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THIS CHRISTMAS WE COME AS BEGGARS Empty-Handed Bearers of the Empty Places, Empty Larder, Empty Bank Account Graphic by Rufo Noriega

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SPECIAL CHRISTMAS APPEAL THIS CHRISTMAS WE COME AS BEGGARS Empty-Handed Bearers of the Empty Places, Empty Larder, Empty Bank Account

Dear Friends: Christmas, 2012

“This is for the prisoners,” he said. Smelling of urine and unwashed clothes, as he pressed a dirty paper cup full of loose coins into my hands. Wheelchair Bob is one of my least favorite people. An aggressive beggar in a wheelchair, he pushes himself into a traffic intersection holding commuters prisoner until they pay their ransom.

I am perplexed by his gift of dirty pennies, but later my wife explains that when Bob begs he keeps the dollar bills and silver coins for himself, but gives the pennies to our “stamps for prisoners” project so that inmates can write to their families.

Thomas Merton tells us that the “…beggar is the bearer of the empty place. The wealth of the group touches his bowl at all sides. The gift gathers there and the beggar gives it away when he meets someone who is empty.”

This Christmas we once again come to you as beggars—empty-handed bearers of empty places, empty larder, empty bank account.

If Wheelchair Bob, the beggar, can give us his pennies, we pray that you can give your dollars so that the empty places might be filled. Thank you. Many blessings.

Jeff Dietrich For the Los Angeles Catholic Worker Graphic by Rufo Noriega

WE PRAY THAT YOU CAN GIVE YOUR DOLLARS SO THAT THE EMPTY PLACES MIGHT BE FILLED.

CATHOLIC AGITATOR / 1 SUMMER PROGRAM

ing about was an over-powering one. enriched by the lives and experiences I If he could carry his life on his THE KINGDOM of members. back, who am I to not? I realized Several of the CBCs in Managua that if it is something you cannot OF collaborate to sponsor a wide range WAS carry on your back (physically or of projects that open their doors and emotionally) it has no bearing on HEAVEN lives to the vulnerable members of COMFORTABLE your quality of life (or at least it By THOMAS WEILER society. In its own manifestation of shouldn’t). Catholic Worker personalism, out- By NICOLE LINSMEIER Where the Catholic Worker really here are rare moments in life reach to orphans and other youth, worked its magic on me was where it when we can look around malnourished children, and sex was comfortable…comfortable made me harness my discomfort and with the shoes on my feet and and say with certainty that workers is combined with “in-reach” agitation and turn it into action. Our the kingdom of heaven is to open a space for liberation and life the clothes on my back. I was weekly vigils for peace and protest- T lucky enough to be born into amongst us. These are moments of within the hearts of the community. I ing the death penalty made plenty grace and unique contact with both Continued on page 6 a family that never had to worry if of people uncomfortable. You see the divine and authentically human there would be food on the table— people give you a quick dismissive a family where the world’s biggest Jesus of Nazareth. glance before they scurry away to For me, glimmers of that feel- problems were reserved for far off where they believe they need to be. BEARING places and society’s biggest injustices ing, of that grace, became incarnate Some people honk their horns, to our in the Christian Base Community were simply whispers that usually triumph, yet most people just avoid THE elicited the attitude of “out of sight, San Pablo el Apostol (Saint Paul you altogether. The people that the Apostle) in Managua, Nicara- out of mind.” avoided me, in a weird way, made CROSS “Complacency—self-satisfaction gua. I had been living in Nicaragua me feel the most satisfied. These are for over one year, when suddenly I By HUNTER LINK especially when accompanied by the people that are so uncomfortable awareness of actual dangers…” found myself magnetically pulled with the issues we were presenting there Sunday after Sunday. esus is God; God is Love—not During college I really started to that they needed to alter their routine question the injustices I was seeing The community sang fantastic a slogan for casual repetition, to avoid confronting them…that revolutionary Christian music. this claim goes beyond doctrine, in humanity. I was always hearing means we were effectively doing our beyond understanding, and about the violence and the poverty The occasional shared nacatamal J job. (Nicaragua’s pork-laden super sized beyond belief. Even as the Psalm- throughout the world and in our own I will admit that at first I did not ist sings, “The Lord is my refuge,” country, yet I was living in a town version of tamales) was always a big like handing out flyers during the plus. It was participatory, decentral- our refuge is bleeding and dying where homelessness was a veiled death penalty vigils. It was a differ- on Calvary. And what’s more (oh phenomenon and low-income housing ized, and always relevant. However, ent feeling to me to try to interrupt I came back every week, because horror!) He longs with every fiber of was hidden far from campus on the a person’s day and confront them His (rapidly expiring) heart for us “other side of the tracks.” I was there I found Jesus, alive and still with a huge issue when usually you suffering amongst the poor, the to join Him. No, not join Him, but comfortable even when I became make your best effort not to interrupt to become Him, to cast off the old involved. I spent my time involved sick, and the marginalized of our a stranger’s day. Once I got over the society—a Jesus who asked us to do self and put on the new self, who is with various social justice programs initial qualms about handing out fly- Christ (Eph. 4:22; Gal. 3:27). The in the area, but my calling to make something about it. San Pablo is a ers, I realized that interrupting these community that lives “as though the Greek Christians say, “God became a major impact was thoughtfully re- people’s day, and making them se- man so that man might become served in my head as something for Gospels were true”—crossing the verely uncomfortable, was our goal. same social boundaries that Jesus God,” a God who is Crucified? How after college. People should not just walk by and terrifying. How beautiful. College ended and I started gradu- crossed, facing the same uncertain- not be uncomfortable about the is- ties and dilemmas, and building a This is what the Los Angeles ate school—again I said I would do Catholic Worker has taught me—the something when I was done with sues we are presenting, they should small, faithful group of agitators in be angry. We need to stop these the service of the kingdom. necessity to daily renew this Cross- my education, with the mindset that bearing. And to fail, knowing that my education was going to be my people in their tracks and confront The Christian Base Communities them about their complacency. (CBCs) are one of the fundamental tomorrow we will have the privilege greatest weapon in fighting social Complacency is terrifying. People waves of praxis that developed out of (God, help us!) to meet God again. injustice. I was still comfortable. that want to remain ignorant to the the Latin American Bishops confer- Indeed, God is all around us, in the Well, six years went by and I was injustices in the world break my ences of Medellin and Puebla. The people we meet (rich and poor and armed with two degrees and years of heart. How can people walk by a tide of liberation theology in the cops and robbers), in the food we frustration…I had no more excuses. homeless man on the street and not 1960s and 1970s sought to shake the eat: God, God, everywhere God. I decided to sign up for the sum- feel profoundly sad? But it happens, Latin American Church from its his- God is in the details, the mundane, mer internship at the Los Angeles the routine. God is in the stability of Catholic Worker. While I had spent every day. Complacency has become torical alliance with repressive politi- the societal standard. People would cal power, to urge it to discover the the LACW. Yes, it has many com- time there in the past, nothing could historical Jesus incarnate in the poor ings and goings (the Catholic Hos- have prepared me for the discomfort rather be unaware than uncomfort- able, and that is an enormous prob- and marginalized. Through study- tel?), but there are roots here, roots that I would end up feeling. Not a ing scripture, doing social analysis, that dig deep, that break up the con- fleeting discomfort, but a discom- lem. The Catholic Worker has shown and putting faith into action, CBCs crete. God is in the daily rhythm of fort that penetrated deep into my across Latin America gave people life, the common work that unites, character. A discomfort that burned me that rather than letting the stan- dard complacency be acceptable in a new understanding of their lives the day-in-day-out practice of the inside me, that enraged me, and that and of a Jesus with whom they could Works of Mercy (‘practice’ implies empowered me. my daily life, I need to make the people around me uncomfortable. I identify. we need to get better!). God is in At first it was disheartening, over- The San Pablo community had its the cabbage that must be chopped whelming even, but I came to realize need them to think about the issues they so easily dismiss, and I need share of tension and pressure from just so. God is in the extra pot of that this inner discomfort is because the Church’s resident scribes and oatmeal, no butter, for the friend of the way human beings allow oth- to confront them about their oblivi- ous comfort with all the pain and Pharisees. In one striking example, that requested it. God is in the cat ers to be treated. I was not explicitly the community, having built their lady who throws the cat food over bothered by the physical experience suffering that daily surrounds us. I will carry this past summer with me humble church hall brick-by-brick, the fence every night. God is in the of helping the poor, but rather dis- changed the locks and said adios broom that sweeps it up every morn- heartened by the idea that people for the rest of my life, and I plan on using my newfound talent of making to the diocesan priest after a seri- ing. God, God, everywhere God. can obviously let others live in such ous dispute forced them to choose That is not to say that the LACW is pain. I was so uncomfortable with people uncomfortable to make every person around me a little less com- between loyalty to an institution the Kingdom, far from it. Like the idea that I had lived my life to everywhere in Babylon, it is infected placent. Ω and loyalty to Jesus’ movement. In this point with such ease and excess the absence of priests, each weekly by the anti-love “wisdom of this while amazing people were left with liturgy is led by families, women, or age” that executed our Lord. Like nothing. Nicole Linsmeier, from Wisconsin, was a 2012 Summer Intern and now youth, and homilies are frequently the (male) disciples, we too are One of the most impactful mo- shared reflections in small groups, often si-lent and complicit in the ments of my time at the LACW was is an LACW community member. Crucifixion. We too often fail to see witnessing a man in the oatmeal Christ in all whom we meet: cop, line. He was a quiet man who kept homeless, drone pilot, alcoholic. We to himself; he never really went out CATHOLIC DECEMBER 2012 Vol. 42/No. 6 fail to go with them to the Cross. of his way to speak with anyone and However, like the disciples on the always seemed a little bit sad. He road to Emmaus, we are given the carried one of the largest bags I have opportunity to know Him in “the ever seen on his back. This man Editors: Jeff Dietrich, Martha Lewis, and Mike Wisniewski breaking of bread”—tiny glimpses carried his entire life in that bag. Staff: Donald Nollar, Faustino Cruz, Rebecca Casas, of the Kingdom through the walls of and Rev. Elizabeth Griswold our blindness (Lk 24:35). Seeing that this quiet gentleman The Catholic Agitator (ISSN-0045-5970) is published bi-monthly could encapsulate his entire life into February, April, June, August, October, and December for $1 per year by the And yet, with our failings, we dare one bag made a profound impact on Los Angeles Catholic Worker, 632 N. Brittania St., Los Angeles, CA 90033-1722 to proclaim the little pieces of Truth me. that we can: Do not kill! Love thy Living simply is a concept that I Periodical Postage paid at Los Angeles, CA enemy! Feed the hungry! This is had often heard, but it was a foreign POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: not our Truth, but the Truth at the idea. Growing up in an area where The Catholic Agitator, 632 N. Brittania St., Los Angeles, CA 90033-1722 core of the Universe. “simple” means driving a Toyota The LACW is not a 501(c).(3) non-profit organization and donations to the LACW are not So what is the LACW then? Tho- rather than a BMW, and then coming tax-exempt. Editorial communications, new subscriptions, and address changes to: mas Merton wrote of the Desert Fa- to the realization that you may not 632 N. Brittania St., Los Angeles, CA 90033-1722 thers and Mothers, those brave saints need any of the worldly goods we 323-267-8789 • http://lacatholicworker.org • [email protected] of post-Constantine “Christian” Egypt spend so much time and money talk- Continued on page 6

