Intro to Community

1
Intro to Community Chapter 7

• Living in Harmony for Justice
• Sexual Identity
• Men and Women Created in Gods Image

2
Community

• Human dignity can be realized and protected only
  in community (Economic Justice for All, USCCB
  1986).
• Human beings, created imago Dei are social
  beings need one another to exist and thrive
• Community
• Group of people who relate to one another on the
  basis of common characteristics, circumstances,
  or interests.

3
Two Approaches

• We as humans cannot escape the fact that we are
  social, thus we have a choice in terms of how we
  live in community
• Exclusion vs. Inclusion
• Exclusion
• Attempts to determine who does and does not
  belong by focusing on differences
• Inclusion
• Recognizes that differences do not take away the
  fact that all are created by God imago Dei

4
Scriptures and Community

• The theme of community is strong in both the Old
  and New Testaments
• Jonah and the Ninevites
• The Ninevites were enemies of the Jews during
  Jonahs life Yahweh sends Jonah to preach
  conversion to them, but Jonah refuses to go.
• God does not care about Jonahs objections

5
New Testament

• The first Christian communities recounted in the
  Acts of the Apostles 2 42-47
• Communal Life
• Feature of the Early Christian communities
• 3 Aspects of Communal Life
• devoted themselves to the teachings of the
  Apostles
• to the communal life
• to the breaking of the bread and the prayers

6
St. Paul and Community

• In his letters, St. Paul continuously stresses
  building communities.
• 1 Cor 12 4-7
• Varieties of gifts, one Lord
• Three key themes in Pauls teaching
• We are different, but all are loved by God
• We need one another
• Solidarity is key

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Scriptural Insights

• From the stories of Jonah and the early
  Christians we are left with the following
• God does not create any people for them to be
  hated
• Gods vision of people is absolutely inclusive
• God is not a God only of one group but of all
• All people are sisters and brothers
• We are called to live and develop communal life

8
What Makes a Community?

• Participation in community is both a right and
  responsibility.
• Social justice implies that persons have an
  obligation to be active and productive
  participants in the life of society and that
  society has a duty to enable them to participate
  in this way (Economic Justice for All, 71)

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Living Together in Community

• Three major requirements for a well-formed
  community
• The right and responsibility to contribute to the
  common good
• Refers to Theme 3 of CST (Rights
  Responsibilities)
• Individual right to be able to contribute
  meaningfully to society
• Individual responsibility to contribute to the
  good of the community

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Living Together in Community

• 2. The right to access the benefits and resources
  of the community
• If individuals are not able to receive benefits
  such as education, the entire community suffers
• Communities have a duty to organize structures
  that allow each member to have an abundant life

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Living Together in Community

• 3. Human Rights
• include the rights to fulfillment of material
  needs, a guarantee of fundamental freedoms, and
  the protection of relationships that are
  essential to participation in the life of
  society
• Bare minimums that must be met
• We are called to move beyond in terms of love and
  solidarity

12
Community Destruction

• Human Sinfulness
• Human freedom allows us to make choices
• Exclusion
• Attempts to determine who does and does not
  belong by focusing on differences
• Excuses not reasons
• Leads to
• Stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination

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Stereotypes

• Our worldviews come from two sources
• Culture personal experience
• Stereotype
• When our view of a person or group is based on
  inaccurate or incomplete knowledge
• Can seem positive or negative
• Attack on human dignity
• Stereotypes begin with an experience that becomes
  confused by faulty logic

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Prejudice

• Prejudice
• The combination of stereotypes and fear or
  selfishness that results in an attitude of
  hostility directed at whole groups of people.
• Pre judge ments
• Rejects individuality human dignity
• Leads to discrimination

15
Discrimination

• Discrimination
• The denial of individuals or groups the right to
  participate in community
• Motivated by prejudice fueled by power
• Based on ethnicity, gender, creed, socio-economic
  status
• Opposite of human dignity
• All created in the image and likeness of God

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Discrimination on a Social Level

• Large-scale exclusions made by an institution or
  entire society
• Recent examples
• Apartheid in South Africa
• Segregation
• Denial of voting rights for women before 1920
• Discrimination continues in our society today ---
  usually in less noticeable ways
• Indirect result of many individual acts of
  discrimination
• Patterns of unjust activity that promotes
  exclusion and separation

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Male / Female

• Are women and men different?
• Loaded difficult question
• Various aspects/characteristics
• Physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual
• Nature vs. Nurture?
• Nature ? result of human birth
• Nurture ? result of upbringing and cultural
  conditioning
• Question
• Can we distinguish between the importance of
  these aspects?

