Typically, I mentally write my posts well in advance --quite often for a very, very long time before I actually get to actually type them up. This one, though, came up spontaneously from an excellent article in America Magazine-The Jesuit Review, entitled, "Ita, Maura, Dorothy, and Jean: The Legacy of Four Missionaries Murdered in El Salvador 40 Years Ago," by Margaret Swedish, Dec 2, 2020.
The atrocities committed by the military dictatorship in El Salvador and other Central American countries are unimaginable. As an immigration attorney, I used to have clients who had been through those horrors. When I was in Guatemala for about a week many years ago, the military period was already over---but the military and police forces were still on the streets with a bullying attitude, and the poverty was heartbreaking.
Let's think about these three Catholic sisters and one lay Catholic missionary who were massacred for standing up for the sake of the poor and the oppressed. Let's think about St. Oscar Romero, the El Salvadorean Archbishop who was murdered too because of for action on behalf of the needy and against the brutal right-wing Central American military dictatorships.
This is the Catholic Church in action. This is the Catholic Church that my parents and grandparents taught me to love. This is the Catholic Church they modeled for me. When on their honeymoon. my parents, E. Nydia Soracco-Godone and Armando C.E. Godone-Signanini made a trip all across the American Continent. In the U.S. there was still segregation. While in NYC, they made it a point to use public transportation so as to sit on the black seats so as to deliver a powerful message. They could have ended up the very same way--because their message could have cost them their lives. This is the Catholic Church that Jesus established. He had reached out to the sick and the foreigner and had shared His table with sinners. This is the Catholic Church that all Catholic saints, both canonized and not formally canonized lived up to. This is the Catholic Church most of them died for, quite often in atrocious ways.
Was St. Oscar Romero deemed to be on the left? Yes, on the Catholic left. On that religious, compassionate, caring, fervent, devout left my family and I proudly belong to.
There's something I want to say--in straightforward words. If someone dislikes it, I'm very sorry. I need to address three different groups of people, as follows:
- To those who from outside the Catholic Church criticize it because of some mistaken Catholics who believed Trump's false claims to be ProLife and support him.
Please remember that "empty vessels make the most noise". They may vociferate--but they're still there are not so many of them. Moreover, most Trump supporters are white Evangelicals--and they hate Catholicism and Catholics. Some Trump supporters don't speak for all Catholics. Or would you say that all U.S. citizens are Trump supporters and racist? Would you say that all Germans are Nazis or neo-nazis? Would you say that all Italians are fascist? Obviously not. So, when you think about Catholics, please think in terms of refugee camps, immigrant shelters, missions serving the poorest of the poor, Catholic Worker houses... Think about how many Catholics were murdered because of embracing the causes of the poor, the marginalized, the discriminated against, and the oppressed.
- To those within the Catholic Church who were gullible enough to believe Trump's false claims to be ProLife and a Christian. Please think that Pope Francis referred to Trump's Mexican border wall as anti-Christian, and Catholic Bishop Stowe clearly stated that Trump's agenda was anti-life. So, for all those who drank the KoolAid, it's time to find an antidote for that. Do you want a good, great, amazing antidote? Listen to Pope Francis, read some Encyclical Letters, and learn more about the lives of the saints. Then maybe your hearts will open up again and overcome the immobilizing and desensitizing effect of the poison you were given, Maybe you'll start to feel and care again.
- To those who got stranged from the Church because those mistaken or bad Catholics drove you away. Please keep in mind that Pope Francis is the Head of the Church. Listen to his homilies and speeches. Read his writings. Let the lives of the saints inspire you. They all want you back. Jesus wants you back. Now that the pandemic doesn't allow you to go back in person, a virtual comeback may be a more gradual and perhaps easier one. Think that, starting with Jesus, all those who risked their lives and quite often lost them for the sake of those most in need, also did it for you to come back.
God bless.
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