Don't Be Afraid of New Thngs

The pope-ification of the daily news reports has ended, and Pope Francis’ departure will bring the usual event amnesia that infects the national scene at the end of any news cycle.

But Pope Francis offered parting words, as reported by Joshua J. McElwee, that call us to remember: “Don’t be afraid of new things!”:

Jesus encountered hostility from people who did not accept what he said and did. . . For them, his openness to the honest and sincere faith of many men and women who were not part of God’s chosen people seemed intolerable. . . The disciples, for their part, acted in good faith, but the temptation to be scandalized by the freedom of God, who sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous alike, bypassing bureaucracy, officialdom and inner circles, threatens the authenticity of faith. Hence it must be vigorously rejected. For Jesus, the truly 'intolerable' scandal consists in everything that breaks down and destroys our trust in the working of the Spirit! God will not be outdone in generosity and he continues to scatter seeds. He scatters the seeds of his presence in our world, for 'love consists in this, not that we have loved God but that he loved us' first. That love gives us a profound certainty: We are sought by God; he waits for us.

It is this confidence that makes disciples encourage, support and nurture the good things happening all around them. To raise doubts about the working of the Spirit, to give the impression that it cannot take place in those who are not 'part of our group,' who are not 'like us,' is a dangerous temptation. Not only does it block conversion to the faith; it is a perversion of faith!

That admonition needs to be taken to heart everyone, including, as his demeanor during this visit would seem to indicate, himself.

Yet he ignores the 59% of Catholics a Pew Opinion Research Survey indicates favoring the ordination of women.

http://www.pewforum.org/2015/09/02/chapter-4-expectations-of-the-church/

And in Philadelphia the week before Francis’ visit, hundreds gathered for the Women’s Ordination Worldwide (WOW) Conference in Philadelphia in a "call to action for Catholics and to get Francis' attention". "We want more Catholics to see women's rights as a justice issue," the leader of the WOW conference, Miriam Duignan said.

The conference was scheduled just before the World Meeting of Families, where Pope Francis is speaking, The Pope has said the topic of ordination of women is a closed book.

I readily acknowledge that many women share pastoral responsibilities with priests, helping to guide people, families and groups and offering new contributions to theological reflection," the Pope wrote in in his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium. 

Despite this, he maintains that "The reservation of the priesthood to males, as a sign of Christ the spouse who gives himself in the Eucharist, is not a question open to discussion." 

Women are told they cannot be priests because they do not physically resemble Christ and therefore cannot stand on the altar to represent Him to the Church.

WOW says that the denial of female priesthood on physical grounds is damaging. 

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/pope.francis.says.its.a.closed.book.but.some.catholic.women.are.getting.ordained.anyway/65057.htm

Earlier last week as he visited in New York, actions by some representing 59% of Catholic, calling for the ordination of women got them arrested. Hostility from people within the power structure, not only of the Church but also civil authority, shows they do not accept or respect the opinion of this majority. As reported on September 25^th  in truth-out.org:

Seven activists have been arrested in a civil disobedience in Washington, DC, to call for Pope Francis to recognize the rights of women to be ordained. Among those arrested were four women priests who staged a die-in near St. Matthew's Church. We speak to Janice Sevre-Duszynska, an ordained priest with the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests.    

More at:  http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/32952-female-priests-stage-die-in-urging-pope-francis-to-open-priesthood-to-women

Anyone who denies that the Spirit is speaking through these actions runs the risk of falling into the “dangerous temptation” Francis mentions as giving “the impression that it cannot take place in those who are not 'part of our group,' who are not 'like us.'” And that not only “blocks conversion to the faith; it is a perversion of faith!”

Finally, a kind of coming back to the beginning, I extend an invitation to view a short video in which Kate McElwee, the wife of the journalist who wrote the article cited at the beginning of this blog post, appears. See it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjFw3dovvqk

Galatians 3, 28. . . Afraid of new things, indeed!

