Last weekend I attended the annual Call to Action conference in Milwaukee. There were about 3,000 people present. The keynote address on Sunday morning was given by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, author of Women Who Run With Wolves. I had occasion to speak with her at one moment and it was clear that she embodies in her work and her life a courage and defiance that runs in the face of all obstacles. She is of Mexican origin, an orphan adopted in later childhood by a Hungarian immigrant family. Author and psychoanalyst she worked with those traumatized by the tragedy at Colombine -- among many other instances. She confided to me that she is also a healer in her own ethnic tradition as a curandera.
That same morning the conference leaders issued a declaration regarding the current Vatican investigation of women's religious orders in the United States. The declaration was timed to reach the US bishops before their annual plenary meeting. Here is the announcement on the CTA website:
CTA Conference Issues Statement on Nuns Investigation
In anticipation of the U.S. Conference of Catholic bishops meeting in Baltimore, the largest annual gathering of progressive Catholics issued a statement of support to nuns during this time of investigation by the Vatican and called the bishops to defend them. (
http://www.cta-usa.org/). It reads in part, "To our fellow Catholics in the United States and around the globe, women religious have taught us how to live the gospel and open our arms until they embraced all of God's people. It is now our responsibility to put into action the lessons we have learned and ensure that our sisters in faith are not ripped from the church's embrace," the statement reads. "To our courageous sisters, you who have been the bedrock of our church and country, know that the people you have faithfully served stand beside you as you have stood with us."
At the same time, thousands of members present at the session were invited to indicate their support of the document. The response was enthusiastic.
Unfortunately, Fr. Roy Bourgeois, who was also scheduled to speak at the conference, could not be present due to his father's failing health. In his stead we heard from Louise Akre (I hope I have that right.) who worked for 40 years in the religious education office of the diocese of Minneapolis and who was told by her bishop recently to issue a statement withdrawing her support for the ordination of women or face a prohibition from engagement in any education activity in the diocese. She replied that in conscience she could not issue such a statement.
While waiting in the airport in Chicago on my way to Milwaukee, I met Orville Huntington, an Athabascan from the northern region of Alaska, in a village of 300 people, 90 miles from the nearest community. Trained as a scientist and recongized throughout Alaska, he has been monitoring the indicators of climate change in his area. At the CTA conference he showed us how the fish are dying from lack of oxygen in warming waters, plants are flowering in the Fall, pine trees are dying and being replaced by deciduous trees, etc. Even though there is no mineral or oil extraction in the area, no industrial presence at all, the changes are dramatic.
The first day at the conference we were treated to a long examination of the situation of undocumented hispanic immigrants in the United States and the activities along the Mexican American border. We were treated to a somber analysis of the consequences of the famous wall along the border that, in some places cuts through farmers' lands making half inaccessible -- without compensation. In several places it cuts through national nature reserves making access impossible and stopping wildlife movement. In at least one case it cuts through towns straddling the border dividing them in half and causing drainage problems when there are floods. The new health bill passed by the House recently explicitly excludes the 12 million undocumented workers in the United States from coverage even though they frequently pay taxes and contribute enormously to the economy. One of the presenter, Jorge Mujica Murias, is running for office in the Congress on these issues.
The theme of the Conference was "Everyone at the Table: Rejoicing as People of God."
For me one of the highlights of the conference was an evening performance by "Emma's Revolution," a group of two women who have recently put out a CD with Holly Near whom I had heard sing in Philadelphia way back in the 1970s. They were extraordinary in their music and their message. They will be singing, as they do each year, at the School of the America's protest in Georgia on November 20-22. Last year 20,000 people were present. For more information, see
http://www.soaw.org/
