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PAGE 5—January 3,1974
Extending E qua! Rights to All
BY RUSSELL SHAW
Few ideas have received more recognition in modem times
than those of equal rights and opportunities. From the
Declaration of Independence through the United Nations
Declaration on Human Rights and beyond, rights of human
persons have been proclaimed and efforts have been made to
establish structures for their protection and realization.
Yet for all the lip' service paid to equal rights and
opportunities, both are constantly denied in theory and
practice. Why should this be so?
The obvious explanation is human selfishness, the tendency
shared by all of us to deny to others what we claim for
ourselves. But “selfishness” is too broad an answer.
People often take for granted that they have a “right” to
whatever they already possess or can reasonably hope to get. To
possess something confers a “right” to it. This applies most
obviously to material possessions -- money, property, and so on
- but not only to them. The same attitude exists with regard to
political, intellectual and spiritual possessions: “What I have is
Anti-Prejudice
Formula
BY FATHER CARL J. PFEIFER, S.J.
“We + They = Us!” I recently came across that simple
formula in an article I was reading. I jotted it down at the time
(unfortunately, without a reference to its source) and hung it on
my bulletin board. It is so suggestive. “We + They = Us!”
The first half of that clever formula lays bare the prejudices
that find unconscious expression in our daily conversations.
“We,” of course, are people who share “my” views and feelings.
“They” includes just about everyone else. If I am white, “they”
may embrace all non-whites. If I am a man, “they” can take in
the other half of the human race, women. If I am rich, “they”
may be poor. Just the opposite naturally holds too. To the
black, “they” may be all non-blacks. For women “they” may
refer to men. To the poor “they” can be the rich.
You can go on substituting all kinds of groups for the “we”
and “they” to fit your own experience. Whatever the specific
groupings, “we” are normally O.K., to be trusted, appreciated,
rewarded. “They,” for some reason, are viewed with suspicion.
“They” may be “lazy,” “ambitious,” “heretical,” “closed,”
“conservative.” In any case “we” and “they” are felt to be
different.
As our language betrays our inner attitudes, so does our
action. While “we” have certain rights, enjoy definite
opportunities and privileges, “they” are often prevented from
sharing the same rights and opportunities. A careful look
through the daily newspaper will show how widespread a reality
is the lack of equal rights for large segments of American
citizens. Discrimination exists in American society and in the
Church.
If the first half of the equation suggests how people tend to
divide the world into “we” and “they”, the second half of the
equation reveals one of the major tasks of religious education.
Religious educators - such as parents, teachers, preachers,
writers - face the challenge of helping people realize that “we +
they = us!” In more traditional words that means helping people
realize that all men are brothers and sisters, deserving equal
respect, equal rights and equal opportunities. That is part of
what Christians mean when they call God “our” Father.
Jesus said that we are to love others as we love ourselves.
That is another way of saying that “they” = “us.” Jesus goes
further and urges us to love others as He loves us - as He loves
them! St. Paul reminds the first Christian communities that
there should be no discrimination between rich and poor, male
and female, Jew and Gentile - all are one in Christ. His message
is restated in very clear terms by the Second Vatican Council:
“With respect to the fundamental rights of the person,
every type of discrimination, whether social or cultural,
whether based on sex, race, color, social condition,
language, or religion, is to be overcome and eradicated as
contrary to God’s intent.” (The Church Today, 29)
An important part of religious education, then, would seem
to be the effort to help individuals come to grips with their
prejudices. To be a Christian implies the recognition of the
dignity and rights of every human being. We need to educate
ourselves, our young, our old, to resist every form of
discrimination and to resist acting our personal prejudices.
The command of Jesus to love one another needs to be
translated into language that relates concretely to the “we” and
“they” in our lives.
In addition we need to help our people recognize the
existence of institutionalized prejudice such as racism or sexism.
It is one thing to come to grips with one’s individual prejudices,
and quite another thing to face the fact that certain social,
political and religious structures or institutions are radically
discriminatory. We need to help our people look not only at
their own hearts but at their institutions, including the Church.
This is particularly imperative in adult religious education -- to
move beyond eradicating personal prejudice to overcoming
institutionalized or structured prejudice. We have the challenge
to enable individuals to realize that “we + they = us!” and then
to draw personal and social conclusions from that realization.
mine, and because I have it, I have a right to it.”
