‘This is the time to dream together, this as a single human family, as fellow travellers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all” (Fratelli Tutti, 8).
May update from Seeking Sanctuary
On 15th May, International Conscientious Objectors Day, I will be cycling the 50 miles from my home in Warrington to the Allens’ grave in All Souls Cemetery, Barrowford, paying prayerful tribute to their courageous witness and that of other Lancastrian peacemakers whose stories I encounter along the way.
Matt Jeziorski – Pilgimage for Peace
With other Pax Christi International Sections, Pax Christi England and Wales is calling for Circles of Silence on or near Saturday 15th May.
Bishop Declan Lang, Chair of the Bishops’ International Affairs department, has echoed calls for an end to “the occupation, discrimination and human rights violations that propagate violent attacks on civilians, standing in the way of a stable and peaceful future for Palestinians and Israelis.”
We pray as people of peace for an end to the violence engulfing the Holy Land
Those present at the AGM of the National Justice and Peace Network, meeting on Saturday, were deeply shocked to hear of the attack by Israeli Police on Palestinians at prayer in the Al Aqsa Mosque on Friday evening. Palestinian worshippers have been denied access to the Al Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan and this, along with the police and military incursions into this holy place, the use of stun grenades, rubber coated steel bullets and water cannons on those at worship, all contravene international law.
2021 May NJPN Open Letter to Card Nichols on Jerusalem attacks
NJPN was described as a “vigorous, living and breathing” network at its AGM and Open Networking Meeting on Saturday by its Chair Paul Southgate
Read the meeting report here:
https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/42163
An extra edition of the NW NJPN E-Bulletin to cover Mid-May into June – too many current articles to hold over till next time! Features include reflections for the 100th anniversary of the partition of Ireland; Richard Ratcliffe’s powerful account of his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s plight as his battle to secure her release drags on; birthday wishes and support for 84 year-old Indian Jesuit, Fr Stan Swamy, imprisoned on charges of terrorism; the Covid emergency in India where faiths are working together to help those in crisis; a moving opinion piece by a woman who has felt marginalised by the Church because of being childless; an interview with Sr. Nathalie Becquart, one of the two new undersecretaries for the Vatican’s office of the Synod of Bishops which gives hope that the laity (and women) will have a voice in the upcoming synod; an account of President Biden’s first 100 days in office which give cause for hope; conflicting statements on the issue of same sex unions resulting in young people walking away from the Church; obituaries of Fr John Kearns CP and Michael Bourdeaux, founder of Keston College; plus resources and diary dates.
NW NJPN Justice and Peace E Bulletin Mid May 2021
This month I begin work in the allotment in earnest. I remember that there is no such thing as permanently perfect soil. All things change. You can only aim at having a vigorous, living, breathing soil. It’s like justice and peace: “Goodness, together with love, justice and solidarity are not achieved once and for all; they have to be realised each day” (Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti 11).
Paul Southgate – Hell is a Dustbowl
Dear Friends,
This weekend the Church celebrates Good Shepherd Sunday, where we are asked to pray for vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. Whether we have a particular leaning in that direction or not, we all have a vocation for something. The dictionary sums up vocation as ‘a strong feeling of suitability for a particular career or occupation.’ I believe that all of us here are called to follow Jesus, and as CAFOD, in their weekly reflections say ‘Following him demands that we take care of the weak, vulnerable and marginalised in our world so that they are accepted and valued for themselves. Like Jesus, our love and acceptance are to be given freely and non-judgmentally. Our ear is always to be tuned to the voice of the Good Shepherd who leads us to new places and people and invites us to welcome all with open arms as he did.’
We cannot let this edition pass by without reference to the trial of Derek Chauvin, and comments surrounding the Guilty verdict. Our hope is that after the scenes from last year, and the outpouring of emotion from all around the World, that good will come out of it all, and that lessons will have been learned. I know many of us are now much more aware of racist issues in all walks of life.
In two weeks time, on Saturday 8th May, we have our AGM and Networking Day. The flyer for the day is at the top of this e-bulletin. You can register here. It would be great to see as many of you as possible for this meeting, which takes place via Zoom.
This also means that I won’t be producing the e-bulletin until the following week, the 16th May.
As mentioned previously, if you would like to share this e-bulletin with people that you think would appreciate it, please do so. Even better, if they like it, please encourage them to sign up to receive it regularly.
If you have something you particularly want shared, please send it to:- ebulletin@justice-and-peace.org.uk. This email address is usually only monitored when the e-bulletin is being prepared, so please do not expect an immediate answer when sending anything.
God bless,
Sharon (Editor)
It is striking that, over 1700 centuries after the martyrdom of St. George, whose feast coincides with the publication of this week’s issue of The Universe, this slightly obscure Palestinian Roman soldier saint (who might well be denied a visa by the Home Office if he tried to visit the UK) is still venerated as England’s patron saint. His cult was seemingly popularised by returning Crusaders. Their militaristic cross became his emblem. The medieval legend of him killing a dragon and rescuing of a damsel in distress further added to his allure.
St. George then became a symbol of nationhood, most famously on the lips of Shakespeare’s Henry V: “Cry God for Harry, England and St. George.” But note the pecking order: King first, Country second, Saint third. It’s hard to stop religious symbols from being co-opted by those in power – even in our secularised culture. Around the world, politicians like to ‘wrap themselves in the flag’. And those rallying to their standard are unlikely to register its ambiguities. What we see as a symbol of the Gospel, that blood red cross, is for many Muslims a reminder of past Christian cruelties. The burden of history lies heavily on all of us – even across our best intentions.
Now we witness the danger of the Union Jack becoming unstitched, torn by the centrifugal forces unleashed by Brexit. Will St. George’s flag one day be left to fly alone? What does his cross say about the English nation – assuming England actually is a nation? (One interpretation of those angry Brexit debates says that the Remain campaign ultimately failed because it stressed a shared British identity, while those it needed to convince thought of themselves, first and foremost, as English.)
Whatever our personal take on British history, whatever our national or regional identities, we need to discover shared values and work together to build a common future, a unity that can embrace diversity. That’s less about where we place political borders than about what dragons we choose to slay: perhaps the dragon that dreams lazily of past imperial power, or the dragon of accepting chronic poverty alongside enormous wealth, or the dragon of environmental destruction that threatens the future of us all. Which ‘damsels’ – the defenceless and vulnerable of our age – need rescuing? We’ll need all the courage St. George showed both in his obscure history and in later legend.
Fr Rob Esdaile is parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes, Thames Ditton
National Justice and Peace Network (NJPN) Conference 23-25 July at https://www.justice-and-peace.org.uk/conference/
