I read recently that during the month of May Juneau had only two days without rain and that last month was the wettest June on record. I suppose I must be getting acclimated to life and the weather in Southeast, because I have found the weather and the temperature refreshing. From my travels and from what I have experienced during my time in Washington, D.C., I do not mind the weather of Southeast Alaska.
As grateful as I am for our mild (if wet) weather, it stands in sharp contrast to the suffering of so many of our neighbors who have experienced severe weather conditions this summer in various parts of our country. In Washington, D.C. where I spent 10 years serving at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1.8 million residents were struggling to stay cool without power (and air conditioning!) in temperatures over 100 degrees. High temperatures and winds have fanned wildfires that have destroyed 350 residences in Colorado Springs and forced 36,000 residents to flee their homes. In Florida, thousands of people are slowly recovering from devastating floods and the first tropical storm of the hurricane season.
I am reminded too of the crisis of drought and threatened famine in the western Sahel region of Africa. Catholic Relief Services reports that up to 15 million people in the countries of Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria and Chad are facing malnutrition or even starvation this summer because of failed crops caused by drought. According to the World Health Organization, 10-15 percent of the populations of those countries are already suffering from famine with 1-1.5 million children under the age of five suffering from severe malnutrition.
Throughout my years I have been responsible for signing contracts for various events and projects. In reviewing these contracts I have come across a phrase that always concerns me, that is, that there would be a release of responsibility of the other party if a calamity would occur, something described as “an act of God” (i.e., an earthquake, flood, etc.). Well, I would always cross out that phrase and replace it with “act of nature”. You have probably heard people speak of natural disasters as “acts of God.” I think that claiming a natural disaster as an “act of God” is a mistaken understanding of how God works in the world.
From my perspective, I believe that God does not desire calamity on people. While God has set the laws of nature in motion, it is not his will to have people suffer. Rather, God wills that through these moments we as a human family work in solidarity with those who are suffering and in need — whether it be natural disasters or foolish actions by human beings.
Writing on the virtue of solidarity, Pope John Paul II wrote in 1987:
“Solidarity is undoubtedly a Christian virtue. It seeks to go beyond itself to total gratuity, forgiveness, and reconciliation. It leads to a new vision of the unity of humankind, a reflection of God’s triune intimate life.... It is a unity that binds members of a group together.”
At the heart of the virtue of solidarity is our conviction that all of the peoples of the world belong to one human family. Our compassion and care should and must extend beyond the limits of our own immediate community and include all people.
I am grateful for the overwhelmingly generous response of people in our own community (and throughout the nation and the world) in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake that devastated the already impoverished island of Haiti. In my own diocese I have been edified by the solidarity with the poor and the suffering shown by the faithful in Southeast Alaska who generously support year after year the development and relief work of those who have been hit with natural disasters.
Our family and friends in the Lower 48 have been experiencing some difficult heat and weather. In comparison, I have found our weather to be refreshing. My hope this summer is that all of us will find ways to reach out to those in need at home and abroad by supporting the work of our churches, synagogues and other religious or charitable organizations to relieve human suffering. So that despite drought, flooding, heat and hunger, they may experience the refreshment of our compassion and solidarity.
• Burns is the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Juneau and Southeast Alaska.
Comments (22)
Add commentConcern
If the Bishop is so concerned why does he not tell the Catholic Church, one of the richest organization in the world, to give more of its wealth to impoverish countries. It always amazes me of the wealth of the Catholic Church, and yet there are Catholic parishes around the world that can barely keep their doors open for worship
More PR blitz from the diocese
"From my perspective, I believe that God does not desire calamity on people. While God has set the laws of nature in motion, it is not his will to have people suffer..."
Bishop, if your god doesn't desire people to suffer, they why does he allow it at all when it is within his power to avert it?
And even if what you said is true, then why did he put his own son through the suffering that he did?
Sounds to me like your god is pretty comfortable with suffering.
