Hey there!
Welcome to my blog. Welcome to my life: Experiences on the public speaking circuit;
visiting prisoners and victims’ families; cooking up Cajun red beans or chicken
stew: playing my saxophone (got it at a pawn shop/ardent beginner); my writing
projects in process (articles, op eds, books – I’m presently writing a book for
Orbis Press about my experiences with poor women in Nicaragua); and my writing
process: what happens as I face the blank page, the adventure of discovery as a
book unfolds, poetry that rises up from my soul… "I awoke, my heart
growing flowers…"; sharing very interesting letters I get from people
from all over the world, who have seen the film of Dead Man Walking or read the
book and those who have read The Death of Innocents; my experiences with the
opera of Dead Man Walking, which premiered in San Francisco in 2000 and
recently opened in Europe in Dresden, Germany, and I was there to do talks and
media interviews to introduce people to the story; what’s going on with the
stage play of Dead Man Walking in universities and some high schools now in its
third year (hop over to the Play Project web site to learn more).
I’ll take you with me on my learning curve: The web of life
and how we humans (urgently) need to learn to live in a mutually enhancing way
with Earth. In the last two weeks of August I’ll be at Genesis Farm, an
ecological learning center in Blairstown, N.J., taking Earth Literacy. Everything’s
connected, life is whole, and my spirituality is broadening, deepening to see
the holy Spirit in all of life. This leads me to partner with Sister Marya
Grathwohl, OSF, in doing conferences and retreats which bring together human
rights (my bailiwick) and the crisis of Earth (Marya’s bailiwick).
And, well, throw into the mix life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness: books I read, people I admire, my fledgling art projects with
sketches and watercolor.
I’m intrigued by people who unleash energy in the world (finally
it’s all about energy: isn’t love the greatest energy of all?), and not just
social justice activists but people like the Beatles, people like Elvis Presley
and, of course, people like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King. And Father
Roy Bourgeois, who almost single-handedly raised awareness of the torture
training center at the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia. Ten
thousand people gather there every year to call for an end to torture and
military solutions to world conflicts, always on the weekend before
Thanksgiving. I’ll be there this year, too, as I have been for the past
three years.
My faith, which I try to live, not just talk about, is at
the heart of what I do, how I move, what I see. I am urgently, terribly,
white-hot concerned about what the right-wing folks are doing to Jesus,
twisting his message to uphold wealthy people getting wealthier while poor
people suffer and die, promoting the death penalty, war, and torture-as
"Christian". Yuck! Augh! I gotta speak out about that…poor Jesus,
taken hostage by the right-wing Christians. I have puuullllenty to say about
that…
I invite you to share your ideas, comments, humor, and
please, humor in any form – we can’t make it without humor. Whatever your heart
feels and thinks. Every week I’ll be back and respond. I like this online discourse,
riding the waves of cyberspace, you and me connecting, touching each other’s
souls like this.
Be free. Don’t get hung up on the nun thing and think you
have to talk to me in a nunny way. And I’ll bet you a dime to a dollar
you can’t tell me a nun joke I haven’t already heard. Just click the
Comments link below, drop me a line, and I’ll be looking for you.
Sister Helen
Sr. Helen Prejean
It looks as if Sr. Helen Prejean has started a new website here on typepad. LINK She had started a blog shortly before Katrina devastated New Orleans, when was forced to move her base of operations temporarily. Last Friday morning
Sister: My faith, which I try to live, not just talk about,
Ed: I respect this….we should all be not just talking about “Jaaaaaayzuz” as many folks do, but living the Gospel in front of people
S: is at the heart of what I do, how I move, what I see. I am urgently, terribly, white-hot concerned about what the right-wing folks
E: Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!!!!!
Hold on there, sister!!
“Right wing folks”
Does that mean you are a “left wing nun???” How can you justify that when you KNOW that the left wingers stand for just about everything that is in opposition to the Church and Her teachings?
I think we need some clarity here. A Christian should be neither a right winger or a left winger. He should be a Christian first and be loyal to the Church. If someone wants to tag him/her with a name because of living out these beliefs, then so be it, but to align yourself with either side seems to me to stab Jesus in the back.
S: are doing to Jesus, twisting his message to uphold wealthy people getting wealthier while poor people suffer and die,
E: Ummmmmmmmmmm……you know, I don’t see anything in scripture that prohibits a person getting rich. What I do see is a call to our using our wealth to benefit others and relieve their suffering.
I understand perhaps what you are talking about, but the answer is not socialism or communism, but living out the Christian message of compassion for the less fortunate, using whatever means we have, including our wealth, to aid others.
S: promoting the death penalty,
E: Sorry. You are wrong here. Period.
S: war,
E: Actually, I agree with you here. I have the feeling that there have been a lot of “wars” that have been nothing more than our intervention in local civil wars in order that certain companies could enhance their bottom line.
