Tuesday, March 31, 2009

BISHOPS HUBBARD, MURPHY CALL ON CONGRESS TO REMEMBER POOR AND VULNERABLE IN FEDERAL BUDGET RESOLUTION

Bishops call budget priorities moral choices
Call for assistance to poor families at home and abroad
Concerns include health care reform, affordable housing, climate change


WASHINGTON—Two U.S. Catholic bishops called on lawmakers to remember “the least of these” as they set priorities the federal budget resolution. In a March 26 letter to both houses of Congress, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of Albany, N.Y., and Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y. called the allocation of opportunities and burdens in the federal budget “moral choices” and asked Congress to place “the needs of poor families and the most vulnerable in our nation and around the world first.”

The bishops, who chair the U.S. bishops’ committees on international and domestic social justice, respectively, asked Congress to consider the effects of the economic crisis at home, “as families lose their homes; retirement savings disappear; workers lose both their jobs and their health care; and so many people are left without hope or security.”

“Abroad, our major priority should be a continued and strengthened commitment to effective programs of relief, development, and health care, particularly in Africa,” they added.

On behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Bishops Hubbard and Murphy offered several directions and concerns with this year’s proposed budget. They included reforming health care, making sure it is available to all and that it protects and enhances life; funding federal child nutrition programs and domestic agriculture support; restoring funds for affordable housing such as the Section 8 and 202 housing programs; addressing climate change and reducing the burden of those disproportionately affected by it; reauthorizing the D.C. Scholarship Program; increasing foreign assistance; and funding for the migration and refugee programs of both the State Department and the Department of Health and Human Services.

The bishops also asked that Congress pass a resolution that doesn’t reduce incentives for charitable giving.

“The budget choices of Congress have clear moral and human dimensions; they reflect our values as a people,” the bishops wrote. “Our plea is simple: put the poor and vulnerable first as you consider this historic budget resolution.”

The full text of the letter may be found online.

Cardinal Martino Praises G-8 Summit on Crisis

Says it Concurs With Heart of Church's Social Doctrine

ROME, MARCH 30, 2009 ( Zenit.org ).- The Group of Eight labor ministers meeting in Rome to discuss ways to help those affected by the global downturn are addressing the heart of the Church's social teaching, says a Vatican aide.

In an article published Sunday by L'Osservatore Romano, Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, expressed his support for the three-day summit, under way in Rome through Tuesday.

The meeting is titled "The Human Dimension of the Crisis," and has as its focus to discuss how to strengthen welfare systems and help put people back to work.

The G-8 meeting was called to prepare for the Group of 20 summit due to begin Thursday in London. It also responds to demonstrations that have been sparked in several European capitals, leading up to the London meeting, in protest of the decreasing job availability and financial stability.

Cardinal Martino lauded the social summit initiative, as it implies "providing for the person by safeguarding his dignity through the adaptation of the social systems; beginning again from the person, and creating the conditions for the birth of new jobs."

He explained, "These topics are important for the Church and are at the heart of her social teaching."

The Church's social and economic thought, the cardinal continued, "is based on the principle of the dignity of the person" as the "basic pillar of society itself" and as the "goal of all social institutions."

Because of this, the Church's social doctrine states that it is "in times of economic upheaval when systems of social protection must be reinforced, so that the person can enjoy his fundamental rights, put in danger by the crisis," he added, quoting John Paul II's "Centessimus Annus."

Cardinal Martino also noted that the true center of economic activity: "Through work, not money or technology, man is a protagonist of development.

"And because of this it is only through work that the economy can start up again."

Rethinking the system

The cardinal affirmed that the crisis must be an occasion to "rethink the global economic and financial system, which phenomena like globalization, migration and the issue of the environment had already begun to question over the last few years."

It is necessary, he asserted, to articulate "new inspiring principles" based on fraternity between peoples. The cardinal said the first of these principles must be "the universal common good, which was theorized by John XXIII in 'Pacem in Terris,'" and consists in "considering humanity as a family."

Another principle must be the "spirit of international cooperation in the economic and financial areas and in the field of development," which "requires that, beyond the strict logic of the market, there be awareness of the duty of solidarity," he said.

"In fact," Cardinal Martino added, "solidarity is central in the reorganization of the fabric of a world economy, which as the present crisis demonstrates, [though] negatively, is ever more intertwined."

Solidarity also "implies fostering greater participation in the decision-making process by both developed as well as underdeveloped countries, by both international organizations as well as civil society in general," he continued.

Subjects, not objects

The cardinal added a third principle of subsidiarity, "thanks to which it is possible to stimulate the spirit of initiative, fundamental basis of all socio-economic development, in poor countries themselves, so that the latter might be considered not as a problem, but as subjects and protagonists of a new and more human future for the whole world."

The fourth principle on which the world economic system should be reorganized is that of responsibility, he noted, "which is translated into transparency, accountability, consistency and coordination between economic entities themselves and governments and civil society."

Cardinal Martino said it is "very positive" that the International Labor Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have associated themselves with this G-8 summit.

He underlined the necessity of finding "strategies to combat poverty" in order to enhance "social cohesion," which is one of the most serious problems caused by the crisis, given the widening gap between rich and poor.

"Finally," the cardinal concluded, "peace, also social peace, finds its foundation in the rational and moral order of society [...] it is based on a correct conception of the person and requires the building of an order based on justice and charity."

Sunday, March 29, 2009

MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION week of March 29, 2009

Providing Help. Creating Hope.


VISION: Believing in the presence of God in our midst, we proclaim the sanctity of human life and the dignity of the person by sharing in the mission of Jesus given to the Church. To this end, Catholic Charities works with individuals, families, and communities to help them meet their needs, address their issues, eliminate oppression, and build a just and compassionate society.


MISSION: To provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire Church and other people of good will to do the same.


GOALS: Catholic Charities is devoted to helping meet basic human needs, strengthening families, building communities and empowering low-income people. Committed to work to reduce poverty in half by 2020.


KEY VALUE: Hospitality


WHAT WE DO: Organizing Love. "As a community, the Church must practise love. Love thus needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered service to the community" (Deus Caritas Est, par. 20)



On Sunday (5th Sunday of Lent Cycle B) we read in the Gospel of John that as Jesus prepares for the ending of his ministry, that he will face death. He notes that a seed must die as it is buried, in order to bring forth new fruit and thrive. Jesus further gives instructions about discipleship when he teaches that "Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life."

In Catholic Charities we are called upon to act and live as disciples of the Lord in the continuation of Jesus' ministry of charity and justice. This also means that as the times change, and the needs and gifts of people change, we too must be open to die to our own institutional wants and desires, and focus on how best to empower and serve those who come to us for aid. Catholic Charities USA has called upon its member agencies to revision ourselves -- die to ourselves -- and partner in solidarity with our neighbors to work to reduce poverty in half by 2020. This is no easy feat. We must be agents of change in our communities, not focusing on our institutional needs but working to engage others in promoting justice. As we near the completion of the Lenten Season, we need to die to ourselves so that we can rise to bring new fruit -- a world filled with peace and hope.

N.B.
Welcome to Diana Stromsky, the newly appointed Executive Director of our Catholic Charities of Stark County affiliated agency. Diana brings a long history of social work leadership and a career in banking to our system. She is known to many of us in Catholic Charities for her service to our agency in many professional and volunteer capacities.



Some important date(s) this week:

Daily Lenten Resources can be found at:
US Conference of Catholic Bishops
Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Charities USA

MONDAY, March 30. National Catholic News Reporter , Dennis Sadowski, will be visiting Catholic initiatives in Youngstown to report on our efforts to help reduce poverty and to put a face on poverty in America.