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Sexism and Oppression

• Sexism
• Discrimination or oppression based on gender
• When one gender is valued less than an other
• Various examples
• Workplace to the classroom
• Impact both women and men
• Negatively impacts the stability of a society
• Separation and discord

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Patriarchy

• Patriarchy
• A society in which most of the power is in the
  hands of a select group of men
• Men viewed as more important and more significant
  than women
• Historical implications
• Appeals to tradition

20
Sexism and Power

• Feminization of Poverty
• The trend that results in more women and
  dependent children living in poverty than men
• A rising number of families are headed by single
  women who receive no support from husbands or the
  fathers of their children.
• Power Gap
• Increased opportunities for men compared to women
  in a society
• The opposite of sexism is a society where men and
  women are equal

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Christianitys Response to Sexism

• Jesus and Women
• Jesus treated everyone he metboth men and
  womenwith deep respect.
• Jesus had both women and men as friends, contrary
  to common practice.
• Jesus rejected human relationships where one
  person is treated as inferior to others.
• In a culture where women generally had no rights,
  Paul taught that in Christ there should be no
  distinction between men and women
• Image of the Church as the Body of Christ

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Responding to Sexism

• Importance of Critical Thinking
• Examining with an open mind what is usually taken
  for granted
• Working for Structural Change
• Domestic Violence
• Physical or psychological abuse within a family
  setting
• Changing roles for Men and Women
• Shattering traditional, biased, stereotypes
• Mutuality
• Recognition of the need for the other

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Importance of Solidarity

• All members of a society responsible to each
  other
• Guiding principle for proper change
• Essential for all advocates of change
• Critical Question
• What must be done to protect the dignity of all
  of Gods creation?
• Change not for the sake of change
• Leads to arbitrariness and chaos
• Change not to make up for past wrongs
• Leads to adversarial relationships and retribution

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Church Teaching

• Discussion on the role of women
• This can be seen, for example, in the statements
  of the Church's Magisterium present in various
  documents of the Second Vatican Council, which
  declares in its Closing Message "The hour is
  coming, in fact has come, when the vocation of
  women is being acknowledged in its fullness, the
  hour in which women acquire in the world an
  influence, an effect and a power never hitherto
  achieved. That is why, at his moment when the
  human race is undergoing so deep a
  transformation, women imbued with a spirit of the
  Gospel can do so much to aid humanity in not
  falling".

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Mulieris Dignitatem

• Apostolic Letter written by John Paul II
• August 15, 1988
• The Dignity and Vocation of Women
• Important theme reflected in Church teaching
• Attempt to promote the active role of women in
  the Church
• Connected to the role of Mary in the plan of
  salvation
• Model of the Church and of the Faith
• Various gifts and abilities to be used at the
  service of the entire Church
• Encouraging participation and continued
  opportunity

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Ordinatio Sacerdotalis

• Apostolic Letter written by John Paul II
• May 22, 1994
• Written to address the reservation of priestly
  ordination to men
• Reiteration of Church teaching
• Role of Mary in salvation
• Not receiving the ministerial priesthood
• Does not undermine her importance
• Presence and role of women
• absolutely necessary and irreplaceable
• Hierarchical structure
• At the service of the Church

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Strengthening the Bonds of Peace

• A Pastoral Reflection on Women in the Church and
  Society
• Written by USCCB in September 1994
• Committee on Women in Society and in the Church
• Reflection on Ordinatio Sacerdotalis
• Application to the U.S. Church
• Presence of women in leadership roles
• 85 of non-ordained ministerial positions
• Opportunities for a voice in governance
• Consultation
• Cooperation in the exercise of authority
• Equality
• Connected with humility
• All as created imago Dei

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Letter to Women

• Written by John Paul II
• June 29, 1995
• Statement of appreciation
• Thanking all women for contributions to the
  Church
• Necessity of acknowledging talents
• Regret regarding the subjection of women and
  denial of opportunities
• Non-ministerial positions of leadership
• Encouragement
• the journey must go on!
• Importance of service
• All Christians are called to serve
• Sharing the call to the common priesthood of
  the baptized

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Womens Ordination

• Position of the Catholic Church
• Priestly ordination is reserved to men
• Three Fundamental Reasons
• Example of Christ choosing only men to be
  Apostles
• The constant practice of the Church
• Living teaching authority holding that the
  exclusion of women from the priesthood is in
  accordance with Gods plan for his Church
• Ordained Priesthood vs. Priesthood of the
  Baptized
• All baptized are called to carry out priesthood
  as followers of Christ
• Ministerial priesthood reserved to men