World AIDS Day & Other Calendar Events Today

It has struck me today how very strangely calendar events converge; a number of significant ones converge today. First, today marks the 55th Anniversary of the courage of Ms. Rosa Parks, who refused, after a hard day of working, to give up her seat on a city bus to a white man, although the law at the time required she do so. Her action sparked a boycott of the city buses in Montgomery, AL, that lasted for over a year. Here's a link to Wikipedia's article on the boycott: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_Bus_Boycott . In the end, the African American citizens of Montgomery won their battle & ushered in the beginnings of a Freedom Movement that lasted through the following decade and then some. I'd like to think that this movement still going on today, in ever newer & different forms...

The Jewish festival of Chanukah began this evening, a holiday lasting 8 days that commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after it had been ritually violated by the troops of King Antiochus of Syria. I see it as a celebration of religious freedom & the refusal to be forced to worship a way not of one's own choosing -- WHATEVER THAT WAY of WORSHIP MAY BE, EVEN IF IT IS NO WAY AT ALL. In other words, I view freedom of religion as absolute. My choice to be a Roman Catholic Christian, which was for me, answering a call I heard as a young teenager from the Holy One, is inviolable, just as is my sister's choice to name no religious tradition for her life. Likewise, our mother's choice to be proudly & happily Jewish, too, is inviolable. If I extend that out, as I must do as a US North American & someone born Jewish who became Catholic, I believe that to be true for everyone. No one should ever be forced to adopt a religion that she / he would not freely choose -- ever. That hasn't always been the case; witness the long history of "forced conversions" of Jews by the Roman Catholic Church prior & during the Inquisition. As a Catholic Christian, I welcome sisters & brothers who feel called to explore the Catholic faith; I rejoice with them if / when they choose it as their own. At the same time, I also rejoice when anyone finds, on her / his spiritual / religious journey, that she / he feels called to stay exactly where she / he has been, or, after prayer & discernment, freely chooses a tradition I would never dream of choosing for myself (& I won't name any here -- my friends will be able to figure out which ones I mean). Mostly, I do not believe, as do some right-wing Christians, that everyone -- meaning especially Jews & Muslims -- must become Christians to be "saved." Nor do I feel comfortable with some of what I read from highly extremist Muslims that we all must become Muslims.

I'm thinking of this today, especially, because it is also the Feast Day in the Catholic Church of Jesuit priest & martyr St. Edmund Campion. He, along with so many others, died during the horrific years of the religious conflict in England when, depending upon the identity of the monarch, Catholics killed Anglicans or Anglicans killed Catholics. It was more than bloody awful. I won't go into detail; those can be found on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Campion) & on the Jesuit site, Jesuit Saints and Blesseds (http://www.sjweb.info/Jesuits/saints.cfm). St. Edmund Campion was martyred at age 41 in 1581. Hundreds died on both sides, all because Henry VIII took over being head of the Church from the Pope who refused to allow him to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. They all forgot the warning found in Psalm 146:3: "Put not your trust in princes, Nor in mortals, in whom there is no help." But then again, St. Edmund Campion & his companions believed, as did all of the other martyrs on each side during these times, that their side was the side which the Holy One favored, & that thus they were following the Holy One, not a prince (Edward), a king (Henry VIII), or a queen or two (Mary & then Elizabeth I).

It's not that I do not honor St. Edmund Campion, S.J.; I do honor his sacrifice & martyrdom. I just find it inestimably sad that the Christian Church(es) was / were so split and remain so to this day. And, with the current Bishop of Rome (Pope Benedict XVI), I don't see any chance for church unity or, even more radical, church re-unification any time soon. Benedict is taking the Catholic Church in an increasingly conservative direction, encouraging Anglicans who oppose women as priests, women becoming bishops, & true equality (ordination &, at least, blessings of relationships, if not yet church-blessed marriages) for gay, lesbian, bisexual, & transgender persons, to "come on down" to the Catholic Church. These former-yet-still Anglican Catholics will further heighten the conservative ideology & direction of the Catholic Church; I'm not sure what else they bring or do, & I don't see any of it very helpful. It simply seems like one big jump into the increasingly large intolerance pool.

Today also marks World AIDS Day. I've been around long enough to remember the first time I heard anyone mention "some strange new illness" that seemed to be striking young gay men in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, in particular. I was in a car on the San Francisco Bay Bridge, driving from the East Bay to San Francisco for an event, most likely an event with Dignity San Francisco (see just below). In those early days -- this was 1982 into 1983 -- we didn't even have a name for this emerging disease. During those years, I was living in Berkeley, CA, working on my doctorate in theology at the Graduate Theological Union, & frequently worshipping (& partying with) the wonderful congregation of Dignity San Francisco. (Dignity is an organization of Catholic gay men, lesbian women, bisexual & transgender person, our families, friends, & allies -- that's the rap I like the best.) Suddenly, it seemed & felt like our world was on fire. As a student and lover of poetry, I thought of the first lines of William Butler Yeats' "The Second Coming."

Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned...

So tonight, I remember & honor a number of people, most of whom I knew, some of whom I didn't know. I remember & honor Richard Cotton, a young seminarian & former Dominican brother from the Southern Province Dominicans; Rick & I, along with several other folks in Spirit Affinity Group, did Civil Disobedience together in late January 1983 in opposition to US intervention in El Salvador. Rick left the Dominicans & went to work for the San Francisco Archdiocese in its HIV/AIDS service & support network. He returned to his native home of San Antonio, TX, & died in the late 1980's, after I moved from Berkeley to Boston. I remember & honor Kevin Caligari, President of Dignity USA & close friend of mine in Dignity SF. After the homophobic & infamous "Ratzinger letter" was published in the mid-1980's, basically condoning violence against GLBT people, Kevin, who was in Europe, got a copy of it, got some nails & a hammer, & nailed it to one of the doors of the Vatican in Rome. This news was broadcast on the BBC World Service broadcasts, & I had friends in Africa who heard about it that way! Kevin died of complications from HIV / AIDS in the early 1990's. I remember & honor the many, many men I knew in Dignity SF, with such energy, wonderful talent, wonderful gifts, wonderful minds, who were killed by this disease. I also remember & honor John Burns, my friend Roberta's brother; I never got to know John, although he lived in San Francisco. In a movement & moment of tremendous grace, my friend Rick was able to help Roberta's brother John when John was quite sick; it was the only way I could help Roberta & her brother in a time of such pain for her. She had traveled with her husband from CT to CA because of her love for John, & by helping John, Rick knew he was helping me. (He had stayed with me when he had become ill, before we knew he was HIV+. Isn't this what is meant by "Pay It Forward"?) John, too, died from HIV / AIDS.

Finally, I want to remember & honor three men I did not know--three men whose fight against HIV / AIDS inspired me profoundly. First, Arthur Ashe, who I loved to watch when he played tennis. The dignity & grace he brought to the tennis court was the same dignity & grace he brought to his battle against HIV / AIDS. Second, Randy Shilts, San Francisco journalist & one of the first to report on the disease from within the gay community. His book, And the Band Played On, is the best piece of writing I've ever read on the epidemic. Finally, Dr. Jonathan Mann, an HIV / AIDS researcher & Public Health & Human Rights pioneer. Jonathan Mann worked & taught at Harvard School of Public Health for several years when I, too, worked there. Then he moved on. Shortly after he left Harvard, he died in the crash of SwissAir flight 111 in September 1998 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Mann ).

We have all been so privileged & gifted to have known people who have lived with & died from HIV / AIDS. The fight isn't over; the epidemic continues. More young gay men are having unprotected sex these days because of the availability of antiretroviral drugs which have made HIV / AIDS the chronic disease it has become, rather than the rapid-fire killer it was 25 years ago. That unsafe behavior frightens me. What happens if the virus mutates yet again? What happens if it becomes resistant to the ARVs now available? And, with the current state of the US economy, what will happen as more & more HIV+ women & men lose their jobs, lose their Unemployment Compensation, & lose their health care coverage, thus losing their ability to pay for their drugs? The Republicans have now vowed to hold the Congress hostage until they (the Republicans) get what they want -- continued tax cuts for the richest of the richest of the rich. (Am I the only one who is becoming disgusted & nauseated over their behavior?)

What to do when faced with such frustration? We each have our own response. Tonight, my response is to think of & remember Rick Cotton & other members of our affinity group as we prepared to engage in non-violent direct action (Civil Disobedience) at the Concord Naval Weapons Station / Port Chicago in Concord, CA. While we knew we wouldn't stop the flow of weapons from the US to El Salvador, perhaps we could delay them by a few hours, or even a few minutes. Perhaps we could raise the consciousness of folks who hadn't thought much about what the naval base was doing & the destination of the weapons it was sending out. We didn't know what we would accomplish. We felt, however, called to respond, called to say no to death & yes to life. We felt called to respond to G-D's preferential option for the poor, & that was one way in which we felt called to make that response.

I feel that same call now & know that I / we need to respond -- to the continuing HIV / AIDS epidemic & to the broken-down politics afoot in Washington, DC, right now. What does that mean? I don't know, in part because it's too late for me to think too terribly creatively.

And tomorrow marks the 30th Anniversary of the murders of Jean Donovan, Ita Ford, Dorothy Kazel, & Maura Clark in El Salvador. That will be the subject of my blog post tomorrow. I do, indeed, believe in the Communion of Saints.

