon all humankind—and creation itself—was profound, as we “find in our world great confusion and the effects of sinfulness in the unequal distribution of the world’s resources, war, [and] the inability of nations to assist one another instead of bickering with one another.  On a personal level, we see the great difficulty we have as human beings in getting along with other people.”  Put Out into the Deep, Bishop DiMarzio, Diocese of Brooklyn, July 9, 2005. 

The call from the depth of our souls for peace, justice and the care, stewardship, and conservation of the resources and environment of creation, is based upon this fallen nature and sin in our world.  All of humanity, including creation itself, groans and eagerly awaits salvation.  Romans 8:19-23.   As Christians, that is why we cry out for justice and peace in this world, with the hope of salvation in the next. 

With the foregoing in mind, John prays for the humility, knowledge, and wisdom to fulfill the task of promoter, to keep in balance what is needed to bring true justice, peace, freedom and opportunity to all peoples, and to keep St. Dominic’s charism in mind and the Gospel and Church’s teachings on these issues in focus without prejudice or distraction.  Please pray for our new peace and justice promoter. 

In Vol. 18, No. 5 [4], p. 6 of the March-April (2007) issue of Christ In the World edition, the article on Peace and Justice was interesting.  The article had a timely and well-formed comment on Lenten fasting, forgiveness, and almsgiving.  At the forefront of the article, a Dominican student friar’s reflection was quoted stating that the “North American Dominican Justice Promoters are too political.”   The source of that statement is unknown, but it is a general concern that should be addressed.   That observation should be of concern.

            In the article, the authoritative “Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life,” dated November 22, 2002, issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the time Pope Benedict XVI was prefect of that congregation, was quoted, which follows:

By fulfilling their civic duties, guided by a Christian conscience, in conformity with its values, the lay faithful exercise their proper task of infusing the temporal order with Christian values.

Article I. 1, Para. 3.  This document encourages participation in the political order, but sheds further light on the nature and priority of certain issues—and the centrality of the human person in the discussion involving key issues, where the document further explains,

The consequence of this fundamental teaching of the Second Vatican Council is that the lay faithful are never to relinquish their participation in ‘public life’, that is, in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas, which are intended to promote organically and institutionally the common good».  This would include the promotion and defence [sic] of goods such as public order and peace, freedom and equality, respect for human life and for the environment, justice and solidarity.

Article I, 1, Para. 3 (footnotes omitted).  Guadiam et Spes was also quoted where the Council stated, “Since [the laity] have an active role to play in the whole life of the Church, laymen are not only bound to penetrate the world with a Christian spirit, but are also called to be witnesses to Christ in all things in the midst of human society.”  Guadiam et Spes, No. 43 (emphasis added).  This is true.

            Of course, lay people involved in the formal institutes of the Order are not simply lay folk acting alone or with civil private associations, political parties, or societies.  Lay people are encouraged, if not admonished, to be involved in culture, society, and politics individually and in free association with other individuals; however, the Order’s organized committees—as well as all lay members—in the lay Order of Preachers, face an entirely different issue.  When speaking on behalf of lay Dominicans, we belong to a province and an institute, a lay religious institute of the Lay Fraternities of St. Dominic, that bears the mantle and authority of the Order itself, as well as the Church and her Magisterium—not the endeavors of private persons or private associations. 

            It seems reasonable that this fact alone would lead us, as lay members of a lay ecclesial institute to responsibly review each social and political issue very carefully so that it reflects the moral order, conscience, issues and efforts so dear and close to the Church–not the whim of ideology and political ideas that benefit from currency or fancy. 

            This is a heavy responsibility.

            When certain worldly issues are confronted by members of the lay Fraternities of the Order of Preachers, certain guideposts exist outside of political agendas or social causes celebre.  These guideposts include with certainty the Holy Scriptures and Tradition.  Also, encyclicals and other documents are authoritative.  John Paul II said, “It is the special function of the laity to seek the kingdom of God in dealing with temporal affairs and ordering them as God wishes.”  John Paul II, Religious and Human Promotion, April 1978, no. 28 (emphasis here).

            To amplify this point further, as taught by the Vatican Council II, “Laymen should also know that it is generally the function of their well-formed Christian conscience to see that the divine law is inscribed in the life of the earthly city….”  ”  Guadiam et Spes, No. 43 (emphasis here).   

            It is appropriate here to expound on the main point with clarity.  Upon review of the materials from the lay, religious, and general Dominican websites, Dominican links, including other Orders, and religious and other links, as well as national websites concerning peace and justice, it cannot be ignored the prominent peace and social justice issues at both at the national and at the international level, are largely liberal in nature and often are not based upon natural law or supernatural principles. 

