Editorial: The enemy is not the secular world, it is fear
NCR Editorial Staff | May. 17, 2017
In New Jersey, Cardinal Joseph Tobin wants us to say no to "heartless" deportation policies. In Kansas, Archbishop Joseph Naumann wants us to say no to the Girl Scouts. And to the word "yoga."
Tobin joined an interfaith gathering of religious leaders May 4 in Newark, New Jersey, in a call to action against recent U.S. policy decisions that would have a direct effect on less-represented groups of people. Those acts include House passage of a bill to replace the current health care law and moves to accelerate deportation of people living in this country without legal documentation.
"What topples evil empires is the little person who goes into the square in the middle of town in the dark of the night and scrawls on the wall, 'No,' " Tobin said. "And I want to say to you, we are the No that God scrawls on the wall. We are the No to a nation who is heartless, who would deport people, separating them from their families and their loved ones simply because they are victims of a broken system."
A few days earlier, Naumann had instructed the pastors of his archdiocese to phase out their affiliation with the Girl Scouts of the United States of America and move their students instead toward the Christian-based group American Heritage Girls. His reason was a perception that the Girl Scouts are aligned with Planned Parenthood and groups that support the legal right to abortion. The national Girl Scouts organization has denied such an affiliation, but pro-life groups believe what they see. And what they see is Girl Scouts participating in the women's marches last January and references to feminist icons Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem in the 105-year-old organization's literature.
This comes on top of a decision by Naumann that classes at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, that teach poses such as "downward-facing dog," "tree" and "cobra" should no longer use the term "yoga," because of its Hindu origins.
Can these two men be leaders of the same church? One implores us to encounter, to stand by the "other," to welcome the stranger. The other suggests a theology of fear — fear of outside forces and fear of change.
https://www.ncronline.org/news/spirituality/editorial-enemy-not-secular-world-it-fear
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