#Fr. Louie Vitale

[riverdamien]

Why Do We Hate?

Why We Hate?

Understanding the Roots of

Human Conflict!

Michael Ruse

Luke 9:57–62

The New Revised Standard Version

Would-Be Followers of Jesus

(Mt 8:18–22)

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 But Jesusm said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

There are days when I wonder is there any hope, and am I just spinning my wheels.

    I wonder because all I see is hate, anger, selfishness; a car drives by, two well dressed men get out and beat me up and tell me not to report child trafficking; a merchant walks out of a store and throws water saying "Its your fault these homeless are out here in front of the store because you feed them, get out;

I have seen young men shot, and stabbed, one committed suicide on zoom, so is there hope or are we just "animals."

The author talks of our human history going back to the development of our mammal ancestors 225 million years ago, and takes us on a journey of following our evolution to the present.

His basic point is that we humans developed at first into cooperative, loving creatures, and as we evolved into wanting more and more we became violent human beings, arguing, and fighting between the "in /out" groups.

Presently I see one group as the "homeless". They are mistreated, have no rights, hassled on the street, with the political leaders wanting to force them into treatment, we do not have, and so on.

The politicians impose their will on a segment of people as they have always done. We have the "ins"--housed, have money, predominantly white and the "outs"-- poor homeless.

"People  talk about imposing social programs because the recipients were

lazy and not hard working like  with racist, culture, and creed claims.

This is the journey of all minorities.

    And this is the week of St. Francis of Assisi, the founding of Temenos Catholic Worker and Society of Franciscan Workers,  twenty nine years ago on this date, and the choosing of St. Francis and St. Damien of Molokai as the patron saints of Temenos.

    St. Francis spurned violence and privilege. He reached out to members of other religions. He cherished the earth and all of its creatures. He pointed to a new form of human and cosmic community, marked by love and mercy. And did all this with a Spirit of joy and freedom.

As Carlo Corretto, remarked:

"I Think St. Francis of Assisi is in the depths of every human  being."

Plumb your depths, look into yourself, and you will find St. Francis!

Deo Gratis! Thanks be to God!

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October 4th is the Feast of St. Francis, and we will be going to the Haight in the afternoon, and on Polk late evening blessing dogs and our non-housed brothers and sisters! Give me a call at 415-305-2124 if you would like to join me! Times are flexible!

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Memorial Service for Father Louie Vitale

Friday, October 6, 2023

St. Boniface Catholic Church

133 Golden Gate Ave.

St. Francisco, CA

3:00 p.m.

============================

Fr. River Damien Sims, D.Min.,

P.O. Box 642656

San Francisco, CA 94164

www.temenos.org

415-305-2124

======================

Let Love Ache

Father, give me the courage to keep on loving.

when others keep on hurting.

help me to live an achy love, a gritty,

persistent and emptying love;

a love that’s not afraid to flow toward the other

who has little left to offer in return.

And may I tread faithfully with heaven

through the unfinished work that surrounds me.

Commoners_Communion

Strahan Coleman

[tshofner]

SOA4 Prisoners of Conscience

This is the current jail where Fr. Louie is being held.  He could be transferred at any time.  I will post an updated address as it's made available. Louis Vitale #15875 Crisp County Jail 197 Hwy. 300 S Cordele, Georgia 31015 If your letter is returned you can also send it to Louis Vitale C/O The Nuclear Resister PO Box 43383 Tucson, AZ 85733 I'm not certain if Nancy Gwin and Ken Hayes are at this same facility, but I plan on sending their cards here anyway.  If they're returned I'll update. Micheal Walli, the fourth of the SOA4, conscientiously did not return for trial.

[riverdamien]

Follow the Star!

Following the Star!

The Visit of the Magi

2 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem,  2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east[b] and have come to pay him homage.”  3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him,  4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah[c] was to be born.  5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet:

6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,     are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you shall come a ruler     who is to shepherd[d] my people Israel.’ ”

7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi[e] and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared.  8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”  9 When they had heard the king, they set out, and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen in the east,[f] until it stopped over the place where the child was.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Dorothy Soetile reminds us that following the Star is a lifelong pursuit:

"The frightened shepherds become God's messengers. They organize, make haste, find others and speak with them. Do we not all want to become shepherds and catch sight of the angels?  I think so. ...Because the angels sing, the shepherds rise, leave their fears behind, and set out for Bethlehem, wherever it is situated these days.