Considering Violent Crime An Epidemic

Today in Hartford, where there have been 25 homicides this year, John Dankosky on his daily WNPR program Where We Live, offered food for thought discussing violence as resulting from a contagion:

Violent crime in America has been dropping for years, reaching a point in 2012 that was roughly half of what it was in 1993. But that may be changing. The New York Times reported last week that violent crime was rising sharply in cities like Milwaukee and St. Louis. In Hartford, homicides jumped to 25 so far this year, up from 19 in 2014.

Read more at: http://wnpr.org/post/violence-contagious

Whenever cities experience violent crime increasing above the number of the previous year’s homicides, city administration, other authorities and the public there is often a tendency to see greater police presence as a solution. The commentary on Where we Live on which professional academics offer another element to consider in seeking solutions demands our attention. One of the comments went something like this:

When we see an outbreak of a contagious disease—think Ebola—all kinds of measures are put in place to contain it. Community hospitals in major cities are inundated with victims of shootings and other violence threatening the life of citizens, and yet there is no healthcare measures implemented.

On the TED Radio Hour, Gary Slutkin, an epidemiologist, an innovator in violence reduction and the founder/executive director of Cure Violence, addresses the question about increases in violence in cities:

“What if it could be treated like a communicable disease?” at:

http://www.npr.org/2015/02/06/379185265/why-should-we-treat-violence-like-a-contagious-disease

This is not the place to attempt a total summary of the commentary on these presentations. But in the light of national discussion on gun control and growing concern in our major cities, this important topic seems to call us to pay attention when seeking community responses.

Citizenry who call for greater police presence as a measure to prevent gun violence are looking for a way to assure safety for themselves and their children. Those who live in communities where gun violence is almost non-existent cannot imagine what it is to live in neighborhoods that can only be compared to a war zone. Community activists in our area have commented on the effect on children who walk through their neighborhood to school past crime scene tape, and even see residue of blood on the sidewalk, terming that effect as “Yellow Tape Syndrome.”

And it’s only natural for people in a war zone to seek militaristic solutions like law enforcement. Even in communities where law enforcement places a strong emphasis on community policing, city administrations, especially in an election year, want to be seen as addressing violence in their city. People see more police presence, no matter how that impacts the municipal budget, as a measure that will immediately reduce the number of homicides and thus make them feel safe and more confident about where they allow their children to play.

The recognition of the nature of violence as a kind of epidemic presents people with an added element to consider. If the commentary about violence as an epidemic is considered, the question arises: What is the part that we all play in bringing this element to the gun control debate? While consideration of this question can only lead to a long-term process toward a solution, it’s one that demands attention.

Videos of the Arrest of Freddie Gray, Mother and Son, State’s Attorney and Police Union: A Lesson in Looking Deeper

We have watched the videos of the arrest of Freddie Gray, the videographer of one, Kevin Moore, later arrested. We have seen the video of the mother beating on her son to get him away from the protest. We have heard Baltimore State’s Attorney Mosby’s announcement of the indictment of six police officers. And more recently we hear the denials by Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police of any wrong doing.

Thanks to David Horsey and the LA Times for the insightful political cartoon

There are human values at work in these videoed incidents viewed nationally and around the world. And perhaps we considered the first response that came into our heads as we watched. 

In the wake of the announcement of the indictment of 6 Baltimore police officers in the Freddie Gray case, the video of the mother forcing her son to leave the demonstration has great positive value, once we hear the interview of mother and son.

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2015/04/28/mom-caught-on-video-hitting-son-taking-part-in-baltimore-riots/

Toya Graham, having recently lost her job, says she always tries to show her 16-year-old son, Michael Singlton, what is right. She was seen on footage that went viral forcing him to leave the area of the protests, which later turned violent. Her actions brought debating commentary on the YouTube posting of the footage.