Sharing Hope In Tough Times: Catholic Charities Responds to Families Facing Economic Crisis

Reflection: When giving, never let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. What prevents us from sending a grocery store gift card to the family struggling with unemployment?



Prayer Intention: That all Christians recognize the Gospel’s call to give of themselves, and to help those in need without seeking recognition.




PAPAL INTENTIONS:

March 2009
General: That the role of women may be more appreciated and used to good advantage in every country in the world.

Mission: That in the light of the letter addressed to them by Pope Benedict XVI, the Bishops, priests, consecrated persons, and lay faithful of the Catholic Church in the Popular Republic of China may commit themselves to being the sign and instrument of unity, communion and peace.


April 2009
General: That the Lord may bless the farmers with an abundant harvest and sensitise the richer populations to the drama of hunger in the world

Mission: That the Christians who work in areas where the conditions of the poor, the weak and the women and children are most tragic, may be signs of hope, thanks to their courageous testimony to the Gospel of solidarity and love.



Corporal Works of Mercy: The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor

1. Feed the hungry
2. Give drink to the thirsty
3. Clothe the naked
4. Shelter the homeless
5. Visit the sick
6. Visit those in prison
7. Bury the dead


See our website at www.catholiccharitiesyoungstown.org for links to the our ministries and services.

For more information on Catholic Social Doctrine and its connection to our ministries, visit my blog.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Simply, Stopping Tuberculosis

3rd World Stop TB Partnership Forum 24th March – World TB Day

By Rev. Msgr. Robert J. Vitillo Head of the Caritas Internationalis Delegation in Geneva and Chairperson, Catholic HIV and AIDS Network (CHAN)
http://www.caritas.org/includes/pdf/tbforum09.pdf


When compared to the biennial International AIDS Conferences, the environment of this Forum lacked the “glitz”. The crowds were smaller, and the activists were less assertive. But the sense of urgency was just as immediate and the passion was just as evident among the 1,500 participants from more than 100 countries who assembled on 23 March for the opening of the Third Stop TB Partners Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The theme of the Forum is both straightforward and compelling: “Simply, Stopping Tuberculosis (TB)”. Not many years ago, the global human family seemed to be well on its way to accomplishing that goal by the year 2050 – as had been promised by the public health, clinical, and scientific experts.

In the opening ceremony of the Forum, we learned that the dream may not be realized – due to a number of developments, including the large number of HIV/TB co-infections as well as the development of new and much harder-to-treat “multidrug-resistant (MDR)” and “extensively drug resistant (XDR)” strains of the bacillus that causes TB. It was reported that some 9.7 million people were diagnosed with TB during 2007 and 1.77 million people died of the disease.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) aim toward a 50 percent reduction in TB prevalence and deaths by the year 2015. Experts are encouraged by good progress with treatment success: 84-85 percent. However, case detection rates are still quite poor – 37 percent of such infections are not being identified and, without a full course of treatment, those who have developed active TB disease can infect others through air-borne means.

Paediatric TB treatment faces many challenges since little progress has been made with developing “child-friendly” testing and medications for this disease (see more information on this subject in Caritas’ “ HAART for Children ” Campaign - http://www.caritas.org/activities/hiv_aids/the_campaign.html ) .

What do Caritas and other Catholic humanitarian organizations have to do with fighting TB? The “mantra” at the Opening Sessions of the Forum was that we need to find new and creative ways to combat this major global killer disease that is both preventable and treatable.

One important way to do that is to expand the response beyond the traditional medical approaches, most especially by bringing efforts to the grassroots level; by forging new partnerships with government, international donors, and other members of civil society; and by integrating HIV and TB diagnosis, care and treatment. Caritas and other Catholic organizations already are doing this.

For that reason, I was honoured to present, at this Global TB Forum, some of the effective models developed by faith-based organizations and especially was pleased to do so on the Observance of World TB Day, 24 March 2009.

Read Msgr Vitillo’s speech from the forum.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

USCCB PRESIDENT URGES PRESIDENT OBAMA TO DESIGNATE HAITI FOR TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS

Cardinal calls protection for Haiti just and compassionate
Says political tumult, natural disasters and poverty qualify country
More than 300,000 Haitian children affected



WASHINGTON—In a letter dated March 19, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), urged President Obama to designate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for a period of 18 months. A designation of TPS permits nationals of a designated country to reside in the United States legally and qualify for work authorization because of civil conflict or natural disaster in their home country. Eighteen months is the longest period under law that a country can be designated for TPS, although such a designation may be renewed.
In the letter, Cardinal George cited four hurricanes and tropical storms which hit Haiti in 2008 as justification for the TPS designation, stating that these natural disasters have led to food shortages and political unrest.
“Haiti meets the standard for TPS because it has experienced political tumult, four natural disasters, and severe food shortages in the last year,” Cardinal George wrote. “Tens of thousands have been displaced, and the fate of thousands more is unknown. More than 300,000 children have been affected.”
Cardinal George added that TPS would permit Haitian nationals to work and send remittances back to Haiti, which is beset by severe poverty.
“Mr. President, by any measure, the conditions in Haiti meet the statutory requirements for a designation of TPS,” Cardinal George concluded. “Extending this
mantle of protection to struggling Haiti is a just, compassionate, and concrete step the United States can take toward alleviating the human suffering of the Haitian people.”
See copy of Cardinal George’s letter to President Obama.

Monday, March 23, 2009

USCCB comments cite reasons for HHS to keep conscience regulation

CONSCIENCE-USCCB Mar-23-2009



By Nancy Frazier O'Brien
Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Rather than working to rescind a regulation that gives federal protection to the conscience rights of health care providers and institutions, the Obama administration's proper role is to enforce the will of Congress as already expressed in existing statutes, said attorneys for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Anthony R. Picarello Jr., USCCB general counsel, and Michael F. Moses, associate general counsel, filed public comments on behalf of the USCCB March 23 with the Department of Health and Human Services.

HHS opened a 30-day comment period March 10 on whether it should rescind a regulation that took effect two days before President Barack Obama took office. The rule codifies three longtime federal statutes prohibiting discrimination against health professionals who decline to participate in abortions or other medical procedures because of their religious or other moral objections.

"The question is not whether the policy to be pursued is the strong protection of conscience in health care -- Congress has already decided that question repeatedly and decisively by a series of statutes -- but how best to enforce the policy of conscience protection already expressed in those statutes," Picarello and Moses said.

The USCCB comments also said rescission of the regulation would conflict with the administration's stated goals of promoting "choice" and reducing abortions; reduce health care options for the poor and other underserved populations; and perpetuate the "undisguised hostility to conscience rights" and widespread ignorance of existing law that are already rampant.

"If the administration's policy is one of 'choice,' it cannot, consistent with that policy, refuse to accommodate a health care provider's choice not to participate in abortion," the USCCB said. "Otherwise, the policy is simply one of unmasked coercion."

Similarly, it makes no sense to contend that one is working to reduce abortions by increasing access to abortion, the comments said.

"Increasing abortion access increases abortion rates," the USCCB lawyers said. "The administration cannot coherently -- or in good faith -- claim to stand for both policies at the same time."

In soliciting public comment on the proposed rescission, HHS asked whether the regulation "reduces access to information and health care services, particularly by low-income women," as some groups such as Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America have charged.

The USCCB attorneys said rescinding the conscience regulation "would have uncertain effects on access" to abortion and sterilization, but "would certainly reduce access to life-affirming health care services, especially for poor and underserved populations."

Faced with a lack of conscience protections, health care providers and institutions opposed to abortion or sterilization could be forced out of business, thus reducing access to all health care, they added. "Indeed, the poorest and neediest patients will suffer the most from such reduction in access to life-affirming health care.

