Longtime ICPJ member Nancy Williams recently had an “Other Voices” peice published in the Ann Arbor News about faith voices calling for hope, justice, action.

Not only is it a good essay, but it has a nice mention of ICPJ’s 40th Anniversary keynote speaker, Jack Nelson Pallmeyer.

From different corners of faith, voices call for hope, justice, action

Wednesday, March 22, 2006BY NANCY WILLIAMS

Like a $100 bill in a Sunday collection plate, both articles caught my eye. One was an essay in the Washington Post by the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, D.C., about a radical move made recently by the primate of the Church of Nigeria; the other, a week later, the lead editorial in the New York Times, calling attention to a different kind of radical act by a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.

We have gotten accustomed these days to reading about the unjust and murderous actions of professed religious groups in the name of their particular deity. We deplore, we hope the horrors will go away, sometimes we do what we can to alleviate certain situations with our money, time and effort. We react in like manner when we hear about governmental agencies, our own and others, behaving in inhumane ways. And when the injustices go on, ordinary people sometimes yearn for the more resonant voices of authority, of leaders better informed than we, more able to explain complex issues. Two such voices made themselves heard in the past few weeks.

Washington, D.C., Bishop John Bryson Chane’s article is about the act of the primate of the Church of Nigeria to support a new law that criminalizes same-sex marriages in his country, denies gay citizens freedoms to assemble and petition their government and authorizes Nigeria’s government to prosecute newspapers and religious organizations which publicize or further same-sex unions. Bishop Chane asks where are the voices of protest about the archbishop’s action, not only from leaders within America’s churches, but from ordinary citizens who, he believes, should be concerned on several levels, including the possible fallout in our country as a result of the primate’s stand.

The editorial reports that on Ash Wednesday, Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles urged his parishioners to devote the days of Lent not only to fasting and prayer, but to reflection on the need for humane reform of immigration laws. He said further that if Congress decides to make it a felony to shield or offer support to illegal immigrants, he will instruct his priests and lay Catholics to disobey the law.

And then on March 12 still another voice was heard, that of Jack Nelson Pallmeyer, author and lecturer, the keynote speaker at the 40th anniversary celebration of Ann Arbor’s Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice. He talked at some length of widespread war and injustice, but centered his message on the need for hope. Emphasizing that both cynicism and apathy are dangerous moods in a time which calls for continued visible action on behalf of worldwide peace and justice, he reminded his audience that the courage to hope can be gained by invoking memory of past achievements in our history (women can now vote, African-Americans can find hotel accommodations in the South), by persistence and confidence, by perspective and vision. He also stressed the importance of inspiring, not disheartening the young; what he called “modeling authentic hope” to young people.

I think it is noteworthy that Cardinal Mahony, Bishop Crane and Mr. Pallmeyer are all, both explicitly and implicitly, appealing for some reaction, not only from our leaders, but from ordinary people: the guy in the bleachers, the folks in the pews. All three express the belief, the hope, that United States citizens can and will speak and act for justice, their heritage. It will be interesting to see how other voices respond.

To contribute essays to Other Voices, contact Mary Morgan, opinion editor, at 734-994-6605 or mmorgan@annarbornews.com.