| |
Interview with Richard Taylor
Interview
with VOTF Phila. member Richard Taylor, author of a forthcoming
book Love in Action. Dick’s book is available in manuscript
form for $10 sent with your mailing address to Richard Taylor,
609 East Allens La., Phila., PA 19119. Dick is distributing
his text in this way to get feedback prior to seeking a publisher in
2006.
There is a growing
perception that fear has taken hold among laity and that
Catholics
are, generally speaking, fearful of repercussions – either spiritual or
practical – and therefore are reluctant to seek reform in a pro-active
manner. Do you think Catholics suffer more from fear or uncertainty/ignorance
about their role in the governance and guidance of the Church?
In the past, when it
came to speaking up in a way that challenged the Church, fear certainly was
the predominant emotion. People feared repercussions,
for
themselves and their parishes. What I’m hearing more now, however, is not
fear, but anger, outrage and grief. Because the bishops have been so complicit
in covering up the abuse, they have lost a lot of the credibility they had formerly.
People’s anger and their abhorrence of what so many bishops did is pushing
them to be willing to speak and act in ways they wouldn’t have in the past.
They’re starting to live out St. Augustine’s adage, “Hope has
two lovely daughters: anger and courage. Anger at what’s wrong; courage
to set it right.”
I spoke to an 82-year-old, lifelong Catholic just recently. She was so totally
upset about what’s happened in the Church. She faulted the bishops’ cover
up even more than the abuse itself. When I told her that local VOTF was going
to have a procession and prayer vigil in front of Cardinal Rigali’s mansion
on Nov. 5, she said, “I’d love to be there, but at 82 I’m not
sure I could walk very far.” I said, “It’ll be about a half
mile.” She said, “Oh, I can make that. I hope I can be there.”
This is one reason that I have so much faith in gospel nonviolence. It channels
anger into constructive action. It gives people a way to be courageous without
have to strike out in hostility or violence.
Recent releases of scathing documents and/or summaries in Los Angeles and Philadelphia
underscore the day to day reality of abuse and its management by Church leadership.
In a faith grounded in love, forgiveness and justice, how can Catholics best
honor all three? How can Church leadership best honor all three?
“Scathing” certainly is the right word. So long as people were hearing
that
5% or so of priests did the abuse, they could think, “That’s terrible,
but the bishops can fix it.” But when they learned from the Grand Jury
report that the bishops honored and promoted and moved around priests with known
records of sex abuse, they saw that the bishops were as much the problem as the
priests. As someone said, “They didn’t rob the bank, but they drove
the imperil car.”
In light of these revelations, people ask themselves, “Should I just leave
the Church?” (Several of my good friends have done just that.) “Can
I do anything but complain and bear it?” What I love about gospel nonviolence
is that it gives a third way – the options are not just “submit or
leave.” The third is “resist.” Nonviolent action give a way
of resisting that honors the values you mentioned – love, forgiveness and
justice.
I had the honor and privilege of being one of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s
field staff in the late 1960’s. I attended retreats and planning meetings
with him and joined him in actions. It gave me a first-hand look at the power
of nonviolence to overcome entrenched, centuries-long, carefully-rationalized
structures of segregation and white supremacy. It was out of that and other experiences
with nonviolent direct action that I wrote my book, “Love in Action: A
Direct Action Handbook for Catholics Using Gospel Nonviolence to Reform and Renew
the Church.” (For a copy, send $10 to Richard Taylor, 609 E. Allens La.,
Phila., PA 19119.) It describes the philosophy and theology of gospel nonviolence,
outlines a 12-step process for building an effective nonviolent campaign, and
gives 82 different methods of nonviolent action that are applicable to Church
reform and renewal. It also gives nearly 200 illustrations of how the methods
have been used by ordinary people (not just Gandhi and Dr. King) in the past,
plus 40-some suggestions for how these methods can be used by us today.
How can Church leaders honor love, forgiveness and justice? By admitting that
they’ve allowed terrible things to happen and by inviting the laity to
have a real voice in Church decision-making. They can’t make it without
us. If we – moms and dads, aunts and uncles – had been at the table
of decision-making in the 1980’s, when Fr. Tom Doyle warned the bishops
about the time bomb of widespread sexual abuse, you can bet that we would not
have swept it under the table. We would have dealt with it immediately and forcefully.
These are our children!
The bishops need us. As NCR’s Tom Roberts said, it’s as though the
bishops are sinking in quicksand, and the laity are standing around with ropes,
offering to pull them out, and they’re saying, “Oh, no, we can handle
this ourselves.”
When dialogue fails on the parish and/or diocesan level, what is the laity to
do in a pro-active way without alienating other Catholics who prefer silence,
prayer and hope as a path to reform?
I hope and trust that my
book, Love in Action, will provide a bunch of ideas for pro-active efforts.
Also, people who are open to the
Holy Spirit’s
guidance are endlessly creative. I’m sure they’ll be led to many
new approaches not mentioned in my book. VOTF around the country has already
started using these methods to great effect – the Rockford, IL meeting
in banned space, the parish occupations in Boston, etc.
With regard to alienating other Catholics, we have to face the reality that
no strong social movement has ever developed without alienating some people.
If you read about the early Montgomery Bus Boycott, you’ll see all
the opposition Dr. King faced from other ministers and civil rights leaders
who thought his methods were too radical. We just have to stay in loving
dialogue with those who initially are alienated, explaining what we’re
doing and why, showing that we really love the Church and affirm the faith.
Discernment is a
longstanding practice in Christianity. Would discernment be a good tool
for introducing thoughtful conversation
around any or all
of the above – both for those fully committed to active engagement
in Church reform and those not ready to do so?
In my book, “Love in Action,” I
draw heavily (implicitly and explicitly) on the concept of discernment, e.g.,
as a way to decide whether
or not one is ready to join direct action, as a way to choose the most appropriate
actions, etc.
What in your Quaker foundation, if anything, do you bring to your book, to
your understanding and care for the Catholic Church?
Quakerism has a rich heritage
of social concern and active nonviolence. I first “cut my teeth” in nonviolent Quaker demonstrations way
back in the ‘50’s. I’ve been delighted by how warmly Catholics
have welcomed the gifts and experience I received as a Quaker.
|
