“Who is my Neighbor?” – An Examination of Conscience
LK 10: 25-37

From a Christian perspective, this is an obvious story about moral choices in relationship to some difficult situations.  Maybe some of you are familiar with the Catherine “Kitty” Genovese story? On March 30, 1964 Kitty was raped and killed in not one, but two separate attacks near her home in Queens, NY.  After interviewing 38 neighbors (who heard Kitty screaming for help that night) incredibly the police found that only one neighbor summoned police.  Pitifully, people exhibited no mercy by their shameful, indifference on this date.  And tragically for Kitty, it appears that fear & silence triumphed.
    

Moving ahead to 2019, we find our church in a moral crisis.  Jesus describes how the priest & Levite decided to avoid & ignore the battered victim; while the Samaritan risked his own safety to rescue the unfortunate traveler.  Fear is a powerful mechanism built into our brains.  It enables us to survive, yet sometimes it can paralyze us.  It is evident that some of our most trusted Church leaders chose to follow the priest & Levite in this story. For too long, they chose to ignore aberrant, clerical behavior; sometimes that rose to criminal levels. Much like those from that Queens neighborhood in 1964, they too became paralyzed by fear and a trembling heart (Deut.28:65). “Fear unconstrained metastasizes.”

Today, we are witnessing the devastating effects of fear & silence within our faith community.  Too many clerics failed to intervene earlier by turning a blind eye to those being abused by their fellow priests, bishops and cardinals.  They failed to listen to the courageous ones who tried to speak out about their experiences.  Experiences that resulted in unimaginable pain & suffering.  For some survivors, it led to chemical dependency.  For others, it meant unresolved anger preventing them from maintaining stable relationships.  And tragically for others, even suicide became there only escape from unrelenting shame.  These are just a few effects of fear, silence and abandonment.

Edward Everette Hale (1822-1909) was an author and clergyman. You might be familiar with his famous quote and a citation that I believe applies to current events; “I am only one; but still I am one.  I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”  So, “What is the one thing that we can do that perhaps we have thought about, but failed to act on?  “Who is my neighbor & do I chose to follow in the footsteps of the Levite & priest; or not?  The Pilgrim suggests that we collectively stand up to the indifference.  Let us ask God to help us follow in the path of the Good Samaritan by acting out in love, justice & divine mercy.  Let us refuse to allow fear & silence to triumph any longer.  We stand at a critical time in world history.  I suggest that we become active participants in the re-building of our church.  Perhaps, we (clerics & laymen alike) should ask ourselves if we have done enough to make the right choices & in what ways can we reach out to all who suffer in silence?” Please know that all who read these reflections are being prayed for by the fishermen.  The Roaming Pilgrim.