Whatever the opinion, the viewer hears in the interview that human values were at play here, not just a knee-jerk reaction to participation in the aftermath of the violence following the death of Freddie Gray.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/04/30/mother-son-baltimore-protests-confrontation-tv-viral/26628207/

We watch with relief as we witness the human values at play in the announcement of indictment following the work of the office of Baltimore’s States Attorney. The announcement yesterday by Baltimore City’s States Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby's that Gray had been illegally arrested and suffered a spinal injury while unrestrained in a police transport wagon led to joyous outbursts in many parts of a city that has been under heavy police and National Guard watch and a 10 p.m. curfew following Monday's rioting.

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2015/05/01/city-states-attorney-says-freddie-grays-arrest-illegal-has-enough-evidence-for-charges/

The police union made public a letter to States Attorney Mosby from Baltimore FOP’s president, Gene Ryan, requesting she appoint an independent prosecutor.

https://twitter.com/fop3/status/594147983731490820

Following the announcement of the indictments, Ryan has decried the State’s Attorney actions are “an egregious rush to judgment.”

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-riots/bs-md-fop-letter-20150501-story.html

And now the report that the arresting officer, Lt. Brian Rice, has had mental health issues adds a new element to the events surrounding Gray’s death. A Business Insider article reports that “Rice, who initially pursued Gray on a Baltimore street when Gray fled after Rice made eye contact April 12th, declared three years ago that he ‘could not continue to go on like this’ and threatened to commit an act that was censored in the public version of a report obtained by the AP from the Carroll County, Maryland, Sheriff's Office.”

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/indicted-baltimore-police-officers-has-mental-health-issues-2015-5#ixzz3YzSstnnt

There are differing reactions to the videos linked above. We view the video of the arrest of Freddie Gray in horror at the treatment shown, and have deep pain in imagining what happened in that police van as we here the detailed description of the indictment read by States Attorney Mosby.  We see mother and son, Toya and Michael, with varied emotional response—from “You go, Girl!” and “That boy needs to listen to his Mama” to “That kind of video gives  ammunition to those who say we don’t know how to act in public” and “He has a right to protest.”

In these human exchanges—Toya/Michael and Mosby/Police Union—there are differing points of view working against one another that, once  .

What we are witnessing is not a Baltimore thing. It’s an “us” thing. What we are judging as a Black-and-White thing is a human thing.

In these incidents we are struck with our own first reaction to what we see. Rush to judgment? Or perhaps what we have here is a view of the facts with a need to look deeper into the national plague of racial prejudice.

A Christmas Reflection on Truth, Light and the American Way

I'd thought of titling this post "Where is the Outrage. . .and the Criminal Convictions?" so that it would better reflect the nature of a "spat." But the spirit of the season got the best of me. As you see, in the mental wrestling match, the alternate title prevailed.

The season of Christmas does not seem an appropriate time for reports about the abuse of the dignity of the human person revealed in the Senate CIA investigation report just revealed this week. After all this is the time when the Christian world pauses to reflect on the birth of a child “whom shepherds guard and angels sing,” whom magi seek. This is a time for giving gifts expressing our love and friendship for those close to us. This is not a time for revealing the actions of a few policy makers that reveals the baser nature of the human spirit motivated in a time of retaliation by a misconstrued desire to seek the truth, no matter the means.

And in that spirit, there’s something missing from the media commentary by the talking-heads on TV and by the curmudgeons in our newspapers about the report on the CIA’s detention and interrogation programs by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence chaired by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California).

This article mentions some of the missing material redacted from the 528 page “summary version”:

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/27935-the-missing-photos-from-the-senate-report-on-cia-torture

Beyond that is the article in Democracy Now! about the 2008 Congressional Hearing on the “enhanced interrogation” methods:

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/6/27/addington_yoo_offer_little_in_house

Among other items , is the dialogue of Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida questioning Vice President Cheney’s chief of staff David Addington, as well as the House Judiciary Committee chair John Conyers questioning former Justice Department Attorney John Yoo during a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

Can anyone view the “dodgeball” responses in a Congressional hearing of White House staff so closely tied to developing the “enhanced interrogations methods” approved by the Bush Administration without a sense of outrage?