            It cannot be denied that there are legitimate issues that the promoters, religious, and others are thankfully pursuing at national and international levels.  However, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the social justice movement has been deeply impacted by a liberal agenda.  As Dominicans we must be truthful in our review of this material. 

            This conclusion may shock or cause reactions of guffaws.  As Dominicans who seek the Truth, it cannot be ignored.  The social justice movement cannot move in a new direction whether to the right, middle, left, or with a new ideology.  The real move must not be grounded in a political or social ideology.  Any social justice action must be based on natural and supernatural principles, Godly in its origin and in its faith and practice and on “divine law [that] is inscribed in the life of the earthly city.” Guadiam et Spes, No. 43.  As Dominicans, especially as members of the Lay Dominican Family of the Order of Preachers, we need to preach the Gospel.  At home. At school. At work. In the town square.  At all levels of government.  At the courtrooms, the hallways of Congress, the halls of academia, at businesses, corporations, and the like, we need to preach the Gospel.   It is the Church that teaches, that preaches, that is the source and fountain of eternal life through its Head, Jesus Christ.

            Before detailing any examples, among the examples below, there are legitimate issues that should be dealt with by honest men and women of good will who seek the truth who may necessarily come from opposing political views.  However, one point is simple:  these views often represent a political point of view, not necessarily a religious viewpoint. 

            Below are words and phrases gleaned from various religious and laity Dominican internet websites.  These websites mention these terms.  These terms were “lifted” from the websites and inserted below between quotation marks.  The phrases listed here are in no particular order:

The “environmental and ecology,” “environmental sustainability,” “HIV-AIDs in Africa,” “eco-feminism,” “feminism,” “greenhouse gases,” “militarism,” “sexism,” “globalism,” “anti-racism,” “global warming,” “death penalty,” “universal health care,” “public dissent in the civic and ecclesial arenas,” “School of the Americas,” “disarmament,” “Earth Charter,” “Columbia,” “partnering with planet earth,” “reverencing the earth,” “collaborating for systemic change,” “disarmament,” “the war in Iraq,” “earth is sacred and interconnected,” “human dignity,” “the conflict in Israel and Palestine,” “human trafficking,” “heresies of local and global domination,” “ravage earth,” “ecological crisis,” “ecologically sustainable design models,” “multicultural and biological diversity,” “non-violent peacemaking,” “right relationships with Earth community,” “social service agencies,” “helping the poor,” “people of Columbia,” “Iraq,” “genetically engineered food,” “land ethic,” “heresy of dualism,” “commit to actions that safeguard Earth,”  “unjust structures,” “world water day,” “UN Millennium Declaration,” “Dominican Ecology Project,” “economic globalization,” “Dominicans at the United Nations,” “pledge of non-violence,” “wrap the world in prayer for peace,” “alternative investments,” “immigration and migration,” “labor,” “fair trade,” “United Nations,” “human trafficking,” “Darfur,” “Zimbabwe,” “biodiversity,” “globalization,” “reality of limit,” “new cosmology,” “listen to Earth, and to rethink cosmology,” “human rights,” “homosexual rights,” “nuclear weapons,” “nuclear power,” “nuclear disarmament,” and on and on.[1]

[Bibliography].

            Among the various Dominican websites, there were links to secular “women’s spiritualism,” “feminist theology,” “political websites,” environmental websites such as Public Citizen on the issue of socialized water, Sierra Club, and the Women’s Environmental Institute, and “peace and justice” sites and linked to a common thread of issues that are included above. 

            The list cited above is not exhaustive.  It is simply a general sampling of what was discovered on the internet involving religious and lay Dominican sites and links listed on those sites.

            It should be clarified that the purpose here is not to accuse but to expand the horizons and open the minds of many of the Dominicans when it comes to these issues.  The issues listed above have a tendency to be from a liberal perspective, and there are legitimate opposing points of view from other men and women that can be expressed from a moral perspective.  It is not all one sided.  There are other voices that are not being expressed.

            This general tendency in our Order of Preachers is alarming—and should be to any Dominican.  As Catholics, we should not be controlled by any political issue from either a liberal or a conservative basis or other single political perspective.  We should be concerned about social justice issues that reflect on the faith and morals of Catholic teaching.

            One may argue that the ‘liberal’ issues are the important issues. Also equally so, another person could argue that the ‘conservative issues are the important issues.  Of course, that cannot be from a Catholic perspective—and that is precisely the problem that is confronting the social justice movement presently.

