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Domestic Violence
Conference My dear Friends: I am Archbishop Eusebius Beltran, the Catholic Archbishop for central and western Oklahoma and the panhandle. I have served in this ministry since January of 1993. Prior to that time, I was the Catholic Bishop for the Diocese of Tulsa which encompasses the eastern third of Oklahoma. Consequently, I have served all of Oklahoma and therefore have been involved statewide for the past twenty-nine years. As a Church leader, I have been privileged to participate in many, many initiatives and programs at the State Capitol and in various arenas that impact Oklahomans in education, health matters, immigration concerns and community outreach. Our Catholic schools and Catholic Charities services welcome and serve people of all faiths and every socio-economic background. Therefore, you can be sure that I am most delighted and I am grateful that this Oklahoma Domestic and Sexual Violence Conference has included this year, to my knowledge, for the first time, a faith-based tract as part of the program. This faith-based tract will prove to be the most helpful as we collaborate with our civic society toward a solution to this serious and rampant problem of domestic violence. I believe the Attorney General, Drew Edmondson, and his staff are to be commended for this wise decision to involve the faith community. ***** Before we begin and on a much different topic regarding Church and State, let me share an amusing phone conversation between a pastor and a caller. The phone rings and Father Smith answers: “Good morning.” The caller says: “Is this Saint Anthony Church?” It is. “Are you Father Smith, the pastor?” I am. “This is the IRS Office calling. I wonder If you could help us.” I can. “Is there a John Jones registered in your parish? There is. “Did he contribute $10,000 to your church?” He will. See – Church and State can work together!! More seriously now – I would like to outline my presentation under four general headings: 1. The prevalence of domestic violence. 2. The reason for emphasizing violence against women 3. The fundamental cause of domestic violence. (the reasons for the faith community to be involved) 4. What precisely can the faith community do. I. The prevalence of domestic violence. Several months ago, I was on a mission trip to Liberi in West Africa. As I drove into the capitol city of Monrovia, I saw a huge billboard with the words “Stop the Violence against Women. Help prevent rape and abuse.” Domestic violence is everywhere. In recent weeks our own local newspaper reported: 1. Oklahoma is tenth in the nation in killing of women at men’s hands. 2. Also, syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker entitled a recent article “Slavery by Any Other Name.” She writes: “When you say slavery, most Americans think about what ended with the Civil War. With relief, we think ‘that was then.’ But slavery is, unfortunately, now. We call it ‘human trafficking’ these days, an almost innocuous-sounding term, but it is slavery by any other name. And the numbers are stunning. Around the world, as many as 1.1 million human beings, mostly women and children, are ‘trafficked’ across international borders and sold each year into slavery, according to the U.S. State Department.” 3. The statistics here in Oklahoma are astounding. In Oklahoma, three female homicide victims were less than 18 years old and five were 65 years of age or older. The average age was 39 years. Two of the Oklahoma victims were American Indian, nine were Black and 22 were white. Fifty-five percent of the Oklahoma victims were killed with guns; eighty-nine percent of those were killed with handguns. 27 of the victims were killed by someone they knew and 15 of those victims were wives, common-law wives, ex-wives or girlfriends of the offenders. Domestic violence occurs frequently and across the board. The Faith Community is aware of it because people come seeking help. Too often we fail to respond or use excuses not to be involved. II. The reason for emphasizing violence against women. In February of 2006, Representative Rebecca Hamilton sponsored an initiative protesting the violence against women. I supported her and spoke at the state capitol. I also issued a short pastoral letter charging my people to raise their voices in opposition to violence against women. While there were just a very few objections, maintaining that men are also victims of violence, I was chagrined that this would be an issue. Therefore, again I responded that I believe and what I had already said, namely, all violence against men, women or children is evil, is sinful. Yet women are proportionally at greater risk and actual harm. A few weeks ago, the same objection arose. I received a letter from the San Diego Chapter of the National Coalition of Free Men. The contention was that we should not emphasize violence against women. It was recommended that my address should be gender-inclusive and neutral. I appreciate this recommendation because all violence is wrong, is sinful. My clear statement is this: “Human beings are created in the image and likeness of God. It is this identity with God that constitutes the beauty and dignity and value of human life. Violence against any human person, man, woman or child, is evil and sinful. Women are frequently targeted by men and are abused and degraded. We must correct this inherent evil for the good of our society and its future.” Now, having clearly and straight-forwardly stated my conviction, I still believe an emphasis must be placed on opposition to violence against women. The statistics even if they seem on a parallel do not touch on these: 1. My pastoral experience of 18 years as a priest and 29 years as a bishop has seen more women victimized, abandoned and destitute because of domestic violence. 2. The lack of economic parity between men and women contributes to the long-term negative situation of women. 