This is not the Christian understanding of “rights.” A
moment’s reflection makes it apparent that merely acquiring
something does not by itself give one a right to it. Despite the
old saying, possession is not “nine-tenths of the law” and it
counts for still less as a basis for rights.
To what, then, does a person have a right? Basically, one has
a right to his fair share of what is available to all members of the
community for the preservation and promotion of human
dignity and development.
“Fair share” is, to be sure, an elastic concept which leaves
plenty of room for honest disagreement about its meaning in
concrete situations. But the principle of “fair share” is surely
being violated in a nation - or a world - like ours in which some
people enjoy a super-abundance of goods while others scrape by
with little or nothing.
The problem is even more acute with regard to
“opportunities.” People who are willing in theory to concede
equal rights to others often balk at taking the next step and
extending to them the opportunity to realize those rights.
Sometimes this refusal takes the form of discrimination and
oppression. But often it is done more subtly -- for example, with
the paternalistic attitude that other individuals or groups are not
really “ready” for certain opportunities which the rest of us
enjoy.
Some people believe the problem of unequal rights and
opportunities will solve itself as the quantity of goods of all
kinds increases and the resulting abundance spreads to all.
Unfortunately there is little evidence that this is happening now
and no certainty that it will happen in the future. Even if it
were true, generations would have to suffer the penalties of
inequality in the interval.
Equal rights and opportunities will become reality only when
the “haves” - both individuals and groups - are prepared to
share more generously with the “have-nots.” Or when the
“have-nots” rise in frustration and anger and seize some of what
the “haves” now possess. The challenge for Christians is stark
and clear: work to extend equal rights and opportunities to all
or be prepared to accept the consequences - whatever they may
be - of injustice.
BY STEVE LANDREGAN
It would be difficult to say what is the most familiar
structure in the world. The Eifel Tower, the Leaning Tower of
Pisa, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sphinx and the Pyramids at Giza,
all would be in the running, but each of them would be
challenged by the classical grace and beauty of the Parthenon at
Athens.
“IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT to say what is the
most familiar structure in the world. The Eiffel Tower,
the Leaning Tower of Pisa, St. Peter’s Basilica, the
Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza, all would be in the
running, but each of them would be challenged by the
classical grace and beauty of the Parthenon at Athens.”
“BUT THE PRINCIPLE of ‘fair share’ is surely
being violated in a nation -- or a world - like ours in
which some people enjoy a super-abundance of goods
while others scrape by with little or nothing.”
Most school children can tell ybu that the Parthenon is a
pagan temple that is the most dominant structure of the
Acropolis, the seat of classical Athens. Few would know that it
also had been a Christian church and a Moslem mosque.
Officially the temple is known as the temple of Athena
Parthenos, or Athena the Virgin. It was built by Pericles and was
The Parthenon was built as a pagan temple and later
served as a Christian church and a Moslem mosque. It
was blown up in the 17th century while being used as a
powder magazine by the Turkish army. (NC Photo by
Steve Landregan)
Vacationing couples on motorized bikes tour a resort
island which features a plush golf course and a
luxurious hotel. (NC Photo)
dedicated in 438 B.C. after 10 years of labor. It took an
additional six years to complete the intricate carvings and
decoration.
It was dominated by a colossal statue of Athena, the
patroness of Athens, and is regarded as the outstanding example
of the Greek Doric style. The designer, Ictinus, incorporated a
number of optical illusions in order to give the temple a more
perfect appearance when viewed with the naked eye.
Scarcely a surface of the building is truly vertical or
horizontal, each being carefully curved or thickened to
compensate for the distortions of perspective. It is a rectangular
building with two sides having eight evenly spaced columns. The
other two sides have 17 evenly spaced columns. The length is
double the width, plus one.
It was in the fifth century that the temple was converted into
a Christian church, dedicated to Hagia Sophia, Holy Wisdom, as
was the great church in Constantinople.
In 662 it was rededicated to the Virgin Mother of God and
underwent substantial remodeling of the interior. When the
Turks captured Athens in 1458, the Parthenon became a
mosque and a minaret was built on the southwest comer.
