Militarism - National Service Represents a Good Opportunity For Peacemakers

The UK Conservative Government’s recent threat of national service for our young people, provides a great opportunity for us Catholic Workers to talk about three distinct pillars of our movement, which were formed and forged by our Catholic Worker pioneers in the 1960s. Brothers and sisters such as Dorothy Day, Jim Forrest and the Berrigan brothers, who developed campaigns and various strategies of non-participation, nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience during the Vietnam War draft.

All of the above, should be encouraged and promoted among our young people today, in the event of any kind of forced labour or compulsory participation in militarism.

We Catholic Workers are also tasked with reminding others about the idea of class solidarity, especially since military recruitment has always immorally targeted vulnerable young people from low socio-economic backgrounds – this is just more of the same, but on an industrial scale.

Do we honestly believe that the children of the ruling class will participate in national service?
The other problem with national service is that it normally involves some sort of patriotic pledge of allegiance or swearing an oath of loyalty to the Nation State and the Crown.

It remains to be seen how this type of ritual might go down here in Scotland, where a significant number of of 16-24 year olds appear to be independence supporters and republicans.
For many young people, this act of loyalty would be politically unacceptable and for some Christians, this level of flag worship would be considered idolatrous.

Instead, we offer an alternative vision of service and duty; our founder Dorothy Day advocated voluntary poverty, not Government mandated poverty or compulsory poverty but voluntary poverty, and the same principle can also be applied to our love of neighbour and our works of mercy in our communities. We carry out this work, not because we are being forced to by the State and not because we are threatened with damnation by the Church, we do this work because we all belong to the Body of Christ.

Dorothy Day stated that the Mystical Body of Christ, was the basis for the Catholic Worker Movement’s communitarianism and it is this vision of all humanity belonging to the body of Christ which motivates both our refusal to participate in militarism and also our work in the service of others.

And yet, some Catholic Workers do see some possibilities in non war related opportunities for young people, even if we are all very cautious and suspicious about the whole idea.

In reality, we don't really need the State to introduce compulsory national service, every day, thousands of amazing young people freely choose to volunteer, without a mandatory law forcing them to do so. If we want to offer our young people new skills and help them gain qualifications, then we should offer more apprenticeships and stop cutting vocational college places.

However, the most important message we Catholic Workers have for our young people facing the possibility of National Service is this; Do not render unto Caesar that which does not belong to him, but belongs to your neighbour instead (and maybe even your enemy too) your service to others and your Works of Mercy!

With The Chinese Spring Festival ending, and the Year of the Rabbit upon us my family and I have been celebrating the festivities more ‘freely’ this year as the Covid restrictions have much relaxed.

Several years ago, my wife, along with our daughter started to attend our local Church, St. Peter's and St. Simon's in Partick.  My wife was a Chinese National at the time, but now she has relinquished her Chinese Passport and is a UK passport holder. Having been brought up in a Catholic family I was keen that our daughter and my wife develop a relationship with God, through our faith. My wife spent about a year training with the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) at the church and [more...]

There is a famous Russian painting entitled “The Zaporozhian Cossaks' Reply to the Turkish Sultan” made by the prestigious artist Ilya Repin in 1891. It vividly depicts the  boisterous defiance of    Russian Cossacks to the humiliating demands of surrender from the Sultan. This place, on the river Dneipro, which was the scene of iconic heroism in Russian historical narrative, is now known as Zaporozhzhia.

Note that we all must now spell this with two “zh’s”, just as we now say Dneipro and not Dneipr’ , and Kiyv not Kiev, because these are the Ukrainian spelling and not the traditional English/Russian. And now that we have reallocated this country from the category of the Evil Empire (which it has been for all of my life) to helpless victim of those terrible Russians, this makes it clear that these are now the good guys, but the Russians are still the baddies. Understood?

So, Zaporozhzhia is now Ukrainian, [more...]

The Nun, the Bomb and the Cross

Sister Megan Rice came across as a warm and gentle peacekeeper, someone you would never think would break into a United States facility involved in the production of nuclear weapons. However on 28th July 2012 St Megan and two    others entered the heavily guarded Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, considered the birthplace of the atomic bomb, and spray-painted anti-war slogans and splashed blood on walls ,the New York Times reported that nuclear weapons experts called this action "the biggest security breach in the history of the nation's atomic complex."

“You ought to be ashamed of yourself, wearing a symbol of Satan. That’s the cross with its arms wrenched down. It is Satanic. It is a symbol of the Anti-Christ”. Incensed with anger, the indignant parent at the PTA meeting jabbed at my CND lapel badge. Just at that moment the meeting began, [more...]

