tRINITY hOUSE RENOVATION BEGINS SEPT. 18th, LOVE WILLING! Once upon a time, Lita Benavidez bought a triangular-shaped piece of land and the two houses on it from her brother. She was 21 years old and her father who lived on site wanted the house to be used for good purposes. When Joe Pino wanted to marry Lita, she pointed out that the marriage deal included her house and her father. So they got hitched in 1963, began to expand the structure of the front house to make space for children, and eventually hitched the two houses together. That was a good use of property—raising a family in the South Valley in the late 20th century. The Community of Damien of Molokai found another good use of this house and bought it in 1994. The Damiens took care of people dying with AIDS from 1995 to 2001, including men and babies with their mothers. In 1996, a construction crew called “Creative Renovation Empowering Women” fixed up the back house for the AIDS patients. The front house needed renovation as well, but the Damiens no longer needed this property for their mission. When their Board of Directors noticed (thanx to Wanda!) that a new intentional community was being formed in the tradition of the Catholic Worker movement, they knew what to do. Trinity House Catholic Worker, Inc. soon became the next organism to responsibly use this property to fulfill the wishes of Lita's father—the triangular land and angular maze-like house at the corner of Euchariz & Five Points would continue to be used for goodness' sake—feeding, housing, and clothing those in need. When we moved in last year, the front house still needed massive reconstruction. Catholic Workers use the front house's kitchen to regularly feed more than 50 people per meal at our community picnics. I'm extremely grateful for the six dozen volunteers who have helped out here during our first year, and the three dozen donors who have helped us pay the bills that come with running a house of hospitality that is our home. While we beautify the rest of the front house, we can expand that kitchen. (Each side of the building has four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen.) All Workers, Guests and volunteers have expressed joy over the promise of property improvements now set to begin on September 18th. Labor will be free, thanks to Youth Build—a charter school where the students get paid (through independent funding) for their construction. Supplies to finish the front house (including windows) will cost at least $3,000. We still need 3 to 5 more Catholic Workers to join Trinity House before we can take in any more Guests. Catherine is currently our only Guest, (Catherine is involved with Off Center Art Studio, and one of her paintings appears on page three of this newsletter.) We expect the core Workers to be committed to the vision of the Catholic Worker movement, and to spend at least a year at Trinity House. Meanwhile we are able to offer free clothing and food to random folks wandering by daily. On Thursdays, anyone can do their laundry here, and take a shower. Fridays, we serve a free lunch in front of UNM's bookstore, and Sundays' community picnics (vegetarian soup, fruit salad, tea and meat sandwiches) are at 10th & Central. We're also happy that our monthly Catholic Worker Roundtable Discussions resume in September. Please see the calendar on the last page of this newsletter for more information! ============================================= WHERE IS THE WAR? A boy named Phillip, raised during the Great Depression, says he deeply respected “authority” in his youth. This son of working class heroic farm folk (his parents are Tom & Frida) retrospectively describes his childhood view: “I have no idea how the police undermine democracy and justice. Nor do I know, yet, that the state is the enemy, not the champion, of ordinary people. Much later I will learn through hard experience that laws are written to protect power and privilege; not to make life more secure for people like Thomas and Frida Berrigan.” Clearly, those who run the government at its highest levels show no preferential option for the poor via their professional work. The state’s essence contradicts Catholic Social Teaching as well as Christ’s basic message of justice, love and joy. But the vast majority of people go along with the game, following laws, paying taxes, voting for “better” candidates (or the “lesser of two evils”), etc. because the states’ powers have swindled us. They masterfully appeal to the average human conscience (manipulating us into following along) despite the state’s primary motivation to maintain social control based on fear of beautiful human freedom exercised by folks with different social values. America’s potential for greatness and loving generosity is subverted by certain mainstream cultural values: materialism and individualism. These values are enforced via international agreements like NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT and the FTAA, and codified in laws regarding borders and “mandatory” income taxes to feed a government that fails to uphold altruism felt by the general population. We know that the Zapatista movement was a direct reaction to NAFTA, and the migration of people from the South into the USA is a direct response to the immorality exemplified by NAFTA, CAFTA & the FTAA. People are trying to take care of their families and their own needs for justice and decent wages, often via the direct action of crossing the border without governmental permissions, and have been