Two centuries later when the Venetian army was beseiging
Athens, the Turks used the temple as a powder magazine. One
of the Venetians’ heated canonballs struck the powder and the
building was severely damaged. It deteriorated from that time
onward through plunder and neglect. Many of its sculptures
were removed and are now in the Louvre, the British Museum
and elsewhere. Others are still in Athens.
On his visit to Athens, St. Paul undoubtedly viewed the
magnificent temple but there is no reference to it or to the
Acropolis in Scripture. The altar to the Unknown God that
attracted Paul’s attention was located on the road leading from
the Athenian port of Piraeus to the Agora or public square and
market at the foot of the Acropolis.
It was atop the Areopagus, a large stone outcropping close to
the Acropolis, that the apostle made his speech before the
leaders of Athens announcing that he was proclaiming the
“Unknown God” to whom they had built an altar.
His speech was pretty much of a failure, although he
converted one member of the Areopagus Council, Dionysius, a
woman named Damaris, and a few others.
An ancient tradition records Dionysius as the first Bishop of
Athens martyred in 95 A.D.
r ■
(All Articles On This Page Copyrighted 1974 by N.C. News Service)
Know Your Faith
The Parthenon Was a Church and a Mosque
r —
BY FATHER JOSEPH M. CHAMPLIN
Our four-session summer pilot parental preparation program
for First Confession concluded with a Common Penance Service
on a Monday night in September.
The ceremony was a joint venture. Two Sisters of St. Joseph
- parish helpers at Holy Family - met with several of the
parents, offered suggestions or ideas and then let them develop
their specific format. After the celebrant had checked their
finalized product and made one change in it, the planning
committee contacted other parents and assigned roles to various
individuals. They carefully attempted to involve every boy and
girl in some part of the rite.
The Sadlier publication, “Peace I give You,” served as our
basic text for the children and also as the primary source book
for this service. It also became the title of a participation
booklet assembled and produced by one of the families.
We stressed in this ceremony, Jesus, the light of the world,
particularly emphasizing the Easter candle and using small
candles (with paper holders to catch drippings) for each of the
10 children making their First Confession that night.
The small congregation (about 30 persons) met at the
church’s entrance and at 7:30 began a procession to the front
pews singing “Kumbaya.”
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1 "" "" * * N
After a brief greeting by the celebrant, Ed Foley, father of
Eddie, read a few paragraphs which explained the sign of peace.
All then exchanged this gesture of forgiveness and
reconciliation.
Next, the celebrant delivered a short homily, introduced the
light service and asked James Weiss and Eileen Bixby to come
forward with their candles. They lighted these from the Paschal
taper, returned to the pews, and passed the flame on to the
other boys and girls.
After each child had a burning candle, one father said:
“Every time we decide to do what we know is wrong, there is
less light in the world. ”
Laurie Narewski rose at this time with flickering taper in
hand and read: “When boys and girls are playing, and one child
decides to push, or fight, or be unfair, all the children become
unhappy. There is less light in the world.” Speech completed,
Laurie blew out her candle.
The congregation responded: “Jesus forgive us for letting
your light grow dim.”
This litany-like period of reflection or examination of
J
A First
Confession
Service
conscience, quite effective visually in the darkened church,
continued with six children standing, reading, extinguishing
their candles.
The priest concluded: “Jesus is here with us -- He is our light.
It is Jesus who says, ‘Peace I give You.’”
All present finally joined in the Our Father, spent several
moments in a “Time for Thinking” and recited a child’s act of
contrition.
Confessions followed in our special room and in a sacristy
space. Each place offered the option of kneeling anonymously
behind the priest or of sitting across from him for a face to face
encounter. Most of the children and adults (the two of us heard
for a solid hour) chose the latter arrangement. I found the
confessions beautiful -- open, specific, painful in the healing
manner they should be.
Penitents told WHAT they had done, WHY they did these
things, and asked or suggested HOW they could improve in the
future. Our program of preparation and our penance ceremony
had, I thought, succeeded far beyond our expectations. The
happiness and quiet exuberance downstairs at the coffee,
KoolAid and cookies celebration indicated parents and children
agreed.