            This point requires discernment and honesty.  It is for that reason that the Lay Provincial Council and each provincial chapter should seriously consider the direction these issues have taken over time and face the reality that many of the issues and actions taken have missed the true mark of a genuine religious concern.  This problem cannot be ignored without causing great harm not only to the Province but to the whole Order.

            Many of the issues stated above have little to do with primary Catholic moral and social teachings about domestic family life, life issues, just laws, faith and morals, and the like, but have more to do with socialist solutions to social problems as well as a liberal ideology and related political ‘doctrine’.

            As Dominicans, what should we do? 

We gather first as Dominicans.  While many of us may be politically involved, and may respectively be socialists, Republicans, Democrats, libertarians, progressive, capitalists, and on and on, our present business together involves the Order of Preachers and not worldly politics.  If we participate individually in secular social movements, it is responsible that we take good moral positions.  However, as Dominican people, we should focus on vital ecclesial issues which rely upon a crucial moral and theological foundation. 

To do so requires the lay Dominicans to face tough contemporary issues that will form the World in His image.  Anything less, the World will form the Order in the its image. 

            As an illustration, let’s examine the tragic issue of abortion. 

            This issue is primary.  The social justice issues mentioned at large often reflect on a disenfranchised, a deprived, a weak and a poor constituency.  Yet, nowhere in the world is there a more weak, choice-less, poor, blind, and voiceless constituency than the preborn child.  Outside a brief oblique reference at a few Dominican websites, there was no mention of this modern savagery of killing innocent children.

            On the other hand, an issue widely mentioned at Dominican websites is the death penalty.  Pope John Paul II voiced a growing social opposition to the death penalty.  The reality is that modern social systems have an alternative to the death penalty. [2]  However, the issue is not that the death penalty is always morally wrong, but where society has an alternative to protect the public, the better option is to avoid the death penalty.  See, footnote ii.   Appropriately, John Paul II gave a strong admonition especially in modern societies against imposing the death penalty.  However, when it comes to killing innocent life, the Commandment against murder is invoked. [3]  “In effect, the absolute inviolability of innocent human life is a moral truth clearly taught by Sacred Scripture, constantly upheld in the Church’s Tradition and consistently proposed by her Magisterium.”  Evangelium Vitae, para. 57.  As Pope John Paul II taught in his famous encyclical, “I confirm that the direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral.”

            After reviewing the issue of life, it is clear that the killing of all innocent life—whether a child in the womb or not—is gravely immoral.  However, the Church has long understood that the death penalty is the state’s right to defend society, but when it can provide for a just punishment without further taking of life, then the dignity of the human person requires that the death penalty be avoided. 

            Where Evangelium Vitae and the Catechism do not forbid the death penalty outright, this matter is a relative and secondary obligation, while in contrast defending the life of an innocent person is an absolute and therefore a prior responsibility.  

            There is a dearth of information on the killing of innocent persons on the Dominican websites quoted above, that includes the killing of children in the womb.

            It is difficult to say that men and women of good will are able to debate in truth the moral rightness of abortion. There is no right to commit an abortion. That is a political proposition—not a religious or moral principle.  Many persons believe and are full of hope, that if society can be corrected about abortion, many ills of society will be righted. 

            There are other issues that could be included in this discussion.  These issues include married life, religious freedom, euthanasia, pornography, and moral theology. [4]

As lay members of the Order of Preachers, what great good can be done!   We can teach children about moral conduct, about sex, fulfilling promises, working, family life, and marriage.  We can preach to young and old alike about a Godly life. 

This includes the teaching of children by lay people and religious about moral and right conduct, about sex, fulfilling promises, working, family life, marriage, and about preaching to young and old adults alike about right living and moral conduct—a Godly life. 

 These are not political issues.  These are moral standards that are pillars of right conduct that can change forever the hearts and minds of men and women.

            The irony is that all the political and social activity in the world, if not based on Christ and on right living and morals, is only that: busy activity.   This is precisely where the magnificence of the Order of Preachers steps in and is so desperately needed at the pulpit and on the streets today: we need to preach the Gospel of Truth with the power of God.  The Gospel helps people to live rightly, which promotes a culture of life, and helps people to make right decisions at every level of society including the family, community, and national levels. 

            As lay folk in the Order of Preachers, we have a duty to uphold and preach the natural law in contra to our contemporary society that upholds the “decadence and disintegration of reason and the principles of the natural moral law.”  Often politics and its culture brings with it a legitimacy of pluralistic ethics where tolerance of wrongs and rights becomes a civic virtue, where “citizens claim complete autonomy with regard to their moral choices, and lawmakers maintain that they are respecting this freedom of choice by enacting laws which ignore the principles of natural ethics” and yield to temporal cultural and moral trends as if every outlook was of equal value.  The Participation of Catholics in the Moral Life, para. II.2., Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect, (2002)(Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith).

