Prepared and Distributed by Joyce Zoppi, November, 1996
November 1996
Dear Pastors and All Pastoral Staff:
We are called, through our Catholic Social Teaching, to actively take a "stand against violence". "Person by person, family by family, neighborhood by neighborhood, we must take back our communities from the evil and fear that come with so much violence." The bishops make this statement in their pastoral reflection, Confronting A Culture of Violence. Violence, in all forms, needs to be eliminated from our world.
The bishops have designated January 12, the birthday of Martin Luther King through January 22, the anniversary of the supreme court decision legalizing abortion, as a time to address and actively respond to the "moral and human cost of violence." We are challenged to recall, remember and take an active stand against violence. This is an opportune time to unite the Catholic community around a continuing commitment to confront violence.
For many people, violence seems far removed and not an issue of concern. It's OTHER people that verbally and physically abuse their children and spouses. Other neighborhoods have gangs and drive by shootings. Other people abuse drugs and alcohol. The reality is, most Americans do know someone who has been the victim of violence ... so it's really not them, it is all of us.
Enclosed you will find a packet of resources for utilization. It includes:
1. Bulletin Inserts
2. Resource Materials
3. Suggested Activities
4. Violence Fast
5. Family Pledge of Non-Violence
Together, we can systematically address and confront the hidden forms of violence that tear apart our society by "Taking A Stand Against Violence".
If you need further information or would like in-put on setting up a "Town Hall" meeting, for example, to address violence, please contact Joyce Zoppi at (313) 237-5905.
Sincerely,
Joyce Zoppi, Associate
Office For Social Ministries
1. Make sure all parish staff members, including teachers, have been trained to recognize the signs of domestic violence and child abuse and know theappropriate steps to take.
2. Bring in speakers to help understand non-violent conflict resolution, speakers could be provided upon request. This, may in turn, lead to scheduling workshops for further discussion and understanding of violence.
3. Print help line numbers in your parish bulletin.
4. Explicitly promote through education, preaching, and witness an ethical framework that calls us to practice and promote virtue, responsibility, forgiveness, generosity, concern for others, social justice, and economic fairness.
5. Support advocacy efforts working for gun control, funding for violenceprevention programs, and youth recreation activities and facilities.
6. Make the parish facilities "youth and family friendly" by working with other churches and neighborhood organizations to offer care, support, and safe recreational activities to children.
7. "Let Your Gentleness Be Known To Everyone" (Phil. 4:5) FAST FROM VIOLENCE
Making peace must first start within the family. Each of us, members of the _______________ family, commit ourselves, to the best of our ability, to the following actions toward becoming a nonviolent and peaceable family.
To Listen
To listen carefully to each person, especially someone who disagrees with me and try to see the other person's side instead of insisting on having my own way.
To Communicate Better
To share my feelings honestly, to look for safe ways to express my anger and to work at solving problems peacefully.
To Speak Positively
To affirm other family members and to avoid needless criticism.
To Respect Others
To treat other family members with respect by avoiding physical attacks or hateful words.
To Play Creatively
To select entertainment and toys that support our family's values and to avoid entertainment that makes violence look exciting, funny, or acceptable.
To Be Courageous
To challenge violence in all its forms whenever I encounter it, whether at home, at school, at work, or in the community, and to support others who are treated unfairly.
To Forgive
To apologize when I have hurt another, to forgive others, and to keep from holding grudges.
This is our pledge. These are our goals. We will check ourselves on what we have pledged once a month on ________________so that we can help each other live a truly nonviolent life.
| Pledging family members sign below: | Support family members and friends sign below: |
Let us eliminate violence, one family at a time, starting with our own.
(Some of these materials were adapted from the Diocese of Lansing.)
"Whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or willful self-destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children, as well as disgraceful working conditions, where people are treated as mere instruments of gain rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others like them are infamies indeed."
(Gaudium et Spes, 27)
"And how can we fail to consider the violence against life done to millions of human beings, especially children, who are forced into poverty, malnutrition and hunger because of an unjust distribution of resources between peoples and between social classes? And what of the violence inherent not only in wars as such, but in the scandalous arms trade, which spawns the many armed conflicts which stain our world with blood? What of the spreading of death caused by the reckless tampering with the world's ecological balance, by the criminal spread of drugs, or by the promotion of certain kinds of sexual activity which, besides being morally unacceptable, also involve grave risks to life? It is impossible to catalogue completely the vast array of threats to human life, so many are the forms, whether explicit or hidden, in which they appear today!"