  

Some of us must have been outraged seeing the image of the signature of Donald Rumsfeld on a “torture memo” in December, 2002, with his noted comment: “However, I stand for 8-10 hours a day. Why is standing (by prisoners) limited to 4 hours?”

We all remember how repulsed we were at seeing the images of those held in Abu-Graib. We remember the furor of response such images caused in those days. But the obvious sidestepping of moral responsibility for the treatment of detainees at the hands of our U.S. government, the scape-goating of underlings like U.S. Army Private Lynndie England by issuing a sentence of 3-year imprisonment and dishonorable discharge—no matter how repugnant their actions—has not yielded one conviction of those responsible for the policy governing the treatment of detainees in the U.S. “war on terrorism.”

In 2007, many may remember the political commentary about the aftermath of the revelation of that White House policy. One commentary I remember was cogently captured in the political cartoon by Pat Oliphant on December 26, 2007.

In this season when we look forward to the revelation of the Light of the Nations, does not the seeking of light that will reveal the truth about how we humans treat one another seem to be a worthwhile pursuit? The good news presents to us shepherds seeking to “see this thing that has taken place” with simplicity (Lk 2:15) and men of learning coming from foreign lands to the new-born child “to do him homage” as the fulfillment of the promise revealed by their science  (Mt. 2:2). One lesson we might take away from these scriptural images—as well as from the more ancient practices upon which so much of our Christian tradition is built—is that, just as all nature reveals that the gradual return of increased daylight is a harbinger of a season of new life, we need to shine the light of the principles of human dignity on the events of our day and recognize the truth in that light.

Yea-Boo for Cardinal Burke

There are two sides to everything, even the ultra-conservative opinions of Cardinal Raymond Lee Burke. For background, see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-j-reid-jr/cardinal-raymond-burke_b_6154122.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

Some time ago, the noted theologian, Rev. Richard McBrien, in one of his columns Essays in Theology, commented on the impact of ultra conservatism in the Church on the continuum of ecclesiastical opinion. He pointed out that the prevalence of heavily right-leaning thought creates a situation where liberal Church thought becomes centrist. That’s a little like saying that overly conservative opinion appearing to be a little “right of Attila the Hun” tilts the balance so far right that the left seems center.

Such is the thought that comes to mind with the latest comment of Cardinal Raymond Lee Burke. His latest barrage about the leadership of Pope Francis leaving the church “like a ship without a rudder” adds to that continuum shift and should make happy Church people of a more liberal bent of mind.

Still it’s sad that this church administrator is such a staunch "hard-liner" that he cannot keep his comments intramural. The argument of episcopal solidarity should dictate his silence. That was the term applied in the criticism against Bishop Tom Gumbleton when he publicly defended victims of sex-abuse by priests, a pastorally-based defense leading to his being relieved of his pastorate of St. Detroit in 2006.

Burke is the former archbishop of St. Louis who was so concerned about diocesan assets that:  

In 2004 the then-Archbishop of the Archdiocese, Raymond L. Burke, determined to put into place a plan that would shield the assets of the Archdiocese from claims asserted by victims of what has become known as the priest scandals. Thousands of persons had filed lawsuits and continue to file lawsuits, claiming that they were victims of sexual abuse by priests of various Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the United States, including the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

http://www.saintstan.org/about.html

[And the battle over that policy led to the St Stanislaus Church battle as indicated in the link cited.]

It’s regrettable he couldn't be as pastorally concerned about protecting the victims whose lives were destroyed by abusing priests—after the example of Gumbleton—as he was about protecting diocesan assets.

http://www.snapnetwork.org/vatican_cardinal_burke_to_be_ousted_by_pope_abuse_victims_respond

Now Burke’s successor in St. Louis, Archbishop Carlson, is saddled with the problems Burke left behind.

