One of my favorite stories from Saul Alinskys Rules for Radicals: Each year, for a number of years, the activists in the graduating class from a major Catholic seminary near Chicago would visit me for a day just before their ordination, with questions about values, revolutionary tactics, and such. Once, at the end of such a day, one of the seminarians said, “Mr. Alinsky, before we came here we met and agreed that there was one question we particularly wanted to put to you. We’re going to be ordained, and then we’ll be assigned to different parishes, as assistants to — frankly — stuffy, reactionary old pastors. They will disapprove of a lot of what you and we believe in, and we will be put into a killing routine. Our question is: how do we keep our faith in true Christian values, everything we hope to do to change the system?” That was easy, I answered. “When you go out that door, just make your own personal decision about whether you want to be a bishop or a priest, and everything else will follow.” (Im continue to be stunned by the lack of recent historical knowledge exhibited by folks - some who really should know better - who are shocked to find out that an atheist like Alinsky often worked closely with members of the Catholic community, often organizing in church basements.)
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 00:35:10 +0000
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