Faithful Prohets

Last week, I made a trip to Milwaukee WI, for the annual "Call To Action" conference. This year the theme was "Faithful Prophets: God Alive In Every Generation".

I went to Milwaukee wracked by a crisis in faith. It was not my faith in the creator that was in trouble, but faith in the church. Recently I have come to feel very alienated by the Hierarchy of the Vatican. The Pope and his minions, the Bishops, seem bent on doing the wrong thing at every turn. In their covering up the misdeeds of pedophile priests, refusing the ordination of women and their cruel indifference to LBGT Christians, particularly by not speaking against the harassment and bullying that has actually driven some of Gods children to suicide in order to escape terror. I was having very real doubts about whether or not I could remain a Catholic in good conscience. What I found in Milwaukee was a lot of powerful inspiration. (and a great Irish Pub).

I was inspired by being in a room with literally thousands of like minded Catholics with similar frustrations to mine. We attended breakout sessions and listened to keynote speakers together and there was a great optimism and a sense of hope that change is possible. Together we all made the statement that to be a catholic one need not be a bigot, a homophobe or a sexist. One can be a catholic and appreciate Gods love of ALL of Gods Children, even if they are gay, or undocumented or are a women answering the call to priesthood.

The keynote speakers were wonderful.

I was warmed by Shane Claiborne, a young man from rural Tennessee who found Gods love working with homeless squatters in an abandoned church in Philadelphia. His first battle was to keep the diocese from throwing them out into the street. He won that battle and helped create a viable and helpful community that exists today.

I was move by Asra Nomani, an Indian born Muslim raised in West Virginia who continues to love and practice her faith even though it has not always been good to her. She was a Wall Street Journal reporter who was a close friend and colleague of Danny Pearl, another WSJ reporter that was kidnapped and murdered by extremists. She is the mother of a child, the father of which, whom she was in love with, was a Pakistani man who disappeared when Pearl was kidnapped out of fear for his own skin. She took the baby home to WVA where she tried to reintegrate with the Muslim community that was rigorously segregated along gender lines. Instead of walking away, she fought and, with the support of her parents, made her mosque coed (no easy task even in the US, particularly carrying the stigma of a single mom).

I was empowered by a Sister Joan Chittister, a benedictine nun and ardent feminist. She spoke of the isolation and loneliness that is the lot of prophets and how they strive for change anyway. She spoke of how they are seldom appreciated in their own time but continue to minister anyway and how we learn from them in later times. She is a powerful voice for humanity and change in the church.

I came home a better and more compassionate christian. I now know I can have faith and compassion at the same time. In the conference I found permission to be a catholic that loves my LBGT brothers and sisters and fight for fair and humane treatment for them(not driving gay kids to suicide would be a good start). I found permission to speak out for the ordination of women in the church because their learning, nurturing and healing is so desperately needed not only in the church but all through creation. I found permission to love all people and care for them even if they don't have legal immigration status. Being a catholic does not require allegiance to a group of tired old men in Rome with a decaying grip on reality or their appointed Bishops in this country who seem determine to keep the church in the dark ages. The church belongs to the people not the clergy and I'm going to fight for that principle. They can kick the parishioner out of the church, but they can't take the church out of the parishioner. Only the parishioner can do that. To quote Rosemary Ruether: "Catholic does not equal Vatican". If you are interested in such things, please check out CTAs link:

http://www.cta-usa.org/