---------------------------------------------

On the night of the birth of Jesus, there were three Wise Men, three Kings, powerful men, all they had to do was wiggle their little fingers, and all would be given to them. 

When they approached Jesus each offered a gift and walked away empty-handed.

They were the first to acknowledge our call to leave our fears behind and set out for Bethlehem, wherever it is situated these days.

Fr. Louie Vitale, from a wealthy family, a bomber pilot in the Second World War, followed the Star, leading him to his Bethlehem, turning his life upside down and leading him to the priesthood of working with the homeless and a non-violent advocate; The Reverend Glenda Hope, following followed the Star to Bethlehem was ordained the first woman in the Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, spending her life working with the homeless.

Rio following the Star encountered Bethlehem in his call to ordination, the Star which led him through rejection and abandonment and brought him out of prostitution, to ministry with the homeless youth in San Francisco.

Following the Star to Bethlehem does not make life easier, but centers us in Christ, allowing us to see the Reign of God where all will be healed!

All three have seen the "Slaughtering of the Innocents" on the streets of San Francisco spending their lives in service. The "Slaughtering of Innocents" continue on the streets of San Francisco, and throughout our nation and the world!

So Happy New Year! My NewYears Resolution is to continue to follow the Star which I found in Bethlem on the streets of San Francisco and to follow these concluding words:

Hildegard Von Bingen

"As the light begins to return in this circle of the seasons, we have spent some necessary time in quiet contemplation, not the simple vows of silence that are part of our normal waking and working hours, but the solitary contemplation that comes without distractions.

My thoughts have often considered the many trappings and traditions of our church that rule the day-to-day moments of our lives. I imagine most religions have these and I question their relevance and purpose except to control the lives of the participants in some way. More and more I feel the need to ignore all the little “do” and “do nots” preached with the fiery threats of some hellish afterlife if we do not comply. The important basics only remain, to treat all of creation with respect, compassion, and above all, love. God is love. God loves all. We are asked to love all as well."

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Fr. River Damien Sims, sfw. D.Min, D.S.T.

P.O. Box 642656

San Francisco, CA 94164

www.temenos.org

415-305-2124

We are beggars! All gifts are tax-deductible in 2022!

[riverdamien]

