Center for Theology and Social Analysis--Essays

May Crowning

Wed, 29 Jun 2005 04:06:13 GMT

Jenny Bird is a friend of CTSA and a baker in Chicago. She graduated from St. Louis University in 1998. She wrote this piece in early May and was kind enough to pass it on to us. "Even though she wasn�t dressed up like Mary, I knew that�s who she was. A candle inside a tall red glass threw glints and glimmer across her body. She was a mix of mighty and humble all in one. I didn�t know what to think, but what I felt was magnetic and it ached like the moon had entered my chest...

Confronting the Facts of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine

Wed, 29 Jun 2005 03:43:20 GMT

The following is a talk given by Dianne Lee to the St. Louis American Friends Service Committee's Forum on U.S. Foreign Policy on Sunday 26 June 2005. Thank you for inviting me to be part of this panel and for asking me to speak to the impact of U.S. foreign policy in Palestine. In December, 2003 I was one of several St. Louisans who traveled to Palestine to volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). ISM is a Palestinian-led movement of Palestinian and...

Celebrating Love

Mon, 27 Jun 2005 01:21:38 GMT

The following is a reflection given at the wedding of Jenny Truax and Annjie Schifelbein before the assembeld community gathered at the Armbruster's country home. About seven years ago, I had a bite to eat with Jenny Truax at Kaldi�s where we talked about Dostoevsky�s The Brothers Karamazov. The reason we were discussing this Russian novel is that Jenny had moved into Karen House. Jenny knew that this was an important novel for Catholic Worker co-founder Dorothy Day....

A Peoples' Mission to Guant�namo: Let's Open the Gulag

Sun, 26 Jun 2005 18:57:36 GMT

[This piece can also be downloaded as a PDF file for easier printing. The article also appears in the June 25/26 weekend edition of Counterpunch.] A couple of winters ago, having already read more than enough, we became enraged at what the United States was doing to prisoners from the war on terrorism at...

A Letter to Michael Eisner

Fri, 17 Jun 2005 13:12:33 GMT

Theresa is taking a Social Justice theology course at St. Louis University this summer. After viewing the National Labor Committe's video, The Hidden Face of Globalization, about sweatshops in Bangladesh, Theresa wrote the following letter to send the CEO of Disney. CEO Michael Eisner 500 S. Buena Vista St. Burbank, CA 91521 Dear Mr. Eisner: It pains me to have to write this letter. I grew up watching Disney movies, and love my stuffed Dumbo and...

Our Declaration of Independence: Create and Resist

Mon, 09 May 2005 11:29:31 GMT

[This piece can also be downloaded as a PDF for easier reading and printing.] April 24: It was a beautifully clear and cool Sunday afternoon. As Carol, Bill, and I made our way through the streets of south Saint Louis, heading to Mira and Obi�s to join them in celebrating the naming of their newborn daughter, Priya, the rows of old brick houses and the church spires stood out in crisp outline against the...

On Not Being Attached to Results: Some Reminders

Fri, 29 Apr 2005 16:25:22 GMT

For Dianne Lee At one time or another, many of us have heard others or ourselves say something like one of the following: �Four people showed up to our event. I�m depressed�What�s the point?...Nothing we do makes any difference�I�ve worked so hard on ______________( fill in the blank, name your issue), nothing seems to improve� I�ve had it! ... We should quit fooling ourselves, it�s hopeless.� When I notice such thoughts whirling around in my head, I like to remember a story told by...

Vigilance in a Time of Plague

Mon, 18 Apr 2005 03:49:26 GMT

For Pat Geier Do not avoid contact with suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering by all means, including personal contact and visits, images, sound. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world. �Thich Nhat Hanh [1] After almost twenty years, I recently reread Albert Camus�s novel, The Plague and...

Writing, Reading, Speaking, and Resisting

Mon, 11 Apr 2005 04:18:52 GMT

In the early nineties, when we were both in graduate school, I used to say to my wife Mev, �Mev, in my mind, you�re a real intellectual.� She�d frown, almost taking it as an insult, as she never thought of herself as an intellectual. I think she deemed that many intellectuals were too bookish and disengaged, which is not how she wanted to be. Much of her days, she spent writing articles, giving talks, interviewing people, and composing photo-essays, in addition to her doctoral studies...

A Young Woman�s Challenge to the Pope (and the Rest of Us)

Sun, 03 Apr 2005 06:37:17 GMT

Pope John Paul II died on Saturday and Catholics and many others will be mourning in the days and weeks ahead. Commentators will begin to offer assessments on the Pope�s influence, not only on the Catholic Church but also the world political scene. As many people are already engaging in conversation about the Pope�s leadership, I remember how in 1993 my wife Mev Puleo had a couple close encounters with Pope John Paul II. The place was Denver, Colorado and the occasion was World Youth...