Dear Friends,
I have always been a bit of a news hound. I try to keep up with what is happening in the community and in the world. I love newspapers; in my last assignment we used to have three papers delivered every morning. In addition, I do think that it is important for me, as a priest, to keep up with all that is happening in the world. One of the more disturbing trends that I have noticed is the level of anger in people. Politically we have never seemed more divided. It has become common place to not only disagree with someone, but to also vilify that person. Today it seems that the person one disagrees with isn’t just wrong, they are now considered to be bad people. The person living a life style that we don’t approve of is spoken about in a dehumanizing way. To be blunt, this is not only wrong, but for any practicing Christian it is a sin!
About 25 years ago I was asked to say a monthly Mass for a group of people who were regular witnesses outside of the Abortion Clinic in Brighton. The group would take a bus from our parking lot one Saturday morning each month. I would offer Mass for them and then the parish would provide coffee and a light breakfast. I knew that this group didn’t need to be taught about the intrinsic evil of abortion. For them I would focus on the need for us to pray for those who worked in the clinic, and for the clinic’s clients. I would remind them that all of us, including those working in the clinic, are children of God. That like us, the clinic workers were created in the image and likeness of God and deserved our love and forgiveness. What happened next surprised and saddened me. First, I was uninvited to the breakfast following Mass. Next, they asked the Pastor if someone else could say the Mass. It seems that they had so vilified their opponents that they couldn’t stomach my reminding them of their opponent’s basic human dignity.
The Church has the responsibility to speak the truth to us. That truth is meant to inform us, so that we can live fully human lives. Often, the teachings of the Church speak about what many consider to be, controversial issues. At the heart of every teaching, what we must always remember, is the belief that each and every person, no matter what they believe and what their life style, possesses basic human dignity. Be they straight, gay, or transgendered, they are children of God and they deserve our love and respect. If they have committed grave sins or have hurt us in any way, we are required to love and forgive them. When we challenge others to change their lives or to reexamine their moral choices, it is done out of love. We can never insult, ridicule, or dehumanize any person. We must always see in the other, no matter how much we disagree with them, the image and likeness of God. We must see in every person we meet someone who is our brother or sister. We must always see someone that we are called to love.
God Bless,
Fr. Jack Graham