June 28th, 2010
Lonergan And The G20: Hope In The Midst Of Despair
The coincidence of two events last week prompts me to write this entry. The Lonergan Workshop, held every year at Boston College, gathered scholars from around the world to explore the legacy of the Canadian philosopher-theologian who taught in Rome, Boston and at Regis College. Over the last weekend, the leaders of the G20 (G34??) nations gathered in Toronto to discuss economic and political questions of global import, and to try to develop at least some mechanisms of global cooperation.
The G20 meeting, as everyone knows from the news, was marked by violence from protest groups. As many have pointed out, this violence is a response to the more and less overt violence that marks the lives of the poor, oppressed by economic and political structures that do not take sufficient account of their dignity or their genuine needs. And, of course, there is the much discussed cost of security for both the G8 and the G20.
I do not want to take sides here on whether or what kind of protest is warranted, or whether or not the G20 show of force was legitimate; nor do I intend to be critical of police. And in a short blog entry like this, it is not possible to offer in depth analysis. I do want to ask the simple question: why are we, as members of Canadian society, turning more and more to force and violence as a way of solving our problems?
The signs of this decline are all around us, from increased reliance on courts to solve social and cultural conflicts punitively, to the descent of parliamentary debate into name-calling and media manipulation, to public confrontations between advocacy groups that used to be allies. It seems that we no longer trust that public and transparent conversation and negotiation will lead to new solutions for our society. And it is true that more and more, our leaders turn away from reason and rely solely on personal willpower and image to remain in office. All around, this is a sign of despair in our ability to achieve the common good.
Bernard Lonergan
Bernard Lonergan believed firmly that Christians gathered together by and in Christ were intended by God to be a social and cultural leaven helping men and women confront the reality of evil and injustice in the world. His entire career was at the service of what he called the “just and mysterious law of the cross,” whereby God in God’s wisdom meets the problem of evil with supernatural love, making of that evil an occasion for a higher and transformative good. And last week, I witnessed the truth of his commitment over and over again. Perhaps the best example is that of the nurse who reported on the Middle Eastern group known as Combatants for Peace, which brings together former combatants on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in acts of reconciliation and justice-building. Approaching injustice and violence with love releases our ability to search for truth and unleashes a genuine social and cultural creativity that does not need to rely on violence to discover new ways of living together.
Combatants for Peace, and the Lonergan movement in general, are signs to me that there is reason to hope in the midst of despair.
Comments
Far from remaining neutral on the violent disruption of peaceful protest last weekend, you suggest in two ways that you might at least excuse it: (1) by stating “As many have pointed out, this violence is a response to the more and less overt violence that marks the lives of the poor…” and (2) by citing only examples of institutional violence without noting those individuals who use social injustice as an excuse to make wrong moral choices in a spirit of revenge. Attaching the video only underscores this subtle validation of their behaviour. In the spirit of Lonergan to which you referred, perhaps some passionate social-justice advocates (lay and vowed) might spend a few hours helping to clean up the damage to this city while consoling those whose livelihood has been hurt.
Carole Giangrande
June 28th, 2010
Far from remaining neutral on the violent disruption of peaceful protest last weekend, you suggest in two ways that you might at least excuse it: (1) by stating “As many have pointed out, this violence is a response to the more and less overt violence that marks the lives of the poor…” and (2) by citing only examples of institutional violence without noting those individuals who use social injustice as an excuse to make wrong moral choices in a spirit of revenge. Attaching the video only underscores this subtle validation of their behaviour. In the spirit of Lonergan to which you referred, perhaps some passionate social-justice advocates (lay and vowed) might spend a few hours helping to clean up the damage to this city while consoling those whose livelihood has been hurt.
+1
Andree
July 13th, 2010