2 / DECEMBER 2012 CHRISTMAS APPEAL

Merton’s insights have deeply informed the themes I find so central to my own life: the necessity of silence and the embrace of a spiritual tradition; the perils and limits of technology and civilization; the vital connections between ecology and roots in a place; and the possibility, finally, of creating an authentic culture of peace. REMEMBERING MERTON By ERIC ANGLADA a ‘return to the world,’ not a return to the cities, but a direct and humble ifteen years ago, shortly be- contact with God’s world [and] His fore graduating high school, creation…” I had the opportunity to live From his hermitage, through his Ffor a few weeks in a monas- studies, Merton encountered the tery near my suburban home. Hav- 20th century intellectual giant Lewis ing recently encountered the writings Mumford, who wrote authoritatively of Kathleen Norris, in which she on architecture, history, art, tech- describes her visits to a variety of nology, and the city. On reading monasteries, I was intrigued with the Mumford’s tome, The City in His- idea of monastic life and its embrace tory, Merton deepened his visceral of community, prayer, and simplic- skepticism of urban civilization. ity. Not yet a Catholic, and with Mumford wrote that the first city was all of the immaturity of an 18-year the city of the dead—the necropolis, old, I was relatively rudderless in the cemetery where all were buried. the monastic context. Recogniz- It was the first fixed place, a place ing my situation, a priest in charge where movement ceased. In Con- of looking after me knocked on my jectures of a Guilty Bystander, door one day and handed me a copy Merton reflected that while the first of The Seven Storey Mountain. I cities of the living emerged out of was intrigued by its author, Thomas the shadows of the necropolis, “the Merton, and the tale he related of metropolis, with all its affluence and his conversion to Catholicism and all its bursting pride of life, is [still] his subsequent embrace of the rigors a center for death.” The govern- of monastic life in the obscure hills ment buildings erected by the likes of Kentucky only days before the of Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin, and bombing of Pearl Harbor. Merton’s even the architecture of contempo- autobiography offered me, almost rary Washington, DC, evoked for imperceptibly at the time, a possibil- Merton images of ghastly white ity that I would later read in one tombs. scholar’s take on The Seven Storey According to Mumford and other Mountain: inspired, fervent non- scholars of pre-history, the first cities conformity against the disorienting grew up in Mesopotamia and Egypt forces of contemporary existence. around 6,000 years ago as a result Over the years I have continued of an agricultural surplus chan- to plunge into the sanity contained neled into the hands of a ruling elite. in Merton’s life and voluminous “With the building of a city, you get writings. With rare lucidity he saw a new element,” Merton pointed out into the pervasive crisis haunting our to a group of intellectuals in Santa modern age. Merton’s insights have Barbara, California, shortly before deeply informed the themes I find so his fateful trip to the East. “Here central to my own life: the necessity you get the tyrant, then you get his of silence and the embrace of a spiri- army, and then you get the accu- tual tradition; the perils and limits of mulation of wealth, and then you technology and civilization; the vital get the lust for power,” resulting in

