The Consortium Journal Helping Francis Re-Form the Church (June 23, 2017)

THE CONSORTIUM JOURNAL HELPING FRANCIS RE-FORM THE CHURCH (JUNE 23, 2017) • In the liturgical calendar, there is a liturgical season called ORDINARY TIME which we enter on the Monday after Corpus Christi. It is called “Ordinary Time” in contrast to the other liturgical seasons, e.g., Easter, Advent, etc. and it lasts until the First Sunday of Advent near the end of this year, 2017. It is not called “ordinary” in any denigrating sense and its liturgies deserve all the praise and affirmations we give to other liturgical seasons. Unfortunately, the name sounds so much like a common name and seems to imply that its liturgies are “second-class.” Not so! We are called to bring the Fullest Faith and Greatest Gratitude we can to them. • One way to keep up our regard and honour and faith in regards to them is to keep Jesus Christ perceptibly before us as we celebrate these liturgies. A simple but powerful way to do this is to spend from time to time during Ordinary Time some meditative prayer time before the sculpture by Timothy P. Schmalz’s “Homeless Jesus” (the smaller size), a sculpture inspired by Matthew 25 showing a homeless, bare-footed Jesus reclining on a park bench. This is not only an awesome depiction of Jesus but it quickly impacts on you and forces you and me to think about all our brothers and sisters who are in need of Him just as we are. This is the most marginalized Christ in our society whose grace sees to it that we celebrate His Eucharists as best as we can. • A good photograph of the sculpture, accessed by the website below, and such other works, can be found in Selected Works by Timothy P. Schmalz and can give you the above experience. For more information or to get one of these small sculptures, see: Timothy P. Schmalz, P.O. Box 424, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada N2G 3Y9 or call 800-590-3264 or visit www.sculpturedbytps.com TRUMPISM AND CATHOLICISM (Continued) • We recall that “Trump claimed before taking office that climate change was a ‘hoax’ created by the Chinese to hurt the U.S. economy, an assertion that stands in defiance of broad scientific consensus” (Jill Colvin and Julie Pace, “Trump abandoning global climate pact?,” Waterloo Region Record, June 1, 2017). A few weeks later he admitted this was a joke! • “Trump said the United States would be willing to rejoin the accord if it could obtain more favourable terms but the leaders of France, Germany and Italy said in a joint statement of June 1, 2017 that the agreement could not be renegotiated, ‘since it is a vital instrument for our planet, societies, and economics.’” (Jill Colvin, “Leaders unite on climate pact,” Toronto Star, June 3, 2017). • Trump stated, “this agreement is less about the climate and more about other countries gaining a financial advantage over the United States.” Trump also claimed that other countries have laughed at the U.S. for agreeing to the terms. 1 • Mr. Trump abandoned the joint effort that the Paris accord was and also moved to reverse American federal policies aimed at cutting green-house gas emissions. In the U.S., the leadership for this now falls upon states like California as well as municipalities and businesses who see climate change as a fact of modern life. • When Trump jettisoned the Paris accord, he stated it would “hamstring” the American economy and “empower” some of the world’s worst polluters (especially China and India). “He slammed the creation of a Green Climate Fund, in which wealthier nations agreed to marshal $100-billion (U.S.) a year by 2020 in government and private funding to help developing countries reduce GHG [Green House Gases] emissions and cope with the impacts of climate change” (“From page 1 Withdrawal: ‘Canada is unwavering in our commitment to fight climate change,’ Trudeau says,” page A8, The Globe and Mail, June 2, 2017 – only the second part of the article). • Note how strong Trump is about the Paris accord, stating that it handicaps the U.S. economy and, therefore, he is against it. Note how anti-Christian this sentiment is: it states bluntly that human beings are meant basically to take care of themselves and there is no room in this view for charity to those who need help. THIS IS PURE SELFISHNESS and against the Gospel! • One thing we need to keep in mind in all this is the following. “News item: Renewable energy now outstrips any other form of new energy production globally, including coal, each year. We have turned the corner; the train has left the station; the horse is out of the barn. Whichever cliché you prefer, the fact remains: Donald Trump is so last decade.” (John Ibbitson, “Opinion Pull