In September, Carfin Grotto will be hosting the relics of Saint Bernadette. For many Catholics in Scotland, this will be a joyous occasion, and there will be pilgrimages to Carfin to remember, reverence, and ponder the little teenage girl who saw Mary in 1858, and changed the course of history for our Church.

Coincidentally, I had the blessing to go to Lourdes this past summer [more...]

The last few months have seen the British public caught up in the frenzy of the last “Happy Valley” season and last episode. Everywhere one goes, people are discussing it. My husband and I have started watching the series, from Season 1. We are now – with high anticipation – ready to watch THE final episode (possibly this very night). Dodging “spoilers” has become a daily sporting activity.

What does the Happy Valley craze have to do with Lent? [more...]

[The Holy Father did not in the end attend COP26]

Holy Father,

Your loving concern for the welfare of all God's children is known throughout the world and acknowledged by everybody. In Laudato Si you articulated this with thoughtful, precise and inspiring words. Now you are coming to Cop 26 in Glasgow to join with the representatives of many countries, to give witness to your concern for the fate of humanity and of the planet

You come to the land sanctified by the labours of countless luminaries suich as Columba, Ninian, Aiden, Margaret, and a host of others. Indeed our land was one famed as “specialis filia ecclesiae Romanae” - the special daughter of the Roman Church.  

[letter in full...]

 In November, Glasgow will play host to the COP [Conference of the Parties]26 at which discussions will revolve around how to work towards the targets set out in the Paris Agreement and UN Convention on Climate Change. There has been a great deal of excitement generated by the event and a definite feeling of momentum. However, this is also balanced by a sense of skepticism in whether the conference’s aims will be met, as well as what, and who, is being left out of the discussion. Here at the Glasgow Catholic Worker, we are acutely aware that there are still necessary topics that seem to be neglected, including living simply and the link between the climate crisis and violence, both of which are glaringly omitted from the official narrative.

If you look at the statement from COP President, Alok Sharma [more...]

The hour is late so I won’t mince my words – Addressing climate change is inexorably tied to achieving peace and economic social justice, as entrenched militarism and oligarchic power structures are prioritizing capital over the planet, and marginalized communities will absorb the worst effects if we don’t act.   

These are the blunt facts of the matter; catastrophic environmental destruction is an act of war and violence against God’s creation, 6 million of the Creator’s creatures are the brink of extinction. If we do not act now then [more...].

Today we gather as a scattered community to pray
We ask you Lord to guide our hearts and hands
towards the works of mercy
which we as Catholic Workers are called to do .

At the heart of the Catholic Worker Movement’s philosophy lies the theme of hospitality, which is why our founder Dorothy Day would often quote this verse from Hebrews: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

I’m not sure if I’ve ever unknowingly entertained an Angel throughout all my years as a community worker but once or twice, [more...]

A few weeks ago I was at a cash machine taking some money out when I heard behind me what sounded like someone with a terrible cold, snorting and sniffling. When I turned round, I saw that in fact it was a dog, a type of bulldog. This dog was not ‘ill’ as such but always breathed like that. 

Not sure which type of bulldog it was but the French bulldog was UK's second most popular breed of dog in 2011. These and some other breeds are at much higher risk of developing health problems, [more...]

  Dorothy Day was born on November 8th, 1897 in Brooklyn New York. She spent much of her childhood in San Francisco and Chicago. It was during her families move to Chicago that Dorothy got to feel first hand the impact of not having needed resources, as her father was temporarily unemployed. He did gain employment as a journalist in Chicago, and while certainly [more...]

John Dear joined us on the evening of 12th September 2013.  His talk was on non-viloence and and his contacts with the Catholic Worker. We didn't record the visit but John has written this Peace Journal from Scotland which gives an idea of his visit. Thank you John for your witness to the peace of Christ and the message of non-violence.

Rev, John Dear S.J. is a Jesuit Priest, Peace Activist, Organizer, Lecturer, Retreat leader, and author/editor of 28 books on peace and nonviolence. Archbishop Desmond Tutu has nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize.

We are a community of Catholics living out our faith in the world in partnership with people of all faiths and none.
We are inspired by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Catholic Social Teaching [Read more...]

• The Catholic Worker believes in the gentle personalism of traditional Catholicism.
• The Catholic Worker believes in the personal obligation of looking after the needs of our sisters and brothers.
• The Catholic Worker believes in the daily practice of the works of mercy.
• The Catholic Worker believes in Houses of Hospitality for the immediate relief of those who are in need.
• The Catholic Worker believes in creating a new society within the shell of the old.

 Peter Maurin