Graphic by Rufo Noriega connections between ecology and “the idolatry of the city, followed by roots in a place; and the possibility, the idolatry of the nation.” In this finally, of creating an authentic cul- statement, Merton crystallized the ture of peace. and the triumph of technology. “Cit- Merton believed that the urban proj- heart of the crisis of urban civiliza- One of Merton’s concerns in the ies,” Merton wrote in his Catholic ect too often failed to fully acknowl- tion: that the city has almost always nexus of these crucial themes is the radicalist volume Conjectures of a edge the blessed nature of humanity. been linked to the intractable issues significance of the city, a geographic Guilty Bystander, “leave me with a In his short essay, “The Street is for of tyrannical rulers, greed, power reality on which I have been reflect- sense of placelessness and exile.” Celebration,” a meditation on urban over people and creation, war, and ing since my departure from an In the fall of 1964, Merton sat space, Merton grieved that so many idolatry. At its root, Merton wrote, urban house of hospitality to life on in his hermitage listening to the cities, full of people, had become “urban culture is…committed to a Catholic Worker farm. In fact, the “perfectly innocent speech” of rain sites of separation rather than cel- war,” wryly adding, “We live, of year that I moved to the land, 2008, filling the “crannies” of the woods ebration. “The alienated city isolates course, in the most advanced of all was also the year that a monumental with water. The city was on his men from one another in despair, urban cultures.” event occurred: for the first time in mind. That night he began writ- lovelessness, defeat.” A radical skeptic of Progress, Mer- world history, more people inhabited ing an essay that many, including Merton also saw that urban life ton doubted that humanity’s urban cities than they did the land. And, myself, consider his best piece of was rife with challenges for those way of life was a wholesale improve- as we continue into what the UN prose, “Rain and the Rhinoceros.” desiring to cultivate a fruitful inte- ment upon its ‘primitive’ origins; in has called “the century of the city,” He wrote provocatively and sharply, rior life. “Everything in modern city the 1960s he found himself pursu- urbanization is rapidly increasing. contrasting the enchanted rhythms of life,” he mused in his spiritual clas- ing wisdom outside the confines This massive urban migration, with the natural world with the artificial- sic, No Man Is An Island, “is calcu- of urban civilization. Merton felt few exceptions, has widely been ity of urban life. After declaring lated to keep man from entering into a kinship with the romanticism of hailed as a cause for celebration, a himself “alien to the noises of cities,” himself and thinking about spiritual Thoreau and Blake, not simply for sign of history’s ineluctable march Merton boldly proclaimed: “The city things. Even with the best of inten- their contemplative poetics but for toward progress. However, as cit- itself lives on its own myth. Instead tions a spiritual man finds himself their contempt for the industrial ies swell, our ecological, spiritual, of waking up and silently existing, exhausted and deadened and debased Leviathan. Moreover, like any good and social lives are waning. The the city people prefer a stubborn and by the constant noise of machines Catholic radical of the 20th century, prophetic work of Thomas Merton fabricated dream; they do not care to and loud-speakers, the dead air and he also delighted in looking back to offers insight on a number of levels be a part of the night, or to be merely the glaring lights of offices and shops, the organic society of the medieval to a crisis that is becoming more and of the world. They have constructed the ever-lasting suggestions of adver- past that so smoothly interwove the more apparent: urban civilization. a world outside the world, against the tising and propaganda.” spiritual with the material. Less Throughout his 27 years in the world, of mechanical fictions which Merton’s own spiritual path, like acknowledged, however, is that monastery, Merton occasionally condemn nature and seek only to use the anarchistic Desert Fathers he so Merton was profoundly enamored visited cities, most frequently Louis- it up, thus preventing it from renew- admired who found their spiritual with even more distant traditions: ville, the metropolis closest to the ing itself and man.” center on the geographical margins, the peoples of pre-urban, Stone Age Abbey of Gethsemani. Cities proved Crucially, Merton’s antipathy toward led him away from the placeless- cultures whom he believed were not to be places of intellectual exploration; the city did not mean that he failed ness of the metropolis and toward the “savages” that moderns assume an important spiritual vision in 1958; to love the people who dwelled there; the silence, stillness, and rhythms of they were. encounters with friends and briefly nor did he think that everyone should nature he found in the country. In Rapacious reader that he was, with love; but, more frequently, the abandon the city’s poor and margin- the summer of 1965, shortly after Merton was turned on to the then- city brought him experiences of trash, alized. “It is the people I love, not his full-time move to the hermitage, burgeoning developments in anthro- noise, incessant commercialism, the roles in the city and not the glit- Merton reflected in his journal that pology that more than hinted that the senseless movement, dilapidation, ter of business and of progress.” “…coming to the hermitage has been Continued on page 6

