Main Feature
Catholic Culture Wars Heat Up
Phil Little, Ladysmith
Volume 33 Issue 7, 8 & 9 | Posted: September 30, 2019
“I know a priest who likes to shake hands with the trash collectors when they are loading the refuse onto the truck. They try to clean their hands on their clothes. The priest, rightly, says: ‘No work stains human hands. What makes hands dirty is stealing, or greed, or the blood of our neighbors!’”
– (DOM HELDER CAMARA: ESSENTIAL WRITINGS (p. 45, where he quotes one of his priests)
Were it only so easy to maintain an ideological purity, a stainless immaculate track record, worthy of future canonization! But Francis has shown a preference to praise those clergy who “smell” like the sheep, rather than perhaps incense or whisky?
“I know a priest who likes to shake hands with the trash collectors when they are loading the refuse onto the truck. They try to clean their hands on their clothes. The priest, rightly, says: ‘No work stains human hands. What makes hands dirty is stealing, or greed, or the blood of our neighbors!’”
– (DOM HELDER CAMARA: ESSENTIAL WRITINGS (p. 45, where he quotes one of his priests)
Were it only so easy to maintain an ideological purity, a stainless immaculate track record, worthy of future canonization! But Francis has shown a preference to praise those clergy who “smell” like the sheep, rather than perhaps incense or whisky?
Fifty-two years ago, in 1967, the Canadian Catholic church responded in a concrete and generous manner to the inspiration of Paul VI, the Vatican II pontiff who concluded the work of the Council and led the church into a new but short lived future.
Development and Peace (DP) was established in 1967 by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in response to Pope Paul VI’s encyclical letter Populorum Progressio, which says that Development is the new word for Peace. Peace cannot be seen simply as the absence of war. It must be built daily, and it must strive towards a more perfect justice among human beings (Populorum Progressio, 76). (https://www.devp.org/)
A more perfect justice – as we humans perhaps are not capable of total justice, but at least a more perfect justice. The obvious difficulty is that in seeking to work towards justice, it is necessary to confront injustice and those whose interests, particularly financial, are rooted in the systems of injustice. And that is when one meets those whose hands are “dirty” because their greed brings them to steal and oppress the poor and to maintain their systems of oppression they have blood on their hands. Dom Helder Camara knew all about this as he too was targeted for assassination and he had to deal with the martyrdom of justice workers in Brazil. What was a bitter reality to recognize was that there were, and always have been, those in the Church who have opted to support those in power from whom prestige and wealth could be gained.
PADRE MELO
Personal disclosure: I have known Rev. Ismael Moreno, SJ, for 30 years and consider him to be a brother whom I deeply admire. I have accompanied him in Honduras and know personally of his commitment to working for justice, his love of the poor and his passion to defend life. His deep spirituality nurtures his multifaceted outreach to different sectors of society, within the church and with secular groups, some of which have strong antibodies to the traditional church in Honduras. Yet this Jesuit priest commands their deep respect and trust because Padre Melo (as he is known) is committed to justice and is not politically aligned. As a Jesuit priest he has been assigned the directorship of two important missions in Honduras – as director of Radio Progreso and director of the human rights institution known as ERIC (for Investigation, Research and Communication).
Honduras is not just a poor country. It is a country impoverished by centuries of exploitation. Today officially two thirds of the country live in poverty and of them 50 per cent live in extreme poverty. Honduras is a country in pain, with one of the highest murder rates in the world. The country is ruled by a military narco-dictatorship in alliance with the traditional oligarchy and the new industrial class with foreign ownership of sweatshops and mines. And yes, this highly corrupt ruling class counts on the support of the leadership of the Evangelical Union and the Catholic Church, which are both amply rewarded for their spiritual blessings.