            Where people are taught right from wrong; they will do right at a personal, social, and governmental level.   Critical to this mission are education and preaching that leads to changed hearts. 

            The final point is simply this.  We are lay people in a Catholic religious order.  We are not social or political leaders (unless otherwise in our private lives).  As members of the Lay Fraternities of the Order of Preachers, we are to preach the Gospel in and to our various secular areas but not to proclaim the particular political and temporal ideologies themselves.  To change the world, we need to preach the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, not the ‘good’ news of political agendas.

       The Idaho Lay Dominicans kindly ask that the Lay Provincial Council to carefully review the issues raised in this letter.  We believe they are of genuine concern.  Our Dominican lives need a renewal based on the documents of Vatican Council II, where we are urged to return to the original charisms of our founding father, St. Dominic, where preaching, study, and prayer are fundamental to our mission of salvation and the changing of the hearts and minds of people. 

        In this way, we truly speak to God and of God and reflect on Him through our preaching charism.  As you know, Christ focused on humankind, not the social and governmental structures of the world.   When men and women convert and change their personal lives and reform their minds, they will change the world.

John C. Keenan, J.D., O.P.L.; Formation Director, Blessed Margaret of Castello Chapter, Order of Preachers, Boise, Idaho, United States of America.

Saturday, June 09, 2007, The Idaho Lay Dominicans. Presented to the Lay Provincial Council, Western Province; Saturday, June 23, 2007.]

____________________________

^[1]  See, attached Bibliography.   The list of websites on the bibliography is not exhaustive. 

^[2] Evangelium Vitae, Para. 27.  ”If bloodless means are sufficient to defend human lives against an aggressor and to protect public order and the safety of persons, public authority must limit itself to such means, because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person”.  Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2267.   

^[3] Evangelium Vitae, Para. 57.  “If such great care must be taken to respect every life, even that of criminals and unjust aggressors, the commandment ‘You shall not kill’ has absolute value when it refers to the innocent person.” 

^[4]  Other vital issues include not only moral theology but the rights and wrongs involving marriage and domestic life in general; sexual mores; private property and the respect for it at a personal and social level; economic and political freedom; legal plunder; the economic and social mechanisms for helping the poor to be fed, clothed, educated, and raised in dignity, and other issues. 

    Additional issues involve the United Nations.  The “Dominicans at the United Nations” website shows that the Order of Preachers is involved in many vital issues, including the issue of human trafficking, the war in Iraq, the war in Darfur, etc.  However, at that website [www.un.op.org], there was no reference or mention with regard to the international abortion rights movement.  There are valid questions, complaints and observations about the United Nations, its legitimacy and its bureaucracy.  From a review of the documents at that website, it appears that at the United Nations, the Dominicans have failed to challenge the pro-abortion structures at the United Nations as well as the UN’s and NGOs’ (nongovernmental organizations’) complicity with that issue.   Most recently, in the name of women’s rights, it was noted by the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) (an NGO at the United Nations) and displayed at their website, that “the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health has made a dedicated effort to show governments that reproductive and sexual rights are fundamental elements of the right to health.”   As you know, “reproductive and sexual rights” are nothing less than a euphemism for abortion rights.  [www.reproductiverights.org/worldwide.htm].   While many Dominicans have focused on the nation of Columbia and the war on drugs, international groups such as the CRR have been promoting abortion rights in the United Nations and internationally, and most recently with legal success in the City of Mexico. 

   In a recent seminal decision, the Columbia Supreme Court quoted resolutions made under cover of the UN in legalizing limited abortions.  Did the Dominicans at the United Nations help pro-life forces to confront this travesty?  This is unknown.  However if the website at www.un.op.org is reviewed, it does not appear as there was any such involvement.   

     Another issue mentioned on the websites list on page 4 above is “universal health care.”  This is socialized medicine whereby the state takes control of health care, including price controls, health care delivery, and the payment of health care through a state-sponsored tax.  There is much honest and legitimate debate over the efficacy of government-sponsored medicine.  Men and women of good will on all sides of this issue should debate this issue in truth and reason.

     The key issue is whether universal health care is the proper vehicle for change in the health care industry and for providing health care.  That is why it is improper for members on behalf of the Order within the context as lay members or religious, to promote or endorse universal health care because there are legitimate and opposing sides to this debate.  For many, universal health care would be disastrous for the poor in particular and society at large.   There is a wealth of economic, political, and social evidence that universal health care is a worldwide and profound failure, and that governments should deregulate the health care marketplace rather than take it over.