We are called to reconciliation
Rachel Morgan
For a More Just and Humane World
It strikes me every Sunday at Mass how radical indeed the Jubilee Year 2000 can be.
As Catholics may know, Pope John Paul II has designated the year 2000 as a Jubilee Year. Because the year 2000 marks the beginning of a new millennium, it is a unique opportunity to celebrate 2000 years of Christ's presence and transforming effect in human history. It is a challenge to Christians to a renewed effort to proclaim and live out the Gospel in a way that transforms modern society and culture.
Historically, there is evidence in the Hebrew scriptures of a practice of taking "the 50th year" as a jubilee year. In the words of scriptures, it was a time of "letting the land lie fallow" and leaving the fruits of the land to the poor. It was a time of "releasing prisoners." It was a time to "forgive debts owed." It was a time of reconciliation with the land and with neighbors.
In this Jubilee Year 2000, we also are being called to honor this Jubilee practice. Here at Notre Dame, efforts to celebrate and educate about Jubilee Year 2000 will place emphasis on the theme of reconciliation and renewal.
We will be challenged to practice reconciliation personally and collectively as a society. Do your new millennial resolutions include how you are going to practice jubilee justice and reconciliation in this Great Jubilee Year?
Personally, maybe practicing reconciliation means reconciling longtime conflicts with a family member. Maybe it means reconciling within yourself about your drug or alcohol habit and finally seeking the proper help. Maybe it means forgiving a debt owed to you.
In considering what we need to reconcile as a society, maybe it means working towards the abolishment of capital punishment. Maybe it means working to end sweatshop labor and to pressure our institutions to be more accountable. Maybe it means learning more about international debt and the burden it leaves on poor countries.
Over the next few months, the three campuses — Notre Dame, Saint Mary's and Holy Cross — will launch the Campaign for International Debt Relief. You will have the opportunity to learn about the effects of debt on heavily indebted countries and to hear directly from people in those countries. The campaign will consist of a variety of speakers, articles and educational efforts in residence halls.
The campaign will culminate in an event and call to action on April 1. The pope, interdenominational groups and President Clinton have called on the U.S. and the international community to forgive the debts owed by the poorest countries. President Clinton has taken a leadership role to advance the alleviation of some of the international debt owed to the U.S., but we, as U.S. citizens, have a lot more to do to insure the necessary appropriations for proper debt relief.
As many take the opportunity of the Jubilee Year to reflect and act upon 2000 years of Christ's presence in our world, will you also answer the call to Jubilee reconciliation — to "open the doors wide" — to be a "real presence" in our world that hungers for reconciliation and healing?
We are being called to act as communities of faith for reconciliation with justice. It is a call to change economic and political structures that continue to oppress the poor and the needy in our world. It is a radical call with radical consequences, but it only takes a conversion of the heart and simple acts of service. Look for events with the Jubilee logo. Contact the Center for Social Concerns and Campus Ministry for more information on the Jubilee. Come out on April 1 to voice your support for international debt relief.
Rachel Tomas Morgan is the director of the Appalachia Seminar and the International Summer Service Program at the Center for Social Concerns. She also serves as the center's Jubilee 2000 Committee chair. Comments and discussions are welcome at ND.ndcntrsc.1@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
All Viewpoint Stories for Wednesday, February 23, 2000
