Flight: The Option For The Poor And The Vulnerable

From the article entitled Catholic Social Teaching – Convictions and Connections by Russell Connors (Catherine Core Reader, 2011)

The irony of Ned’s death influences Tim to be nonbelligerent. During the onslaught of Captain Starr’s house, one of the house’s slaves, Ned, is gratuitously killed. The authors, Christopher and James Lincoln Collier state, “‘ There are some damned blacks in here, what shall we

At the plantation, NED, an angry White Man, whips NINA, a Black former slave. Black Raven and Captain Early arrive with the dead men. Nina is devastated. One of dead men is her husband.

“She’s been transferred to London my associate is watching her if she is in on it, he will take her out. But we could stop all this. We already have the linchpin to the plan here with you. All we need to do is act and it will all fall apart. If you’re really trying to stop this nightmare from happening?” says Willie

In “the gospel of freedom”, King’s diction reminds us of his connection to the clergymen in profession and shared Christian values. Another instance of King using allusion appears in his discussion of St. Thomas Aquinas, a Catholic saint, who said “An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law” (King). In citing Aquinas, King is appealing to a Catholic audience and displaying his knowledge of the Catholic faith after studying to become a preacher. In using the phrase “not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws” King’s diction appeals to his audience of clergymen and their morality due to their faith. Citing Jewish philosopher Martin Buber on the topic of segregation, “Segregation… substitutes an ‘I it’ relationship for an ‘I thou’ relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of things” (King).

These Catholic social justice principles are shown throughout the book and reflect the themes of what is going on in the story and I'm the life of Ishmael. The first Catholic social justice principle that I found evident in this book was the option for the poor and the vulnerable, and how it affected Ishmael and his friends. Ishmael and his brother are separated from their parents and the rest of their family and they are forced to live out in the open. While living like this Ishmael, his brother, and his other friends struggle to get food and shelter while they live on their own.

The standards of ethics and morality changes by generation but Colson reminds that there are moral absolutes from religion that must govern human behavior. While explaining the arguments from both sides, he warns that the Church should not align itself with political groups or institutions. People are often exposed to temptations especially when they are in power, but Colson believes that changes can be made from bottom to top. Rather than collaborating with political power or seeking to acquire power over others, Christians are to follow Jesus’ example of exercising power in weakness. By arguing against the abusive use of power, the author mentions the concept of “Little Platoons.”

After the knockdown, Captain Pollard and his crew examine the ship for damage. The ship did took some major damages such as the several sails were torn off, the cookhouse was in a dismal state, two whaleboats, which were on the port side of the ship was blown away by the strong winds, and the spare boat, which was located aft of the ship was crushed by the storm. Based on the ships damages, Pollard decided to return to Nantucket to repair the ship since it has only been 4 days since they started the voyage. But, the first mate, Chase objected the captain’s decision and insisted that they continue their voyage. His arguments were that the spare boat could be repaired and they could get spare whaleboats in Azores. The second mate back Chase’s

have changed. Governor Keith has been reinstated, as well as his ex-girlfriend being left by her at the time fiance. Franklin decides to work with his friend Mr. Denham,

The Roman Catholic Church is presented as an institution of knowledge and power, influencing the lives of the people. The clear boundaries in catholic society are presented here, by the “right and wrong”, indicating that there was little variation in beliefs and practice in those following Catholicism. However, even though religion is presented as an important part of life, determining people’s decisions and behaviour, it is also presented as something which is taught, rather than followed willingly, indicating that while children, such as Frank, may have no wish to become “good Catholics”, they were forced to do so by society; their parents and teachers. Frank presents the attitude towards religion in school through the following quote, telling the children to: “Know and remember all the questions and answers in catechism, became good Catholics, to know the difference between right and wrong, to die for the Faith if called on”

Protecting the rights and dignity of the poor and oppressed is the most important moral duty of the church.’ Critically evaluate this statement with reference to Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King.

Voltaire directs this example of the Church, as it was an officer of the Inquisition who was responsible for the sentencing. The inanity of the whole situation, as well as the completely unnecessary drastic results that it had, makes the Church appear to be an authority that is unreliable to make sensible decisions, or rule over people. This irrationality is again portrayed through Pangloss and the Reverend Father. The Reverend Father bathed in front of a Musselman, unknowing “that it was a major crime for a Christian to be found naked” (105) with one, and ended up being tried for it. Pangloss was similarly tried, because he took too long to give a girl back the flowers that she had dropped. Both of these men, as a result of committing these simple wrongdoings, are beaten and forced into slavery, destined to spend the rest of their days as galley slaves. The crimes themselves were so small and nonsensical that the fact that they were punished at all, much less so harshly for them, is unjustifiable. Voltaire uses the unfairness and utter ludicrousness of the situation to challenge whether government should be trusted with the fate of its people. Voltaire accentuates traditional authority’s ignorance.

Luke’s Gospel is a portrayal of Jesus as a model of social justice. Hence, the reader is empowered and influenced by the Gospel to be actively involved in social justice issues. The Catholic Church has sought to reach out to those in need, and Luke’s Gospel demonstrates this through injustices that Jesus challenged. In addition, mental illness, which is a current social justice issue reflects and appeals to problems that Jesus faced and reacted to in his time.

Racism is a persistent issue directly threatening the values and teachings of Catholic theology and humanities advancement towards unity and peace. A destructive ideology such as racism debunks the entire foundation from which Catholicism is built. Catholicism follows the life and teachings of Jesus and the idea of solidarity, one of seven principals of Catholic Social Teaching; preaching for a single human family despite any national, racial, ethnic, economic, or ideological differences. Accepting or remaining silent when presented with an act of racial discrimination is equally as damaging as committing the act itself, as it contributes to an environment tolerant of racial prejudices. The Catholic church and its followers have a duty to acknowledge racism to its fullest extent and provide resolution. Through a collective stance against racism between the Catholic establishment and society while simultaneously providing education on the issue with realistic solutions, a progressed cultural environment can ultimately be developed that is reluctant to condone racism and all associated ideologies, utilizing peace, unity, and Catholic values as its foundational core.

Although in the book, this quote is used to describe Nelson, it is truly used to describe Captain Vere. The fact that the book went from explaining Nelson to Vere shows the similarities between the two captains. Nelson was sent into another ship in order to maintain order and to diminish the munitous plots. Vere feared that certain actions would unfold due to Billy’s actions and how Billy and Claggart were unable to discuss Claggart’s claim. Vere has a need for order and seeks the glory that comes from a highly maintained ship, therefore Vere embodies the essence of