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2014/01/st_louis_archdiocese_sex_offender_matrix.php

One wonders if B16, when he promoted Burke, had in mind a "kick him upstairs"—ala Cardinal Law—to Rome to head the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura as a means to remove him from that St. Louis maelstrom.

Burke's record on a number of issues can be read in  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Leo_Burke

Some will be thankful that the voice of Cardinal Burke will no longer be heard on the Vatican Congregation for Bishops, which recommends who gets to be bishop and lead a diocese. Perhaps now there might be a voice for the appointment of “centrist” bishops ala O’Brien.

There are those who wonder what Burke’s new position as Cardinal Protector of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta entails.  According to the National Catholic Reporter the position "has almost no responsibilities."  ^{http://time.com/3574166/pope-francis-demotes-cardinal-raymond-burke/}

In an attempt to soften this commentary with a little nostalgia, perhaps we could conclude this “Spat” with a comment reminiscent of a past recording. Back in 1950, Arthur Godfrey (in a comedic British accent) had a hit with the recording of a novelty song Yea-Boo [The “B” side of The Thing].  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5OsfJ6Zt4g

So for Burke’s extreme right opinion creating a move of progressive thought to an apparent center. Yea!

For his not observing “episcopal solidarity” and keeping his criticism of Pope Francis to himself. Boo!

Seems Cardinal Burke has forgotten the meaning of the motto on his coat of arms "Secundum Cor Tuum" (II Cor 9: 7). 

Suspicious Papal "Request" for Prayer and A Call to Fulfill Our Own Prophetic Role

Maybe I'm overly suspicious. Getting emails with a "please share" request often inspires me to suspect the motives of the sender. A recent email forwarded to me by a classmate inspired that suspicion about the original sender and a reflection on our call to a prophetic role in our world. 

In the build-up to the visit of Pope Francis to Albania last Sunday, September 21st, there were news reports of an assassination plot on the life of the pope because of his outspoken comments denouncing ISIS, the Islamist militant group seeking to establish a caliphate in the Middle East. He called ISIS an "unjust aggressor". 

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/09/17/isis-has-plan-to-assassinate-pope-and-plant-jihadi-flag-on-top-of-st-peters-basilica-in-vatican-city/

After the visit, many commentators including CNN commented on security measures taken during that visit and that suspected plot:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/21/world/europe/albania-pope/

As a result of these reports, concern for the pope's safety inspired an Internet proliferation of a papal "request" falsely attributed to Pope Francis:

Weep not for what you have lost, fight for what you have.
Weep not for what is dead, fight for what was born in you.
Weep not for the one who abandoned you, fight for who is with you.
Weep not for those who hate you, fight for those who want you.
Weep not for your past, fight for your present struggle.
Weep not for your suffering, fight for your happiness.
With things that are happening to us, we begin to learn that nothing is impossible to solve, just move forward. 

Prayer for Pope Francis? Yes, been praying for popes since the "Apostleship of Prayer" days in grade school, Pius XII in those days.

But this quoted "request" being attributed to Francis since 2011 is of doubtful origin. See more commentary on this at:

http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=889404

and

http://www.suscipedomine.com/forum/index.php?topic=6839.0

This purported papal "request" seems to have appeared first in September, 2011, being attributed to Francis coincidentally about the same time as it was included in a blog "Begin Each Day Better Than Today" by Herbert, a 21-year-old kidney transplant recipient conscious of the need to start a new life. See it at 

https://mylifeposttransplant.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/dont-cry-for-what-youve-lost-fight-for-what-you-have-left-dont-cry-for-what-has-been-dead-fight-for-what-is-born-in-you-dont-cry-for-who-has-left-fight-for-who-is-with-you-dont-cry-for/

So forwarding this email? No, because bogus attempts like this seem to be inspired by some misdirected personal desire on the part of the sender for some kind of "15 minutes of fame" by having an email invade cyberspace and create a huge proliferation of forwards in response to "please share." The email's author states the goal: "Our goal is to reach ten million Hail Mary's for Pope Francis." Noble as the desire to request prayer for the pope, attaining that goal with the misappropriated "request" would seem disingenuous.

