Sister Dorothy Peart
Money Reform Activist in Britain
Dorothy, you're a tireless activist and regularly promote your message in the cartoon booklets, which you create. It's unique for a nun to be committed to Money Reform. Can you explain how it came about?
Well, in 1965 I read a book translated from the French, called Man Is Your
Brother by Abbe Pierre, a famous ex-politician still alive today. That book
showed me clearly that the "money game" had resulted in three-quarters of the
worlds wealth being enjoyed by one quarter of the worlds population. Horrifyingly,
the one quarter, were the so-called Christian quarter. I remembered Jesus' words:
"If you come to offer Me your gift, and there remember your brother has something
against you, go and be reconciled with your brother first and then come back
to offer your gift."
I felt I could no longer call myself a Christian unless I did something about
the situation. I proceeded to instruct myself in my spare time. At that time,
I was a full-time teacher.
Did you feel isolated in your conviction?
Yes. The first breakthrough came when a chance acquaintance took me to TOES
95. There, whole new avenues were opened up for me. In particular I became convinced
of the need for town and country twinning so as to build up a self-sufficient
economy free of manipulation by the super rich. Though I went to TOES every
year for several years, I still felt isolated occasionally.
I found companionship when a great campaigner called Molly Walker took me with
her to the Christian Council for Monetary Justice (CCMJ) for their London meeting.
After that I had friends I could ring at any time. I think in particular of
Ken Palmerton, Mike Rowbotham and John Tomlinson, who have all got such a wonderful
gift for explaining things clearly.
How did you begin on your cartoon booklets?
I think I brought my very first cartoon to a CCMJ meeting in Birmingham. I could see there was a very great need to help people like myself with no background in economics.
I then produced a booklet called LETS Understand Our Money System in 1993 for LETS groups, which were beginning to sprout up all over. I distributed them by going to every LETS conference I could manage. To my great joy, Brian Leslie printed it as a pull-out for a 1994 edition of Sustainable Economics, a Green Party publication. Later, Frances Hutchinson had a copy put in every person's room on the eve of a conference she was to give in the south of England.
When I retired from teaching in 1997 I produced Our Money System in Cartoons which I tinkered with until there were 21 editions, The Money Supply being one of them. Apart from God, who I hope played a major part, a list of friends as long as your arm gave me their precious time to help me improve them.
I felt the G8 meeting in Birmingham was a golden chance to spread the word, and had 1000 copies printed. Patricia Knox and I were able to distribute 350 on that day. Since then I have written World Debt and Hidden Powers. It focuses on the spiritual forces at work for good or bad in our lives and in our economic system. I am also working on Choosing A New World Order and Social Credit Explained in Cartoons.
How have the booklets been received?
Ever an optimist, I thought that orders would be pouring in from all sides.
This is not the case but I know a few people have made their own copies and
orders come in from time to time. I do occasionally get some very positive feedback.
These words of encouragement keep me going.
I think some people feel isolated and afraid to travel down a road which might
lose them their friends who accept the status quo and the common way of doing
things. Besides, their conviction on this topic may only be half-formed and
not able to withstand opposition. Add to this how busy people are and how little
time there is for any kind of deep thought. For this reason I have started a
completely new way of doing things.
That is, I now give talks which provide people with this space, which they so
badly need. It helps if the subject is not money -- that puts people off unless
they already have an interest. Right from the beginning I get the audience into
small groups and get them discussing key issues which underpin the way we are
encouraged to think and act in our "Multinational Age".
Television has deprived people of the habit of discussion, but people have a
thirst for this kind of thing. The talks have been very well received and people
seem to like the format. So far I have talked in various parts of Birmingham,
in Dublin, Cork and Luton. I am hoping to make a video for groups called Choosing
a New World Order - Is there an Alternative to the Multinational Vision?
The bankers and multinationals have been brainwashing us for decades and we
need to find an antidote. I think it could fit in very well with an Alpha course,
or be adopted by any group in the habit of inviting a speaker. It will be accompanied
by a handbook for further action.
What do you see as the way forward?
To have more truth and love in our relationships, to have more quiet times, and more times to discuss what really matters, and to wean ourselves away from the TV. My hope and belief is that Britain, like a sleeping giant coming to life, will, true to form, resist. We will make our own currency. The strategy I propose is mapped out in The Money Supply. With faith in God, our nation can be united as one in this battle.
Dorothy's booklets on Money Reform are available from
Explanatory Cartoon Publications
35 Hampden Retreat
Birmingham B12 9TB
Her audio tape and video can be obtained from
Spectacle
No. 25 Lavender Hill
London SW11 SQL
Telephone 0207 223 6677
268 Bath Street
Glasgow, Scotland
UK, G2 4JR
Telephone : 0141 332 2214
Fax : 0141 353 6900
email: admcc@admcc.freeserve.co.uk