CATHOLIC AGITATOR / 3 CHRISTMAS APPEAL We are prepared to risk arrest rather than let the idea that it is in any way acceptable for nuclear weapons to exist and go unchecked. VANDENBERG BACKCOUNTRY ACTION On October 20, 2012, LACW INTERVIEW WITH BISHOP TOM GUMBLETON the Economic Pastoral in 1986. In for doing too much social justice member Theo Kayser and a friend fact we have not published any pasto- with not enough focus on reproduc- entered Vandenberg Air Force Base ral letters comparable to them since. tive issues. through the backcountry. Despite ON One of the reasons for that is there Bishop Gumbleton: I find it very high tech security in place, they re- PEACE EARTH was a lot of pressure from Rome disappointing, to put it mildly, that mained undetected for several hours for the Conference of Bishops not the Vatican would try to intervene as they prayed and hung peace ban- Bishop Tom Gumbleton is auxillary in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, to make such statements or provide in the Leadership Conference of ners at a number of different sites. bishop of Detroit. He has, for the Somolia, and Sudan. We are using such teaching documents, which is a Women Religious. They are adult This action marks the beginning of a last 30 years, tirelessly worked for drone weapons there to kill. The huge loss. We live in a nation where people; they all come out of com- backcountry campaign for peace at peace and justice, not only in the president has a “kill list” and when the bishops should be teaching on munities that have followed the Vandenberg. U.S., but throughout the world. He it is possible to kill certain people, issues like these. Vatican II teachings very carefully; was the first Catholic Bishop to be he gives the order to kill them. That Agitator: I agree that 1983 and and now the bishops are trying to put By THEO KAYSER arrested at the Nevada Nuclear Test is totally against the teaching of Just 1986 were real highpoints for the in some kind of oversight commit- Site in protest against U.S. nuclear War theology, which requires that tee to control what they do or don’t s we lie there in a field, U.S. Bishops. Today the Church’s policy in 1984. This interview was war be waged only as a last resort. position seems far more conserva- do. I find that reprehensible, to try our bodies flat against the conducted in early November by Therefore, what comes to my mind to treat these women, who are at the Noriega Rufo by Graphic ground in three-foot high tive, an example being the recent Agitator Editor Jeff Dietrich. immediately is that modern warfare Fortnight of Freedom. Would you forefront of efforts to teach Catho- brush, we wonder why they can never been seen as meeting the A Agitator: Our mutual friend, Kathy comment? lic social justice and also to act on have not thought to look in our direc- requirements of legitimacy, propor- those teachings, as though they were tion. They are close enough that at Boylan, asked me to interview you Bishop Gumbleton: That is defi- tionality, and last resort. nitely the case. The hierarchy in the children in the church instead of times their voices can be heard but about a statement you made some Agitator: Our mutual friend Kathy months ago regarding the Church United States certainly is not in the autonomous adult people. they are looking the opposite way, was impressed that you were calling Agitator: In light of the recent sen- towards the hills from which we and the Church’s position on just war forefront of progressive social issues Liturgy Altar David Omondi, Theo Kayser and Fr. Louie Vitale, OFM upon Catholic soldiers to refuse to that confront us. That would include tencing of a member of the Church emerged a couple hours before. and peace. Can you briefly synop- serve in the military. is in my friend’s best interest. size that statement for us? economic issues. We seem to spend administration in Philadelphia to jail At that time, fighting through the Bishop Gumbleton: I have been time, I want to know about the child thick chaparral had been our only Yet again the Spirit intervened as Bishop Gumbleton: More and much more time on something that recently reminded of Archbishop the Catholic Bishops think of as sex scandal from your perspective. concern for more than two hours. 15 or so military police could not more I have come to the conclusion Romero; there is a documentary (even with the aid of such tools as that we are not taking seriously the “protecting our freedom” within this Often the Church administration Fog had set in just as we began our out now that I recently seen. In the perspective is that they are victims of excursion through the backcountry of thermal goggles) find my companion development of Catholic teaching nation. I cannot understand how our who had been there moments before. last sermon he gave before he was freedom is being threatened; no one an unfriendly, hostile press; that sex Vandenberg Air Force Base and we that has happened over the past shot and killed, he cries out to the In the end he slipped away as I spent fifty or so years. Coming from the is forcing any Catholic to use abor- abuse is no worse within the Church knew we could not be seen through soldiers in El Salvador not to kill than any other sector of society. Photos by Rebecca Casas and David Omondi the thick mist that allowed only 30- the next ten hours in custody. Second Vatican Council, from state- tion or birth control, and so I cannot Driven to a temporary compound their own brothers. He commands understand why there is so much Bishop Gumbleton: This past 40 feet of sight in any one direction. ments of Pope Paul the Sixth and them not to kill, not to continue to somewhere in the middle of the base, John Paul the Second, and especially emphasis on those issues. weekend I was at the national meet- Despite the tall tales later told to be involved in the war. He says, ing of SNAP (Survivors Network of me by base personnel, we saw no I would spend the rest of the night from Pope John the Twenty-Third, Agitator: Well, it does seem to and much of the morning sitting in Catholic teaching no longer consid- “I command you to lay down your me that the U.S. Bishops have those Abused by Priests) and I can rattlesnakes, mountain lions, or wild weapons.” I think we ought to be tell you that this whole problem is boars. The going had been slow and a tent, watched over by an armed ers war to be a feasible option. This become an arm of the Republican guard. The conversations I had with position has been explained in great saying that to our own young people Party. Though maybe that is a little not over by any means. I came away quite difficult but before too long we today. It may cost something; it cost from the meeting, first of all, very found ourselves in sight of the Pa- the various young men charged with detail, and based upon the way that extreme. watching over me the next hours Catholic teaching has evolved and him his life and it might cost the sad, because you hear some of the cific Ocean, where at dusk we rested Church something; but it is what we before beginning to hang banners varied widely in content, from the also in light of traditional Catholic terrible things that have happened to best place to get a hamburger, to Just War teaching, it is more and need to be saying—repeatedly, until these abused children, and you hear that would soon alert base security the message is heard and understood. to our presence on Vandenberg bases they have served on where I more clear that the criteria for a just the details of the cover-up. So, I am have protested or had been arrested, war simply cannot be met in the Agitator: It seems to me that the sad, but also angry and more deter- property. International Court of Justice in Within a half an hour of leaving to, with one man about my age, a modern age. The call then, it seems mined to do what I can to help. mutual dislike for nuclear weapons. to me, is as Pope Paul and Pope The Hague is a really important I think that the major failure on the our first banner on the fence of some element in trying to bring some restricted Air Force facility, a secu- One Airman shared with me his es- John Paul cried, “War, war, never part of the bishops on this issue has timation that likely more than half of again!” With that in mind, I continue sense of sanity to the world, but the been that they immediately made it rity patrol spotted the words Blessed United States refuses to recognize are the Peacemakers. The moon and those he has met in the military are to speak out against war, calling for a legal matter; they first went to their stars that had conveniently illumi- concerned much more about a steady the abolition of war, and then urging the court’s authority. How does lawyers to protect Church property paycheck than “fighting terrorism” the Church regard the International and finances. The legal system in nated our adventures so far disap- Rebecca Casas making banners within the church community that peared as a large number of MPs be- or “serving the country.” we be much more clear in our teach- Court? this country makes adversaries. So gan to arrive on the scene, bringing It is sometimes easy to see those ing to young people. Young people Bishop Gumbleton: Yes, the U.S. the bishops became adversaries, with them vermiform beams of light on the other side of the green line OCCUPY