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POPS5 So much I could say about the Gulf Coast five years after Katrina, New Orleans in particular, and it all seems incomplete and inadequate. How to strike a balance between the urgency of saying look, it's not over, there's still so much work to be done, and not falling into the easy clichés that leave a false image of a people victimized and in need of our pity and hand wringing? So this morning I was glad to see a graphic essay by Jordan Flahery and Zeph Fish that did a good job of striking that balance. Below are the first two panels of the essay, go to Truth-Out.org to read the whole thing.
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POPSbefore you criticize the hikers This article gives a lot of good information to counter the misconceptions that the three U.S. hikers detained in Iran somehow deserve to be in jail because they were naive. Callous remarks about how they "should have known better" remind me of comments made about victims of rape: that it's the fault of the person raped for dressing the wrong way or being out too late at night, anything but putting the blame where it belongs: on the perpetrator. Sarah, Josh, and Shane are anything but naive, and have done more to make the world a better place than any naysayer sitting at a computer leaving nasty comments about people they don't know.
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POPSpenance without justice = meaningless So Benedict wants Catholics to do penance for the sins of the Church. It reminds me of the passage from Amos, when God is saying how meaningless the prayers and rituals of the priests are, because as they continue to pray they "afflict the righteous... and push aside the needy in the gate." God has some pretty harsh words for them: "I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. "But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." (Amos 5) The clergy of the institutional church need to do their own penance, and it needs involve more than half-hearted apologies and promises to do better.
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