Kamala Harris "for the people" brings hope and joy to America's voters: A Catholic perspective

Kamala Harris is running a campaign of joy. As a Catholic woman, I’m feeling it.  (Maine Writer....."I agree!")  Echo essay published in America Magazine by Kathleen Bonnette*.

At the Democratic National Convention and throughout Kamala Harris’s campaign for president, themes of joy and hope are resonant. Doug Emhoff refers to his wife as a “joyful warrior.” 

In her speech to the convention, former First Lady Michelle Obama called attention to “the contagious power of hope, the anticipation, the energy, the exhilaration of once again being on the cusp of a brighter day.” And in her acceptance speech for her party’s nomination, Ms. Harris promised to “be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations.”

Joy and hope have become a palpable force among Democrats—the image of Gus Walz pointing to his father, vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, and exclaiming, “That’s my dad!” as tears streamed down his face captures the emotion bringing together the party as it seeks to unite the nation. While Harris’s laugh has been the subject of mockery from former President Trump and others on the right, her joyful and enthusiastic presence evokes hope. Last night, she embraced the mantle and showed that true strength comes from compassion and joy, not enmity and fear, following her own advice: “Never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are.”

As a Catholic woman who believes that integrity matters; that democracy is an important tool for expressing human dignity; that systems based on exploitation or exclusion are not just or sustainable; and that decency and good will are critical components of leadership, I am also feeling the joy. Ms. Harris’s vow “to hold sacred America’s fundamental principles, from the rule of law, to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power,” and her commitment to fostering the common good—inclusive of migrants, L.G.B.T. persons, women and other marginalized communities—was a reassuring balm when these things are jeopardized. (Granted, many Catholics are disappointed by her defense of abortion rights, but I am grateful for her willingness to “trust women.”) These convictions are rooted in my Catholic faith, and it was a joy to hear a presidential nominee address them energetically and with compassion.

However, I recognize that fully 60 percent of white Catholics (50 percent overall) think otherwise, identifying with the Republican Party. Their convictions, too, grow out of their faith. As I put it in my book (R)evolutionary Hope, we often are tempted to “pick a side, and hope that ‘our side’ wins—for the good of the church.”

But justice is possible only through a transformation of consciousness that moves us to work for the common good with compassion, not with anger, fear, or the desire to dominate the “other.” Pope Francis makes this point explicitly: “no family, no group of neighbors, no ethnic group, much less a nation, has a future if the force that unites them, brings them together and resolves their differences is vengeance and hatred.… Nothing is gained this way and, in the end, everything is lost.” In other words, vengeance and grievance are nihilistic (IOW destroying our morals....) motivators—they might move us in the moment, but we need to ground ourselves in joy and gratitude if we are to promote unity and peace.

Building the world we want to see depends on our willingness to listen compassionately to others, especially those most marginalized, and to cultivate relationships and communities that lift up everyone. As former President Barack Obama put it on Tuesday night, “we need to remember that we’ve all got our blind spots and contradictions and prejudices. And that if we want to win over those who aren’t yet ready to support our candidates, we need to listen to their concerns and maybe learn something in the process.”

In an interconnected world, zero-sum paradigms do not map onto reality, and it is critical that we continuously check ourselves to ensure that what we are building is not reifying the individualistic, materialistic systems of domination that are destructive and not life-giving. 

Instead, we must find ways to build without destroying. As Ms. Harris emphasizes, “a harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us” and “none of us has to fail for all of us to succeed.” There is joy to be found in embracing this interconnectedness.

In this election, as Ms. Harris put it, our nation “has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past, a chance to chart a new way forward … guided by optimism and faith.” I hope Catholics will choose to be beacons of this hope—living into the Gospel mission and bringing, as Pope Francis encourages, “the joy born of compassion, the tender love born of trust, the capacity for reconciliation that has its source in our knowledge that we have been forgiven and sent forth.” 

One way to discern whether we are aligned with the love of God 💖💢⭐is to consider whether our participation in a given movement evokes in us the Fruit of the Spirit—including joy.😀

*Kathleen Bonnette works at the Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University.

Pope Francis meets Rotary- A meeting of minds and missions

Rotary, which brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian issues, kicked off the Rotarian Jubilee on Friday afternoon, with a conference on the challenges refugees are facing worldwide.