"Those who allege a conflict between conscience and 'access' neglect to ask why rural and other underserved areas are so frequently served only by a Catholic or other faith-based provider," the USCCB comments said. "This occurs because for-profit providers see no profit margin in serving poor or sparsely populated areas, while religiously affiliated providers ... see those patients as having inherent human dignity and human rights.

"If these providers were barred from acting in accord with the moral and religious convictions that motivated them to provide life-affirming health care in the first place, the result will not be more comprehensive health care for these areas but, in some cases, none at all," they added.

As evidence of the need for the current regulation, the USCCB attorneys said negative public reaction even before the rule took effect "demonstrates, at best, a deplorable lack of understanding about the federal legislative rights of conscience on which the regulation is based, at worst outright hostility to those statutory rights."

They also cited actions by groups such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Civil Liberties Union, NARAL Pro-Choice America and various state and local governments to ignore or override conscience rights in violation of the current federal statutes.

The USCCB called for outreach and educational efforts by HHS about the regulation "in addition to, rather than in lieu of, vigorous regulatory implementation of the existing conscience statutes."

"Public misperception about the conscience regulation and the statutes they enforce is, in and of itself, a testament to the need for regulatory enforcement and other guidance from HHS," the comments said.

"Congress has made its policy choice -- a choice that respects and advances this nation's founding principles of religious liberty and diversity, and that tends to increase patients' ready access to basic health care, regardless of their location or socio-economic status," the comments concluded. "The administration's regulatory actions should faithfully enforce that existing policy choice."

Tuesday, March 24, is World Tuberculosis Day.

World TB Day: Enlisting Communities in the Fight
from Catholic Relief Services Blog by John Lindner


Catholic Relief Services is providing tuberculosis treatment and care in eight countries, including the Philippines province of Maguindanao. The Maguindanao Province is one of the poorest provinces in the Southeast Asian country. The life expectancy is age 53, with tuberculosis as one of the leading causes of death. Throughout the province’s 28 communities, our health experts and local partners have devised a system that, in addition to upgrading health facilities, has drafted members of the community to fight the disease.

“We want everyone in their circle of influence to elevate awareness on TB,” says CRS health advisor Elena McEwan. “If the community is not involved in taking charge of the disease, it poses a constant threat.” This even means using local drivers who might otherwise transport produce, to give patients a ride to a health clinic. This community collaboration has significantly increased detection and cure rates.

When we first began the project, there were only five functioning medical laboratories, 19 microscopes and seven medical technologists for the entire province. Upgrades to health facilities have allowed medical workers to treat patients and work more efficiently.

Health workers and residents, who are trained to handle test samples, have volunteered their time to get more residents tested for tuberculosis. Based on our 2007 records, these workers’ efforts alone have produced a 34 percent increase in detected tuberculosis cases.

Volunteer drivers are making overall healthcare more assessable to residents. They also deliver test samples to laboratories among other medical transport needs.

Community support groups give patients an outlet to share their experiences with each other. These support groups also foster awareness within families and the wider community. Because of this, patients “are less afraid of seeking care when they show TB symptoms,” McEwan says. “It’s like a happy ending marriage.”

There are three messages that our health experts want to send developing nations that are facing high rates of tuberculosis.
*The disease is curable.
*The drugs are free.
*Seek care if symptoms such as prolonged coughing occur

Sunday, March 22, 2009

MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION for Week of March 22, 2009

Providing Help. Creating Hope.


VISION: Believing in the presence of God in our midst, we proclaim the sanctity of human life and the dignity of the person by sharing in the mission of Jesus given to the Church. To this end, Catholic Charities works with individuals, families, and communities to help them meet their needs, address their issues, eliminate oppression, and build a just and compassionate society.


MISSION: To provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire Church and other people of good will to do the same.


GOALS: Catholic Charities is devoted to helping meet basic human needs, strengthening families, building communities and empowering low-income people. Committed to work to reduce poverty in half by 2020.


KEY VALUE: Hospitality


WHAT WE DO: Organizing Love. "As a community, the Church must practise love. Love thus needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered service to the community" (Deus Caritas Est, par. 20)



On Sunday (4th Sunday of Lent Cycle B) we read in the Gospel of John that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world . . ." It is the message of God's love for the world universal and for each one of us individually that is the keen insight of the Good News. Nicodemus -- a member of the Pharisee class -- may have held that only certain persons would be saved by God. Jesus gives him a new insight: the Good News of the love of God for each.


In Catholic Charities we daily bring Good News to life with each person served; we welcome people to hear their stories, share their struggles and find ways to serve and advocate on their behalf. We know that since each person is made in God's image and that each person shares in the love of God, we welcome everyone to our door. No judgement needed. All are welcome.

N.B. This Friday March 27 marks the final day of work for Sister Edwardine Baznik, SJSM, as the Executive Director of Catholic Charities of Stark County. Sister Edwardine provided wonderful leadership since 2001 in that role, serving as director of Adult Day Services for several years prior to her appointment as the Executive Director. Her contributions to Catholic Charities will be remembered forever and her daily presence will be greatly missed. But we know that Sister Edwardine will always be with us: we know she will be busy providing leadership to her religious community, the Sisters of St. Joseph St Mark, and providing care, comfort and hope to the many residents of St. Joseph Care Center in Louisville, OH. Thanks Sister Edwardine for everything!!! You will always remain in our prayers.


Some important date(s) this week:

Daily Lenten Resources can be found at:
US Conference of Catholic Bishops
Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Charities USA

Wednesday, March 25. Annunciation of the Lord. The feast of the Annunciation goes back to the fourth or fifth century. Its central focus is the Incarnation: God has become one of us. From all eternity God had decided that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity should become human. Now, as Luke 1:26-38 tells us, the decision is being realized. The God-Man embraces all humanity, indeed all creation, to bring it to God in one great act of love. Because human beings have rejected God, Jesus will accept a life of suffering and an agonizing death: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).

Mary has an important role to play in God’s plan. From all eternity God destined her to be the mother of Jesus and closely related to him in the creation and redemption of the world. We could say that God’s decrees of creation and redemption are joined in the decree of Incarnation. As Mary is God’s instrument in the Incarnation, she has a role to play with Jesus in creation and redemption. It is a God-given role. It is God’s grace from beginning to end. Mary becomes the eminent figure she is only by God’s grace. She is the empty space where God could act. Everything she is she owes to the Trinity.

She is the virgin-mother who fulfills Isaiah 7:14 in a way that Isaiah could not have imagined. She is united with her son in carrying out the will of God (Psalm 40:8-9; Hebrews 10:7-9; Luke 1:38).
Together with Jesus, the privileged and graced Mary is the link between heaven and earth. She is the human being who best, after Jesus, exemplifies the possibilities of human existence. She received into her lowliness the infinite love of God. She shows how an ordinary human being can reflect God in the ordinary circumstances of life. She exemplifies what the Church and every member of the Church is meant to become. She is the ultimate product of the creative and redemptive power of God. She manifests what the Incarnation is meant to accomplish for all of us.





PAPAL INTENTIONS:

March 2009
General: That the role of women may be more appreciated and used to good advantage in every country in the world.

Mission: That in the light of the letter addressed to them by Pope Benedict XVI, the Bishops, priests, consecrated persons, and lay faithful of the Catholic Church in the Popular Republic of China may commit themselves to being the sign and instrument of unity, communion and peace.


Corporal Works of Mercy: The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor

1. Feed the hungry
2. Give drink to the thirsty
3. Clothe the naked
4. Shelter the homeless
5. Visit the sick
6. Visit those in prison
7. Bury the dead



See our website at www.catholiccharitiesyoungstown.org for links to the our ministries and services.