Good night, everyone, & thank you. Blessings of much Shalom & Love.

First Monday of Advent

Yesterday, the First Sunday of Advent, I missed Mass, something I almost never do, especially in the Season of Advent. Advent has long been my favorite liturgical season, for reasons I'll explain over the next days. This past weekend, however, I not only didn't make it to Mass; I didn't make it out of bed.

Last Wednesday afternoon, my mother & I had lunch with a small group of people she knows from an new organization she has joined. Lunch was delicious, in an excellent restaurant known for its sensitivity to dietary concerns, very aware of my gluten intolerance. We ate a typical Thanksgiving meal: Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, veges, cranberry sauce. No gravy or stuffing for me. Creme brulee for dessert. The restaurant staff assured us that everything I was served was gluten-free.

Unfortunately, something wasn't. By the time I arrived home two hours after eating, I was already in bed, asleep. I spent the next two days in bed, in near brain-freeze, unable to do anything but listen to the radio (thank heavens for NPR & the BBC). I managed to get up to do the absolute basics: Feed the cats, clean the cat litter box, get a new can of seltzer. But nothing more. By Saturday, the brain-freeze was mostly gone, but the exhaustion and lack of appetite that accompanies a gluten ingestion lingered. I could read a bit, check the web, eat a muffin. But not much more. Finally, my mother reminded me to look in my refrigerator for the above-age-50-food substitute: Ensure. Within 12 hours, I'd downed 3 cans of the stuff -- the chocolate fudge flavor is bearable -- and had managed to shower & put on clothes. Finally, this afternoon, I popped into my wheelchair & went outside in the chilly afternoon, traveling to my neighborhood Walgreens to buy 2 sixpacks of Ensure, since I'd run out. I haven't been back to bed since, and it's been nearly 3 hours.

As I lay in bed over these past few days, I found myself thinking about one of the not-often-mentioned Advent themes: Weakness & vulnerability. We Christians await the Birth of the Incarnate One, G-D Who came & comes to us as an infant, a newborn, a neonate, totally dependent upon His Mother & Foster-father for survival. The Creator of the Universe CHOSE to come among us as a weak, vulnerable baby out of love & devotion to the People He / She Created, later to serve, teach, and eventually die for these same People. How much of Christ's love for us began in those earliest hours of His life when He felt the unconditional love of Mary & Joseph? I thought, too, as I lay there, that I so often object to being weak & vulnerable, believing that my strength & steadfastness are essential -- I'm not sure for what or whom, but essential nonetheless. (Does this sound familiar? Certainly it does to those of you who know me well. Does it also sound like you???) Perhaps I fell ill over these past days so that I would learn again from Jesus as the Christ CHILD. Weakness & vulnerability visit us all, even the One we worship & name the Son of G-D.

Weakness & vulnerability have come to me especially now because we are approaching the 30th Anniversary of the murders -- the martyrdoms -- of Jean Donovan, Maura Clark, Ita Ford, and Dorothy Kazel, murdered by El Salvadoran death squads on 2 December 1980 as they returned from the airport. Jean, Maura, Ita and Dorothy served & witnessed to the weakness & vulnerability of the poor of El Salvador, those who were the most likely to be kidnapped, tortured, murdered, & disappeared by that country's Right-Wing government -- a government supported, financially & militarily, by the US government under the Reagan Administration. Jean, Maura, Ita & Dorothy chose to serve the poor, the weak, the vulnerable & thus witness to both the brutality of both governments & the love of G-D in Jesus Christ. With El Salvador's martyred Archbishop, Oscar Romero, Jean, Maura, Ita & Dorothy believed that G-D took & held a preferential option for the poor & oppressed, & they chose to live, love, & ultimately, to die with the poor. Because the preferential option for the poor is the option of love, of G-D's love for us & our love for one another. Think of Jesus telling the disciples, "'No greater love does anyone have than that she / he lay down her / his life for her / his friends.'" The anniversary of these martyrs is this coming Thursday.

I'll write more tomorrow or later in the week. I've been listening to the reports on the leaks of rafts of US diplomatic cables. I've been wondering whether any of them deal with US intervention in El Salvador & Nicaragua in the 1980's, with the murders of our sisters and / or the murders later that same decade of the six Jesuits & their 2 women co-workers. I believe we still could learn more about those two dreadful events during those years. I believe also that nothing we learn will ever take the place of these women & men, who have, with so many others, living & dead, witnessed Christ to me, making it possible for me to return to the Catholic Church & remain a Roman Catholic Christian. Thank You, G-D, for such a Cloud of Witnesses, for such a Communion of Saints!!

Happy Advent!!