On July 19, 2019 Melo received an email from the office of the Secretary General of the Canadian Episcopal Conference (CCCB). The letter was signed formally by Évelyne Beaudoin, President of the National Council for Development and Peace, and by Bishop Ken Nowakowski, Ukrainian Eparchial Bishop of New Westminster and Co-Chair of the Permanent Liaison Committee for Development and Peace and the Canadian Episcopal Conference.
This letter requesting a “prompt response” by August 12 raised certain “concerns” that came from a review of material on the website of the radio station. The first concern bizarrely questioned a guest article published in 2017 on the topic of church and state relations and the growing influence of fundamentalist churches with the ruling dictatorship. The DP letter questioned a statement that Trump is “fighting laws that protect women’s reproductive rights”.
Another concern was that the radio station had invited a speaker who was “a self-declared lesbian and feminist” who supported “the right to abortion”. The topic of abortion seemed to be a trigger for the authors of the DP letter as it questioned an article in 2018 that quoted a United Nations expert who stated that Honduras “is one of the few countries in the world that has an absolute ban on abortion.”
The letter from DP, accompanied with references to screen shots from the Radio Progreso website, suggested that Radio Progreso had “published articles whose demands and / or premises may be incompatible with Catholic social and ethical teaching”. The mention of Trump is somewhat curious and the angst towards a feminist lesbian commentator is revealing.
Melo did not wait until August 12 but responded on July 23 with a 5-page response, written with support and guidance by his advisory council at Radio Progreso and ERIC. He cordially began his response truthfully stating that the letter of DP did not represent “the joy of good news” and implied “an austerity and indifference to the social apostolate that we carry out in defence of human rights and the groups of most vulnerable people in our society”.
Melo pointed out that subjects related to “sexual morality” are not a major focus of the work and those references cited by DP were isolated passages, and that a more unbiased reading of the texts would reveal that the topics were referenced in relation to broader political circumstances in Honduras. Melo accepted that some guest speakers had expressed opinions contrary to official Church doctrine and that there was a tolerance accorded to speakers. Both Radio Progreso and ERIC have been “defenders of freedom of expression” and they do not believe it is in the interests of the Church “for the media to restrict the circulation of ideas”.
For the past few years Radio Progreso and ERIC have received visits of support by interdenominational delegations from Canada, the USA and Europe. They come to give their support but also to be nurtured by the faith-full witness and work of these Jesuit missions.
Melo clearly affirmed that “the right to life” is the basis of all that is done at Radio Progreso and ERIC.
“We believe in the defence of life from the moment of conception, a dimension that you responsibly stress, we complement this position with the defence of life of our youth, of the thousands of sick people without medical attention in our hospitals, their lives threatened because a significant number of high ranking civil servants and politicians have stolen medical equipment and drugs. We defend the lives of the communities threatened by extractive projects, in particular mining, several of which are controlled by Canadian companies. If we are to defend the women abused by men, victims of the abuse of power, or even those who are used as cannon fodder by drugs traffickers, and who are often forced to have abortions, then we must do this firmly. And if we were to defend the rights of women who are accused and criminally charged for having abortions, while the men who made them pregnant and exposed them to extreme vulnerability go free, we would also do this firmly. We defend life in all its dimensions, of course, from the moment life begins in the mother’s womb. And not only in the mother’s womb, but also, and even more firmly, once that life has emerged from the mother’s womb.”
Melo asked directly “we would like to know what motivated your letter and what it is you expect from us”. He worried that “that the chill of the eternal Canadian winter that pervades your letter is not induced by a review on whether to continue or suspend funding to us”. Melo acknowledged the importance of financial support from the northern developed countries. The north however is not always benevolent as it “has also sent interference, conditionality and prejudices, and a muzzle that seeks to silence us.”
The Jesuit province of Central America and the Jesuit province of Canada quickly responded when the exchange of letters became public. These statements and other articles have put the relationship of Radio Progreso and the CCCB in a broader context of ideological differences both political and ecclesiastical.