For more information on Catholic Social Doctrine and its connection to our ministries, visit my blog at: http://corbinchurchthinking.blogspot.com/

Friday, March 20, 2009

USCCB CONGRATULATES NEW MEXICO ON REPEAL OF THE DEATH PENALTY

New Mexico bishops and advocates worked hard for repeal
Bishop Murphy urged Governor Richardson to sign bill into law
New Mexico becomes one of 15 states to ban death penalty



WASHINGTON—The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) congratulated the bishops of New Mexico and other advocates on their successful efforts to repeal the death penalty in New Mexico.
“The bishops of New Mexico and many others worked tirelessly to see New Mexico become a leader in turning away from the death penalty in our country,” said Kathy Saile, director of the Office of Domestic Social Development at the USCCB.
On March 18, Governor Bill Richardson signed HB 285 into law making New Mexico the second state to repeal the death penalty since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the use of the death penalty in 1976. In December 2007, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine signed legislation repealing the death penalty in that state. Fifteen states have now have laws banning the death penalty.
Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development at the USCCB, wrote to Governor Richardson on March 16, urging him to sign the legislation, saying it “would help begin building a culture of life in our country.”

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Pope's Condom Comments....Cameroon

Mar-17-2009

Pope's condom comments latest chapter in sensitive church discussion

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI's declaration that distribution of condoms only increases the problem of AIDS is the latest and one of the strongest statements in a simmering debate inside the church.

The pope was speaking to journalists aboard his flight to Cameroon March 17, and he was asked whether the church's approach to AIDS prevention -- which focuses primarily on sexual responsibility and rejects condom campaigns -- was unrealistic and ineffective.

The pope framed his answer in terms of the church's service to those with AIDS and its efforts to promote what he called a "humanization of sexuality" that includes the elements of fidelity and self-sacrifice.

The pope did not get into the specific question of whether in certain circumstances condom use was morally licit or illicit in AIDS prevention, an issue that is still under study by Vatican theologians.

Lest it be taken out of context, here is the exchange that took place on the pope's plane. The question's premise was "The Catholic Church's position on the way to fight against AIDS is often considered unrealistic and ineffective," and the pope responded:

"I would say the opposite. I think that the reality that is most effective, the most present and the strongest in the fight against AIDS, is precisely that of the Catholic Church, with its programs and its diversity. I think of the Sant'Egidio Community, which does so much visibly and invisibly in the fight against AIDS ... and of all the sisters at the service of the sick.

"I would say that one cannot overcome this problem of AIDS only with money -- which is important, but if there is no soul, no people who know how to use it, (money) doesn't help.

"One cannot overcome the problem with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, they increase the problem.

"The solution can only be a double one: first, a humanization of sexuality, that is, a spiritual human renewal that brings with it a new way of behaving with one another; second, a true friendship even and especially with those who suffer, and a willingness to make personal sacrifices and to be with the suffering. And these are factors that help and that result in real and visible progress.

"Therefore I would say this is our double strength -- to renew the human being from the inside, to give him spiritual human strength for proper behavior regarding one's own body and toward the other person, and the capacity to suffer with the suffering. ... I think this is the proper response and the church is doing this, and so it offers a great and important contribution. I thank all those who are doing this."

The pope's words reflected a statement he made to South African bishops in 2005, when he noted that the church is in the forefront in the treatment of AIDS and said the "only fail-safe way" to prevent its spread is found in the church's traditional teaching on sexual responsibility.

In saying that condom-promotion programs only increase the problem, the pope appeared to agree with those who have put forward several arguments: that condoms have a failure rate and so are never completely safe; that encouragement of condom use may promote promiscuity, a factor in the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS; and that reliance on condom campaigns has overshadowed more effective means of prevention, namely fidelity and chastity.

There is another factor in the pope's thinking, according to an Italian theologian, Franciscan Father Maurizio Faggioni, who has advised the Vatican on sexual morality issues. The pope sees condom campaigns as a question of cultural violence, especially in Africa, where there has never been a "contraceptive mentality," Father Faggioni said.

The question of whether condom use in some circumstances may be morally acceptable is a separate and more difficult question, Father Faggioni told Catholic News Service.

Some bishops and cardinals have argued, for example, that a married couple in which one spouse has AIDS may reasonably be expected to use condoms to prevent transmission of the deadly disease. Others have said the church's teaching against contraception regards married couples and that, because sexual relations outside marriage are already considered immoral, discussion of condom use outside marriage is irrelevant.

In 2006, Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, head of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry, announced that his council had handed in a 200-page study on condoms in AIDS prevention, for further development by the Vatican's doctrinal congregation.

The pontifical council's study, the cardinal said at that time, included "an enormous rainbow" of theological and moral positions, from theologians who expressed "very rigorous" opinions against condom use even when used as a disease-preventing measure to those who held a "very understanding" perspective.

The hope was that, after additional study, the doctrinal congregation or even Pope Benedict might make a pronouncement on the complex questions.

But sources told CNS in mid-March that the doctrinal congregation's action on the report has been quietly put on hold, at least for the moment.

"You could say officially that it remains under study," one source said.

Another source said that after looking more closely at the question, the church experts decided it was premature for the Vatican to make a comprehensive statement on the theological and pastoral aspects of condom use, in part because there was not unanimity of opinion, and in part because many believed that discussion of the theological nuances would only invite confusion in the media and among Catholics.

CARDINAL GEORGE MEETS WITH PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

Seeks Fruitful Dialogue for Common Good



WASHINGTON—Cardinal Francis George, OMI, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, met at the White House with President Barack Obama during the afternoon of March 17.

The meeting was private. Cardinal George and President Obama discussed the Catholic Church in the United States and its relation to the new Administration. The meeting lasted approximately 30 minutes.

At the conclusion, Cardinal George expressed his gratitude for the meeting and his hopes that it will foster fruitful dialogue for the sake of the common good.

Public Comments on Conscience Protection in Catholic Health care

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is inviting public comment on a proposal to rescind an important December 2008 federal regulation that protects the conscience rights of health care providers.

Help protect the rights of our Catholic health care professionals and institutions.

Please visit www.usccb.org/conscienceprotection to access links to make a comment and to find out more information. Comments must be posted by April 9, 2009.
**************************
By Nancy Frazier O'Brien
Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Warning that a failure to protect conscience rights would move the country "from democracy to despotism," Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago urged U.S. Catholics to tell the Obama administration that they "want conscience protections to remain strongly in place."

"No government should come between an individual person and God -- that's what America is supposed to be about," said the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in a videotaped message available on the USCCB Web site at www.usccb.org/conscienceprotection and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NoCRwMqVzQ.

"This is the true common ground for us as Americans," he added. "We therefore need legal protections for freedom of conscience and of religion -- including freedom for religious health care institutions to be true to themselves."

Cardinal George was urging public comment by April 9 on an effort to rescind a regulation of the Department of Health and Human Services. The rule codifies several existing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination against health professionals who decline to participate in abortions or other medical procedures because of their religious or other moral objections.

HHS opened a 30-day comment period on the proposed rescission March 10. The regulation took effect two days before President Barack Obama took office.

The cardinal said the issue centers on "two principles or ideas that have been basic to life in our country: religious liberty and the freedom of personal conscience."

He noted that conscientious objection has been allowed for those opposed to participating in a war, "even though it's good to defend your country," and for doctors who do not want to be involved in administering the death penalty.

"Why shouldn't our government and our legal system permit conscientious objection to a morally bad action, the killing of babies in their mother's womb?" Cardinal George asked. "People understand what really happens in an abortion and in related procedures -- a living member of the human family is killed -- ... and no one should be forced by the government to act as though he or she were blind to this reality."

