This is our mandate as followers of Christ. It is our duty to ensure that
the Church or the body of Christ on earth is increasingly unified. We must
not, by prejudice, dishonesty, unkindness or ignorance, create a series of
dysfunctional, disparate parts that work against each other. It is, in fact,
our duty to contribute to the creation of a civil society as a bulwark
against conflict and misery. It is our call to reconciliation, which is the
very heart and soul of the gospel of our Lord.
Are we succeeding in being a force for reconciliation? I believe that honest
reflection will alert Bahamians that we are engaging a societal path that
will lead to the deep disorder that we view with fear on the televised news
every day.
It has been the custom that the homily for this occasion should revolve
around matters relating to the law and the administration of justice.
However, I would like to take up a closely related subject that is just as
pertinent to the well-being of this country - civility.
Some have pointed out that, certain global hotspots, the Middle East , for
example, are plagued by a deeper problem than the mere absence of political
and economic development. The underlying problem is one of "disempowered
populations and alienated societies." (1) They go on to say that if one is
committed to tackling the dangers of extremist ideologies currently in
circulation throughout the region, it is necessary to concentrate energies
on the vital underlying causes, namely, the absence of a functioning civil
society. (2)
It has been said also that "there has been little or no pooling of resources
by academics and policy-makers on the issue of Civil Society. and no
concerted effort to develop a long-term strategy for addressing the social
dimension of the current problems..." (3) Increasingly, all of this is as
true for The Bahamas as it is for the Middle East .
While "civil society" has become a buzz phrase for speakers in The Bahamas
today, to what extent do we internalize the seriousness of its presence or
its absence? If we do take it seriously, what is being done about creating
and maintaining the drivers of civil society?
It has been noted that there are two guiding principles in establishing
civility in a society. One of them is that life is a relational experience.
"We do not live in a vacuum. We live among others, we depend on others, and
we seek comfort and life-meaning in others. Our very individual identities,
sanity, and health are shaped by the presence of others in our lives. The
quality of our lives depends, to a large extent, on the quality of our
relationships." (4) It seems to me, then, that it makes sense to acquire
relational competence. It makes sense to find ways of becoming good at being
with others and being good for each other. The rules of civility and good
manners give us a basic, time-proven way of getting along together.
Civility is intimately bound up in the creation and sustaining of
communities for collective and individual benefit and well being. It is not
about antiquated codes of etiquette. It's not about knowing which items of
cutlery to use. It's not about knowing that you shouldn't drink from the
finger bowls at a fancy dinner table. Civility speaks to a larger social
dialogue, about ethical behaviour, about neighbourliness, about good
citizenship and respect for persons-and also for the rules and regulations
that are established for protecting and enhancing the life of the community.
How often would you say that you practiced civility or had it shown to you
over the course of season that should have brought "Joy to the World"? How
many took the time to reflect on the true significance of the season rather
than worry about a good parking spot in the Mall? How many took time to
speak a few kind words to busy store clerks rather than add to their
harassment? How many gave thought to helping to satisfy the needs of the
needy rather than buy one more expensive gift to impress someone who
wouldn't have suffered without it?
It has been said that civility and manners are kinds of goodness, and as we
act ethically, we transcend our Selves, but we also nurture our Selves." (5)
I will go further and say that true civility is a product of the truest
relationship that we can know-namely, our bond with Christ. We are not born
with the forms of civility that are life giving and life affirming; they are
the fruits of the Epiphany, the fruits of our salvation, the fruits of our
relationship with our Saviour.
Civility is surely one of the talents given in the Parable of the Talents.
It is given to all who enter into a relationship with Christ but, like the
talents of the parable, the gift will be treated in different ways-some
beneficial and some counterproductive. Your talent can be invested, nurtured
and multiplied or it can be hidden and wasted away. We must practice good
citizenship and neighbourliness daily, if we are to be effective in
improving our lives and the lives of others. I want to stress today that in
your profession you are well situated to offer good example in this regard.
We must be followers of Christ every day, in every waking moment-not only
during Sunday Mass, but in observing traffic signals and refraining from
road rage, driving drunk and from the petty larcenies that have become
smilingly acceptable in this society. The fruits of our civility, our sense
of community and love of Christ must be ever evident in our treatment of
those who love us and those who don't. It must be evident in our respect for
the rule of law and the common and national good.
What more specifically should be the hallmarks of civility in
members of the judiciary? The first must be that you serve the common good
and not merely your personal agendas, or private prejudices. This means that
the young man who espouses the hip-hop lifestyle, or the financially
strapped single mother from over the hill should be afforded no less justice
and compassion than the child of a friend or individuals of high net worth.
I continue to believe that social and restorative justice should be the
primary motives in the enforcement of law and the administration of justice.
We cannot continue to leave so many of our young men and women to be lost to
prison terms that don't do enough to reform and restore. Too many are
foundering in education and training programmes that increasingly exhibit a
poor fit with the demands of institutions of higher education and job
opportunities. We have to find out why domestic abuse and school violence
are escalating to the great harm of Bahamian women and children. We have to
find out why so many of our youth are abandoning the faith of their mothers
and fathers. We cannot say we're followers of Christ and turn our backs on
the challenges of our lives together-our community life.
And again I say that the path of hope is to be engaged through concerted
action involving every element of civil society. I continue to believe that
they are only possible when the Constitution, law enforcement, the
judiciary, the legal profession, the educational system, the social services
and, most certainly, the Church function harmoniously. The Catholic
Archdiocese looks forward to continuing its partnership in this regard in
2006 and beyond.
However, here at the beginning of a new year, in this new century, we
Bahamians have the opportunity and the obligation to widen our view, to set
our sights on a goal higher than the mere absence of conflict on the
individual, parochial or national level. I would like to share with you what
Pope Benedict XVI noted in this regard in his recent message for World Peace
Day. He says:
"Whenever there is a loss of fidelity to the transcendent order, and a loss
of respect for that ''grammar'' of dialogue which is the universal moral law
written on human hearts, whenever the integral development of the person and the
protection of his fundamental rights are hindered or denied, whenever countless people are
forced to endure intolerable injustices and inequalities, how can we hope that the
good of peace will be realized?" (6)
I would like to close with the Holy Father's definition of the peace we must
seek, which is the foundation of our life as a community and which accords
perfectly with the readings from the Scriptures with which we began:
"We must realize that peace cannot be reduced to the simple absence of armed
conflict, but needs to be understood as ''the fruit of an order which has
been planted in human society by its divine Founder'', an order ''which must
be brought about by humanity in its thirst for ever more perfect justice''.
As the result of an order planned and willed by the love of God, peace has an intrinsic and
invincible truth of its own, and corresponds ''to an irrepressible yearning
and hope dwelling within us''.
"Seen in this way, peace appears as a heavenly gift and a divine grace which
demands at every level the exercise of the highest responsibility: that of
conforming human history-in truth, justice, freedom and love-to the divine
order. (7)
Dear friends, civility is the key to sustaining ordered and rewarding life
in this country and the judiciary has a major role to play in upholding
civility.
May God bless and prosper all the good work you will, in this regard,
throughout this new year.
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