Maryknoll Father Lance Nadeau addresses the recent upheaval in the United States and reaffirms the Society’s commitment to Catholic social teaching.
This is a time of tremendous change and uncertainty. For many people the ground is shifting beneath their feet. So many in our world are suddenly more vulnerable, more worried, more anxious about the time to come. The Church itself is undergoing a transition with the loss of our beloved Pope Francis.
Here in the United States, we cannot forget the tens of thousands of federal workers suddenly losing their jobs, or the untold number of Americans impacted by abrupt and severe cuts to social services without due regard for their needs. We especially remember immigrants who hope to rebuild their lives in this promised land, whether they are climate or economic migrants or refugees fleeing brutal regimes. Early in his papacy, Pope Francis said, “Migrants, rather than simply being a statistic, are first of all persons who have faces, names and individual stories.”
Then there are the millions of desperate people around the world dependent on the up-until-now legendary generosity of the American people. That source of life-saving aid included food for people experiencing famine in Sudan and emergency aid for victims of natural disasters, such as the recent earthquake in Myanmar.
Perhaps the starkest example of this new global reality is of those living with HIV/AIDS. We’ve told you in the past about the Eastern Deanery AIDS Relief Program (EDARP) in Nairobi, Kenya. This project, founded by the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, enables more than 30,000 HIV-positive people to live relatively normal, healthy lives.
But EDARP depends on the U.S. funding known as PEPFAR for its life-saving AIDS treatment. It’s estimated that PEPFAR has saved at least 25 million lives over the years. Currently, about 40 million people worldwide live with HIV. Although PEPFAR for AIDS relief was given a waiver from the draconian cuts in U.S. foreign aid, the long-term future of the medication funding and program in Nairobi now appear precarious.
Recently, a brother Maryknoller commented, “We are now needed more than ever to be out there, wherever God has us in mission and in life, both at this moment and going forward.”
His words go straight to the point: How should we, a mission community, share in the Lord’s passion for what is right and just in the land today? “What then should we do?” (Lk 3:10; Acts 2:37)
We must be who we are: missioners rooted in the Church’s convictions about our love of God and neighbor. We remain rooted in the key values of Catholic social teaching:
• Human life is sacred, and the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society.
• The person is not only sacred but also social.
• Authentic community is based on the security of everyone’s human rights and the fulfillment of our human obligations to one another.
• The needs of the poor and vulnerable are primary (Matthew 25:31-46).
• The economy must serve people, not the other way around.
• We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be. Peace is the fruit of justice and is dependent upon right order among human beings.
• We show respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation.
“What then should we do?” Promote Catholic social teaching so that its vision shapes civic awareness and conscience for what is right and just in the land.
We do that through our missions around the globe, in Asia, Africa, Latin America and here at home in the United States. We do that through the work of our Mission Formation Ministry, Maryknoll and Misioneros magazines, Orbis Books, the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns and our mission immersion programs that give people firsthand experience of the realities witnessed by Maryknoll missioners.
God’s love for us draws us into an inescapable time of testing. Will our hope serve his work of doing what is right and just in the land?
As we continue this Jubilee Year of Hope inaugurated by Pope Francis, let us implore the Lord for the grace to believe that “we are now needed more than ever to be out there.” With God’s gift of hope, let us confidently participate in God’s quest for what is right and just.
Featured image: A woman in Haiti carries a bag of food relief supplied by USAID after a natural disaster devastated her country. Since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, USAID funding has been slashed under his administration. (Paul Jeffrey/Haiti)