He urged Catholics to tell the Department of Health and Human Services "that you stand for the protection of conscience, especially now for those who provide the health care services so necessary for a good society."

Comments on the proposed HHS rule change may be submitted through an action alert at www.usccb.org/conscienceprotection, on the Web site www.Regulations.gov (by entering 0991-AB49 in the search box) or via e-mail to proposedrescission@hhs.gov. Attachments may be in Microsoft Word, WordPerfect or Excel, but Microsoft Word is preferred.

By mail, one original and two copies of written comments may be sent to: Office of Public Health and Science, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: Rescission Proposal Comments, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Ave. SW, Room 716G, Washington, DC 20201.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Bishops Study Facebook, Web Networks

Consider Church's Pastoral Presence on the Net

By Jesús Colina
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 9, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican called bishops and priests of 82 countries to Rome in order to study the challenges and possibilities posed to evangelization by new digital media.

The Pontifical Council for Social Communications, headed by Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, began a five-day conference today with a reflection on the Internet's evolution in recent years: Web pages, blogs and social networks -- including Facebook, YouTube, Fliker and Twitter.

Nicoletta Vittadini, communication sciences professor of the Catholic University of Milan, led an internet "surfing" session, in which bishops from all over the world discovered or rediscovered these meeting sites, especially those created for young people and adolescents.

Subsequently, Francesco Casetti, director of the communications department of that same university, reflected with the bishops on the anthropological implications of these new realities.

Congress participants analyzed the message that Benedict XVI wrote for the 2009 World Day of Social Communications on the topic: "New Technologies, New Relationships. Promoting a Culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship."

Digital culture

At the start of the congress, Archbishop Celli explained: "We wonder what the position of the Church is, what the Church must do, because it is undeniable, it is increasingly seen, and it can be seen in the Pope's message, that the new technologies are not just instruments but that these instruments create a new culture, the digital culture."

He added: "The great problem for our congress will be to see how the Church is present in this new culture, offering her own contribution. It is an extremely delicate topic."

For this reason, the archbishop stated, the congress hopes to offer guidelines for the Church's pastoral ministry in the world, which will be made concrete in a new Vatican document.

He continued: "The document on which our action is based is Vatican Council II's 'Inter Mirifica.' Later, the Pontifical Council for Social Communications published a very important document, 'Aetatis Nova,' in 1992. We think that much water has gone under the bridge since then and that the new technologies pose new questions, new interests and new pastoral emergencies."

"The idea of this congress," explained the archbishop, "is to see together with the bishops, what the guidelines are for a new pastoral [program] of the Church in the field of the media." He said, "Then, the council, together with cardinals, bishops and consultors will work to write a new document."

In talks with congress participants, Archbishop Celli acknowledged that the great challenge for them is the fact they were not born in the digital era, which means that, unlike young people, they have to learn it.

A young bishop from Nigeria acknowledged that in this sense, bishops must learn from young people, something they are not used to doing.

Internet presence

Archbishop Celli stressed the example Benedict XVI has given, by deciding to be present on YouTube with an official channel (http://www.youtube.com/vatican).
The prelate revealed that a journalist asked him how it is possible that a Pope "lowers" himself to be present in a reality such as this, in which all sorts of videos appear. The archbishop explained that Christ also "lowered" himself to assume human nature, and explained that Benedict XVI's intention is to be "where people meet."

Several cardinals are already present on Facebook, leading one congress participant to ask if the Pope will also enter this virtual community. Archbishop Celli's answered that no thought is being given to it, at least not immediately.

Monday, March 9, 2009

53 rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women

Statement by H.E. Archbishop Celestino Migliore
Apostolic Nuncio
Permanent Observer of the Holy See



Economic and Social Council





On Item 3 (a) (i):
Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women
and to the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly entitled
“Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”: Implementation of strategic objectives in
critical areas of concern and further actions and initiatives:
the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men,
including caregiving in the context of HIV/AIDS






New York, 9 March 2009



Mr. Chairman,

My delegation applauds the choice of such an important and timely topic for this discussion: the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, including caregiving in the context of HIV/AIDS.

To consider care as a fundamental aspect of human life has profound implications.

Caregiving involves programs, policies and budgetary decisions, as well as personal attitude and commitment for the wellbeing of others. The interrelatedness between activity and personal attitude is self-evident but not always to be presupposed.

Human beings are not only autonomous and equal but also interdependent creatures, who regardless of their social status and stage of life may need care.

Focusing on care and sharing responsibility between women and men in coping with pressing issues such as prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, child-rearing, housework and support for older family members, leads us to think of the relationship between man and woman in society as interdependent.

The overcoming of the dilemma between autonomy and dependence also favors a new vision of the work of care that can no longer be attributed only to certain groups, such as women and immigrants, but must also be shared between all women and men, in households as well as in the public sector.

In particular, it is more and more untenable that there continue to be attitudes and places - even in health care - where women are discriminated against and their contribution to society is undervalued simply because they are women. Recourse to social and cultural pressure in order to maintain the inequality of the sexes is unacceptable.

Mr. Chairman, since our debate mainly focuses on sharing responsibilities and caregiving between women and men in the context of HIV/AIDS, the very first thought goes to the primary and best meaning of care, namely taking care, protecting and promoting the wellbeing of others. In this context, HIV/AIDS calls into question the values by which we live our lives and how we treat, or fail to treat, one another.

Community-based care and worldwide support for those suffering from this disease remain essential. Home-based care is the preferred means of care in many social and cultural settings, and is often more sustainable and successful over the long term when based within communities. In fact, when many members of a community are involved in care and support, there is less likely to be stigma associated with the disease.

Unfortunately, community- and home-based care is largely unrecognized, and many caregivers face precarious financial situations. Very little of the funds spent every year on providing assistance to those who are suffering as well as on much needed research to combat the disease go to supporting them. Studies have shown that community and home-based caregivers actually experience more stress than medical personnel; so better support must be provided for these persons, particularly women and older persons who are caregivers.

My delegation would also like to focus on some aspects of the globalization of caregiving which are affecting in particular poor and immigrant women. In societies characterized by important demographic transformations, familial and occupational and inadequate welfare systems, immigrant women respond to the demand to care for children, the sick, severely disabled people and the elderly. In many parts of the world, a true market has emerged in the area of home-based caregiving, in which women above all are found in situations of vulnerability due to non-regularization, social isolation, difficult working conditions and at times exploitation of every kind.

Governments should properly recognize that the budget and organization of public institutions are somewhat relieved by family-based caregiving and should thus adopt migration laws aimed at creating social integration and full protection of immigrant caregivers and fostering social integration. Likewise, supporting an appropriate professional formation that offers to home-based caregivers basic knowledge of health and psychology would upgrade their invaluable activity and eventually shield them from easy and reprehensible types of exploitation.

Developing countries are suffering from brain drain, as many of their educated, talented and skilled human capital – especially in the health sector – leave their places for better economic opportunities in rich countries. Market-forces get the blame for this, but this is an area where countries of origin, transit and destination need to work together to help developing countries retain, or at least readmit, these skilled members of their workforce, providing suitable incentives to recognize and better remunerate them so that caregivers may more easily be able to stay at home.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, too many cultures hold that care is to be restricted to the private sphere and presupposes that it is provided in the domestic realm.

Care in itself must become a topic of public debate and take on an importance capable of shaping political life and giving men and women the ability to be more concerned for the needs of others, more empathetic and able to focus on others.

