Today, entering the Marquette University library, I saw a sign promoting someone I want to know, a Jesuit civil rights worker who was giving a talk tonight at the Memorial Union. I have been meaning to call and visit with this person ever since I was aware he was at Marquette, but never got around to it.
During the talk I saw one Jesuit sitting up front that was very familiar looking. After the talk, as he was walking to the back, I recognized who it was, a person I entered the Society of Jesus, Jesuits with in 1961. Since I left in 1968 I have only seen him a few times at various events. He told me today that he had returned from teaching in Rome to find out he had some cancer in the heart area. He is recovery at Marquette University waiting for a new assignment, hopefully doing parish work.
So going to hear a possible new friend I met a very old friend and all this happened because I went to the Marquette University Archives today to doing more research on Catholic Workers and Military Training on Catholic Campuses.
Over the years I heard that my old Jesuit friend was a liberal turned conservative. I really do not know about that or care. I do not see myself as a liberal or conservative and as I discovered in my research on Dorothy Day she certainly was not considered a liberal or conservative. These terms, like left or right, Republican or Democrat, are just labels put on people. As the bumper sticker on my car says: “God is not a Republican or a Democrat.” You could put left and right or liberal and conservative into the same category of tags.
Being around persons with brain illnesses, some would call “mental illnesses”, I have learned that labels or, worse yet, stigmas, are major obstacles for persons with mental illnesses for recovery. I heard recently a movie star with bipolar disease say she signed herself in at the mental health hospital as “shame.” I have heard a family member with this terrible illness describe himself in negative terms. I have seen persons struggle to accept illnesses of the mind because they cannot accept the stigma or label society puts on them by society.
The Jesuit from India was talking tonight about how certain groups of persons are labeled and discriminated against by politicians in his region. I saw on TV tonight how outraged a local politician was because some “at risk” prisoners in the women’s state prison got the H1N1 vaccine before “law abiding citizens” got one.
So if my old friend is liberal or conservative it does not matter. All humans, as Gandhi and Dorothy Day believed, are unique human beings and our brothers and sisters in God, be they rich or poor, “untouchables” or important politicians. We all are creatures of God. Thus we are all friends, old and new.
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