Bernie and the Holy Father

By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News

27 September 15

just finished watching Pope Francis speak truth to power before a joint session of Congress. I, like Bernie Sanders, was filled with hope as the Holy Father spoke of the accomplishments of Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton. While I also deeply admire Dr. King and Abraham Lincoln, it's not as frequent for world leaders to hold up the lives of Day and Merton.

When I was a young man searching for what I believed in, I met Phillip Berrigan. During preparations for one of the demonstrations I participated in with Berrigan and the Atlantic Life Community, he referred me to a book by Merton that I have to this day, “New Seeds of Contemplation.” I have never been a very religious person, like Merton I have always been searching for my mission in life and to be honest have probably not done a very good job of it. In “New Seeds of Contemplation,” Merton wrote: “Instead of hating the people you think are war-makers, hate the appetites and disorder in your own soul, which are the causes of war. If you love peace, then hate injustice, hate tyranny, hate greed – but hate these things in yourself, not in another.”

My commitment to nonviolence is based in those beliefs. I always try to take a step back and look at what another’s motives might be. Even if I believe another person is wrong, I try to understand that they may have motives they believe are just. I don’t always succeed, and have been known to place blame on people I disagree with, but Merton’s writing has influenced me to not always succumb to that weakness.

Thomas Merton himself called out evil in people. In a very famous quote from a letter he wrote to Ernesto Cardinal, a famous liberation theologian, Merton said, “The world is full of great criminals with enormous power, and they are in a death struggle with each other. It is a huge gang battle, using well-meaning lawyers and policemen and clergymen as their front, controlling papers, means of communication, and enrolling everybody in their armies.”

Merton saw the same injustice that Senator Sanders sees. I am drawn to support Senator Sanders because I believe he is committed to fighting for social justice. When Bernie went to Liberty College he told the crowd of mostly Evangelical Christians that, despite their differences, they could find common ground on issues of injustice. It is a rare thing for a leader to recognize the good in the opposition. That is why Senator Sanders has never run a negative ad in his political career. It is the greed, the tyranny, and the injustice that Senator Sanders is campaigning against, not the individual opponent. Even when Bernie calls someone out, as he has with Donald Trump, he calls out the actions not the individual.

I was not surprised when Bernie was pleased to hear the Pope praise the life’s work of Dorothy Day, the founder of Catholic Worker movement. I have worked with and have many friends who are Catholic Workers. Dorothy Day’s work is continuing today through some of the best people I have ever known. They dedicate their lives to serving and living in community with the poor. They also fight for peace and justice in their activism.

So when Bernie wrote, “The fact that the pope singled out Dorothy Day – a fierce advocate in the fight for economic justice ­­– as one of the leaders he admires most is quite remarkable. We are living in a nation which worships the acquisition of money and great wealth, but turns its back on those in need. We are admiring people with billions of dollars, while we ignore people who sleep out on the streets. That must end,” I gained even more faith in the man I hope will be our next President.

When Pope Francis told Congress, “If politics must truly be at the service of the human person, it follows that it cannot be a slave to the economy and finance. Politics is, instead, an expression of our compelling need to live as one, in order to build as one the greatest common good: that of a community which sacrifices particular interests in order to share, in justice and peace, its goods, its interests, its social life. I do not underestimate the difficulty that this involves, but I encourage you in this effort,” I thought, well the Pope just endorsed Bernie.

Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian, and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott will be spending a year covering the presidential election from Iowa.

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