As expected but not taken for granted, both Jesuit provinces gave full support to Melo and to the work of the Jesuits at Radio Progreso and ERIC. The Canadian Jesuit statement expressed a strong concern for the safety of Melo and his teams who work in one of the most violent countries in the world.
We make the following statement in light of the fact that journalists have picked up this news, and because we are deeply concerned for the safety of our brothers and sisters in Honduras. We also consider the situation of Father Melo to be a matter of public interest, since the financial contributions made annually to CCODP come from thousands of faithful in parishes across Canada.
The Canadian Jesuit statement mentions that Fr. Melo personally has received numerous death threats as have many others of Radio Progreso and ERIC. In 2014 the marketing manager of the Radio Station was murdered and others connected to the radio as correspondents have been assassinated. False or politically slanted allegations could even contribute to the increased risk faced by journalists and human rights defenders.
The Canadian Jesuit statement revealed a more insidious depth to the challenge sent to Fr. Melo. This statement acknowledged that Radio Progreso and ERIC were among a total of 52 Development and Peace partners that had funding “temporarily suspended following an investigation by CCCB staff and pending verification of their compliance with the Church’s social and moral teachings”.
“Our hope is that the criteria being used in the current process of review is comprehensive in its understanding of the Church’s social teaching and its defence of life in all of its dimensions, at every stage, and in all its diversity; denouncing poverty as an affront to the dignity of women and men, promoting peace, protecting human rights as well as the environment.”
The Canadian Jesuit statement in one paragraph opened another aspect to this investigation. Not because he is also a Jesuit, but that is not to be discounted, but Pope Francis does come into consideration in a broader context.
Pope Francis has, in recent years, helped the Church articulate a way beyond the impasse of a too narrow understanding of the defence of life. He has reminded us that we must recover a robust awareness of the prudent and merciful discernment, the wise and patient sifting, that is needed when we apply the universal moral doctrine of the Church to particular cases.
The Central American province of Jesuits stated its full confidence in Melo and the work of Radio Progreso and ERIC. The Radio Station has twice been stormed by the military and shut down, the last time in 2009 with the coup d'état supported by the Canadian government. The letter sent by Rolando Alvarado SJ clearly affirmed:
“We state that the apostolate of Radio Progreso and ERIC stands out for defending the life and dignity of all Hondurans, especially the most vulnerable, those silenced and ignored and trapped by violence and poverty. This is the fundamental direction of the Mission of the social apostolate of the Society of Jesus in Central America and the Social Center, ERIC-Radio Progreso, is a clear, rigorous and coherent exponent of this ecclesial Mission of proclaiming that “we have life and life in abundance”, as read in the Gospel of St. John.”
Thanking the CCCB and Development and Peace for its past support, Rev. Alvarado reaffirmed the commitment to support the apostolic work of ERIC-Radio Progreso in its “defense of life in all its dimensions and stages”.
MAYBE IT IS NOT REALLY ABOUT PADRE MELO AND THE RADIO STATION
While it may not be generally known, the letter of the Canadian Jesuits referenced many other partners of DP whose financial support was threatened because of concerns “about their respect for teachings of the church”. Or perhaps at least some of the teachings of the church if the narrow range of topics on women's health, reproduction, traditional families, and abortion were the main and only concerns.
The broader teachings of the church from Vatican II, the progressive encyclicals up to the two recent encyclicals of Pope Francis, the official magisterium of the Latin American church expressed in documents from Medellin, Puebla and Aparecida and approved by all popes previous to Pope Francis are not the lens used by the CCCB inquiry.
Indeed, in an August letter, Archbishop Miguel Cabrejos of Trujillo, Peru, President of the Council of Latin American and Caribbean Bishops (CELAM) and President of the Bishops’ Conference of Peru, expressed his appreciation and gratitude to Development and Peace for the support it has shown, since its foundation in 1967, to the work of the Peruvian and Latin American church to advance social justice. If the Church in Latin America recognizes the important contribution of Development and Peace to its work, why would Canadian bishops be less affirmative?
