New Catholic Times

I saw Avatar last evening, with my wife Nora who has taught Media Studies for twenty plus years. She expects Avatar to do well at the Oscars because "the special effects and amazing cinematography mark a significant technical breakthrough in the history of movies>"

I have spoken with a number of people who have seen Avatar. I have read a variety of reviews and articles including one by Cathy Cavanagh in the January 18th edition of cntsf. Cathy's analysis is spot on, "The film refreshes in its frank reflection on the modern causes of warfare. From the oil deposits of Iraq to the mines of South America, the fight for resources today is masked by turning those who live on desirable land into enemies of the ‘free world'."

I find one thing missing in such reviews and articles, particularly those in Catholic publications.

{First a little history. I was born in Liverpool, England in 1942 and was brought up with the oratory of Winston Churchill, "We will fight them on..."

i I am Liverpool Irish and so grew to love, and still have on my ipod the rebel songs that constitute perhaps fifty percent of Irish music prior to Van Morrison and U2.

I taught with a priest from Northern Ireland who put himself under discipline not to return to his birthplace as he was not sure he could control his emotions because of the centuries of hatred and oppression that were [present there. So I am familiar with the need of the oppressed to rid themselves of oppression.}

At the beginning of Avatar the representative of "the earthly military-industrial complex" presents a scenario whereby an unacceptable offer will be made to the indigenous people of Pandora, the NaVi. When the "proposal" is rejected the private military force will move in, take over the land , mine the "unobtainium", and destroy the lives and lifestyle of the NaVi.

This "unacceptable offer" may bring to mind the former Ontario Minister of Education John Snobelen being caught on tape proclaiming the need to "create a crisis" so the Harris education agenda could be imposed.

Cameron, in his writing, taps into the environmental concerns of today, particularly in the age-group that is flocking to the movie, by making the NaVi an ecologically concerned, creation-centred people.

Unfortunately Cameron also taps into the politically correct assumption that the solution has to be violent, and here lies my concern with "Catholic" reviews and articles of Avatar.

Cathy Cavanagh comments on the violent conclusion, "The movie does eventually bow to the narcissistic needs of the North American viewer. When peaceful resistance fails, the Na'Vi rise up and fight (sigh)." But is "sigh" sufficient?

In 1989 I attended a preview for Catholic educators of the film Romero. In the film, Fr. Manuel Morantes joins the Salvadoran guerillas. Oscar Romero tells him that in espousing violence he will become like those he is opposing.

I loved the movie, used and still use excerpts in my teaching. In 1989 I reflected on that particular scene between Morientes and Romero and spoke with both colleagues and teachers about my sympathy, my empathy, perhaps even my support for Fr. Moriente's position.

In the intervening twenty-one years I came to the realization, and, finally, before I retired taught, that central to Jesus' teaching is a radical commitment to non-violence.

Yes, I had admired, read and taught Dorothy Day, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Phil and Dan Berrigan, Thomas Merton, Bishop Tom Gumbleton and others. But what about:
Churchill , the men and women of the Easter Uprising,
What about Fr. Murphy, the Catholic priest immortalized in the song Boulavogue,

Then Father Murphy, from old Kilcormack,                                                                                                                                                                      Spurred up the rocks with a warning cry;
"Arm! Arm!" he cried, "for I've come to lead you,
For Ireland's freedom we fight or die."

What about, what about, what about...?

i I'm with James Joyce, "Catholicism means here comes everybody"

I'm against those Cafeteria Catholics, (and we are all Cafeteria Catholics) who wish to exclude from the community (excommunicate) those who don't eat from their menu. Particularly when they exclude for teachings that are accretions to that Jesus of Nazareth character - male only celibate clergy, no gay marriage, unilateral condemnation of abortion - and particularly when they do not teach his radical commitment to non-violence.

In Jesus' interactions with what Mark calls "the crowd", in other words, the poor, the blind, women. children, lepers, tax-collectors, Samaritans; in his interaction with the sword-wielding Peter in Gethsemane; in his interaction with Pilate, the representative of the dominant military power of his time; in his "turn the other cheek" comment where he opposes violence in any form.

We Catholics, as a church, and in our educational institutions, have moved so far from Jesus' teaching on radical non-violence - a teaching he would die for - that we still spend more time espousing the flawed "Just-War Theory" in school, in religious education courses and in homilies.

We Catholics, as a church, and in our educational institutions, have moved so far from Jesus' teaching on radical non-violence that military recruiting and military coops are becoming commonplace in our secondary schools.

We Catholics, as a church, and in our educational institutions, have moved so far from Jesus' teaching on radical non-violence that our bishops excoriate politicians for supporting gay marriage but say little over supporting Canada's military and arms-dealing adventures.

We Catholics, as a church, and in our educational institutions, have moved so far from Jesus' teaching on radical non-violence that a Catholic is denied "conscientious objector" status because the Roman Catholic Church is not one of the traditional peace churches.

I hope in Catholic schools when students and teachers are talking or teaching about Avatar that the radical non-violence of Jesus of Nazareth has a part. I hope when Guidance and Cooperative Education departments look at their offerings the radical non-violence of Jesus of Nazareth enters the picture.

I hope the ongoing series of articles by Robert Blair Kaiser, "Holy Words Holy Wars" in new catholic times sensus fidelium
is read by senior students and all teachers of World Religions, History, and Politics, courses in Catholic schools.

For the best adult faith development and professional development on this too often overlooked teaching of Jesus, a teaching that will ensure that Catholic schools are truly schools with a difference I hope many teachers, chaplains and administrators will come and listen to, talk with, question and learn from Fr. John Dear sj and Fr. Roy Bourgeois mm at the Canadian Forum on Theology and Education , May 27th - 29th at the University of Waterloo, Ontario.
For details go to http://www.cfotae.ca