Pope Paul VI Memorial Lecture 2010 (2): more analysis

I promised some time ago that I would post a more analytical commment on the 2010 Pope Paul VI Memorial Lecture, when a full text was  available. The text has been published on the Tablet website, and I have been prompted to keep my promise by the reference to Haiti in Pope Benedict XVI's Urbi et Orbi address:

May the comforting message of the coming of Emmanuel ease the pain and bring consolation amid their trials to the beloved Christian communities in Iraq and throughout the Middle East; may it bring them comfort and hope for the future and bring the leaders of nations to show them effective solidarity. May it also be so for those in Haiti who still suffer in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake and the recent cholera epidemic.

The first point that can be made about Claudette Werleigh's lecture is what one might call a methodological point. She presents an account of the situation in Haiti, and then applies to that account by way of comment the thought of the magisterium of the Church through citation, for example, of Paul VI's encyclical Populorum Progressio or Benedict XVI's encyclical Caritas in Veritate.

A second key point in the lecture is the idea of "human flourishing", and the application of this idea in evaluating engagement with the disasters of earthquake and cholera in Haiti. Claudette Werleigh refers in particular to a paper by Celia Deane-Drummond to express this idea, but I have not been able to find the text of this paper. I believe that it was one of a number of background papers written to support the publication of the Theos/CAFOD/Tearfund document Wholly Living: a new perspective on international development. Chapter 3 of this publication develops something of the idea of "human flourishing", recognising its religious roots in an idea of man being made in the "image and likeness of God" but also indicating that it is an idea that is not restricted to Christians. I find the philosophical development of this idea in Wholly Living rather weak, though it can I believe be developed much more strongly within the context of a philosophy of the human person. In the context of Wholly Living and of the Paul VI Lecture, it is the application of this idea in the context of international development that is the primary interest, but I think it is nevertheless useful, even in this context, to develop the concept more fully. The application of the idea to just climate change and economic matters, whilst it might be politically attractive to an agency like CAFOD, is a restricted application. A fuller development of the idea of "human flourishing" would allow its application to a much wider range of questions, less directly relevant politically, but nevertheless relevant to international development in its full sense.

The third point of interest in the lecture lies in what Claudette Werleigh has to say about the part played by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO's) in the response to events in Haiti. Her remarks about the way in which NGO's have become almost an alternative to national sovereignty in Haiti are of interest. In one sense this represents an argument in favour of the partnership working - ie the idea that international development activity should be undertaken by supporting the work of local people in situ rather than by the bringing in of outside agencies - that has become an accepted practice in the work of aid agencies. In another way, it suggests a way of working for an international ecclesial organisation such as the Catholic Church, which of its nature is already in place in a country like Haiti. It also represents a critique of the way of operating of organisations such as the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund in their relation to NGO activity.

It is interesting to see, if the suggestions of Claudette Werleigh's citations of Paul VI and Benedict XVI are anything to go by, how prophetic Catholic social teaching is in its application to situations such as that in Haiti.

A final thought. At the beginning of her lecture, Claudette Werleigh recalled the founding charisms of both CAFOD and the organisation which she now leads, Pax Christi:

Today’s event is part of the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Cafod. I was very pleased to learn that CAFOD holds its roots in Family Fast Day, an event organised by women in support of a mother and child clinic in a far away country in another continent. Coincidentally, it was also a woman, Marthe Dortel-Claudot, who together with Pierre-Marie Théas, Bishop of Montauban, took the initiative to work for reconciliation between France and Germany. This initiative for peace is still being honoured and carried forward by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world as the Pax Christi movement.

Cafod and the organisation that I represent today, Pax Christi International, are determined to keep alive the legacy of Pope Paul VI. There is no doubt that we would be living now in a much better world if the recommendations given in the Encyclical letter, Populorum Progressio, had been put into practice!

Two Trips: or to the cliffs and to the docks

Saturday: after parking the car at Beachy Head, Zero and I walked along the cliff top to Birling Gap, and then back again across the fields. A cool breeze but beautiful sunshine.