Remember the Poor

"Remember the Poor, It Cost's Nothing" Josh Billings Matthew 23:23-26 The Message (MSG) 23-24 “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that’s wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons? 25-26 “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something." ---------------------------------------------------------------- Carl Nolte, recently wrote: "I wondered about it (homeless people on the streets) even when camping by a river in the redwoods. What has become of us? Have we grown such calluses on our souls that we can look at this kind of agony in the streets and not see? Is that what it means to be a citizen of a beautiful and famous city such as San Francisco? We did nothing (thinking of passing by homeless person in City) I can't get it out of my mind." As I look back the past twenty five years I remember a time when homeless people were noticed, acts of compassion were shown to them by the majority of people. I remember people like Fr. Louie Vitalie, former pastor of St. Boniface Church who advocated and showed love to people on the street, he is the founder of the current homeless program at the Church; Sr. Bernie Gavin, advocated for the homeless, Reverend Glenda Hope who founded housing and had worship services on the streets, and the list goes on. The question I ask: "Is where are the clergy in working with the homeless?" And than I remember--"advocacy on the streets for street people does not pay enough, and is too dirty." There was a sense of caring, a sense of support. Now we ignore the person on the street, we see them as dirty, and we scream at our politicians to do something. Sr. Joan Chittlister, tells us: "Politicians will always ask the question, "Is it expedient? But the prophets must ask the question, "Is it right?" That is the reason I do not trust politicians, they always seek out the expedient answer, and the majority come from privilege and wealth and have no idea of the pain of people on the street. We need to ask the question "Is it right?" Our Gospel confronts all of us with our hypocrisy. We are all called to walk with each other as brothers and sisters, we are all called to suffer together so that others might not suffer. We are all called to feed people we see hungry, to fight for our government to shift their funds to mental health care, housing, and food; to provide housing to someone if we can or to push our churches, and our businesses to open their doors and provide housing. We walk past churches with beautiful spaces that stand empty, empty buildings, kept empty in order for the owners to correct more money, and people are sleeping outside in the cold. Ritual, lovely speeches are empty, until they are put into action. We can "remember the poor"--and until we put our words into action--it cost's nothing, and it leaves our lives empty, vacant, and is pure hypocrisy. Materialism, our desire for money, for property is destroying us, it is destroying our humanity. So let us remember the poor, the homeless, and in doing so look at our selves and see our own poverty, our own pain, and love them, as we want to be loved. Let us take Carl Nolte's words and put life into them, enter into the suffering, the pain, of others, and find life and joy and not walk away feeling guilty. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! ------------------------------------------- Bay Area Youth Led Climate Strike Start: Friday, September 20, 2019•10:00 AM Location:San Francisco Federal Building •90 7th Street, San Francisco , CA 94103 Host Contact Info: dulce.ceballos.a@gmail.com +- (Adult allies are welcome) At 10am, in San Francisco we call for a youth-led climate strike march, going to different targets that are contributing to climate breakdown, leaving our mark to let these places know what we are fighting for. We will again start at the office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and will connect targets in government, finance, and energy. For those that can’t join in person, we will be asking people to post on social media and tag our targets. The following are our demands through the action week and why we are striking: 1.We demand a safe, healthy, and just planet.This climate crisis threatens our ability to live. If climate change continues on this course, we won’t be able to eat, breathe, or have safe shelter. In order to successfully fight the climate crisis we are facing, we must also fight the systems of white supremacy, racism, greed, and exploitation that have led us to it. Fighting for climate justice means fighting for a world that is safe, healthy, and just for all of its inhabitants. We must enact climate emergency plans at the local, national, and international level. 2. We demand justice and asylum for people displaced by climate change.Individuals and families displaced by climate change seek asylum in a safe place because they have nowhere else to go. Climate justice means abolishing ICE, closing concentration camps at the border, ending family separation, and creating inclusive new laws and regulations that treat everyone as human. 3. We demand policy based on science. We have eleven years before the effects of the climate emergency are irreversible. We can’t afford to compromise with climate change deniers. We must enact immediate legislation based on scientific analysis of carbon emissions and the ways that climate disasters impact certain communities. Science clearly shows that global temperatures are rising dangerously, and that we are on track to face unprecedented climate disasters. We demand a Green New Deal, a resolution that lays out a science-based plan to reach negative carbon emissions by 2030. 4. We demand that people, not corporations, influence politics.Representation and transparency are vital for successful democracies; corporate money must be taken out of politics. We demand all politicians sign the “No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge.” We demand Citizens United must be overturned and super PAC’s be abolished. Corporate funding and donations from millionaires and billionaires must be replaced with public funding of elections in addition to small-dollar donations. To ensure that every vote counts, we must restore the Voting Rights Act, secure automatic registration for every citizen above 18, and re-enfranchise those convicted of felonies. 5. We demand equal rights for all.The government must be for the people, by the people; all policies and decisions made must be for the benefit of all. Black and trans lives matter; the Equality Act must be passed. The rights of Brown, Black, and Middle Eastern migrants must be respected. Women deserve full reproductive justice, and equity in the workplace. We demand universal background checks and Medicare for All in order to ensure a safe and secure environment for everyone. We demand diversity and representation, and intersectionality must fuel the climate justice movement. Frontline communities must have a voice and leadership role, and we look to indigenous communities to lead the transition to a just and sustainable world. 6. We demand that humans protect the rights of nature.Just as humans have rights, nature has rights. Humans have a moral obligation to respect and protect plants, animals, and ecosystems. We demand that the rights of nature be legally represented. This includes legislation to provide sanctuary for endangered species, regulate hunting, and end deforestation, pollution, destructive fuel extraction, fracking, factory farming, and unsustainable agriculture. All life is interconnected, and we must live in harmony with the Earth. 7. We demand a just transition Countries and individuals that have contributed the most to climate change must be held accountable. We demand urgent climate action, including the GND, that protects vulnerable communities and create economic justice. Policies must respect workers’ rights ’to living wages and health care, young people’s rights to free, relevant education, and everyone’s right to affordable housing. To quote Movement Generation: Transition is inevitable. Justice is not. A just transition is the process of getting from where we are to where we need to be by transforming the systems of economy and governance. A just transition requires moving from a globalized capitalist industrial economy to linked local living participatory economies that provide well-being for all. For more information about the actions you can do through the week please visit our website: youthvsapocalypse.org -------------------------------------------------- Fr. River Damien Sims, sfw, D.Min., D.S.T. P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 ---------------------------------------------------- We are in need of money for socks and food, our need for socks has increased three fold in the last year, and the Food bank is low on food, so we are having to purchase food at super markets. So please consider to give. Your donations are tax deductible. Give through mailing to P.O. Box 642656 or through Pay pal, which you can find on temenos.org. All checks to be tax deductible must be made to Temenos Catholic Worker. Thank you!