Suggesting prayer for the pope? Yes, because we all have good reason to be supportive of one another with prayer, as well as with good wishes and affirmation.

Advocating for justice on planet, in nation, state and city? EVEN MORE! 

ON OTHER SUSPECTED ASSASSINATION PLOTS

In addition to this ISIS threat, others have been suspected of plotting against the life of Pope Francis as I previously wrote in this blog.

http://jacksspat.blogspot.com/2014/07/pope-francis-mafia-and-vatican-bank.html

A PROPHETIC ROLE, OUR JOB TOO 

"The guy is just asking for it," some would say about his pronouncements against economic injustice and war in the name of God, to name only a couple of controversial issues he's addressed. Not asking for it, he's just doing his job as a prophet. Truly a prophet in our day, Francis lifts his voice to be "God's mouthpiece for justice and peace." Equally, his "who am I to judge" statement in July, 2013, and his pronouncements on internal justice-related Church affairs, like reinforcement of previous papal statements opposing to the Spirit's call of women and married people to priesthood, may not please everyone. Yet he's doing his job calling a world to what the prophets before him called people to create for justice—a right relationship with God and others. He knows there will be those who wish him ill. And he probably is aware that even reform-minded Catholics pray for him. Notwithstanding, like those before him—the prophets, Jesus and more recently MLK—he's already said he's living with the reality of facing an early death.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2728759/I-2-3-years-left-live-Pope-Francis-speaks-time-death.html

Anyone who effectively and forthrightly speaks the truth to power can expect a life faced with the expectation of opposition, even death threats, from those at whom truth is directed. Would that we were all ready to do our job by following his prophetic example!

CONNECTICUT’S PAST HISTORY and THE PRESENT NEED: A Call for a Response to the Need for Housing for the Central American Children at the U.S. Border

Last week I got to thinkin'. . .Governor Malloy says that the Southbury facility is not adequate to the needs of the unaccompanied minors at our U.S. Border. There is what is being called “a humanitarian crisis” at the U.S. Border where over 52.000 children, mainly from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, have taken refuge from the violence in their countries.

While the media describes the situation, not much emphasis is placed on the causes. Since some of the causes are due to U.S. policy it would seem to be incumbent on the U.S. to offer a response.

No matter what the causes, this situation demands less talk and discussion and more action.

Each state, including Connecticut, is being asked to offer temporary housing for these children.

Connecticut, like other states, has a history of open-hearted response to humanitarian situations like the present one and the human resources to respond.

CONNECTICUT’S PAST HISTORY OF REFUGEE SERVICES

Has everybody forgotten? Well, now there's a group of immigrant activists who are calling attention to the past history of Connecticut regarding previous refugees.

According to a NY Times article in January 1990:

Today, 8,200 Southeast Asian refugees live in Connecticut, three-quarters of the total of 11,000 refugees who have settled in the state in the last 15 years, Mr. Nguyen said, citing statistics from the United States Office of Refugee Resettlement.

http://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/14/nyregion/for-refugees-from-southeast-asia-adapting-is-a-slow-road.html

Such is the track record of humanitarian response by Nutmeggers to a crisis resulting from U.S. Foreign Policy which many say led to a “pull out” from a ill-conceived war in South East Asia.

THE PRESENT SITUATION

Anyone aware of the news of the past few weeks has seen the reports:

So far this year, more than 52,000 children have been apprehended crossing the country's Southwest Border at the Rio Grande Valley, about twice the amount caught during the same time last year. Most of those children are coming from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, and many are fleeing violence in their home countries.

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-immigration-reforms-20140703,0,626802.story

Someone brought to my attention that, legally speaking, the unaccompanied minors have not been declared refugees as were the Southeast Asian "Boat People". Well. let's get them declared "refugees" if that's what it takes to get a response similar to the one in 1990.   

CAUSES

Here are some of the rational that witnesses to the validity of declaring these young people "refugees". 

