Our Peacebuilding Pope

elliot-popeThe Pope, a rabbi and an imam…it sounds like the beginning of a very funny joke but last week was a reality.  As you likely know, last Friday the Pope hosted an interfaith prayer gathering at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.  This was a trailblazing event and I’ve linked to the video here for those you who have not yet seen it.

As a professor at a Jesuit university, I am delighted by this Pope’s Jesuit background and our claim at affiliation.  This service last Friday also was particularly significant for me since the rabbi (the one in the picture above) is my very talented brother in law, Elliot Cosgrove.  You can link to his sermon about this experience here.

Should you watch the video, here are some times noted:  Cardinal Timothy Dolan speaks first; Elliot begins speaking at 2:55 until about 8 minutes in (alternating with the Imam); the Pope speaks after that with representatives of many faiths speaking after him.

And here is our family’s favorite shot of the day–the Pope greeting my nieces and nephew after the ceremony is concluded (the very cute kid in the middle and his sisters are behind him.)

jed-popeAmazingly, this was also caught in the video of the day if you want to see it happening at around 47 minutes in.  As Elliot put it in his sermon:

My warmest memory of all from yesterday relates not directly to the pope, but to my dear friend His Eminence Cardinal Dolan, to whom the city of New York owes a great debt of gratitude for his inspired leadership. The formal part of the program had ended, and as participants were greeting each other, the pope stood for pictures with assorted dignitaries. Off to the side, Cardinal Dolan and I greeted each other warmly, and he said, “Elliot, aren’t your children here?” When I signaled to him where they were sitting, Cardinal Dolan insisted, “Well bring them up here, they should be up here!” I turned around, caught my children’s eye, waved them over, and to make a long story short, was able to give them each the gift of a handshake and smile from the pope that they will never forget.

It is this story, more than any other, to which I have returned in the hours since the event concluded. That in the split second of the chaotic recessional Cardinal Dolan saw me and didn’t see a rabbi, or even necessarily a Jew, but friend and a dad who probably wanted what every dad wants: to make his children happy. It was a gesture of supreme menschlichkeit, and it speaks volumes of Cardinal Dolan and the church he represents. If each one of us had it within ourselves to recognize each other not for our titles, stature, or faith, but for the human beings we are, and then performed acts of friendship and service to validate that common humanity, well then, just think how much better off this world would be. I am grateful to Cardinal Dolan for many things, but it is that one gesture as much as anything, exemplifying the spirit of his ministry, that is worthy of emulation. May we all similarly seek, with humanity and humility, to do so in our own lives, and may the spirit of Pope Francis’s visit continue to inspire our great city for many years to come.

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Legal and Policy Aspects of the Water-Energy Nexus

Modern systems of water and energy are tightly intertwined.  Significant amounts of water are expended during the phases of energy production, from resource extraction to final generation.  In turn, energy powers the equipment that extracts groundwater or surface water, purifies water to the EWNstandards required for human consumption, pumps water to our communities and businesses, and finally treats wastewater before releasing it to the environment.  That relationship was the focus of a joint meeting held here at Marquette University earlier this month between The Water Council and the Mid-west Energy Research Consortium.  The two organizations plan to design a joint roadmap to advance local efforts, including academic research, in the “energy-water nexus.”

To date, significantly less attention has been paid to the legal and policy aspects of this “nexus.”  Policy strategies surrounding the “nexus” have generally focused on efficiency measures to limit demand for both water and energy, especially in sectors that use both such as agriculture and power generation.  More innovation solutions might include sustainability index measurements, pricing corrections, and alternative decisional frameworks that include broader groups of stakeholders.

The conceptual “nexus” model is not without its critics, however.

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In Eckstein Hall Session, Schimel Emphasizes Fight Against Opiate Drug Abuse

Drug overdose deaths don’t usually make big headlines. But ask Brad Schimel about his priorities as Wisconsin’s still quite-new attorney general (he took office in January) and they are at the top of his priorities. Here’s a powerful reason why:

More people die each year in Wisconsin from overdoses of opiate drugs, the kind issued through prescriptions at drug stores, than die from breast cancer, traffic accidents, hand guns, or heroin combined, Schimel said during an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” program at Eckstein Hall on Sept. 23.

Seventy percent of heroin addicts got addicted to prescription pills first, Schimel said, and seventy percent of the prescription drug addicts got pills from friends or family members, Schimel said.

Schimel announced in mid September a campaign called “A Dose of Reality” to increase awareness of the extent of prescription drug abuse in Wisconsin. He said the medical community of the state was cooperating in promoting education and more precautions not only in the general public, but in medical jobs that involve providing such drugs. Many in the medical sector are not aware of how widespread the problems of abuse are. Schimel said in announcing the campaign.

Schimel told Gousha he met many times with families of those who died of such abuse while he was Waukesha County district attorney, his job before becoming district attorney. He said it was myth that those who died were “bad kids.” Schimel said, “I’ve yet to find a parent who had the bad kid. These are good kids.” They came from a wide range of backgrounds and lifestyles. And those who die, in general, come from all parts of the state, rural, suburban and urban, and grew up in homes across the spectrum of income levels, he said.

The Dose of Reality campaign is aimed at promoting drug treatment and effective law enforcement work, as well as public education.

In his conversation with Gousha, the Law School’s distinguished fellow in law and public policy, Schimel also touched on other issues the attorney general’s office is facing.

He agreed that there appear to be conflicting provisions in federal rules related to whether Wisconsin can require people who receive public aid to purchase food to undergo drug tests. Republicans in the Legislature passed such a law this year, but it is being challenged in court.

“Ultimately that’s what courts do, they decide when there is a conflict of laws,” Schimel said. “We’re going to have this resolved there.”

Schimel also stood by his firm position on maintaining Wisconsin’s strong record of open government and access to public records. Schimel, who won office as a Republican, said sometimes it is necessary to go against the wishes of Republican law makers. In this instance, some Republicans tried to push through substantial changes in open government rules several months ago. Schimel’s opposition was a factor in those changes being pulled off the table after initially getting support.

Schimel also discussed Wisconsin’s participation in fighting tighter air pollution laws backed by the Obama administration and the slow start to a planned joint state-county-city effort to crackdown on gun crimes in Milwaukee. He commented in general terms on the John Doe investigation related to campaign activities on behalf of Gov. Scott Walker, but he did not give a direct answer to a question on whether he thought Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm engaged in a “witch hunt,” as some Republicans have said.

Video of the one-hour program may be watched by clicking here.

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