(Evangelium vitae, 10)
"This growing culture of violence reflected in some aspects of our public life and entertainment media must be confronted. But it is not just our policies and programming that must change; it is our hearts. We must condemn not only the killing but also the abuse in our homes, the anger in our hearts, and the glorification of violence in movies and music. It is time, in the words of Deuteronomy (30:19), to "Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live . "
(Confronting A Culture of Violence II)
"We must join with Pope John II to "proclaim, with all the conviction of may faith in Christ and with an awareness of my mission, that violence is evil, that violence is unacceptable as a solution to problems, that violence is unworthy ... Violence is a lie, for it goes against the truth of our faith, the truth of our humanity."
(Confronting a Culture of Violence II)
"Above all, we must come to understand that violence is unacceptable ... We oppose lawlessness of every kind. Society cannot tolerate an ethic that uses violence to make a point, settle grievances, or help us get what we want. But the path to a more peaceful future is found in a rediscovery of personal responsibility, respect for human life and human dignity, and a recommitment to social justice ..."
(Confronting a Culture of Violence Vl)
"Violence creates many more problems than it solves. There is a voice through the vista of time saying: 'He who lives by the sword shall perish by the sword.' History is replete with the bleached bones of nations which fail to follow this truth."
"Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers."
"Violence often brings about momentary results. Nations have frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem; it merely creates new and more complicated ones."
"Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him."
"The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community, while the aftermath of violence is tragic bitterness."
"Nonviolent direct action did not originate in America, but it found its natural home in this land, where refusal to cooperate with injustice was an ancient and honorable tradition and where Christian forgiveness was written into the minds and hearts of good men."
"The nonviolent approach does something to the hearts and souls of those committed to it. It gives them self-respect. It calls upon resources of strength and courage that they did not know they had. Finally, it stirs the conscience of the opponent that reconciliation becomes a reality."
"It is no longer the choice between violence and nonviolence; it is either nonviolence or nonexistence." "Nonviolence may become the answer to the most desperate need of all humanity."
Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the one who wields it. It is a sword that heals."
Nonviolence ... is the method which seeks to implement the just law by appealing to the conscience of the great decent majority who through blindness, fear, pride, or irrationality have allowed their consciences to sleep."
"At the center of nonviolence stands the principle of love."
Church Documents:
Letter To Women, Pope John Paul Il/Beijing Conference, July, 1995, USCC #5-052 - $2.95 (tel.1/800-235-8722).
When I Call For Help: A Pastoral Response To Domestic Violence Against Women, NCCB/USCC, November 1992 English #547-X, Spanish #548-8, 99 (tel.1/800-235-8722).
Walk In The Light, A Pastoral Response To Child Sexual Abuse, NCCB/USCC, December 1995 English #5-000; Spanish #5-001 (tel. 1/800-235-8722)
Video:
Love Should Not Hurt: A Call For Action Against Domestic Violence, Video 1994,27 minutes (flows from the U.S. Catholic Bishops letter "When I Call For Help") discussion guide. $10.00. Order from G.R. Lindblade & Co., P.O. Box SiouxCity, IA51102. Tel. 712/255-4346 - VISA/MC/AMERICAN EXPRESS accepted.
When You Preach Remember Me: USCC Video 1993,12 1/2 minutes #680-8, $17.95.
Referrals:
Catholic Social Services of Wayne County: 9851 Hamilton Ave., Detroit, Ml Contact: Helen Stephens, (313)883-2100 ext. 219
Christian Family Services of Lapeer: 441 Clay Street, Lapeer, Ml Contact: Era Grasty, (313) 862-3580
Family Counseling & Shelter Services of Monroe County: 502 W. Elm Avenue Suite G-East, Monroe, Ml Contact: Joanne Bernard, (313) 241 - 0180
The Haven: P.O. Box 787, Pontiac, Ml, Contact: Hedy Nuriel, (313) 334-1274
Catholic Social Services of Clair County: 2601 Thirteenth Street, Port Huron, Ml Contact: Kate Powell, (313) 987-9100
National Toll Free Hotline: 800/799-SAFE ... crisis assistance, counseling and local shelter referrals
Archdiocesan Contact Person:
Joyce Zoppi, (313) 237-5905
Associate, Offce For Social Ministries
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