[riverdamien]

Village of Dad's

A Village of Fathers This is Father's Day. A day in which we remember our dad's. We do not appreciate our dad's enough, Joseph is never fully appreciated, we hear about Mary, but not the father of Jesus. Today I was going down the street, and one of my guys from the Haight yells at me. "Shadow" runs over and hands me a package, and insists I open it, and there was a piece of hand made jewelry. He said, "This is Father's Day, and you are the closest person I have ever had who is a dad to me." The brightness in his eyes, tore my heart to pieces as I cried. I forget sometimes that the reason I love the title "Father" is not because of the prestige, but because it reminds me I am a parent, brother, friend, to so many young men and women. Parenthood, family, is not about blood, but love. And I am a part of a village of dad's that all children have, who have help raise us up, and continue to father us. To my mind come a number of father's: My biological dad, who signed the adoption papers, when I was four so that my adoptive dad could adopt me, and give me a life in which he would raise me and provide for my education. My adopted dad nurtured me in the faith, lived a life of prayer, and of hospitality, forming me into who I am; The pastor's who shaped my life from an early age: David Richardson, my child hood pastor, taught me how to look at the Bible as a book written by men, but inspired by God, and how humans impose their own interpretations around sexuality, women, and other social issues, that are not Biblical, or even present in the Bible. He and my father taught me to love the Scriptures, not as a judgmental book, but as one that demonstrated the love of God; District Superintendents The Reverends Eldridge Barkley, and Jack Montgomery, Jr., the first gave me my first church assignment, and the latter ushered me through my ordination process, Fr. Louie Vitalize who supported me, pastored me, encouraged me my first fifteen years here in San Francisco; And the father's of my faith: St. Francis of Assisi, teaching me to live simply, to love nature; John Wesley, founder of Methodism, a hero of mine, from whom I learned that Christ comes in many faces to humanity; St. Damien of Molokai, giving me a vocation to prostitutes and homeless street youth, always teaching that they come first, and are Christ present in our midst; and Peter Maurin, co-founder of the Catholic Worker, who taught that ministry is one on one, that for everyone to be fed, housed, clothed, each of us must do our part. We are to live simply, so that all may live. Father's Day is reminder that we need our dad's; And we are a part of the Village of Dad's called to nurture, teach, and love children and youth. Fr. River Damien Sims, sfw, D.Min., D.S.T. P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94109 www.temenos.org

[tshofner]

Training the Terrorists - An American Specialty

Of the two men pictured above, which would you prefer to have walking free in the world?  One was trained in Fort Benning Georgia at the School of the Americas (now Whinsec) and was later responsible for massacres, rape, torture and acts of genocide against the indigenous peoples of Guatemala.  The other was sentenced yesterday to 6 months for trying awaken your conscience to close this school of assassins.  I know my preference.

The kindly looking man with the warm smile is Fr. Louie Vitale, age 77.  Last November 20-22, as most Americans were thinking about what to cook up for Thanksgiving, Louie and over 10,000 others congregated outside Fort Benning as part of an action organized by the SOA Watch.  Besides Fr. Louie, two others were sentenced to the maximum of 6 months, Nancy Gwinn, 63, of Syracuse NY and Kenneth Hayes, 60, of Austin TX.  One other man, Michael Walli of the Washington DC Catholic Worker, refused to appear in court.

For those not familiar with the training provided by SOA or the illustrious man pictured above, here's a brief history lesson from Wikipedia:

The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC or WHINSEC), formerly the School of the Americas (SOA; Spanish: Escuela de las Américas) is a United States Department of Defense facility at Fort Benning near Columbus, Georgia in the United States. Between 1946 and 2001, the SOA trained more than 61,000 Latin American soldiers and policemen. A number of them became notorious for human rights violations, including generals Leopoldo Galtieri, Efraín Ríos Montt and Manuel Noriega, dictators such as Bolivia's Hugo Banzer, some of Augusto Pinochet's officers[1][2], and the founders of Los Zetas, a mercenary army for one of Mexico's largest drug trafficking organizations, the Gulf Cartel.[3][4] Luis Posada Carriles was educated there in 1961, although he never graduated.[5][6][7] Critics of the school argue that the education encouraged such internationally recognized human rights violating practices and that this continues in the WHINSEC. This is denied by the WHINSEC and its supporters who argue that the alleged connection is weak. According to the WHINSEC, the education now emphasizes democracy and human rights.[8][9] Intelligence training manuals On June 28, 1996 a Report issued by the Intelligence Oversight Board stated that «School of the Americas ... used improper instruction materials in training Latin American officers from 1982 to 1991. ... certain passages appeared to condone practices such as execution of guerillas, extortion, physical abuse, coercion, and false imprisonment.»[16] On September 20, 1996, the Pentagon released seven training manuals prepared by the U.S. military and used between 1987 and 1991 in Latin America and in intelligence training courses at the U.S. School of the Americas (SOA). The manuals were based in part on lesson plans used by the school as far back as 1982 and, in turn, based in part on older material from Project X.[2] According to Lisa Haugaard of School of the Americas Watch, these manuals taught repressive techniques and promoted the violation of human rights throughout Latin America and around the globe.[17] The manuals contain instructions in motivation by fear, bounties for enemy dead, false imprisonment, torture, execution, and kidnapping a target's family members. The Pentagon admitted that these manuals were a "mistake".[18] After this investigation the Department of Defense discontinued the use of the manuals, directed their recovery to the extent practicable, and destroyed the copies in the field. U.S. Southern Command advised governments in Latin America that the manuals contained passages that did not represent U.S. government policy, and pursued recovery of the manuals from the governments and some individual students.[19] Notably, David Addington and Dick Cheney retained personal copies of the training manuals.[20]  Participation In 2004, Venezuela ceased all training of Venezuelan soldiers at WHINSEC.[21] On March 28, 2006, the government of Argentina, headed by President Nestor Kirchner, decided to stop sending soldiers to train at WHINSEC, and the government of Uruguay affirmed that it will continue its current policy of not sending soldiers to WHINSEC.[22][23] In 2007, Oscar Arias, president of Costa Rica, decided to stop sending Costa Rican police to the WHINSEC, although later reneged, saying the training would be beneficial for counter-narcotics operations. Costa Rica has no military, but has sent some 2,600 police officers to the school.[24] In a letter to the Commandant of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), U.S. Army Col. Gilberto Perez, Bolivian President Evo Morales formally announced on February 18, 2008 that he will not send Bolivian military or police officers to attend training programs at the institute formerly known as the U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA).[25] Legislative action A bill to abolish the school with 134 co-sponsors was introduced to the House Armed Services Committee in 2005.[26] In June 2007 the McGovern/Lewis Amendment to shut off funding for the Institute failed by 6 votes.[27] This effort to close the Institute was endorsed by the non-partisan Council on Hemispheric Affairs who called the Institute a "black eye".[28]

The man pictured above next to Fr. Louie is Jose Efrian Rios Montt, leader of the military regime in Guatemala in 1982-1983, later de facto President.  The atrocities committed under his leadership included torture, rape, and genocide of entire villages in some of the most brutal and barbaric fashion.  After reading Sister Diana Ortiz' account of her abduction and torture one cannot help but want to close the SOA.  America has been supporting the most heartbreaking stories of repression in Latin America, using this school to train assassins who have the ability to pull out and infants fingernails in front of the mother, only to cause her agony prior to cutting her throat.  Is this the America that we want to project into the world.  Thanks to a whistleblower in Abu Gharib we know what atrocities we are capable of.  It's time to speak truth to power and say "no more torture".

Still today we struggle to get the records released on the CIAs involvement in torture in Guatemala.  The picture of Montt that I have pasted above is cropped from a larger picture that I encourage you to take a look at (and read the story associated with it), here.  Yes, it is who you think, the Gipper.  The dream man of the Republican party, but a nightmare to the indigenous peoples of Latin America. 

If torture and repression on the rule of dictators is something you find intolerable, as I do, please take some action.  I'm not asking anyone to get arrested or go to prison, unless you feel called to do so.  All I ask is that while Fr. Louie, Nancy and Kenneth are serving their time, send at least one thank you note to each.  I will post where to send correspondance as soon as that is availalbe.  Also, continue to support the closure of this school and the release of CIA records. 

Father Roy Bourgeois, a Roman Catholic priest and the founder of SOA Watch, the organization that works to close the School of the Americas said "Judge Faircloth has sentenced our sister and brothers to 6 months in federal prison for speaking the truth about the SOA/WHINSEC. We are saddened by the court's continued blindness and hardness of heart, but we are stronger than ever in solidarity. These sentences are symbolic of our nation's misdirection, but they are also great steps forward for our resistance movement. It is truer today, than ever before, that although they jail the resisters they have not, and cannot, jail the resistance!"