doing so for a long time in North America. But suddenly, the issues of immigration are in the limelight just in time to distract the masses from more serious human abuse issues in which the USA’s government is guilty of crimes against humanity, tyranny, warmongering, outrageous deceptions of the public, etc. Want to start another expensive, unjustified war of aggression and continue to dominate the global market to the benefit of the wealthiest people in the wealthiest countries? Then divert media attention to other controversies so you can more easily distract the public from their responsibility to create greater security and justice for the poor. ¿Dónde Está la Guerra? Un chico de nombre Phillip, que creció durante la gran depresión, dijo que durante su juventud él tuvo mucho respeto por la "autoridad". Este hijo de clase obrera y granjero heróico (sus padres Tom y Frida) describe retrospectivamente su punto de vista en su niñez “No tengo la menor idea como la policía menosprecia la democracia y la justicia ni se aún como el estado es el enemigo y no el campeón de la gente ordinaria, luego aprenderé por las duras experiencias que las leyes se escriben para proteger el poder y el privilegio; y no para cuidar la seguridad de la gente como Tomas y Frida Berrigan.” Claramente, las autoridades que gobiernan, en los altos niveles, dado su trabajo profesional no muestran la opción preferencial por los pobres. La esencia del estado contradice la Enseñanza Social Católica asi como el Mensaje básico de Cristo sobre la justicia, el amor y la alegría. Pero la inmensa mayoría de las personas sigue el juego de las leyes, pagando impuestos, votando por los mejores candidatos o por los menos malos etc. porque los poderes del estado nos han engañado. Ellos motivan magistralmente la conciencia humana (manipulándonos para que los sigamos) además de la motivación primordial del estado del control social basado en el miedo de la bella libertad humana ejercitada por gente con valores diferentes. El potencial de América por su grandeza y amorosa generosidad es subversiva por valores culturales convencionales del materialismo e individualismo. Estos valores son reforzados por los acuerdos internacionales de NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT y FTAA que se codifican en leyes respecto a fronteras e impuestos “obligatorios” que alimentan un gobierno que falla en apoyo a los valores altruistas de la gente. Sabemos que el movimiento Zapatita era una reacción directa a NAFTA y a la migración del Sur a EEUU porque iba a empeorar este fenómeno, como re-acción de estos acuerdos internacionales e inmorales. Una necesidad justa para que la gente cuide de su familia es un sueldo decente, los pobres se oblígan a cruzar la frontera sin los permisos legales, esto lo han hecho por años. Pero de repente este asunto de la migración se convirtió en escándalo muy candente para distraer justo a tiempo toda la propaganda de asuntos más graves de abusos humanos, crímenes contra la humanidad, invasión bélica, tiranía, engaños y atroces al pueblo etc. en los que el gobierno de EEUU es culpable. ¿Se quiere empezar otra injustificada y costosa guerra agresiva y continuar el dominio del Mercado mundial que beneficia a las personas ricas de los pais es mas ricos? Entonces hay que enfocar los medios en otras controversias para distraer al pueblo de su responsabilidad de crear la seguridad y la justicia para el pobre. ================================ SPENDING 7 TRILLIION BUCKS IN 7 DECADES By Bud Ryan All the money and resources spent on warfare has been stolen from the poor, many who have died from hunger. Stolen from those who have died from lack of shelter. Stolen from those who have never come close to realizing their full potential as God's children because they never got the educational opportunities that some of us take for granted. Please let us not deceive ourselves into thinking that there have been no more nuclear weapons fatalities after those in Hiroshima and Nagasaki,,, or in the cancer deaths of the Native Americans who mined the uranium, or even, ironically, the deaths of some of the people who have designed and manufactured these weapons of annihilation. Because with the amount of money spent on nuclear weapons from the start of the Manhattan Project until now, at over 7 trillion dollars, there are many more deaths to account for. That 7 trillion dollars has been stolen from those who never lived up to their full spiritual potential…We must find ways to make amends to God and to each other. In pursuit of making amends I ask you to join Pax Christi New Mexico on August 6th up in Los Alamos. We are not pointing fingers at anyone, or any group, but are saying that we are all guilty, that we all must atone for the sin of nuclear weapons, and altogether work towards their abolition. We are taking a Biblical approach with our Witness for Peace. In the Book of Jonah, God asks Jonah to go to preach repentance in the city of Ninevah. Jonah tells them that they must wear sackcloth and ashes as a sign of contrition to God. The people obey, even the King of Nineveh dons sackcloth, sits in ashes, and proclaims that every person and every animal must wear these symbols of repentance. Do any followers of Jesus really believe, deep in their hearts, that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, would condone nuclear weapons for one minute? Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen has said, “Our nuclear war preparations are the global crucifixion of Jesus. What we do to the least of these, through our nuclear war planning, we do to Jesus. This is his teaching. We cannot avoid it and we should not try. Our nuclear weapons are the final crucifixion of Jesus, the extermination of the human family with whom he is one.” You may ask yourself what does nuclear abolition have to do with Trinity House Catholic Worker and our work to house and feed the homeless. Something to ponder would be why are there so many homeless people? Why do at least 10,000 people die each day of starvation? If the USA had not spent so much money on nuclear weapons how many of those people could have been saved? With the imminent start of pit production (cores of nuclear weapons) to begin in Los Alamos in 2007, with the corresponding colossal cost, how many more of our sisters and brothers will die because we as a country seem to have misplaced priorities? Something we all need to think about. Bud Ryan delivered the core of this message to an audience in Las Cruces, New Mexico in June 2005. Trinity House received it’s name because the first two meetings to organize the House in 2004 were on Trinity Sunday and Trinity Nuclear Test Day (July 16th ). El Gasto de 7 trillones de Dólares en 7 Décadas. Por Bud Ryan Todo el dinero y los recursos (gastados en armamento para guerras) ha sido robado a l@s que se mueren de hambre. Robado a l@s que han muerto por falta de techo. Robado de l@s que nunca llegaran a darse cuenta de sus potenciales, como hij@s de Dios, por su falta de acceso a una educación que otr@s damos por hecho. Por favor, no caigamos en la trampa de creer que no ha habido otros desastres nucleares desde Hirosima o Nagasaki...No nos olvidemos de las muertes de l@s indígenas norteamericanos que trabajaron en las minas de uranio; ni de las mujeres, irónicas, las personas que diseñaron y produjeron estas armas de aniquilación. No nos podemos olvidar de las muertes que aun quedan por contar debido al "Proyecto Manhattan"...el cual, desde su comienzo hasta ahora, lleva gastado cerca de 7 trillones de dólares en armas nucleares. 7 trillones de dólares han sido robados a esas personas que jamás llegaran a experimentar su máximo potencial espiritual... Debemos encontrar la forma de satisfacer a Dios y a nosotr@s mism@s. Como una forma de acercamiento, te proponga que lo unas a Pax Christi de Nuevo Mexico el 6 de Agosto en Los Álamos. No queremos señalar con el dedo a ningun@ individuo o grupo, pero si decimos que tod@s somos culpables de la existencia y proliferación de la industria nuclear y es nuestro deber trabajar junt@s por su abolición. Testig@s por la Paz (Witness for Peace) tiene su origen en un pasaje bíblico. En el libro de Jonás (mira la traducción de Jonás, que yo de la Biblia no se mucho), no solo lo hace. Si no que pide a l@s arrepentidos que usen sacos y cenizas como su muestra de arrepentimiento ante Dios. La gente obedece e incluso el rey de Ciudad de Nivehah (busca la traducción) exige a todas las personas y animales en su reino que muestren tales signos de arrepentimiento. Si nos preguntásemos: ¿que haría Jesús?, ¿cual seria la respuesta? ¿Algun@ de l@s discípulas de Cristo realmente cree, el lo profundo de sus corazones, que El, el Príncipe de la Paz, condonaría las armas nucleares? El Arzobispo Raymond Hunthausen ha dicho: “Nuestra preparación nuclear armamentística es la crucifixión global de Jesús. ¿Que nosotr@s hacemos a lo menos de estos, por nuestra planificacion nuclear de la guerra, nosostr@s hacemos a Jesús? Esta es su enseñanza. No podemos ni debemos evitarlo. Nuestras armas nucleares son la crucifixión final de Cristo, el exterminio de la familia humana de la que El es parte.” Bud Ryan pronuncio este discurso en junio de 2005 en Las Cruces, Nuevo Mexico. Las dos primeras reuniones en “Trinity House” fueron en el 2004 en un “Trinity Sunday” y el 16 de Julio o día de “El sitio de la prueba nuclear.” ======================================= THE SAVING GRACE OF ANARCHY By Marc Page As a teenager, I had a vague notion that anarchy was a desirable ideal, based on contemporary punk rock lyrics. In my third decade of living on earth I finally engaged the philosophies of “anarchism” and “personalism” through my involvement with the Food Not Bombs and the Catholic Worker movements. Both anarchism and personalism regard the individual person’s value as superior to the nation/state/government. Anarchists and personalists believe that each human is more important than any institution or structure created by such humans. When enough individuals exercise their freedom to take personal responsibility for each other, we experience the utopian anarchy that incorporates personalist ideals. Badmouthing anarchy began as soon as anarchism appeared in the working class. Those controlling the system don’t want the empowerment of the underclass, so they demonize or marginalize anarchists. They then spin anarchism as an irresponsible evil and anarchy as a naiive fantasy. Americans regularly perpetuate the misconception by misusing the word “anarchy” to describe the condition where social decency breaks down and respectful attitudes disintegrate. Chaotic, violent, random immature activities are actually the OPPOSITE of anarchy, because the good philosophy of anarchism respects autonomy and tends towards a simply liberating egalitarian social order. The pure essence of anarchy runs contrary to hierarchy and systemic control by one group over any other group. Anarchism, like socialism, altruistically encourages people power. People power is