Care, in this sense, has the capacity to create a process of democratization of society and to foster a public awareness aimed at social and effective justice and solidarity for all women and men.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Cover the Uninsured Week...March 22-28, 2009

Catholic Social Teaching and Health Care
In our Catholic tradition, health care is a basic human right. Access to health care should not depend on where a person works, how much a family earns, or where a person lives. Instead, every person, created in the image and likeness of God, has a right to life and to those things necessary to sustain life, including affordable, quality health care. This teaching is rooted in the biblical call to heal the sick and to serve "the least of these," our concern for human life and dignity, and the principle of the common good. Unfortunately, tens of millions of Americans do not have health insurance. According to the Catholic bishops of the United States, the current health care system is in need of fundamental reform.

To learn about Catholic teaching on health care in more detail, read the full statement by the United States Catholic Bishops, A Framework for Comprehensive Health Care Reform.

Facts about the Uninsured
• In 2007, forty-six million Americans were living without health care coverage.1
• Since the Census Bureau collected 2007 data, the unemployment rate has grown from 4.4 percent to 7.6 percent, resulting in 3.5 million new people who are now uninsured. An estimated 14,000 persons a day are now losing coverage as a result of the recession.2
• Sixty-four percent of the uninsured are employed full-time, yearround.3
• Nearly 20 percent of uninsured Americans, or 8.7 million persons, are children.4
• Ethnic minorities make up a disproportionate percentage of the uninsured population.5
• The poor are more likely to be uninsured. Thirty-four percent of non-elderly persons below the poverty line are uninsured, compared to 21 percent of non-elderly persons earning two to three times the poverty line.6

(Sources: 1, 3, 4, 5 U.S. Census Bureau, 2008; 2 Center for American Progress, 2009; 6 Employee Benefit Research Institute estimates from the March Current Population Survey, 2007 Supplement.)

How One Community Responded

In Polk County, FL, 120,000 people or 25 percent of the population are uninsured or underinsured. Recognizing that access to health care was a major issue in their community, congregations involved in Polk Ecumenical Action Council for Empowerment, or PEACE, an organization that receives funding from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), decided to take action. When it was announced that the already dwindling funds for healthcare for poor persons were slated to be cut entirely, PEACE joined with others to advocate for a referendum to institute a half cent sales tax which would be irected toward healthcare for poor persons. Although it was predicted to have little chance of passing, PEACE’s work led to support by 62 percent of voters, directing $26 million a year toward indigent healthcare.

But PEACE’s work was not finished. After monitoring the spending, PEACE realized that the money was reaching few people because it was being spent on high-cost specialty care instead of primary care. PEACE engaged in another advocacy campaign and won commitments from the county to open five new primary health clinics in areas of high need. Each clinic will serve up to 40,000 patients a year and will set fees on a sliding scale based on income. The first of the clinics opened in November 2007 and the second is scheduled to open in 2009.

How You Can Respond
• Make a commitment to learn more.

◊ Learn about the Church’s teachings by reading the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ A Framework for Comprehensive Health Care Reform.

◊ Read the recent backgrounder on health care from the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development.

◊ Read Catholic Charities USA’s materials on health care and the role health care reform plays in CCUSA’s Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America.

◊ Read Catholic Health Association’s Vision for U.S. Health Care and access information on hosting community meetings and reaching out to local media.
◊ Visit the Cover the Uninsured Week website for educational resources, local events, and ideas for action as an individual, parish, or community.
• Use the Prayer and Liturgy resources to engage your parish or community in this issue.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION for week of March 8, 2009

Providing Help. Creating Hope.


VISION: Believing in the presence of God in our midst, we proclaim the sanctity of human life and the dignity of the person by sharing in the mission of Jesus given to the Church. To this end, Catholic Charities works with individuals, families, and communities to help them meet their needs, address their issues, eliminate oppression, and build a just and compassionate society.


MISSION: To provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire Church and other people of good will to do the same.


GOALS: Catholic Charities is devoted to helping meet basic human needs, strengthening families, building communities and empowering low-income people. Committed to work to reduce poverty in half by 2020.


KEY VALUE: Hospitality


WHAT WE DO: Organizing Love. "As a community, the Church must practise love. Love thus needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered service to the community" (Deus Caritas Est, par. 20)



On Sunday (2nd Sunday of Lent Cycle B ) we read in Mark's Gospel about Jesus' transfiguration. Some disciples are invited to witness this moment of glory and transformation, but they are warned by Jesus not to tell anyone until he had been raised from the dead. These disciples wonder how can such a moment of glory be connected to death, and his rising. We get an insight from the first reading: the story of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son. The transfiguration of Jesus reminds us that his glory is connected to Jesus' willingness to offer himself for others, even to the point of death. The hope is of new life through resurrection: transformation; transfiguration.

In Catholic Charities we are called to be agents of change and transformation in our work. We offer to help persons and families with immediate material assistance, but we also are committed to taking their stories of struggle to help change social policies and unjust structures. Not everyone agrees with our policy positions or our efforts at advocacy. But as Catholic Charities we must remain committed to our mission to serve, to advocate and to convene. The Office of Social Action of Catholic Charities provides the leadership for our agencies and clients to remind legislators to pass just social policy that respect the dignity of each person, from conception to natural death. Our commitment to human dignity is our means of working to transform the world into a place of justice and peace.


Some important date(s) this week:

Daily Lenten Resources can be found at:
US Conference of Catholic Bishops
Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Charities USA

SUNDAY, MARCH 8. St. John of God. 1495-1550. Having given up active Christian belief while a soldier, John was 40 before the depth of his sinfulness began to dawn on him. He decided to give the rest of his life to God’s service, and headed at once for Africa, where he hoped to free captive Christians and, possibly, be martyred.He was soon advised that his desire for martyrdom was not spiritually well based, and returned to Spain and the relatively prosaic activity of a religious goods store. Yet he was still not settled. Moved initially by a sermon of Blessed John of Avila, he one day engaged in a public beating of himself, begging mercy and wildly repenting for his past life.

Committed to a mental hospital for these actions, John was visited by Blessed John, who advised him to be more actively involved in tending to the needs of others rather than in enduring personal hardships. John gained peace of heart, and shortly after left the hospital to begin work among the poor.

He established a house where he wisely tended to the needs of the sick poor, at first doing his own begging. But excited by the saint’s great work and inspired by his devotion, many people began to back him up with money and provisions. Among them were the archbishop and marquis of Tarifa.

Behind John’s outward acts of total concern and love for Christ’s sick poor was a deep interior prayer life which was reflected in his spirit of humility. These qualities attracted helpers who, 20 years after John’s death, formed the Brothers Hospitallers, now a worldwide religious order.

John became ill after 10 years of service but tried to disguise his ill health. He began to put the hospital’s administrative work into order and appointed a leader for his helpers.

MONDAY, March 9. St. Frances of Rome (1384-1440) Frances’s life combines aspects of secular and religious life. A devoted and loving wife, she longed for a lifestyle of prayer and service, so she organized a group of women to minister to the needs of Rome’s poor. Born of wealthy parents, Frances found herself attracted to the religious life during her youth. But her parents objected and a young nobleman was selected to be her husband.

As she became acquainted with her new relatives, Frances soon discovered that the wife of her husband’s brother also wished to live a life of service and prayer. So the two, Frances and Vannozza, set out together—with their husbands’ blessings—to help the poor.

Frances fell ill for a time, but this apparently only deepened her commitment to the suffering people she met. The years passed, and Frances gave birth to two sons and a daughter. With the new responsibilities of family life, the young mother turned her attention more to the needs of her own household. The family flourished under Frances’s care, but within a few years a great plague began to sweep across Italy. It struck Rome with devastating cruelty and left Frances’s second son dead. In an effort to help alleviate some of the suffering, Frances used all her money and sold her possessions to buy whatever the sick might possibly need. When all the resources had been exhausted, Frances and Vannozza went door to door begging. Later, Frances’s daughter died, and the saint opened a section of her house as a hospital.
Frances became more and more convinced that this way of life was so necessary for the world, and it was not long before she requested and was given permission to found a society of women bound by no vows. They simply offered themselves to God and to the service of the poor. Once the society was established, Frances chose not to live at the community residence, but rather at home with her husband. She did this for seven years, until her husband passed away, and then came to live the remainder of her life with the society—serving the poorest of the poor.



