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11/08/2017

15th August 2017 will mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Blessed Oscar Romero and, in a fitting tribute to him, SCIAF will adopt him as their patron on this day also. To mark these events Patricia Ferguson of SCIAF has written our new blog on the life and legacy of Archbishop Romero.

“We know that every effort to better society, especially when injustice and sin are so ingrained, is an effort that God blesses, that God wants, that God demands of us".

These words were spoken by Archbishop Oscar Romero moments before he was shot while saying Mass in the Church of the Divine Providence Hospital in San Salvador on the 24th March 1980. His homily was halted by the bullet that killed him.

The news of his murder was shocking, but perhaps we shouldn’t have been so surprised. After all, many priests and nuns had been murdered in El Salvador in the years leading up to Romero’s death and his own ministry was galvanised by the murder of his friend Fr. Rutilio Grande. Romero knew he was a target, having received many death threats in the months before he died.

Responding to one of those threats he said,

“I will not abandon my people, rather I will run the same risks with them that my ministry requires.”

So what had Archbishop Romero done that was felt to be so dangerous, so challenging to his assassins?

As a parish priest he was dedicated to pastoral work, visiting prisons and working with Caritas to provide food to the poor. In 1967 he was made a Monsignor and moved to San Salvador where he met Fr. Rutilio Grande, an outspoken champion of the poor and oppressed. In spite of their differences in approach, the two men become close friends.

In June 1970 Monsignor Romero was appointed Bishop. In 1974 the army killed three villagers in his diocese and Romero protested to the President. Worse was to come - the violence escalated and priests and other religious were targeted.

When he was appointed Archbishop of San Salvador in 1977 he was still seen as someone happy to maintain the status quo - but only a month after he became Archbishop, his close friend Fr. Grande and two others were killed in an ambush.
In his homily after Fr Grande’s death, Archbishop Romero said:

”The liberation that Fr. Grande preached was inspired by faith. A faith that speaks to us of eternal life. The liberation that ends in the happiness of God. The liberation that comes from repentance from sin. The liberation that is founded on Christ, the only force of salvation.”

From that moment Archbishop Romero became an outspoken voice for the oppressed and the poor. His weekly radio homilies were listened to by thousands of people and his message began to be heard outside his country.

Death threats increased as he became a rallying point for the poor people of his country.

On the 23rd March 1980, the day before he died, Archbishop Romero denounced the government and the army, saying,

“In the name of God, and in the name of his suffering people whose cries rise to heaven more loudly each day, I beg you, I implore you, I order you, in the name of God, stop the repression!”

As he said Mass next day, Archbishop Romero was gunned down. His last words were, “May God have mercy on the assassin.” Needless to say no one was ever charged with the murder of Archbishop Romero.

On the 23rd May 2015, Oscar Romero was beatified at a ceremony in San Salvador attended by 250,000 people. Cardinal Angelo Amato spoke in his homily that day of the life and legacy of a man revered throughout the world for his courage, commitment and faith.

“The beatification today of Mgr. Romero is a feast of joy, of peace, of brotherhood, of welcome, of forgiveness. Romero is not a symbol of division, but of peace, of harmony, of fraternity.”

As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Blessed Oscar Romero’s birth on 15th August 2017, and SCIAF adopts him as a patron, let us remember his care for the poor and his bravery in defending his faith. Let us pray that he will soon join the ranks of those recognised by the Church as saints.

04/08/2017

Reclaiming Gospel Nonviolence

This week David Mumford writes our blog and gives his personal account of being involved with the organising and running of Scotland's first Nonviolence Conference which took place at Kinnoul from 14th-16th July 2017.

We had spent eight months planning the weekend. I just hoped that it would all go well and that people attending would be inspired to strengthen their witness to peace and nonviolence. And that they would see Jesus in a different light – through nonviolent spectacles and that that would deepen their faith and Christian commitment.

Driving up to Perth I had both speakers in the back of my car – that was one anxiety laid to rest. I had heard John Dear previously and found him an inspiring speaker. Listening to him on the Saturday reinforced this view. If other human beings, created in the image of God are our brothers and sisters, then how can loving them involve killing them? How can the Church, the people of God, reclaim a perspective that sees Jesus himself looking at us out of another’s eyes? How can Christians gather round altars and then go out to prepare to destroy each other?

But often what stops Christians is anxiety that nonviolence will not always ‘work’ and that violence may be necessary – not in self-defence but to defend weak and helpless people. So it was fascinating to hear Lucas of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation talking about what was being done nonviolently by Christians and others in conflict areas such as the South Sudan, Colombia and Israel/Palestine.

Nonviolence was more effective, created less bloodshed, had a much greater chance of achieving post-conflict reconciliation and deepened people’s spiritual lives.

The workshops covered many issues and I would have liked to have gone to them all. I settled for a further encounter with John Dear, which was richly rewarding: Jesus and nonviolent direct action – in the temple overthrowing the moneylenders’ tables or healing people on the Sabbath.