natural when important social and economic decisions are being made locally. A major aim of the Catholic Worker movement is decentralization. Organizing our society as autonomous sub-groups has greater spiritual virtue than placing power in a national government. The common challenge is for each generation to gain wisdom and maintain loving relationships, so that the people won’t fall into the common trap when feeling disempowered—the immature or weak cry for salvation via some centralized authority which hinders personal authority and community-based responsibility. Saint John-of-the-Cross talked about a certain lawlessness that comes with spiritual maturity. He compared the spiritual development trip to the work of climbing a mountain. Reaching the summit builds the strength in one’s character implied in Ammon Hennacy’s statement, “an anarchist is anyone who doesn't need a cop to tell him what to do.” Ammon Hennacy advocated for anarchism because it can be practiced NOW. You don’t have to wait for the state to wither away to be an anarchist today. Because anarchists exercise freedom and responsibility, their philosophy clashes with the methodology of violence. Anarchism is a pie in the face of domination, capitalism, politics and abuse—which are found in the antichristian spirit of cruelty. Ever since humans have held the capacity for arranging beautiful social agreements and structures there has been the hope for non-coercive & loving arrangements. We always need such situations. In light of any chaos that governments play against their people to reinforce domination and exploitation, we now need a greater commitment to the social principles of personalism and the spiritual disciplines of anarchism. LA PLEGARIA DE LA ANARQUÍA Por Marc Page Cuando era adolescente, tenía una noción vaga de que la anarquía era una ideal deseable, basado en las líricas contemporáneas del punk rock. En mi tercera década de vivir en esta tierra, finalmente anexé las filosofías del “anarquismo” y del “personalismo” con mi trabajo en Food not Bombs (Comida si, Bombas No) y el movimiento del Trabajador Católico. Tanto el anarquismo como el personalismo miran el valor de la persona individual como superior a la nación, al estado, al gobierno. Los anarquistas y los personalistas creen que el ser humano es más importante que cualquier institución o estructura creada por tales seres humanos. Cuando bastantes individuos ejercitan su libertad para tomar la responsabilidad personal de cada uno, experimentamos la anarquía utópica que incorpora ideales del personalista. Los insultos hacia la anarquía comenzaron en cuanto el anarquismo aparece en la clase obrera. Aquellos que controlan el sistema no desean que la clase baja y trabajadora tenga el poder, entonces demonizan o marginan a los anarquistas. Luego, giran el concepto de anarquismo como un mal irresponsable, y a la anarquía como una fantasía sin sentido. Los estadounidenses por lo regular perpetúan esta idea falsa empleando mal la palabra “anarquía” para describir la condición donde la decencia social se desmorona, y las actitudes respetuosas se desintegran. Actividades caóticas, violentas, inmaduras al azar son realmente lo CONTRARIO de la anarquía, porque la buena filosofía del anarquismo respeta la autonomía y tiende hacia un orden y equilibrio social igualitario, hacia una liberación igualitaria. La esencia pura de la anarquía funciona contrariamente a la jerarquía y al control sistematizado por un grupo sobre cualquier otro grupo. Anarquismo, como socialismo, altruísticamente anima al poder del pueblo. El poder del pueblo es natural cuando importantes decisiones sociales y económicas a nivel local se toman en cuenta. Un punto primordial en el movimiento del Trabajador Católico es la descentralización. La organización de nuestra sociedad como subgrupos autónomos tiene mayor virtud espiritual que poner nuestra energía en un gobierno nacional. El desafío común para cada generación, es obtener sabiduría y mantener relaciones cordiales, basadas en amor, de modo que la gente no caiga en la trampa común cuando se sienta sin poder, el ser inmaduro o débil llama a la salvación a través de una cierta autoridad centralizada, lo que obstaculiza la autoridad personal y la responsabilidad de base comunitaria. San Juan de la Cruz habló de cierta anarquía que viene con madurez espiritual. Él comparó el desarrollo del viaje espiritual con el trabajo de subir una montaña. Alcanzar la cumbre fortalece el carácter implicado en la declaración de Ammon Hennacy, “un anarquista es cualquier persona que no necesita que la poli le diga qué hacer.” Ammon Hennacy abogó por el anarquismo porque puede ser practicado AHORA. Usted no tiene que esperar a que el estado se marchite para ser un anarquista hoy. Debido a que los anarquistas ejercitan la libertad y la responsabilidad, su filosofía choca con la metodología de la violencia. El anarquismo es una tarta en la cara de la dominación, el capitalismo, la política y el abuso-que se encuentran en el espíritu anticristiano de la crueldad. Desde el momento en que los seres humanos han tenido la capacidad para llegar a hermosos acuerdos sociales y estructuras, ha habido la esperanza de arreglos no-coactivos y cariñosos. Siempre necesitamos tales situaciones. En la luz de cualquier caos que los gobiernos emplean en contra de su pueblo para reforzar la dominación y la explotación, ahora necesitamos un compromiso mayor a los principios sociales del personalismo y a las disciplinas espirituales del anarquismo.