Guided into the wind of the Spirit

	Bishop Robert J. Banks

If memory serves me correctly, for the first time since I arrived here almost 13 years ago, the Packers lost the Bishop Charities game. I believe this is also the first time ever that a Bishop Charities game was suspended because of lightning, or lasted close to midnight. This also was the night that Bp. Morneau tossed out the ball to begin the game.

I hope this fiasco will also put an end to my friend, Bp. Morneau, regaling congregations with the story about how his tossing out the ball at the Charities game in 1996 had some connection with the Packers winning the Super Bowl that season.

Lest some people think I am picking on my friend too much, let me give him a freebie by mentioning his new book, Poems Thrown into the Wind. The poems are all his creation.

Since I am not much of a judge of poetry, I tried them on a couple friends, reading several out loud. Now it could have just been my beautifully, expressive reading, but the listeners were obviously moved. I had to listen to all their "oohs" and "ahs," and cries for more.

Barnes and Noble has not heard of this masterpiece yet, but, if you hurry, you can get a copy at St. Catherine's Bookstore in Green Bay.

Turning to more serious business, Card. Theodore McCarrick, chair of the Domestic Policy Committee of our U.S. Bishops' Conference, issued a Labor Day statement that focused on justice for farm workers. I picked it up with real interest, hoping it would deal with the serious challenges facing our farmers, especially dairy farmers. But those concerns will apparently be the subject of a major document still in the works.

This year's Labor Day statement is more about the plight of hired farm workers, with special mention of the problems faced by the many immigrants who work on farms in our country. In particular, it says, "Comprehensive immigration reform which features legalization is needed to ensure that undocumented farm workers obtain legal status and can asset their basic labor rights."

In its closing paragraph, the statement includes among the list of farm workers those who work in the Midwest meat packing industry. Probably those who have come from other countries to work in our meat packing plants would most agree with the statement's declaration that "farm workers already present and working in the U.S. should have an opportunity to earn permanent legal residency." I certainly agree.

Another document caught my eye this summer. It was not issued by our Bishops' Conference, but - more interestingly - by the major superiors of the Jesuits in the United States. It was about abortion.

The Jesuit superiors took the occasion of the feast of Our Lady's Annunciation to issue a strong statement in which "we, the leadership of the Jesuits in the United States, renew our opposition to abortion and our support for the unborn." After indicating that their position flows from a major statement on justice issued by the General Congregation of Jesuits meeting in Rome in 1995, they added, "Among all the justice issues we as a society should view with grave concern, abortion is a key social evil."

They pointed out that abortion "is also a social issue, and not simply a personal decision made in artificial isolation from wider social reality. Attempts to frame the issue as merely a question of personal preference or private choice ignore important features of abortion as a public policy. Because the state and society as a whole have an intense interest in promoting respect for life, we may not with a clear conscience relegate such life-and-death issues to the private realm, no matter how appealing and convenient such arguments may appear on the surface."

The document then gives a very useful summary of how present-day Church teaching on the value of unborn life is rooted in Scripture and tradition. The next section uses Jesuit and Ignatian tradition to support our present stance on abortion and unborn human life. I was particularly pleased that they mentioned Project Rachel, as well as the sad fact that "horrible trauma and regret often haunt participants in the aftermath of abortion."

In the section on Jesuit tradition, it interestingly makes the point that "To be pro-life is to be pro-woman. Because we support women, we oppose abortion." The Jesuit superiors go on to say that "Jesuits ought to find their place among those who demonstrate the obvious confluence of women's rights and respect for life in all its forms."

The document, in its final section, talks about public dialogue in a pluralistic society. The Jesuit superiors stress the importance of dialogue with those who think differently about abortion. We should choose the path of "proposing rather than imposing," without, however, giving in to a moral relativism that despairs of finding fundamental truths about human existence.

In summary, "Jesuits are committed to narrowing the gap between the current civil law of our nation and the demands of the moral law as we understand it. Our long-term goal remains full legal recognition of and protection for the unborn child - from the moment of conception."

I welcome this statement from the Jesuit religious superiors. It has a different "authority" than a statement from the Bishops' Conference. Since the only people that have to listen to the Jesuit superiors are the Jesuits, the statement has to convince or impress others by the quality of its language and arguments - and maybe by the Jesuits' reputation for scholarship.

The Church is always most effective in its teaching when the teaching comes, not only from the bishops, but from all those who have a voice in the Church. That is especially true with regard to those who have committed themselves to following more closely in the footsteps of Jesus by religious vows.