A common thread to the investigations of the suspect partners is the influence of narrow traditionalist organizations such as LifeSiteNews. This media outlet produced a highly biased report in 2009 that denounced a Haitian women’s organization Fanm Deside, founded by Quebec nuns which was primarily concerned with supporting abused women. Fanm Deside was accused of supporting the “decriminalization of abortion”. LifeSiteNews has a history of inaccurate and malicious investigations. Fanm Deside has the full and unequivocal support of the local bishop who praised the work with the poorest of the poor.
Those involved in the secretive and narrow investigations of Development and Peace partners prefer confidentiality, without public scrutiny or questioning as to methodology. In February 2018 a “preliminary review” of DP partners was sent to parishes in Edmonton. This 101-page document signalled 52 out of more than 180 DP partners which it claimed to show “alarming results”. In the end, months later it was found that only one of the 52 partner organizations, a non-church organization in Nigeria, did support “access to abortion” but this organization was a Research and Documentation Center for Women and was not involved in abortion services. This secret 101-page document is known as the “Findings” (2018 CCCB Research Findings on D&P Partners) and was not shared with those 52 partner organizations deemed suspect.
Development and Peace responded to “Findings” with a 290-page report that found that the accusations against 47 of the partners were unsubstantiated and irrelevant.
Most of the “facts” in the Findings report were easily discredited. The allegations were produced using a sloppy and narrow research methodology looking for a few trigger words or phrases such as abortion, reproductive rights or women and the family. Issues of poverty, violence, migrations and refugees, Canadian businesses (particularly mining companies) acting corruptly in southern countries, education, children, and the “preferential option for the poor” were conspicuously not of interest.
A highly critical letter by church leaders and others in the Philippines lamented that a secretive “opaque” committee of the CCCB would produce a report that was “deeply unfair and inconsistent with partnership principles”. This letter from Caritas Philippines and other prominent church persons slams the CCCB:
“For a distant and anonymous committee with no knowledge of our circumstances, our lived experiences, or the challenges facing us, to make summary and unilateral judgments of us at a time of growing authoritarianism is deeply dangerous”.
The “Findings” report and the continued insinuations hurled at partner organizations such as Radio Progreso and ERIC suggest that the authors and supporters of the “Findings” had no interest in knowing the circumstances, the lived experiences and the challenges faced by the partner organizations. “Findings” is characterized by a willful misunderstanding of organizations or a deep bias towards the work of these organizations.
The use of a key-word based web search by discredited organizations such as LifeSiteNews or the Catholic Legate is designed to produce unreliable but useful results if the desired outcome is to reduce support for agencies engaged in social action and justice. There was a short time when the CCCB supported a Social Action committee and was willing to challenge the structural causes of injustice and poverty. The CCCB even supported ecumenical action in groups like KAIROS. More canon lawyers and fewer pastoral men have been designated as bishops under the popes before Francis and this has perhaps shifted the concerns of the CCCB.
As the “Findings” illustrates, the obsession for “pelvic orthodoxy” remains strong even while the Canadian Catholic church has been thoroughly discredited for sexual deviancy, pedophilia and institutional cover-ups.
Development and Peace and its partners often work with organizations that are non-Catholic and secular. In the pursuit of justice, groups with common goals can have more success when working together and being willing to learn from one another. Of course, groups rarely agree on all issues, even if those groups are of the same religious persuasion. Again Mons. Miguel Cabrejos, affirmed that it is legitimate for catholic organizations to work with non-Catholic organizations to advance common goals in social justice.
The partners of Development and Peace work in a national context far different from Canada. These groups are united in their shared goals to foster a democratic process that defends environmental defense and social justice. Far too common is the shared reality in Third World countries of structural injustice and the oppression of women.
Honduras has for example a deplorable rate of 25 per cent of all pregnancies being with child and adolescent women. So in Honduras there are 30,000 pregnancies annually of girls age 10 to 19. The factors that contribute to this violence against young women are poverty, poor education, and machismo. If a young woman refuses to have sex with a gang member she is killed.