But……….let me ask you this. Is SELF DEFENSE okay with you? If the Muslims come over here with blood in their eyes and a desire to kill us all as infidels, are you saying that we cannot defend ourselves? I get that feeling from you. Remember, the Muslims have been killing Christians for almost 1400 years and except that the Church had sent out armies to oppose them, you would be speaking Arabic right now and believe in their false “god”.
S: and torture-as “Christian”. Yuck! Augh! I gotta speak out about that…poor Jesus, taken hostage by the right-wing Christians.
E: Yes. And He has been taken hostage also by “left wing Christians” (an oxymoron if I ever heard one!!!) who claim that He would bless homosexual unions, install women as priests, and make sure that all women have the right to kill their unborn babies. Don’t you dare just lay this sort of thing alone at the feet of those on the right.
S: I have puuullllenty to say about that…
E: I know you do. Kinda wish you would shut up! You are opposing our Lord’s Church by associating yourself with left wing socialist nutcases!!!!!
Hi, Ed, would you mind not strawmanning everything Sister Helen says. She says she despises the way the right wingers in certain cases hijack Jesus for their own message. From this, you interpolate that she is a left wing nun and thus naturally supports abortion, gay marriage, etc… I might have missed something, but she in no way said any of that, she merely said she was concerned about the right-wing folks and their use of Christianity to spread torture, the death penalty, and war. As shocking as this might be to you, people might actually not be left or right, there is a place in the middle, or wait, is it possible to be liberal but against certain aspects of one’s own party? Yes. You say she stabs Jesus in the back by aligning herself with the left wingers, but it is actually you that align her as such because you can’t stand attacking what she is saying and resort to attacking an ideological group she may or may not even associate with.
Furthermore, I would argue that being a liberal is actually the better choice of the choices in the false dichotomy you present. It shows a compassion for the poor, and a willingness to fight for human, civil, and political rights instead of restricting them as the right so often does. While there are issues with the ideological movement, I think adopting a mindset of liberation instead of constricting does more good than harm, even if it does cause minor harms.
Then you say one shouldn’t be prohibited from getting rich, but she isn’t saying this. She is (correct me if I am wrong) protesting against the governmental policies that specifically allow the rich to take advantage of the poor and ignore the plight of the millions of impoverished citizens. Your response to the stuff she said about the death penalty almost made sense, O wait, no, it said nothing.
“But……….let me ask you this. Is SELF DEFENSE okay with you? If the Muslims come over here with blood in their eyes and a desire to kill us all as infidels, are you saying that we cannot defend ourselves? I get that feeling from you. Remember, the Muslims have been killing Christians for almost 1400 years and except that the Church had sent out armies to oppose them, you would be speaking Arabic right now and believe in their false “god”. ”
Your history is slightly sketchy, as in during the Crusades Christians killed millions and millions of Muslim women and children in some of the bloodiest slaughters in history which can hardly be called self defense. Throughout history they have been screwed over time and time again. Note that this does NOT justify the actions of various extremist sects of Islam who do feel a need to express their violent ideals. But note, that our culture did do great harm to them. And please refrain from grouping all Muslims under one large group of terrorists, the vast majority do not support violence towards people of different religions (especially considering their holy book tells them to respect other religions). And, I don’t know if you’ve ever actually studied Islam, but “their false god” is our God (I’m assuming you are Christian), they merely believe in further prophets.
Now onto my original comment to Sister Helen. I would like to thank you for all of your hard work in attempting to stop the injustice of the death penalty and showing that one can be a Christian in the political/philosophical sphere and still oppose the right wing.
Evening, Sister Helen! I met you when you were speaking in Jackson, Mississippi.
Just so you know, even your old blog made #7 on my top 10 death penalty blogs list (http://civilliberty.about.com/od/capitalpunishment/tp/blogs_capital.htm). I had this to say:
“7) Sister Helen Prejean’s Blog
Sister Helen is the nation’s leading advocate for abolition of the death penalty–but more than that, as anyone who has heard her speak in person will say without equivocation, she is a prophet. This author of the book Dead Man Walking (which later became a top-grossing film starring Susan Sarandon) gives over 140 lectures a year, and doesn’t get to spend much time updating her blog. Keep up with it anyway. It’s worth the wait.”
Please feel free to contact me if there’s anything I can do for you or for the cause. I have become active in Mississippians Educating for Smart Justice (how could I not after that stirring sermon?), and expect I will be for years to come.
Thanks for all that you do.
)
Love and peace,
TH
Matt:
She signed on with this group. No Catholic ought to have anything to do with them.
http://worldcantwait.org/images/aug06ad.pdf
Your statement about the Crusades needs validation. All you have done is to post a polemic against the Church, a rather tired and shopworn one which has been used by anti-catholic bigots for years.
Show me the proof of your claims.
The Holy Scriptures permit for the death penalty. But more than that, God will give the eternal death penalty — called “hell” in the Holy Scriptures — to all His enemies. Much of what we as Christians do on this earth is supposed to be pictures of eternal realities. Eternal death — hell — is a reality for evil doing. The death penalty is the picture of that reality. Believe it or not, God does not take lightly to unrepentant fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals, murderers, warmongers, and those who oppress the poor. He will not give them life — but death.
