Tag Archives: DKroger
Solidarity Revisted
“Pope Francis denounces corruption and a culture of selfishness and individualism, while calling for a culture of solidarity.” With these words, Catholic News Service summed up Pope Francis’ visit to one of Rio de Janeiro’s notorious slums, Varginha, where the pope reminded the people: “You are not alone.” To understand the full meaning of the pope’s words requires a sense of what John Paul II did. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, John Paul II supported the solidarity movement in his homeland of Poland. Solidarity was the first independent labor union that broke free …
Bringing Back the Bluebirds!
A couple years ago, a Franciscan friar in my community, Fr. Carl, built and mounted a number of bird houses on the property of our St. Anthony Shrine. The birdhouses are nicely constructed of cedar and are the exact type suited for bluebirds. Because there were no bluebirds around the shrine property, we friars joked that the birdhouses were built on the “if-you-build-it-they-will-come principle.” We have lots of birds around St. Anthony Shrine. Cardinals, robins, woodpeckers and finches of every color are abundant. There are a few boisterous mockingbirds. And, yes, we have bluejays, warblers, …
Eat Less, Live Longer
When I was a Franciscan novice, there was a retired bishop, Rembert Kowalski, who lived in the novitiate community. As a young Franciscan priest, he volunteered to serve in the missions in China. He was assigned to work in Wuhang, China, in 1925. Eventually, he was selected to be bishop of Wuchang, China. When the Japanese invaded China, they imprisoned Bishop Kowalski because he was an American. He suffered nearly three years in a Japanese POW camp, mostly in solitary confinement. After the defeat of the Japanese in August, 1945, Bishop Kowalski went right back …
Debt Crisis
The reports about the debt crisis are endless, and the arguments seem ideological. National debt here in the United States will be a major political issue in the presidential campaign. But the debt crisis in the European Union seems more destabilizing. Will the EU fall apart? Will countries choose to leave it? How will events in Europe impact the U.S. economy? What stand should a Catholic take? These questions remind me my years in the Philippines. In the 1990’s the International Monetary Fund imposed severe conditions on the Philippines before it would lend anything further …
I’m a Socialist
When we vote during primary elections, the precinct officials always ask us for our political party affiliation. Years ago I shocked an election worker by answering “I am a socialist.” It’s true. We Franciscans are socialists. We hold things in common. Franciscans receive paychecks or stipends made out in the name of their religious order or their local community. The automobile I use is titled under the name of “Franciscan Friars,” and so forth. Of course, I am not a socialist in the traditional understanding of dictatorial communism or state controlled ownership of everything. Still, …