PAPAL INTENTIONS:

March 2009
General: That the role of women may be more appreciated and used to good advantage in every country in the world.

Mission: That in the light of the letter addressed to them by Pope Benedict XVI, the Bishops, priests, consecrated persons, and lay faithful of the Catholic Church in the Popular Republic of China may commit themselves to being the sign and instrument of unity, communion and peace.


Corporal Works of Mercy: The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor

1. Feed the hungry
2. Give drink to the thirsty
3. Clothe the naked
4. Shelter the homeless
5. Visit the sick
6. Visit those in prison
7. Bury the dead


See our website at www.catholiccharitiesyoungstown.org for links to the our ministries and services.

For more information on Catholic Social Doctrine and its connection to our ministries, visit my blog at: http://corbinchurchthinking.blogspot.com/

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Holy See Calls for Refugee-Friendly Policies

Says Humanitarian Aid Isn't Enough

GENEVA, Switzerland, MARCH 5, 2009 ( Zenit.org ).- The Holy See is urging greater international solidarity faced to the dramatic situation endured by so many refugees.
This appeal was presented by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See's permanent observer at the U.N. offices in Geneva, according to a report today from Vatican Radio. The archbishop was addressing the U.N. High Commission for Refugees.

The Holy See representative denounced the death of 1,500 people last year as they attempted to enter Europe.

"In this context, the prelate insisted on the necessity for national and international policies, as well as legal ordinances, to have a solid base in human rights, where the right to life has first place," the Vatican Radio report informed.

Acknowledging that every nation has the right to define its own immigration policy, Archbishop Tomasi affirmed that "the norms of international protection for refugees must be respected."

The archbishop added that the worrying situation is not exclusive to Europe, pointing to "similar tendencies in various developed countries, or countries in development, around the world."

"The international community should not abandon its commitment to receive and protect persecuted people who flee because they have founded fears and their lives are threatened," he declared.

Archbishop Tomasi also mentioned the growing number of unaccompanied minors who seek asylum, saying this indicates the "desperate situation" of families.

Thus, the Holy See representative said that "it corresponds to everyone to tackle the deep causes of forced displacement," because "a generous humanitarian response has to be accompanied by equally committed politics."

"Biological Evolution: Facts and Theories" Conference in Rome Starts

Faith/Evolution Conference in Rome is off to a roaring start.....


A century and a half since Charles Darwin's “The origin of species”, cornerstone of evolutionary biology, and after very important recent scientific developments, this issue of biological evolution deserves a careful and serious reconsideration from a scientific point of view as well as in a philosophical and theological perspective, avoiding the ideological positions that have often dominated the debate.

With this conviction and with the more general purpose of promoting a fair and fruitful dialectical relationship between Science, Philosophy and Theology, the Pontifical Gregorian University, in collaboration with the University of Notre Dame (Indiana, USA), under the high patronage of the Pontifical Council for Culture and in the framework of the STOQ Project (Science, Theology and the Ontological Quest), is organizing a series of workshops and an International Conference.

The whole initiative aims at giving its contribution to the idea that Science, on the one hand, and Theology, on the other, represent different fields of analysis and interpretation, though often they are incorrectly overlapped, causing confusion and ideological controversies.

A serious philosophical reflection can be a benefit for both Science and Theology, showing where points of convergence can be found and how these fields could be integrated.

In particular, within the complex and multifaceted issue of the Science-Faith relationship, this event focuses on the possibility to reconcile in the same philosophical position the “Creation” thinking and the “Evolution” thinking, without the first pretending to be a scientific theory nor the second being reduced to a dogma.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Catholic-Jewish relations: Resilient in face of Williamson episode

By Cardinal Roger Mahony, Rabbi Gary Greenebaum and Seth Brysk

In January, Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunication of four bishops of a small ultra-traditionalist group that broke from the Catholic Church over the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The pope's action might have passed largely unnoticed had not one of the bishops, Richard Williamson, questioned the historicity of the Holocaust in a previously-taped television interview that was broadcast the very day his excommunication was lifted.

Williamson's outrageous comments set off alarm bells among Jews and Catholics alike. Jews wondered whether the lifting of Williamson's excommunication suggested that anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial would be seen as acceptable positions for those within the Catholic Church. Both Jews and Catholics questioned why the Vatican apparently had not thoroughly investigated Williamson, an unrepentant Holocaust denier and open anti-Semite, prior to the lifting of his excommunication.

Subsequent statements by the Vatican and the pope reiterated the Catholic Church's deep respect and esteem for the Jewish people, while sharply rebuking Williamson and other Holocaust deniers. In a mid-February meeting with American Jewish leaders at the Vatican, Pope Benedict said that denying or minimizing the Holocaust "is intolerable and altogether unacceptable." He added, "This terrible chapter in our history must never be forgotten."

Also reassuring to Catholics and Jews was the Vatican's declaration that the Society of St. Pius X, the group to which Williamson belongs, must fully recognize the Second Vatican Council and the legitimacy of all the popes from Pope John XXIII to Benedict XVI before it can rejoin the Catholic Church. The Vatican also singled out Williamson, saying that before he can be reconciled with the Catholic Church he must distance himself in an "absolutely unequivocal and public way" from his positions regarding the Holocaust.

Williamson's recent "apologies" fall far short of satisfying the letter or the spirit of the Vatican's directives. Yet while Williamson seems unwilling or unable to reject his odious positions, many religious and civic leaders have used his situation to acknowledge the Holocaust and to affirm its unique and terrible place in history.

We are heartened by the many leaders around the world who have rejected Williamson's views. In particular, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Argentine Minister of the Interior Florencio Randazzo, whose country recently expelled Williamson, not to mention nearly 50 Catholic members of the U.S. Congress who wrote to the Vatican to express their concerns.

In the Los Angeles Archdiocese, Williamson is hereby banned from entering any Catholic church, school or other facility, until he and his group comply fully and unequivocally with the Vatican's directives regarding the Holocaust. Later this year, I, Cardinal Mahony, will visit Israel and pay my respects to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust at the Yad Vashem Memorial in Jerusalem.

Holocaust deniers like Williamson will find no sympathetic ear or place of refuge in the Catholic Church, of which he is not --- and may never become --- a member. In rejecting the Second Vatican Council, the Society of St. Pius X and Williamson also reject Nostra Aetate ("In Our Time"), one of the most remarkable documents to come out of the Second Vatican Council. Published in 1965, the document changed forever the Catholic Church's fundamental understanding of other religions, including Jews and Judaism.

In Nostra Aetate, the Church explicitly rejects the charge of deicide against the Jews, and affirms the kinship between the Catholic and Jewish faiths. "The Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel's spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone."

Let us remember that the American Jewish Committee worked closely with the Vatican at the time of the Council toward the creation of Nostra Aetate. The horror of the Holocaust, which took place a mere 20 years before, certainly was fresh in the minds of Catholic leaders as they composed the document.

Admittedly, the past two months have been difficult for Jews and Catholics. However, we can take heart that Catholic-Jewish relations in Southern California remain strong. Our commitment to this relationship is exemplified in the many initiatives that bring us together, like the annual InterSem Retreat for seminarians from various denominations; Model Seders that teach Catholic school students about this important Jewish ritual; and, the Catholic-Jewish Educational Enrichment Program, which educates our children and future leaders in each other's traditions.