A meeting with Pope Francis, in Rome, was a "meeting of minds and missions".
From "The Rotarian" My Rotary Magazine August 2016
by Ryland Hyland

Every few decades the Roman Catholic Church celebrates a special event called a "jubilee year". In December, Pope Francis kicked off his "Jubilee of Mercy". After receiving a special invitation, 9,000 Rotarians from 80 countries converged in Rome to attend a Jubilee Audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican.

Pope Francis meets Rotarians

Thousands of Rotary members, motivated by a special invitation from Pope Francis, gathered at the Vatican in Rome on Saturday to celebrate a message of compassion, inclusiveness, and service to humanity.

Pope greets Rotary members at special Jubilee Audience

Vatican Radio reports the meeting at this link.

At midmorning, the group -- numbering some 9,000 members from 80 countries -- made its way through the congested streets of Rome, past the tight security surrounding St. Peter's Square, and settled into the area reserved for Rotary in front of St. Peter's Basilica for the Jubilee audience.

Francis, a 79-year-old Argentine, urged the crowd of more than 100,000, which included members of the police and armed forces from around the world, "to build a culture of peace, security, and solidarity around the world."

His message of peace resonated with Rotary members, including R. Asokan from Tamil Nadu, India. "His message about peace is about accepting. Rotary, which accepts all walks of life, can carry his message to all our clubs, therefore carrying his message to all our communities," says Asokan.

Though Francis is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, his words often reach a wider audience. A poll published earlier this year found him to be one of the most liked and trusted world leaders.

That's what made this event at the Vatican so appealing, says Adriana Lanting, who traveled from California, USA, to attend. "To have such a transcending figure together with a transcending organization like Rotary in the same place is something I just couldn't miss," says Lanting, a member of the Rotary Club of Long Beach.

Madrid Zimmerman, another Long Beach member, isn't Catholic but says Francis has a knack for touching people's hearts regardless of where they're from. "Rotary has the same effect," she adds. "We may have different ways of expressing it, but our [Rotary] action in helping others comes from the same place.

"This event is a reminder that we only have one goal and that's to give service to those who need it. I think that's the message I want to bring back to my club," Zimmerman says.

After the Jubilee audience, Francis met with a small delegation of Rotary members led by RI President K.R. Ravindran. The pope spoke to Ravindran about the importance of vaccinating children against polio and encouraged Rotary to continue its efforts against this disease.

"I have been honored and deeply touched to have had the opportunity to meet Pope Francis earlier today, and to have heard him tell us to continue our fight toward polio eradication," says Ravindran, who is Hindu. "It has given me even more pride in Rotary's past, even more faith in its present, and even more optimism about its future, than ever before."

MITIGATING THE MIGRANT CRISIS

On Friday, Rotary hosted a panel discussion in Rome to highlight efforts to alleviate the plight of refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. More than 60 million people, including 11 million Syrians, have been displaced by war and violence over the last four years. Such extensive displacement has not been seen since World War II.

In the discussion, moderated by Vatican Radio, experts from the World Food Programme, the Jesuit Refugee Service, and UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) talked about ways to help migrants start over in their new countries.

Rotary General Secretary John Hewko, speaking on the panel, pointed to several initiatives Rotary clubs have undertaken to integrate refugees into society, including computer coding schools and a vocational training project in Rimini, Italy.

"The plight of today's refugees is really a litmus test for today's compassion," Hewko said.

He encouraged audience members and panelists to use their connections to provide the resources and funding needed to address the humanitarian crisis.
After the panel discussion, Bonaventure Fohtung, a member of the Rotary Club of Upper Blue Mountains Sunrise in New South Wales, Australia, said that Rotary and the pope have the same agenda when it comes to helping migrants. 

Recently, Francis took 12 Syrian migrants, three families including six children, back with him to the Vatican after visiting a camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.

"We need to go home from this event and set an example. Each club should do something. Just one thing to help these refugees can make a remarkable difference," he added.

The two-day Rotary event in Rome, tied to the Vatican's Jubilee of Mercy and dubbed the Jubilee of Rotarians by organizers from District 2080 (Italy), also included benefit concerts and three fundraising dinners for polio eradication.
By Ryan Hyland
Rotary News
2-May-2016

Gracias Pope Francis!  As a proud Rotarian with the Portland Maine Rotary, I wish there were more I could do to help.