The Mass on Sunday morning illustrated our divisions. I am old enough to remember when at such a gathering (as a good Episcopalian with a high view of the real presence of Christ in consecrated bread and wine) I would happily have been able to make my communion. I pray that such times come again. As it was, receiving a blessing in a reverent and worshipful service led by Fr. Tony Lappin was a joy.

The final session looked to the future and what could be done about Pax Christi in Scotland and about encouraging local churches and congregations to give a higher profile to peace and nonviolence issues. I was especially struck by contributions from Hugh Foy as to how we can work towards a culture of nonviolence in prisons, schools and families. The course from ‘Violence to Wholeness’ sounded to be one that every parish should take up. I see church change as being very much a bottom up process although it was really encouraging to think that there might just be an encyclical on nonviolence in two years time – if so we must be prepared….

My time was interrupted regularly by organisational details… Would people take their sheets off the beds before leaving? Would they remember to hand in their room keys/cards? Would all the requested diets work out (most did). Could we run a bar on a voluntary donation basis (yes, we could and did).

Sometimes a conference feels a bit like herding cats but in general most people got to the right place without too much delay. It was great to be in a refurbished St. Mary’s monastery at Kinnoull. Memories of freezing on the top floor were eradicated. The new showers are a delight. The welcome from those living and working there was warm – Kinnoull comes strongly recommended for any other group planning a conference – our evaluation was excellent.

And the grounds are superb.

Going home I thanked the Lord for a good weekend. Now to see how much fruit it all bears in the life of the church and in Scotland.

David Mumford

You can watch the conference keynote speakers at the Justice and Peace Scotland Youtube channel

28/07/2017

Reflections from a past Convener of the Scottish Churches Anti-Human Trafficking Group

To mark World Day Against Human Trafficking on Sunday 30th July 2017 Hazel Watson writes our latest blog which highlights the work done to raise awareness of human trafficking through the Scottish Churches Anti-Human Trafficking Group.

“Take this old woman – she’ll do whatever you want! She’ll clean, cook, make the beds, look after your children and what’s best of all, after the initial purchase price she won’t cost you a penny. She’ll sleep in a corner on the kitchen floor or in that cupboard under the stairs. As you can see she’s only little so doesn’t take up much space and she only eats scraps and leftovers, if she’s lucky. Now then, moving on to this beauty here …”

I was one of three ‘slaves’ being sold – myself into domestic servitude, a lovely young woman into a life of prostitution and a fit young man into forced labour in the construction industry. It gave me the merest glimpse into how it feels to be a victim of human trafficking and modern slavery. I was being sold in a mock slave auction at Heart and Soul, the Church of Scotland’s festival in Edinburgh. The humiliation was acute and painful – yet I had the luxury of knowing that I would cast off the role and go home to my own bed.

This is one of the ways in which the Scottish Churches Anti-Human Trafficking Group raises awareness of the shocking reality of this most cruel and degrading crime. Human trafficking is one of the world’s most lucrative illicit businesses, operating on a global scale, and it happens here too. Vulnerable people are exploited in our fishing industry, on farms, in brothels, in hotels and restaurants and in private homes.

In 2011 Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) established the Scottish Churches Anti-Human Trafficking Group to work ecumenically, raising awareness among churches of human trafficking. We developed and distributed information leaflets to local churches that offered hospitality during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, but despite suggestions that trafficking might increase during the Games, there was no evidence of the assumed increase.

This did not mean, however, that human trafficking was not an issue here. United Nations reports showed rising numbers internationally. Scotland was not exempt. We heard of abject misery suffered by people lured into leaving their homes and families with promises of a better life here. We joined campaigns to introduce legislation in Scotland to make human trafficking a specific crime and encouraged church members across Scotland to ask their MSPs to support the legislation. The Act was passed in 2015. More recently we helped develop the government’s strategy to implement that legislation.

A new initiative offers spiritual befriending to women who have been trafficked for sexual exploitation and who wish to attend church or discuss matters of faith. We are also working with Migrant Help, the organisation that supports adults who have been trafficked for all other forms of exploitation.

Now we are planning a conference in partnership with the Augustine Institute and the Centre for Theology and Public Issues, New College, University of Edinburgh. This will be held on Saturday 7th October. Further details will be available soon.

During my three years as the group’s convener I’ve met many people who are working hard to end this evil crime. Delivering talks with various church groups has allowed me to meet wonderful people from Stonehaven in the north-east to Dumfries in the south-west. Best of all, I have had the honour of working with the amazing people on the Scottish Churches Anti-Human Trafficking Group. Their knowledge, talents and enthusiasm have shaped our work and will continue to contribute to the fight against trafficking.

To be bought and sold for selfish gain, threatened, and forced to work long hours in appalling conditions is a far cry from the abundant life that Jesus wants for us all. We take comfort from the fact that God ‘heals the broken-hearted’ (Psalm 127:3) and that He sent Jesus to ‘proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, and to set the oppressed free’ (Luke 4: 18).

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