People’s History: Intergenerational Connection
On September 12th, 2020 the People's History of Vatican II project brought together elders Dora Saavedra and Fred Dabrowski as well as Re/Generators Nadia Busekrus, Nichole Carrubba, and myself (Kascha Sanor). In this week's reflection we’ll hear from Nadia about how she came to be involved in Call To Action, what’s at stake, and a few highlights she’d like to share from our time together.
Group photo of the conversation taken somewhere between asking how to find our people and learning the real reason we eat donuts after mass! Clockwise from top left: Nichole, Kascha, Fred, Nadia, and Dora
My name is Nadia and I am a social-work student living in Portland. I grew up as a member of St. John Vianney parish in Hawaii, where I experienced church as a place of community, warmth, and connection. Now, as an adult, I have become aware of a different side of the Church — its hierarchy, political nature, and affiliations with empire and oppression. This breaks my heart, as I realize that the Church in which I felt such comfort and belonging is so far from perfect.
Finding Call To Action gave me hope and a new vision for what Church and Catholicism can be. Last weekend I had the opportunity to chat with two elders, Dora and Fred, along with two of my fellow young-adult “Re/Generators” — Kascha and Nichole. Our conversation touched on a tension that all of us wrestle with: we cherish the beauty of relationship and community that is possible in the Church, but our hearts break at the power-grasping and fear-based exclusion practiced by many in the Church's hierarchy. I know that critique of Church hierarchy is sharp, but I believe it is warranted. In just the past four months, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops as well as local bishops making individual statements have:
Failed to make a meaningful statement condemning racism and police brutality in America
Cast aspersions upon the Movement for Black Lives because it is LGBTQ+ affirming
Spread misinformation about coronavirus and its causes and cures
Made incredibly racist comments about coronavirus' disproportionate effects on People of Color
Put out statements in support of homophobic and transphobic Supreme Court decisions that deny rights to the LGBTQ+ community
Stayed silent as Attorney General Barr, who has recently re-deployed the Federal Death Penalty and executed five individuals in the past month alone, is given an award at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast
Propagated "pro-life" rhetoric that is "pro-birth" alone while failing to acknowledge the variety of other pro-life issues including rights to immigration and asylum seeking, rights to affordable housing and healthcare, rights to freedom of sexual and gender expression, and more
My heart continues to break as I see the way that US Church leaders perpetuate oppression and exclusion, seeming to guide the Church in ways that Jesus would have decried. But in the midst of my frustration, my conversation with Dora, Fred, Kascha and Nichole was a hopeful coming-together that fed my soul (even though a virtual gathering meant we couldn't feast on Kascha's homemade bread!). A few of the most life-giving moments for me included:
Hearing Fred affirm that women and LGBTQ+ Catholics deserve better from the Church. As someone who feels gaslighted by the Church — told that I am wrong in thinking that queer and non-male Catholics are worthy of honor, celebration, and ordination — it was incredibly healing and refreshing to encounter an ally like Fred.
Listening to Dora, who has been threatened with excommunication for her advocacy and inclusion efforts, share her continued love for the Church even as she critiques it. She voiced that the hierarchy of the Church operates more like a business than a compassionate community, but believes that by speaking truth to power, we, the Body of Christ, can change that.
Dreaming together with Dora and Fred, as well as my fellow Re/Generators, about what Church could be, and considering the possibility that maybe it looks like a new Church that is truly catholic — universal and inclusive of all.
Growing up, one of the most meaningful elements of Church for me was the family I became part of — all the hānai (Hawaiian for adopted) aunties and uncles and cousins that made up my Church community. After all, isn't that what Christianity’s all about? I think the Good News is that Jesus invites us to be part of a Body that is built on love and welcome for all people. In our People’s History of Vatican II gathering, it was wonderful to talk about our broken but beautiful Church and, simultaneously to embody community and Christ in our coming-together across generations and regions of the country.
I found such joy and renewal in my conversations with Nichole, Kascha, Fred and Dora. And I am so excited to be dreaming into being with them new ways of being the Church. I will leave you with a few of my favorite points shared in our conversation (paraphrased in italics) and my own further reflections:
Power is fleeting. We cannot chase after it the way that many Church leaders do. We have to figure out how to be Church regardless of whether we have that institutional power or not. Our power is in our togetherness; we cannot do anything alone.
Be willing to break the unjust rules. We may want to choose fundamentalism and un-questioning rule-following because the world is a scary place and we think that abiding by all the rules just right will save us. It cannot save us! We have to resist that which excludes others.
Sometimes our lives keep moving and we just have to have the important conversations en route. We will never have it all together, never have learned and experienced enough to have the perfect conversation or plan. We need to move forward as best we can with what we have right now and cultivate a Church that is truly rooted in Christ's love for all people.