Speaking of suffering, I always feel compelled to point out the suffering caused at the hands of the Catholic church, of which our bishop is a representative and employee.
A simple google search of "PBS Frontline, The Silence" will reveal a shocking documentary of the Catholic church's systematic abuse of children right here in Alaska.
Bishop: Please stop these PR pieces. You paint the Catholic institution as something it is not. Your pleas to reduce suffering across the world ring hollow when your own priests contribute to that suffering, then your other priests cover it up. The world is now seeing the Catholic institution for what it is, and no amount of feel good PR pieces like this will reduce that image.
This is not an attack on the bishop himself, this is an indictment of the institution he represents. And I know he is simply doing his job by promoting the Catholic church in a favorable light.
Unfortunately, many of us see through that PR BS.
To some extent I agree with Bishop Burns
I agree with the bishop that solidarity, taking care of those less fortunate in life, those who suffer through no fault of their own, is part of the great message of Jesus and Christianity.
However, when one look at the number of people suffering from starvation and poverty, then at their populations compared to the resources available, the problem is not just climate, it is over-population.
Yesterday on television, I saw what to me was a somewhat amazing and yet honest interview between Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Melinda Gates, the wife of Bill Gates. She is a very devout Catholic, yet in the interview strongly defended the Bill and Melinda Gates' Foundation's financial contributions to family planning, birth control and contraception in several parts of the world. She did so despite the Catholic hierarchy's insistence that contraception is a sin, is evil and cannot be tolerated. Also, in spite of the fact that over 90% of Catholic families have used or are using contraceptives.
I thinks Mrs. Gates is on good philosophical and theological ground. I can find nothing in the New Testament, nor in the teachings of Jesus that says families cannot use means to limit the number of children they bring into the world. If I am mistaken, I hope someone corrects me.
From what I can determine, the Catholic Church's stand on birth control and contraception, comes from two sources. The first is Aristotelian biology and philosophy from two thousand years ago. Our knowledge and science has changed immensely over the past two thousand years.
Secondly, it come from a time in the human past, when the human population was much, much smaller and each group, band, tribe, and even nations wanted as many members as possible. In numbers there was strength. If members failed to produce as many new members as physically possible, they were considered to be letting down their group and not loyal members of society. This has been especially true in male-dominated societies. Again, times have changed and now we are faced with an over-population by humans.
The Catholic Church, like many others, are staunchly against abortion. But one of the best ways to avoid abortions is to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies through contraception, birth control and family planning. This would also allow families to provide for their children's health, education and ability to survive.
We are not living in the world of two thousand or even two hundred years ago; we are living in the present world. The Catholic Church hierarchy has to re-consider their stand again birth control and contraception and ask themselves whether or not it is the teaching of Jesus or simply cultural tradition of "increase and multiply" carried to an extreme.
Did Bishop Burns say something wrong???
Sometimes I think it's a matter of defiance, akin to a tantrum, when I hear these whiney 'why does God allow such suffering?' arguments; and then to point the finger at the Bishop and essentially say, 'you're part of the problem' is vindictive. You'd shoot the messenger every time.
Perhaps it's the liberal disposition that cant fathom the notion of Free Will and all its trappings. How ironic. God is not a babysitter, and his Son gave us a fairly coherent and simple set of instructions how to get along with our fellow man, before he got nailed to a cross by his fellow men. Perhaps these instructions are too simple, and so they come across as suggestions? Then I can see why it's easy to say, 'why bother?' Wow, that's a breakthru! I can still appreciate what life was like without Christ. That's some scary, desperate stuff.
Deepity
A deepity is a statement that, to the extent that it's true is trivial, and to the extent that it's profound, is false. American philosopher Daniel Dennett coined the term and he gave a good speech about it recently at the Global Atheist Convention in Australia.
Jack Handy, of SNL comedy fame, doled deepities out weekly, like this one: "If you ever fall off the Sears Tower, just go real limp, because maybe you'll look like a dummy and people will try to catch you because, hey, free dummy."