First, the view at Birling Gap as we sat eating our lunch:




The light house at Beachy Head:

Wind swept on the cliff tops:

This evening: I joined a vigil outside the Excel Exhibition Centre in London, on the eve of the Defence Systems and Equipment International exhibition. The exhibition is hosted by Excel every other year, and each time this evening vigil is organised by local religious communities. It is intended to witness on behalf of and in solidarity with those who are victims of the weapons that are marketed at fairs such as DSEi. We simply stood in silence for one hour, at the entrance steps to the exhibition centre as it went dark. This is very moving, particularly as the last exhibitors are coming and going as they finish setting up for the next day, and then return to their nearby hotels.

The group of about forty assembling, and forming into a circle for our one hour vigil:

The memorial to dock workers, only recently unveiled/opened at the entrance to the Excel Centre (this is at the heart of the former London docks):


The moon, taken as I arrived home:

UPDATE: Brentwood Diocese has a report of this vigil on their website: here.

Israel in Gaza

Video clips on the BBC news website, which I also believe have been shown on television news broadcasts, clearly show the firing of cluster munitions. As they explode in the air, these shells launch smaller bomblets across an area of the ground. The video clips show these as a widely spreading series of smoke trails reaching down to the ground, and then showing small explosions on the ground. The Times newspaper has reported these as being white phosphorus munitions, being fired from artillery, to create smoke screens that will shield Israeli forces. Their evidence is based on photographs of the shells in Israeli military positions and the nature of injuries being reported from Gaza. It is not clear from the video clips or the Times reports whether these munitions are being fired in open areas or over built up areas ...

Cluster munitions and phosphorus munitions are particularly hazardous to civilian populations ...

The BBC are also reporting the concern of the International Committee of the Red Cross about the failure of Israeli Defence Forces personnel to assist injured civilians on the ground in Gaza. Today's Times reports details of an incident in which Israeli forces failed to assist, or to facilitate the provision of assistance by the Red Cross or Red Crescent, to wounded civilians in Gaza City.

The President of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has clearly spoken out on this situation, and his comments are reported here. Pax Christi UK's statement is reported here.

It is difficult to see anything that jusifies the Israeli action in attacking Hamas in Gaza; and, even if one grants a legitimacy to their attacking Gaza, it is rather more difficult to find moral acceptability in the manner of their action against Hamas.

World Day of Peace 2009

In England and Wales, this day is kept as "Peace Sunday" on Sunday 18th January. New Year's Day is the day in which it is marked world wide. Pax Christi have prepared some materials, endorsed by the Bishops' Conference, for use on 18th January. These materials are related to the Message of Pope Benedict XVI "Fighting poverty to build peace", the full text of which can be found on the Pax Christi page. Though I can see one or two points at which I would want to adapt them, these materials are quite useable.

There seem to me to be four aspects of the Pope's message worthy of particular note:

1. The account of the different types of poverty (n.2), particularly the references to "moral underdevelopment" and to "superdevelopment" - looking up these references to Populorum Progressio and Sollicitudo Rei Socialis is worthwhile to get the real flavour of what Pope Benedict is saying.

2. The section on poverty and moral implications (nn.3-7) addresses issues of demographic change, pandemic diseases, child poverty, the relationship between disarmament and development - clearly expressing the moral boundaries that need to be respected in these areas. Not a section that will play well with some aspects of anti-poverty campaigning.

3. A need for people everywhere to feel personally outraged by the injustices in the world (n.8), and a consequent need for men and women who live in a profoundly fraternal way to accompany those on journeys of authentic human development (n.13).

4. The need for an ethical approach to economics at an international level, the need for an ethical approach by those in public office and the need for an ethical approach to participation to harness the contributions of civil society at local and international levels (n.12). "Civil society in particular plays a key part in every process of development, since development is essentially a cultural phenomenon, and culture is born and develops in the civil sphere."