Jeremiah put his life at risk when he proclaimed what the Lord had asked him to tell the people. He was prophesizing about the destruction of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. This was a dangerous message that demoralized the people. In short, Jeremiah was a threat to the nation. In Jeremiah 26, we see several groups of players on the scene: the priests and prophets who wanted to see Jeremiah die (Jeremiah 26:8), the princes who defended Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26:16), the elders of the land who quoted historical precedence (Jeremiah 26:17) and the people who were easily swayed one way or the other (Jeremiah 26:8, 16). For the time being, Jeremiah was protected by Ahikam the son of Shaphan (Jeremiah 26:24).
From the historical precedence quoted by the elders, we learned of the two different fates of prophets speaking against the nation: Micah and Uriah. Micah was lucky. King Hezekiah listened to him (Jeremiah 26:18-19). Uriah was unlucky. King Jehoiakim did not listen and so he fled to Egypt. Yet King Jehoiskim sought him out and murdered him (Jeremiah 26:20-23). So, the fate of Jeremiah would heavily depend on the king.
In ancient time, it was probably inevitable. The king was able to exercise unrestrained power. But nowadays, all leaders need to build up their teams of co-workers to get things done. Transparency is essential in order to prevent misunderstanding. In this respect, the diocesan schools in Hong Kong have a lot to improve. Secrecy is still very common among them.
A Catholic teacher who had opted early retirement applied to our school for the post of pastoral and teaching assistant. He went through the first round of interview with John and I. He was scheduled to meet the principal on Friday. On Thursday, the school office informed him that he did not have to attend the second interview. Later, I learned from John that the applicant had been blacklisted from diocesan schools.
I do not know the reason why the applicant has been blacklisted. I think it is totally legitimate for the Catholic Church in Hong Kong to keep a list of trouble-makers such as teachers of Golden Jubilee Secondary School some decades ago. But for me, the very idea of a blacklist is disgusting.
First of all, a blacklist is shrouded in secrecy. The people concerned may not even know that they have been blacklisted. Even if they suspect so, the Church can simply deny it. They have no way to verify or even rectify the records. There is no justice here because the person is not given a chance to defend himself or to clear his name.
Secondly, keeping such a blacklist goes against Jesus' teaching of forgiveness. The Church can selectively forgive priests and principals but not teachers! There is no justice and no charity.
Lastly, there is no procedure of appeal. Even if the person concerned has reformed, there is no way to rectify his record. In the end, the information contained in the blacklist will become obsolete. There is no truth in such a blacklist. In short, a blacklist carries no justice, no charity and no truth. It is disgusting.
My dear Advocate, I thank You for Your returning Erminia and Saturnia safe and sound to me. They have taken more than a thousand photographs for my teaching. CEE results will be released on Monday. Pray that Saturnia will get good enough results. May she make choices pleasing to You. Amen.
Comment from Maggie_Cheung:
I am so shocked to learn about the blacklist......
How could that be??!!
He's poor.....but the Diocese is even poor...........
August 3, 2008
No comments:
Post a Comment