Well, religion is full of these meaningless deepities and this article doesn't disappoint with this quote from the previous pope:
"Solidarity is undoubtedly a Christian virtue. It seeks to go beyond itself to total gratuity, forgiveness, and reconciliation. It leads to a new vision of the unity of humankind, a reflection of God's triune intimate life..."
No doubt these words are intelligible (or profound) for people in religious cultures. But when we strip off the clothes of theology, just what exactly is being said? "A new vision...triune intimate life? Going beyond itself?"
It's gibberish, devoid of knowledge and as Nietzsche would say, "Mystical explanations are thought to be deep; the truth is that they are not even shallow."
By all means, help one another. But to adopt so-called Christian virtues and the mystical baggage that comes with them may not be the best way to make the world a safer place. Just ask the guy falling off the Sears Tower who was originally from the western Sahel region of Africa where it is taught that AIDS is bad, but condoms are worse.
Mike
Grendel
I kind of notice a certain emotion in your response, which is OK with me. However, I don't think anyone, even Jo MacNamara is pointing a finger at Bishop Burns.
A lot of this discussion gets into historical and theological debates that have gone on for centuries.
It has taken me a lifetime of studying philosophy, Catholic theology, anthropology, genetics, languages, logic and education to find out how little I know in comparison to what can be known if one searches harder and longer for the truth.
It is not some "liberal disposition" that can't "fathom Free Will" or things like that. Good science, good reasoning, questioning, and critiquing explanations isn't "liberal" or "conservative", Buddhist, Christian or Hindu - it is trying to achieve what Aristotle said years ago.... "Truth is when the mind and reality are in agreement" (or, in Latin - adequacio intellectus et rei)
Perhaps if you were to to study the times, the culture, the political situation, the economics and the whole situation in which Jesus lived, and what has been recorded of what he taught and did, you might see things from a different perspective.
Then if a person does their best to read and study the history of Christianity, and other religions and cultures, throughout the centuries, a person may come to understand how we came to be where we are in the world today. We don't and can't live in the past, but we can learn how we came to be where we are through study.
I know some may say "I can't spend or waste my time looking at the past. I have to make a living here and now." That I understand.
However, I vividly recall when more than fifty years ago, working as an orderly in a hospital, I met an old Finnish man who had made his living as a bridge builder. In the days as he was dying, he talked about classical music, philosophy, beliefs, literature and simply amazed me with what he knew as a hard-working man doing physical labor through his life. It taught me to understand, how little I knew and how, no matter how he worked to make a living, he had found time to expand his knowledge and I could do the same.
He didn't vent or rant about his emotions and feeling. He shared with me a wisdom that he had acquired over a lifetime and encouraged me to follow along his trail in life.
Atheists
Atheists don't fly planes into buildings.
@wally
1. thank you for your excellent reply;
2. I suppose the other thing that validates the message of Christ is that we are still talking about Him today;
3. the first thing would be What is so darn special about a political dissident and rabble-rouser that was executed by the Romans 2000 yrs ago?
4. I'm still working on an adequate response to both of these, as I am by nature very slow of wit and comprehension. It might be a life-long pursuit.
bakatcha Jo (and good morning)
Stalin
Chairman Mao
Il-sung; Il-jong; Jong-un
backatcha atcha Grendel
Smooches and hugs for the good morning.
If those listed above were indeed atheists, then that begs the question; were their atrocities based on their atheism (which would seem odd) or, were their atrocities the result of some warped political ideology?
Apolitical people rarely have agendas.
Jo - good question!
I think their avowed atheism was an enabler. I would suspect that from an atheistic mindset these monsters were not inclined to put an intrinsic value on human life -- as opposed to your monsters (the allahgogues) that had no problem wresting reality to conform to their minds (hat-tip to Wally and Aristotle). Some aspire for godhood, others are content to presume their god's will.