God has identified Himself and made Himself known in the person of Jesus the Christ. All other “gods” are false imitations who’s name is not worth being on our lips. It is an insult to Him to suggest that the moon god — one of over 300 tribal “gods” that was choosen by Mohammed, is the real and true God.
My suggestion still stands. We are to be Catholics first — not left or right wingers. Neither one of those political entities really stands completely for what a Christian should stand for.
Ed
In fact, Ed, Sister Helen has retracted her endorsement for the World Can’t Wait advertisement. Evidently, they failed to provide her with the complete text of the ad, and when she saw it, she immediately wrote a retraction (see http://www.deathofinnocents.net/World_Cant_Wait_Statement.pdf ).
Excellent!!!
I am glad that she is one Catholic who stands by her principles in a day of waffling, whimpering self-indulgent Catholics.
Ed
Dear Sister Helen,
I have been an admirer of yours for many years and when I teach the Death Penalty here I always show Dead man Walking and use your web site. I have also lobbied MPS in this country. Now I need some help. My husband, Kevin was made redundant in November 2004 and has had trouble finding employment ever since. We need a Red Sea splitting miracle! Please would you remember him in your prayers. It would mean a great deal to us.He is 50 and we have a family. I apologise for troubling you when you have other, more important things. Beverley
Hey there, Ed.
I believe the evangelical, fundamentalist Christian people in this country are rather happy to call themselves “right wing” or at least “conservative.” These folks also want to label anyone even slightly more to the left than themselves as “left wing.” Actually, that’s about the most polite thing they call us.
If it happens that at a particular time in history those who care more about economic and social justice for everyone happen to be viewed as “left wing,” I think that says more about the culture of the time than it says about any individual.
Dear Sister Helen:
Congrats on a great blog! I publish a few blogs of my own here in PA … will visit your city for a week in November … usually get to the cathedral for Mass … grew up in NJ with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Newark … have a great affection for you wonderful ladies that goes all the way back to kindergarten!!! Have a wonderful week!!!
Hi! My name is Karin and I’m having a lecture about Dead man walking – the opera. Malmö Opera & music theatre is giving the first Scandinavian premiere of the piece and my part is to give the audience a hint about the opera before they see it. I’m reading your book (Dead man walking) as I write this and I wonder if there is ANY chance of me asking you some question about why you wrote this book and what drives you to struggle with theese issues?!
Yours sincerely Karin Eriksson.
Hello again, Sister. Shortly after I wrote to you I had to change my e-mail address. Sorry. Is there a way I can write a personal letter to you??? Thank you for all that you do in the name of the Lord.
Hi, Helen,
I’m looking forward to hearing your talk on 30 Good Minutes on Oct. 29. Thanks for speaking out for justice.
hi im from uk living now in al,my husband is american and on death row, yes and innocent like so many are,i want to thank you for believing there are innocent men on death row, most think because thee in prison there guilty which is not so,i will fight to prove my husband is innocent he is my life and so very caring and loving, i want to start a charity up ,1, to raise more money for the attorney i have got for my husband, 2, when my husband is home we want to carry on with the charity to help other innocent men, there should be no death penalty to many innocent are being kiled,as john lennon said we should all live as one, god bless pat
Dear Sister,
We (my religious studies class and I, in Victoria, Australia) have been studying you, your trials and tribulations under the sub-topic, “Heroes”. Never could I endorse you being categorised under that more. Your enduring battle is indeed one of the most heroic I have come across hearing. Let it be known to you that your message of embracing life and the concept of it is reaching as far down as “Down Under”.
Many thanks,
Charlotte
Hello Sister,
Paige and I were wondering if we could ask you a few questions about your life, as we are doing a project on you.
1. In what ways have people challenged you about your death penalty beliefs in the past?
2. Why did you become involved in prisoners on death row?
We would be very grateful if you could reply to the email adress, however if you are not able to within the week do not feel you have to, as we are sure you have plenty to be getting on with.
Thankyou for your time.
Paige and Tabitha
Dear Sister Helen,
I have got and have read both of your books. Am a teacher at a British secondary school and am due to give a lecture to the older boys on the death penalty on Friday. I will be strongly featuring your work. One thing I was wondering about: has Joseph O’Dell been forgotten? I don’t find much on the internet on him. I’d like to visit his grave in Palermo. Can you give me some hints how to find it, or direct me to someone who could? The ten-year anniversary of his execution is coming up – it would be nice to go to the grave for that. best wishes,
Jackie Parcell, Watford, England
Dear Sister Helen,
I have got and have read both of your books. Am a teacher at a British secondary school and am due to give a lecture to the older boys on the death penalty on Friday. I will be strongly featuring your work. One thing I was wondering about: has Joseph O’Dell been forgotten? I don’t find much on the internet on him. I’d like to visit his grave in Palermo. Can you give me some hints how to find it, or direct me to someone who could? The ten-year anniversary of his execution is coming up – it would be nice to go to the grave for that. best wishes,
Jackie Parcell, Watford, England