What some term a “humanitarian crisis” others call a “foreign policy crisis” due to a flawed Latin American Foreign Policy.

In addition, the situation at the border results from the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, legislation passed in 2008. According to a recent article in the NY Times:

It was one of the final pieces of legislation signed into law by President George W. Bush, a measure that passed without controversy, along with a pension bill and another one calling for national parks to be commemorated on quarters.

“This is a piece of legislation we’re very proud to sign,” a White House spokesman, Tony Fratto, told reporters on Dec. 23, 2008, as the president put his pen to the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, named for a 19th-century British abolitionist. “This program has been very effective around the world in trying to stop trafficking in persons.”

Now the legislation, enacted quietly during the transition to the Obama administration, is at the root of the potentially calamitous flow of unaccompanied minors to the nation’s southern border.

More at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/08/us/immigrant-surge-rooted-in-law-to-curb-child-trafficking.html?_r=0

As a result, some say, over the years since 2008, word of the consequences of the Wilburforce Act has reached Central America. And families, interpreting the law as “if we get our children into the U.S., they’ll be able to stay” thereby avoiding the consequences of the violence in their country, have been sending unaccompanied children to the U.S. Border in increasing numbers in recent years.

According to a Miami Herald report in March of this year:

A report issued in November by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) showed the sharp increase. Every fiscal year between 2004 and 2011, the report said, the number of children detained by immigration authorities averaged about 6,800. But apprehensions jumped to more than 13,000 children in fiscal year 2012 and to more than 24,000 in fiscal year 2013.

Up to 120 unaccompanied youths are arriving each day, and some estimates suggest that the annual number could soon reach 60,000, according to a Feb. 21 story in the Los Angeles Times.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/03/29/4027358/the-number-of-unaccompanied-minors.html#storylink=cpy

And reported estimates seem to indicate that the numbers will continue to grow:

Federal officials estimate as many as 90,000 children have entered the country illegally this year. Most are being held in Texas or elsewhere in the American Southwest. These sites cannot provide adequate care while the children, detained under the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, are interviewed and processed for possible deportation back to their countries of origin.

More at: http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-ctm-ct-denies-illegal-migrant-children-southbur-20140715,0,114522.story

And

On March 7, 2013, President Obama signed the reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), restoring this country’s most important tool to combat human trafficking.  This reauthorization reasserts the U.S. Government’s leadership role in the fight against modern-day slavery and was passed as an amendment to the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA), which strengthens protections for women threatened by domestic violence.

 See more at: http://www.endslaveryandtrafficking.org/trafficking-victims-protection-reauthorization-act#sthash.ROPy5i6B.dpuf

Now this year:

President Barack Obama is facing a clash with Democrats in Congress over proposals to water down a law intended to combat human trafficking in order to speed up the repatriation of unaccompanied children crossing the US southern border from Central America.

More at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/14/obama-democrats-border-crisis-wilberforce-law-amendment

“VIOLENCE IN CENTRAL AMERICA”

The media tends to suggest that the cause of the migration is the push of the violence created by the criminal nature of the people of these countries. 

An SOA Watch bulletin sheds light on error of the manner of thinking and lays responsibility for the border crisis at the feet of U.S. Foreign Policy in Latin America:

The heartbreaking stories emanating from the immigration detention centers near the border have rightly been making the news. However the U.S. media has largely ignored the real lessons from the increasing number of Unaccompanied Minors being detained near the U.S. border. This “humanitarian crisis” has not been caused by the criminal nature of the people of Central America, irresponsible parenting, or the clichéd pursuit of the “American Dream”. Children and their families are coming to the U.S. to survive. At its root, they are too often trying to escape the devastating consequences of past and present U.S. foreign policy in the region.

The number of children attempting to cross the border into the United States has risen dramatically in the last five years: In FY 2009, roughly 6,000 unaccompanied minors were detained near the border. Credible estimates project that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will detain as many as 74,000 unaccompanied minors by the end of FY 2014. Approximately 28% of the children detained this year are from Honduras, 24% from Guatemala, and 21% from El Salvador.