Working with partner organizations requires that Development and Peace clearly speaks to its principles while cooperating with other NGOs whose goals are the same but whose principles may not be exactly the same. The national context must be considered when evaluating the work of DP partners and this is not done with a word search on google.
"WHO AM I TO JUDGE"
An austere bishop from Argentina was chosen as Pope in 2013 to replace the retired Benedict XVI. Everyone seemed happy at first but Pope Francis has shown that his pastoral concerns are not those of the institution but rather towards people. He has shown that he is willing to learn from his mistakes, such as when he jumped to conclusions about accusations against tainted bishops in Chile. That resulted in all the bishops offering their resignations, only a few of which were accepted. His personal style offends the traditions of the entrenched curia.
Pope Francis is a conservative, but he has railed against clericalism and he has made appointments that show that he is looking for leadership that is concerned about orthopraxis – fidelity to the gospel and less about orthodoxy on narrowly spun women’s issues. There is mounting opposition to Pope Francis supported by “dark money” and again filtered through agencies like LifeSiteNews, Church Militant, or “Faithful Shepherds”.
There have been attempts to orchestrate a coup d’état against Francis by some Cardinals, and some Canadian clerics have been in open opposition to the Pope. The two major teachings of Pope Francis, Laudato Si and Amoris Laetitia, have been rejected by many of the old guard appointed by JP2 and B16.
The Jesuit apostolates in Honduras, Radio Progreso and ERIC, have conducted year long campaigns on different issues. One campaign focused on violence against women because as was highlighted at Puebla, many women are doubly oppressed because they are poor and because they are women. Honduras suffers from a high rate of “femicide”, the slaughter of women on an almost daily basis. Men are killed for what they are doing. Women are killed because they are women.
Responding to the encyclical Laudato Si by Pope Francis, Radio Progreso and ERIC sponsored a year campaign with many expressions in programs, music and seminars to inspire action beyond a simple reading of Laudato Si to concrete projects to protect the “Mother Earth”. The Jesuit missions in Honduras, under the directorship of Padre Melo, lived and worked in fidelity to the inspiration of Pope Francis.
Radio Progreso and ERIC advocate for political prisoners and the poor who are caught in the web of institutional injustice in a court system that is compromised and corrupted by the ruling regime. In Honduras, as in other countries of Latin America where abortion is totally banned, poor women can be and have been jailed for suffering spontaneous or natural miscarriages. Rich women can illegally access abortion inside or outside the country, but poor women who suffer miscarriages are automatically suspect of having done something to affect the pregnancy. Jailing poor women is considered to be “pro-life” by the churches and ruling elites.
Somehow the “Findings” report of the Canadian bishops failed to find the 99 per cent of excellent, gospel inspired, and pro-life work by Radio Progreso and the other DP partners around the world. Every day, Radio Progreso and ERIC are in the streets, the law courts, the prisons and the schools advocating for and defending life. Melo’s name appeared on a “hit list” only a few months ago, because to defend life means to stand up against those who promote death.
CATHOLIC CULTURE WARS
Eric Hodgens writing for “La Croix International” suggests that the seeds of the culture wars began during Vatican II.
The open-up group won hands down at the council, but the stay-closed group bided its time. Paul VI could not cope with confrontation and shuttled between promoting the new and pacifying the stay-puts. This slowed, but did not stop, the reform.
The 1978 arrival of John Paul II reversed the flow. Restoration replaced the reform. This widened and consolidated the division. And, unlike Paul VI, he was a warrior who would act on his opinions. Culture warfare had arrived within the Church. (https://international.la-croix.com/news/catholic-culture-wars/9338)
Perhaps the restorationists within the CCCB, with their obsession about feminine sexual issues, are simply flexing their muscles as they see the pendulum swing towards a more pastoral and progressive theology with the new appointments by Pope Francis. The “culture war” analysis helps to understand the tensions in societies around the world in many areas beyond church or religion. Of course there is money involved and the conservatives within the CCCB would prefer that the funds of Development and Peace be redirected to more “spiritual” causes.
