The Silent Gospel

The following was the front page article in August edition of The American Catholic, an independent, lay-administered Catholic periodical that participates in the gospel mission of the church.

The Silent Gospel

M. Doretta Cornell, RDC

I am always on the lookout for signs of hope: for indications that the Gospel is taking hold in our time. I especially look for signs of what I think of as the "silent gospel," the work of the Spirit moving among people who may not acknowledge Jesus or his gospel as the source of their lives and work, and yet are working to bring about the Reign of God that Jesus describes for us.

Some signs of this silent gospel are shifts of consciousness toward the all-inclusive love that Jesus calls us to: the movement to abolish slavery, for instance; or the growing recognition of women as full adults with rights equal to those of men; the increasing awareness that violence will never bring about true peace.

One source of this kind of hope is my weekly participation as a member of a Non-Governmental Organization at the United Nations. Here I have been introduced to the work of people who share a vision of a world in which all have the necessities for a fruitful life and live in harmony with each other and with the rest of the living community that constitutes our Earth.

When the United Nations appears in the news, it is usually to note some resolution by or disagreement among the members of the Security Council. However, the much larger work of the U.N., I am discovering, is focused on ending the causes of poverty and war and providing a setting in which people and the Earth itself can flourish.

As I read U.N. documents, I see the Gospel in their words. In the Millennium Declaration, for instance, the 189 member-nations of the General Assembly pledged to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality, improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and develop a global partnership for development, by 2015. These goals clearly reflect the basic themes of Catholic Social Teaching from Rerum Novarum (1891) through recent papal statements.

Much of this humanitarian work -- and of the monitoring what governments are actually doing and what is still needed -- is accomplished by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), sometimes in collaboration with official U.N. organizations, but more usually on their own. Some of these are well known, such as Doctors Without Borders and Amnesty International. However, I was surprised to learn that many of the 1533 NGOs are Catholic groups. Some might be expected, such as Catholic Relief Services, Pax Christi, and Caritas International. A number of religious congregations of sisters and priests also are or belong to NGOs.

Besides these communities' work among the poor peoples of developing countries, being NGOs allows them to bring the concerns of people who often are not represented in their governments to the attention of U.N. organizations. NGO representatives also participate on committees that draft resolutions and prepare recommendations for action.

Often this is a slow, invisible process of trying to draw attention to needs and injustices, but occasionally it is more rapid. Last winter, for instance, Sr. Lucianne Siers, OP, director of Partnership for Global Justice, a collaboration of several religious communities, went to Jordan to visit Iraqi Dominican Sisters. She was appalled to find women living in the airport, unable to return to Iraq, and unable to enter Jordan. (Jordan has already taken in 750,00 Iraqi refugees; Jordan's total population is only about 5.5. million.) The Iraqi sisters shared their own stories with Sr. Lucianne, and reported that over 4 million Iraqi people were refugees, about half within Iraq and most of the rest in neighboring countries.

When Sr. Lucianne returned to New York, she told anyone who would listen about what she had learned. Someone suggested that she attend a briefing about refugees. The U.N. officials were moved by her report and asked her to write up her findings for them.

Right from the first event I attended, part of the UN observance of International Women's Day, I found signs of hope. Ms. Betty Makoni, for example, spoke of her work with the Girl Child Network, which began as a girls' club in Zimbabwe. It has grown to 500 clubs serving 30,000 girls. The girls learn to "know their own worth," as Ms. Makoni phrases it, and to speak and act against practices and taboos that keep women from full participation in society. The girls not only learn speaking skills, they organize and run the clubs, gaining valuable social skills. Experience has shown that such education of young women also leads to economic security for their families and better lives for their future children.

In a briefing about the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests, I learned that education and concerted efforts are making a difference in seemingly impossible circumstances. Developed countries have begun to increase the size of their forested lands, even as deforestation continues to increase in developing countries. Work with indigenous populations, however, is yielding methods of preserving forests in developing countries while providing the necessities of life. In the Amazon region, non-indigenous communities destroy forests at a rate of 24% a year; in indigenous peoples' territories, the rate is 1%, much of this on the edges where other populations are encroaching.

During the week before the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was presented to the General Assembly for approval, a briefing explained the work being done to allow persons with disabilities to have access to education and otherwise to participate in society. This work ranges from changing attitudes to ensure respect for each person to providing simple needs. "Sandals" for hands and knees allow a group of Africans with a condition that prevents them from walking erect to move among other people. A personal assistant for a highly educated paralyzed woman allows her to continue to work. In developed countries such supports have long been readily available, but developing countries are now also recognizing the benefits of making each person able to function within the society.

Most recently, I learned of groups like the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) and SEEDS in India and Sri Lanka, which provide micro-financing to give very poor people access to energy. These institutions not only provide small loans but also encourage development of technology such as miner's hats for midwives working in areas without electricity and solar generators for industrial buildings far from an electrical grid. They also provide instruction in the use and maintenance of the equipment, technical support, and skills in financial planning and practices. Learning Sessions such as this one provide practical information and advice to people interested in bringing similar projects to their communities.

As an NGO representative, I can also attend some sessions at which governments report on their efforts to meet General Assembly recommendations. At one such session, several nations reported on actions they were taking to improve employment, especially among the youngest and oldest segments of their populations. Some nations spoke of conditions needed to provide sustainable work, including improved infrastructure and social services. Others recounted specific actions; Japan, for instance, had instituted "Job Cafes" to prepare young people for available jobs, and was including job training in education. Kazakhstan reported that micro loans to people in rural areas were increasing small enterprises, especially by women, and that free education and higher education were attracting a large percentage of students. Argentina reported a new program establishing minimum wages, at 300% of previous level, for the poorest people.

Besides the individual accomplishments, the most prevalent sign of hope in all of these is the growing understanding of the need for inclusion. Although the UN was established by and for governments, this circle has been opened under Secretary-General Kofi Annan to include indigenous peoples, non-governmental organizations and, most recently, transnational corporations. This openness comes from recognizing that only those whose voices are heard, and whose needs, experience, and expertise are considered, will be able to participate in sustained change. Treaties, aid programs, and other efforts established without consulting all those affected do not suffice and often waste valuable resources.

Underlying all the efforts I have observed are the very Christian principles of the sacredness of each individual and the importance of community. Increasing understanding of the interconnectedness of humans with non-human components of our world is fostering collaborative projects that promote human well-being in ways that also preserve and restore the Earth. And so these actions bring the world closer to living in harmony with God's revelation in creation as well as in the Gospel imperative to "Love your neighbor." Increasingly, the work I see being done demonstrates that the words of Jesus call us not just to personal virtue, but also to law and social practices that foster inclusive respect and mutual assistance -- love of neighbor that truly gives life.