VANDENBERG STATEMENT should know that there is a responsi- has refused to sign on to it and when rather than acting as pastors to these cases are brought there, for example that immediately began to search the as just gears in the war machine, bility here to, at the very least, think Bishop Gumbleton: It certainly victims, and the victims became area. These military police would but sitting across from someone in OF this through and not automatically I am thinking about when the U.S. adversaries to them. This is the SINS VANDENBERG mined the harbor in Nicaragua and is disappointing when poverty in look for us, unsuccessfully, for the conversation for hours is a potent register for military service. this country has gone up to what it wrong place to be. Our finances and reminder that they would be victims xactly 50 years ago, this Islands, with depleted uranium. It was condemned by the Interna- their concern for their “good name” next four hours as we moved from planet was brought to the is our belief that the millions of Agitator: Please clarify what some was before the “War on Poverty” our field to the beach and eventually of nuclear war in the same way that of the principles of the Just War tional Court, the U.S. has paid no ever started. We have destroyed the were put before the welfare of the all other living beings would be. brink of complete destruc- dollars spent on war-making and attention. We seem to believe that victims. This is totally against the up the side of a ravine into a crevice tion during what is referred preparations for war could be used Doctrine are that are not met by safety net, or at least significantly where we rested. Vandenberg AFB is located on E modern warfare? we can do whatever we want and damaged it, so that now we have spirit of Jesus Christ, whose first 90,000 acres of some of California’s to as the Cuban Missile Crisis. We to feed those who are hungry, house that no one can judge us or hold instinct would be to reach out to that We emerged to find a scene almost believe that all missiles are a crisis those who are homeless, and provide Bishop Gumbleton: The first con- many more people living in poverty. completely devoid of any sign of the most beautiful coastline dedicated to dition for a just war is that the war us accountable, which of course is We wrote the 1986 pastoral letter child and heal that child. I often (whether located in Cuba or else- healthcare to those who are sick; and wrong. In the community of na- hear “All they want is money” from search team that was so prevalent the ugliest purpose known to human- where) as they are contrary to the we consider it a sin that schools are has to be declared by a legitimate na- in an attempt to influence the U.S. earlier, aside from the glow of one ity: preparation for nuclear war. tional authority. We have not fought tions we ought to be in the forefront economy to work more for the poor, the bishops, but that is not the case; laws of the Creator whose names are closed and homes foreclosed upon of those who desire to bring some they want and need healing, and they flashlight near the road we had We planned our action to coincide many, but whom we call (as did the while military spending goes un- a war since World War II where the yet now the economy works against followed to the various structures with the Cuban Missile Crisis 50th constitutionally required action on sanity to the world and who search the poor—in a dramatic way. And want reconciliation with the Church evangelist John) LOVE. checked. that has so damaged them that it has visited that night. Making our way anniversary. Vandenberg AFB has continued Because of these sins and innumer- the part of Congress to take us into for objective judgments. the bishops are not saying anything. towards the final building we had It is hard for me to comprehend since the near catastrophe of October able others, we have come to this war has been followed. Because our Agitator: Is the Church supportive Not a word. on occasion led to suicide. planned to target, we set up our last how those in power still have not 1962 with its preparations for both place to pray for peace, in the form nation no longer considers it neces- of the International Court? We have a Catholic in Congress, Agitator: To your knowledge is banner and prayed before parting learned the lesson of those 13 days nuclear and “conventional” war of nonviolent direct action, with the sary to follow our own constitutional Bishop Gumbleton: I have never Paul Ryan, who has presented a there any bishop that has acted with ways. when the world was brought to the through continued missile tests, belief that “wherever two or more requirements to declare war, and seen any statements regarding that. budget that will literally destroy the a kind of scriptural spirit of recon- I would walk towards the solitary edge of destruction. Our hope was launches of military satellites, and are gathered” there is God. Without thus the decision to go to war is no We have certainly been strongly sup- social safety net and go completely ciliation and full disclosure? beam of light in order to prayerfully to disrupt in some small way the other preparations for killing in vio- question, Vandenberg AFB is a place longer argued through and decided portive of the United Nations and the against Catholic social teaching, Bishop Gumbleton: No, I do not submit myself for arrest while my preparations for war-making that lation of the commandment, “Love in need of God, whose gospel is by the constitutional processes that Court flows from that. and yet the president of the Catholic know of any. I would be very happy companion would walk with me until take place at Vandenberg AFB and one another.” peace and whose message is recon- our nation developed, the authority Agitator: I remember a real high Conference appears on a platform in to learn of it…Archbishop Martin the spirit led him away into the dark- to tell those on the base that we are Acknowledging that love is an ac- ciliation between all peoples. that declares these modern wars is water mark in the 1980s when the Wisconsin with him. in Dublin did do something in that ness where he hoped to escape. prepared to risk arrest rather than let tive rather than passive state of be- Our hope is both that our action ultimately illegitimate. U.S. Bishops’ statements on econom- Agitator: And we have a Catholic spirit. What he did was to meet with As I lie face down on the ground the idea that it is in any way accept- ing, we cannot sit by while the evils will somehow hasten the kingdom But beyond that, the weapons that ic justice and on peace were really Supreme Court as well, which has the victims, which has affected him in handcuffs, they search the area for able for nuclear weapons to exist and of Vandenberg AFB are allowed to of brother- and sisterhood and that have been used during World War II quite radical for an institution. I am not been helpful. very, very powerfully. He did not anyone who might have been with go unchecked. continue unchecked. others will heed our example and and in all wars since are a violation wondering why the Church is silent Bishop Gumbleton: The Citizens hold meetings like the Pope has had me. They ask me repeatedly for the The base was quick to tell the We acknowledge that the land on nonviolently “occupy” this base in of the criteria of proportionality. We on increasing imperial wars and the United decision enabled our national with ten or so selected victims, but location of any other “protesters,” newspapers that we had in no way which Vandenberg AFB is located the weeks and months ahead for the always do more harm than any good injustice of the Wall Street crisis? politics to be bought by the richest opened his doors to let any of the assuring me that they are concerned interrupted normal operations at was stolen from its true owners, the purpose of transforming this land we hope to achieve and so that prin- BishopGumbleton: The Church people in this country; or at least that victims come and share with him how only for the safety of any persons on the base, despite the fact that I was Chumash people. We understand from a place dedicated to death into ciple simply cannot be met. and the official actions of the U.S. is what is very close to happening. destructive it had been in their lives. the base illegally. Would it not be directly told, and also overheard a that the missile tests conducted here one of hope and love. Moreover, war is supposed to be a Conference of Catholic Bishops Agitator: Could you comment on Sadly, the U.S. bishops have not really tragic to find someone dead in the number of base personnel say, that pollute both the coast of California, Fr. Louie Vitale, OFM means of the last resort. Currently today are quite different from the the current situation with the Vatican opened themselves to this. Reading morning? It really would be better they had to be pulled from duties with exhaust from rocket fuels, and David Omondi, LACW we are waging war in countries that Church of the 1980s when we pub- and the bishops regarding U.S. Cath- a report is simply not the same as for me to tell them where to look; it Continued on page 6 Kwajalein Atoll of the Marshall Theo Kayser, LACW are not even “enemy” countries, like lished the Peace Pastoral in 1983 and olic nuns, who have been criticized Continued on page 6

