My personal response to the violence in our nation from Fr Tom

       One or two people have wondered why I have not addressed some of the violence that has been occurring in our country at the moment. I think the teaching of our church and the Gospel is clear. We are a church that promotes life from conception until natural death. The Ten Commandments are clear:  You shall not kill. Jesus is clear:  turn the other cheek, blessed are the peacemakers, his nonviolent acceptance of the Cross This includes any violence we read or hear about in our nation. Self-defense and a just war are always viewed in another light. There are so many “hot button” issues in our country, but we follow Jesus and His way. We cannot condone or agree to violence. The immigration issue, for one, is a complex issue. Unless we are of the First Nation, we are all immigrants. People have come to this nation looking for a second chance since its beginning. The people coming today are searching for the same thing as my grandparents, but today, immigration law is very different.

      I think the issue we are dealing with is not immigration, but how people who have not followed the procedures are treated and viewed. I also think that people are promoting a viewpoint of groups of people that take away their basic human dignity. Throughout history, when a people are demonized by the dominant culture, blamed for all the issues of the society, not respected as human beings with basic human rights, then there violence and maltreatment seem to be seen as ok by many. Calling a group derogatory names, isolating them and separating them from society reinforces hatred. We just need to look back at the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust. As Christians, this is not ok.

The first principle of Catholic Social Teaching is that every human being is created in the image and likeness of God. Not every immigrant is a criminal and not every protestor is disloyal. We do not have to agree with the issues, but we must follow the Gospel and the teachings of the Church. We have a responsibility to form our consciences in the teachings of the Church. The Church does not ask for blind obedience but an informed conscience and acceptance of what Jesus taught. No matter where we are on the political spectrum, we must be in line with the Gospel message and how the Church has taught us about it. We can all be violent is words and actions when someone disagrees with us and this can be a lethal as a gun shot. Name calling, threats, etc. have no place in a civil society and in our church.

     I have never felt comfortable preaching my allegiance to anyone else but Jesus and him alone. He is my savior and the light of my life. His Gospel is “a lamp unto my feel” and His Church and Sacraments are what form my heart. I have my opinions, but they are only my opinions. No one needs to hear my opinions, but I pray I preach Jesus. He is who we all need. Like St Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians:

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. I came to you in weakness* and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive (words of) wisdom,* but with a demonstration of spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. from New American Bible