Living the Gospel, Feeding
the Children of Haiti

At our liturgy this morning in church, during the time when we go around greeting each other with a handshake of peace, a middle aged African-American male came up to me and said: “I just want to thank you for all you do for the community.” I was a little lost for words and all I said was “Thank You” as I shook his hand. In the back of my mind I was wondering if he meant our efforts to close ROTC at Marquette or our efforts to get 1.2 million dollars inherited by St. Catherine parish from closing of three Catholic Churches in North Central Milwaukee to those most in need in the area. But I did not ask and later started thinking did it make much difference? The two issues are made from the same fabric of conscience, living the values of the Gospel. In both we ask, the leadership of Catholic Church or of Marquette University, to be faithful to the Gospel. In the Church issue it is being faithful to Gospel teaching of giving ‘preferential option’ to the poor and marginalized when considering the use of the money. In the Marquette University issue we are asking Marquette it is being faithful to the Gospel by making its values of love of enemy, protection of all human life and following ones conscience in not teaching how to kill and killing without conscience.

Mahatma Gandhi was a great admirer of the Gospels and of Jesus. He allegedly said he would be a Christian, follower of Jesus, except Christians were not following the way of Jesus. He loved the Beatitudes, the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon of the Mound that focus on love and humility rather than force and making demands.

There is a fundamental violation of the Gospel of Jesus the Christ that allows a Catholic Church to ignore the poor and marginalized in the of use of gift money and Marquette University to teach war and killing. The Gospel teaches us to put people, especially people in need first over any kind of trust fund to save the money for a long time using only the interest (usury that was condemned by Catholic Church at one time). The Gospel teachings us to put people, their basic human rights first over any kind of violence, shooting or bombing a human being. The Gospel is hard to live but in both cases, Catholic Church and Marquette, the actions of teaching war or not giving the money to those in need are clear institutional violations and abuses of the Gospel. Both Struggles are about living the Gospel.

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