4 / DECEMBER 2012 CATHOLIC AGITATOR / 5 CHRISTMAS APPEAL

WEILER, cont’d from p.2 from which to clearly see the every bird. Sense of relatedness to not of the dead, but of the living, a warped and broken timbers slowly my environment—a luxury I refuse city bursting with life. This poetic In the context of the U.S. Empire’s sinking beneath the waves. When to renounce…Those city Christians image is perhaps a portent of our bloody Contra war during the 1980s, you are on the ship, you only see can live in the world of Muzak and urban world re-wilded: the base community, deeply affected one compartment; you barely notice CO2 and think they are in touch by the loss of sons and daughters in when you hit the iceberg. Was that with ‘creation’. Grasses and flowers will grow the fighting, cared for the wounded the grinding of metal? The rush of A prodigious correspondent, Upon the bosom of Manhattan. and prepared the bodies of those water? Is the ship tilting? No, no, Merton was frequently engaged in And soon the branches of the killed in the violence. Resistance to surely if something were wrong, lively discussion with some of the hickory and sycamore war, empire, and injustice have been the Captain would tell us! It is only best minds of his time. Rosemary Will wave where all those dirty win- infused into the soul of the commu- from Dry Land that we can see Ruether, a then-budding theologian, dows were— nity; these values are lived out by that the Captain of this ship wears began challenging Merton’s stance Ivy and the wild-grape vine a continued witness for peace and a long black clock and clutches his vis-a-vis the city. A fascinating Will tear those weak walls down, justice, locally and globally. dripping sickle with a skeletal hand. correspondence ensued, as Ruether Burying the brownstone fronts in The parallels between the Chris- The LACW is a piece of Dry accused Merton of abdicating his freshness and tian Base Communities and the Land, a place to pull survivors responsibility to the wider, urban Fragrant flowers; Catholic Worker movement give from the frigid waters, a place to world. In a 1967 letter, she asserted And the wild-rose and the crab- witness to the same spirit working breathe again, a place to create, to that “those who wish to be at the apple tree within both. The pursuit to authen- witness. And even though I leave, ‘kingdom’ frontier of history” must Will bloom in all those silent mid- tically collaborate in Jesus’ mis- I leave with a piece of Dry Land be in the “big city.” She radically town dells. sion—understood as good news for in my heart, and the knowledge questioned Merton’s geographic the poor and liberation for the that even in the sprawling concrete marginality. The monk, Merton There shall be doves’ nests, and victims of social structures—puts and asphalt-land of Los Angeles, a replies, is one who saves the world, hives of bees both movements in tension with the not merely theologically, but “liter- In the cliffs of the ancient apartments, mustard seed sprouted and is still And birds shall sing in the sunny Catholic Church hierarchy. This growing. Ω ally, against the destructiveness of tension lies between maintaining a the rampaging city of greed, war, hawthorns prophetic voice true to Jesus’ ex- Hunter Link, from Virginia, was a etc.” Weeks later, still stewing over Where was once Park Avenue. ample, imitating the first disciples 2012 Summer Intern at the LACW. her contentious letters, he continued And where Grand Central was, shall and their decentralized communi- the correspondence by emphasiz- be a little hill Clustered with sweet, dark pine. ties of a new kingdom, while still ANGLADA, cont’d from p.3 ing the vital necessity of “sensual bearing witness to the redemptive contact with matter,” urging, “this is Stone Age—the late Paleolithic Will there be some farmer, think you, grace present in the church. something you city people need and Clearing a place in the woods, As the San Pablo community and the early Neolithic—was a need very badly indeed.” time largely free of war, patriarchy, Planting an acre of bannering corn demonstrates, it always seems to Yet, as Merton admitted to Ru- On the heights above Harlem forest? come back to community—that destruction of nature, and rigid hi- ether, for all of the apparent solid- erarchies. Merton gradually found Will hunters come explore ambiguous, amorphous web that ity of the division between city and The virgin glades of Broadway for has the potential to bind us all, himself awakening to the profound country, there exists a mutual pene- ontological unity and contempla- the lynx and deer? both physically and spiritually. I tration of the two worlds. Much of Or will some hermit, hiding in the remember one holiday at San Pablo tive ecology of what he alternately the trouble Merton saw in urban dubbed as “archaic,” “primitive,” or birches, build himself during our annual fundraiser to life—its anti-ecology, the preva- A cell support the community’s works of “Stone Age” man. lence of artificiality and machinery, In contrast to the anxiety and With the stones of the city hall, mercy. Doña Chayo made a huge its bellicosity, its emphasis on noise When all the caved-in subways turn pot of a tradition culinary favor- unrest characteristic of virtually and money—are now increasingly all urban civilizations, Stone Age to streams ite—baho, others came bearing a found across the countryside as And creeks of fish, giant cauldron of soup to sell, and cultures largely exhibited peace and well. What might be called a vast harmony with creation, and lived Flowing in sun and silence to the the entire community sprang to life “citification” of non-urban lands reedy Battery? Ω as many neighbors came to enjoy lives of leisurely abundance. The is sadly apparent in the suburban traditional food and allow their kids cave paintings of the Paleolithic and sprawl of subdivisions with their Eric Anglada lives at the New Hope to play in the giant Bounce Castle. the evidence of the peaceful agrar- chemically-saturated green lawns, Catholic Worker Farm in Iowa. Fittingly, I had the infamous job ian life of the early Neolithic illus- bleak industrial zones, vast inter- trated to Merton something largely selling ice-cold beer. When the state highways, abandoned farms KAYSER, cont’d from p.4 long day was over, sitting there absent from our culture of control: that resemble wastelands, mono- exhausted yet satisfied, my friend the ability to be directly present to culture agricultural deserts touched they would usually perform to search Yamil reminded me that the beauty the world, living by the fruits of only by machines, and disappearing for protesters believed to be trespass- and grace did not lie in what we did their own labor, submerged in the forests that make way for it all. ing on base property. Perhaps we that day, but the fact that we did it vagaries of life’s natural cycles. Conversely, the wild world of were just a small annoyance, but I as a community. Some might accuse Merton and nature has not been totally wiped would rather be a thorn in the side That same spirit exists when we other skeptics of urban civilization out of our metropolises: not merely of the devil than to let him continue at the L.A. Catholic Worker break as indulging in the dubious fantasies because of the vexing problems unscathed. Ω of the “noble Savage.” However, of mice chewing through insu- bread together, distribute subversive it must be emphasized that Mer- shopping carts, unload two tons of lated walls, deer galloping through GUMBLETON, cont’d from p.5 ton was no ivory-tower academic. highways, or pigeons flying in the blankets, or chop 400 pounds of He luxuriated in the primitive sitting across from a victim and salad. When our bodies, minds, alleys—but also in pockets of com- simplicity of life in and around munity gardens and organic farms. hearing his or her suffering pour out. and souls converge, albeit imper- his hermitage. In the woods and Agitator: Regarding the increasing fectly, in the search for the glim- As I reflect on the legacy of the city fields, he knew, however dimly, the as well as its ever expanding popu- conservatism of the U.S. Church, it mers of the kingdom, we can take primeval delight in the natural, non- seems to me that there has been a hope from our friends in San Pablo lous, I wonder if in one of his early urbanized world that archaic man poems, Merton did not stumble consistent reactionary perspective and all those communities that had known for millennia. “I love to all the reforms of Vatican II and collaborate in our vocation. So as upon one intriguing remedy for the the woods, particularly around the city and its ills. In a section of his that the popes have been appointing our sisters and brothers at San Pablo hermitage,” he wrote in his journal. increasingly conservative cardinals say and live—la lucha sigue, el Es- poem “Figures for an Apocalypse,” “Know every tree, every animal, Merton offers an image of a city, who toe the line. piritu vive! The struggle continues, Bishop Gumbleton: That certainly the Spirit lives! Ω STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION has been true. The change began TITLE OF PUBLICATION: Catholic Agitator dramatically in 1978, when Pope Thomas Weiler lived and worked at PUBLICATION NO.: 0588630 DATE OF FILING: 10/05/2012 FREQUENCY OF ISSUE: Bi-Monthly John Paul was elected, and it has con- the Los Angeles Catholic Worker NO. OF ISSUES PUBLISHED ANNUALLY: 6 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: $1.00 tinued ever since. The main criteria for several months this year and COMPLETE MAILING ADDRESS OF KNOWN OFFICE OF PUBLICATION: 632 N. Brittania St., Los Angeles, CA. 90033-1722 for a person being considered for participated in our summer intern- COMPLETE MAILING ADDRESS OF THE HEADQUARTERS OF GENERAL BUSINESS OFFICE OF THE PUBLISHER: nomination as bishop is loyalty to the ship, after a two-year stint in Nica- 632 N. Brittania St., Los Angeles, CA. 90033-1722 Holy See, obedience to the Holy See, ragua as part of the International FULL NAMES AND COMPLETE MAILING ADDRESS OR PUBLISHER, EDITOR, AND MANAGING EDITOR: PUBLISHER: The Los Angeles Catholic Worker orthodoxy according to the theologi- Jesuit Volunteer Corps. He has EDITORS: Jeff Dietrich, Martha Lewis, and Mike Wisniewski, 632 N. Brittania St., Los Angeles, CA. 90033-1722 cal traditions taught and embraced moved on to work as a community MANAGING EDITOR: Donald Nollar, 632 N. Brittania St., Los Angeles, CA. 90033-1722 OWNER: The Los Angeles Catholic Worker, 632 N. Brittania St., Los Angeles, CA. 90033-1722 by the Holy See. And through that organizer in the Coachella Valley. KNOWN BONDHOLDERS, MORTGAGEES, AND OTHER SECURITY HOLDERS effort you have a situation where the Owning or Holding 1 percent or more of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages or other securities: None bishops have lost that sense, which LINK, cont’d from p.2 EXTENT AND NATURE OF Average No. of copies Actual No. Copies of was much more present immediately CIRCULATION Each issue During Single Issue Published after the Second Vatican Council, of Preceding 12 months Nearest Filing Date who fled society as one flees a sink- TOTAL NO. OF COPIES 9,000 9,000 being the bishop in a local church, ing ship—not out of hate, fear, or PAID AND/OR REQUESTED CIRC. which was an autonomous part of a disgust, but out of Love. For, how Mail Subscription Outside-County 5,000 5,039 Mail Subscription In-County 3,000 2,990 whole communion of churches, but can you pull survivors from the Sales through dealers, carriers, vendors, etc. 0 0 not just a subsidiary of the Church wreckage if you have no dry land Other Classes Mailed Through USPS 400 426 in Rome. Immediately after Vatican TOTAL PAID AND/OR upon which to stand? That really is REQUESTED CIRCULATION 8,400 8,455 II there was a sense of a college of what the LACW has been for me: FREE DISTRIBUTION by mail 350 310 bishops with authentic collegiality, Dry Land. Dry Land in a country or other means, samples, compli- mentary, and other free copies — — but now we have reverted to the kind drowning in technology and real- TOTAL DISTRIBUTION 8,750 8,765 of church that is top-down, and the ity TV. Dry Land from which to COPIES NOT DISTRIBUTED 250 235 bishops see themselves primarily as RETURN FROM NEWS AGENTS none none proclaim that the powers and princi- TOTAL 9,000 9,000 delegates of the Pope. And that is palities and presidents of this world PERCENT REQUESTED CIRCULATION 96% 96% not the theology of the Church. Not do not have the final say. Dry Land I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete: Donald Nollar, Managing Editor the way the Church should be. Ω