Jo is right, religion flies planes into buildings
I actually came across a priest yesterday on YouTube (accidentally, believe me), preaching to his followers about the very subject of religious violence versus 20th century atrocities. Now I know where this garbage is propagated, in the pulpits.
The Stalin/atheist canard is a lazy lie.
1. Christianity: Believe in Jesus, or die.
2. Islam: Believe in Allah, or die.
3. Communism: toe the party line, or die.
4. Atheism: become an atheist, or die.
Where are the citations for number 4 ever occurring or happening now? Hint: you won't find any.
Simply put Stalin was a magical thinker who rejected Mendelian genetics in favor of the pseudoscience led by Lysenko's fraudulent hybridization theories. The rejection of sound agricultural practices led to the millions who starved to death under Stalin's regime. Stalin was not a reasonable person, not a critical thinker, and killed anyone who disagreed with him, including scientists. And the former seminary student used the Church when it suited him.
In fact, Hitler, a Roman Catholic, had more people straight up murdered that Stalin ever did.
Mike
Blessed St Canard
so you're saying there are good atheists and bad atheists -- I get it. Wait a minute! Hitler a Roman Catholic?? I guess there are good Roman Catholics and bad Roman Catholics, too. I guess in the end game, whether you were good or bad might be arbitrary, at least insofar as our human understanding of good and bad is concerned. I mean, suppose der Fuhrer NEVER missed a mass? How else to explain why a couple dozen knuckleheads thought it was not just a good idea, but God's compelling WILL that they auger airliners into buildings? How else to explain why good people, believers and non-believers alike, will suffer rather than succumb to evil?
But wait another minute...I recall you expounding on the merits of being good for goodness sake. Call it unconventional, but seems there should be room in God's heaven for you heretical types that walk the walk without saying the J word. Makes more sense to me than you smoking a_turd_in Hell alongside millions of starved African babies that never heard the J word in their short pathetic lives. What do I know...roll the dice.
Grendel,
How did you get that from my post?
Mike
Mike,
I dont need a history lesson, just like you dont want a sermon
The bishop would have more
The bishop would have more traction with me if he showed "solidarity" with the 98% of his followers who believe in contraception...
@grendal
Please tell me how confessing a persons sins to some hidden behind a wall and being to told to say some Hail Marries will make them clean, when 95% will go out and do the same thing again
@billb
you should ask a priest, or at least a Catholic. They dont bite.
@grendal
Please spare me! NO human being can give forgiveness for our sins except God. Get real!
bilb
and I thought you were trolling...my bad
Grendel, atheists are not without moral compasses
Most of the nicest people I've ever known have been atheists.
As a self-proclaimed agnostic, atheists and I are cousins.
And I disagree with your inference that the mindset of atheists tends not to put intrinsic value on human life. Just the opposite. We believe in the power of people, not the power of a god.
That was really a stretch of yours; Atheist leader = no value for human life = murder at will.
And you're right, Catholic priests don't bite...but many have a propensity for abusing children, then covering it up.
How come the Bishop never addresses this elephant in the room? Oh that's right, he's busy painting a picture of an altruistic Catholic institution that shares the suffering of mankind instead of contributing to it.
Morning Jo (no offense)
Yes, categorically labeling atheists as sociopaths would be a blanket statement. I didn't say, nor did I infer, that.
Is it a coincidence that the monsters I listed are atheists? Perhaps, because there are countless examples of "divinely-sanctioned" atrocities as well, which I'm sure you would be quick to point out. But when a million deaths can be pah-pahhed as a mere statistic, that betrays a deeply felt sense of non-accountability to anyone or anything. To pray for a million deaths betrays a similar pathology.
Let's get to the heart of the matter, a point we can agree on: any political action that claims its right because "God is on our side" is a charade. Where we seem to fall short is in agreeing that one can serve both God and man. It seems you think it's either/or. So it seems.