out of the accord, Trump. The world has moved on,” The Globe and Mail, June 2, 2017) So ironic, isn’t it! • “Framing his decision as a reassertion of ‘America’s [the United States’] sovereignty,’ he said, ‘I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris. We are out’” (Jill Colvin and Julie Pace, “Trump pulls U.S. from Paris climate accord: move puts the States at odds with staunchest allies,” National Post, June 2, 2017) • “‘I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh not Paris,’ Trump declared, underscoring he was, in case anyone did not know, an ‘America First’ kind of guy” (James Pindell, “Ground Game/Inside Presidential Politics with The Boston Globe,” June 2, 2017). • “Donald Trump says that he does not represent Paris, and that is a good reason to renounce the Paris agreement. It should be noted, in light of what climate scientists are saying about sea-level rise, that he is also not representing New York or Miami.” (Michael Greason, letter-writer to the editor, The Globe and Mail [“Letters to the Editor”], June 3, 2017) • “Trump said he would begin negotiations to re-enter the agreement or establish ‘an entirely new transaction’ to get a better deal for the U.S. But he suggested re-entry was hardly a priority. ‘If we can, great, if we cannot, that’s fine,’ he said.” (Colvin and Pace) (National Post, June 2, 2017) Be sure to note his last point here! • What does seem very strange in this matter is that the American ambassador to the United Nations claims Trump does believe in climate change! “President Donald Trump, who has famously called climate change a ‘hoax,’ does believe the climate is changing and that humans have a role in it. United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley told CNN’s Jake Tapper. ‘President Trump believes the climate is changing and he 2 believes pollutants are part of the equation,’ Haley said in an interview on the State of the Union, aired June 4, 2017. ‘The rest of the world wanted to tell us how to do it, and we are saying we will do it, but we will do it under our terms.’ She said Trump pulled out of the pact ‘because it was to possible to meet the conditions’ under the pact agreed to under President Barack Obama.” (“Environment: Trump does believe in climate change, UN ambassador Says,” National Post, June 5, 2017) • The Globe and Mail, in its editorial “Donald Trump Climate hot air” of June 2, 2017 takes an important point of view that can serve as a good context for Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris accord. Here below are the most important parts of this editorial. • “The announcement subtracting the United States from the Paris climate deal, made without irony in the White House Rose Garden during a celebration featuring a live jazz combo, is a shame for all, and a surprise for nobody … • “Mr. Trump railed that the Paris climate agreement is a bad deal, is ‘draconian’ and will cause business to grind to a halt. Oh, and it is also flawed because it is non- binding and ineffective. His rationale is, not to put too fine a point on this, idiotic. Commitments under the Paris agreement are entirely voluntary, and it is supported by a vast diaspora of interests, from environmental groups to the world’s largest oil company, ExxonMobil, which urged Mr. Trump to reconsider. Only three countries oppose it: Nicaragua – which feels it is too timid, Syria, and now the United States … • “The Paris pact is not without flaws, but taking the ostrich approach on climate change is destructively short-sighted. The moves it foreshadows, namely a gutting of U.S. environmental regulations, will have actual, dangerous consequences. At the same time, the international effort to address the mounting threat posed by man- made climate change is not contingent on Americans holding the reigns. While it would be desirable for the world’s largest economy to be at the forefront of international climate initiatives, at least now the fight can go on without constant U.S. foot-dragging. • “China, in particular, seems perfectly content to pick up the mantle of leadership, at least rhetorically. In the long run, it may even feel pressure to back up its words.” • “Mr. Trump’s announcement is essentially symbolic. That said the symbolism is terrible. It feels like one more signpost pointing to the end of the American century.” • Well said and to the point! 3 The Globe and Mail June 2, 2017 4 • Let us now proceed to some scientific considerations that are of great relevance regarding the American withdrawal from the Paris accord. • “Scientists say that the earth is likely to reach more dangerous levels of warming sooner if the U.S.

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