For our part, as Catholic and Jewish leaders in Los Angeles, we recognize that only by working together with renewed vigilance will we be able to keep anti-Semitism at bay and prevent its reassertion as a legitimate expression.

Cardinal Roger Mahony is Archbishop of Los Angeles; Gary Greenebaum is U.S. Director of Interreligious Affairs of the American Jewish Committee; and Seth Brysk is Los Angeles Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee.

Monday, March 2, 2009

VATICAN: PROMOTING A CULTURE OF PEACE

PROMOTING A CULTURE OF PEACE

VATICAN CITY, 27 FEB 2009 (VIS) - Made public yesterday afternoon was the final declaration of the annual meeting of the Joint Committee for Dialogue of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue (Vatican) and the Permanent Committee of al-Azhar for Dialogue among the Monotheistic Religions (Cairo, Egypt). The meeting was held in Rome on 24 and 25 February.

The English-language declaration explains that the annual meeting of the Joint Committee for Dialogue - an institution established in 1998 - was jointly presided by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, and by Sheikh Ali Abd al-Baqi Shahata, secretary general of the Academy for Islamic Research of al-Azhar.

The theme of the meeting - "The Promotion of a Pedagogy and Culture of Peace with Particular Reference to the Role of Religions" - was presented from the Catholic point of view by Bernard Sabella, associate professor emeritus of sociology at Bethlehem University, and from the Islamic standpoint by Sheikh Ali Shahata.

A the end of the meeting the participants agreed on the following:

"1. Peace and security are much needed in our present world marked by many conflicts and a feeling of insecurity.

"2. ... No true and lasting peace can be achieved without justice and equality among persons and communities.

"3. Religious leaders, especially Muslims and Christians, have the duty to promote a culture of peace, each within his respective community, especially through teaching and preaching.

"4. A culture of peace should permeate all aspects of life: religious formation, education, interpersonal relations and the arts in their diverse forms. To this end, scholastic books should be revised in order not to contain material which may offend the religious sentiments of other believers, at times through the erroneous presentation of dogmas, morals or history of other religions.

"5. The media have a major role and responsibility in the promotion of positive and respectful relations among the faithful of various religions.

"6. Recognising the strong link between peace and human rights, special attention was given to the defence of the dignity of the human person and his or her rights, especially regarding freedom of conscience and of religion.

"7. Youth, the future of all religions and of humanity itself, need special care in order to be protected from fanaticism and violence, and to become peace builders for a better world.

"8. Mindful of the suffering endured by the peoples of the Middle East due to unresolved conflicts, the participants, in respect of the competence of political leaders, ask to make use, through dialogue, of the resources of international law to solve the problems at stake in truth and justice".

The next meeting of the joint committee is due to be held in Cairo on 23 and 24 February 2010.
OP/DIALOGUE MONOTHEISTIC RELIGIONS/TAURAN VIS 090227 (470)

Sunday, March 1, 2009

MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION for week of March 1, 2009

Providing Help. Creating Hope.


VISION: Believing in the presence of God in our midst, we proclaim the sanctity of human life and the dignity of the person by sharing in the mission of Jesus given to the Church. To this end, Catholic Charities works with individuals, families, and communities to help them meet their needs, address their issues, eliminate oppression, and build a just and compassionate society.


MISSION: To provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire Church and other people of good will to do the same.


GOALS: Catholic Charities is devoted to helping meet basic human needs, strengthening families, building communities and empowering low-income people. Committed to work to reduce poverty in half by 2020.


KEY VALUE: Hospitality


WHAT WE DO: Organizing Love. "As a community, the Church must practise love. Love thus needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered service to the community" (Deus Caritas Est, par. 20)



On Sunday (1st Sunday of Lent Cycle B) we read in Mark's Gospel about Jesus being led into the desert to pray and fast for 40 days. Jesus then fully emerges into his public ministry as he proclaims that "the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe the Gospel."

Catholic Charities must continue to be a sign of that Good News to each person who contacts us for assistance or assurance. Pope Benedict XVI in Sunday's Angelus called us to respond to those impacted by the current economic crisis. The pope says he wants to encourage political leaders as well as industrialists to work together during what he calls a ‘delicate moment.’ He says strong, joint efforts are needed, but that they must keep in mind that the priority must be workers and their families.


During these troubling economic times, Catholic Charities has committed itself to partner with parishes to provide persons and families impacted by increasing unemployment and foreclosures by 1) lending an ear to listen; 2) lending support through spiritual care and support groups; 3) lending a voice by being an advocate for just social policy and for families' in need dealing with other institutions; and 4) lending assistance by providing financial assistance to help families stabilize. Catholic Charities is in the process of developing a page on its website which will provide updated and relevant information on resources for those impacted by the current economic crisis.


Some important date(s) this week:

Daily Lenten Resources can be found at:
US Conference of Catholic Bishops
Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Charities USA

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3. St. Katharine Drexel. 1858-1955. If your father is an international banker and you ride in a private railroad car, you are not likely to be drawn into a life of voluntary poverty. But if your mother opens your home to the poor three days each week and your father spends half an hour each evening in prayer, it is not impossible that you will devote your life to the poor and give away millions of dollars. Katharine Drexel did that.

She was born in Philadelphia in 1858. She had an excellent education and traveled widely. As a rich girl, she had a grand debut into society. But when she nursed her stepmother through a three-year terminal illness, she saw that all the Drexel money could not buy safety from pain or death, and her life took a profound turn.

She had always been interested in the plight of the Indians, having been appalled by reading Helen Hunt Jackson’s A Century of Dishonor. While on a European tour, she met Pope Leo XIII and asked him to send more missionaries to Wyoming for her friend Bishop James O’Connor. The pope replied, “Why don’t you become a missionary?” His answer shocked her into considering new possibilities.

Back home, she visited the Dakotas, met the Sioux leader Red Cloud and began her systematic aid to Indian missions.

She could easily have married. But after much discussion with Bishop O’Connor, she wrote in 1889, “The feast of St. Joseph brought me the grace to give the remainder of my life to the Indians and the Colored.” Newspaper headlines screamed “Gives Up Seven Million!”

After three and a half years of training, she and her first band of nuns (Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored) opened a boarding school in Santa Fe. A string of foundations followed. By 1942 she had a system of black Catholic schools in 13 states, plus 40 mission centers and 23 rural schools. Segregationists harassed her work, even burning a school in Pennsylvania. In all, she established 50 missions for Indians in 16 states.

Two saints met when she was advised by Mother Cabrini about the “politics” of getting her Order’s Rule approved in Rome. Her crowning achievement was the founding of Xavier University in New Orleans, the first Catholic university in the United States for blacks.
At 77, she suffered a heart attack and was forced to retire. Apparently her life was over. But now came almost 20 years of quiet, intense prayer from a small room overlooking the sanctuary. Small notebooks and slips of paper record her various prayers, ceaseless aspirations and meditation. She died at 96 and was canonized in 2000






PAPAL INTENTIONS:

March 2009
General: That the role of women may be more appreciated and used to good advantage in every country in the world.

Mission: That in the light of the letter addressed to them by Pope Benedict XVI, the Bishops, priests, consecrated persons, and lay faithful of the Catholic Church in the Popular Republic of China may commit themselves to being the sign and instrument of unity, communion and peace.


Corporal Works of Mercy: The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor

1. Feed the hungry
2. Give drink to the thirsty
3. Clothe the naked
4. Shelter the homeless
5. Visit the sick
6. Visit those in prison
7. Bury the dead


See our website at www.catholiccharitiesyoungstown.org for links to the our ministries and services.

For more information on Catholic Social Doctrine and its connection to our ministries, visit my blog at: http://corbinchurchthinking.blogspot.com/