3. The fact that women are often left with the sole responsibility for their children is another hardship. The aftermath which women suffer after an abortion is traumatic and devastating. Men, too, can be so affected but generally it is the mother who is most scarred and suffers the greater trauma. I believe it is necessary to give prevalence to women but always to remember that all violence and any violence against any other human person is wrong – is evil – is sinful. III. The fundamental cause of domestic violence – the reason for the faith community to be involved: Newspaper articles, statistics and responders reports will often list economic pressures or poverty, drugs or alcohol as reasons for domestic violence. Certainly each of those and all of them and other factors contribute to the evil of domestic violence. However, in the faith community, we see a more fundamental reason and that is that domestic violence is a sin. What is a sin? Perhaps we have different concepts of sin. What do I mean by sin? Sin is an offense against God. It is also an error against reason, truth and right conscience. Sin is a deliberate thought, word, deed or omission contrary to the eternal law of God. Since we are all created in the Image and Likeness of God, violence against any person, man, woman or child, is always wrong, always sinful. The opposite of sin is LOVE (charity). Charity is a theological virtue by which we love God above all things and our neighbors as ourselves for the love of God. (Sin is not just a failure – a mistake or inappropriate – It is evil. It is against God and against our neighbor.) Sin is disobeying God. Love is obeying God. Sin is contrary to the eternal law of God. Love is accepting and uphold the law of God. Sin is selfish. Love is sharing. The contrast between Sin and Love makes them incompatible. If we truly love God and our neighbor, we are obliged to overcome sin, to help others and to bring the Good News of God to others. This is the reason the faith community must be involved in recognizing domestic violence. This is the reason the faith community must actively work to overcome domestic violence against all people. IV. What precisely can the faith community do? 1. Every faith community has clergy and church leaders and teachers. I believe that anyone in this role has already recognized the pervasiveness of domestic violence. Consequently, through them, the faith community must speak out against domestic violence. 2. The faith community leaders must provide training for others to recognize and respond to domestic violence . 3. While all activity of the faith community must be sustained by prayer – this is essential – this is critical. Yet prayer alone is not enough. Prayer is communication with God. Yet Jesus Himself tells us the parable of the seed. – ( elaborate ) – The seed is the word of God. It will sprout and grow and produce a harvest only when it is properly received, nourished and cared for. I think we should learn to pray as if everything depended on God – and work as if everything depends on us. This is authentic communication with God. This is prayer of the highest kind. We trust in God’s Providence and help – then with His help we do all that we can to recognize and uphold the dignity of every human person from the moment of conception to natural death. 4. Members of the faith community must refer victims to right counseling and ancillary services. They must help perpetrators to change. In the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, we have taken many measures to accomplish this: In that February 2006 effort, I challenged our people to recognize the prevalence – the evil – the sinfulness of domestic violence. I encouraged them as a first step to sign a statement in opposition to domestic violence. More than 20,000 responded and these signatures were displayed first in their church, then on the state grounds. Currently, our Office of Family Life spearheads these measures. Learning from others, we have adopted some of the ideas of the Safe Place Faith Community programs from the Office of Social Ministry of the Diocese of San Diego. Kent Peters and Deacon Glenn Vecchitto of San Diego will be giving a presentation in the breakout sessions this afternoon. As far back as 1992, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops challenged our people in a strongly worded pastoral letter “When I Call For Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence Against Women.” This strong statement of the Bishops enumerated three goals for the Church in this order of priority: 1. Safety of victims and children. 2. Accountability for the abuser. 3. Restoration of the relationship (if this is possible) or mourning of the loss. Not only did the Church respond affirmatively but so did our government. In 1994, Congress passed historic legislation. This legislation has positively changed the way individuals and communities now respond to this problem. While there is much progress in this area, there is still a long way to go. Churches and communities must work together much as we are doing today in this domestic violence conference of the state with the participation of the faith communities. Regarding the 1992 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops statement, the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City continues to encourage our people to be aware of domestic violence, to become involved in the solution of this problem and to do so prayerfully and responsibly. Our safe place community program represents one of our current efforts. I believe 22 of our churches have already responded to this program and at least 90 people have been duly and properly trained. These people are excited about life in general as well as their faith. They are prepared to put their beliefs into practice. They have learned how to do this in a prayerful, professional and compassionate manner. Yes, we do indeed live in turbulent times. Fear and terror, abuse and violence surround us BUT there is nothing that can overcome the power and love of God. Remember, God so loves the world that He sent His Son (Jesus) to save us. We are not lost. We will not fail. God is with us! Thank you and God bless you. Most
Reverend Eusebius J. Beltran |