U.S. SECURITY FUNDING IN CENTRAL AMERICA for “DRUG WAR”

Since 2008, the U.S. has intensified the “drug war”, spending over $800 million in security aid to Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador through the “Central American Regional Security Initiative” (CARSI) as well as millions more in bilateral military and police aid to each individual country. Yet Central America has faced increasing and extreme levels of violence during this time. The rule of law has deteriorated as a result of the battles between drug cartels as well as the corrupt and cartel-infiltrated state security forces. Extrajudicial executions, torture, violence against women, the targeting of grassroots and indigenous leaders, and other human rights violations have risen since the U.S. dramatically increased funding and training of Central American security forces, especially in post-coup Honduras.

By every conceivable measure, including the availability of drugs, mass incarceration, mass immigrant detention, and the ineffective use of tax money in the U.S.; homicide and violence rates, corruption, the overall power of drug cartels, economic activity, and migration rates in Central America – the "war on drugs" has been an abject and costly failure. For the sake of these detained children and their families, it is time for the U.S. government to take accountability for its past and current role in contributing to the root causes of migration from Central America

HONDURAS

The particularly severe increases in Honduran migration are a direct result of the June 28, 2009 SOA-graduate led coup, the abusive policies of the resulting Honduran regimes, and the shameful U.S. support for these corrupt governments that emerged after dubious elections in 2009 and 2013.

EL SALVADOR

Additional U.S. aid, even non-security aid for gang prevention, microcredit and other "economic development" programs, although well-meaning, amount to little more than putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. The U.S. should subscribe to the principle of "do no harm first" before attempting to solve the problems of others through increased military aid or small-scale economic development when the structural and political considerations of migratory root causes are far more determinative. For example, U.S. insistence on El Salvador opening up its new Family Agriculture Plan to huge agricultural multinationals like Monsanto in order to obtain Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) funding is not only outrageous, but more importantly, part of the problem.

More at: http://www.soaw.org/

POSSIBLE RESPONSES TO THE SITUATION

The resources for a response are the similar to those utilized in the Southeast Asian Refugee crisis: people of good will working together toward as solution.

CENSUS DATA QUICK FACTS

Among the total population of 3,596,080 in Connecticut [2013:http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/09000.html],

the 14.3 % of Connecticut population age 5 or older counted as Spanish-dominant population in the metropolitan areas of over 500,000 in Connecticut is 325,665. 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2010 American Community Survey Spanish-dominant population and proportion of total population for metropolitan areas with a total population 500,000 or more

Metropolitan area	Total population	Persons 5 or older	Spanish speakers 5 or older	% of Spanish-dominant speakers
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT MSA	918,714	861,668	118,034	13.7%
New Haven-Milford, CT MSA	862,989	814,466	95,392	11.7
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT MSA	1,212,956	1,147,144	112,239	9.8%

Even extrapolating from that over age 5 demographic set, the number of adults in Connecticut whose language in Spanish reaches well over 2000 (the number of children the U.S. General Services Administration is seeking to resettle in Connecticut).  

The median income of the families in this population sampling may be low, and they may not have the means nor the space to house the children of Central America.

But, at the same time, families of more adequate means could offer housing to the children, and Spanish-speaking families could serve as a resource for language-interpretation for those families who would offer temporary shelter for the children.

The point of this is:

1.     There is what is being called “a humanitarian crisis” at the U.S. Border where over 52.000 children, mainly from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, have taken refuge from the violence in their countries.

2.     No matter what the causes, this situation demands less talk and discussion and more action.

3.     Each state, including Connecticut, is being asked to offer temporary housing for these children. It's heartening to see that the force of public opinion is forcing a rethinking of the ways Connecticut can respond to this need by considering using other State facilities for housing. 

4.     Connecticut, like other states, has a history of open-hearted response to humanitarian situations like the present one and the human resources to respond.