6 / DECEMBER 2012 ON THE LINE Last December the U.S. sold Saudi people, was selected by the area’s nation a God-fearing, Christian nation. ROY BOURGEOIS DISMISSED Arabia $30 billion worth of F-15 fight- newly opened Walmart to receive a —Mother Jones Magazine - Nov. 2012 er jets, all weapons aimed at counter- $2000 donation as part of the store’s Roy Bourgeois, longtime peace activist ing Iran. —english.alarabiya.net grand opening celebration, and in rec- SOLITARY CONFINEMENT and priest who, four years ago, had ognition of Casa Maria’s work in the come under scrutiny for his support of RECORD SPENDING/POVERTY neighborhood. After being notified of When the issue of torture is discussed, women’s ordination, has been dis- the donation, the CW community de- what oftentimes is neglected in the missed from the Maryknoll Fathers cided to turn down the money on prin- With combined spending by federal discussion is the reality of torture and Brothers, for whom he served 45 ciples saying, “We believe that even within solitary confinement in all U.S. years, 39 as a priest. candidates—along with their parties though Walmart has low prices, they and outside groups like super PACS— prisons, specifically super max (SHU) The Vatican’s Congregation for pay lousy wages, they’re anti-union prisons where individuals spend at the Doctrine of the Faith made the totaling more than $6 billion, the 2012 and they have a detrimental effect on elections were the most egregious and least 23 hours each day locked in a dismissal in October, according to a the survival of small businesses. We small cage with no windows, and little news release issued November 19 by expensive in U.S. history. This in a consider that blood money.” It was the time when 16 million children and one to no human contact. Below are some Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. first time Casa Maria has declined a statistics on which to reflect: The statement from Maryknoll states in six adults (46.2 million) in the U.S. donation. “Hopefully we’re model- now live in poverty. Poverty rates for 81,622 - Number of prisoners in soli- that Bourgeois’ “disobedience and ing good Catholic, Christian behavior.” tary confinement in the U.S. in 2005, preaching against the teaching of the blacks and Latinos are twice as high said the spokesperson. as rates for whites. There is greater the last year for which federal govern- Catholic Church about women’s — azstarnet.com ment data was released. ordination led to his excommunication, poverty among women than men, and the rate of women living in exteme 11,730 - Number of inmates held in dismissal and laicization.” WORSHIP OF GUNS isolation in California prisons today. Bourgeois is known for his work poverty has reached record highs. 39 - Percentage of inmate suicides Yet poverty was rarely brought up by with SOA Watch, a group he founded In the U.S.A. in 1995, there were an that happen in isolation units. in 1990 to protest the Western Hemi- either presidential front runners or the 78 - Percentage of Security Housing mainsteam media. estimated 200 million firearms in sphere Institute for Security Coop- private hands. Today, there are roughly Unit (SHU) inmates NOT classified as eration (WHINSEC), a U.S. Army —democracynow.org gang “leaders” or “members.” 300 million. At this rate, there will be $12,317 - Extra annual cost to tax- training school at Fort Benning, GA, a gun for every man, woman, and child formerly known as the School of IMPERIAL PRESIDENT ROARS payers for each prisoner in California’s in less than a decade. Since 2009, Pelican Bay SHU. the Americas (SOA). —ncronline.org thanks to the NRA, 99 laws have been Just hours after his re-election became 11’7” x 7’7” - Dimension of a SHU passed across 37 states making guns cell at Pelican Bay. ARMING THE MIDDLE EAST final, President Obama ordered a U.S. easier to own, easier to carry in public, drone strike in Yemen that killed sev- 6’ x 8’ - Dimensions of an average and harder for government to track. walk-in closet. The U.S. will sell Qatar and UAE eral individuals. Drone strikes violate Eight states now permit firearms in both domestic and international law, 51 - Percent of Pelican Bay inmates (United Arab Emirates) $7.6 billion in bars. In Missouri one can carry a gun who have spent at least five years in defense missile technology. Both na- and in fact are acts of terrorism. while intoxicated. Concealed weapons —antiwar.com isolation. tions will receive Terminal High Alti- are allowed in schools in Kansas and 89 - Number who have been in soli- tude Area Defense (THAAD) missiles places of worship in Lousiana. Virginia tary for at least 20 years and 1 who has and launchers along with intereceptors, CW REJECTS “BLOOD MONEY” repealed a law requiring handgun been there for 42 years. — spare parts and training. The THAAD vendors to submit sales records and or- Mother Jones Magazine - Nov. 2012 system is designed to intercept and de- Tucson’s Casa Maria Catholic Worker, dered the destruction of all such exist- stroy ballistic missiles, including those which operates a free kitchen on the ing records. And we have the audacity On The Line is compiled and carrying weapons of mass desstruction. city’s south side that daily serves 500 to (falsely) believe and proclaim our edited by Mike Wisniewski.