Hodgens points out that “ideology starts with the conclusion and promotes it with propaganda”. This is the methodology of the “Findings” report that shows no interest in the abundant progressive and humanitarian work done by the partners of Development and Peace. The research method googling certain selective key words, such as abortion, birth control, lesbian, or women's rights, would be rejected in essay writing at the high school level.
The “culture war” in North American Catholicism is becoming ugly, particularly south of the Canadian border. The political theatre has given a green light to opponents of migration, women’s rights, racism, sexism and misogyny.
The period after Vatican II when bishops such as Remi De Roo and Adolphe Proulx would promote “Ethical Reflections on the Economic Crisis” was a moment of promise. But very quickly the reaction came from bishops such as Carter in Toronto and secular apologists who did not want the church to be meddling in secular affairs and spouting off about unemployment and structural injustices.
Patrick Jamieson, editor of Island Catholic News, suggests there is a “working theory” in the dynamics of this culture war in the church
“it is generally perceived (or received) that the return to fundamentalism in organized religions is purportedly for the purpose of purifying the specific faith involved. The basic premise being that by returning to the fundamental principles, the accrued encrustations of decadence and secularism are done away with.”
Pope Francis is now 82 years old, and not showing any sign of wanting to slow down. He is a conservative on issues such as abortion, same sex relationships and clerical celibacy. But he is demonstrably compassionate and non-judgmental. He has reached out to refugees and migrants.
When Berta Caceres, a feminist environmental defender, was assassinated in Honduras Pope Francis sent his personal message of condolence while the church leadership in Honduras remained silent. Pope Francis has ventured into economic issues and upset American tycoons with his condemnation of unbridled capitalism. His personal gestures defy traditional biases and taboos and some of his harshest criticisms are directed at the evils of clericalism.
CCODP and the CCCB
(WHO HAS DIRTY HANDS?)
The controversy centered around some of the DP partners is at best just nitpicking to justify meddling and opposition to some of the best gospel inspired works of mercy and justice that is supported by the generosity of Canadian Catholics.
Padre Melo has received international recognition for his work and that of the Jesuit mission in Honduras. From the website of the Rafto foundation:
“The Rafto Prize 2015 was awarded to Honduran priest Padre Melo for his defence of freedom of expression in one of the most violent countries in the world.” Padre Melo responded “If you don’t see things from the viewpoint of the groups whose rights are being constantly violated and whose freedom of expression has been taken from them, then tell me: where is the Christian gospel?”
Other awards and recognitions come yearly, and Padre Melo insists that through him it is the combined effort of the two teams of Radio Progreso and ERIC who deserve the credit.
I know that Padre Melo is not only “pro-life” but he saves lives. He intervenes in life and death issues and gets people out of danger. He himself has survived assassination attempts. His father, a leader in an agrarian co-op was assassinated when Melo was just a child. He knew personally Padre Guadalupe, an American Jesuit who was thrown out of a helicopter alive in 1983 somewhere over the Patuca River. For Padre Melo the memory of the martyrs demands fidelity and a commitment to justice.
For six years CAFOD in Central America, the British equivalent to Development and Peace, was directed by a Canadian who had worked for many years as a lay missionary with the Scarboro Mission Society. Responding to the current controversy Tom Walsh wrote:
Melo and his team at ERIC in the north-east of Honduras are defenders of life and committed apostles of Christ who I know well after accompanying them in their work for six years. They are not diminished by the shameful treatment of the Canadian Bishops rather on the contrary this letter challenges Canadian Catholics who have an ability to analyse, reflect and speak truth to power, to do so to the current leaders of the Catholic Church in Canada.
Written by Phil Little, former missionary and religion teacher.
Phil Little, Ladysmith