us. She has become a stable fixture in to perfection. Jeff once again reigned our kitchen garden and on our serving supreme in the kitchen, making sure line. the mainstay mashed potatoes, stuff- Martha and Jesse traveled north to ing and wine- and mushroom-infused Portland to see the fall colors and gravy were the best ever. Ross Weaver attend her class reunion, then spent a returned for a visit and took on new- little down time in lovely Long Beach comer Nicole as an apprentice baker, to round out their vacation. showing her the ins and outs of his Jeff got caught up in the travel fabulous pecan, apple, and pumpkin hullabaloo brought on by Hurricane Alecia Stuchlik, Liz Wyrsch-Ba, with pies. Theo was in charge of putting to- Sandy on his way to attend a family Adama, and Rev. Elizabeth Griswold gether the requisite Midwestern green wedding, which dovetailed nicely with We had the pleasure of attending for- bean casserole and everyone’s favorite his East Coast book tour to the finest mer community member Clare-Belle- sweet potatoes, while David whipped Catholic Universities, with a quick feuille-Rice’s marvelous opera singing up a batch of his famous kale and col- stop at the New York Catholic Worker. debut as she participated in a work- lard greens. Clare came to prepare her Jeff, Catherine, Martha, and I shop sponsored by Pasadena Com- two signature dishes, fresh whole cran- THE attended a house party for Proposition munity College. We look forward to berry sauce and cranberry and orange 34, sponsored by longtime friends Jim her continued success as she launches relish, and Rufo and I headed up the and Susan Anderson. The Hen- her singing career and are exceedingly salsa and guacamole detail. Mean- HOUSE nacy House Band played a few sets happy to have her dulcet voice back at while, after tossing a tasty green salad to liven up the gathering, and though Wednesday evening liturgies. filled with yummy fixings, Martha the proposition in favor of ending the From their 1500-acre family farm in joined Catherine and Josephine in JOURNAL death penalty in California did not the frozen hinterland of our northern setting and decorating the festive din- pass, no one here is giving up. neighbor’s province of Saskatchewan, ing tables. All came together (a few We had cause to rent a cherry picker Josephine Burns’ mother Judy, father reluctantly from Jesse’s fantastic snack The beginning of October saw Gary in order to slap a coat of paint on some Tom, and younger brother Johnny, and football entertainment center set Cavalier and Julia Ochigrosso drop of the weathered surfaces of our ram- traveled to see what things are like in up beneath our outside clothesline) by to spend a little time with us as they shackle home to spiff up the place in the big, big city. Hard-working back- for a rousing prayer of blessing from make preparations to resume tak- order to head off any trouble with the to-the-landers, they live off the grid David’s cousin Sarah Thompson, then ing over the reins at John the Baptist insurance company. Jesse and short- with no indoor plumbing a huge pro- the feasting began. Of course it is more House, our sister house in Las Vegas. time volunteer Dan proved adept at ductive garden, four bulls, four horses than just the food, which makes us so This comes following a two-year stint operating the machinery as did David and plenty of the joy and the beauty popular with our Skid Row friends. in Colorado tending to the needs of who did the lion’s share of work cut- of nature to boot. They arrived just in Longtime pal Billy Doakes summed their two beautiful sons (soon to be ting down the fallen tree which had time to carve up our turkeys and help it up nicely by saying, “Sure there’s a adults) Cody and Nick. Just a little pinned down Barbara’s car. on our serving lines, while fascinating lot of nice things and food downtown earlier, former community members Former community member Liz us with stories of their farm. right now, but the Hippies invite you John Yvetich and Katie Kelso, the Wyrsch-Ba with husband, Gando Ba Thanksgiving has a way of bringing into their home to sit down, eat, drink, present-time caretakers of said house, and baby Adama in tow visited our family and beloved ones together, and have a smoke, and relax. Now that’s spent several days with us to begin a home and downtown kitchen garden at so it is in our hectic lives and house- hospitality!” few weeks of much needed rest and the same time as did expectant moth- hold. Donald Nollar spent the eve at During this Advent season we invite travel as they prepare to move on to ers Rev. Elizabeth Griswold and Ale- our downtown kitchen prepping, slow- you to join us at our Wednesday Martin de Porres House in San Francisco. cia Stuchlik, both former community cooking, and basting eight delicious evening liturgies and potluck dinners. We are delighted that young Nicole members. This made for an exciting turkey birds roasted to a mouthwater- A very centered way to prepare for Linsmeier, a summer intern this past time and a lovely photo op. We offer ing golden brown. The chopping, slic- Christmas. We hope that your holidays year, graduated early from her JVC as- congratulations to, and joyfully wish ing, dicing, pre-party held on Wednes- will be as pleasant and blessed as ours. signment in Atlanta, and after examin- all three couples best wishes as they day resulted in a smooth Thursday ing a host of other exciting options, embark upon the exciting adventure of morning dedicated to ensuring that House Journal is written by decided to come and live and work with parenthood. every dish was cooked and prepared Faustino Cruz.

CATHOLIC AGITATOR / 7 CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEA FOR AGITATOR READERS CATHOLIC BROKEN AND SHARED DECEMBER 2012 Vol. 42/No. 6 Food, Dignity, and the Poor on Los Angeles’ Skid Row SISTER HOUSE NETWORK: By Agitator Editor Jeff Dietrich LOS ANGELES CATHOLIC WORKER: Special Christmas Half-Off Price—$15 http://lacatholicworker.org Plus Shipping: $4.50 for 1—$1 each add’l book. [email protected] Outside the U.S., $5.50 for 1—$1 each add’l book 1. Ammon Hennacy House of Hospitality 632 N. Brittania St., Los Angeles, CA 90033-1722 (California residents add 8.25% sales tax) (323) 267-8789 when purchased directly from: 2. Hospitality Kitchen Marymount Institute Press; 1 LMU Drive, Suite 3000 821 E. 6th St., Los Angeles, CA 90021 (213) 614-9615 Los Angeles, CA 90045-2659 • Phone 310-338-4570 • Fax: 310-338-5767 ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST HOUSE OF HOSPITALITY www.tsehaipublishers.com • [email protected] • 310-258-5460 500 W. VanBuren Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89106 (702) 647-0728 ISAIAH HOUSE OF HOSPITALITY 316 S. Cypress Ave., Santa Ana, CA 92701 RAINY SEASON NEEDS (714) 835-6304 With the rainy season rapidly approaching, our friends on the street are in need of SADAKO SASAKI HOUSE OF HOSPITALITY 1321 W. 38th St., Norfolk, VA 23508 inexpensive rain ponchos and tarps to protect themselves and their meager belongings. (757) 423-5420 SR. PETER CLAVER HOUSE OF HOSPITALITY If you can either send or deliver them to 632 N. Brittania St. L.A. 90033-1722, 430 W. Jefferson St., Philadelphia, PA 19122 we, and our guests, would greatly appreciate your generosity. THANK YOU. (215) 232-7823 HOUSE OF GRACE CATHOLIC WORKER 1826 E. Lehigh Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19125 (215) 426-0364 In these hard times, for a mere dollar you can give friends and PETER MAURIN CATHOLIC WORKER family the perfect gift, a one-year subscription to the one and 1149 Crestwood St., San Pedro, CA 90732 (310) 831-3480 only Catholic Agitator, along with a card announcing your gift. KIERAN PRATHER HOUSE OF HOSPITALITY 672 2nd Ave., San Bruno, CA 94066 (650) 827-0706 Name: BEATITUDE HOUSE 4575 9th St., Guadalupe, CA 93434 Address: (805) 343-6322 ST. BENEDICT HOUSE OF HOSPITALITY 4022 N. Cheryl Ave., Fresno, CA 93705 City/State/Zip: (559) 229-6410 — [email protected] HIGH DESERT CATHOLIC WORKER P.O. Box 3157, Apple Valley, CA 92307 Donor: (760) 247-5732 - [email protected] CASA COLIBRÌ CATHOLIC WORKER Send to: Catholic Agitator, 632 N. Brittania St., L.A., CA 90033-1722 http://casacolibrimx.blogspot.com 011-52 - 386-744-5063 - [email protected] HALF MOON BAY CATHOLIC WORKER YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY 160 Kelly Ave., Half Moon Bay, CA 94019 AGITATE FOR CHRISTMAS (650) 726-6621 - [email protected]